Chapter 4: Mister fantastico-mystical

Kuroo stood in front of the 'Fukuro coffee ' door for a long moment, staring at the sign. He was well aware that it might seem strange to see him motionless in front of the door like that from an outside perspective. He finally decided to enter. He took a deep breath, clenched his buttocks, adorned himself with the most confident mask he had in stock, and pushed the door open As he entered, he strode confidently toward the bar. His steps slowed when he saw the person behind it: a tall, well-built young man - sturdy enough to weather the winter, at least - with a buzz cut and a face reflecting either serene monk-like wisdom or cosmic aloofness. A strange sense of confusion overwhelmed the brunet: after all, he had only met this handsome stranger once, and his twisted mind could have distorted the memory. It had happened to him in the past: a charming encounter late at night that turned out to be far less charming when he had to meet the person sober and in broad daylight... Maybe the guy in his head wasn't as fantastico-mystical as he remembered?

No, no, that was silly! Kuroo certainly wasn't the most physiognomist guy around, but he wasn't devoid of visual acuity and functional memory either. Besides, Akaashi-san had much longer hair, and he wasn't that tall! There!

Well, he could have gone to the hairdresser and be on a step ladder now, no?

No!

"Hello, welcome to Fukuro, what can I do for you?"

Kuroo was caught off guard; his mind had taken up too much space to realize he had finally reached the counter and needed to revert to socially acceptable behavior.

"Uh... Hello."

That's good, keep going.

"Hello."

Silence.

"Akaashi-san?" the brunet blurted out without really having taken the time to form a complete sentence in his head.

The young man didn't seem particularly concerned about the strange interaction he was having. He scanned Kuroo, without appearing to pass any judgment, and spoke in an even tone:

"He's on break at the moment."

"Oh..."

"He's over there, by the window."

Kuroo turned in the indicated direction. He smiled, and his heart fluttered when he recognized the silhouette. He was also reassured to realize that yes, he had a perfectly functional memory and that the fantastico-mystical wasn't a complete invention of his sick mind. He thanked the barista with a bow and headed towards the table of the handsome not-so-stranger anymore (he needed that to sink in). With each step bringing him closer, a jumbled feeling of euphoria surged within him, a childish yet intoxicating sensation. It was a mix of joy one felt when meeting friends in the schoolyard, the ethereal and boiling tension of meeting a celebrity, and a touch of a first date.

Akaashi hadn't raised his head from his book yet. Kuroo was about to announce his presence but refrained, suddenly unsettled by the title of said book, which was none other than 'JENSEITS VON GUT UND BÖSE: VORSPIEL EINER PHILOSOPHIE DER ZUKUNFT' (not all cap, but Kuroo had a very clear impression that someone was yelling at him in German).

"Oh... Kuroo-san. Nice to see you again."

Akaashi's velvet soothing voice managed to pull Kuroo out of his bewilderment.

"Akaashi-san."

He couldn't help but smile. He stood there for a moment.

"Uh, I came to return your scarf," Kuroo finally said in one breath, without even caring about the informality of his language.

However, the man in front of him didn't seem to be bothered by it. He nodded and reached out to take it back. Once he had the fabric in hand, Kuroo saw him subtly twitch his nostrils. Before Kuroo could begin to overanalyze this, Akaashi spoke again:

"I still have a little time before I have to go back to work. Would you like to join me, Kuroo-san?"

Kuroo had to bite the inside of his cheeks to prevent a silly smile from escaping upon hearing familiarity slip into the elegant speech of the brunet.

" With pleasure."

Akaashi nodded and offered him the chair opposite him. Kuroo wasted no time and sat down.

"Sorry for interrupting your reading, whatever it may be."

"Oh! Nietzsche," informed Akaashi.

"Oh yes, Nietzsche and his famous 'Jenuseitsu van gutu unda boissu.'"

While Kuroo tried to mimic an impeccable German accent, when the words came out of his mouth, he knew that it was an insult to all German speakers worldwide. However,to his pleasant surprise, it managed to amuse Akaashi, who even let out a discreet laugh.

"You seem to be quite familiar with Nietzsche's work," teased Akaashi.

