Tea & Lace (7/14)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariyama, with some side Hikabu, Takanoo, Chiitaro, and Okajima
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 sorry it's been so long. Life has gotten busier and busier. I know I've been bad about responding to you guys, just know that I love hearing from you, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Yamada didn't really tell Daiki about Keito working with him; Keito had asked him to keep it a secret, and he knew Daiki and Yuto talked a lot. Still, he shared everything with his roommate, and it felt sneaky and unclean to be deliberately keeping anything from him. Daiki figured it out on his own one day when he stopped by the cafe for a lunchtime snack. He and Yamada were sitting at a little table chatting away about one of the history teacher’s toupee, and why strawberry jam was better than apple when Keito came out from the back, restocking their little display counter with freshly baked goodies. Daiki gawked, completely dropping their current topic and rounding on Yamada.
"That's Keito!" Yamada turned to look at their neighbor, nodding offhandedly, trying to play down Keito's appearance. Daiki frowned.
"He's working here?"
"Yeah." Yamada felt the dread rising in his stomach as he looked across the table at his best friend's face. Daiki was upset.
"How long?"
"Um...a month..." Yamada muttered, feeling the beginnings of the guilt he'd been ignoring claw at his stomach.
"You never told me." Yamada knew what was going through Daiki's head, knew his companion was surprised that Yamada had kept him in the dark about any detail of his life, especially something as obviously interesting as Keito's addition to the cafe. Yamada didn't know what to say. There was a heavy pause, Yamada searching for some magic words to make everything better. He couldn't think of any.
"I'm sorry." Daiki just nodded. "I didn't want to-he made me promise to keep it a secret!" Yamada said desperately. Daiki nodded again, silently getting to his feet.
"It's fine Yama-chan." He put some money down on the table. "I've gotta go." His parting smile was awkwardly stiff, and Yamada knew that whatever Daiki said, it wasn't okay. Sure, he hadn't lied to Daiki, but he'd deliberately kept something from him, and that wasn't what best friends do to each other. It wasn't what Daiki deserved. He felt horrible, regret at keeping Keito's job a secret and anger at himself for doing as Keito had asked and not telling anyone mixing in his stomach, and when Keito came over to take Daiki's old teacup to the back Yamada rounded on him, frustrated and upset.
"Look Keito, I don't care if you want to keep your job here a secret, but you can't be asking me to cover for you. It's not my job to keep Yuto in the dark about you, and you can't expect something like that from me. Daiki's mad at me, and it’s all because I did what you wanted! I'm done. If you don't want me to tell him, than just don't tell me anything, got it?!" He stood, and although he was much shorter than Keito he got in his face, and as he spoke Keito actually shrunk away from him, crouching down and cowering so that by the end of his monologue he was actually looking down at the bigger man. Yamada turned away, realizing he was being a bit irrational yelling at Keito, but still angry. From behind him Keito said
"Arioka-san is mad at you, because you didn't tell him about my job?" Yamada sighed, nodding.
"Yeah. We don't keep secrets from each other, so..." He trailed off, leaving the rest of his sentence implied. Keito nodded.
"I'll explain to him. I'll apologize." Yamada blinked at Keito in surprise. "It's my fault you're having troubles. I'm sorry." He bowed apologetically, his bangs hiding his face, and Yamada was taken aback by how regretful Keito honestly seemed.
"Thanks, I really appreciate that." He said, and Keito rose to his full stature, nodding a little.
Just as he'd offered, when they got off work Keito followed Yamada up to his apartment where Daiki was studying in the kitchen, the beginnings of a meal scattered around the countertop with his textbooks, his hair pinned out of his face, a pencil behind one tiny ear and an apron on. He looked adorable standing there, cooking distractedly as he went over his text, brows furrowed in concentration. For a moment he didn't notice that they had entered the room, too focused on what he was doing, until Keito said his name.
