Chapter Text
“Look, all I'm saying is I don't understand what my handwriting of all things has to do with my ability to enchant a magic scroll properly, okay?”
“Mmmgh.” Sousuke grunted noncommittally, hoping he could cut Rin's ranting short by just not engaging with him any more than necessary. He'd been going on and on about their unfair professor for the past twenty minutes - ever since they left their shared apartment.
It was obvious Rin was seriously stressed out and just about ready to come apart at the seams at the slightest provocation, but even Sousuke had his limits when it came to dealing with that. Especially since they both had failed that particular exam and needed to sit a retake soon. However, Rin failed just because his magic runes were deemed “inadequate” by their hardass lecturer, who had a bit of an ancient approach to the subject (unsurprising, given that he was a damn elf, rumored to be over 500 years old) and the whole thing seemed to have struck a nerve with Rin.
Sousuke would be the first to admit the advancements in magical sciences as a whole made things like aesthetics almost obsolete. As long as the writing was legible and the scrolls worked as intended - who cares, right? ...Well, their professor did, apparently, and Rin had suffered through an awful berating about his “jagged” handwriting, which supposedly made his magic script and runic inscriptions look “barbaric” and “an insult to any self-respecting student of the arcane arts”.
Earlier on Sousuke didn't think it was that big of a deal. It happened once in a while, especially with the older professors and even more so at this particular college. But Rin was apparently upset enough to start griping about this at every opportunity – probably as an outlet for all of the stress he had piled up. Especially since he didn't have enough sleep because he was up until the wee hours of the morning, studying and practising for the retake and the rest of their seemingly endless and unholy avalanche of exams.
...Like today.
How did that saying go again...? “Desperate times call for desperate measures”...
Coffee it was then, and Sousuke could only hope it was a decision that wouldn't end in total disaster. Putting caffeine into Rin's face when he was already agitated was a bad idea to begin with on a good day (and today was definitely not a good day). Especially when it wasn't just the usual run-of-the-mill coffee.
And even more so that it wasn't served by any old “regular” barista, at a normal coffee shop. Far from it, on all counts.
Even in the big cities proper Magic Cafés were still few and far between. One would sometimes be called a “spelleasy”, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek kind of joke alluding to the “speakeasy” invented by non-magical humans past. More commonly they were known as "haunts", and later on as “havens”, since in the beginning they almost exclusively catered only to the more magical races. But, every now and then, a new place would pop up that opened its doors to everyone, making drinks and food that could be safely consumed even by humans with no magical affinities in their blood. So nowadays coming across that kind of an inclusive haven that wasn't just a hoax ran by any old hedge witch (or worse) was a true blessing - as long as you didn't mind running into some truly unusual folks inside sometimes.
Anyone that was lucky enough to be able to visit one of these places could tell you that there was a significant difference between a standard coffee, and a Coffee (with a capital “C”) brewed with extra herbs and stirred with enchanted spoons, or– whatever they even actually did to it to make it special. Sousuke had no idea what creating a magical drink actually entailed, only that it was apparently nothing like brewing standard potions, and to be honest - he really couldn't care less. After all, you only needed one sip and you just knew, immediately, that what you were drinking was not just flavoured water with added caffeine. Once you had all those special secret “little extras” in your cup, you could never go back to doing it the non-magical mundane way. Ever.
So now Sousuke really needed his usual fix. It was high time anyway – he was practically having withdrawal symptoms, he'd never gone more than a week without it before. And getting stuck with Rin, revising for the endless slew of tests and exams, meant that he could not be alone for long enough to go get his special drink. Plus, Rin really looked like he very badly needed a quick pick-me-up. So Sousuke grudgingly admitted defeat and decided to take him along and, well... Let him finally discover his somewhat secret coffee place and meet his sort of ex-boyfriend in the same instance...?
It would be fine! There was nothing to worry about.
...Probably.
“– and anyway, I'm not unreasonable in thinking that it's not fair that he doesn't even care about the goddamn moon cycles we'll fall under when doing the semester assignments! Does he not realize what a fucking havoc it can cause if you use– Oi! Sousuke! Are you even listening to me?!”
Yes, everything would be totally fine. ...Hopefully.