"Indeed, I particularly enjoyed his work 'Ja nein Ich bin eine Kartoffel danke schön'- a masterpiece."

He saw the brunet in front of him restrain himself from bursting into laughter, but he couldn't help but let out an amused and somewhat mocking smile.

"A masterpiece indeed."

"Isn't it?"

The two young men exchanged an amused glance.

"Otherwise, do you often spend your free time reading philosophy in German?"

"Indeed..."

"Interesting. And why do you inflict that on yourself ?"

"Mainly for classes. But I like to see it as a hobby too."

"My condolences..."

Akaashi rolled his eyes but didn't argue, a playful smile still on his lips.

"So, I gather you are not a fan of German literature."

"A fan? No. I must confess that I know nothing about it... Maybe if someone were to read it to me, I could fully appreciate it."

Kuroo couldn't help but let a mischievous smile slide onto his lips, and his mischief was rewarded when he saw an equally mischievous glint awaken in his counterpart's eyes, but he didn't insist. The game would stay at that for the moment.

" Do you venture into reading in other languages, Akaashi-san?"

"Oh yes." he paused to think " English, of course... French too, Italian, Spanish, and I am starting to get into Greek... Oh, and Korean, but that was just out of necessity really."

If Kuroo wasn't sitting, he would certainly have fallen over. His astonishment and honest surprise almost made the brunet in front of him blush.

" But... Do you speak all these languages? Like... fluently?"

"More or less," announced Akaashi as if he weren't at all 1, 2, 3... Hexalingual? Nonaglot? Was there even a word for that?

(The word "polyglot" did not cross his stupid mind)

Kuroo was completely blown away.

"Well, now I just have to get into it; could you lend it to me?" asked Kuroo, pointing to the book on the table.

"With pleasure."

"In exchange, I could lend you 'Guri to Guro,' an excellent work!"

Akaashi was taken aback and let out a discreet laugh.

"Oh, I do not doubt it."

"And I was proud of my vaguely English babble..."

"I just study languages at the University, that is why..."

"Still, it's very impressive!"

Akaashi nodded his thanks for the compliment, struggling hard not to show any trace of the gentle tingling that the flattery gave him.

"I made a friend in class, Chris, who speaks German! Wait and maybe we'll be able to have our next conversations in the language of Goethe."

"I look forward to it, Kuroo-san."

Akaashi had relaxed his posture, now holding his chin in the palm of his left hand with nonchalance, and his eyes, still tinged with amusement, were seriously unsettling Kuroo. He hurriedly spoke up to avoid slipping too much:

"With my suitcase adventure, I also learned a couple of Russian!"

"Oh yes! How did that go ?"

Kuroo then rushed into the description of his more or less epic adventures (which he slightly embellished to maintain the attention of his audience). The more his words unfolded, the more he felt Akaashi opening up to him. Kuroo couldn't help but memorize every tiny detail that caught his gaze: the way he slowly blinked when he listened, the sparkle in his eyes, the grace of his gestures, the movement of his fingers when he tucked an ebony strand behind his ear, the discreet curve of his smile, the timbre of his voice, the way he clasped his hands when speaking... And his scent, his scent seemed to grow every second around him. He already knew it, having spent several days in its company, but it seemed to have intensified, the fragrance of pine forests during a winter storm, of lilacs and fresh moss.

The discussion went on, Kuroo not being able to say about what, and then, naturally, silence fell. Akaashi glanced up at the clock and briefly made eye contact with his colleagues at the bar.

"I have to get back to work," he announced finally.

However, none of them made a move. Kuroo eventually answered:

"Okay, I'll let you get back to work then. Thanks for the scarf."

Akaashi, who had stood up already, nodded in acceptance of his thanks. A smile hung on his lips, one that Kuroo hadn't seen leave his face for a while, and it stirred something in his chest, like a simmering broth left on low heat for hours.

"See you soon." Kuroo wished it sounded determined, but his voice had taken on the intonation of a question.

"Yes. See you soon..."

The brunet let out a smile, which he tried (more or less successfully) to conceal as he gathered his things. The two young men finally parted ways, waving goodbye. When Kuroo looked away to leave, he felt like gravity was lighter and the atmosphere infinitely softer.

