Prompt: 《Forced to share a table at the coffee shop a couple days in a row because its crowded and there is no room》
Coffee
The winter air was freezing and the morning sky was cloudy. The snowflakes had stopped falling a few hours ago, but the fresh blanket beneath her feet crunched with each step. In her mind, she hummed a happy song (she couldn't sing for the life of her and she wouldn't dare take her chances with humming on tune) and she bobbed her head to the imaginary music. The cold nipping at her ears was at such a contrast with the warmth she felt exuding from her body in the form of happiness, she felt that she could be running around without the long jacket and warm socks and not feel a thing at all.
It might've been winter break, but Yuu still had to wake up early. Her mom would leave for work around the same time she woke up. She would then get dressed, make breakfast, and left for her morning shift at her newfound job.
Working was a bit tough, especially on the first few days when all she wanted was to sleep in, but she was working so she could purchase gifts for all her important people, and that made her more content than she had originally expected.
At her job, a small cafe on the corner of a quiet intersection, she was in charge of working with coffee. It was their specialty. She had gotten the hang of making all sorts of things - espressos, cappuccinos, lattes - and had obtained a new appreciation for those who worked in this field. She could now relate the terror a newbie to the job would feel if someone like her were to order a drink ("Ah, I want a milk coffee with soy milk and chocolate and caramel toppings!") and did her best to make orders as quickly and as accurately as possible.
Of course, she did mess up the first few times. She had been so clumsy they had considered firing her.
But would they? Of course not. As the small coffee shop came into view, so did the sea of endless skirts as an ironic scent of flowers filled the air.
Kashima Yuu brought more attention to their store than the physical building being there for over ten years ever had.
The green-eyed girl walked in through the back door, and greeted everyone with a smile. They all made comments about how early she was today or how bold she was to finally wear her work's female uniform on the coldest day they've had that month. She just shrugged. Wearing a skirt once in awhile wasn't so bad and she woke up refreshed and ready to go. Plus: one could say she was a bold person anyway.
Just like how one could say she was crazy to go annoy the relatively grumpy looking guy sitting in the corner of the cafe the moment she stepped foot onto the store front.
"Hori-senpai!" She shouted, making all heads that weren't already turn to look at her. The shorter brunette jumped. The hostile look in his eyes would keep anyone away, but the blue-haired girl happily made her way up to him.
"Senpai, you go here?" she asked.
The male was silent for a moment. He rubbed his temples as he stared down at his coffee. "I can now see why it's so crowded here all of a sudden..."
Yuu chose to ignore his comment and sat down next to him. She didn't know why he was angry, but annoying him was a good past time. Rather, it was just the way they worked.
"Aw, don't say that. It's obviously because the coffee here is great!"
"Why are you sitting down?"
"It's not my shift yet. And there's no other seats."
"Those girls over there would be more than happy to share a seat with you."
"Anyway, what do you think about this uniform?! Does it suit me? I like the color! My sister insisted I wear it today because yesterday she decided she wanted to be a fashion designer. She bought me these socks and had me borrow her shoes for this. She painted my nails too! Isn't she great! Tomorrow she said she'll coordinate the male uniform for me. She has great fashion sense."
The male took another sip of his bitter coffee and waved her off, "Yeah, of course it does."
Kashima jutted out her lower lip. Normally the male would be paying more attention, even if it was to insult her or drag her to get her to shut up. She crossed her arms and laid her head down on the table.
"Senpai, are you okay?"
Masayuki sighed, "Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry. Just really tired." He ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't been to this cafe in awhile either and it was a surprise to see so many people here."
"Do you come here often? I just started working here last week."
The boy nodded. He took in a deep breath again. The more coffee he consumed, the more he woke up and the more he smelled the rich scent of coffee beans, the more he felt his grumpiness fade away. As Yuu leaned toward him, the soft scent of her shampoo mixed with his coffee's, and his rough demeanor almost completely melted. "I normally come here close to everyday, but I've been working as well last week."
"Really? Where do you work?"
He hesitated. Working for Nozaki wasn't actually much of a job. "I had to help out a family friend. They own a bakery."
Yuu laughed, "Wouldn't they be mad at you for being a loyal customer here then?"
"Idiot, cafes and bakeries are two different things," he retorted, flicking her head. The female just grinned some more.
"Senpai, I advise you get some sleep next time, the bags under your eyes make you look like a raccoon."
Masayuki raised an eyebrow, and the female quickly made her exit. It was her shift.
The next day didn't start as brightly. The clouds were quite heavy and everything looked bleak and maybe Kashima was a little sleepy. But she made her way to work at 9- an hour before her shift started.
