"Tadashi? Can you mind the front for a bit?"
"Sure thing, Aunt Cass!"
Tadashi pushed himself back from the desk, grateful for the enforced break. He'd been staring at his sketchpad for hours and was no closer to deciding on a design for his new project. Standing up, he let out a yawn, stretched, causing his back to pop from being hunched forward for so long. He rubbed his neck, closed the cover of his sketchbook and slid his pencil behind his left ear before making his way down.
He joined Aunt Cass at the foot of the stairs, taking her waist apron and heading behind the counter as she headed up to the upper floors. There were a few people in the café, regulars. They gave Tadashi a wave, he waved back. They went back to their conversation, he went to top up the doughnut display. Tuesday evenings were normally quiet, routine, uneventful.
Normally.
The bell above the door jingled as the door opened. Tadashi looked up from the counter to greet the newcomer, the hand he was raising in greeting coming a stop in mid air, his casual grin faltering.
A young woman had walked in, probably a year or so younger than Tadashi himself, wearing jeans, a greyish-blue hooded top that was far too thin for the cool of the late summer evening, and sneakers only just lighter than her platinum blonde braid. A backpack slung low on her back, roller case in one hand and what looked like a phone in the other, she looked cautiously around the café before entering fully, giving Tadashi the time he needed to realise he was still gawking and put on his customer service face.
"Hey there!" That's a grimace, not a grin, you idiot…! "What can I get you?"
The woman looked directly at him, and even from the other side of the café he could clearly make out her gorgeous blue eyes… and the rather worried look she was wearing. He frowned, and made his way to stand in front of the counter.
"Is… everything alright?"
The movement seemed to snap her out of… whatever it was, and she took a deep breath.
"Uhm… sorry, I uh… I wondered if you could help me out. I'm… I'm looking for an address, but my phone's died and…"
"… you were using the map on your phone?"
She shrugged, and gave a sheepish smile that made Tadashi's heart skip a beat.
"W-…why don't you come grab a seat and we can try and sort out a map for you?" He pulled out a chair at one of the window-side tables and waited for the blonde to sit before jogging back behind the counter. There was the rattle of ceramic against metal, the hiss of steam, and a minute or so later Tadashi reappeared by the table, a mug of coffee in one hand, a plate with a doughnut in the other.
"Here," He put the drink and pastry down on the table in front of her, before pulling out the pad from his Aunt's waist apron and sitting down opposite her. "On the house."
"Wait, what? N-no, I couldn't."
"Well, judging by your luggage, you've travelled quite a way, so consider it a welcome to San Fransokyo." When she still looked reluctant, he leaned forward a little bit, "… it's chocolate?".
There was a pause, but politeness seemed to win out, and she cradled the mug in her hands with a quiet thank you and a smile.
"So. Where're you headed?"
The blonde dug around in her pocket and pulled out a well-worn burgundy passport, and passed him a piece of paper from between the pages. Years of rescuing his brother from 'bot fights had given him knowledge of the city that would put a taxi driver to shame – he looked at the address, retrieved his pencil from behind his ear and starting drawing on the pad.
Not wanting to just sit there in silence, he cast a quick glance at the gold lettering of her passport – he couldn't work out the unfamiliar language, but it looked similar to something he'd seen in one of Fred's comic and books – then at the tag on the handle of the roller case at the girl's side. "OSL?"
A pause. "Oslo."
"Aah… Norway?"
A nod.
That explains the accent… "Are you… visiting family?"
A pause… then biting her lip and looking down at the table, the blonde shook her head, her bangs swaying slightly in front her eyes.
Change the topic change the topic change the topic-
"… Aunt Cass's doughnuts are best when they're still warm, y'know."
She looked at the untouched doughnut, and methodically removed one of her hands from her – wait, gloves? But her hoody's so thin… She seemed to hesitate slightly, before picking the pastry up and taking a bite.
…stop watching her eat, you weir-
A lopsided grin slowly spread across her face and for a few seconds, Tadashi couldn't remember his own name, let alone what he was supposed to be drawing.
A cough and a low chuckle from the other side of the café brought him out of his daze, and he hastily finished off the map, ripping it from the pad. "H-here. We're uhm… we're here. This is where you're headed. It's not far; just follow this route," he drew an arrow along the streets she needed to take, making sure it would keep her well away from any potential trouble spots, "and you'll be there in about fifteen minutes."
The worried look she'd entered with had all but disappeared by this point, and she smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you."
"Hey. S'no problem. Happy to help." Tadashi heard Aunt Cass's footsteps coming back down the stairs, her sing-song voice floating down the hall, and he reluctantly pushed his chair back from the table. "I hope your stay in San Fran is a great one. I uhm… I gotta go… do… y'know… café things."
She chuckled, and Tadashi was so very glad he was still sat down. "Of course. Thank you."
"No problem. Enjoy your coffee."
…
Move, Tadashi.
…
MOVE.
He got up from the chair, just as Aunt Cass came into view behind the counter. He walked over pulling the apron from his waist, and passed it back to her, receiving a pat on the shoulder as thanks… but then she frowned and gave his shoulder a small squeeze when she caught the bewildered expression on his face.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah," he said, turning to look over his shoulder at the table he'd just left. "Yeah, everything's f-"
She'd gone, leaving a full mug of coffee and an empty plate.
"… fine."
He'd forgotten to ask her name.