Breadmaking was an art.
Or so Lance had been taught from the age of 6.
From that age, and even before, he'd always seen his family make bread like it was second nature to them. Their transitions from one task to the next flowed so smoothly it was magical. At one point he thought maybe his family were faeries, but they were just as human as he was. As he'd watch them work, they'd tell him their stories of struggles with learning how to make different types of bread as well extending their patience. His mother had a terrible time learning when the bread was fully risen, his father with when there was enough flour in the dough, his sister Allura with how to knead the dough properly, and his brother Santiago with knowing how to mix the ingredients correctly. All their experiences had been challenging, but gradually they learned to perfect their weakest strengths into their fortes. His aunts and uncles ran another bread bakery in the same town with his cousins, so on occasion, they'd visit to share stories or to hang out when it was time for family gatherings or when it was time to prep for large events like Christmas.
Upon being old enough, Lance began helping out more in the kitchen with his family. He started with cleaning around the workstations. It was emphasized that keeping the area clean was of utter importance. He followed with helping out with purchasing and bringing in the needed ingredients, fresh from the farm. Upon meeting all these tasks, he was honored with learning all the family recipes, starting with the most basic of recipes: white bread. In first hearing the instructions, he figured he'd have it down in no time, but he was greatly mistaken. As simple as the recipe was, the care, patience, and love it required could only be provided by the bread baker themself and not from the recipe alone. Little by little he improved on mastering this, using his past observations of his family and understandings of his errors as guidance. When he finally mastered it, he felt like he could conquer the world.
His whole family congratulated him on his achievement and proceeded with teaching him the other recipes which were more complex, yet still required those same items from the bread baker as the first recipe did.
And so he worked and worked until he became familiar with all the recipes his family passed on to him. Of course, all during the process of attending school, since his family encouraged he get an education to have more opportunities.
Since the learning of bread baking became natural to him, he finished his training at an age much younger than his older siblings and beamed at this knowledge. However, that was also because his family saw how in love he was with the art of bread baking that they didn't push for him to learn how to prep the meals or drinks for the café in the bakery until after his training.
The location of their business was unique and lively. On one side were display shelves of desserts friends would bring or that his siblings would prepare, followed by the register and then a window display that allowed customers to peek into the kitchen and watch the family work to prep the bread. Behind the counter were all the shelves of the freshly baked bread, a sign of the café's menu hung above it, all written in chalk and updated daily with specials like bread bowl soup of the day or free dessert once a month if you were a regular customer. They even had a drink of the day that Allura would set up since she was the one who learned fastest at how to be a barista from their aunts and uncles. She tended it with help of her best friend Nyma.
He delighted in the serenity their business provided. It was a safe haven for those looking to quietly work or to gather their thoughts on whatever was overwhelming them. Seeing their smiles light up brilliantly at the taste of the food provided, made him feel accomplished, and he passionately continued with putting his heart into all that he made.
Keith had just moved into town for college. He was completely new to the area, even though he'd researched it before deciding to relocate there. Unpacking had taken up most of his time, but now that the task was done, he finally began exploring his new home.
It was small, but still had much life going on with how small businesses prepped early in the morning for customers to pass by on their way to work, school, or in search of something. Because of how uniquely located the town was, on the mountains with the incredible view of forests and lakes, many tourists often came to partake in the sight themselves. It was breathtaking and soothing all at once.
The weather was often clear skies, but even when cloudy, it was worth staring at how mesmerizing the sky looked.
In looking around, he saw that the structures of all the small buildings were typically of two stories, a mix of wood and concrete. One in particular caught his attention because of the aroma it was giving out from the smoke being released through its chimney. His stomach growled and he immediately recollected that he hadn't eaten anything for breakfast and figured it'd probably be best to take a closer look then.
As he approached the structure, the design of it alone made him feel at home. It was rustic, but well kept and had vines encasing all over the walls with flowers blooming here and there. It was a sight to see.
Upon entering the Blue Lion Bread Bakery and café, the sensation of comfort intensified with the view of all that was before him: the desserts in the display case, the bread freshly baked on the shelves, fresh drinks of either coffee, tea, and even fresh juice being prepped for waiting customers that sat at wooden tables with unique embellished etchings protected by lacquer, and the placement of colors on the chalkboard for the menu above the bread shelf. Just when he thought this was the most mesmerizing it could be, he noticed the display window where customers could watch the baker's work to prep the bread.
