Chapter 5

The following Monday, Hana realized she was really looking forward to go to work, not that she wasn't always feeling like that. But today, in particular, there was a light skip in her step. Most people hated Mondays and she used to be one of them, but not anymore. Why? Probably because it meant Tadashi would be going to school. Which ultimately meant she would be serving him his morning coffee and his favourite banana nut muffin.

Would she ever admit that to Angela? No, not yet. That girl didn't need another reason to tease her about whatever this feeling was.

As soon as she unlocked the café door and slipped inside, the smell of fresh brewing coffee wafted up her nose and her smile stretched out even further. Heading towards the back, she saw Cass plating freshly baked goods onto plates and into bowls.

"Good morning." Hana greeted Cass, grabbing her apron off the hook.

Cass smiled brightly and wiped her hands on her own apron. "Morning. You're very chirpy today. It's nice seeing that the Monday blues haven't affected you."

"Not today." Hana chuckled. "I think it's because I managed to get a good night's rest." And I'm totally looking forward to seeing your oldest nephew. Not that she would voice that out loud. She doubted her boss wanted to hear about how her employee thought of her nephew quite a bit.

"That's great. I could use one of those good night rests." Cass said and handed Hana a plate of muffins and a plate of cookies. "Could you take these out?"

"Yeah, of course." Giving one last smile to Cass, Hana carried the plates to the front where Angela was, obviously back from the bathroom or something.

"Hey, Hana." Angela greeted, "You're strangely chipper on a Monday morning."

"Am I?"

"Mhmmm." There was a slightly suggestive tone in way Angela said that, causing Hana to roll her eyes playfully.

"I just had a good night's sleep, that's all."

"Yeah, dreaming of Tadashi." Angela muttered quietly.

"Huh? I didn't catch that."

"Oh, nothing." Angela snickered lightly, ignoring Hana's accusatory stare. "Just said I wish I could've had a good night's sleep. I had to finish a paper last night." Angela groaned, almost in pain from remembering how annoying the paper had been and how long it had taken her to write it.

Now it was Hana's turn to snicker at her friend. "I definitely don't miss that." Though, in about a year, she'll probably be in the same position as Angela, writing about musical history and whatnot.

"You laugh now, but it'll happen to you. Soon, Hana, very soon." The older girl playfully pointed to her eyes and gestured to Hana in the 'I got my eyes on you' kind of way. "Now, please go get some more medium roast coffee. We ran out."

Laughing, Hana nodded and pushed off the edge of the counter. "Yes, yes, I'm going."

Slipping back into the kitchen, Hana made a beeline towards one of the lower cupboards only to find that the cupboards hadn't been restocked yet. Which could only mean they would be in the cupboards that are higher up.

Pulling up her sleeves to her elbows, she opened up the higher cupboards and saw the coffee grounds she needed. However, it was a little higher up than she initially thought. She could do it. Yeah, she probably wouldn't need a chair.

Standing on the tips of her toes, she extended her arm as far as she could. She made a quiet strangled noise when only the tips of her fingers brushed the side of the coffee pack.

"Damn, these short arms." She muttered under her breath before trying again. She leaned one hand against the counter and pushed up a bit as if that could help extend her body more.

The sound of footsteps descending down the stairs registered in her ears and paying no mind as Cass wouldn't tease her about this.

"This is a lot harder with my small stature. I should've thought this through." Hana said with a light laugh, half expecting Cass to laugh with her and the other half hoping Cass would magically conjure a coffee bag.

At first there was silence and Hana thought she must've been hearing things.

Then, her heart nearly stopped.

"Let me get that for you then."

Something warm and broad brushed against her backside, and a new arm extended upwards from behind her. A larger hand brushed passed hers and grabbed the thing she needed.

Swiftly from surprise, she turned around to come face to face with the one boy that had consumed her every thoughts during the weekend. Big, kind brown eyes pierced into hers and that stare alone filled every cell in her body with warmth.

Tadashi.

