Chapter Text
It was too early for this shit. That’s all Choso could think as the man in the suit across from him complained about how he had asked for a large hot cold brew coffee but had received one over ice.
Some people were just born to be idiots, weren’t they?
Choso fought the pulsing headache that threatened to overtake as spittle landed on his cheek. “Sir, as I told you when you ordered, cold brews can only be served as an iced beverage. I am more than happy to swap it out for a light roast–”
“Are you thick in the head? My regular coffee shop always makes this for me.” The man moved his hands as he spoke, as if that would make his words any more convincing.
“Then you should just go there.” Choso sneered louder than he probably should have.
Why he could never seem to make it past 10am without at least one asshole customer making him want to gouge his own eyes out was beyond him.
“ Excuse me ? Is that how you talk to your customers?” The man huffed with a sour look on his face, “ This is exactly why omegas should focus on child rearing. Why don’t you get me your manager, doll?”
“ Pardon? Listen here you little–”
A hand landed on Choso’s shoulder, gently pulling him back as if he’d do something drastic like throttle the customer – something that was feeling more and more likely. “I’m so sorry about that, sir. Why don’t you let me re-make your order, on the house.” Geto offered his soft customer service smile, the one that seemed amicable but actually only came out when the alpha was frustrated but needed to maintain some semblance of peace.
The telltale sign of Geto’s true smile were his crinkling eyes.
“Now that’s proper customer service. You should really keep your omega in check.” The man flicked his wrist in said omega’s direction.
Tch . Choso felt his nose wrinkle as his lip curled, ready to bite back at the man, when the fingers on his shoulder tightened.
“He doesn’t belong to anyone, and I’d appreciate it if you kept sexist opinions to yourself in my shop. Now, please wait for your drink over to the right. You’re holding up the line.” Choso couldn’t help the smug smirk he gave when the man’s mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish at the reprimand. In the end, he straightened his lapels – like an asshole – and moved to the side, pulling his phone from his pocket and making a big show of placing a call.
The hand on Choso’s shoulder relaxed and gave it a pat before pulling away. Choso returned to the cash register while Geto moved to start heating up a cup of cold brew – hopefully it tasted fucking disgusting.
The cafe seemed to fall back into its tranquil routine after the douchebag left: people ordered their coffee, Choso and Geto took turns making them, the sound of keyboards being tapped against, the coffee machine pushing out steam, and soft laughter amongst friends filtered in and out of the space.
Overall, it was incredibly familiar.
Choso had been working at Six Eyes Cafe for over four years now. He had still remembered the day he'd been offered the job. It had been raining out; the type of cold rain that had bit into your bones, that your grandmother had warned you against because you could catch a cold.
Choso had been 21 at the time, had been dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and jeans, his jacket had been draped over the head of his little 12 year-old brother since they hadn't even had an umbrella – hadn't had anything, really.
Their grandfather – and their only guardian since their shit parent had abandoned them – had passed away six months prior, having left them with no home, no financial support, and no family outside of each other.
Choso had had to drop out of his junior year of college right after, having needed to find a job to take care of himself and his little brother.
Unfortunately, society had been kind of dickish to omegas, and most places either hadn't wanted to hire him (having claimed they hadn't wanted to deal with any heats or workplace "incidents" which had really just been code for men being perverts). Or they had said that they would hire him but unfortunately he hadn't been qualified.
And then there had been the few that would have hired him irregardless of his background but those had been kind of… sketchy.
Sex work.
The sketchy places had been strip clubs, escort services, and the likes.
Choso had respected those omegas, but it hadn't been for him.
So instead, he had been forced to take odd-jobs here and there, mainly on construction sites that would have called him in whenever they had needed an extra set of hands. But since those jobs had often required him to spend the entire day on site, his little brother had been left alone until late, meaning he'd had to walk to and from their shady hotel and school all by himself.
