"Hi! Welcome to The Keychain, can I take your order?"

Riku blinked rapidly, disoriented, at the barista in front of him. "Oh, um—I actually have no idea what I want yet," he said. He glanced at the menu overhead, trying to skim the list of beverages as fast as he could.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I—" Riku started, but the words on the board blurred in his mind. "Maybe?"

"So what do you need?"

"Need?"

"You know, people come to a coffee shop for more than just coffee." He leaned against the counter, highlighting just how short he was compared to Riku, and held up a hand, counting on his fingers. "Maybe you come here to start off your day; it's routine to them. Like a ritual to properly wake up!" Another finger. "Or you need a shot of caffeine to boost you through something big." Another. "Some people come here to just hang out. Get out of their space for a while. Creative types, mostly, but a few people who need human contact too." He eyed Riku curiously. "You don't strike me as the type, but—"

Riku cleared his throat, flustered by the examination. "Not—really."

"Didn't want to assume. If I had to guess, I'd say you're my favorite kind of customer."

His smile was blinding, and Riku swallowed hard, as if it'd help the strange feeling in his gut. "And that is—"

"The kind of guy who needs a pick-me-up. No offense, but you look a little out of it. Am I right?"

Riku blinked again, then nodded. "Kind of, yeah."

"Tell you what, I'll make you a Way to the Dawn. It's our special blend, espresso shot and cocoa, plus sugar and cinnamon. It's like dessert, but it's coffee. Never fails to put a smile on my face." He poked a finger against his own face as if to demonstrate, and Riku wondered what could take the smile off this guy's face.

"Sounds great," he said, and in spite of himself, Riku found himself smiling. "Thanks."

"Is it to go?"

Riku hesitated, then nodded. "Please."

"Great!" Did the barista sound a little disappointed? Riku looked for more hints of it as he paid for his drink, but the feeling passed. He must be really out of it, as the guy had put it. "I'll just need your name."

"What?"

"Your name? So I can remember which one is your order."

Riku looked around himself; while about half of the tables in the shop were busy, there wasn't anyone queued up beside him. He looked back at the barista, wondering if he'd caught his drift, but he was still waiting. "It's Riku," he finally said.

"Riku! Nice to meet you, Riku." The barista smiled as he wrote down the name on the side of an empty cup. "My name is Sora, in case you couldn't tell." He paused and dramatically pointed at his apron, where the name was indeed written—Riku hadn't even thought to look. "Well, Riku, I'll be just a minute! You can take a seat over there while you wait, if you want."

A few tall seats—looking suspiciously like bar stools—awaited off to the side of the counter, and Riku went to take a seat, waiting in uncomfortable silence. There was something about this barista he couldn't quite name. A sense of déjà vu, of meaningfulness.

He could practically hear Selphie's voice in his mind. Do you have a cru~ush, Riku?

That couldn't possibly be it. He'd never had a crush since—well, it had been so long that he couldn't even come up with the name. He'd been a child at the time; barely more than puppy love, really. Still, he remembered the feeling of it, and this wasn't it.

Was it?

"Here you go, Riku!" Sora had walked out from behind the counter to bring him his drink, and Riku took the paper cup gingerly. "I hope you like it," Sora whispered under his breath, sounding conspiratorial. "I made it extra special for you."

"…Thanks." It took Riku a moment to understand the meaning of the intense, expectant look in Sora's eyes, so he took a tentative sip. When the warm drink hit his tongue, he almost moaned. Sora hadn't lied: this was dessert in a cup. What he hadn't said, though, was how well the sweetness mixed with the bitterness of the chocolate and coffee. Perfectly balanced. "This is so good," he said. "How did I not know about this place until now?"

"Well, you do now," Sora said, wagging an eyebrow. "Hope you come again, Riku!"

Riku didn't remember deciding to come back to The Keychain; it was as if his feet had decided for him. Or maybe his stomach, or his tongue—that coffee had been really good.

Or was it your hea~art? mental-Selphie teased. Clearly, whoever had taught Riku not to hit girls as a child should have made an exception for her; she had gotten to tease him far too much when they were kids if she still haunted him like this. He huffed out a breath, annoyed at the tricks his own brain played on him.

"Someone's in a sour mood."

The sound of Sora's voice made Riku flinch. "Just—got a lot on my mind," he said.

"Another pick-me-up? I'm always up to make you a Way to the Dawn."

Just the thought of the drink was enough to make Riku's mouth water. "Uh, please."

Sora chuckled, took Riku's cash, and set off to work. "So what's up with you?" he asked. "The only people I see looking like you did coming in are going through some kind of quarter-life crisis, but you look a few years too young for that still."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You don't look any older than me," he pointed out.

Sora shrugged. "What can I say? I needed the cash, and no one else would hire a high school dropout in this area."

"Oh—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it," Sora said, waving off Riku's concern. "Besides, I like working here." He set the drink on the counter between them, and Riku took it eagerly, closing his eyes when the coffee flooded his mouth. "Don't think I didn't notice you dodging my question, by the way!" Sora said accusingly.

Riku smirked. "Sorry. I just feel—aimless, these days. Like I lost my purpose."