It was as if time suddenly stood still and everything else around them became really fuzzy. No other sounds reached her ears except the pounding of her own heart. And, oh god, they were so close. So close. The only thing between them was her hands on his chest – his oh-so broad chest – and if he leaned down just an inch more, he could probably kiss her.

Kiss her?

As if that was a wakeup call, both of them quickly stepped to the side with blushes on their cheeks. Hana tucked some of her hair behind her ear nervously – which was probably tinged with red at the tips – and she snuck a glance at Tadashi. Their eyes met again before they shyly averted them away from each other.

Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with his free hand. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Hana shook her head furiously, her black hair following the motion. "No, no. You don't have to apologize." Because, let's face it, she enjoyed that way more than she thought she would.

"Oh right, I should probably give this to you." Their hands brushed and this time, he wasn't in a rush to bring his hand back. Neither was she.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Just like how she appreciated having his chest touching her back. Oh god, Hana needed to get herself together before she ended up saying something incredibly stupid and weird to him.

Clearing her throat, she smiled at him sweetly. "Heading to school early today?"

"Yeah. I needed to meet with one of my professors and then study for one of my midterms. Figured I would work better at school." Tadashi replied, mirroring her smile with his trademark heart-stopping smile.

On top of everything else on the imaginary list, he was also studious?

"Which reminds me, I should probably start heading out now."

"Oh! Did you want some coffee?"

He gave her an apologetic smile and shook his head. "I wish I could, but I really do need to be heading out." His heart clenched when he saw her lower lip jut out dejectedly. Something inside him stirred and all he wanted to do was reach out and take that look away.

"Save me a cup for later though?" He added, loving the way her eyes brightened up from that single question. Together, they walked out of the kitchen and Tadashi gave her a smile, unaware of Angela's looks.

"Of course. I'll have a fresh cup ready for when you come back."

Tadashi flashed her one last smile and a wave, and she copied his gestures with her own. Watching him disappear down the sidewalk from the window, she resisted the urge to let the sigh she had been holding go. Instead, she turned around so she could grind up some of the coffee that Tadashi helped her retrieve. Angela was leaning her hip against the back counter, her arms crossed over her chest and a knowing smirk resting on her lips.

"Do not say it." Hana grumbled, the apples of her cheeks suddenly tinged with pink.

The smirking girl only shrugged and feigned innocence. "I wasn't going to say anything."

Yeah, as if that was convincing.

Several hours later, her shift was finally over and she could head home. It was much too early for Tadashi to be back so she decided that tomorrow morning, she'd have a fresh cup of coffee waiting for him. However, before Hana could leave the kitchen, Cass stopped her.

"I know this is going to sound crazy since your shift is over, but could I ask for a favour?"

Not one to turn down someone in need, Hana nodded. "Of course. What can I help with?"

"Tadashi forgot his lunch and wallet, and I won't be able to leave the shop today. Would you mind if you brought this to him?" Cass held up a small paper bag and a leather wallet to show Hana. Judging by the slightly pleading look in her eyes and the way that the café was filling up for the lunch rush, doing this deed would really be helpful. Strangely enough, Hana felt a sense of happiness wash over her knowing Cass trusted her enough to offer her this task.

And maybe it didn't hurt to say that this meant she could see Tadashi outside of her work hours.

"I don't mind at all." Hana replied with a smile.

"Oh thank you, honey!" Cass surprised her by giving her a brief hug after handing Tadashi's lunch and wallet to her. It felt nice and comforting to be receiving a hug from her boss.

Thankfully, it only took around twenty minutes to get to Tadashi's school; fifteen for the trip there and then an extra five minutes to look around for the right building. She followed the directions that Cass wrote down for her on sticky note before Hana went on her way. And when she did find the correct building, her jaw nearly hit the ground from complete and utter awe.

Woah.

How do you fluff? But yaaaay, the story is rolling along and there's going to be more interactions between Tadashi and Hana. Hiro will definitely be showing up soon as well!

Once again, thank you so so much to everyone who read, favourited, followed, and reviewed! You guys mean the world to me and I'm so grateful to you all.

Until the next chapter! Have a great day, everyone!

~Mari