Latte Heart

The bell overhead jangles cheerily when Inuoka Sou walks into the coffeeshop. He's never been to this one before, and he looks surreptitiously around to evaluate the décor while making his way up to the order counter. Inuoka was known among his high school friends for being particularly picky about his coffeeshops. The coffee isn't the issue; he'll gladly drink any caffeinated beverage that's placed in front of him. No, what he looks for in a coffeeshop is the atmosphere, the ambiance, and the general vibe you get when you're there. That's what's most important.

This will be his fifth coffeeshop in as many weeks, and he's beginning to lose hope of ever finding one that fits his needs. He'd been excited about going to college for the new experiences, of course, but he was also excited for the college town coffeeshops. But so far all of the shops he's been to have been…lacking to say the best.

The first one was far too loud, with music blasting over the speakers causing everybody in the shop to practically scream at each other. The second he's pretty sure was breaking a few health code rules. At the third not a single employee he ever interacted with seemed like they were happy to be there. And the fourth was trying way too hard to be modern and 'not like other coffeeshops.'

He casts another look around this one, though, and decides it passes the initial vibe check.

It's not huge, but not too quaint either. There's a couple squashy armchairs in a corner next to a low window by the front door. Tables of different sizes to accommodate different groups are populated throughout the space, including a line of stools along a high counter to the side of the bar. No two chairs are the same, which is a quaint little feature that Inuoka appreciates.

There are some students with laptops and notebooks, a couple girls chatting at a table, and an elderly man relaxing with a book in a rocking chair in the corner. Indie music that doesn't take itself too seriously floats through the air at just the right volume from the few speakers positioned around the walls, which have been painted a cozy, muted orange.

Inuoka is hopeful already.

"Welcome to Karasuno Coffee!" calls the silver-haired barista behind the counter. "What can I get for you today?"

Inuoka takes a few quick steps forward and starts fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. "Hi, uh, I'll just get a hot medium raspberry white mocha."

"Whip on that?"

"No thanks."

"Here or to go?"

"Uh, here."

"That'll be 400."

Inuoka hands the cash over and then fishes for some change and tosses it into the tip jar.

"Thank you!" the man says with a bright, genuine smile. "And would you like to start a punch card?"

"Sure," Inuoka says, feeling better and better about this shop by the minute.

The man slips a card out of the drawer, punches a hole out of it, and hands it to him. "We'll have that right out for you. Take a seat anywhere you like."

"Thanks!" Inuoka looks down at the punch card, which has a simplistic design with the shop's information on it, and smiles at the bird-shaped cutout the hole puncher left. It's charming, and he happily slips it into his wallet.

"Hinata!" the man calls suddenly. "Hot mocha for here!"

There's a sudden bang from what Inuoka suspects is the back storage room. "Whip?"

"Nope!"

"Wait! I got it, wait!" someone yells from out of sight. It's followed by several more bangs and a particularly loud thud, and then the cutest boy Inuoka's ever seen—presumably Hinata—is bursting out of the swinging double doors behind the bar.

"One sec!" Hinata says to him, then rushes to the sink and vigorously washes his hands for more than the required amount of time.

Inuoka would normally be taking this time to inspect each of the available chairs and select the one he deemed most appealing for his first sitting experience, but this barista has piqued his curiosity instead.

"What's the order, Suga?" Hinata asks as he bounds over to the espresso machine and begins prepping the shots.

"Hot medium raspberry white mocha no whip," Suga replies, leaning against the counter. "You got it?"

"I got it!" Hinata replies.

"New," Suga mouths at Inuoka.

Inuoka nods in understanding, then watches Hinata continue to make the drink. The barista grabs a metal tin for the milk, and then the coffeeshop is filled with the loud growl of the steamer. Inuoka is pleasantly surprised when Hinata then produces a branded mug and saucer from behind the counter, which explains why the other barista had asked him here or to go.

"Hey, hey!" Hinata says as he pumps the raspberry and white chocolate syrups into the mug. "What's your favorite animal?"

Inuoka startles, not fully realizing at first that the barista was talking to him and not his coworker. "Oh, um, dogs, I guess."

"Good choice!" Hinata replies with a grin, and Inuoka feels warm down to his toes for some reason.