There, working in that moment, was a gorgeous boy with beautiful bronze skin, short brown hair, mediterranean blue eyes, and a blinding smile. His focus on the dough he was kneading reflected his passion for the art of the craft, captivating Keith so much that he forgot where he was. The beauty of said boy only made it harder to look away.
"Ahem," said a voice next to him, snapping him out of his trance.
Beside him stood a girl slightly taller than him, blond hair tied up in a fishtail that reached down to her waist, crimson eyes, light skin, and a knowing smile to complete it all. "If you want to keep watching, it's best if you at least purchase something first," she teased, taking pleasure in watching him react.
"I wasn't, I mean, I was, wait no," he stammered before exhaling defeatedly. "Yeah, I'll just go order something."
She was still smiling. "Alrighty then," she said as she walked over to behind the register. "My name's Nyma by the way. I haven't seen you before so I'm guessing you're new to town."
He followed and stared up at the menu as he tried to decide what to get. "Yeah, I just moved here. My name's Keith... Can I have the bread bowl special of today? And a cup of water?"
"Oh, nice. Welcome to town then and excellent choice. That's our most popular one. That'll be $10.50. The water's free."
Keith pulled out his wallet and paid in cash before getting his receipt. He was turning away when Nyma gently placed a delicate hand on his arm. "Just a suggestion, but if you sit along this side of the café the display window's view doesn't reach there, but you can still see them. I've done it before on my breaks. It's pretty relaxing."
Dumbfoundedly Keith stared at her with her sweet smile. He couldn't tell if she was pitying him or helping somehow. Either way, he was grateful for her suggestion and took up the offer in seconds.
Taking his seat, his cup of water in hand, he waited for his order and took pleasure in watching the boy again. Keith didn't know his name and he was much too afraid to ask. Socializing wasn't his strong suits; talking to Nyma had been surprising and the fact that it went well was also a shocker. He was fine with just gazing at the boy and admiring him from afar.
Minutes passed as he sat there, watching him work when he heard someone walk over to his table and set down his order before him. The smell of the freshness caught his attention. He then looked up to thank his server, thinking it was Nyma when it was someone else entirely. A woman with bronze skin similar to the boy he'd been staring at, teal and fuchsia eyes, long silver hair, and a smile that seemed to mirror Nyma's.
"Bread bowl soup special of the day was your order right?"
"Y-y-yeah. Thanks um…"
"Allura. Welcome to town."
"Nyma tell you?"
She laughed. "Nah, I figured it out on my own. How are you liking the town so far?"
"I'm enjoying it, even though I just started looking around today. Was busy moving my stuff into my new apartment with my brother Shiro."
"Oh, Shiro! He's told us so much about you. Are you visiting or planning to study?"
"Study. So my stay here is going to be pretty long."
"That's so exciting. My brother's going to start his first semester in the college here too! Anywho, I'll leave you be to your meal."
Keith seriously was wondering what deity or what force in the universe was providing him the ability to speak so much today without it turning awkward because it felt suspicious how well these conversations had been so far.
Turning his attention to the food, which was still quite hot, Keith took note of the melted cheese oozing from the top of bowl along the sides. Taking his spoon, he poked into the center, prompting a creamy broth to seep out of the opening he'd made. When he got a spoonful of cheese, creamy broth with a bit of chicken, he blew on it to bring it to a tad less hellish burning temperature before taking a bite and moaned happily at how absolutely delectable it tasted.
He'd had his fair share of soups before, but never anything of this quality. He took in more spoonfuls, careful to not burn his tongue too much, until he got the opportunity to rip off some bread from the bowl and gosh if the soup had been heavenly, combined with the bread, it was absolutely fantastic.
Two weeks of coming in everyday since his first time, Keith remained smitten with the beautiful boy, as well as unable to speak to him. He gradually learned his name was Lance and that Allura was his sister, and when he recalled that she mentioned that Lance was also going to start college after the summer, he beamed at the opportunity of being able to interact with him if he ever saw him. Yet, that included becoming acquainted first and foremost.
Internally he facepalmed at himself for being so hopelessly in love with someone he'd just met and hadn't spoken to. It didn't help that Allura would often mention little happenings in the kitchen regarding her brother or how Nyma would mention what beauty routine Lance did that particular morning. He thought they were just trying to be friendly, especially since they'd talk about other events that would happen at the bakery and café.
Whenever he needed to take a break from his pent up thoughts and energy, he'd spend the day rock climbing in local areas around the edge of town. Shiro had been the one to recommend taking up the hobby when they'd been younger and Keith had stuck with it ever since.