"Oh, man, that sucks. So what was it? And why'd you lose it?"

"I—" Riku breathed slowly, trying to calm the sudden racing of his heart with another sip. "It—doesn't really matter."

"I know what you mean," Sora said. "You wanna know what I think?" He leaned over the counter again, bringing his hands together in front of him. It made him look like a caricature of some old wizard, making Riku chuckle.

"Sure, go ahead."

"When I first arrived here, I thought I needed to change the world, something like that. And then I ended up—well, herehere, working at this coffee shop. And you know what I found out?" Sora paused, and Riku waited, enraptured with anticipation. "The best way to find a purpose is with the small things. I love the way I can brighten so many people's days with just a nice chat and a drink." He pointed a finger to Riku. "You should find something small that makes you happy."

"But—how does that translate to figuring out what you want to do with your life?"

"It doesn't. But at least you're not miserable while you keep looking." Sora winked just as a customer walked through the shop's door. "Do come again, Riku!"

Another day, another coffee. Maybe Sora was on to something when he said it could become a ritual. Riku had never thought of himself as a person who needed coffee to wake up, but lately, it certainly felt like he was only ever awake when he was at The Keychain. Though that wasn't the reason he came back, if he were truly honest with himself.

"Hey, Sora," he said when he reached the front of the line. He was, as always, the last in line, but that suited him fine, because he meant he could linger by the counter just a little longer.

Sora greeted him with his customary smile, bright and warm as the sun. It was strong enough that Riku could feel its gravitational pull, keeping Riku in the coffee shop's orbit. "Riku! You came back!"

There was no way to respond to Sora's delight, other than in kind. "Sure did. How's it going today?"

"You know, serving drinks and changing lives, the usual." He winked, making Riku's entire body fuzzy with feeling. "The usual?"

"Please. But—not to go, this time."

"Oh?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

Riku shrugged self-consciously. "I've got extra time today. I thought I'd hang out here and unwind for a bit."

"That's a great idea! Come on, pick a table, I'll bring your drink to you when it's done."

Sora waved towards the tables; today must be a slow day, since they were all empty. Then again, this wasn't his usual time either, so maybe the shop was always like this at this hour. The number of tables spread out in front of him felt somewhat daunting, like which one he chose would reveal something about him and forever ingratiate him to Sora—or make them mortal enemies.

He was just about to give into choice paralysis and curl into the fetal position on the floor when he realized he was probably overthinking this. He picked the table furthest away from the counter, by the window. From here, he had a nice view of the park across the street, where a few kids were playing, their parents talking to each other on benches while pretending to watch. It reminded Riku of home, though he couldn't exactly place why; no clear image, no specific occasion came to mind, only a warm sense of familiarity.

Sora approached the table, and Riku noticed he was carrying two cups instead of just one. "So—it's my break," Sora said. "I thought—is it okay if I sit with you? I figured we could both use the company."

"Y-yeah, of course!" Riku waved at the chair across from him, inviting him to sit.

There was a satisfied grin on Sora's lips as he sat down and took a sip from his cup. The entire time Sora drank, his eyes never drifted away from Riku, but Riku's eyes kept flitting from one place to another. Sora's eyes, his lashes, his lithe fingers and the strength with which he held his cup, the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed—

Riku cleared his throat and looked away, but he could have sworn he heard Sora giggling under his breath. He set down his cup on the table, and Riku dared himself to look at that rather than at Sora himself. It didn't look like the same drink Riku got, but he couldn't bring himself to ask what it was.

"So, speaking of changing lives—" There it was. Riku had been expecting the question. Dreading it? Looking forward to it. Maybe. "Any progress on your soul searching?"

"Maybe," he simply said. "I don't know for sure yet. It's like there's a missing piece in my life."

"A missing piece? Like, a person, or—"

Riku felt himself blushing. "I mean, I wouldn't mind that," he muttered. For a moment, he worried Sora might not have heard him, but the way Sora grinned made him reconsider. "I meant more that it's like—like I had something anchoring me, but then someone broke the chain, and now I've been cut loose."

"You really like your metaphors, don't you, Riku?"

Riku shrugged. "I'm going through a weird time. It's all I have to describe it." He took a sip of his coffee to distract him from the way Sora was looking at him.

"I think it's cute."

The words caused Riku to choke on his drink, but Sora just looked on, grinning triumphantly, as if he'd exposed Riku. Which, in a sense, he had. "Um—thanks," Riku finally managed.

"I hope you can find another anchor. Your missing piece. Or whatever else you need." The shop's door opened, and Sora stood up. "Looks like it's the end of my break," he said. "See you around, Riku!"

Riku watched him walk back to the counter. He'd left his drink on the table between them, and before he could stop himself, Riku took a sip. Sickly sweet—overwhelmingly so—but with a trace of bitterness at the core, the kind that lingered on your lips and demanded you drank more.

"I hope I find it too," he murmured to himself.

"So what was that drink you had last time?"

Sora leaned against the counter, looking up at Riku with a mischievous smile. "Trying to learn my coffee order?"

It took all of Riku's focus not to trip over his own feet, even though he was standing still. "Just—curious. I can't drink the same thing all the time."