The first thing everyone noticed about this particular Café was the unexpectedly eccentric appearance. Of course, to any normal human without a drop of magic blood in their veins, the place looked just like an old but well-kept three storey building, the few tables and a chalkboard menu outside attesting to its function as a coffee shop. It was the kind of place you would otherwise expect to house an old antique store or secondhand bookshop – the kind that upon entering might briefly transport you to something like a different dimension, removed from time and earthly concerns.
Then again, this is just what Sousuke heard it looked like to normal humans. In fact, he wasn't even sure he was seeing the exact same thing as others did to begin with. Not that he did a lot of digging about it or anything, but from what he could understand, the entire place was enchanted with magic so weird and unique it probably made the building look different for everyone. And even though it was the inclusive type of spelleasy, its magic must have still been trying to keep the mundane humans away, and draw in those who would have appreciated a brief respite from the world that didn't always take kindly to the more extraordinary beings and races.
However, Sousuke knew with certainty that this particular haven always turned heads - of both magical and ordinary folks alike. That's how he ended up here in the first place, drawn in by a weird compulsion to change his walking direction and finding himself in front of the building. It was warm and inviting, almost as if it beckoned you to come in and rest a moment, have a sip of tea and a small bite to eat. It was almost hidden in a fairly narrow side street, the kind of shop you might not have otherwise known was there unless you were actually looking for it. But Sousuke saw it many times: people stopping in their tracks and crossing from the opposite side of the main street, or going right past the café and doubling back curiously moments later.
There was just an odd temptation that drew you to it, as if it knew you wanted an indescribable something you weren't aware of yet - and that it could give that to you. Which, considering who ran the place, wasn't exactly misleading or dishonest. There weren't many people (or non-people) that only visited the haven once - most eventually became regulars even. It was hard to resist the allure of a perfectly brewed drink that did exactly what it said on the menu, and the magically-assisted calm of the enchanted interior that generally had little hanging charms that allowed you to muffle sound and almost isolate yourself from the rest of the café if you wanted to, so that you could work or study in peace and sip the (arguably) best hot beverages you'd ever have in your life.
However, as cozy and warm as the place seemed at first glance - it was also very... quirky, to put it diplomatically.
“What the fuck?” Rin muttered behind Sousuke.
Turning around he could see Rin's head swivel, following something in a motion that ordinary people definitely wouldn't be doing when looking at the building's wide facade.
“Oh. So you see them too, huh?”
Rin blinked as if waking up from a trance and turned to Sousuke with a dumbfounded look.
“Am I not supposed to see them or something? ...Wait, they're not real, are they?! How the fu–“
“Don't be stupid, of course they're not real.”
Rin clicked his tongue, his eyes drifting back to the swarm of jellyfish gracefully floating around the building. Sousuke could see him swallow nervously when the giant one, faster than the rest of the smaller ones, rounded the corner and paused just above the entranceway. Its tentacles briefly arranged themselves into deliberate shapes and glowed with a soft blue light, almost like a neon, helping the name of the place stand out more for a short moment before it “swam” away again.
“...Aren't these things supposed to be really tiny?”
“They are. That's why it's so unnerving when they're not, I suppose.”
“Y-yeah. I guess that explains the name though. But who the hell would name a coffeeshop “Irukandji”? Isn't that kind of a weird theme to go with for a café?”
“It's a haven, actually. And the inside is nothing like this. ...I think.”
“Hey, you didn't tell me it was a haven! I didn't even know there was one in this city. And... You think? I thought you said this was your favourite place to get coffee?”
Sousuke shrugged.
“It changes decor. And it's– eh, you'll have to see for yourself.” He beckoned Rin forward once the giant irukandji jellyfish was out of sight. Even knowing it wasn't real and having come here countless times, Sousuke couldn't blame Rin for his apprehension. The illusory spectacle was still sort of terrifying to witness sometimes, in an awe-inspiring way.
But, weird decor and café themes aside, he really needed his coffee fix. He could smell it through the door, calling to him! They didn't get very far though, because just past the traditional jingle of a bell above the door (a nonexistent bell, or invisible perhaps - out of place, but there nonetheless) Rin had slowed to a stop again, trying to take in the sights.
Judging from the way his eyes roamed the place in sheer amazement and lingered in places Sousuke's own gaze was not attracted to, he probably saw something completely different. Briefly Sousuke felt a pang of jealousy at the realisation, but maybe he could just ask him later and compare? It wasn't a big deal, all things considered. Rin had a completely different magical heritage than him. It was to be expected that the enchantment affected them differently. Oh great, and now he was starting to feel really shitty about having never brought Rin here before. Sure, he had his reasons, but seeing him now, this fascinated and–
That's when he noticed that Rin had quickly become... oddly subdued, his head still turning every which way with a very complicated expression on his face. Something between sorrow and amazement, mixed in with a frown that looked sort of like …regret…? Once again Sousuke wondered what he was seeing that it would now start to affect him this way.