The barista pulls the espresso shots and adds them to the mug, then sets the mug and saucer down on the counter, and Inuoka draws near. Humming to himself, Hinata begins pouring the milk, but he's pouring it with a certain kind of concentration, wiggling the tin and moving it in strange circles. Then he pulls a toothpick from behind the counter and pokes at the foam before gently turning the mug around to face Inuoka.

"Voila!" Hinata says with a flourish, setting the milk tin back down next to the espresso machine.

Inuoka peers over at his coffee and, to his surprise and joy, there is a little white dog smiling up at him. "That's incredible!"

"Ah, it's not that great," Hinata says sheepishly.

"No, seriously, where'd you learn to do that?" Inuoka asks, sliding on to the bar stool next to him and moving the mug so he's not blocking the pickup side of the counter. The hard wooden stool is far from the prime seat in the shop, but he's willing to suffer to talk to this barista more.

"Online," Hinata says. "I've always thought it was cool, and I told myself once I came to college that I'd work in a coffeeshop and learn how to do it for real!"

"Well, goal accomplished!" Inuoka tells him, looking down at the little dog again. The design's already started to melt away into the espresso, but the round brown eyes are still cute.

"Nah, I need to practice a lot more," Hinata replies, rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

Speaking of round brown eyes, a voice says in the back of his head. Inuoka feels a blush immediately spring across his cheeks as it strikes him just how truly adorable the barista standing before him is. His hair is bright orange and impossibly fluffy and probably really, really soft. He's short but pretty built, like he works out or plays a sport, and his smile is perhaps brighter than the sun itself.

"Are you enrolled at the university?" Hinata asks, startling him out of his completely inappropriate ogling. Luckily Hinata had moved away to clean the counter and the dishes he'd used to make Inuoka's drink and doesn't appear to have noticed the staring.

"Yeah, I'm in the education program," Inuoka replies. "What about you?"

"Exercise science!" Hinata answers.

"Hinata, when you're done with that I need to you continue with the stock order," Suga says, coming out of the backroom.

"You got it!" Hinata says enthusiastically, then turns his megawatt smile on Inuoka again. "Hey what's your name?"

"I-Inuoka Sou."

"Ah! Inu!" Hinata exclaims, pointing at the coffee where the dog design has now almost completely disappeared.

"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Inuoka says with a laugh. "I didn't even realize."

"I'm Hinata Shouyou!" the barista tells him. "I've got the sun in my name twice."

"I believe it," Inuoka mumbles, and then jolts when he realizes he said that out loud.

But Hinata just smiles at him again, and Inuoka feels himself smile back when the supervisor calls for Hinata again.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I gotta go," Hinata says, swiping over the counter with a towel one last time. "Will you come back again?"

"Y-yes!" Inuoka says eagerly, and it's not just because he gives each new coffeeshop at least a week's time before he makes his judgment. "Definitely!"

"See you then," Hinata tells him sweetly, then waves and disappears back into the stockroom.

Inuoka sags on his barstool, heart hammering in his ribcage. He stares down at his coffee, which he still hasn't had even a sip of, and wonders how he'd come here looking to test out a coffeeshop and wound up with a crush on a barista.

"He's good, huh?"

"Wha?" Inuoka looks up and sees Suga grinning at him. "Oh, um, yeah. How long's he—"

"A month," Suga replies with a shake of his head. "Walked right in here with no experience and told me he wouldn't leave without a job. I didn't even have an opening, but I couldn't say no to him. He's got these, like, puppy dog eyes."

Inuoka glances at the doors to the storage room where Hinata is and sighs fondly. "Yeah."

"But at least it's working out. Kid's a natural. He's even got a little fanclub too."

"Maybe I should join," Inuoka murmurs, then bites his lip. He doesn't know what his problem is with accidentally saying stupid things out loud today.

Suga just laughs before moving away to assist a new customer who'd just walked in. Inuoka finally lifts the mug of coffee to his lips and takes a nice long sip. The sweet tang of the raspberry mixed with the biting espresso and smooth white chocolate create the perfect combination along his tastebuds.

Well, that settles it. This is absolutely his new favorite coffeeshop.

/ / /

Inuoka does come back the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that until he's been there every day that week—sometimes more than once—and by the time Monday rolls around again he has Hinata's work schedule memorized.