-/-

Nobuyuki Kai wasn't one to judge people hastily, or to judge anything for that matter. Not only was it a matter of ethics, but also because it demanded a lot of energy for very little benefit. However, he found himself tempted to indulge in it when he saw a young man standing motionless in front of the door for five minutes. He wondered if he should go out to help him, but quickly thought better of it. After all, the young man was within his rights and didn't seem particularly distressed. Kai made an effort not to appear too surprised when the young man finally entered. He maintained his composure when he saw him approach the counter, a certain unease evident in his eyes. His task became more complicated when the young man awkwardly asked if Akaashi-san was there. Kai pointed out where his colleague was, and the strange boy followed his directions without ordering anything.

Kai remained standing in front of the counter, trying as much as possible to not let his attention be drawn too much to the scene unfolding before his eyes. He didn't particularly indulge in voyeurism, but the event was enough to feed his curiosity.

"Yo!"

Kai was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when one of his colleagues arrived behind the counter.

"Komi-san," he greeted as the chestnut-haired man was putting on his apron.

He immediately directed his attention back to strange boy, now sitting with Akaashi in the back of the room.

His colleague followed his gaze:

"Who's that guy?"

"And why is Akaashi smiling like that? It's creepy!"

His second colleague (and, unfortunately, manager), a tall, blond young man, interposed himself between his two colleagues, leaning on the bar where he could spy on the two fellows at the back of the room.

"Konoha-san, not so loud!"

"What? I'm just stating the obvious. Who's that guy?"

"I don't know, he came to see Akaashi-san," Kai quietly announced.

Konoha raised an eyebrow:

"Why?"

"To return his scarf, I think..."

His two colleagues turned to him simultaneously, both equally perplexed.

"His scarf?" Komi insisted.

"What was he doing with his scarf?!"

Kai shrugged and decided to find something to do to escape the conversation that he sensed was coming.

"Konoha! Stop staring at them like that!" the chestnut-haired one whispered.

"Customers just walked in," observed Kai, looking at the blond.

The latter got the message. He looked up, clicked his tongue, but still grabbed his notepad before heading to the table where the newcomers had settled, presenting them with his most radiant, albeit very fake, smile. As he was returning with their orders, he froze. An incredibly improbable sound had just reached his ears. Meeting his colleague's gaze, he realized the surprise was mutual. The blond hurried back behind the bar, grabbed Komi by his arm to pull him close, and whispered:

"Am I crazy or did he just laugh?"

Komi was too stunned to speak.

"Something's not right..."

Kai didn't say anything, even though he thought the same.

"But doesn't he have enough already?" the blond exclaimed.

Komi chuckled in agreement.

The unsettlement of the clandestine audience grew more and more with every passing minute, reaching the pinnacle of absurdity when the two young men finally had to part ways, exchanging goodbyes with an intensity in their gaze that fooled no one. Once the mysterious young man had finally left, Akaashi retrieved his belongings and returned to the bar. He had regained the neutral and almost cold demeanor that everyone usually knew him for. When he finally realized that something was amiss, he turned his attention to them:

"Is something going on?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, dude, yes, clearly something is going on!" Konoha intervened, emphasizing each word with his trademark dramatic flair.

Akaashi frowned.

"I'll take the orders," announced Kai, fleeing the scene.

"Who was it?" Komi asked, more calmly than his manager, but still intrigued.

Akaashi turned his eyes toward the door, then back to them, his face reflecting no emotion.

"Nobody."

Konoha almost choked:

"But Akaashi, we have eyes you know! Clearly, it wasn't 'nobody'," he insisted on the last word, mimicking quotation marks with his hands.

Akaashi visibly closed off.

"Full poker face," Komi murmured, almost frightened.

"I do not see what you are getting at."

"Oh, come on! I'm not judging you or anything, but clearly, there's something!"

Kai returned, but this time he couldn't avoid being caught up in the conversation.

"Kai! We're not crazy! Tell him you think the same!"

Silence.

"I'm sorry, Akaashi-san. But I think they're right."

The brunet was defeated.

He closed his eyelids and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, the coldness of his features had dissipated a bit, reflecting now a certain vulnerability.