"Can't you? I think it suits you really well. Don't fix what isn't broken!"

"What kind of barista are you," Riku said, deadpan, "that you won't answer a customer's question?"

"The best kind, who realizes that he knows best." Sora winked. "But it's called Oblivion. Since you really wanna know."

"Oblivion, huh," Riku said. "Are all your drinks named after such…high concepts?"

"Pretty much." Sora grinned. "Don't say anything mean, I've named a few of them myself."

Riku laughed at that. "Of course you have."

Sora's face fell into a pout; "I mean it!"

"I believe you. I just meant—it figures you'd be talented enough to invent new drinks." Riku paused. "Sorry if I sounded skeptical, that wasn't—"

"That's okay. And—" Sora's smile returned as a cocky smirk. "I am pretty talented."

"I don't doubt it," Riku said, and he meant every word.

They remained in silence for a second, until someone behind Riku in the queue cleared their throat loudly. Sora stood up straight, tearing himself from the counter, and Riku averted his gaze, his cheeks burning up. "So," Sora said. "The usual anyway?"

"Please."

"And—are you staying today?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. It's gonna have to be to go again."

"Ah, well. That's okay. Can't have everything." Still, Sora's disappointment was palpable. "I'll make it extra special for you, okay?"

Before Riku could ask what he meant, Sora was off to prepare his drink, humming under his breath as he worked. It was the first time Riku had heard him do that, and he instantly found it charming. Sora may not be the greatest singer, but something about his utter lack of shame was just delightful.

"And here you go," Sora said, holding out Riku's cup for him. Their fingers brushed when Riku took the cup, and for a moment he thought he was going to drop the cup.

"So…what's special about it?"

"I guess we'll see if you can figure it out," Sora teased.

Riku blinked in confusion, but the look on Sora's face made it clear he wasn't going to elaborate. "Well, um," he said. "See you around, then."

He'd barely set foot outside of the coffee shop when he noticed it. It wasn't anything to do with the drink itself, but on the outside of the cup. Under his name, written in Sora's grandiose-yet-sloppy handwriting, was a series of digits written in sharpie. A phone number.

Riku called Sora in what felt like a haze, or a trance. He couldn't remember a single word either of them had said, and even now, as he walked to the park right outside The Keychain, his mind still felt a little blank. He was so nervous.

In his defense, he'd never been on a date before. Wait, was this even a date? Had he made that clear to Sora? Or did Sora think they were just hanging out?

No, he wouldn't think that; he'd been the one to give Riku his number. No one did that just to hang out. Right?

You need more friends, Riku~. Riku was getting really tired of his inner Selphie, but she had a point. Maybe, if he had more friends, he would know what was just friendly stuff and what counted as flirting.

But at the same time, he was fairly certain that Sora had been flirting with him whenever he came around the shop now. So. There was that in his favor too. And if he'd misread the signs, well, at least he'd gotten out there and tried. He was sure that even if Sora was going to reject him, he'd still commend him for the effort.

He'd stopped by the shop, though of course, it being Sora's day off, he hadn't been there. Which was exactly what Riku needed: he got Sora's order to go, along with his own, as a small surprise. He hoped Sora would like the gesture; for all he knew, maybe he'd be bummed out that Riku would immediately bring his job up and—

Okay, that was just the nerves talking. It's just a coffee. But still, maybe he should dump them out—

"Riku!"

Well, too late for that. Riku turned around and saw Sora walking towards him. It was the first time Riku saw him in anything other than his apron, and the red-and-black coat he wore was the most precious thing Riku had ever seen, especially the way Sora's hair looked bunched under the hood.

"Hot drink?" Riku said, projecting all the confidence he didn't feel he had right now.

"Please." Sora greedily reached for the cup and drank a solid amount. "I can't believe it got so cold today. Thanks, Riku."

"Of course. It's nothing, really."

"I don't know, I think it's pretty thoughtful of you."

Riku felt himself blushing, but he hoped Sora would just think the red on his cheeks was from the cold. "So, um—" He'd forgotten all his plans already. What were they supposed to do? All he could remember was agreeing to meet up. "This isa date, right?"

The moment the words tumbled out of his mouth, Riku cursed his anxiety. Way to make this awkward.

Sora looked at him blankly for just long enough to make Riku start to panic. Then he burst out laughing. "Well I hope it's a date. Otherwise I gave you my number for nothing."

Riku chuckled nervously, but relief bubbled in his chest. "Good. I just—I wanted to check."

"Although, if I'm being honest—" Sora looked away, visibly flustered, and took a sip from his drink. "I was kind of hoping we could skip the date and get to the part where we both say we really like each other." He looked up at Riku, eyes full of hope, a shy smile blooming on his lips.

Riku knew there was only one thing for him to do: he leaned forward and kissed that smile, pressing their lips together so he could nourish it and return it to the miniature sun that had come to brighten his every day. His hands tangled into Sora's hair, and Sora's hands wrapped behind his neck, and he was distantly aware that meant they'd both dropped their coffees, but it didn't matter right now, because this guy was here, and he liked him, and maybe there was something that could anchor Riku and show him a new path after all.