Brewed Awakening (Chapter 3)
Ohno was grinning brightly at Nino over the counter while Nino looked back with an emotionless face. Between them on the counter just shy of the register was a big blue cup. It was not a tumbler as Nino had advised him to bring if he wanted to get coffee to take away but a freaking cup made of earthenware. Nino could tell it was self-made since it was a bit crooked at the rim but it looked professionally enough. And were there fishes on the bottom from the inside? He couldn’t believe it.
“Good morning, Ninomiya-san!” Ohno greeted.
“What is this?” Nino asked instead of a greeting and pointed at the mug that stood in between them.
“My favourite coffee mug,” Ohno explained as if that was the most normal thing to say and bring to a coffee shop.
“And what, dare say, would your favourite mug do in my coffee shop on my counter?”
“You said to bring my own! It is good for the environment, or so you said.”
“I said, to tell me if you want to drink your coffee inside so that I won’t give you a paper cup falsely assuming you leave directly again. Or better yet to bring a tumbler if you want coffee for take away.”
“Yes!” Ohno nodded and pointed to the cup. “And I brought my favourite mug for your coffee. So can I get it filled?”
“You…” Nino began but then took a deep breath. “Everything you wish of course,” he said with a snort, taking the cup and filling it with the coffee, very careful to only fill as much coffee in it as he would usually in his cups that were of a smaller size compared of the huge mug Ohno brought.
Ohno grinned and Nino had a very hard time not to flinch as Ohno still filled it to the top with creamer. That wouldn’t do! That would make the whole cup unbalanced but he gritted his teeth as Ohno went to take a seat across the work counter and pointedly ignored the slightly unhappy frown on Ohno’s face. He didn’t deserve any better he thought, as he turned around to clean the coffee machine even if that was not necessary.
He took care of the next few customers and only looked up again when Ohno appeared back in front of him, a worried look on his face.
“What is it now?”
“I think I need to tell you something.”
“So what do you think you need to tell me?” Nino asked sweetly. “Was the coffee not up to your standards?” Nino was of course not bitter about how Ohno had ruined it earlier, not at all. But if Ohno wanted to make him pour out more coffee for the same price just because he thought he could trick him he was so very wrong.
“I fear there was something wrong with it today. The coffee was a bit weak. Not at all as sinfully delicious as you claim it to be,” he said with a pout.
“That is not my fault but yours.”
“How can it be my fault?! I did not prepare the coffee,” Ohno asked shocked but also with a pout.
Nino rubbed his forehead wondering if the other was stupid or wanted to trick him in any way, but he reminded himself to be polite. It would make taking his soul later so much sweeter.
“It’s because of your cup,” he explained through gritted teeth, staring at it with a small glare on his face.
“Huh? What? What did it do wrong?”
Nino blinked and looked up. What? Was the other stupid or something? How could a cup do anything?
“Ah! Did you put magic on the cups? Are they special? Do they contain heat better? I thought they looked like normal boring white cups to me.”
“Excuse me?” Nino asked, slightly offended even if it was true and those cups were the cheapest he could buy in a bulk. But that was also belittling his coffee! And he took great pride in that. He had taken his time to choose the best beans and the best place to get them from and tried new ones all the time on his own before deciding they were worth it. It was not easy to get his approval and this man, no idiot, thought it was something special about stupid cups? The nerve!
Nino turned around, ignoring Ohno’s shocked noise and grabbed one of his normal cups to put it with a clang on the counter right beside the stupid blue cup with that stupid fish on the bottom! “See?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course not, because apparently, you are blind,” Nino said and would feel horrified with his reaction if not for Ohno’s amused lift of his eyebrow.
“Does the coffee taste differently because it is white?”
Nino snorted, not sure if the other was playing dumb or was for real but he took a deep breath and counted to ten silently. “As you can see my usual cups are smaller than the enormous cup you brought. I filled it with the normal amount of coffee since that’s what you pay for and if you fill the creamer until the top, of course, the balance is off and it is not as good as the usual ratio would be. So it is the fault of your cup.”
“So you say my poor innocent cup is at fault? I would say you are just not talented enough to fill in the right amount so that I can fill it to the brink with sweetener and it still tastes like the perfect coffee that will “bewitch” me.”
Nino knew it was a ploy to get him riled up. But damn, he took pride in his drinks! He huffed and grabbed the mug with a glare on his face and turned to the coffee machine as he prepared another one. He was very tempted to do something to it but he would not let Ohno claim that his coffee was inferior.
He could feel Ohno’s eyes on his hands as he carefully handled his favourite machine and put the coffee down in front of Ohno soon after the cinnamon creamer beside it. Ohno smirked as he poured the creamer in, carefully moving his mug in a circle to mix both liquids that way and then took a small sip.
