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Isagi had already decided what he was going to order by the time he entered the Starbucks.
His usual latte always did the trick. It contained enough caffeine to get him through the day, yet let him sleep peacefully at night. The milk didn't overpower the essence of the coffee beans but it masked the bitterness. It was a given he was going to order it; he always did.
The wait was longer than he expected it to be, so he got in line while saving a spot for Bachira.
A few moments later, Bachira showed up and joined him.
"Hey, Isagi!" He chirped, "Sorry I'm late, Chigiri made me help him with his project due tomorrow. But it's only expected of the genius me to help others who aren't as blessed, right?" Bachira says cheesily while grinning.
Isagi groans and mutters an 'it's fine.'
Sometimes it was a handful to deal with Bachira. He was smart book-wise but usually extremely embarrassing to be with in public.
Isagi only agreed to get coffee with him since he woke up late and wasn't able to grab one before his morning classes.
They got to the front of the line and Isagi was about to order when Bachira interrupted him.
"Wow, everything looks so good that I don't even know what to order! Maybe I'll go with a cappuccino- wait- no, scratch that actually. I'll get the chai latte- wait...the matcha latte sounds good too though..."
Isagi groaned again. Like he said, being with Bachira was sometimes- correction, always embarrassing. He felt bad for the person taking their order. There's probably nothing more irritating than someone not deciding what they want before getting to the front.
"Um-" Isagi interrupted, "I'll order while you make up your mind Bachira..."
He turned to face the barista and opened his mouth to order.
But nothing came out.
You see, Isagi is generally a very talkative person. He's extroverted, has more friends than he needs, and most definitely, never has trouble speaking with strangers.
It would take something out of this world to make him at a loss for words.
And that's exactly what the barista in front of him is. Out of this world.
Isagi's voice hitches- he'd been so annoyed at Bachira the whole time he didn't even notice the beauty in front of him. He's looking down at the register, but even so, Isagi can see his long eyelashes fluttering up and down, his dark hair partly covering his eyes.
"Oh! I'll get the hot chocolate," Bachira suddenly says, causing the barista to look up. He then writes Bachira's name on the paper cup as he playfully spells it out like a kindergarten teacher.
Isagi continues to stare- he's not the type of person to care whether anyone notices or not. He looked about his age, and his eyes are a light cyan, a mix of the sea and sky.
"...And you...?"
He's talking to Isagi. He's talking to me.
"I- I'll get an expresso..." Isagi sputters out, immediately regretting what he said. He hates nothing more in the world than expressos.
It was on a whim- wouldn't it seem childish for someone to order a latte? Expressos definitely gave off the impression of maturity and knowledge...things that Isagi did not have. Not that he wanted to impress the insanely attractive barista or anything...
"Under...?"
Oh right.
"Isagi, please."
He silently thanks his parents for giving him a normal name. He doesn't know how he'd live if he had a name like Bachira or something. Is it too normal though? Too normal and he'll forget it seconds after he calls our drinks...no- I have a pretty memorable name, he reassures himself.
Bachira and Isagi get a table that's fairly close to the pick-up counter but still far enough away to avoid the crowd.
"An expresso? Don't tell me you're trying to impress the barista Isagi...I mean, he's cute, but he seems like no fun," Bachira immediately whines as they sit down.
"No- I wasn't!" Isagi refutes. "I just wanted to try something of a different pace for once..." He looks away to avoid Bachira's smirk.
Isagi's back is facing the counter, so he fights the urge to keep looking behind him even though he's longing to steal another look at the barista.
"You must really want that Expresso, huh?" Bachira teasingly asks, slightly raising his eyebrow while doing so.
"Shut up, Bachira," Isagi immediately shoots back.
At that moment, the- the barista walks up to the counter with two small cups.
"Hot chocolate for Bachira and...an expresso for Isagi?"
Isagi sure thought his name sounded a hell of a lot more elegant coming out of someone's mouth that wasn't Bachira's.
They go back up to the counter, and Isagi can't help but feel unsatisfied knowing this will probably be their first and last encounter. The barista only eyes them for a second before going back to the cashier to handle more drinks.