And that day, the raining day, the day they had met Geto, well, that one had been particularly bad – weather not included. Because, two weeks prior, Choso's easy construction job that he'd grown rather comfortable at had suddenly become not so easy. Specifically when two of his coworkers had found out he'd been an omega when they had seen him taking his heat suppressants and… well.
The way he had explained it to his brother, Yuuji, had been that two stupid men had tried to be mean to him and Choso had had to teach them a lesson, and yes, that had been why his lip had been split and his knuckles had been bloody but not to worry because his big brother had won.
So, not being able to find a job after that, their shady little hotel had kicked them out.
And now they’d been stuck wandering around, Choso having carried two backpacks filled with all their things, trying to think of where they would sleep tonight. If maybe he could have asked Yuuji to spend the night with a friend while Choso figured himself out.
Which had been when it’d started pouring down on them, as if an omen for how much the universe had wanted to say fuck you.
In that moment, the Six Eyes Cafe had been like a beacon in the night; the only store with its lights still on, having been barely even visible through the downpour that had obstructed their vision, but still, better there than out here, and maybe if Choso had been lucky they had had a computer he could use and a hot drink for Yuuji to warm up with.
The doorbell had dinged a fluttery little chime when it swung open and revealed the empty, cozy, and warm cafe inside. A man with black hair had had his back turned toward them as he had tied a trash bag, and at the chime he had turned toward them. But it hadn't been him who’d drawn Choso's attention, but rather the porcupine-haired tween who had sat on the counter with some kind of Nintendo D.S.. He’d looked up at them with a confused sneer and had called out, "Can't you read? We're closed."
The black haired man's brows had furrowed as he’d taken in the sight of a drenched shivering man and a smiling pink haired boy whose head had peeked out from under a jacket like a little old lady gone out to pick apples.
The four of them paused, analyzing and regarding each other until the black haired man had straightened and turned his furrowed expression to the tween boy who’d winced at the attention, "Megumi, don't be rude. You know what, for that, you can take the trash out."
"But dad, it's raining–"
"Now," the boy slipped off the counter and grabbed the trash bag his father had been tying up, grumbling as he walked around the coffee counter toward what had probably been a door to the back. The man had watched him go with a fond smile, as if this had been routine for them, and then turned to Choso and Yuuji who hadn't moved from their spot, "I'm sorry about that, he learned that type of surly attitude from his mother."
"Oh– no, it's okay. I hadn't realized you were closed, we can go–"
"No, no, please sit for a moment. You look like you could use a break from the storm raging outside." Choso had been a little speechless by the kind smile the tall man had offered him. He had known he should have declined, they had been closed after all and he had probably been putting them out, but when he had glanced out the window and had seen the torrential downpour and then had looked at his smiling brother, he couldn't help but want to sit in the warmth a little longer. Afterall, he had still had no plan for what he had been going to do and it had already been 7pm. Maybe he could have asked to borrow this man's phone.
Said man had walked toward them, having squatted in front of Yuuji, smiling at him, to which of course Yuuji had smiled brightly back, "It's pretty cold out, huh. Would you like something warm to drink, like maybe… a hot chocolate?"
"Oh, yeah! I love hot chocolate! Choso says it's not good to have too many but I can drink a hundred." Yuuji had bounced on his heels.
The man had laughed softly, "Well, he's probably right that a hundred is too many but I do make a really good one if you want to sit down. I'll make one for Megumi too, he doesn't like to admit it but it's his favorite." This second part had been spoken quietly as if he had been filling Yuuji in on a big secret and Yuuji had let out a soft giggle in response.
Yuuji had looked up at Choso, having waited for his go-ahead to accept the drink. Something to know about Choso was that his face was almost always naturally frowning, but in that moment, he couldn't help the soft smile that had overtaken in response to his brother's dazzling one. His eyes had momentarily flickered to the man who squatted before them, body relaxed and smiling as if to say that he hadn't been a threat, and the idea of a moment of reprieve, of a moment where he wouldn’t have to think about where they would sleep tonight, had sounded so fucking good that Choso couldn't help but nodding.
