The things you'll do for the ones you like….

Kikumaru Eiji has never liked coffee. In fact, he absolutely hated the bitter substance from the moment he tried it. When he drank it the first time with Fuji, it was merely because the latter had offered to treat him, and of course, what sane person would pass up an opportunity for free stuff? However, from the minute he walked into the coffee house, he already felt out of place. The coffee house carried with it a very impassive and relaxed attitude, one that was practically the opposite of what Kikumaru was all about. Nevertheless, as much as he hated coffee and the coffee house, Kikumaru returned two times a week, three times when he wasn't so busy with tennis. Why the effort, you ask? Well, it was all so he could get a chance to meet a certain girl who just happened to work behind the counter.

In the earlier stages of his infatuation, Kikumaru would just come to the coffee house and sit in one of the booths, making sure to bring homework and textbooks with him to make it look like he was doing something useful. But after two weeks of coming to the coffee house and not buying anything, he was starting to get suspicious looks from the other employees, so he decided to change up his game plan. Now when he came to the coffee house, he would get in line and buy the cheapest thing from the menu. Then he would hang around for a few minutes, pretending to drink his coffee, and when he exited, he dumped his drink into the nearby potted plant outside the shop. He did this so often. It was practically routine. Today was no different.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?"

Kikumaru felt his heart beating faster as the girl smiled at him sweetly.

"Um…I'll just have my usual, please."

The girl nodded and walked over to the machines to fulfill his order. Kikumaru watched as she did so, gazing at her as if everything was done in slow motion. When she came back with his coffee, he paid for the drink and walked away to sit at one of the tables. Nothing more was said. From his tennis bag, Kikumaru pulled out a tennis magazine and began reading, occasionally sneaking a few glances at the girl every now and then as he "sipped" his coffee. After about ten minutes or so of doing this, Kikumaru packed his tennis bag and left, but not before emptying the contents of the cup into the potted plant as usual.

"You know, you're going to kill the plants if you keep doing that."

Kikumaru whipped around in shock, surprised to see the girl standing behind him with a trash bag in hand. She looked at the still slightly tilted cup with the most curious expression.

"Do I want to know?"

Kikumaru scratched the back of his head nervously, face flushing with embarrassment as he tried to come up with a thorough explanation.

"It's kind of hard to say," he said shyly, letting out a timid chuckle. The girl responded by emitting a light giggle and nodded.

"Alright, I respect that. I'll just assume that whatever reason you had for doing this was a good one."

Kikumaru grinned.

"You could say that."

The girl returned the gesture, and for a moment, the two stood there in a rather comfortable silence. A few seconds had gone by before one of them actually spoke.

"Well, I have to get back to work," she said, raising the trash bag she held in her hand. "It was nice meeting you…um…"

"Kikumaru Eiji. And you?"

The girl tucked a single strand of hair behind her ear and turned the corners of her lips upward in a small smile.

"Nanako Meino."

Haha! I'm a day early, and I've already got the next chapter halfway finished. Man, I am on a role. So anyway, after a rather serious and sad break-up scene, I thought this story deserved some much needed fluff, and I've decided to experiment with a new couple. It is a strange one, to say the least, but hopefully, I can make it work.

Hmm? What was that? Why didn't Kikumaru just throw away the cup with the coffee still in it? Because it's my story, Goddammit, and it works. Don't question my methods. Besides, Kikumaru's not really the brightest one on the tennis team, is he? I wouldn't be too surprised if he actually did that.