Brewed Awakening (Chapter 9)
Nino wiped down the counter after the morning rush. Many people had told him that they were happy that he was back and he had smiled and thanked them for the kind wishes and words.
“Finally! I thought you had closed for good,” he heard suddenly in a snort and looked up.
“It was a week,” Nino replied with a roll of his eyes. “I am sure you survived well.”
Jun shook his head and sat at the side of the counter, his usual place and wriggled his fingers and Nino when the man lifted his eyebrow.
“I thought you finally got killed by whoever you have dirt on that pays for your rent.”
Nino wriggled his eyebrows and smirked. “Maybe I am the son of a politician or mafia boss and they pay for my rent. Or I have made you all so dependent on me that I earn millions a day from coffee sales.”
Jun snickered and nodded. “That would make sense for you,” he said, chuckling when Nino threw his head back to laugh out loud.
“Whatever it is, this counter is not for non-paying customers. And even if I understand that you missed me so so much, I am not one for chit-chat.”
“No kidding,” Jun said and put his chin on his palm as he watched him in silence for a while. “But it seems you make exceptions for people.”
“Huh?” Nino made, not really listening as he was already serving the next customer, a tiny smile on his face as the door opened to reveal Ohno who looked around the shop. After the other had left the evening before Nino had put the tables and chairs back where they belonged and hang up a few pictures in dark frames. The paintings were simple strokes with a brush, depicting Kanji or black and white Japanese style pictures.
He liked the simplicity of them, and the contrast to the more colourful walls.
“Nothing. So is there a possibility to still get a coffee here or did you stop with that thing?”
Nino rolled his eyes and looked back at him. “How about you stand in line as all normal mortals here and order your drink? If I remember correctly all you did was come in and sit down.”
“When I came in there was nobody and you clearly know what I order normally or has your brain died while redecorating?”
“Jun-pon, Jun-pon. There are rules,” Nino said and greeted Ohno with a small smirk.
“Good morning, Ohno-san.”
“Good morning,” Ohno said, looking curiously from one to the other. “Do I know you?”
“Ignore J, he is pouting since he is craving my perfect coffee and I told him he has to wait.”
“Yeah, he is beginning to ignore all of his customers. I don’t think his shop will survive for much longer, just because he has other things he focuses on now.”
“What?” Ohno asked in confusion.
“Ignore him. He is a pouty kid when he doesn’t get his coffee.”
“Uhm…” Ohno said, stopping for just a second when he felt Jun’s half-amused half-serious glare on his face. Then he smiled though and looked at Nino with more confidence. “I’d like to have a Bewitched with extra cinnamon since I didn’t have it for so long.”
“Stupid,” Nino said with a roll of his eyes, already thinking of how to balance the extra sweetener out to make it taste perfect. “Anything else?”
“How kind of you to ask,” Ohno said with a grin and Nino ignored him as he turned on the machine. “I would like one devil’s egg and then how about you make sure that your dear Jun-pon gets his favourite as well.”
“Oh, will you pay for him?”
“How about I pay for both of us. Ohno-kun right?”
Ohno smiled and nodded as Nino sighed and held out his hand for Jun to put a few notes in. He pulled out the change from the register and played with the coins. “I should keep them as a reimbursement for the problems both of you cause me.”
Jun snorted as he took the change and Nino put down the espresso cup in front of him together with a cup of water.
“Room temperature just for you,” he said with a teasing smirk as he put it down. Jun looked as if he wanted to argue for a second but then he thanked him and took a sip of his water.
“I will forbid you to have any more espresso if you let it cool down again,” Nino warned him and put Ohno’s cup in front of him.
“I should be jealous that everybody seems to get customised cups.”
“How is that everybody? And it is all his fault,” Nino said and pointed at Ohno, who held the cup in both hands and looked innocently back at them, before taking the first sip and almost moaning at the taste.
“I take it is to your taste?” Nino asked.
“Perfect!” Ohno said with a nod and then he looked at Jun who murmured something that none of them could decipher and lifted the eyebrow. “I can make you a cup!”
