Tea & Lace (1/14)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariyama, with some side Hikabu and Takanoo, and more pairings to come
Rating: PG
Genre: Fluff, Slice of Life
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Summary: Yamada is a college student desperate for a job when he gets hired at Tea & Lace, a quaint little maid cafe. This is the story of how his coworkers, and their trials and tribulations help him come to realize that the love of his life may in fact have been sharing an apartment with him from the beginning.
A/N: So, this is my new multi-chap! It's an attempt at something a bit more light and fun than my usual fics; hopefully you all enjoy it. ALSO, this is not a genderbender fic, despite any of Yamada's first notions about anyone's gender. Just to make that clear~
Yamada sighed, adjusting his glasses on his nose. He took his red marker to the newspaper page, crossing out every place he had already tried, and then going back through and crossing out all girl-specific entries. He set his marker down, eyes wandering over the page. He couldn't believe it. Every single ad was marked out. He'd tried everything. He was just about to comb through them again, hoping he'd missed something, when the door to the apartment was pushed open, and Daiki stepped in, his bag slung over his shoulder and his classmate and tutor, Inoo-chan, behind him. Inoo was a girl in Daiki's Government class, and the only reason Yamada's roommate was passing. She came over all the time, and if Daiki wasn't so openly gay―often starting their many discussions about guys, such as the argument last week over which member of SMAP was hottest―Yamada would have thought his friend had a huge crush on her. She was pretty by society's standards, tall, with long wavy black hair, full pouty lips, and lush eyelashes, but she had this high, feathery voice that could get kind of annoying after a long time. Yamada leaned back in his chair, welcoming them in with a simple
"Hey Dai-chan. Hey Inoo." Daiki grinned, swinging his backpack into one of the vacant chairs surrounding their little kitchen table, asking
"So, how's the job hunt going?" His eyes caught on the marked up newspaper and he rounded their little circular four person table to get a good look at it, putting a hand on Yamada's shoulder and looking down at the page, cheek to cheek. He grinned, bemused at the hopeless look Yamada gave him, and he asked
"That bad?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, didn't you say your workplace was considering hiring, Inoo-chan?" Daiki asked his friend as he sashayed around the counter into the kitchen, getting himself and Inoo a plate of cookies. She nodded, and in that falsetto, feathery voice of hers said
"But...I don't think Yamada will want to work there. It's...a little bit girly for him." A spark of hope flitted in Yamada's stomach, and he quickly announced
"Oh I would! I would love to work there Inoo-chan! Anything, at this point I'll do anything. Please, please, just tell me the place?" He looked up at the tall girl through his glasses, putting on his best puppy face, and she gave in, grabbing a paper napkin from the holder on the table and scribbling an address and work hours on it, handing it to him.
"Just stop by, there aren't any flyers or anything." She informed him, gathering her government notes into her arms.
"Thanks!" He examined the address on the paper. It was within walking distance. He couldn't go tomorrow, but the next day he would definitely stop by. As he was thinking this Daiki scooped up his backpack and his plate of cookies and called
"We're gonna go back to my room to study, okay? Hey, if you're not busy can you make dinner?" Daiki's words trailed behind him like a banner attached to a plane on his way back to his room, and Yamada yelled back
"Shouldn't the guy studying to become a chef be the one doing the cooking?" Daiki yelled back something about 'stupid government' and 'when you can convince the university board', and Yamada smiled at his friend's antics, folding the napkin with the address for Inoo's work and slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans. He padded on bare feet around the bar of countertop that separated the kitchen, dipping into the fridge for ingredients he could make a meal out of.
"Inoo-chan, are you gonna stay for dinner?" He called, and after a moment of silence her voice drifted through Daiki's open door
"No, my boyfriend is waiting for me at home. Thanks though!" Yamada shook his head. Her boyfriend. He didn't know much about the guy, she'd mentioned his name once or twice-Yu-something-but she never had stayed for a meal, always making up an excuse, and she never brought him over or introduced him. It was just kinda weird. But she'd been with this guy since long before they'd met her, so... His thoughts trailed off, and he got to work on dinner, the act of cooking letting his mind wander, and he found himself listlessly humming, not even realizing it until Daiki and Inoo emerged from Daiki's bedroom, Inoo's things in hand, and Daiki said
"That song again, Yama-chan?" Yamada looked up from the boiling pot of noodles he had been stirring, surprised.
"What?"
"That song. You always hum it while you cook." Daiki hummed a few bars with him, as if to prove that Yamada did in fact, do this so regularly that even Daiki knew it by now, before his roommate turned his attention back to Inoo, who was slipping on her shoes, and thanked her for coming and saving him once again from the evil that was government. She just laughed at his dramatics and left, and Daiki helped Yamada finish the cooking. They took the meal to their little table, filling each other in on the happenings of their day, telling the funny stories and complaining about other students and professors as was appropriate, and afterwards Daiki offered to do the dishes, as Yamada had cooked.
Yamada's next day whirred past in a flurry of lectures and note taking, and it seemed too soon that he found himself on the way to Inoo's work to ask for that job. He had dressed in nice jeans, a v-neck t-shirt, and his best blazer. It was warm out, the light breeze making it very comfortable, and he clutched the napkin in his hand, rounding the last bend and counting building numbers until he stopped in front of the place, and looked up in disbelief. It was a quaint little cafe, the words Tea & Lace above the doors in fancy English script, and a cute chalkboard outside, with the special of the day written on it in pink chalk. Hesitantly he pushed the door open, and he was immediately met with a ring of voices all saying
"Irasshaimase!" His eyes swept the room. The place was...a maid cafe, the waitresses all dressed in adorable, flattering little black maid costumes. There were small tables littered all around the space, and it was open and fresh, a little counter displaying cakes and pastries at the back. Behind that counter was a door leading to what he assumed was the kitchen. He recalled Inoo's hesitance to give him the address; it was beginning to make sense. A pretty maid with light golden brown hair made her way over to him, she herself taller than he was, bowing and saying
"If you'll please come right this way, master."
