"Excuse me, can I order a large bowl of steaming hot fish cake noodle soup?" A sweet looking man with a bright yellow beanie came forward. Was that a small bow on the side of his hat? How cute! Wait a minute… Did he just ask for soup? Yamaguchi may have just started working here, but he's pretty sure they don't have soup here.

"Um… soup?" Yamaguchi asked for confirmation.

"Y-yes?"

The man started to get flustered. Yamaguchi understood the panic in this man's voice. He would hate to order something just to find out they didn't serve it. Ack, he felt the pain.

Akaashi marched forward irritatedly to the register. "For the last time, quit asking us if we serve soup here- Oh you're not the guy I thought." Akaashi looked apologetic at his unprofessional words.

"S-sorry..." he said, looking stunned.

Bokuto heard the chaos and came sliding on over. He put an elbow on Akaashi's shoulder. "Akaashi here thought you were Oikawa. You know, the guy that runs that ramen bar."

Akaashi brushed off Bokuto's arm. "He always bugs us and tells us we are so much like a café and that we should serve soup. So one day I said that we would actually do it and ruin his competition." Akaashi said.

Isn't this place basically a café? Yamaguchi thought. Then he thought about it some more and realized that he really didn't know what this place was. Some sort of weird bakery café and soon to be bookstore thing. He wonders if they might sell paninis one day.

"And we did!" Bokuto continued. "We just started serving soup of the day last week. It changes every day! Well, it's more like, chicken noodle three days in a row, and then a random day of tomato, and then 4 more days of chicken noodle. And it just repeats like that each week!"

"That's 8 days, Bokuto. A week only has 7 days." Akaashi said sarcastically.

Bokuto's face morphed into astonishment. "I know that!" he said offendedly and glanced over at Akaashi to see if he was actually being serious. Akaashi shook his head, hiding a small playful smile and patted Bokuto on the back, ushering him to return his focus onto the customer.

Bokuto turned back to man. "So, can I interest you in a cup of our… what's the soup for today…" he squinted at a pamphlet on the wall, a guide listing the different soups provided for each day. "Steaming hot fish cake noodle soup? That's not tomato or chicken noodle! Akaashi, when did we start serving this? Anyways, how about it?"

"Oh, um. I'll take a cup of the fish cake noodle soup then." He looked like he didn't know what to say. At least he doesn't look embarrassed anymore. Nice one, Bokuto.

"Can I get a name for that order?"

"Himekawa." the man answered.

"Thanks!" Bokuto blipped the order in and Himekawa paid before sitting down in a nice corner to wait for his order.

"Oh, Yamaguchi. I got your new uniform for you." Sugawara handed him the clothing wrapped in plastic. "We're changing our uniforms to develop a sort of brand for the bakery. Good for business."

Yamaguchi pulled the uniform out of the bag. Even though Sugawara said uniform, it was really a stylish apron. It was very stylish, actually. The cloth was made with a thick and sturdy grey material that made Yamaguchi think of denim. It matched the mood of the bakery very well.

"It looks so cool!" Yamaguchi admired, examining the garment. There were large pockets in the front and other features that added functionality to it.

"Right? These were designed by my friend Asahi."

"Your friend designed these? They look good enough to wear casually." Yamaguchi pointed out, totally imagining that this could be some sort of streetwear garment.

"Yup, he's studying fashion design in the city. Though he doesn't give himself enough credit for his work." Sugawara said disapprovingly.

"I'm interested in fashion too! Though it's more of a hobby for me."

"Hmm, maybe I can give you his contact info so you can talk to him." Sugawara suggested. "I think it would be good for him to have someone to mentor. Make him realize he's more knowledgeable than he thinks, you know?"

Yamaguchi nodded. "That would be great! Thank you!"

Sugawara pulled up Asahi's contact info on his phone so Yamaguchi could copy it down. From the little icon, Asahi looked a little intimidating. But he looked like a skilled and cool artisan.

After getting the number down, Yamaguchi put on his apron and headed out to observe Kageyama and learn how to make the drinks.

Kageyama held up a metal tool. "This is a portafilter. The coffee grounds go here." He held the portafilter, which reminded Yamaguchi of a fancy ice cream scoop, towards a coffee grinder, and it dispensed the right amount of coffee. "Make sure the coffee grounds are flat, and then we're going to tamp it."

Kageyama grabbed the tamper. It looks kinda like a wax seal stamp to Yamaguchi. "Make sure to put your whole body weight into it and press."

