Title: Coffee Romance
Pairings: Sakuraiba; Matsumiya (side)
Genres: coffee shop-AU, slice of life, fluff, romance, humor
Rating: PG
Summary: Aiba has a crush, Sho is clueless and Nino gets so annoyed he has to take the matter into his own hands
Author's notes: dear
stormyexistence! at first it was hard to choose from your prompt ideas, I just loved them all so I decided to mix some of them, I hope it’s okay and you’ll enjoy it
A/N: originally posted
here. please check all the awesome fics written for this year's exchange!
“Aren’t we opening today?” Nino asked instead of greeting as he approached Aiba, his friend and boss, who was standing outside of their workplace, Café Chiba, studying the shop’s front with a frown.
Hearing Nino’s voice, Aiba turned to look at him with a bright smile.
“Of course, we’re opening!”
“Good to know. I started to worry that I got out of bed for nothing…” Nino commented as he followed Aiba through the door. “What were you staring at out there anyway?” Nino asked as they started to get ready to open the shop.
“The anniversary is coming up. So I thought we should do something special…”
Nino snickered and didn’t even try to cover it up.
“I assume you’re referring to the shop’s anniversary…” he said teasing.
“Of course! What else would I talk about?” Aiba said quickly, too quickly, and he felt his face heating up with blush. Nino never missed the chance to remind and tease him about how his shop’s anniversary happened to be the same day he met a certain someone…
1 year ago
After years of hard work, studying and saving up every yen he could spare, Aiba could hardly believe he finally achieved his long-time dream: opening his own coffee shop!
It was a tiny space, they could accommodate ten people or so at best but the seats were comfy, and the whole place gave a homey, cozy feeling which was Aiba’s primary goal when he designed his shop. To create a little oasis of peace and quiet in the heart of the always bustling city of Tokyo. And if the weather allowed it, they could set up a few tables in front of the shop too.
His high spirits couldn’t be dampened by the fact that barely a handful of people came in on opening day.
“You should just close up for the day. None will come…” Nino commented as he sat by the counter playing with his phone, despite the fact that he was employed by Aiba, so he shouldn't be behaving like that.
“No, I think I’ll wait a bit longer. But you can go home, Nino-chan,” Aiba said with a smile.
Nino rolled his eyes but jumped off the stool.
“Don’t mind if I do. See you tomorrow, Aiba-shi!”
Not long after Nino left, just to prove him wrong, the little bell above the door tinkled, announcing a new customer.
“Welcome to Café Chiba!” Aiba looked at the man with a bright smile.
The man must’ve been around the same age as Aiba himself. His round cheeks made his handsome face rather cute. Totally his type. But seeing the dark circles under his eyes made Aiba want to comfort him somehow.
“What can I get you?” He asked as the man approached the counter.
“Coffee. Black. The largest you have,” the man replied sliding on the stool, supporting his face in his palm tiredly.
“Coming right up!” Aiba said cheerfully.
“Café Chiba… That’s an unusual choice of name…” the man commented.
“I know but it works! You got curious too, right? A place called “Chiba” in the middle of Tokyo stands out, right? You sure won’t forget it!” Aiba explained, grinning as he prepared the order.
The man burst out laughing, with his whole body shaking, and that sight made Aiba’s heart skip a beat.
“You’ve got a point there!” the man said.
“Also, I’m from Chiba and I was kind of missing it when I had to decide the name so…” Aiba added, not at all embarrassed - though you would expect that with such comment coming from a grown man.
A few minutes later, Aiba placed the coffee and a piece of cheesecake in front of his customer.
“I didn’t order that…” the man pointed at the cake and looked up at Aiba questioningly.
“It’s on the house. You look like you could use a pick-me-up…” Aiba answered with a soft smile.
The man bowed his head, thanking him and accepting the cake.
“And as I said, I've just opened this place so I try to bribe the customers into coming back…” he added with a stage whisper that earned him another chuckle from the man. “I’m Aiba Masaki, by the way…”
“Congratulations, this place looks great!” the man praised. “I’m Sakurai Sho. My office is near-by so it’s possible that I’ll be back… No, scratch that, I’ll definitely be back!” Sho corrected after the first bite of cheesecake, with his mouth still half-full with the cake, eyes sparkling happily.
