Chapter Two

It had been three days since Ikuto saved Tetsuya. With nothing but thoughts of the fish-eyed man, Tetsuya slipped on his shoes and bid farewell to his cat Sakura as he ran out the door and towards the coffee shop.

It was about 5:15 when Tetsuya arrived. Ikuto heard the back door open as he combed his hair back and tied on his apron.

"Hey, Iito-kun! Good morning!" Tetsuya brought with him a grin, similar to every morning so far.

"Hey," Ikuto responded. Tetsuya smirked as he sat down at one of the bar stools. 'Short of words, as usual…'

The two continued to small talk as Ikuto prepared the store for opening. Time seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, it was almost time for opening.

Ikuto glanced down at his watch. 5:29. He continued to listen to Tetsuya's ramblings with a small smirk glued to his face.

"Oh, did you hear? Our school is having a cultural festival soon! Oh, I can't handle it, I'm so excited! Hey, did you know, my class-"

Tetsuya stopped himself before he released information he didn't want anyone outside the school to know. 'I-I think I almost did something stupid…gotta learn to shut up,' he scolded himself.

"What's with the hesitation?" Ikuto placed his elbow on the counter, leaning his head against his open hand. "I'm curious now."

"O-oh, nothing, nothing!~" Tetsuya raised his hands defensively, trying to change the topic. "So, uh…how has business been lately?"

"Hmm…well, I don't have to work on the day of your festival, so I was going to stop by your school and-"

"N-No! Th-that's alright, Iito-kun! You shouldn't!" Tetsuya stuttered nervously.

"Oh? And why not?" Ikuto asked. Tetsuya felt slightly threatened by his sudden approach, but continued to attempt to make a stand.

"W-Well, I mean, you shouldn't waste a day off going to some rinky-dinky school festival, you know? You're an adult, and you work really hard, and you should spend your day off sleeping or relaxing…w-we don't even make a big deal out of the cultural festival, at my school…They're not interesting, and really low-budget. You should just…stay home, alright?"

Ikuto sighed, obviously not believing anything he was hearing. He looked up to meet eyes with the highschooler in front of him, so nervous he was sweating.

Ikuto corrected his posture to glance down at his watch again. 5:32. He walked past Tetsuya and over to the front door to flip the open sign around.

"Ah! Yay! " Tetsuya lifted his head. Ikuto glanced over to notice how excited he was. 'Like a dog,' he observed.

"Waiter, one cup of black coffee, please!" Tetsuya giggled and grinned. Ikuto swore he could see his tail wagging.

Ikuto walked over to the bar and quickly brewed a cup to give to Tetsuya. He wrote a quick message on his cup before filling it.

Tetsuya looked away from the window when he heard the cup placed in front of him. He quickly pulled the money out of the pocket and placed it on the counter. "Thanks!" he said.

Ikuto looked at Tetsuya before grinning. "Now get out of here before you scare all of my customers away."

"Wh-what?! Why would I scare them away?!" Tetsuya jumped off of his stool.

"You're so short, everyone will think you're in middle school coming to check on your big brother."

Tetsuya felt his face become hot. "I'm not short! Just you wait! You're going to regret those words later!" Tetsuya grabbed his cup and stormed out of the building and towards the school. Ikuto snickered.

"Stupid old man!" Tetsuya groaned. "What does he know?! Che!"

As Tetsuya lifted his cup to take a sip of his coffee, he noticed writing on his cup. He quickly placed the cup in front of his eyes and read the small paragraph.

'Tetsuya,

The first time I saw you, I thought you looked pitiful, climbing into the backseat of an old man's car. But then, I saw what happened, and the faces you made, and I couldn't help but rush to your aid. And now, I think you are very strong. Just be sure to tell me when you're feeling sad, okay? I'll be sure to brew you a cup, on the house.

Ikuto'

Tetsuya turned bright pink, trying to cover his face with the back of his free hand. His eyes became big and his mouth began to tremble. "Wh-who said I'd tell you anything?! B-baka…" Tetsuya began sprinting towards the direction of the school.

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Tetsuya quickly learned that hiding in an unused locker is the best way to hide from his classmates. He could hear their voices fade in and out as they searched.

