I literally saw a picture on Facebook and thought to myself "Wow, I want to write about this. Who would be a good fit for a sun-Ikumi." I already ship her with Ibusaki so yeah, I'll introduce this rarepair to the world.

Out of all the nights that the storm had to break, it had to be today.

Mito Ikumi scowled as she fumbled with her umbrella. She usually did not work this late in the evening, but when an important client who was several time zones away could only meet at a specific time, exceptions had to be made. She could have taken the video call at her house, but she felt that it was too unprofessional to do so. That was why she stayed a couple of hours later in her office, preparing for the next couple of days of deliveries.

She made a sound in triumph once she opened the umbrella. For the past few days, she had been carrying it around with her because of the dark clouds that had been looming overhead the same amount of time. Every once in a while, a light shower would happen, barely damping the streets and sidewalks before stopping for hours.

But now, it was pouring.

The umbrella soon became almost useless because the storm decided to pick up in the couple of blocks she had started walking. It started to rain sideways, getting whatever could not be protected by the little covering wet. What finally caused Ikumi to completely give up on it was a sudden and strong gust of wind taking it out of her hand as she paused to try to cover her electronics somewhat.

Thankfully, she did not slip on the wet pavement as she chased after it.

"Stupid piece of shit." She mumbled once she caught up to the thing. She made her way to the closest awning to inspect it. One of the sides was completely bent and was sticking through the material, rendering it completely useless. She groaned and walked over to the nearest can to toss it in.

Still standing in the autumn rain, she looked around at her surroundings. Her chase had led her away from her usual path home, and with the rain obstructing her view and her reluctance to pull out her phone to see where she was, Ikumi decided to just look for a place to wait out part of the storm and to warm up a bit. Her green eyes soon landed upon a place that look like a business. Quickly walking across the deserted streets to it, she saw that she had been right.

"POLAR STAR CAFÉ" were the words that had been painted on the front window. Next to the words, a cute bear head had been painted on it. She smirked at the picture before heading inside. The strong smell of coffee hit her once she stepped inside, making her shiver as her body suddenly craved such a warm drink. Her gaze wandered around the place. It was a rustic theme, as most of the walls were either wooden or brick. There were even some fake leaves hanging from some of the corners. The lights were a warm yellow. The tables and chairs were also wooden, but the chairs had pine green cushions on them. There were also matching green booths that seemed to be tucked in the walls.

"Hello?" A voice startled her from her observations. Her eyes went to the main counter of the store. Most of it seem wooden, but she could see that the top was made of grey polished granite. Behind it was a man with auburn hair that covered his eyes. He wore a dark grey apron with the name of the shop and a black bear in the middle of it. Even with half his face covered she could still tell that he wore a neutral expression underneath.

"Are you going to order something or just stand there and make a puddle on the floor?" He deadpanned.

Ikumi raised an eyebrow. "Is that anyway to greet a customer?"

"Seeing that you completely ignored the standard pleasantries I said to you earlier, I had to say something to get your attention. And to answer your question, I don't know if you are a customer or a visitor or a statue."

Ikumi huffed a bit at that last part. The heels of her boots clicked loudly in the nearly empty café as she walked up to the counter.

"I'm a customer." She proclaimed as she looked up at the menu behind him. It was a simple chalkboard, the items seemingly handwritten but still legible. She picked the first thing she saw. "I-I'll have a cappuccino." She started to pull out her wallet, but the man held out a hand to stop her.

"Just go find a seat." He told her. "You can pay later." With that, he disappeared behind a door that must have led to the kitchen. Puzzled, Ikumi went to find a seat at one of the tables. She checked to see if it was under a vent, which it was, and sat down in the chair facing the window. Maybe she could dry off enough before she had to go back out into the chilly air.

While she waited, she looked around again. She had been right the first time that no one else was here. Why would they be? It was still pouring outside and they had enough sense to be inside their homes. She also noticed the pictures of nature on the walls. She was particularly drawn to the one with sunflowers.

It was different from any other picture that she had seen with the flowers before.

"Here you go." The barista's even tone once again brought her back from her musings. She looked down at the drink, the smell of it making her grimace.

"This is not a cappuccino."

"I know. It's chai tea."

"But I wanted a cappuccino."

"It looked more like you ordered the first thing you saw."

Ikumi narrowed her eyes. How the hell had he known that?

"I'm right, am I?" She saw the corner of his mouth twitch and that bothered her. She was about to go off on the man before he spoke again.

"You didn't pay-"

"Like hell I will now!"

"Just try it. I just feel like you need tea more than coffee right now. If you don't like it, I'll make what you haphazardly ordered free of charge."

Ikumi glared at the man, suddenly annoyed that she could not see his eyes. It was the part of the face that she would look at with her clients, to see if they were sincere with their dealings. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell if this guy was serious or joking. His neutral voice wasn't helping much, either. Scowling, she grabbed the cup and raised it to her face to blow on the liquid. She was going to show this guy that she should have had exactly what she ordered.

Even if the smell of spices emitting from the cup were much more inviting.

Even if the small trial sip made her feel much warmer than she had before.

Even if she took a much longer sip after the first one.

The damn barista was right.