Part 3

Riku looked down at the mug between his hands. "I—" He stopped, his mind stalled. Of course he didn't dislike Sora, but he also couldn't confess he'd been reduced to a bundle of nerves reminiscent of his first crush. "I'm not good with new people." There. It wasn't a lie, exactly.

Sora cocked his head, studying him. "But students…?"

Riku closed his hands around the coffee mug. "Students are different. They're kids. It's work."
"I see."

When Sora didn't say anything else for a long moment, Riku chanced a glance up. Sora was chewing on his lip. "It's not—I—"

Sora spoke a beat after him, his words almost lost in Riku's own: "But what about—"

"Sorry." The said it nearly in unison, and Riku added "Go ahead."

Sora shook his head. "No, what were you saying?"

Riku took a breath. "I don't mean I don't like the work. Teaching is—well. I like it. I like the kids."

Sora nodded, a lopsided grin spreading over his face. "You don't go into teaching if it's not what you really want to do. I know."

Riku looked at a point just behind Sora's shoulder, avoiding eye contact. "Yes, that's true."

Another silence began to stretch between them, until Sora broke it. "I was going to say, what about coworkers? Is that more like work? Do you ever kick back drinks with anyone outside of work?"

A small laugh escaped Riku's lips, and he gestured at the two mugs of coffee. "You mean, like this?"

Sora rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "No," he dragged the syllable out, "This is me making up for making you spill your coffee, and also thanking you for your help. I meant something a little stronger."

Riku was probably imagining the twinkle in Sora's eye when he said stronger. He meant alcohol, of course, not…not stronger relationships. "That was my own fault," he muttered.

Sora propped his forearms on the table and leaned closer to Riku. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I didn't want to buy you another."

Riku dropped his eyes to the table. "…Thank you."

Sora beamed. "Of course!"

"I don't, usually. See the other teachers outside of work, that is."

"Oh." Sora pursed his lips. "I suppose you need a break from it sometime, right? Have a life outside of the classroom?"

"Yeah, sort of." Riku fiddled with the corner of his napkin. "But—" But he wouldn't mind if it was Sora. "I could change."

Sora's face lit up, and Riku's heart melted. "That would be—yeah!"

"I'm...not really good in a group," Riku added. It was true, though he wasn't sure that he hadn't said it out of some selfishness, to have Sora to himself. Not that he'd have the confidence to do anything.

"That's okay!" Sora sipped at his coffee. "You know, if we're going to hang out again, I hope I don't have to wait a whole two weeks again."

Riku was sure his face had reddened. "I'm sorry."

"Well," Sora drawled, "you could apologize by buying me a drink this weekend?"

Riku brought his coffee to his face, not really drinking it so much as trying to hide his face. "I." He ran through his weekend plans: grading, a visit to his parents...anything else could be rescheduled. "I can't Friday. Saturday?"

"Saturday, yeah, it's a date!"

Riku was glad he'd placed his coffee back on the table, or it might've slipped through his fingers. He gaped for a split second before he realized it, and snapped his mouth shut without saying anything. An iPhone appeared in front of him, next to his coffee. It had a red case, he noted, and "New Contact" was on the screen.

"Here, put your number in. In case we need to get in touch."

Riku nodded and fished his out—sleek black and silver and glass, sans case—and tapped the screen until it also displayed the new contact screen, and slid it across the table. Wordlessly typed his information into Sora's phone.

"Living dangerously, without a case, I see," Sora teased, trading Riku's back for his own. Their hands brushed in the exchange, and Riku forced himself to ignore it, this time.

"I haven't found one I like yet." He pocketed the phone, frowning.

Sora tapped the side of his phone against the table. "Case first, aesthetics later. Don't learn it the hard way, like I did. Once I dropped my phone without realizing it, and then ran over it with my bike." Riku grimaced in sympathy. "Yeah, so, I always get a good case whenever I get a new phone." Sora reached back and ran his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, you don't want to hear a lecture when you're giving them all day, I'm sure." He glanced down at his phone, checking the time, and then back up at Riku. "I have to get going." He pocketed the phone and downed the rest of his coffee. "Remember: Saturday! Don't let me down!"

Riku returned Sora's wave as the other stood up and went out the door. He watched Sora cross the street—it was a nice view, after all—as he pushed down his hopes that the word "date" had meant anything more than a date on a calendar.