He'd hoped that by getting to know the barista that he'd get over the random little crush he'd developed on that first day, but instead the opposite is happening. The more he learns, the more he likes, and with every passing week he becomes more and more entrenched.

He learns factual things like how Hinata has a little sister, or that he's studying exercise science because he wants to become a recreational therapist, or how his favorite drink is a horrifying thing he calls the Hinata Special—a large five shot extra sweet caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream, sprinkles, and caramel and chocolate drizzle, with the milk being one-third oat milk 'for the texture.' Hinata shyly admits his coworkers only let him have one per week. There's a calendar in the back.

He also learns that Hinata plays volleyball on a recreational team and that he played in high school too—a middle blocker just like Inuoka.

"No way!" Inuoka blurts when he says this. "With your height?"

Hinata grins like he's heard it all before, which he probably has. "I may be short, but I can jump."

Inuoka believes it. He may not have technically seen Hinata's legs, but he's seen the way the black slacks hug his ass and thighs whenever he bends down to get something out of a low cupboard, and he can tell there's a lot of muscle there.

He learns more things too, like that Hinata isn't a morning or night person—he's an all-times-of-day person. Or that he loves scary movies, but none of his friends will watch them with him because he screams the whole time. That particular fact lends itself to Inuoka's most recent daydream about Hinata, where he envisions them watching scary movies together and holding Hinata's hand or allowing Hinata to tuck himself against Inuoka's side for comfort.

"Please stop staring longingly at your coffee."

Inuoka looks up. "Huh?"

"It's weird," says his friend Kozume Kenma. Well, friend might be a stretch from Kenma's perspective, but Inuoka likes to believe they're friends. They met at the beginning of the year in a core curriculum history class, where they'd been paired together for a group project, and they've been study partners ever since even though Kenma's a year older and they're not in similar classes at all this semester.

"It is not!" Inuoka says, then holds up the to-go coffee cup and points at the cardboard cup sleeve. "I'm admiring his hard work!"

Whenever Inuoka gets his coffee to-go, Hinata has taken to doodling something on the sleeve since there's no point in latte art due to the cup lid. Today's illustration is a surprisingly detailed field of flowers that wraps around the entire cup sleeve. Inuoka wonders how long Hinata had spent on it in anticipation of Inuoka's arrival.

"Just ask him out already," Kenma tells him.

"Wha—but—no, I—he's always working, that's totally…totally inappropriate!" Inuoka protests.

"He'll say yes."

"You don't know that!"

Kenma snorts, and Inuoka ignores him in favor of turning the cup in his hand, looking at the cartoony flowers and blades of grass and bees and hills in the background.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it. He's been going to the coffeeshop four days a week—Hinata's usual working schedule—and sometimes more than once a day for well over three months now. They talk a lot when he's there, bonding over schoolwork, annoying professors, and television shows they both watch. Even when there's a rush and Hinata's busy, they're always looking over and smiling at each other until Hinata can come over and chat again.

"At least think about it," Kenma suggests as he flips a page in his textbook with severe disinterest. "I don't know how much longer I can put up with your pining. And your wallet's gonna give out at any minute."

Inuoka has to admit that if he and Hinata were dating that they'd probably see each other more outside of the shop, resulting in far less frivolous spending on his part. His mother has begun sending him concerned texts about the credit card bills.

And besides, part of him is pretty certain Hinata likes him back. Or, at least, he hopes. Hinata's always smiling around him and complimenting him and exclaiming over the things he says. If it were anyone else, Inuoka would be almost certain about it, but Hinata's a really bubbly person in general, and part of him worries that he's just mistaking Hinata's enthusiastic nature for actual interest.

"Maybe," Inuoka says at last, smiling down at the two bees buzzing in a circle around each other on the coffee cup.

/ / /

By the same time next week, Inuoka's made up his mind. He's going to do it. He's going to ask Hinata out.

Well, kind of.

He has a note in his wallet addressed to Hinata with his number on it that he's planning on giving Hinata along with his money, because the idea of verbally asking Hinata out in front of his coworkers while he's in the middle of a shift really is mortifying and not ideal. He wouldn't want Hinata to feel pressured to say yes just because other people are watching.