But that would really have to wait, because coffee. He was so close to it, he could practically taste it. Talking to Rin could wait. (Okay, so maybe he was a bit addicted, but figuring that out could wait too.) He tugged on Rin's sleeve to get him to move again, shaking him out of his reverie.
As they approached the counter though, it became obvious that Sousuke's quest for the nectar of joy and productivity was going to be interrupted once again. By what looked like an unruly customer wildly gesticulating in front of two baristas - one of whom was almost cowering behind the other in discomfort obvious even at a distance, and– oh damn. He motioned for Rin to stop, a few feet away from the register, and all of Sousuke's earlier hopes for everything going smoothly with Rin meeting his ex probably went straight out the window. Because thanks to this loud asshole of a customer, things could get ugly.
“What part of “I just want you to make the drink I want” did you not understand?! It's not as big a deal as you're trying to make it seem!”
“And what part of “I won't” was difficult for you to comprehend? It's a simple enough expression. It means no.”
The smooth tone perhaps would seem cool and unruffled to anyone who didn't actually know Haruka, but Sousuke could tell. He was just barely restraining himself from doing something rash - perhaps because of the other person behind him nervously tugging on the back of his black skirt-like apron.
“I don't understand why you're being so uptight about this! I'm not asking for a lot here. It's just a tiny special request!”
“No, you're not asking for any “special requests”. Either you take something standard that's on the menu, or you go elsewhere. That's how this is going to work.”
“I want to speak to the manager!” The guy stomped his foot (actually stomped his foot; who even does that?) and crossed his arms on his chest.
Haru silently gestured to the person cowering behind him. Predictably, it didn't please the customer.
“I wish to speak to the owner, in that case.” he hissed out angrily.
“Good evening, sir. How may I help you?” Haru said in a tone so faux innocent and deadpan that Sousuke cracked a smile. He even heard Rin cough, trying to cover up choked off laughter.
“This is preposterous! What kind of customer service is this!? This is a spelleasy, a haven, is it not!? Then you're supposed to cater to us magical types! All of us! So do your job!” the guy shrieked. Haru closed his eyes with an uneven exhale, trying to remain calm. Sousuke braced himself in case he had to step in. Haru wasn't violent, rarely ever raised his voice even, but Sousuke couldn't say the same of the stranger. He simply reeked of trouble. But as it turned out, his precaution was unnecessary.
“I am. And we're done here.” Haru said flatly. He raised one hand and stretched it out as if shoving something away and spoke in a clear and measured tone. No traces of anger - only conviction. “You are no longer allowed in the entirety of this building, or near its occupants. Indefinitely. Begone.”
It was instant - between an outraged shriek and a wild blur of motion the guy (no, the vampire) was gone, angrily banging on the café's entrance a moment later, but unable to enter again. Arm still outstretched, Haru narrowed his eyes and did another shoving motion. A faint scent of ozone lingered in the air around his hand for just a second and with a bang the vampire was pushed away from the door, hard enough to fly across the alley and slam his back against the brick wall of the building opposite. Through the mass of jellyfish tentacles Sousuke could see him pick himself up and stalk off angrily out of sight.
Meanwhile, Haru sighed and gently detached his co-worker from his back, before reaching into a large refrigerator out of view under the display counter and pulling out a fruit parfait. He passed it to the boy with a spoon and gave his arm a short squeeze, which Sousuke knew in Haru-speak could pass for affection. “Go take a longer break, Nagisa. I'll take over for a while.”
“Thanks... I'll be back soon...” he murmured despondently, gave Haru a brief one-armed hug, and walked off with his treat, vanishing behind the door marked by an “Employees Only” plaque.
Sousuke took his chance then and walked up to the register.
“Yo. What did the bloodsucker want?”
Haru's eyes flicked over to him, thinking that crass way of speaking belonged to yet another customer who was going to get on his nerves. As soon as he had looked, though, he rolled his eyes – it was just Sousuke. ...Who was probably going to get on his nerves anyway.
“He wanted to annoy me, apparently.”