When she arrived, she repeated what she had done yesterday, greeted everyone with bright green eyes and shrugged at why she was early and why she wearing such a bright bow with the barista's uniform that day.
She also instantly made her way to her favourite upperclassman sitting in the corner when she saw him, ignoring the others around her. The girls could speak to her when her shift started. They came for her anyway. Hori, on the other hand, would leave when his coffee was done and she felt the undeniable need to occupy his time as he did such a simple task.
"Good morning, Senpai!"
"Kashima. You're here again."
The blue-haired girl grinned, sitting herself down on the seat next to his.
"Yup! I work every morning asides from Sunday! Plus, I wanted to show you what my sister put together for me, didn't I?"
Surprised, Masayuki asked, "You work that much? You don't seem like the type to."
"It's almost Christmas! Don't most people work around this holiday?"
"How many gifts do you need to buy… Normally high schoolers don't work that much. And in the morning too. You seem like the kind who'd sleep until noon so she could stay up late partying or something."
Yuu crossed her arms before proclaiming, "Well! I'm going to be responsible! Partying and eating out is being put to a minimum for now!"
Masayuki chuckled, "Is that so now? I wish you'd use that motivation for club work."
The female just shrugged in reply. Then, she grinned, "You seem a lot less grumpy today!"
"Yeah… Yesterday I had pulled close to an all nighter because I was at Nozaki's."
"And you're criticizing me for partying…"
"Hush, Kashima. That's a totally irrelevant matter."
"Hey, Hori-senpai, how come you never pull close to an all nighter at my house?"
"I've never even been to your house."
"Well you should."
"Yes, yes, your highness," Hori smiled. He ruffled up the girl's hair before getting up. She watch him throw out his trash and watch his figure retreat through the door. He had finished his coffee.
The two continued their little routine of meeting at the coffee shop and sitting together at the same booth or table or wherever Hori had decided to claim his place. Their talks weren't necessarily important, but after talking with the older male, Yuu felt refreshed and ready to work by the time he left.
It was Tuesday, and Christmas was a few days away. Kashima walked through the snow as if poured down, and wasn't surprised at the lack of people at the cafe. It was too cold.
This time, she decided to enter through the front. And as she reached the door, she ran into her upperclassman again. She beamed upon meeting him outside the shop.
"Good morning, Hori-senpai!" she exclaimed upon seeing him.
"Ahh, yeah, good morning."
The two entered the store together,and the underclassmen followed her to the counter.
"What coffee do you normally order? You should make me make you a cup next time," the female grinned. Masayuki shrugged.
"Normally I just get something simple. Like a short espresso or something," he explained, right before placing it as his order.
Yuu was surprised, "Isn't that pretty bitter?"
"Not necessarily. You can add sugar to it anyway." His drink was quickly prepared and he made his way to a seat by the window. Kashima followed in pursuit.
"I guess strong coffee does suite your image," she mused, sitting across from him. Masayuki gave her a bit of a glare.
"Is that supposed to be an insult?"
"No! I'm just saying. But I feel like you'd be the type to drink macchiatos more."
"Are they that different? What gives you that idea?"
"I don't know. I just feel like it."
"Then next time, prepare an macchiato for me," he requested. Kashima's face lit up.
"Can I try drawing something on it too?"
"Can you?" Masayuki was almost impressed.
"I haven't tried!" she exclaimed way too happily, causing Hori to deadpan.
"Well, as long as you don't put anything stupid on it."
Happily, Yuu continued the conversation up until the hour had passed and his coffee had long been drunk.
"Hey, Kashima," the male voiced before she could leave the table, "When is your shift over?"
The tall girl paused. "I should be running two 1 hour shifts today… so around 11:45 maybe."
"Then I'll be back by lunch time. Wait for me," Masayuki directed, before getting up and hurriedly leaving through the door. The dark haired female stood rooted in spot for a moment before she was called by her coworkers to, "Stop lazing about and get to work already, Prince!"
Kashima worked diligently during those two hours. She felt the more orders she completed, the sooner the clock would reach 11:45 and she would only have about 15 more minutes to wonder what her beloved senpai would want her to wait for.
"Stop jumping in place!" her co worker laughed, as the clock read 11:40.
"Ah, sorry," Yuu replied, slowing her breathing a bit in an attempt to stand still. At 11:43, the entrance's bell rang as Masayuki casually walked in.
"Senpai!"
"It's still 11:43, make me a macchiato and then we can go. My hands are freezing!"
The tall girl felt her cheeks warm up and she saluted, "Yes! Right away!" Masayuki rolled his eyes and payed her amused co worker for the drink.