So he decided on the note. This way Hinata can either respond right then or pocket the note and read it later and text Inuoka his response. The idea is still making his hands shake and his heart palpitate, but he's got to go through with it. It's a solid plan.

Or at least, it was.

"What do you want?" asks the bored blond behind the counter, who Inuoka's never seen before.

"U-um, is…is Hinata here?" he asks.

"Out sick," the blond replies, then repeats, "What do you want?"

Inuoka robotically gives his usual order as his mind stalls out in disappointment. Nervous adrenaline with no output now courses through his body.

"That'll be 400," the blond barista tells him in a deadpan.

He fishes around in his wallet for the money and hands it over on autopilot, his thoughts stuck on what he should do now. The blond takes it, opens the drawer, then pauses partway through counting the money. Inuoka feels the barista's gaze on him, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Oh, here," Inuoka says, holding the punch card out.

The blond raises an eyebrow, glances back down at the cash drawer, then narrows his gaze and takes the punch card. He punches another bird-shaped hole into the card before handing it back and closing the cash register. "That'll be out in a moment."

"Sure," Inuoka replies, and he hates how deflated he sounds.

He turns to look around the coffeeshop to evaluate where to sit and feels at a loss. He's never sat anywhere except that first barstool, which is completely unlike him. Normally he tests and evaluates every seat in a coffeeshop to determine the best spot, but his checklist for that has shortened to only contain one criterion: the spot closest to Hinata. But sitting there without Hinata here feels wrong, and now he just feels stupid for coming here with the intent to confess to Hinata in the first place.

He's still standing there when the blond barista slides his mug of coffee over. When he glances down, there isn't even an attempt at a design in the foam, and he can't restrain his small sigh of disappointment.

"Listen, I can't do the stupid hearts, okay? You'll just have to wait till he's back," the blond snaps.

"W-what?" he stammers, startled.

"Everyone's obsessed with the stupid latte hearts he does, which, like, aren't even that impressive," the blond rants, and Inuoka chooses not to point out that the barista just said he couldn't do the 'not impressive' hearts. "But the coffee tastes the same, so…there."

The walk-in refrigerator door in the back opens, and a dark-haired head sticks out. Inuoka recognizes him as the lead manager. "Tsukishima," the man says with a frown. "Take a fifteen."

The disgruntled barista—Tsukishima—rolls his eyes and slips his apron off over his head before setting it on a hook behind a wall and departing the coffeeshop altogether.

"Sorry about him," the man says as he closes the fridge door behind him. "We're working on keeping a positive attitude. Would you like a free cookie?"

"Sure," Inuoka says, and the man slips a disposable glove on before grabbing a small plate and placing a sizeable chocolate chip cookie on it and sliding it to him. "Um…about the hearts?"

"Hinata's specialty," the man replies. "But I'm sure you know that already."

"No, I…he doesn't—he doesn't do hearts for me," Inuoka mumbles, feeling embarrassed and left out for some reason.

"Oh, well, I mean, he doesn't do them for everyone," the man says. "There's a bunch of girls who come in a lot, and he does hearts for them. And in kids' hot chocolates, or someone who's having a bad day, or even a good day, or…huh. I guess he does do it a lot."

Inuoka's gotten a lot of coffees from Hinata, and Hinata's done a lot of latte art for him, but it's never been a heart. He's gotten dogs and cats and swirly swans and suns and clouds and twisty flowers and leaves but Hinata has not once ever given him a heart.

"Uh, let me know if you need anything else," the man says after Inuoka doesn't reply.

Inuoka just nods and takes a glum sip of his coffee, then frowns. Tsukishima was wrong. It doesn't taste the same.

/ / /

Inuoka spends the next days sulking and being, as Kenma called him, "absolutely insufferable." Out of curiosity, after remembering what Suga had said on that first day in the coffeeshop, he'd googled Hinata and found a small Facebook group where people share pictures of the latte art Hinata has done for him. There are pictures of flowers and animals and other designs, of course, but the amount of hearts vastly outnumber the rest.

There are even a fair amount of pictures of Hinata himself. Some selfies, a few where they asked him to pose with the coffees, and a couple that were sneakily taken from across the shop. Hinata is radiant in every single one, and people in the comments gush about how cute and nice and funny he is, and Inuoka feels sick to his stomach.