“I am not sure I want one,” Jun said and Ohno giggled almost when the ears of Jun got a bit red. Nino decided it was time to serve the other customers and a bit later he put the ordered food in front of Ohno who hummed his thanks and got back into talking with Jun.
“Oh, so you let Ohno-san help with decorating?”
“He forced himself onto me,” Nino said distractedly as he had to change the coffee beans and clean the machine as it was complaining somehow.
Jun snorted and Ohno wriggled his eyebrows as he looked back at Jun’s amused look. It didn’t take long until Jun laughed at the funny face the other made.
“I thought he was faster if he had help. And it looked a bit lonely.”
“I guess our Nino likes to be on his own.”
“Since when do I belong to any human being?”
“We are talking about you, not with you.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” Nino said sarcastically.
“Of course.”
“Hey, Ohno-san if you ever decide to make him a cup, it should be purple. Fitting for a moody princess as he is.”
Jun shook his head and drowned his espresso as he put it down with a small grimace. “I’ll take another one.”
Nino lifted his eyebrow and pointed at the not existing line. “I told you to order at the front.”
“It’s not as if I sit at a table.”
“You are so lazy.”
“And you are so complicated.”
Nino sighed as he took the cup to put it on the side and prepare another one for Jun without another word.
“You two seem to get along well,” Ohno observed and Nino chuckled as Jun grumbled when Nino snatched his glass of water, pointing at the cup to tell him to drink it first.
“Jun was one of my first regulars,” Nino offered as an explanation then and watched Jun drink the hot coffee with just the smallest of frowns on his face.
“Yeah, I am around here often and when the shop opened I wanted to check it out. I like it more than the overrun places. And now with the redecorating, I like it.”
“Thank you… I guess,” Nino said with a frown.
“It is more inviting, colourful.”
“So you say it was depressing before?”
Jun shook his head with a sigh. That was not what he meant, but he didn’t argue as he could tell from the small twinkle in Nino’s eyes that he understood.
Ohno chuckled and took a small sip of his coffee, hiding his smile behind the rim of the cup as he watched the other two continue to bicker back and forth for a while.
“Finally! I thought you had closed for good,” he heard suddenly in a snort and looked up.
“It was a week,” Nino replied with a roll of his eyes. “I am sure you survived well.”
Jun shook his head and sat at the side of the counter, his usual place and wriggled his fingers and Nino when the man lifted his eyebrow.
“I thought you finally got killed by whoever you have dirt on that pays for your rent.”
Nino wriggled his eyebrows and smirked. “Maybe I am the son of a politician or mafia boss and they pay for my rent. Or I have made you all so dependent on me that I earn millions a day from coffee sales.”
Jun snickered and nodded. “That would make sense for you,” he said, chuckling when Nino threw his head back to laugh out loud.
“Whatever it is, this counter is not for non-paying customers. And even if I understand that you missed me so so much, I am not one for chit-chat.”
“No kidding,” Jun said and put his chin on his palm as he watched him in silence for a while. “But it seems you make exceptions for people.”
“Huh?” Nino made, not really listening as he was already serving the next customer, a tiny smile on his face as the door opened to reveal Ohno who looked around the shop. After the other had left the evening before Nino had put the tables and chairs back where they belonged and hang up a few pictures in dark frames. The paintings were simple strokes with a brush, depicting Kanji or black and white Japanese style pictures.
He liked the simplicity of them, and the contrast to the more colourful walls.
“Nothing. So is there a possibility to still get a coffee here or did you stop with that thing?”
Nino rolled his eyes and looked back at him. “How about you stand in line as all normal mortals here and order your drink? If I remember correctly all you did was come in and sit down.”
“When I came in there was nobody and you clearly know what I order normally or has your brain died while redecorating?”
“Jun-pon, Jun-pon. There are rules,” Nino said and greeted Ohno with a small smirk.
“Good morning, Ohno-san.”
“Good morning,” Ohno said, looking curiously from one to the other. “Do I know you?”
“Ignore J, he is pouting since he is craving my perfect coffee and I told him he has to wait.”
