Aoyagi excelled at his work behind the counter at the cafe. Teshima was so proud of him. He'd practised with the coffee marker in the small, quiet moments during the day and after his delivery shifts finished. Under Yumi's guidance he'd began working in the cafe barely a week after his first attempts.
In the beginning Teshima had been worried for his boyfriend. Aoyagi never did well with large crowds and the rush and clutter of the busy cafe was enough to overwhelm a confident person let alone his wilting flower of a lover. He'd been wrong of course. Aoyagi thrived under the pressure, just like in a race, the small boy ploughed ahead to ensure his success and victory of their team. His coffee making skills were perfected by the end of his first week and it only took him a couple of hours after his first full shift to discover coffee art.
Aoyagi loved his art and he was good at it. On quiet days when they could just sit around and enjoy each others company, Teshima loved watching him draw. There wasn't anything particularly sexy or graceful about it. But he could never look away, the confidence of his pencil strokes, the sure and soft swipes of his hand as he shaded and smudged his drawings into perfect shadows and proportions, it was all so enchanting. It was almost as enjoyable as looking at the finished product and Teshima often felt even more blessed as very few people had ever seen his boyfriend work his magic.
The coffee art and his designs had started off small, leafs and swirls, flowers and bubbles. Things of such simple beauty that made Teshima often feel guilty for drinking them. But eventually his guilt dissipated as he noticed the day by day improvement Aoyagi was making. Customers loved the designs, some asking specifically for the pretty patterns and staying the extra time just to receive them. Best of all due to their growing popularity, Aoyagi was receiving an increasing number of tips with each order.
Teshima was so proud. Awkwardly and adorably proud. He was so thrilled to inform his parents, their biking buddies and anyone else who would listen about his boyfriend's achievements. And it was all worth it just to see the bright blush on Aoyagi's cheeks and the secret smile on his face.
Coming in from his second delivery of the day, Teshima leant over the courter to watch the blonde at work. Focused and sure, his hands danced across the knobs and dials of the machine with precision and accuracy. Little jugs and cups were lined up neatly on his left and were slowly filled with the rich hard coffee, cut with frothy, silky milk in the form of a bunny and a flower.
"You're getting so good at that and yet you still won't drink the stuff." Shaking his head as he passed the drinks across the pass to the waitress, the blonde turned his full attention to his loitering boyfriend.
"It hurts my tummy." Leaning his elbows on the courter, chin on his hand Teshima nodded in agreement.
"Yeah I know, maybe if you drunk little bits at a time you might get a tolerance to it." Struggling as he cleaned down the stainless steal of the jets and mixers, Aoyagi didn't appear phased. Grinning impishly as he watched him work, Teshima cleared his throat before catching his boyfriend's attention. "Hi, can I please have a weak latte, extra milk and three sugars." Cocking his head to the side confused, Aoyagi set about his task, watching the dark haired boy with wary eyes.
"Just passed by your fine little cafe here and thought I'd pop in, pick up a coffee and take in the scenery." Grinning roguishly, Teshima felt the tips of his ears burn as the words poured from his lips. Heaven forbid he'd ever actually manage to pick Aoyagi up with such a line, but playing around a little was fun, especially when the blonde took the bait and teased him back.
Smiling shyly as he pushed his hair behind his ear and focused on the heat of the milk, Aoyagi jumped as Teshima tapped his wrist from across the courter.
"I'll have that to go cutie. Things to do, places to be." Cheeks red, the small boy licked his lips before nodding. Fishing out a large paper travel cup from the stack under the counter, he imitated what he'd seen the waitresses at the front end do a hundred times over.
"Name please?" Thrilled that he was playing along, Teshima's grin widened.
"Junta, and what about yours sweet thing?" Barely managing to contain his smile, Aoyagi penned his name down, before adding a cheeky touch and finishing his order. Passing the cup over, the lid snapped on top, the blonde busied himself elsewhere and left Teshima to his amusing discovery.
Reading over his name with a smile, the tall boy loved the flourish Aoyagi always put on the final character of his name. Taking a closer look along the bottom of the cup he couldn't help but giggle at the string of number circulating around the base.
"So should I call you now or later." Popping up just out of his reach, Aoyagi shrugged. "I'm sorry to say I don't think I have any thing more then good will to return for the gift of your number." Pausing to take a sip, Teshima tried not to wince at the heat of the drink. But coffee itself was to die for. He'd discovered he wasn't a fan of heavy, dark coffee, opting instead of softer, milky lattes with plenty of sugar to balance the bitter tang that the beverage usually left on his tongue.
Sliding a hand across the counter top, he managed to snag the front of Aoyagi's apron, pulling him closer.
"As for the coffee, its perfect. You have a real talent. But I can't really afford to tip you." Blushing at their very public play, Aoyagi could only shrug again, struggling to meet Teshima's inky brown eyes when the gleam of something sensual and mischievous lurked within them. "Unless you count this as a tip." Leaning up on tippy toes to reach over the space between them, Teshima managed to catch Aoyagi's startled lips in a small kiss before pulling back quickly to ensure they weren't caught. Blushing impossibly brighter, the blonde looked around for something to occupy his hands, rather then just standing there, looking stupid while Teshima grinned like an idiot.
"Hey lovebirds, I saw that, now get back to work. I have three more rounds for you and orders are up. Get on with it." Teshima almost snorted coffee through his nose as Tadokoro peered around the kitchen walk way to yell at them. Aoyagi looked fit to faint, but instead keyed up the orders on the ipad and pushed ahead with his job.
"I'll be back later, don't let him bully you too much." Huffing but cracking a small smile, Aoyagi nodded slowly.
"Have fun." Resisting the urge to leap over the counter and steal a second kiss, Teshima downed his drink with lightening speed, then picked up the boxes for delivery and slipped out the door with a wide smile on his face.
Watching Teshima leave and stack up his bike made Aoyagi happy. They had both found such a comfortable pace within the cafe that everything else was just flowing along in their life. It was a kind of domestic, pedestrian lifestyle of routine and security he could get used to. His hands worked automatically as he licked his lips and almost purred at the taste Teshima had left there. He wouldn't drink the the fruits of his practice and labour, but he was happy to taste them from his dark haired lover's lips. It made him all the more hungry for the affection, even with him absent now, it made him crave such things in a public sphere.
Glancing over his shoulder and into the kitchen walk way, the blonde was silent relieved Tadokoro was now aware of their relationship. Maybe they wouldn't have to tip toe around it any longer and could happily sit and hold hands like all the other couples he saw coming in and out of the cafe throughout the day. Lost happily in his thought as he worked though his backlog of orders, nothing to could pull the smile from his face, nothing at all.