He's almost glad, now, that he wasn't able to ask Hinata out. To Hinata, he'd probably just be yet another admirer that he'd have to fend off or let down gently.

When Sunday morning rolls around, two days after his Karasuno-Coffee-induced heartbreak, Inuoka is in a terrible mood. It's around the time he would normally go to the coffeeshop, just after the Sunday church rush, but he's told himself he's not going to go. He needs a clean break from this, a total body cleanse of the coffee and Hinata. It'll give him more time to focus on the important things like homework and making other friends.

Unfortunately, he can't seem to focus on anything other than the drag of the minutes as Hinata's shift ticks by. He stares at the clock, wondering if Hinata's even back at work after being sick. And if he is, has he even noticed Inuoka hasn't come in yet? Maybe he's too busy making latte hearts for the customers he actually likes.

Because that's all he was, really. Just a customer. A customer that got along with him and listened to his overexcited tangents until they lost the actual thread of conversation and would've been willing to buy a house together and fill it with fifty dogs and maybe a kid or two, but still just a customer.

His phone buzzes, and he heaves a sigh, prepared to tell his annoying classmate that no, he won't let her copy his homework before lecture tomorrow when he sees it's from an unknown number.

UNKNOWN: r u not coming in today? ? ? ? ? ?

He's about to text back telling them they've got the wrong number when more texts buzz in.

UNKNOWN: this is hinata btw! !
UNKNOWN: hinata shouyou!
UNKNOWN: from karasuno coffee! ! ! ! !
UNKNOWN: :D

Inuoka freezes. Hinata is texting him. Hinata is texting him, which means Hinata somehow got his number, but he doesn't know how that's possible. He was going to give Hinata his number on Thursday, but then Hinata was gone, and—

He rolls toward the edge of his bed and clumsily falls to the floor in his haste, then scrambles on to his knees to reach for his wallet where it rests on his desk.

Oh god, oh god, oh please, he pleads with any god that's listening as he rifles through his wallet searching for the note he'd planned on giving to Hinata. The note that had his number on it and confessed his feelings. The note that said, Hinata, I really really like you. Would you maybe wanna go out sometime? No pressure. -Inuoka Sou (ras white mocha guy)

It isn't there.

Inuoka drops his wallet and collapses on to the floor of his room, groaning loudly and pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. Where did it go? How did Hinata get it? Did he somehow drop it when he was in the shop, or did he—

He suddenly remembers Tsukishima's arched eyebrow when Inuoka handed him the money. He must've accidentally grabbed the note with the cash and handed it to Tsukishima, who…gave it to Hinata? It seems unlikely considering the mini-rant Tsukishima had gone on about Hinata, but there's no other explanation.

I can never step foot there again, he thinks to himself, but then again…Hinata texted him, and it seems like Hinata wants him to go to the coffeeshop. But what if Hinata just wants to reject him face to face? It's probably safer if Inuoka just never goes to another coffeeshop ever again for the rest of his life.

But as he stares at his phone screen, at the little burst of text messages and the exclamation points and the numbers that connect him to Hinata, his mind makes itself up without his permission.

Hoping and praying that this hasn't all been a giant mistake, Inuoka heaves himself to his feet and gets ready to walk to his favorite coffeeshop.

/ / /

He almost turned back fourteen different times on the walk there, but he's finally here. The familiar wrought-iron sign depicting a crow is just ahead, and Inuoka takes yet another steeling breath. There's nothing to do now but just face it. He has to know, or he'll never be able to move on.

The bell overhead jangles the same as ever as he sheepishly walks into the shop.

Hinata is there, of course, but he's not bustling around as usual. The shop is surprisingly empty for four o'clock on a Sunday, but even so Hinata usually has cleaning or organizing to keep busy with. Instead he's bent over the counter, chin held up by both hands, staring down at his phone in a way Inuoka can only describe as despondent. He's never seen Hinata operate at anything less than 110%. The barista hasn't even looked up to greet him yet, which is also unusual. Hinata prides himself on his customer service.

"Um, hi," Inuoka says after an awkward moment.

Hinata jerks his head up and swings his gaze over to the door. Once he processes Inuoka's presence, his face instantly lights up, and Inuoka's heart stutters in his chest.