The two were ready to leave, finally around 11:45. Yuu still had no idea where they were going, but she dutifully followed Hori with a smile on her face.
"Here," the short boy directed, opening the door to a quaint little shop. Curiously, Yuu walked in.
"Woah, what is this place?"
The inside was bathed in a warm light with several bookshelves covering one half of the store and the other half with little trinkets and pieces of jewelry.
"I stopped by this place this morning before going to the coffee shop. Neat, isn't it?" The male paused to sheepishly scratch his cheek before continuing, "Although, it doesn't really seem to fit either of our interests…"
"Senpai, look at that!" the girl exclaimed, dragging him over to a small counter with pieces of intricately carved jewels and pieces of metal. "Hey look, this necklace becomes a knife!"
The tall female jumped to and fro the tables, pointing out antique-looking items or fun looking toys in general.
"What's this?" Kashima picked up a small box inscribed with small words in English and painted with an almost worn down appearance. Upon opening it, a small figurine popped up of a prince dancing alone with himself as music played from the box.
"A music box?" Hori asked. "That's a surprise."
"Why is he dancing by himself?" Yuu pondered, poking the tiny prince.
"Maybe he has no one to dance with him," Masayuki suggested.
"Well, that's kinda sad."
The two eventually left the store and Masayuki lead her around a winding path that lead to the front of a bakery.
"Here. The bakery I worked at. Do you want something? In exchange for the coffee," the male shook the now empty coffee cup in his hands before tossing it in the trash.
"Pastries!" Kashima exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air in excitement.
As Yuu helped herself to the cakes Masayuki bought her, he took out his phone and instantly started jotting things down.
The next week was Christmas, and Kashima was finally released from her job. She didn't get a chance to see Hori again,and he didn't message her, so she continuously debated going over to his house or not. She did, however, got to meet with Mikoto, Chiyo, and Yuzuki, and gave them their gifts (to which they all claimed to love in response).
Yuu eventually got bored waiting around, so she took her chances and walked to the coffee shop. Her old coworkers greeted her, ("It's so weird seeing you on the other side of this counter now, Prince!") and she took a seat by the window in the crowded shop. She quietly enjoyed her drink and let her mind wonder.
"Excuse me, there's no other seats, so may I join you?"
The female quickly turned to face the owner of the deep voice, and - although she knew she shouldn't be- jumped in surprise.
"Hori-senpai! I hoping to see you," she grinned as the short male sat down.
"Is that so?" Masayuki took a sip of his drink. "Here, I have something for you. Merry Christmas." The boy placed a small package on the table and pushed it toward her.
"Oh! I have something for you too," Yuu replied, doing the same. "May I open mine?"
Masayuki nodded, looking a bit nervous.
Yuu slowly removed the the red ribbon and carefully ripped open the gold paper. Inside was the box she and Masayuki had looked at in the shop a few days ago.
"Ah! The little prince!" she exclaimed, holding up the box.
"Look inside," the brown-eyed boy from across from her gestured.
She did as told, and as the soft music started playing, the prince that popped up was no longer dancing alone.
"What a cute little princess," she murmured in awe.
"Do you remember their outfits? I tried editing it so it matches the first play you performed at the school," Masayuki explained, looking a little proud of himself.
"It's wonderful! You're so cool, Senpai!"
"There's a broach here too. I didn't think you had pierced ears and you never seem to be wearing bracelets or rings so I thought a necklace might be good, but you can wear broaches on stage with your costume as long as it isn't too feminine," the older boy pointed out, pointing towards the background of the stage the couple was dancing on.
"It's fantastic," Kashima smiled.
"I'm glad you think so," Hori grinned, taking another sip of his coffee. "Ah, you know, the drinks aren't as good as the one you made me. You think you make me another cup sometime?"
"Of coffee? Did you really like it?"
"Of course. I'll treat you to parfaits if you do."
"It's a deal!"
(A/N) Thank you for reading!
This took a long time to write… I'm pretty sure I found the prompt way back at the beginning of November… But at least I finished it in time for the holidays! ((Also: Yay! Double Update!))
I didn't know whether or not it would be okay to write a story based on Christmas, honestly;;;; Especially since it's celebrated as a "couple holiday" in Japan;;;; But they're not exactly meeting during Christmas so maybe it's okay…
I really really enjoyed writing this. I bet there are some parts where they're a bit OOC, so I'm very sorry for that. However, I loved the prompt, and I'm generally happy with how the ending turned out.
(If you want to know what Kashima got Hori, I'll be honest, I was thinking maybe a scarf but at the same time I doubt she would get him that… She probably got him briefs or something and he probably got angry after, lol)
I hope you enjoyed! Any feedback or criticism is appreciated!