“That’s good to hear…”
That was almost a year ago and true to his word, Sho was back almost daily. Sometimes even more than once a day. No surprise then that he soon became one of Aiba’s favorites among the regular customers. Or the favorite if you asked Nino, which Aiba rather didn’t but still had to suffer every now and then. He insisted for a long time that Nino was wrong. If he was favoring Sho, that was only because of his obvious delight every time he received something tasty to eat or drink. That he was always willing to try out anything which gave Aiba a constant challenge as a barista.
“Sure, if you say so, Aiba-shi,” Nino always said but obviously never believed him if that annoying smirk of his was anything to go by.
Aiba never planned to admit it to Nino, not even after he accepted it himself that his friend was actually right. That he liked Sho more than a mere customer. Not only he was handsome but he was hardworking, smart, though a little gullible for which Aiba always felt sorry for him because Nino never missed a chance to take advantage of him. But the fact that Sho never got angry over the teasing or the pranks just proved again for Aiba what a good guy he was.
“A refill, Sho-san?” Nino asked startling the man.
Sho might have been sitting in front of his laptop but Nino saw clearly that he didn’t do any actual work in the past twenty minutes or so. Instead he was too busy spacing out, staring…
“Ah, Nino-kun! Yes, please! Thank you!” Sho said with a flustered smile.
“Coming right up!” Nino said dutifully and picked up Sho’s cup from the table but didn’t leave. “Don’t mind me asking but don’t you have an office to work at? Or rather where you should be?” he asked.
“It’s one of the perks I have. My boss lets me work from home but you have better coffee so here I am!” Sho said with a wide grin.
“Thanks for your continued patronage…” Nino said with barely concealed sarcasm which made Sho pale and flustered at the same time.
“Do you mean I’m bothering you?” Sho asked blinking guiltily. “That’s right, I didn’t ask if it was okay… I’m taking space from other customers, aren’t I?... I’m sorry, I’ll leave, just give me a moment to pack up and…”
Nino’s snickering made Sho freeze in the middle of his frenzied rambling.
“You’re fine, I guess. You’re paying after all. But just to be sure… you should check it with the boss. He makes the call after all…” Nino said on a sing-song tone before finally walking away to refill Sho’s cup.
From behind the counter, Nino watched as Sho looked toward Aiba who was chatting with an elderly couple at the other side of the shop. Nino was pretty sure that the other man had not realized the silly grin that appeared on his face but Nino saw it. Oh, he sure did…
Nino also saw how Aiba took a seat at Sho’s table a bit later and didn’t leave it for the better part of the rest of the day….
Soon after that, the sight of Aiba and Sho sitting and chatting together became a regular happening at the café and Nino almost started to regret saying anything. Of course, Nino wished his best friend’s happiness, and Aiba’s crush was starting to become too painful to watch silently, so he had to intervene. But in the end, all the time Aiba spent flirting resulted in Nino having to do all the work at the café alone and he did not like that at all! After all, Aiba didn’t pay him enough to man the shop all alone…
“I hope you’re not closed yet,” Sho opened the café’s door one evening with a sheepish smile on his face.
“We are just about…”
“Of course not!”
Nino and Aiba said at the same time. Sho burst out laughing and stepped in carefully. The master of the shop said it was fine, didn’t he?
“So I can come in, right?” Sho still asked just to be on the safe side.
“Just come on in, Sho-chan! Don’t mind Nino-chan, he’s just a grump as always,” Aiba said, trying to prevent the rest of Nino’s protests and complaints.
He couldn’t.
“I’m not working overtime just so you can indulge your favorite!” Nino stated and to prove his point, he headed to the backroom to gather his coat and bag.
“Hey! You can’t just leave! You’re supposed to help me close up!... I’m your boss!” Aiba complained loudly but he did not make any attempts to stop Nino from leaving.