"That would be great! Thank you!" Yuuji had responded and had followed the tall man over to a comfortable plush loveseat that had been situated next to a heating vent. Yuuji had sat down with a plop and had immediately turned his whole body around to look at where Choso had still stood by the door, "Choso!! Are you coming?"
Choso had glanced at his soaked clothing and the puddle that had formed around his feet, and then over to the fabric chair and just had shaken his head softly, "Not right now, Yuuji." And his little brother probably would have argued more if the little spikey haired kid hadn't come back in at that moment.
"Hey! You're Megumi, right? I'm Yuuji Itadori. I'm 12, how old are you? Oh hey, what game are you playing?" Megumi had stopped a foot away and had stared at the pink haired boy as if caught by surprise either by the big smile Yuuji had offered him or the barrage of questions being thrown his way.
"Um… I'm 12, too. And, Super Mario?" Every word had been spoken as if he hadn't been sure of even his own age and in a way, Choso had almost felt bad for him because he had known better than anyone that once you had been the focus of his golden retriever brother, it had been all over.
"Oh, I love Super Mario! My friend at school, Nobara, plays with me sometimes, but she calls me dumb whenever I lose."
"Uhm, what?"
Poor Megumi. But despite his cautious expression, he had still shuffled over and had grabbed his D.S. from the counter and had sat next to Yuuji when the pink haired pup had moved over to make room for them to play together. Their pink and black heads had pressed closely together as they had looked at the device in Megumi's hands.
Choso had tried to roll the tension out of his shoulders before placing the two backpacks he'd been carrying onto the floor with a wet squelch. He had cringed at the thought of what all their clothes would have been like if the outside of the bag had already been so soaked – and he had really hoped that his suppressants hadn't been destroyed because he couldn't have afforded to buy more right now.
A cold raindrop had run from his wet hair down over his eyebrow and cheek and Choso had been reminded how cold he had been when a shiver had torn through his body.
But despite the uncomfortable way his wet jeans had clung to his body and despite how he probably had looked like a soaked rat, he still couldn't help but feel his shoulders relax a bit. Yuuji had been distracted and so he could have used the calm to find them a place to sleep tonight. It shouldn't have been that hard – there had been shelters for this kind of thing after all and they could have stayed at one of those for a night or two. He had wanted Yuuji to feel safe and stable – he had been a kid after all and shouldn't have had to worry about anything but stupid kid things like school and friends and puberty.
So, Choso had run through his agenda in his head again with determination. He had just had to ask for a phone, find a shelter, and then tomorrow he'd go back out and get another job. There had been that chauffeur service he'd worked at for two weeks a few months back, maybe they had needed someone.
"Hey, Choso, right?" He had tried not to jump when the black haired man had appeared in front of him, having offered a towel and a kind smile, as if he could have told that unlike his brother, Choso hadn't been one to quickly offer up affection.
Call it trauma, but Yuuji had been too young to remember what it'd been like when their parent had left, when they'd been abandoned for the first time – but not the last time.
"Yeah. I didn't get your name earlier." Choso had taken the offered towel and had run it over his wet hair, already having known his jeans and shirt had been a lost cause.
"Suguru Geto, and that's my son, Megumi." Choso had given a hum in acknowledgement, not quite having been sure how to progress the conversation forward without bluntly asking to use the man's computer or phone. Which had left the two of them in an awkward position, staring and waiting for the other to make some kind of first move.
Standing so close, Choso could now have seen that the man–Geto–had been both taller and wider than him, and considering that Choso hadn't exactly been small (even for a recessive omega), that had meant that Geto had probably been an alpha. But if he had been an alpha why couldn't Choso have smelled his pheromones in the space? Especially when he had had a pup to protect?
Wary, Choso had taken a small step back, not because he had gotten any particularly aggressive vibes from Geto – the opposite in fact – but still, he hadn't been one to be overly trusting either.