"Come on out, Tetsu-chan!~"

"Just try it on, okay3?"

"Come here…"

"Where is he?!"

"Find him! We need to make sure it fits!"

"There's only a week left until the festival. Show yourself!"

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After a rough night of sleep, Tetsuya walked into the coffee shop a couple minutes later than normal. He didn't hear Ikuto call for him as he walked in, to he quickly set his things down and rushed into the café to see what he was doing. Ikuto was looking seriously at a yellow notepad. Because of his height, Tetsuya was not able to see what was written on it, even if he stood right behind Ikuto.

"Wacha doin', Iito-kun?" Ikuto flinched, not looking up.

"Memorizing."

"Hmm…notes for school, maybe?"

"…something like that."

Tetsuya chuckled as he sat down at one of the small circular tables, every so often glancing over at Ikuto. He couldn't help but notice Ikuto's pale lavender hair, slicked back with a comb for work. He couldn't help but wonder what it looked like in a ponytail. His dull grey eyes still resembled a dead fish, but at least for today, his reading glasses brightened his demeanor, giving off a 'model student' feeling with its wire frame and square shape. Tetsuya couldn't help but also wonder if he wore contacts as he took attention to his skin. It was pale and clear, but had the color of caramel that had been melted and extremely watered down with milk. He was also quite tall - maybe twenty or more centimeters taller than Tetsuya, who happened to be 160 centimeters tall, not 170, as the nurse corrected him – and his jawline was curved and smooth, similar to a boomerang. Tetsuya thought he noticed a piercing hole in his left ear where an earring might be, but then he thought that is might just be the distance.

Tetsuya brought his attention back to Ikuto's hair. He wondered if slicking it back was dress code, or maybe he liked to just keep it out of his eyes. Tetsuya agreed with himself that Ikuto looked best when he wore and white button-up long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants with his black work apron. It made him look much more…handsome.

Just then, Tetsuya noticed a lock of Ikuto's hair fall forward and against his forehead. Without thinking, Tetsuya stood, walking towards Ikuto and crawled up onto the counter to become level. He sat in front of where Ikuto stood, licking his thumb, then grabbing the lock of hair and sliding it back to where it once was. Pleased with his work, he began to focus his vision downwards, thus staring into Ikuto's eyes, which were mere inches away from his own. He quickly realized what he had done.

Tetsuya jumped, startled, and began to fall backwards.

"Tetsuya!" In an attempt to catch him, Ikuto stretched his arms out, grabbing the back of Tetsuya's fall sweater vest. Tetsuya could feel his hair sweep against the bar stool mere millimeters away from his head.

Ikuto tugged Tetsuya upwards, lifting him onto his feet and placing him on the ground. 'He's lighter than he looks,' Ikuto thought.

"Hey, you alright? Tetsuya?" Ikuto leaned down to look into Tetsuya's eyes. He looked like he was about to cry.

"H-hey, really, what's wro-" Tetsuya lept forwards, grasping Ikuto's apron tightly with his hands. Ikuto looked down, shocked.

"…wh-why…"

"Hm?"

"Wh…why! Why is it?! Why is it what I can't be in the same room without looking at you?! I can't get your smile out of my mind, and I feel really nervous anytime you're near me. I can't concentrate at school lately, and I'm scared to interact with others!" Tetsuya held Ikuto's apron tighter, leaning in closer.

Ikuto's eyes became wide as he smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around Tetsuya. He felt Tetsuya flinch underneath him as he looked up with tear-filled eyes.

"Tetsuya, could you be…"

Tetsuya began to think back, to times in middle school… 'Why am I having these thoughts now?' Tetsuya thought. He couldn't help but remember the most memorable time of all, sixth grade…

In one quick motion, Tetsuya pushed Ikuto backwards, falling onto the floor. The tears continued to flow down his cheeks.

"N-no…no…" He mumbled.

"Tetsuya? What's wrong, Tetsuya-"

"No! Stay away from me! Stay away! No…never! Never!"

Tetsuya picked himself up, running out the entrance, and towards the direction of his house.

After that, Ikuto did not hear from Tetsuya for five days.