The occasional loud knock of the wood from the construction next door startled Kageyama and he flinched. He scrunched up his face.

"What's wrong?" Yamaguchi asked, also recovering from the loud noise.

"This isn't supposed to happen." Kageyama said as he tried to lift the tamper.

Yamaguchi looked at the ice cream scoop carefully and saw that the filter inside it was gone. Kageyama had taken it with the tamper. Now the ice cream scoop became a magnifying glass. Without the glass.

"Oh..." he said in realization.

"You're supposed to tamp it with just the right pressure." Kageyama said as he tried to disconnect the tamper from the filter. "If it's too hard then the water can't flow through... ah." he said as he got the filter off.

"Are you still going to use that one?" Yamaguchi asked, pointing to the now freed coffee.

"You can still make coffee with it, but I don't like to serve anything unless I make it precisely. This might go into a coffee cake. Maybe chocolate cake."

"Chocolate cake?"

"Yes. You can use espresso in chocolate cake to strengthen the flavor and make it more complex. You don't taste the espresso."

Yamaguchi didn't know this. This sounds like something he definitely has to try sometime. Then, he thought of baking. "Is there anything that would make strawberry cake better?"

"You'll have to ask one of the bakers about that. I don't know much about baking cakes."

Yamaguchi nodded and made note of that. Then he continued observing Kageyama as he made another batch. He locked the portafilter into the machine and set a small metal cup on the tray underneath. Soon, he had a small cup full of espresso.

He poured the espresso in a cup and went to prepare the milk. He held up a metal cup of milk to the steamer to make it foamy. The shrill shrieking of the steamer made Yamaguchi jump.

"There's a lot of cups being used." Yamaguchi commented, hands covering his ears, watching as Kageyama tilted the cup and swirled the milk in.

"You can use this steam rinser to wash the cups." he said, demonstrating by flipping the metal cups over onto the rinser. A jet of pressurized water streamed upwards and rinsed the inside of the cup in only a few seconds.

"I'd feel a little hesitant using it on a glass cup." Yamaguchi said nervously. But after Kageyama used a glass cup so he could see what was going on inside, that concern went away. The water pressure wasn't as explosive as Yamaguchi thought.

Kageyama moved the finished latte to the side, where another worker would piece the rest of the order together before serving. He then grabbed a small scale and set an empty cup on top of it. Yamaguchi was impressed how much easier technology makes the whole process. It made him feel less worried about not being able to do this job.

Kageyama showed him how to do various other popular drinks and Yamaguchi learned quickly, being able to help out a bit with the small tasks he's picked up.

Yamaguchi wandered by the kitchen. His break was almost over, and there were some things he needed to learn that were done in the kitchen.

"Hey Kenma, can you teach me how to make the fruit syrups for the drinks sometime?"

Kenma turned his head towards Yamaguchi. "Sure. I can show you tomorrow. We usually make them in the mornings."

"Thanks." Yamaguchi looked at the stray strands of hair falling out of Kenma's bun. "I have some hair clips and stuff if you want to use them." he offered.

"Oh. Sure." Kenma said, though he didn't sound too sure.

Yamaguchi went to his break room and took out a pencil pouch out from his bag. Kenma followed behind him.

He hesitated a bit before unzipping the pouch, pouring the contents on the table. "Sorry if they're a little… girly?"

Kenma shook his head, leaning down to examine the little clips. "I don't really worry about that kinda stuff. I just don't really like anything too flashy.

"But these are nice." he said, holding up a simple clip creatively made from some fabric scraps. He was also eyeing some tiny ladybug clips.

They heard the door open and Bokuto stepped in from outside, hauling a crate of milk. "Ooh! Whatcha got there Yamaguchi?"

"I'm just showing Kenma some hair accessories I have."

"You always wear your hair the same way each day. You should change it up a little." Bokuto commented to Kenma.

"I don't pay attention to my hair, it's kinda just there."

"Hahaha these are so funny!" Bokuto said delightedly as he picked up some teddy bear clips. "Can you put these in for me?" he asked Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi nodded and took the clips. "I heard that contrasting elements makes things look more visually interesting." He put a bear on the side of Bokuto's head. "Like wearing a smooth knit sweater if you have curly hair and chunky sweater with straighter hair."

Bokuto and Kenma looked at him, intrigued.

"Uh what I mean was, this is a good choice, Bokuto. It matches you well." Yamaguchi said, a little embarrassed. He took out the small mirror that came with his pencil pouch for some reason, and held it up for Bokuto. Yamaguchi was starting to wonder if he may have accidentally bought a makeup bag instead of a pencil pouch.