“Yeah, I figured that out for myself, thanks. You think everyone's purpose in life is to annoy you.”
Haru sighed with still lingering irritation, rubbing his face with his hands before combing his fingers through his hair with a groan. It was a rare display of tiredness, coming from him. Sousuke was almost ready to start worrying. Haru didn't generally react this intensely to an irritating customer, though he definitely got his fair share of those. It was almost unavoidable, even in a place so calm and inviting as the Irukandji.
“He wanted a drip type of coffee.”
“...So? I thought you serve those? Pretty sure I saw some on the menu before.”
“Of course we do. But we only add animal blood.”
If he was going to be honest, it still amused Sousuke that in any other café a drip would just be a strong coffee. But at some havens, Haru's included, a drip meant something else entirely: any type of drink that had a dangerous or weird extra addition – usually blood or some poisonous plant extract that could kill when inexpertly prepared, but was an aphrodisiac, expensive indulgence, or a borderline drug to some.
Regardless, Sousuke didn't quite understand the problem. His confusion must have been obvious because Haru quickly clarified, spitting out the words with leftover anger.
“He was trying to bully Nagisa into carving his hand open with a hot knife and dripping some of his own blood into the drink.”
Sousuke's blood ran cold at that statement, almost enough to match Haru's icy tone. Nagisa didn't deserve this. Sousuke wanted to turn around, walk out the door, track down and rip the filthy bloodsucker limb from limb, until only dust remained. Sure, he'd reform eventually, but that just meant getting to tear him to pieces again. Win-win.
“The fuck?! What an asshole!” Rin viciously muttered and Sousuke couldn't help but vehemently agree. The remark also earned Rin an approving look from Haru. The gaze lingered for a moment, as if he were sizing Rin up, and Sousuke suddenly remembered that he hadn't introduced them yet. Somehow, the moment didn't feel right anymore.
“He's not going to be doing that again.” Haru shrugged.
“Obviously. Good work taking care of that. ...Quick thinking too, with the extra protection clauses on the banishment.” Sousuke hummed approvingly.
“Mm.” Haru nodded and paused, visibly calming down. “I assume you didn't come here just for the pleasure of my company?” he quipped. Perhaps it wasn't Haru's most “customer service-oriented” tone, but given the situation it was understandable that he'd still be a bit frazzled to be polite to him - not that he was particularly very nice to anyone to begin with. “What do you want?”
“A-ah.” Sousuke cleared his throat nervously, rubbing the back of his neck in sudden discomfort. “Well... You know my usual order by now. So, I'll have that. Thanks.”
Haru raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, his posture screaming defiance.
“I seem to be having some kind of amnesia. Refresh my memory?”
Just then the bell above the cafe's entrance jingled loudly, making Sousuke reflexively turn his head to see new customers approaching the counter and lining up behind them. Fantastic. Just his luck...
“Come on, Haru..." He groaned and ran a hand down his face in irritation and embarrassment. “Do we really have to do this every time...?”
“Yes. That was the deal.”
He shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably and quietly murmured the name of his drink.
“...What's that? I couldn't hear you.” Haru replied as he leaned in to supposedly hear better. The little shit even had the audacity to put on that faux innocent doe-eyed expression of his while doing it. One moment of sheer mortification in exchange for a large steaming hot cup of the most perfect drink in existence... He could do it. Sousuke steeled himself and took a deep breath.
“I would like a Screaming Orgasm, please!” he said as loudly as he dared, even though he knew the majority of the occupied tables had activated the soundproofing charms on them to provide privacy and comfort. Most likely the only people Sousuke had humiliated himself in front of today were the two women in line behind him who erupted in muffled laughter – and Rin, of course, who sounded like he was going to choke on his own tongue. ...Brilliant.
Haru didn't even grace that with a response, just quickly punched in the right price into the register and walked off to prepare Sousuke's drink.
“A Screaming Orgasm?! You were supposed to get caffeinated, not drunk!” Rin hissed at Sousuke in a stage whisper while he dug through his bag for his wallet, valiantly trying to keep what remained of his composure and shreds of dignity.
“It's not the alcoholic drink, Rin. The jerk named my order like that on purpose, okay? Just so I'd have to suffer for it every time I wanted it...”
“...Oh. Hah! You poor bastard!” He gave Sousuke an infuriatingly unsympathetic clap between the shoulderblades. “Did I hear that right though? His name is Haru? That's... the Haru, right?”