“Yeah, he is beginning to ignore all of his customers. I don’t think his shop will survive for much longer, just because he has other things he focuses on now.”
“What?” Ohno asked in confusion.
“Ignore him. He is a pouty kid when he doesn’t get his coffee.”
“Uhm…” Ohno said, stopping for just a second when he felt Jun’s half-amused half-serious glare on his face. Then he smiled though and looked at Nino with more confidence. “I’d like to have a Bewitched with extra cinnamon since I didn’t have it for so long.”
“Stupid,” Nino said with a roll of his eyes, already thinking of how to balance the extra sweetener out to make it taste perfect. “Anything else?”
“How kind of you to ask,” Ohno said with a grin and Nino ignored him as he turned on the machine. “I would like one devil’s egg and then how about you make sure that your dear Jun-pon gets his favourite as well.”
“Oh, will you pay for him?”
“How about I pay for both of us. Ohno-kun right?”
Ohno smiled and nodded as Nino sighed and held out his hand for Jun to put a few notes in. He pulled out the change from the register and played with the coins. “I should keep them as a reimbursement for the problems both of you cause me.”
Jun snorted as he took the change and Nino put down the espresso cup in front of him together with a cup of water.
“Room temperature just for you,” he said with a teasing smirk as he put it down. Jun looked as if he wanted to argue for a second but then he thanked him and took a sip of his water.
“I will forbid you to have any more espresso if you let it cool down again,” Nino warned him and put Ohno’s cup in front of him.
“I should be jealous that everybody seems to get customised cups.”
“How is that everybody? And it is all his fault,” Nino said and pointed at Ohno, who held the cup in both hands and looked innocently back at them, before taking the first sip and almost moaning at the taste.
“I take it is to your taste?” Nino asked.
“Perfect!” Ohno said with a nod and then he looked at Jun who murmured something that none of them could decipher and lifted the eyebrow. “I can make you a cup!”
“I am not sure I want one,” Jun said and Ohno giggled almost when the ears of Jun got a bit red. Nino decided it was time to serve the other customers and a bit later he put the ordered food in front of Ohno who hummed his thanks and got back into talking with Jun.
“Oh, so you let Ohno-san help with decorating?”
“He forced himself onto me,” Nino said distractedly as he had to change the coffee beans and clean the machine as it was complaining somehow.
Jun snorted and Ohno wriggled his eyebrows as he looked back at Jun’s amused look. It didn’t take long until Jun laughed at the funny face the other made.
“I thought he was faster if he had help. And it looked a bit lonely.”
“I guess our Nino likes to be on his own.”
“Since when do I belong to any human being?”
“We are talking about you, not with you.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” Nino said sarcastically.
“Of course.”
“Hey, Ohno-san if you ever decide to make him a cup, it should be purple. Fitting for a moody princess as he is.”
Jun shook his head and drowned his espresso as he put it down with a small grimace. “I’ll take another one.”
Nino lifted his eyebrow and pointed at the not existing line. “I told you to order at the front.”
“It’s not as if I sit at a table.”
“You are so lazy.”
“And you are so complicated.”
Nino sighed as he took the cup to put it on the side and prepare another one for Jun without another word.
“You two seem to get along well,” Ohno observed and Nino chuckled as Jun grumbled when Nino snatched his glass of water, pointing at the cup to tell him to drink it first.
“Jun was one of my first regulars,” Nino offered as an explanation then and watched Jun drink the hot coffee with just the smallest of frowns on his face.
“Yeah, I am around here often and when the shop opened I wanted to check it out. I like it more than the overrun places. And now with the redecorating, I like it.”
“Thank you… I guess,” Nino said with a frown.
“It is more inviting, colourful.”
“So you say it was depressing before?”
Jun shook his head with a sigh. That was not what he meant, but he didn’t argue as he could tell from the small twinkle in Nino’s eyes that he understood.
Ohno chuckled and took a small sip of his coffee, hiding his smile behind the rim of the cup as he watched the other two continue to bicker back and forth for a while.