Bokuto looked in the mirror and grinned. "Wow, you're right Yamaguchi! I love it! Can I wear them for the day?"

"Sure! You can borrow them anytime!" Yamaguchi looked around and saw that Kenma had already chosen his clips, so he started gathering the remaining clips to put back in the bag. One of them fell off the table and clinked against the milk bottles.

"Oops, can't forget to put the milk in the fridge." Bokuto said, picking up the fallen clip and putting it on the table before lugging the crate of milk away.

Bokuto is a hard worker, Yamaguchi thought. He does his job and does what he needs to do and also has fun. I hope to I have that sort of strength. Yamaguchi admired this a lot.

He looked at time and saw that his break was over, and he got back to work.

Hinata was practically vibrating in excitement. He was finally going to get the chance to interact with Kageyama! He feels like there's an aura of light trailing behind him as he's riding his bike. He's just so energized. It feels good to actually do something instead of just idling and looking at Kageyama from afar.

Hinata was heading towards a downhill and stood on the pedals of his bike, grip tightening on the handles. The wind brushed past and wove in between his hair. He feels good!

He arrived at the bakery a little earlier than when Kageyama's shift ended, so he dropped off his stuff in the break room. He and Bokuto started working first, chatting along.

"Remember when I said that someone should make dessert waffles?"

"Ooh yes!" Hinata remembers this conversation. Bokuto, being the one who helps with the deliveries, often is the first to hear of when there's a new baker supplying the bakery. The bakery doesn't actually make all of the desserts in the store; they supply from numerous specialized local bakers. Hinata's aunt is actually one of them, making some of the biscuits here. 'It's like a farmer's market but for pastries. Small dessert businesses can have some of their treats sold here and it helps them grow.' Hinata remembers Suga saying. The bakery had just gotten a new line of scones to sell, and Bokuto lamented that no one makes dessert waffles.

"Well now someone is making them!" Bokuto exclaimed. He was super excited. Hinata remembers associating Bokuto with waffles because of how much he loved them.

"Who is it?" Hinata asked.

"We are! Isn't it great? I convinced Suga to let us do it. It's too good of an idea not to!"

"Yeah! Dessert waffles are really unique! I think it's going to be really popular."

"I knew you'd get it! It's something that'll make people be like, 'Wow! Dessert waffles? You don't see that everywhere, I just have to order one!'"

"Yeah!" Hinata agreed enthusiastically, and Bokuto raised both his hands. Hinata jumped up and slapped them and they both cheered.

Then Hinata heard someone walk into the room. Their steps echoed loudly on the plasticky sounding wood floor due to the emptiness of this part of the building.

Hinata turned to see who it was. The sight of Kageyama caught Hinata's eye. Not that this was an unusual occurrence, but this is the first time he saw Kageyama without his usual work attire.

Hinata's mouth dropped open. He wasn't used to Kageyama in casual clothing. Has that been under his apron the entire time? He was wearing a light, muted blue shirt that matched well with his eyes. Even though it was a simple outfit, he looked great so effortlessly. Kageyama had no business looking like this and not even realizing it.

"Oh." Kageyama looked down at Hinata. Hinata immediately felt intimidated by Kageyama's unreadable expression and his single word. 'Oh'. What did he mean by this? Is this a disapproving 'Oh'?

"You're the one that always orders the hot milk tea." Kageyama started, interrupting Hinata's thoughts. Kageyama usually wouldn't take notice of the types of drinks he was making. It becomes so much of a routine that he doesn't pay attention. But he remembers this specific order, because normally people order milk tea with tapioca. Or they would get regular tea and add milk if they like. But this order was specifically milk tea, warm, and without tapioca, not tea with milk. Out of the ordinary.

Hinata relaxed a little. "Yeah, I mostly get that or sometimes the hot cocoa. I'm not a big coffee drinker."

Lattes are good coffee drinks to start with. Kageyama thought. There's a higher proportion of milk to coffee, so it's less bitter. Before he could let Hinata know this statement, a giant box walked into the room, followed by Bokuto behind it, scooting along.

"Looks like we got a table to build." Bokuto grinned, patting the side of the box.

Kageyama looked around. The construction was nearly done, but it left the floors dirty. "We should clean up the floor first. It's a little dusty."

"Good idea." Bokuto agreed, and pushed the box near a wall to get it out of the way.