Sousuke groaned under his breath.
“Yes. It's ‘the' Haru. A real charmer, isn't he?”
“Well you know what they say, ‘birds of a feather' and all that. ...Though honestly now I can't tell if I'm more impressed you lasted in a relationship as long as you have, or that you're still alive after you guys broke up.”
“How many times do I have to– We didn't ‘break up'. I told you, we agreed that a relationship didn't really suit us. We're just... friends. Sort of, I mean–”
“You do know I can hear you, right?” Haru interjected blankly from where he was stirring something into Sousuke's drink.
“Well it's not like I'm lying. We are friends, right? ...A certain type of friends.”
Feeling emboldened by the lack of Haru's outright ire, Sousuke grinned a bit. Rin cleared his throat and avoided looking at either of them. Sousuke chuckled, thinking his incorrigible romanticism made him kinda cute in how uncomfortable or embarrassed he got sometimes about the more intimate matters.
“Besides, contrary to your beliefs, Haru, I don't come here just for the coffee.” he added.
“...I guess that's true. If only because if you wanted an actual screaming orgasm, you would have just come in here through the back door after hours.” Haru murmured just audibly enough for only Sousuke and Rin to hear, snapping the travel lid on Sousuke's finished drink into place.
“...And if you wanted me in your back door that badly, you could have just asked.”
The moment the words were out of his mouth, a genuine irritation flashed in Haru's expression, and Sousuke tasted the instant regret on his tongue, instead of the delicious-smelling coffee, which was pulled away and out of his reach, thwarting his desperate lunge for the subtly steaming mug. Sousuke immediately knew he had crossed the line and was absolutely going to pay for the over-the-top comment. But it was too late to take it back. The lid came off the mug and Haru reached for something from the shelf behind him. While the shaker he took down was labelled unlike almost all of the ‘special' containers, Sousuke instantly knew what it would be regardless.
“Haru! Don't, please!” A desperate little noise tore from Sousuke's throat as he kept trying to reach across the counter, even considered vaulting over it to save his drink. “I'm sorry, alright?!”
Haru paused and levelled a glare at him, the shaker poised dangerously over the coffee.
“I'm sorry! I am, really. Please, don't do it...”
Just as Sousuke thought his efforts were for naught and he'd be forced to choke down a ruined concoction (because obviously Haru would never make him a second one, even if he paid double or even thrice the usual price for it), Nagisa came out from behind Haru.
“Haru-chaaaan, don't torture Sou-chan!” he scolded in a little whine, apparently back from his break. “Can't you see he looks awful already without your help?” He shot Sousuke a grin and threw up a cheeky peace sign in greeting, before calling over the two customers in line to the other register to take their orders.
The tension definitely deflated somewhat with Nagisa's reappearance, Haru mostly mollified knowing he was alright. But he still made it a point to maintain intense eye contact with Sousuke as he gave one small tap to the shaker in his hand, a tiny bit of powder fluttering to the surface of the drink before he replaced the lid on it. Sousuke exhaled heavily, praising any and every god that may have been responsible for granting him this reprieve. He could handle suffering the taste for a brief moment, and he knew he got off easy. He made a mental note to treat Nagisa to something sweet next time he had the opportunity.
“What the hell was that?” Rin murmured to him while Haru turned around to replace the container in its rightful place. “He's not trying to poison you, is he?!”
Sousuke sighed as he took a long-awaited sip, cringing while the first (and last) bit of the abhorrent spice tormented his taste buds.
“Relax. It's cinnamon.” he replied, smacking his lips, trying to get the taste of the coffee itself to drown it out. Rin hummed under his breath.
“...So he knows you this well?”
“Uh, yeah? He made this for me, and only me, you know.” Sousuke put the mug on the counter and tapped the lid with a pleased smile, resuming the search for his wallet in his shoulder bag.
“Huh... That says a lot, actually. Especially if you're willing to suffer through its name just to get it.”
“There's nothing wrong with the names of any of our drinks. Sousuke's included.” Haru stated in a cold tone, looking at Rin with an almost uncomfortable intensity. He glanced over at Sousuke. “Friend of yours?” Sousuke nodded.
“Best friend, yeah.”
“And here I thought saying best friend requires having more than one.”
“I'm right here, you know!” Rin grunted before Sousuke could snap a cranky retort.
