Chapter Ten

Sunday night had been quite interesting. It had started off normally with Hana and Hiro just hanging out while eating pizza. Then once Tadashi had arrived, Hiro had left them together to bake cookies, and Tadashi and Hana had fooled around playfully. But then, Hiro caught them goofing off and after that, the two of them had taken the goofiness down a few notches. Fortunately, Cass had arrived not long after and after insisting, she had given Hana a ride back to her apartment since it had been late. For the rest of that night, she had laid in her bed and replayed the evening with Tadashi in her head a few times.

Luckily, her shift at the café was in the afternoon the next day. That meant she could avoid telling Angela about the babysitting and baking with Tadashi. That girl would definitely get a kick out of hearing that. Hana could hear and see it now: Angela doing that suggestive eyebrow wiggle and saying "oh la la" in an equally suggestive tone. Just thinking about that had Hana rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Stifling a yawn, she fished her out her lanyard that had all her necessary keys from out of her pocket and unlocked the front door of the café. The moment she stepped through, the smell of fresh coffee wafted up her nose and it was like a warm welcoming. The smell of it was enough to wake her up a bit more and she was sure a cup of it would give her that kick start she needed.

"Morning, Cass." She called out loudly as she walked across the floor so she could get to the back. The muffled sound of Cass' greeting was heard from the back kitchen, followed by the sound of the oven closing.

"Hey, Hana." Tadashi greeted as soon as stepped out from the kitchen in a black apron the baristas all wore and a plate of freshly baked muffins in his hands. Hana almost had a misstep when he emerged from the back, surprise colouring her face because she wasn't expecting him.

"Good morning. I didn't know you were working today."

"My morning class was cancelled this morning so I said I told my aunt that I could fill in the morning shift."

Some deep part of her was actually glad that they were working together. It wasn't often they worked together and, surprisingly, after last night – despite it being awkward after – she found she enjoyed being around him. There was something about his presence that put her at ease, even if he flustered her from time to time. It was a positive kind of thing that she couldn't really explain all too well, even to herself.

"I guess I'm in luck. I was wondering who I was going to work with this morning since it's Angela's day off." Hana said, slipping her apron on as well. "Maybe I'll wow you with my latte making skills. I've gotten way better."

He chuckled and placed the muffins inside the glass case with the other freshly baked goods. "I don't doubt it. You're a really fast learner."

"Thanks." She smiled widely while bringing out the necessary equipment for making drinks. "Angela even taught me how to make the leaf in the lattes."

"Will you show me later?"

"Yeah, of course. Just don't be too wow-ed when I blow your mind."

Tadashi laughed, which in turn made her smile really widely at him. Making him laugh like that felt really good and she could feel her chest puff up in what could only be explained as pride. Proud because it was her who had gotten him to laugh just now.

When the morning rush passed by without incident, Hana and Tadashi were finally able to take a breather. At one point, Cass had come out to help because the line had grown a tad long, but once the crowd dwindled down, she went back inside to bake some more goods. Now, there were only a few people sitting at the tables doing their morning stuff, whether it be reading the newspaper or grabbing breakfast with a friend.

Now that it wasn't busy, Hana could finally show Tadashi her – still beginner – skills at latte art. From the corner of her eye, she could see him watching intently and full of interest. His gaze prickled the side of her face, not in an unpleasant way, and a blush rose up on her cheeks. Thank god, he couldn't see though because she was facing the espresso machine.

"Prepared to be amazed, Hamada." Hana said in mock pride, puffing out her chest to emphasize that while glancing at him.

The corner of his mouth tugged up in amusement. He leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Alright. Bring it on, Park."

There was a moment of silence as the espresso brewed into the cup and the milk began frothing in the steel pitcher. Hana tapped the now warm pitcher gently to bring all the foam up to the top before pouring the milk into the cup with measured speed. Then finally, she carefully made the leaf shape with the foam.

"There. All done." She announced with a wide smile. This might have been the best leaf yet. Actually proud of her work, she passed it along to Tadashi.

He peered down with an unreadable expression, his eyes squinting to scrutinize the art. Then, a wide smile bloomed on his lips, easing the anticipation that Hana had felt. "This is really good. Mind if I drink this?"

"Not at all. I made it for you." She smiled sweetly.

Tadashi took a sip and instantly his eyes closed in bliss. It was definitely the warm kick he needed after that morning rush and she had made it perfectly too. The espresso wasn't burnt and the milk was at the right temperature. There even was that subtle taste of hazelnut, just the way he personally liked his lattes.

However, that bliss was shortly lived because someone interrupted them.

"Hana?"

"Oh! Evan, hi!" Surprise sparked in Hana's eyes as she saw the tall brunet cellist from the other day at the mall. He had his cello case on his back and his expression was one of shock.

"Hey, good morning."

A sweet smile spread across her face as she nodded her head. "Morning. Are you on your way to school right now?"

He nodded and mirrored her smile, his green eyes lighting up as he did so. "Yeah. Thought I'd stop by for some coffee. I remembered you worked here."

"I do most days. Usually in the early mornings."

"You should come watch us practice or something on your day off. Or even whenever your shifts are done. I can show you around campus too, if you want." Evan offered as he took the change Hana passed to him. A look of delight fleeted across her face and she beamed excitedly.

"Seriously? I would love that. I haven't actually been there yet so it'd be cool to have a guide." Hana said while preparing to make the Americano for Evan. He seemed nice enough and they'd be around a lot of people if anything happened. Plus, she could probably drag someone along with her if she needed to.

"Awesome! Here, let me give you my number. Just shoot me a text or call when your next day off is." The brunet fumbled for his phone, digging into all his clothing pockets before bringing it out from his back pocket.

Tadashi quietly watched the exchange between them while he sipped his latte. An uncomfortable feeling sat in his chest as he watched them talk. He vaguely remembered this guy from the other day and it seemed they were getting pretty well acquainted, but Tadashi didn't miss how easily Hana was talking with the brunet. It was as if they'd been friends for a long time. It was so unlike how she had talked with Tadashi the first few times; she had been shy and their conversations had had their fair share of awkward pauses. But it was ... different with this Evan guy.

Frowning, Tadashi rubbed his chest gently to soothe the uncomfortable feeling. He didn't really understand why and he wasn't sure if he enjoyed this foreign feeling.

The long awaited chapter! Sorry it took so long, I had a bit of a writer's block with this one so it took me awhile to get it out. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter and I'll be honest, it's not my favourite. But I think it's mainly here to get the story moving along, which it will.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the love! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited, and read! I'm hoping the next chapter will be easier for me to write. See you soon!

~Mari