It varied during what time of the day he'd go out and climb, but usually it was early in the morning. The feel of the hard rock beneath his fingerless gloves helped ground him during moments when he felt lost or wasn't sure of himself. The strain of his muscles pulling him towards his goal always felt achieving and it made him feel accomplished each time he reached it.
Today was another day where he was working to calm his thoughts over Lance at the bakery and café, because truth be told he had never feel such warmth in chest before or blushed so hard from such a sight, even if he was good at hiding it.
Lance usually helped at the front of the register when he was done with prepping the bread dough in the kitchen, but the timing seemed to always be around when Keith would leave or not be present, so their chances of interaction remained impossible.
He would assist Allura and Nyma with making drinks while manning the register. He often had a lot of fun making the concentrate of the coffee beans or the tea leaves or squeezing fresh juice from fruits for them to use in putting together drink orders. Seasons sometimes permitted them to add in the option of certain spices for more uniqueness. The two gals were amazing at preparing the orders to suit a customer's personality, both were very good at reading people, so it was never a problem whenever they did something off the menu. On the rare occasion where Lance was in charge of preparing orders, he was usually hesitant because he was constantly afraid of messing up. He wasn't as skilled as his sister and her best friend, his pride was in his bread baking skills, but he appreciated their encouragement at practicing and the kind words he'd receive from some customers.
When his doubts of himself would become overwhelming, he'd take a break by hanging out by one of the lakes on the edge of town and skip rocks. His aim was excellent and he'd always push to make them go longer distances each time.
During one of these days he happened to catch sight of someone climbing along one of the cliffs of the mountains. It wasn't unusual since many others from town did the activity too, but this was his first time seeing someone so passionate about it. It captivated him seeing this person so focused on there, he began wishing he could talk to them, but he had no idea how to approach them or if they were just a tourist. All he had to go on was the ridiculous mullet of hair on their head and the lovely lean body that indicated said person was a boy.
At times Lance would spend his breaks watching this boy from afar, instead of skipping rocks. When the boy would start climbing back down, it would be time for Lance to go back to work.
He wanted to come up with a reason to take a day off and approach the boy, but he feared rejection and that it would just be a waste of time, so he opted to just pine away and imagine was could be.
As a month passed, the smitten look on Lance's face didn't go unnoticed by Santiago and he coaxed out of him who the person is that was making him have such an expression on his face.
Reluctantly, he admitted who it was, feeling ridiculous for forgetting that his older brother was just as observant as Allura and Nyma.
Santiago didn't tease him, but he did give his little brother hope that someone so passionate wouldn't be a tourist. Then he proceeded to ruffle Lance's hair before telling him to get back to work.
What his brother didn't mention was that based on the description he received, it sounded a lot like the boy that Nyma and his sister Allura had told him about coming by to watch Lance work behind the display window. At first he'd been concerned, but when they reassured him how sweet this Keith was, he put his doubts away.
Upon learning of Lance's love interest seeming to be the same boy, he notified his sister and Nyma, who took it upon themselves to learn of Keith's hobbies without giving it away, even though he had been oblivious to all their hints in the past to go approach Lance.
Santiago wondered if there was any way of setting them up without them catching on to prevent either of them from backing out of nerves and panic. He sighed and glanced over at Lance who was kneading some batches before leaving them to rest later before he walked out with some fresh baked bread to restock the shelves that had quickly emptied from the morning rush of that day. It was presently mid afternoon.
As he was occupied completing his task, he heard the door open before a rushed padding of footsteps approached the counter. "Hey guys..."
He recognized the voice and turned around to see Shiro with his usual dark hair with a white bang at the top and a desperate look on his face. "Hey Shiro, do you need help with something? Is everything okay?" Allura and had gone to the back to get some supplies while Nyma had been preparing a drink order. She looked up with a worried expression matching Santiago's.
"What? No yeah yeah everything's fine. I'm here about Keith."
"Oh my quiznaking god, please tell me you're here to help us set them up," stated Nyma as she finished mixing up the ingredients for the drink order.
"I finally got him to tell me the name of his crush last night and hearing him pine like a fool is just sad. Does Lance even know he exists?" asked Shiro as he gestured with his arms wildly.
"Actually he does indeed know he exists," piped in Allura as she reentered the front with some supplies in hand, "just not the fact that he frequents here."
"You're joking."
"'Fraid not," added Nyma with a tired look on her face.
"It's been a month…"
"We know," said Santiago who shared Nyma's expression.
Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose as he groaned quietly in frustration.