"Whoops!" Bachira exclaims, unnecessarily loud. "Gotta go, my class starts in 5, bye Isagi."
He barely gets the last part out before he's gone, the bell chiming as he leaves through the door. Isagi checks his phone to find he still has another half hour to kill before his next class. He eyes the expresso and wrinkles his nose. Might as well spend the next 30 minutes trying to shove this shit down my throat...
He goes over to the bar and spots the half-and-half milk, filling his cup to the brim. It was already nearly full though, so it doesn't do much; the dark shade of brown lightening only somewhat. He then goes back to where he was sitting before, except now in Bachira's seat so he can at least watch the barista without looking like a creepy stalker.
He begins working on his expresso by taking tiny sips, trying to suppress a grimace with each one. After about seven sips, he'd hardly gotten through a quarter of it, so he decided to just down the whole thing at once like an alcohol shot.
Swinging his head back, he pours the rest of the hot drink down his throat, trying to avoid the liquid from hitting his tongue so the sour taste doesn't linger.
He sets the now-empty cup on the table and swallows thickly. Jesus. Never ordering a fucking expresso ever again.
The cafe had started to clear up and there were fewer customers than before. Isagi's eyes shot back up to the barista, who was thankfully still on his shift. There were no customers in line and it seemed like he was scrolling through his phone.
That was when Isagi's extrovert instincts kicked in. Maybe the expresso really did give him an extra shot of adrenaline.
He got up from his seat and walked over to the front with the intention of striking up a conversation. About what, he didn't know.
Rin sees Isagi walking up and puts his phone away, ready to take either:
1) a complaint,
or
2) another drink order
Hopefully, it was the latter. He didn't know if he had enough patience left in him to deal with another accusation that went along the lines of "this coffee was too strong, too bitter, and too dark." He didn't see what the problem was. People wanted a coffee, and he gave them that.
And he didn't know if he'd take a complaint from a cute guy well. He might end up completely missing what he says.
"Hey, this drink is pretty good, what'd you put in it?" Isagi asks, resting his elbow on the counter while leaning forward.
Rin is surprised, at both his relaxed tone and close proximity. But it instantly dissipates.
It's quite literally the first time someone had ever complimented his coffee. Of course. It had to be a lie. Plus, he saw Isagi hastily shove the drink down his throat when Isagi thought he wasn't looking.
"Are you...It's just coffee," Rin says.
He was about to insult Isagi at first but decided against it- he didn't want to cause a scene or ruin his chance to talk to the boy.
Rin assumes Isagi isn't here as a customer but more as...to flirt. It was just too obvious. Rin also had no idea where this was going. He was always awkward and vulgar in general, and even though he might prefer to skip the small talk, he did very much enjoy looking at Isagi's eyes. He thought they were pretty. So he put up with it.
"I- I know...then what kind of coffee beans do you use?" Isagi somehow manages to say back. The barista's casualness had caught him off guard, but he wasn't complaining. It was better than a tense customer-to-employer conversation.
"...This...is a Starbucks," Rin slowly responds, visibly mouthing each syllable hoping that Isagi can hear how stupid he sounds. He did admit though, it was kind of cute seeing him try so hard.
Realizing his attempts at initiating conversation were failing, he drops the whole 'hey, I'm a friendly customer and would like to know more about this product as a guise to talk to you' facade.
Isagi catches his name tag- Rin.
"Okay- well, Rin-"
"If you want my number you can just ask for it, you know," Rin interrupts, getting straight to the point. Isagi doesn't even have time to appreciate how his name sounds coming out of his mouth (calling for the drinks didn't really count).
"What? I'm..." Isagi trails off, still stunned at Rin's bluntness. His cheeks start to get red, but he ignores it, not wanting Rin to think of him as a loser who can't even speak up for himself.
"I didn't ask for it," he says with slight sarcasm, "but since you seem so interested in me, I'll take it."
Rin's eyes narrow slightly before he grabs Isagi's cup from his hand, their fingers making contact for the briefest moment. He then reaches for the sharpie which rests on the register.