“I’m sorry not only don’t want to, but I actually can’t stay. J said he’ll be home early tonight so he’s cooking dinner. I can’t be late for that,” Nino called back over his shoulder as he headed to the door. “Sho-san here can help you instead. It’s the least he could do for intruding on closing time…”
“You’re not even sorry so don’t pretend to be!” Aiba shot back. “And you don’t care about food either!” He yelled after him, laughing, though the door was already closing behind Nino.
Sho approached the counter with that adorable, embarrassed smile on his face and it made Aiba’s heart race a little faster. He cleared his throat, hoping his face showed nothing of his flustered feelings.
“So, what would you like, Sho-chan? Large, black as usual?” He asked and stepped to the coffee machine when Sho nodded his head. “And don’t worry, you don’t have to help closing up. I can manage myself and it was really unprofessional of Nino to even say that…”
“But Nino-kun is right, I should!” Sho insisted. “I feel bad for taking advantage of your kindness all the time,” he said as he received the cup from Aiba.
Aiba laughed a little shaking his head.
“He’s just teasing you, don’t take him seriously. Actually, it’s a sign that he likes you.”
“I feel honored then,” Sho said but his laughter sounded a bit forced, and that adorably uncertain expression was slow to disappear from his face.
Aiba quickly turned his attention to clean the coffee machine, forcefully scrubbing the drip tray. Sho was just too adorable for his own good!
“So… We didn’t see much of you recently, Sho-chan,” Aiba said trying to sound nonchalant, though according to Nino, he was full-out moping in the past few days due to Sho’s absence. “Something happened?”
Sho grinned excitedly at the question.
“Yeah, kind of… I don’t want to jinx it but my boss said that I’m considered for promotion soon if I keep doing a good job. He even mentioned the overseas office!” Sho said happily.
“Oh, I see. Good luck then! I’m cheering for you!” Aiba said with a smile and hoped it was convincing enough.
Aiba listened as Sho rambled on and on about this upcoming promotion of his, how hard he worked for it and how excited he was for it. How he was looking forward to go to that overseas office. Thankfully, Sho didn’t really expect any response from Aiba other than an occasional ‘Is that so?’. Which was perfect for Aiba, since it was hard enough for him to process the fact that he’ll be losing Sho from his life, and he had no capacity left to take part in a proper conversation…
“Good morning!”
A few days later Sho walked in the café with a spring in his steps, unusually chirpy despite the early hour. The café was almost empty. Nino was behind the counter, talking to the only customer, a broad-shouldered, stylishly dressed man seated there. They stopped their conversation as Sho approached them.
“I’d like the usual, please, Nino-kun,” he said with a smile.
“Coming right up, Sho-san,” Nino said and started to prepare the drink. He decided not to comment on the not too subtle way Sho was craning his neck to look around the shop.
“Ehm… Aiba-kun’s not here? That’s unusual…” Sho couldn’t keep his mouth shut for too long, trying (and failing) to sound nonchalant.
Nino bit back the grin that wanted to creep on his face.
“He called me and said he couldn’t make it today,” he said, schooling his face in a worried expression.
“Is he sick? Does he have to see a doctor?” Sho asked, panicking in an instant.
“He didn’t sound too good… I’d check on him but I can’t go until closing hour since no one can look after the shop…” Nino answered and let out a sigh for dramatic effect.
The open worry mixed with eagerness on Sho’s face was pretty much what Nino was expecting.
“Should I go check on him for you?” Sho volunteered immediately.
“Would you? How nice of you, Sho-san!” Nino said with an angelic smile. “Let me write down his address for you! The coffee is on the house, of course!” He added, handing the to-go cup and a piece of paper to Sho.
Sho took them, his face turning grim under the weight of his mission. With a hurried ‘See you later!’ he was out of the shop…
“You’re making trouble again, Kazu…”
“And still, you love me for it, J,” Nino shot back grinning. “And just for the record: it’s not ‘making trouble’ but charity! Really, they’re painful to watch. Those idiots are dancing around each other for almost a year now!” Nino complained. “You would’ve yelled at them months ago… I’m a saint actually, really…”
Jun laughed a little at that. He listened to Nino’s reports and complaints about Aiba pining after this customer of his all this time so he pretty much expected this outcome anyway.