Geto had watched the step with amusement and had yielded in taking a step back himself so that there had been a little more space between them.
The omega had let out a quiet breath.
"Listen, it seems maybe you and your… Yuuji may be in a not-so-great situation."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Choso had tried to subtly look down at himself to see if there had been some kind of blazing sign that had read 'recently homeless' on his body but his clothes had been (yes soaked, but) clean and fairly new. Maybe it had been the two backpacks?
"Ah, well when I gave the boys their hot chocolates earlier Yuuji was telling Megumi that you were kicked out of your hotel because the owner was 'an asshole' and that you two were on an adventure now." Choso had whipped his head over to look at Yuuji who must have felt his brother's glare because he had looked up and had offered a sheepish smile in return.
Meet said blazing sign. Choso had sighed.
"And I apologize because I don't like it when people parent my kid but I had to tell Yuuji that kids shouldn't swear, to which he replied he wasn't, he was just repeating what you said." Geto had let out a soft laugh at that and even Choso's mouth had twitched into a smile.
"Yeah that would be right. It's really no big deal, though. I have a plan, but if I could use your phone in the meantime, I would really appreciate it, and then we can get out of your hair."
"Of course. Do you have family to call?"
A pause, "No." Geto had glanced up at Choso with eyes intense enough to make the other man look away, before he had moved to remove his phone from his pocket and had passed it over, but just as Choso had gone to grab it, Geto had pulled back, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you, Choso?"
Choso had reached for the phone again and this time the alpha had relented, "Twenty-one."
He hadn't been trying to be rude, honest, but Choso had never been one for small talk – life had been too busy and stressful for him to indulge in it. The only time he had done was when answering Yuuji's onslaught of pestering questions.
Choso had held the smartphone in his hand and had opened up the search browser, having wondered what he should even be looking for. 'Youth Shelters' probably had seemed like a good place to start. With his eyes having been glued to the screen, Choso's eyes had skimmed over all the search options – how had he been supposed to know which had been good? Each had had different offerings like free socks, maternal care, separate rooms for omegas, meals having been provided by a local soup kitchen, and so on and so forth. If it had been only for a few nights it shouldn't have been such a big deal, right? Choso had been about to click on an option that had boasted about its "clean facilities" when a hand had come up and had covered the screen. He had looked up again into a softly smiling face – a similar smile you'd have given an injured animal to let it know all was okay now.
Something about it had set Choso a little on edge – he had hated being infantilized.
"Choso, can I ask you something personal? And it's okay if you don't feel comfortable answering, but, are you an omega?"
His grip on the phone had tightened and subconsciously his eyes had drifted over to where Yuuji had sat laughing with a smiling Megumi, before his eyes had quickly whipped back toward Geto.
"Why?" The question had obviously been guarded. After all, Choso could still have felt the phantom imprint of his ex-coworkers hands on his ass. His wrists. His neck.
Of course that had been before he'd managed to break their hold and, quite frankly, had beaten the living shit out of them before dashing away.
"Well, it seems like you don't really have anywhere to go right now–"
"I do," Choso had interrupted even though he hadn't, but again, he hadn't really known Geto enough to let him know that he had been at his wits end about how he had been supposed to take care of a 12 year old without a home or any stable job.
Geto had given him a knowing smile before continuing, "and I would feel much better knowing that you and Yuuji were safe. I have a small apartment on top of this cafe that my partner and I used to live in before our son was born that we keep now mainly for guests and family. You could stay there until you get back on your feet. It's what I would want someone to do for my partner if they were ever in your situation."
"I don't need a hand out." God, Choso had felt cliché saying that because wow had he needed a hand out.
"It wouldn't be a hand out," the alpha had insisted – and now Choso had been sure he had been an alpha, scent or no – "I was just looking for a new employee since my last one left. You could work here, be paid a regular salary, and Yuuji would keep Megumi company – it's only been thirty minutes and he's already been a good influence on my boy." They both had looked over as the two boys who had started playfully shoving each other over some mishap in the game.