"Arioka-san." Daiki looked up, surprised at the voice, and Keito swallowed nervously once he realized he had Daiki's undivided attention. "Please don't be mad at Yamada-san!" He fell into a low bow. "It was all my fault; I made him promise not to tell anyone about my job! It was my selfishness that caused this. I saw how lovely your relationship was, and I hoped that one day I would be able to have a relationship as loving and caring as yours is, so I decided to secretly get a job to help support Yuto and myself on my own! It was inconsiderate of me to ask Yamada-san to keep my secret; he was only trying to do what I had asked of him, despite how much he didn't want to! Don't blame him, he is a good person, be mad at me-I take full responsibility." Daiki and Yamada were both stunned by the elaborate formal apology, and for a moment they just stared at Keito, who was still bent over, head bowed. Despite the surprising statement, the apologetic part wasn't what Yamada found the most important.
"Wait." He said, disbelieving. "Do you think that Dai-chan and I are a couple?" Now Keito glanced up at him in surprise.
"Of course-wait-you're not?!" Daiki's face had grown red, Yamada too feeling a blush creeping on his cheeks at the concept. Him and Daiki...he'd never even thought about that. Daiki shook his head violently, denying the statement at once.
"Yama-chan and I?! No! We've never-he'd never-" Yamada nodded in agreement.
"Dai-chan doesn't like me like that. We talk about guys all the time." Keito looked back and forth at their faces in disbelief before, nodding meekly and saying
"Sorry for the misunderstanding." Yamada nodded and Keito excused himself, leaving the two of them alone, staring awkwardly at each other.
"So...that was a mess." Daiki declared, lowering the heat on one of the stove burners. Yamada nodded, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and feeling the tension rise again and hating it.
"Daiki, I really am very sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel upset, or inadequate in any way. I hated not telling you, but I had promised Keito that I'd keep his secret." Yamada paused. "I told him not to expect me to do that for him anymore. Any secret I can be expected to keep, you can too." Daiki looked up from the stove, a small smile on his face, and he nodded, and like that the tension was resolved, and Yamada understood that he'd been forgiven. They worked on the meal together, and as they cooked Daiki said
"Actually, this job thing makes a lot of sense. Yuto's been saying that Keito's not been around much lately." He shook his head and sighed. "Keito's little plan isn't really working. Yuto seems like he really misses him being around. I mean, they live together, but still..." He sighed, obviously still thinking hard on the matter. "I get the wanting to take care of someone you love thing, but I don't know that being away from them even if you're trying to financially support them, is the right answer." Yamada nodded, and Daiki pulled the ladle out of the soup he had been making, putting the edge to Yamada's lips and gently tipping the contents into his mouth. It was scalding hot, but it had a nice salty, hearty flavor, and Yamada hummed appreciatively.
"Does it need anything?" Daiki asked, and Yamada shook his head, his stomach growling in anticipation. Daiki grinned, turning back to the pot, leaning over it, his head bowed over it, and in that instant the pencil he had balanced behind his ear slipped, falling into the soup with a loud plopping noise. Daiki gasped, and Yamada just stared at the ripples radiating out from the point where the pencil had entered, stunned. Daiki plunged his hand into the soup, fishing for the writing utensil. Yamada's heart leapt in his throat, and Daiki withdrew his hand as soon as his flesh hit the broth, cursing in shock at the scalding hot water. Yamada immediately bopped him on the head in reflex, words tumbling from his lips.
"Don't hurt yourself, you idiot! Are you okay?! Oh my god!" Daiki's skin was already a bright pink, and he immediately thrust it into the sink, getting his hand under cool water. He muttered a few curses under his breath, and Yamada leaned over the sink, inspecting the damage when Daiki removed his hand from the stream coming from the faucet. Thankfully, although the skin was bright pink, it didn't look like it was blistering, and Yamada felt a small relief as he looked at Daiki's little hand, before digging some ice from their freezer and putting it into a pot, for Daiki to submerge his hand in. They left the pencil in the soup.
It was barely a week later, and Daiki was back at the cafe sitting and talking with Yamada as usual, his hand nearly as good as new, when all of a sudden a small young man pushes through the door and sprints across the length of the room, ducking behind the counter and into the back. Yamada and Daiki immediately followed him, and after one quick glance around at the empty tables Takaki was right on their heels, leaving Keito to tend to any new customers. The guy had collapsed just inside the doorway, and it only took a moment to recognize him.
"Chinen, what's going on?!" Chinen was sitting on the floor, a plastic shopping bag around one wrist, his breath heavy, chest heaving. He was in boy clothes, today had been his day off, and he looked up at them, eyes frantic.