The three of them swept up the floor and got to work on the table. Kageyama was good at understanding the instruction manuals. "It's pretty straightforward." he said simply. Hinata and Bokuto looked at each with a shared thought: "This guy doesn't understand the struggle."

Kageyama helped Hinata and Bokuto interpret the manuals and instructed them on what steps to do next. The building process went quite smoothly thanks to him.

Hinata tried to make conversation with Kageyama a few times, but it wasn't easy to get the conversation to stick and go back and forth. Kageyama often gave simple answers and sometimes he didn't have a lot to say to continue the discussion. Hinata was wondering if maybe he was boring this guy. Maybe Kageyama wasn't interested in him. At least he's polite and not flat out ignoring me, he thought.

It was a productive day. They cleaned up, assembled the table, and also brought in some of the smaller shelves, which will be put on tomorrow.

They went back to the bakery part of the building. Hinata saw that there were still a few employees left.

"Done for the day?" Hinata asked. Yamaguchi was still here, helping out with closing the bakery.

"Yup." he said as he joined them in going to the break room to get their stuff.

As Kageyama was packing up, a volleyball slipped out of his bag and slowly rolled away, stopping by Hinata's feet.

"Woah! Do you play?" Hinata asked excitedly as he picked up the slightly roughed up ball.

"Yes."

"What position?"

"Setter."

"Cool!"

"Do you even know what that is?"

"O-Of course I do! I played through middle and high school. And I'm still playing too! Just not for my college." Hinata answered back, a little bewildered. Did Kageyama think he was too short to play volleyball?

Kageyama's face seemed to loosen a bit, thinking about Hinata's response with consideration. He walked over to where Hinata held out the ball for him.

"Do you want to go to the park and practice right now?" Kageyama asked, putting his hands on the ball. Hinata was still holding on.

Hinata felt his heart race at this invitation. "Sure!" he chirped out, a tad too enthusiastically, and he shoved the ball into Kageyama's chest as he grabbed his backpack.

Listening in on this conversation, Yamaguchi spoke up. "You know, I bet tucking your shirt in would look really good." he suggested to Kageyama.

"Oh what will it do?" Kageyama asked.

"It's just a different mood. Leaving it untucked would be casual and boxy and good for stiffer shirts. And tucking it in would look more polished. Because the shirt you're wearing right now is a softer fabric, I think it would be nice tucking it in. It might also be good since you're going to practice."

Kageyama tried it out and Hinata nearly choked on his breath. Kageyama looked so clueless, standing there like a child being dressed in formal clothes by their parents, and not knowing what to do. Hinata thought it was incredibly endearing and cute. He gave a silent thank you to Yamaguchi.

Hinata and Kageyama said goodbye to the others and headed towards the park, talking about volleyball along the way. Hinata sort of got the impression that Kageyama wasn't the easiest person to talk to. But when the topic came to volleyball, Kageyama was very knowledgeable and had a lot to say about it, and so did Hinata. It made talking easy, interesting, and comfortable.

Turns out, Kageyama was some sort of volleyball monster. Luckily for him, so was Hinata, in his own way.

Kageyama was surprised with Hinata's abilities. This guy is actually serious about volleyball. He's putting effort into every move he makes, Kageyama thought. Practicing with him felt challenging and stimulating.

They both seemed to have boundless energy and passion to spend volleyball. Kageyama realized that this guy loves volleyball as much as he does. He wanted to do this with Hinata again. He is a good practice partner. As Kageyama started to tell Hinata this, he heard Hinata's voice speak up.

"We should practice together again." they both said at the same time.

They looked at each other in surprise. There was a moment of silence between them in that quiet park. They could hear a small flock of birds flying across the darkening navy sky, and some dogs barking in the distance. Then Kageyama spoke up.

"We should," he said.

"We should." Hinata agreed.

He passed the volleyball back to Kageyama. There was a mutual agreement that they were done for the day. They started to pack up and gather their stuff.

"Can we practice tomorrow?" Hinata asked.

"Yes." Kageyama answered.

A smile grew on Hinata's face. "Well, see you tomorrow."

"See you." Kageyama said back. With this, Hinata turned around and ran to his bike. They left in different directions and watched each other leave as far as they could see in the darkening night. After a while, Kageyama turned to focus on the road in front of him.

As Kageyama was walking home, he stared down at his feet, deep in thought. He thought about his encounter with Hinata and how he had captured his attention. He felt as if he was spurred on to improve and move even further. With this guy, I can do a lot of things, he thought, and he ended up dwelling on this the entire walk home.