“What will you be having then...?” Haru trailed off with an odd lilt, raising his eyebrows like it was obvious what he wanted (other than to take the order). Haru could be a real pain to communicate with sometimes. Rin got the hint gratifyingly quickly though, so Sousuke didn't have to intervene.
“Ah– Rin. I'm Matsuoka Rin, and... uhhh... Let me just take a look...”
A muscle twitched in Haru's mouth, not nearly hard enough to be called a smile, but he was definitely amused. Sousuke only hoped he wouldn't comment on the “girly” name. Nobody deserved to open that can of worms when Rin was already short on patience. (Then again, Haruka of all people should probably not be saying anything about that in the first place.) He just nodded and waited in silence while Sousuke went about finally paying for his drink.
He could tell exactly when Rin started actually processing the contents of the overhead menu because he made a weird choked noise, and out of the corner of his eye Sousuke could see his expression slacken to something between shock and amazement. Honestly, he couldn't blame him; it was how most people reacted on their first visit to the Irukandji.
He could see Rin's mouth silently shape the weird words he was reading and could precisely pinpoint the moment Rin realised the menu board for the coffee was called “THE DAILY GRIND”. However, the tea menu was not far behind with “TEARIFFIC QUALITEA”. And if you went even further down the rabbit hole, you'd find yourself beckoned to try the various cakes and pies by “SLICE SLICE BABY”. The menu honestly only got even better (or worse, depending how you looked at it) from there on out.
Rin was stunned. On the side, Haru put Sousuke's money away.
“Well?” he prompted. Rin floundered for a moment.
“I guess I'll just have... a…” He squinted at the menu, reading off it through a painful cringe “‘Deja... Brew'...?”
“No.” Haru replied instantly.
“...No?! What do you mean ‘no'?!”
“No. It's a double brewed coffee.”
“Okay, and...?”
“That means the coffee grounds are brewed with coffee instead of water.” Haru slowed down his speech as if he was talking to someone too stupid to understand his words. “And it's almost 8 pm. No.”
Predictably, this resulted in increasing Rin's irritation.
“I'll probably need to stay up late anyway! I have to study!”
“No is a complete sentence. I won't be held responsible for your heart attack. Pick something else.”
Rin's eyebrow gave a violent twitch. He took a moment to skim the coffee menu again.
“I want a ‘Dark Side of the Spoon', then.” he gritted out through clenched teeth. Whether because of the mounting irritation at Haru or at his weird drink names, Sousuke didn't know.
Haru levelled Rin with a searching stare, one that carried more weight that Sousuke was used to seeing from him. It lingered with dizzying intensity, making Rin seemingly shrink back a little, even though there was nothing menacing about it.
“No.” Haru stated softly, his tone lacking its previous vehemence. He turned around without waiting for Rin's no doubt irate response and began pulling out unlabelled containers from their shelves. Sousuke's mug almost slid out of his hand. He weakly set it on the counter with a dull clunk, an expression of pure shock on his face.
“Oi, what are you–?... Oi! Don't just make whatever you want!” Rin tried to get Haru's attention in vain. He turned to Sousuke for support, but paused when he spotted Sousuke's deer-in-the-headlights expression.
“What?!” He jammed an elbow into his side none too gently, shaking Sousuke out of his stupor. A slightly bitter taste welled in his mouth, and he decided to drown it out with his own delicious coffee.
“I think I might be a little jealous.” he finally stated.
“Jealous of what? Is anybody going to tell me what the hell is going on?!”
“It's just... You have no idea how long it took to get him to make a unique drink for me. You should feel special, I guess.”
Rin stared at Sousuke, his confused frown melting into a wide-eyed surprise. Eventually his attention turned back to Haru, who was meticulously measuring psychedelic-coloured powders with tiny spoons and mixing them in the cup coffee beans would usually go into. He did end up topping that off with what looked like just regular coffee, but not before spending at least several minutes debating between identical unlabeled containers of even more barely recognisable (or unrecognisable altogether) powders and herbs.
Logically, Sousuke knew that Haru was one of a kind in his craft, possessing an untapped potential of alchemical depths yet to be discovered - and yet he chose to exploit that by serving coffee of all things. He knew he had no right to judge Haru's decisions, but sometimes the thought of how much more he could be doing with his talents still nagged at him, like brewing potions of power yet unseen. But, no. Apparently Haru's calling laid in hot beverages and assorted complementary foods instead.