"Now that you're here though, we can finally come up with a plan that's sure to work," declared Allura with a mischievous grin.
Two days later, Keith found himself walking towards the Blue Lion Bread Bakery and café sometime around the afternoon, at the insistence of Shiro the instant he'd said that he was going out to rock climb. Shiro said he wanted to buy some desserts for an event at work, but because he wouldn't have time that day to go, he asked his younger brother to go in his place.
It was very odd for Shiro to be in a such a pinch, but Keith knew that although rare, it still happened sometimes, so he didn't mind. It just felt out of routine because he really just wanted to not think about Lance, yet here he was, making his pining worse by coming in twice in one day and that never happened.
Sighing defeatedly, he continued his trek towards his destination, though at least it would be either Allura or Nyma attending the register, so he'd be fine.
Lance had been about to go on break to watch the beautiful mullethead climb the wall again when Allura suddenly entered the kitchen in a hurry, which indicated there was an emergency. "I forgot to bring the tea leaves we bought yesterday! Can you man the front while I go get them?"
He quirked an eyebrow. "Uh sure."
It was odd because normally it was him and Nyma, not just Lance, but he knew that last night one of the ovenS malfunctioned and she'd been looking into it before heading out to get the necessary part with her boyfriend Rolo. That had been about 15 minutes ago.
Santiago reassured him that he'd be fine in the kitchen on his own with mom and dad, who focused on prepping the meals for the café more ever since Lance became so proficient at thecraft of bread baking. Regardless, he knew his family was skilled. Today just felt odd.
He entered the front as Allura threw a kiss at him and he finger gunned at her before she disappeared out the door. Two customers soon entered, one asking for a drink and the other for some food.
It was quick to prepare and deliver before he found himself bored at the counter with nothing to help distract him. Discussing stuff with Nyma or his sister usually helped, but not today sadly.
Just as he was about the deem the day a travesty from so much going wrong, he heard the door open,and thought it was Allura. "Well about ti—" He cut off in realizing that standing before him wasn't his sister, but the beautiful boy he thought he'd never have the opportunity to speak to, and who's mullet he'd recognize anywhere. "Holy quiznak!"
Keith stood dumbfounded. Never, in all his trips to here had he ever seen Lance out in the front, but seeing him now was like a dream come true. Without noticing, he felt himself move forward. His face absolutely at a loss for words to say. "Um…"
"You!" Lance was excitedly pointing at Keith while fighting not to blush at this reality.
Keith's eyes widened in understanding that by some miracle Lance knew him. "Quiznak, wait you recognize me?"
"Do I?!" Lance almost yelled before he gestured dramatically some more and then took a deep breath to try and calm down.
"Okay I might've just, sorta, maybe, been watching you from afar whenever you rock climbed because I hang out by a lake that gives me a direct view of where you often climb and yeah… feel free to pretend we don't kn—"
"No!"
Lance jumped at Keith's interruption before he took a deep breath and spoke too. "I've uh, well, also, sorta, maybe, been watching you from afar too. Ever since I came here the first time. I sat over there," he mentions as he points to his usual table, "all the time because I was too shy to try and approach you even though you were behind the display window, but yeah… so if that's not awkwarder than—"
"It's not!"
Keith blinked in surprise at Lance, but it filled his chest with warmth how earnest he was being.
"By any chance… why did you keep watching?" asked Lance shyly. He honestly couldn't understand why this gorgeous boy in front of him would spend time staring at him.
"You're beautiful and mesmerizing all at once. Your passion for what you do reflected in your aura and I couldn't look away," admitted Keith with a smile before his expression turned shy. "Mind if I ask why you kept watching me?"
"How can I compete with that? You took the words out of my mouth," stated Lance as both boys stared at each other before breaking into laughter at the fact that their timing was just incredibly ridiculous.
When their laughter died down, Keith cleared his throat, "Would you like to go out with me?"
"You haven't even gotten me name—oh my god wait, you already know it don't you?" declared Lance and he placed both hands on the counter for emphasis of his shock. "And I didn't even know yours before this! Oh quiznak me."
Keith chuckled and found it endearing how Lance was freaking out over not learning his name sooner. "It's Keith by the way, Lance."
Lance froze in place in hearing his name tumble out of the mouth of his crush, the same crush who currently requited his feelings, the same crush who was smiling at him in that instant. He broke out of his trance and finally managed to respond. "And the answer is yes, but you gotta kiss me to help me make sure this is really happening because this is too much to process right now."
Without delay, Keith did.