"Here," Rin says after scribbling his number onto the cup. "And next time, try not to embarrass yourself like a middle schooler."
Isagi takes the cup, examining it. There it is, freshly written in still-drying ink, the signature sharp pungent smell of sharpie markers floating around it; Rin's number.
"Thanks, R-" Isagi is about to say Rin's name again when he notices there are customers lining up behind him. It was about time for his class to start anyway. He quickly gets out of line and waves goodbye at Rin as if they were best friends and hadn't just met a few moments ago.
Isagi arrives to class just as the professor is about to begin the lecture. A few minutes in and he's already bored out of his mind. The empty expresso cup sits on the desk, and he decides to text Rin.
Isagi: hey
He puts his phone down after sending the text and attempts to focus on what the professor is talking about.
That only works for about five minutes before he checks again. No new notifications-
Rin had left Isagi on read.
"Really?" Isagi questions under his breath. He sends a short 'it's me, Isagi' in case Rin didn't know before shoving his phone to the bottom of his backpack for the rest of the lecture.
It's around 6 pm when Isagi finally gets a text back from Rin.
Rin: sorry, I had work.
Isagi found it hilarious that he had to work at a coffee shop for half of the day. He found it more fitting for someone like Rin to work at a modelling agency or something.
Rin: wanna go on a date tmrw?
A beat skips from Isagi's heart. He certainly didn't think that Rin was the type to initiate things first. It gave him a sense of hope- did Rin find something intriguing about him too?
He responds immediately, afraid he'll lose Rin for another six hours before he can garner a second response.
Isagi: sure
Simple, terse, and casual. Definitely gives off the impression that Isagi is not swooning over it- even though he is.
Rin almost never doubted himself. His decisions were absolute, everything written in concrete.
Well, hence the almost.
He stood outside of the frozen yogurt shop in the frisk fall weather, a brown coat and crimson scarf protecting his body from the faint wind. He checked his phone for what seemed like the tenth time in the past five minutes for any text notification from Isagi. Sighing, he wondered if the fact that he chose a frozen yogurt place as their first date destination scared Isagi off. It sure was...an unusual thing to eat during this time of the year.
Rin went over his other choices he'd listed down as potential date material; a movie at the theatre, a café- all the standard stuff you'd see in the media. He didn't want anything too serious like having an elegant dinner, but anything too casual like hanging out at the mall and it might turn into a meet-up with a friend.
To make matters worse, Rin had never gone on a date with a guy before. Plenty of girls, sure, but they were all set up by Sae who forced him to go, saying he needed to "be more social," though Rin thought he had enough people surrounding him to consider himself social. He never enjoyed any of the dates though, and was always looking for some excuse to go home early. On the bright side, girls had good judgment in dessert places, and if he was lucky, he'd have a decent plate of crepes or a decadent slice of pie.
Judging by the way Isagi had disturbingly downed the expresso the day before, he ruled out any places that didn't contain at least a cup of sugar in their products.
How he ended up sending Isagi the location of the frozen yogurt place across the street from the Starbucks he works at...he'd rather not think about.
"Rin!" Isagi exclaims, waving over. Awfully friendly, Rin thinks. Am I getting friend-zoned already? No, I called it a date. He can't be that clueless, can he?
Rin isn't sure if he should wave back or not, so he opts for the common nod of acknowledgment in his direction.
"Nice choice," Isagi says once he's near Rin. "Could always use some frozen yogurt during this time of the year."
Rin can't tell if he's being serious or not, so he doesn't respond.
They head into the store, which isn't any warmer than it is outside.
"I'm paying, so you can get whatever you want," Rin says as they get to the counter displaying the different cup sizes for their frozen yogurt.
Isagi glances at Rin, giving him a look that reeks of 'seriously?'
"It's fine, I'll pay for our first date. Plus, with the amount of frozen yogurt I'm going to get, it'll probably be worth a whole week's worth of your Starbucks income."
Okay. Wow.