Not that Sousuke complained much about that – it did result in him getting a custom-tailored drink that nothing else could probably ever top. It just...felt like such a huge waste of talent, sometimes.
Of course, he knew better than to say these things out loud. He tried hinting at it once – just once. It did not go over well. Perhaps it was for the best that they never tried the whole “committed relationship” thing.
Still, watching Haru work on something completely new and magical was always nothing short of mesmerising, even if the chances of him letting Sousuke have even a sip of whatever he was making were a nice, round zero. He strongly suspected no two drinks Haru ever came up with were the same, probably not even similar. And this time it was something for Rin, and Rin only. Hopefully he'd come to appreciate it, even with the rude manner with which it'd be served. (Which was just Haru's special touch. You had to get used to it.)
The mug was set on the counter with a soft clunk. In a turn of Haru's wrist, the lid snapped into place with click, rousing Sousuke from his musings. He glanced at Rin, who was eyeing the coffee with some distrust, some trepidation. Yet with a tentative curiosity as well.
“How much do I owe you?” he asked, his voice surprisingly level. He began to zip his bag open, only to hear a groan from Haru in response.
“I can't be bothered to try figuring it out.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Just take it.”
“What?! No! Let me pay for the damn coffee! You even made it special–“ Sousuke cut him short by putting a hand on his shoulder.
“He's not going to listen to a word you say now. Not until you try it, at least.”
“Um... Okay, fine, I guess. But next time I'm paying double!”
Rin shot a glare at Haru who, predictably, rolled his eyes in response. Sousuke could see right through it though; he wasn't anywhere near as aloof and collected as he was pretending to be. It must have been stressful to wait for the verdict on a new drink, especially when he made it for someone he didn't even know. It didn't help how nervously Rin lifted the mug to his lips, slowly enough that it made even Sousuke fidget.
The moment he took the first sip though, his entire face changed.
Sousuke felt a bit of whiplash, feeling like he'd been hurled back in time for those few seconds, where Rin was at least several years younger, his expression soft and awed, gentle in a way it hasn't been in forever, probably not since he went abroad to study. He cradled the gently steaming mug in his hands, staring like it held all the answers to the universe's secrets.
Sousuke saw Haru slowly exhale, tension leaving his frame, fists unclenching at his sides. But it was the tiny smile that he sent Rin's way, a voice softened by so much relief and happiness in equal measure when he gently said:
“See you next time, then.”
...that had them both gawking (undoubtedly for different reasons). And suddenly Sousuke noticed that that awe-filled, wondrous fixation that Rin had for the coffee - now didn't leave Haru's face.
The moment persisted and faded, coming to a close when Nagisa called Haru away to prepare one of his more magical concoctions for another customer. Rin and Sousuke soon left the haven, a silence shadowing them. Both because they needed a moment to process their jumbled thoughts and because they were too busy shoving their heavenly drinks in their faces.
“...So..." Sousuke spoke up, finally breaking the lingering awkwardness when they had walked for a few minutes. “Are we still staying up studying, or...?”
“Yeah... Yeah, we probably should. But...somehow it feels like I shouldn't, at the same time. Or don't want to.” Rin frowned down at his mug. “...I feel weird,” he admitted.
“Well... That's kind of what Haru does to people. Or to their drinks, I guess.”
“What do you mean? What did he do to it?”
“You're the one drinking his coffee. You tell me.”
Rin frowned at his cup again for a long while, but came up empty. He just shook his head in frustration.
“Best advice I can give you is to go with your gut feeling on this, Rin.” He wasn't talking only about the coffee, though he didn't know if Rin understood that.
“...So I take it you're fine with... this? Me intruding on your ‘special' coffeeshop from now on? I hate to say it but this really is the best coffee I've ever had...”
“Yeah. I wouldn't have taken you with me otherwise.”
At that Rin took a long, deep gulp of coffee. One that he let swirl around in his mouth.
“Okay..." He nodded. “When we get home, I'm going to go to bed. It's been too long since I've had a good night's rest, exams be damned... And tomorrow–” He faltered briefly and continued in a more subdued tone, avoiding Sousuke's gaze. “Tomorrow I'm gonna go back to the coffee shop. ...T-to ask about all the stuff Haru put in my coffee.”
That second part sounded a little forced, like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else that that was why he wanted to go back. Sousuke snorted but didn't say anything.
He only hoped that Rin would quickly realise what he was getting himself into.