“Well, let’s hope your hard work and patience will soon be rewarded,” he said getting up from his seat, ready to leave. “See you at home!”
Sho knocked on the door and pressed the doorbell countless times in the past ten minutes but got no answer. Part of him was afraid that soon the neighbors might call the police on him for his suspicious behavior, but he was way more worried for Aiba. What if his condition got worse since he talked to Nino in the morning? What if he passed out? He should call an ambulance! Or at least look for the apartment complex’s manager! They were authorized to enter any apartment if it was an emergency, right?...
“Sho-chan? What are you doing here?”
Sho turned around quickly, seeing Aiba at the end of the corridor with a plastic bag dangling from his hand. He wore a facemask and sounded a bit more nasally than usual but otherwise… he looked just fine. It was a relief but it also meant that Nino pranked him. Again. Sho wished the floor to open up and swallow him.
“Ehm… Hi, Aiba-kun! Actually… Nino-kun said something that you might be sick and needed to be checked on…” he said truthfully.
“And he sent you?” Aiba asked, sounding more amused than annoyed which Sho took as a good sign.
“I volunteered,” he admitted bashfully.
“That’s really kind of you, Sho-chan, but it’s only hay fever. I didn’t notice that I ran out of medicine so I thought it was better to take today off. It’s better than sneezing all over the orders… I’ll be fine by tomorrow,” Aiba said lightly, sniffing a bit under the mask while he opened his apartment’s door.
“Oh… Good to know… In that case, I’ll be going… See you later, Aiba-kun…”Sho said suddenly, feeling a little embarrassed for overreacting for such a trivial thing.
Sho was already heading to the stairs when Aiba’s voice stopped him.
“Hey, Sho-chan! Won’t you… stay for lunch? If you’re not busy, I mean… You see, it’s the least I can do. After all you were so nice to come and check on me…”
Sho turned back with a hopeful look. Aiba looked a bit shy but didn’t give the impression that his invitation was only out of politeness. Sho wasn’t sure why but his heart skipped a beat at that. He took a tentative step back.
“I don’t want to impose on you. It wasn’t a bother or anything. But if you’re sure…” he said carefully, trying to keep his hopes in check.
Aiba laughed out at that.
“Of course I’m sure, Sho-chan, don’t be silly! Come! I promise to keep on my mask so I won’t sneeze on your food either,” he said jokingly.
As Sho followed Aiba in his apartment, he couldn’t help but think how unfortunate it was because he won’t be able to see Aiba’s beautiful smile that way…
“So, how was your date with Sho-san? You’re welcome, by the way…” Nino greeted Aiba when they got ready to open the café the next day.
“It wasn’t a date!” Aiba said immediately, though it did feel like one and if he wanted to be honest, he wanted it to be one.
“Please! Don’t try to tell me that I’m wrong because I’m not! You texted me saying you had lunch with Sho-chan. How is that not a date?”
Aiba pretended to be busy with the coffee machine to avoid Nino’s challenging look. There was truth in Nino’s words, Aiba didn’t want to deny that. But he also wasn’t convinced that the hope it would give him was well founded at all. Sho was a nice guy, it was obvious. Maybe he was only indulging Aiba… Probably that was it. Also, soon he won’t be coming here anyway… So what was the point?
“So you’re just going to waste this chance that I worked so hard to create for you?” Nino asked, accusing when it became obvious that Aiba won’t reply. “You should’ve seen him. He was practically having a panic attack or something…”
At this Aiba couldn’t hold back a snort.
“All you did was over-exaggerating my hay fever, probably making it sound like I was dying or something! What hard work are you talking about?” he shot back. “Any decent person would feel obliged to come and visit. So after all the trouble you caused, it was the least offering him lunch,” Aiba reasoned but the little voice in his head that always sounded a lot like Nino kept repeating ‘Liar! Liar!’