" I don't understand," Komi intervened, "What's wrong ? He seems to like you. And they…"

"It is complicated." Akaashi interrupted abruptly. "Nothing will happen. We barely know each other. I don't know him."

"But, he was clearly courting you!"

Akaashi looked the blond in the eyes, his sternness wavered slightly:

"I am not sure he realized it, or understood the implications... I mean, we might never meet again, why should I care ?"

Akaashi wanted to get back to work to finally escape the conversation.

"He still knows where you work," mumbled Komi.

Konoha frowned. What had begun as playful teasing was taking a much more serious turn now, and his friend's reaction was making him more puzzled than he already was. The charade had gone on long enough. Without further ado, he walked toward Akaashi, took the cup he was cleaning from his hands, grabbed his arm, and pulled him along. It was only when they were both alone in the stockroom that he turned to face him.

"Alright, cut the crap! It was funny at first, but seeing how you reacted, it's not anymore. Oh, and stop with your pheromones, you're going to smoke out the entire coffee shop!"

The brunet grimaced, holding to his stubbornness, but Konoha felt his aura become less oppressive. He sighed.

"What's the problem?"

His voice softened, and that was enough to weaken the brunet's defenses.

"Nothing."

The blond rolled his eyes, put his hands on his hips, and looked at the brunet with a very unimpressed gaze.

"It sure looks like it. I didn't say anything in front of everyone, but if he came back with your scarf, it's because you gave it to him!"

Akaashi looked away, visibly embarrassed.

" 'Kaashi. We both know perfectly well what that implies. Why did you do that if you're not interested?"

No response.

" 'Kaashi?"

The interested party sighed before confessing, in a low voice:

"It was just to protect him."

Konoha's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets:

"Excuse me? Just to protect him?!"

"You are being dramatic. Yes, he was completely lost, he was going through a place that... anyway, I could not just let him leave without doing anything to help."

"I don't see you marking my clothes every time I leave work in the evening?"

"That would not mean the same thing at all, and you know it."

"And this doesn't?"

"No. He probably did not even notice it. He is a non-pack beta, I am not even sure he guessed my secondary sex and..."

"Not difficult to figure out though," commented Konoha. "And it's not much better to do this behind his back."

Akaashi paused.

"Will you stop? How does this concern you?"

"In no way, we agree on this, but it pisses me off me that you're lying to my face like that."

Akaashi relaxed his shoulders.

"I am not lying..."

"But?"

"Even if I do not know him well yet, I do enjoy his company..."

"Ah!"

"But."

"But?"

"But, it is not only up to me... And..."

"And ?"

"And he does not seem very familiar with... these kinds of things. I do not know if he would understand..."

Konoha crossed his arms and leaned against a stack of cardboard boxes.

"I have too much to lose to risk everything, especially after what happened..."

Konoha sighed

"Okay, okay..."

"Well, no more comments then."

"But!"

"No buts!"

"But don't assume nothing will happen!"

"I know nothing will happen."

"Don't act like a brat."

"I am not."

"... Don't overthink it, okay? Talk to them, at least to see what they think?"

He knew Akaashi probably wouldn't do it, but...

"Thank you, Konoha-san."

The courtesy was delivered with a passive-aggressive note that didn't go unnoticed.

"Okay, okay, I won't meddle anymore!"

Akaashi nodded and thanked him, this time sincerely.

Unfortunately for him, Konoha wouldn't keep his promise very long.

-end of the chapter-

Next chapter : Otto the sugar daddy

The brunet's eyes stumbled upon the badge fixed on the silver-haired guy's shirt. Strangely, it didn't indicate the name he knew. Instead, it was written in Romanji: "OTTO." The young man in front of him followed his gaze and finally understood where his confusion was coming from.

"Ah! Don't worry, just a dumb joke."

"Oh... Okay, see you later then."

He didn't use any name, not knowing which one to use.

The charming "OTTO" nodded, and Kuroo reached the end of the counter. As he waited for his drink, he couldn't stop ruminating on the question. What could be so funny about calling your colleague "OTTO"? Kuroo had never been particularly fond of Germanic names, but this one was still quite… peculiar. Only when he was called to pick up his drink did the answer finally occur to him:

"Otto-san... Daddy! Sugar Daddy!"

See ya