Five minutes into the date, Rin is relieved for two reasons:
One, that Isagi has confirmed that this is a date, and two, that he isn't being all awkward. Rin himself is already terrible at engaging in conversation so he didn't know what he'd do if Isagi was all awkward and weird too.
What he isn't relieved about is that Isagi must think he's dirt poor or something if he can't afford to pay for some cheap frozen yogurt. He is quite the opposite. He was only working at Starbucks in the first place because Sae made him quit his previous job, again with the excuse of not being social enough.
Which was true.
But Rin found it ironic that his brother told him to get a "real job" when he was the one running around in grass kicking a ball for a living.
And for the record, he personally thought Sae's skills were even worse than his own. Social-wise, at least.
Either way, he was nowhere near short on cash, and it was kind of embarrassing that Isagi (probably) thought of him as a typical college student who didn't get in with a scholarship and is now six feet deep in school debt and attempting to pay it off with a part-time job.
It was only natural for Rin's defensive side to come up.
"No-," he interrupts Isagi, "I'll pay. I asked you out here anyway."
Not wanting to waste any more time going back and forth, Isagi lets out a defeated sigh and agrees.
They go through the options, Rin settling for some kind of strawberry cheesecake flavor and Isagi going for classic vanilla.
Rin adds just a few toppings neatly on the edge of the cup. Isagi, however, practically dumps every option available and stirs it together. The end result is a brown-ish mixture with clumps of cereal and candy sticking out here and there. Rin tried his hardest to not visibly cringe and instead focused on his own clean, organized, and pure cup.
Rin does as he promised and pays for their food. Unfortunately, he didn't have his credit card on him so he could only try to block Isagi's view with his back as he hastily shoved a handful of one-dollar bills into the cashier's arms.
They sit outside and start eating.
Not wanting Isagi to feel as if the conversation is one-sided, he speaks first.
"Interesting flavor you pi-"
And at that moment, he knows exactly how Isagi felt when asking him about the expresso yesterday. Fucking hell, 'interesting flavor'? He picked vanilla.
He's much smoother than him though, and plays it off easily without so much as a fumble.
"I mean, I'm more of a chocolate person,"
Because that definitely plays well with the strawberry flavor he was holding.
He meant for it to come out as somewhat jokey, but his voice was monotonous as it could get. Dates with girls are much easier, he thinks. At least I don't have to try to get a laugh out of them.
Rin was unaware that he wanted to make Isagi laugh.
"Oh, really? Definitely thought coffee would be more of your thing," Isagi replies back.
There it is again- Isagi seemingly tying Rin back to his low-status part-time job. Rin shoves a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth to hide his embarrassment.
The frozen yogurt is better than he thought it would be, and he ends up finishing his portion faster than he'd like to.
More eating time means more talking time, after all.
Not that either of them was all that talkative to begin with.
They dump their empty cups into the bin near the door and walk out without so much as a word.
Rin is disappointed. In himself, at least. This "date" wasn't even comparable to the ones he'd gone on with girls before. The one fucking time he actually wanted to make conversation and he came up empty.
The good thing about Rin was that he didn't let things he wanted escape his grasp so easily.
"Hey," he starts, "this probably wasn't the ideal date- at least for me-" fuck. "Not to say you did anything wrong or anything-"
He'd never messed up this bad in his life. Rin takes a deep breath to get his words straight before trying again.
"Sorry. What I meant to say, was that I really enjoyed this. And I want to get to know you more. So, if you're up to it, wanna come over to my place next week?"
It's such a...weird feeling for Rin. To be asking for more. Since he's usually on the receiving end of that part. What if Isagi rejected him just like he'd done to all those other girls? He wouldn't be surprised.
"Yeah, definitely. Same here, if you get what I mean."
Seriously?
"Yeah. Yeah. So...I'll text you my address later?"
"Yeah. Um, okay. I've gotta get going, I guess I'll see you soon?"
"Yeah- thanks for coming. See you..."
They head off in opposite directions down the street, and despite the repeated use of the word "yeah" and the impossibly high level of awkwardness Rin had created, he was...happy?
He was certainly thrilled at the thought of Isagi finally realizing that he wasn't poor once he steps foot into his house.