"Inuoka! Hi! I wasn't sure—you—one sec!" Hinata all but screams before bounding over to the sink to wash his hands.

Inuoka makes his way over to his usual stool and watches as Hinata busies himself with making Inuoka's usual drink. He's humming to himself as he moves, but it's a tune of his own making that clashes with the music from the shop's speakers. Inuoka finds it incredibly endearing.

Instead of sliding the mug on to the counter and pouring the milk in front of Inuoka like usual, though, Hinata keeps it on the back counter out of sight. Now his humming has turned to muttering, but Inuoka can't make out any of the words.

"Okay…and…there," Hinata says, turning around and holding the mug with both hands. He and Inuoka look at each other, and Hinata freezes. His face is turning red, and the mug rattles slightly against the saucer. Is he…nervous?

"Hinata?" Inuoka asks.

"Yes! Here!" Hinata says, then sets the mug down and turns it so the design faces Inuoka. The design on top reads, I 3 U.

Inuoka blinks, then blinks again, then blinks up at Hinata and then back down at the coffee and back up at Hinata, who's nervously shifting his weight back and forth.

"Um, Daichi told me about what happened on Thursday with Tsukki and the hearts thing," Hinata says quickly, and Inuoka figures that Daichi must be the dark-haired manager he'd spoken to. "I didn't…the hearts are just a thing that some girls started asking for, and then it spread I guess, but I didn't—you weren't—the reason I didn't make any for you is cause I always wanted your designs to be special."

"Special?" Inuoka repeats, and his voice comes out strangled with hope.

Hinata nods, fiddling with his thumbs and smiling eagerly. "I, um, I got your note."

Inuoka flushes. "Ah, yeah. That's—I didn't mean—it was an accident—"

"I figured," Hinata interrupts, "but, uh, it made me really happy! Cause I…I really like you too. And I'd love to go out sometime. With you. On a date."

"Really?" Inuoka asks, and it's a miracle that he managed to get the word out because his heart has decided to crawl out of his chest and lodge itself in this throat.

"I mean…" Hinata glances down at the coffee, where the design is melting a bit, but the feelings are still visible. "Yeah."

"Yes!" Inuoka exclaims, far louder than necessary. "Yes, oh my god, yes! Shit, sorry, that was loud, I'm just excited."

"That's okay!" Hinata says, equally as loud. "I'm excited too."

They grin at each other until Inuoka's face begins to hurt, and he begins laughing. "Shit, I can't believe I confessed to you in note and accidentally gave it to your coworker. That's so lame."

Hinata shakes his head, and the orange curls bounce with the movement. Inuoka wants to stroke his fingers through them. "No, I thought it was really cute!"

"Well, good, cause I promise I'm only going to get lamer from here on out," Inuoka tells him.

"I'm looking forward to it," Hinata replies, then reaches for Inuoka's hand where it's resting on the countertop and laces their fingers together. Inuoka feels like he might pass out.

"Hinata, if you're going to flirt with the customers, please do so on your break," says Daichi as he walks out from the back storage room with a broom.

"I'm not flirting with a customer, I'm flirting with my boyfriend!" Hinata retorts.

Inuoka's heart is in overdrive now, and he grips the edge of the counter with his free hand so he doesn't fall over and pass out from sheer joy.

"Take a fifteen, Hinata."

"Sir yes sir!" Hinata says and, to Inuoka's great disappointment, pulls his hand away. He slips the apron off and hangs it up, then makes his way out from behind the bar and grabs both of Inuoka's hands in his. "Wanna come outside with me?"

"I'll go anywhere with you," Inuoka says immediately, then grimaces and shakes his head.

"Lame," Hinata teases, but he seems pleased about it.

Inuoka has a fleeting realization as they go out to sit at one of the metal tables outside that he hadn't even touched the very romantic mocha that Hinata made for him. But when Hinata loops his arms around Inuoka's neck and brings him down for the sweetest kiss he's ever had, he finds he doesn't care at all.

Let the Hinata Shouyou fanclub have their latte hearts. Inuoka has the real thing.

Inuoka, my precious bean, I love you so much. He's my favorite Nekoma character and I will never forgive Lev for stealing my boy's starting spot

Thanks for reading!

~Ki

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Insta/TikTok: kicondraws