“Do as you please, then,” Nino raised his hands in surrender, deciding not to push the topic further. “I’ll go set up the terrace…” he said, leaving Aiba alone for the time being to ponder about everything on his own. It was obvious he’ll keep denying the obvious attraction between him and Sho if Nino kept insisting.
Aiba didn’t like to fight with anyone, especially not with Nino. Right now he was equally angry with himself as he was with Nino. Any other time he probably would’ve followed Nino’s advice and asked Sho out. But knowing that he would be leaving soon, he chose to spare himself the heartbreak…
As if Sho himself wanted to prove Aiba’s theory, they’ve seen less and less of him after he went to visit Aiba. He popped in a few times but only to grab a coffee to go. There were no more days spent working in the café. There were no more long chats with Aiba. He looked stressed and exhausted. His tone was always clipped and impatient. One time he even left without ordering because there was a line of total two people in front of him at the counter.
Aiba tried to hide it but he felt hurt and sad by this sudden change of attitude. But even now he couldn’t help feeling incredibly worried about him.
“Hey, Sho-chan… Are you… Are you okay?” Aiba took the courage to ask tentatively after weeks of annoyed tone and impatiently-tappingfoot from Sho.
“I would if I could be on my way!” Sho grumbled checking his watch.
That made Aiba flinch visibly, not that Sho bothered to look at him, so he just quickly finished Sho’s order.
“Here you go. Sorry for the wait!” Aiba said but his smile lacked its usual brilliance.
“Finally! Bye!” Sho grabbed the cup and left with hurried steps.
“Well, that was rude…” Nino commented as he approached the counter with a tray of used cups that he gathered from the tables.
“It’s okay, he’s busy,” Aiba said understandingly. “He said he’s in line for a promotion and skipping a day of work probably landed him in trouble with that…”
Nino looked a little guilty at that. Only a little though, after all, Sho was a grown man with his own free will, he could’ve said ‘no’, no matter what Nino said or made him believe. Ultimately, it was Sho who decided to go to Aiba instead of his workplace…
“Let’s hope he’ll be in a better mood when he gets that promotion then,” Nino said.
“I’m sure he will, not that it concerns us,” Aiba replied, sounding defeated, and he took the tray of cups from Nino. “He’ll be transferred overseas,” he explained when he saw Nino’s puzzled expression.
“Ah!...”
‘That explains everything…’ Nino thought. He watched as Aiba disappeared with the cups in the kitchen, and the little wheels in his mind were turning already…
A few weeks later the loudly ringing phone woke Aiba up with a start.
“Waddisit?” he mumbled, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
“Wake up, Aiba-shi! We’ll be there to pick you up in five!” Nino said curtly before hanging up on him.
“Huh?” Aiba stared at his phone confused and very much worried. He knew Nino all his life, there were very few reasons he was willing to get up and out of the house at such an ungodly hour as it was.
By the time Aiba stepped out the door, Nino was there already.
“Finally!” he said, immediately grabbing Aiba’s arm, dragging him down and shoving him to the backseat of his car where Jun was waiting behind the wheel.
“What’s going on? Nino? Matsujun?” Aiba asked looking at his friends clueless.
“Don’t look at me. He’s the maniac…” Jun grumbled, adjusting his glasses and stifling a yawn. It was obvious that he wasn’t too enthusiastic about this mysterious trip either but as the good boyfriend he was, he did Nino’s bidding.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Nino said shortly.
His tone was enough for Aiba to know that it was useless to ask anything else, because Nino made up his mind about not telling him anything. Surrendering himself to his fate, Aiba settled in comfortably on the backseat and let the noise of the engine lull him back to sleep…
“Come on, Aiba-shi! We’re here!”
Nino startled Aiba awake second time that day.
Aiba followed Nino’s lead and got out of the car.
“What are we doing at the airport?” he asked, blinking sleepily.
“You have to talk to someone here,” Nno said, turning Aiba around, pointing at the man who just exited a taxi a bit further down on the curb from them.
“Wha…? No! Nino, we talked about it!” Aiba protested but Nino refused to listen.