"He saw me." Their small coworker grimaced, and he said "Ryu-chan did. I bumped into him at the shop. I ran as soon as I realized it was him, but..." He dug his nails into his palms, frustration and dread showing on his face. "I think he might've recognized me."
"Did he follow you?" Takaki asked, looking behind him, as if expecting Ryutaro to burst through the door. Chinen shrugged. He had caught his breath, and now he simply looked miserable.
"Wait, what's going on? Who did he run into? Ex-boyfriend or something?" Daiki had his brows furrowed in concern for Chinen, and Yamada quickly explained.
"There's this high school kid, Ryutaro-" Chinen interrupted him with a dirty look and said
"Ryu-chan's not just some high school kid." Yamada plowed on, taking no notice.
"Anyway, Chinen's crushing on him big time, but he refuses to make a move on this guy." Chinen huffed in frustration, glaring up at Yamada from the floor, and he said
"I'm telling you, he's not going to like me once he finds out that I'm a boy! It's not ever going to work out, okay?!" Yamada was saved from responding when the door was flung open, Keito slipping inside, his eyes wide, and he announced frantically
"Yuto's here!" Yamada couldn't believe it. This was ridiculous. Takaki however, was angry.
"And?! You just left the cafe unattended! You cannot just leave your job when something unanticipated happens." Keito glared a bit at Takaki, apologizing quickly but obviously rather annoyed. Yamada was surprised; he'd never seen Keito show signs of being angry. But there were more important things at hand. As Takaki had said, the cafe had been left unattended.
"I'll go out there and deal with Yuto. Keito, you and Chinen can hide in the back until the coast is clear. Takaki, you keep watch for Ryutaro-kun, okay?" There were nods, and together he and Takaki slipped back out into the cafe. Yuto was waiting, standing at the counter, looking around in confusion at the empty area. Yamada plastered on his best smile, saying
"Master Nakajima! So good to see you again!" Yuto giggled at Yamada's girly tone, and he said
"Yamada-kun, where is everyone?" Yamada led him to a table, wincing at the use of his real name, and he said
"I'm sorry Master Nakajima; my name is Ryo-chan! I don't know who Yamada-kun is." Yuto's eyes widened and he apologized, getting the hint. Yamada smiled sweetly at him, and answered his question. "We're having a staff meeting in the back hall." Yuto accepted the lie easily, ordering himself a scone and some tea, and when Yamada brought him his treats he ate quietly, looking a little dejected sitting there all by himself. Yamada did a quick sweep of the cafe, noting that the only other person was Takaki, standing by the door, and he slid into the seat across from Yuto.
"Why are you eating all by yourself Master Nakajima?" Yamada asked, and Yuto looked over at him, surprised by the company.
"Oh...I wanted to bring Keito, but he said he couldn't come..." He sighed. "Keito's never home anymore. He used to always be there, and I guess I got used to it...I dunno. I miss him a lot. I just want to know that someone, that he likes being around me. I love being around him, and I'm just...it's kinda lonely. I just hope he's not sick of me." Yamada took pity on Yuto. The poor guy was assuming all of the wrong things. He wanted so badly to tell him. Tell him that he was wrong-he wasn't a bother, that Keito was away so much because he cared so much about Yuto that he wanted to pay for his university, and support Yuto, and make him happy. He struggled to keep the words from spilling out; instead he just said
"I bet Keito's only gone because it's really important. He seems to like you a lot." Yuto nodded, smiling a small smile.
"Thanks Ryo-chan."
That night Yamada and Keito walked home together, and Yamada told his neighbor what Yuto had said. Keito listened intently, frowning, his brows furrowing as Yamada talked. Once Yamada had explained how Yuto was feeling he nodded, saying
"Thank you, Yamada-san, for telling me all of these things. I'll have to tell him about my working soon. The last thing I want is to make him unhappy..." He trailed off, deep in thought, and they walked along in a comfortable silence until they reached their separate apartments. They quickly said their good night's and went their separate ways, Yamada hoping that Keito and Yuto would clear things up soon. He himself found Daiki spread across the couch, a hot meal waiting on the table, and he sighed as he took off his shoes, glad to be home.
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