"Um...I'm here to apply for a job...?" It came out sounding like a question, and she took him in, her gaze sweeping over his body, as if sizing him up. After a moment she nodded, and said
"Please follow me." She took him past the other two maids that were working; Yamada caught sight of Inoo, and she smiled at him as he passed, and behind the counter, through the door at the back of the cafe. The door led to a hallway, at one end a kitchen, the open entryway displaying a professional stainless steel working space that would have Daiki drooling in jealousy, and the other end a closed door. The maid twisted the handle of the door, pushing it open, saying
"Right in here." Yamada went to step in, and froze. There were two guys in there, probably in their early twenties, one was tall and amazingly thin, with simple dark hair, and the other was shorter, but still taller than Yamada, more muscular than the other young man; he had his arms around the others waist, and they were kissing. The maid either hadn't noticed, or hadn't cared, but at Yamada's expression she frowned, banging loudly on the door and startling the two men. They jumped apart, blinking in surprise at her. She rolled her eyes, saying
"Can't you two not do that during working hours? You don't see me all over Kei when we're working. Besides―" She jerked her head in Yamada's direction "―you have a guest. He wants a job." The shorter of the two men thanked the maid, slightly grudgingly, and she left. Yamada immediately felt his nervousness rise even more, and he stood there in the doorway for a moment before the tall young man beckoned him in, shutting the door behind him. He realized the room was not only an office, but a work space, multiple sewing machines set up around one half, with fabric and ribbons in boxes and on tables.
"Sorry about...that. I'm Yabu Kota, and this is my partner, Yaotome Hikaru." They both bowed, and Yamada nodded, getting out an
"I'm Yamada Ryosuke." and bowing in return. Yaotome beckoned for him to sit, and he did, facing them both across the desk. Once they were all seated, Yabu asked
"So, what brings you here, Yamada-san?" Yamada forced his hands not to fidget with the edge of his blazer as he explained that he knew one of the maids from his university and she had told him about the job opportunity. They listened well, and after he had finished Yaotome asked
"Do you know what kind of work you would be doing here, Yamada-san?" Yamada just shook his head, eager to find out. The two young men shared a look, before Yabu leaned across the desk, saying in hushed tones
"Waitressing." For a second Yamada didn't understand the dramatics, but then Yaotome leaned over the desk as well, and he said
"Waitressing...in a skirt." and everything made sense. He was applying for a job as a maid. Oh. They looked at him skeptically.
"Would you like to continue this interview, Yamada-san?" Yabu asked, brows furrowing. Yamada thought about it for a second. He didn't really have the choice. He needed the job. He nodded, and Yaotome broke out into a grin. After that they discussed hours, shaving his legs, and just how low he could get away with his voice being without people being suspicious, and when Yabu stood Yamada thought the interview was finished. He was wrong. Yabu pulled open a desk drawer, extracting one of those long rolled up measures people use for sewing.
"We need your measurements for a uniform." Yabu explained. They measured around his chest, the length of his torso, his arm width, and so on until Yabu was satisfied. With that they asked if he could start next week. He smiled, thanked them, and left, pushing through the doors to the main part of the cafe. He looked at the counter, displaying all of the delicious looking cakes and things, and he gave in, buying two slices of strawberry and chocolate marble cake to go. As he left the maids all called
"Have a wonderful day!" after him, and it just made him groan a little...next week that would be him. He couldn't wait to tell Daiki this story. He went straight home, the little white box in his arms making his stomach growl in anticipation. When he pushed open the door his senses were assaulted with the smell of delicious food cooking, and he inhaled deeply, grinning. Daiki was at the stove, his bangs clipped up out of the way, an apron around his waist, and he grinned, welcoming Yamada back.
"So, how was it?" He asked. Yamada slipped off his shoes, padding in his socks over to the fridge and slipping the cake inside, trying to come up with a good one word description for his job interview.
"Weird." He decided, wrapping his arms around Daiki for a quick hug.
"You have to tell me all about it later." Daiki announced, "But right now, can you get out some plates for us?" Yamada set the table, and soon they had a piping hot meal in front of them. Yamada immediately dug in, not stopping until his plate was cleared.
"The food is really good Dai-chan. Really, really good." His praise made Daiki blush, and his roommate cleared his throat, immediately switching the subject.
"So, tell me about this weird interview you had." Yamada nodded, launching into the story. He explained, doing impersonations as he went, and when it got to the part where he interrupted Yabu and Yaotome kissing in the office he grabbed Daiki, pulling him up out of his chair and positioning him, explaining that they were like this as he wrapped his arms around Daiki's waist, their faces a hair apart. The story continued on, and when Yamada finally explained that he had been hired as a female maid at the cafe Daiki couldn't hold back, and laughter bubbled out of him, and he ended up on the floor, clutching his stomach, tears in his eyes. Yamada pouted a bit. It was embarrassing. But Daiki looked so silly rolling around on the ground like that he couldn't stay annoyed, and he found himself doing impersonations and other silly things just to make Daiki laugh harder. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...working at a place like that.
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