“Aah,” he sighed, a happy smile on his face. “Perfect, yes,” Ohno lifted his hand in a wave and turned around to leave before Nino could tell him that he had told him so.
It took almost an hour for Nino to realise that Ohno had not paid for the second coffee.
“Good morning, Ninomiya-san!” Ohno greeted.
“What is this?” Nino asked instead of a greeting and pointed at the mug that stood in between them.
“My favourite coffee mug,” Ohno explained as if that was the most normal thing to say and bring to a coffee shop.
“And what, dare say, would your favourite mug do in my coffee shop on my counter?”
“You said to bring my own! It is good for the environment, or so you said.”
“I said, to tell me if you want to drink your coffee inside so that I won’t give you a paper cup falsely assuming you leave directly again. Or better yet to bring a tumbler if you want coffee for take away.”
“Yes!” Ohno nodded and pointed to the cup. “And I brought my favourite mug for your coffee. So can I get it filled?”
“You…” Nino began but then took a deep breath. “Everything you wish of course,” he said with a snort, taking the cup and filling it with the coffee, very careful to only fill as much coffee in it as he would usually in his cups that were of a smaller size compared of the huge mug Ohno brought.
Ohno grinned and Nino had a very hard time not to flinch as Ohno still filled it to the top with creamer. That wouldn’t do! That would make the whole cup unbalanced but he gritted his teeth as Ohno went to take a seat across the work counter and pointedly ignored the slightly unhappy frown on Ohno’s face. He didn’t deserve any better he thought, as he turned around to clean the coffee machine even if that was not necessary.
He took care of the next few customers and only looked up again when Ohno appeared back in front of him, a worried look on his face.
“What is it now?”
“I think I need to tell you something.”
“So what do you think you need to tell me?” Nino asked sweetly. “Was the coffee not up to your standards?” Nino was of course not bitter about how Ohno had ruined it earlier, not at all. But if Ohno wanted to make him pour out more coffee for the same price just because he thought he could trick him he was so very wrong.
“I fear there was something wrong with it today. The coffee was a bit weak. Not at all as sinfully delicious as you claim it to be,” he said with a pout.
“That is not my fault but yours.”
“How can it be my fault?! I did not prepare the coffee,” Ohno asked shocked but also with a pout.
Nino rubbed his forehead wondering if the other was stupid or wanted to trick him in any way, but he reminded himself to be polite. It would make taking his soul later so much sweeter.
“It’s because of your cup,” he explained through gritted teeth, staring at it with a small glare on his face.
“Huh? What? What did it do wrong?”
Nino blinked and looked up. What? Was the other stupid or something? How could a cup do anything?
“Ah! Did you put magic on the cups? Are they special? Do they contain heat better? I thought they looked like normal boring white cups to me.”
“Excuse me?” Nino asked, slightly offended even if it was true and those cups were the cheapest he could buy in a bulk. But that was also belittling his coffee! And he took great pride in that. He had taken his time to choose the best beans and the best place to get them from and tried new ones all the time on his own before deciding they were worth it. It was not easy to get his approval and this man, no idiot, thought it was something special about stupid cups? The nerve!
Nino turned around, ignoring Ohno’s shocked noise and grabbed one of his normal cups to put it with a clang on the counter right beside the stupid blue cup with that stupid fish on the bottom! “See?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course not, because apparently, you are blind,” Nino said and would feel horrified with his reaction if not for Ohno’s amused lift of his eyebrow.
“Does the coffee taste differently because it is white?”
Nino snorted, not sure if the other was playing dumb or was for real but he took a deep breath and counted to ten silently. “As you can see my usual cups are smaller than the enormous cup you brought. I filled it with the normal amount of coffee since that’s what you pay for and if you fill the creamer until the top, of course, the balance is off and it is not as good as the usual ratio would be. So it is the fault of your cup.”
“So you say my poor innocent cup is at fault? I would say you are just not talented enough to fill in the right amount so that I can fill it to the brink with sweetener and it still tastes like the perfect coffee that will “bewitch” me.”
Nino knew it was a ploy to get him riled up. But damn, he took pride in his drinks! He huffed and grabbed the mug with a glare on his face and turned to the coffee machine as he prepared another one. He was very tempted to do something to it but he would not let Ohno claim that his coffee was inferior.
He could feel Ohno’s eyes on his hands as he carefully handled his favourite machine and put the coffee down in front of Ohno soon after the cinnamon creamer beside it. Ohno smirked as he poured the creamer in, carefully moving his mug in a circle to mix both liquids that way and then took a small sip.
“Aah,” he sighed, a happy smile on his face. “Perfect, yes,” Ohno lifted his hand in a wave and turned around to leave before Nino could tell him that he had told him so.
It took almost an hour for Nino to realise that Ohno had not paid for the second coffee.