“You have nothing to lose, right? He’s leaving, isn’t he?” Nino asked. Despite his smaller frame, Nino gave a rather forceful push to start Aiba in Sho’s direction. Then he quickly jumped back in the car, shouting ‘See you back in the café!’ before Jun drove away.
Aiba stumbled a few steps thanks to Nino’s little help.
“Aiba-kun? What are you doing here?” Sho asked surprised when he spotted him and walked up to him.
“I…” Aiba started, sending one last look after the car that took his friends away. ‘Those traitors!’ He tugged on the hem of his hoodie, suddenly wishing he’d spent a little more time on preparing before leaving his house. “Apparently, I have to talk to you. Or at least Nino thought so. So he and Matsujun… That’s his boyfriend, by the way. So they kinda kidnapped me this morning without saying anything. It scared me to death, you know, he was calling me at such an early hour that it was practically the middle of the night. And then when we got here, and Nino, that traitorous brat, he practically just kicked me out of the car and then they left. They just left me here like that! What kind of friends do something like that, huh? Well, mine, obviously. I should get better friends. Don’t you think? Yeah, I think I should. I will! They don’t deserve me to call them my friends…”
“Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, Aiba-kun!” Sho put a hand on Aiba’s shoulder which effectively cut off the flow of rambling. “Now, I gather you have something to tell me but why don’t you take a deep breath and calm down first?” He asked with a gentle smile.
“Yeah… You’re right…” Aiba nodded, his cheeks a bit flushed with breathlessness and embarrassment equally. It took him quite a while to calm down. All the while Sho acted like he had all the time in the world, waiting in silence, smiling tenderly at him. It didn’t help at all. It only made Aiba’s heartbeat go into overdrive all over again.
“So… I guess you got your promotion, congratulation, Sho-chan!” Aiba said finally with a slightly wobbly smile. “What I wanted to tell you might be a bit troubling for you, so let me apologize for it beforehand, and also it’s probably meaningless since we might not even meet again after today with you going overseas, but either way, just let me say it: I like you, Sho-chan. I like you a lot. From the very start, I guess… You’re cute, funny and hardworking… Maybe a little clumsy sometimes but I think that’s part of your charm…” he added with a little laughter. “So…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Sho interrupted Aiba’s second round of rambling monologue.
“Huh?” Aiba’s eyes widened in surprise. He looked down at the huge roller suitcase at Sho’s feet and then back at his face.
“I mean yeah, I’m going now but it’s for a month only. For training,” Sho explained. “I wanted to tell you everything properly. When I got promoted, I went to the café to tell all this to you but only Nino-kun was there,” he explained with a pout.
“Is that so?...” Aiba mumbled, not knowing what else to say. This little piece of information that Nino so casually forgot to mention to him, made his rambling confession looking a lot more stupid and embarrassing.
“Yes, and since we’re in the mood of confessions, I have one too,” Sho continued with a grin. “I wanted to ask you out once I’m back in Japan. Actually, I wanted to ask you out for quite a while now but with everything going on - me being so busy and even going to the overseas office for training - I thought it would be unfair to you, so I decided to wait a bit more until things get settled down and… you know, when we’re both in the same country…” Sho said with a little laughter. “But now you’ve beaten me to it…”
Aiba needed a few moments until he could process the meaning of Sho’s words.
“I did not, though,” he said in the end. He tried to keep a straight face but a grin was tugging on the corner of his lips.
“Did not what?” Sho asked back confused.
“Didn’t ask you out. I just said I like you,” Aiba explained with a teasing grin on his face and his eyes sparkling happily.
“Ah, you’re right!” Sho laughed. “Then let me: would you do me the honor to go on a date with me one month from today when I’m back in Japan?” he asked with a wide grin.
“Hm… I’ll probably be able to squeeze you in my busy schedule…” Aiba said pretending to ponder for a moment. “Yeah, I have a free night just that day!”
“Aren’t I lucky?” Sho grinned leaning closer, slipping his hand on Aiba’s nape, pressing their lips together in a long awaited kiss.
“Ne, Sho-chan…” Aiba said, panting a little once they broke the kiss. “Come back soon!”