Based off tumblr user zeroluckii's prompt:
"Coffee Shop/Future Fish!AU SouMako headcanon. Sousuke has a daily routine of going to this one coffee shop every morning before he goes on patrol. Makoto works at said coffee shop, and has recently taken on the morning shift. So of course, Sousuke makes a habit of inconspicuously staring at Makoto while he's getting his coffee. And then one day, Sousuke is called out to a scene of a fire and then it's like "that guy has some hella nice back muscles…" The guy turns around and it's Makoto half naked and his ever present angelic smile. Turns out he works as a firefighter in the afternoon. And now Sousuke makes sure that he gets a double dose of Makoto everyday."
*whispers* I regret nothing
It was a downright miserable Thursday morning. The skies were overcast with grey clouds and thunder rumbled from a distance away as Yamazaki Sousuke stepped off the local bus. Turning his face toward the sky and frowning, his eyebrows drawing together, he hoped that it wouldn't rain before he reached the station. Then, pulling his coat tighter against the chilly spring air, he started off in the opposite direction of the bus stop.
It had become a routine for Sousuke to drop by a coffee shop a block away from the police station before he started his morning patrols. It was small, unobtrusive and plainly furnished, and that was exactly why Sousuke liked it. Besides, the coffee wasn't bad, and the baristas were nice. On this particular Thursday, Sousuke stepped into the small shop, setting the bell chiming and shaking raindrops out of his hair – despite what he'd hoped for, it had started drizzling halfway into his journey – and savoured the familiar aroma of roasting coffee in the warm air. Shoving his hands into his coat pockets, he approached the counter, eyes on his shoes to see if he'd gotten them muddy.
"Good morning! What can I get for you?" When Sousuke heard the cheerful greeting, he immediately knew something wasn't right. The voice didn't belong to any of the baristas he knew who worked the morning shift, and he'd been coming here for months. Looking up, he saw that there was a stranger standing at the counter. This new barista was tall and broad-shouldered, filling out his black polo shirt quite nicely. Eyes traveling up, Sousuke had to struggle to swallow past his suddenly dry throat because damn. Strong jaw, kind green eyes literally smiling at him (wow, this was the first time Sousuke had seen a genuine eye smile) from behind black-rimmed square spectacles, floppy olive brown hair, and Sousuke was down for the count. Talk about good looking, this guy was downright stunning.
Clearing his throat, Sousuke replied, "A long black to go, heavy on the sugar." It was fortunate that his order was the same every time – if he'd tried to come up with something new, he was sure that he'd stumble over it. "I'll get that right away," The barista flashed a warm smile (Sousuke had to fight down the flush rising up his neck) and got to work. Sousuke couldn't tear his eyes from this tall young man (damn, he had nice hands) as he prepared his drink, then poured it into a paper cup and slid it into a cardboard jacket. "Here you go," the barista handed the cup and a handful of change over, then gave Sousuke another charming smile. As Sousuke took the cup, his eyes found the barista's nametag – Tachibana – and he nodded his thanks and left the coffee shop and the distracting barista behind, a cheerful "Thank you, please come again!" ringing in his ears. A light rain was still falling. Taking a deep breath of cold, damp air, he took a sip of his coffee. Not bad at all.
This continued for several days. In the mornings, Sousuke would step into the coffee shop and Tachibana would greet him with a smile. It seemed that he had taken up the morning shift with lasting effect. Thereafter, Sousuke would hope to high heavens that Tachibana didn't notice him staring at him as he prepared his coffee – he couldn't help it, Tachibana was hot. Watching those large hands and slender fingers do their work, eyes drifting up to Tachibana's side profile, those infuriatingly attractive glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose – Sousuke sometimes had to quickly tear his eyes away and feign ignorance after Tachibana glanced up all too suddenly. After getting his coffee and leaving, Tachibana's smile still imprinted in his mind, he would pause outside the shop and take a sip of his coffee. Same as always, and still every bit as good. Allowing himself a small smile, Sousuke would set off in the direction of the station.
The next Thursday afternoon, a call came in for a patrol car to be dispatched to the scene of a fire that'd occurred four blocks away. Luckily, the warehouse that'd caught fire was empty at the time and nobody was hurt. As Sousuke and his patrol partner, Rin, stepped out of the patrol car, the fire was already extinguished and the firefighters were packing up their equipment. As Rin began asking a passer-by some questions, Sousuke glanced over at the firefighters – and caught his breath. One of the firefighters had his shirt off and his back to Sousuke, and he'd be damned if those weren't some splendid back muscles. Broad shoulders, well-defined trapezius and deltoid muscles, tensing and relaxing under the skin as the brunette firefighter bent to roll a length of hose. Squinting, Sousuke looked closer. He swore that he'd seen that shade of brown before…
Just then, said firefighter straightened up and turned – and caught Sousuke's gaze in his own green one. Shock and surprise washed over Sousuke because he'd seen this young man just this morning, standing behind the counter of a small, cosy coffee shop and bidding him goodbye with a cheerful "Thank you, please come again!". Before he could help it, he'd blurted out, "Tachibana?"
