"Good morning, Kyo," Chizuru greets him with a smile as she approaches the counter. Kyo blinks a few times before mumbling something in response. "I see you didn't get enough sleep. Again."
"Sleeping is hard," Kyo mumbles. "Anyways, what d'you want?"
Chizuru gives her order and waits patiently at the other end of the counter. Kyo is a bit clumsy in his tired state, but Chizuru finds it amusing. He slides her drink across the counter when he's finished.
"Kyo," she says, "what do you think of Yagami?"
"Hm? He's fine. A bit of a bastard, but fun to talk to," Kyo replies. "His hair is cool, too. And I like his sense of fashion." Chizuru snickers a bit– she and Maki had always made fun of Iori for being emo, even though the redhead insisted that he wasn't. Kyo leans over the counter and places his elbows on it, resting his chin on his hands. "Why are you asking?"
"Do you like him as just a friend or… something more?"
That wakes him up.
Kyo sputters, his elbows slipping off the counter as he stands quickly. "What?"
"Do you want to date him?"
"Kagura-san, I don't think it's your business–"
"I've known Iori since we were kids. I think he wants to date you, but he's afraid of rejection. If you want something to happen, you'll have to do it yourself. Iori is one of the smartest people I know, but he's also denser than a rock."
Kyo is silent. His face feels like it's on fire.
"I didn't want to intervene, but I talked to your co-worker the other day and if I'm being honest, what he told me made me want to bang my head against a wall." Kyo makes a noise. He'll get Benimaru back for this later. "Please ask him out. Iori's been insufferable lately." Kyo's face contorts in confusion, because he's not sure what she means by that.
"How do you know that he likes me?"
Chizuru groans. "It's so obvious! He doesn't know how to flirt so he just insults you instead, and I'm pretty sure some of the songs on his band's new album are about you. And haven't you noticed the way he looks at you? Please, don't tell me you're that dense. I could make an entire list, Kyo."
Kyo squawks. Like a strangled bird or something.
"I'll… um… I'll think about it," Kyo mumbles.
Chizuru smiles. "Good."
"Also… what do you mean by Yagami's been insufferable lately?"
Chizuru purses her lips. "I am not in a position to disclose that information."
Kyo is even more confused now, but he lets it go. One thing at a time.
Iori throws the door open to the coffee shop and rushes inside. It's cold out, and he's got places to be today. He was hoping to get an earlier start than this so he could enjoy some coffee before his show, but he woke up late.
"Kyo!" He yells, since no one is at the counter, "Kyo, I need coffee. Now."
The brunette emerges from the kitchen after a few moments. "You sound like you're in a hurry." He goes to the machine and starts making espresso. "How does a latte sound?"
"I don't care what you're giving me so long as it has enough caffeine to power me through the night."
"Triple shot of espresso, then?" Kyo smiles at him, but it falters when Iori nods. "Seriously? Damn, where are you going tonight?"
"I have a show at a bar, but I'm running late. Slept in."
"You slept in?"
"Went to bed at… seven in the morning, I think."
"Yagami," Kyo turns to face him, "what the hell?" Iori shrugs. Kyo turns back to the espresso machine, shaking his head.
Kyo starts steaming some milk. Iori shifts from side to side, trying his best not to be impatient, but he really needs to leave. He checks his watch. Five fifty. They were supposed to meet at six to set up before the performance. He knows it's his own fault for waking up late, but he chooses to take it out on Kyo.
"What's taking you so long? I have to go!"
Kyo clicks his tongue. "Be patient, dickhead! Lattes aren't made instantly!" He finally finishes and puts the paper cup in front of Iori. "Go, you can come back and pay later."
"Oh… thanks, I'll… I'll have to come back tomorrow." He picks up his latte and starts walking towards the door, but stops as he notices something on the side of the paper cup.
"What… what the hell is this?!" Iori whirls around to face Kyo.
"My number?"
They stare at each other. This can't be happening. Iori is surprised his grip on the cup hasn't caused it to crumple yet.
"Look," Kyo says, after an awkward pause, "if you're not into men, that's fine, I just thought that–"
"I am very much into men," Iori growls. Kyo blinks a few times. He swallows thickly and rubs his neck.
"So… how would you feel about a date?" His cheeks are tinted a light pink. Iori's face is… far beyond pink.
Iori glances down at the cup and back to Kyo. "I guess you'll find out."
Kyo smiles at him, and it's not one of his challenging, catlike smirks. It's soft and sweet and Iori just wants to kiss him, dammit.
"All right, Yagami. You should get going."
Iori turns towards the door again. As he's leaving, Kyo yells at him again.
"Oi! Be careful with that, I worked hard on it!"
Iori isn't sure what he means, but he grunts in response and starts walking quickly to the commuter rail station.
He boards the train in one piece and sighs in relief as he leans against a window. Iori opens the lid of the coffee cup… and quickly realizes what Kyo meant. He can vaguely make out the shape of a heart in the latte. Iori snaps a picture with his phone and looks on the side of the cup for Kyo's number. He sends him the image along with a message: I'm sorry.
A response comes a few seconds later, while Iori is sipping the latte.
You bastard.
Iori smiles to himself. For a moment, he was worried that he had typed the wrong number, but this is clearly Kyo.
You asshole. You absolute bastard.
do you know how much effort that took me?
You picked the worst day to ask me out
my bad :(
It's fine. I'd like to go on a date with you sometime, if that's all right
lol you're so formal about it
cute :)
Whatever
I'd like to go on a date with you too.
Let's talk about it later, when you're
done with your concert
Sure
He doesn't get a reply after that, and assumes that Kyo has gone back to work. Iori smiles a bit. It seems like his attempts at flirting… worked. And then he frowns.
His attempts at flirting worked.
"Hiiii," Kyo says in a sing-song voice.
"Hi," Iori replies, amused by his tone. He messaged Kyo after the concert and then called him when the brunette asked to do so.
"So how was your show?"
"Went well. Think I did a pretty good job with my solo." Iori checks his nails. Some of the nail polish is chipping off, and he makes a mental note to redo it at some point. For now, Iori is resting in his bathtub with a face mask on.
"That's nice! I'll have to see you live sometime. I'm not much of a jazz person, but I like your band. You're a pretty good bassist."
"I've only been playing for a few years. Not that good."
"Still better than anything I could do. I took guitar lessons for a bit, but I never practiced so I stopped," Kyo laughs. "I still have my old guitar, though."
"Oh? I'd like to hear you play sometime, if you remember anything."
"Not sure I'd ask for that if I were you. I'm pretty bad."
A pause. Iori doesn't mind the silence. He hears some shuffling, and then Kyo's voice returns.
"So… you wanna go on a date?"
"I already said yes, Kyo."
"Yeah, yeah… is there anything in particular you wanna do? I'm down for anything, but y'know, just wanted to ask."
Iori thinks for a moment. "We could… hang out at my place. I'm not… comfortable going out sometimes, so…"
"Yeah, that's fine! I'm off for the entire weekend, so tell me when you want me to come over. Daimon decided to have mercy on me for once."
Iori chuckles. "How nice of him to give his overworked barista a break. I'll text you my address. Is Friday all right?"
"Yup. I'll see you then. Take care, Iori. And get some sleep, dumbass."
"No," Iori smiles at the way Kyo laughs. "I'll try. Bye, Kyo."
Iori hangs up and sets his phone aside. This is the first date he's had in a while that he's looking forward to.
He hopes that whatever he and Kyo have going on will last.