The barista-turned-firefighter turned a particularly delicious shade of red as his colleagues looked curiously from him to Sousuke, then he dropped the coil of hose and hurried over to Sousuke. "I-I'm sorry, are you busy right now? If we could talk elsewhere…" Numbly, Sousuke nodded and followed Tachibana over to a quiet corner out of sight of the scene. Turning to face Sousuke, Tachibana gave an awkward chuckle and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. My colleagues don't know about my other job, and I'm not sure I want to tell them yet – they'll come crashing through the doors in a rowdy crowd, you know how firefighters are…" Sousuke tore his gaze away from the firefighter's toned abs, glistening with a sheen of sweat, and forced his mind straight. "My bad, I didn't know," he mumbled, his voice gravelly as always, absently noting that Tachibana's glasses were missing and that was a good thing, he looked good – "I shouldn't have called you out like that." Tachibana waved off his apology and gave another strained chuckle, scuffing at the dirt with the toe of his fireproof boot. "It's just that – I recently graduated and moved out, and I'm still paying off the rent and the student loan… Haha, I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this…" Sousuke took a breath and decided to take a leap of faith. He extended his hand, corners of his lips quirking up in a rare smile. "Yamazaki Sousuke." Tachibana stared at his hand for a moment, blinking, then his tense face cleared like the sunshine after rain, and he broke into a wide smile and took Sousuke's hand. "Tachibana… Haha, but you knew that already, didn't you… Tachibana Makoto, pleased to meet you!" With Tachibana's – no, Makoto's – warm, calloused hand in his, Sousuke decided to throw caution to the wind – hell, he might not get another chance like this - and take another risk. Letting go of his hand, Sousuke drew out a pen and the wad of blank parking tickets that all officers carried with them and scribbled down his phone number. "Here. If you ever feel like talking to someone." He tore off the ticket and held it out to Makoto, adverting his eyes and praying silently that he'd take it, oh god he'd be so embarrassed if he didn't – and then he heard Makoto's soft chuckle and the paper being pulled from his hand. "Thank you, Yamazaki-san. I'll be sure to call." Sousuke looked up – was Makoto blushing? – and a wave of relief washed over him. Giving another quirk of a smile and a lazy wave, he started off in the direction in which they'd came.
As he neared the scene of the fire again, Rin spotted him and scowled. "Where'd you disappear to? I finished most of the interviews already…" Sousuke arched his brows and surreptitiously slid his eyes over to where Makoto had just returned to his group of firefighters, pulling on a navy blue shirt and laughing at a joke someone made. Rin followed his gaze and let out a low whistle. "Nice body, sweet face… Good taste, buddy," he cackled and slapped Sousuke on the back. "Gave him my number," Sousuke mumbled under his breath as he took Rin's notepad from him and skimmed through the notes he'd jotted down. "Really? Sweet!" Rin's eyes lit up. Just then, there were the sounds of doors slamming and both officers looked up. The firefighters had gotten into their truck and were pulling onto the main road. In the front seat, Makoto caught Sousuke's gaze, smiled and waved. Sousuke raised a hand in return, and Rin smirked and teased him all the way back to the station.
Daily morning coffee runs thereafter became much more enjoyable, as Makoto relaxed his formal manner and greeted Sousuke by name. From "Good morning, Yamazaki-san!" the day after they'd met, to "Hello, Yamazaki-kun" and finally, after several cups of coffee at a nearby cafe (Sousuke hesitated in calling those after-work outings dates) and lengthy text conversations, and after Sousuke insisted that Makoto call him by his first name, to a shy smile and "Good morning, Sousuke-kun". As he walked to work on the third consecutive drizzly Thursday morning, his thoughts were preoccupied not with the weather but with a certain brown-haired barista-turned-firefighter. Sousuke was half convinced that Makoto was an angel in his past life. Gorgeous body, kind to everybody, loved cats and children, constantly worried over everyone – he almost couldn't believe his luck. Pausing in front of the coffee shop, he looked up. Through the window, he could see Makoto at the counter, head bowed over the sink as he scrubbed at a coffee mug, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was possible to have a future with this amazing, disconcerting man who'd swept suddenly into his life and caught him by total surprise. Then, as if sensing Sousuke watching him, Makoto looked up and broke into a wide smile, the corners of his beautiful green eyes crinkling in a pleasant way, and hurriedly wiped his hands on his apron. Sousuke found himself smiling back, and reaching for the door handle, he didn't let his smile fade. Small steps. He would get there.