Choso had drawn his gaze to the ground, having looked at his still-wet denim, semi-dry shirt, and pathetic looking backpacks. It would have been nice not to worry, to have had a job that wouldn't have required him to keep an eye peeled on every corner. Looking off to the side, Choso had muttered, "And you don't mind that I'm an omega? Even though you're…"
Geto had been quiet for a moment before he had started laughing again, "Oh god, no. Firstly, I'm not only completely in love with my husband, but also mated–"
"T–that's not what I–" Choso had started sputtering, having felt his ears turn a slight pink but Geto just had lifted his hand with a laugh.
"No, it's okay. I get it. But don't worry, I don't care what your second gender is as long as you do good work and don't trash the place."
"I–I won't."
"Plus," Geto had lifted to tap his finger against the phone still having been held in Choso's white-knuckled hand, "those shelters are never very safe for omegas."
Choso had swallowed, and had nodded. "Yeah, okay," he had rarely felt young but in that moment, he had felt like a kid, "thank you."
Geto ruffled his hair.
"Glad we got that settled. Now let's get you and Yuuji upstairs. We can get him enrolled in Megumi's school and you can get started tomorrow at 6am down here."
"Yeah... okay." Choso had been in a daze as he had followed the Alpha into his new life.
And that was how he and Yuuji had been sucked up into the Geto family and how he’d ended up working at Six Eyes Cafe for the last four years. Last year he’d even made enough to get him and Yuuji a two bedroom apartment a few blocks away – though Geto had insisted they could have kept staying in the upstairs studio if they’d wanted. But Choso politely declined; as Yuuji grew older, Choso liked the idea of being able to give him his own space.
So, here he was, working in the cafe that was basically his first real home, dealing with asshole customers who yelled at him, and sweet customers who greeted him kindly.
He especially liked his regular customers who made small talk and asked him about Yuuji. There was a little old female Omega who always patted his cheek and brought him some food once a week, insisting that he needed to eat well if he was going to find an Alpha. Oh, and did he know that four of her grandchildren were single and her nephew especially would be a great partner for him. To which he had responded that yes he did know and no he wasn’t interested right now but of course he would keep her granddaughter/nephew/cousin/relative in mind when he was ready to start dating again.
And oh boy did he love the comment on his biological clock ticking – but how do you curse out a sweet old lady who feeds you for free?
Yeah, you don’t. You just smile and nod and say you’ll think about it.
It was already 2pm at this point, and a weekday, so the cafe was fairly calm, most people reading or working on their computers. Geto was in the back office working on the finances and ordering next week’s supply of necessities, leaving Choso to man the cash register and coffee bar by himself – and he liked it that way. When the quiet was calm enough that he could take his time to craft a drink and not feel like he was being rushed by twenty intense pairs of eyes staring at the back of his head, silently demanding their coffee.
There was only one downside with working alone during the early afternoon shift, and that was the knothead detectives that came in everyday either around this time or right before closing – depending on their schedule, a pattern Choso had not yet figured out.
They were loud and boisterous, and walked around the place like they owned it – and he wasn’t sure if that was because they were Alphas, detectives, or both.
So maybe he should rephrase his earlier statement that he liked his regular customers and say that he liked some of his regulars. The others drove him up the fucking wall – especially the blonde one.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” She leaned her hip and placed one hand against the counter, pushing into Choso’s space with a flirtatious smile. Her blonde hair was long and thick and fell to her waist. And even leaning at the slant that she was, she was a tall woman – Choso’s height, which meant she was wearing platformed boots too, or she was just slightly taller than him, and he was not a short man by any means.
She’d been coming in regularly to Six Eyes for about three or so months, and just based off the way she purred every greeting at him, Choso had flagged her right away as a basic omeganizing knothead, and he wasn’t interested – he barely had the time to be interested between working and ensuring he was there for Yuuji.
Of course, that didn’t stop her, and Choso just couldn’t cuss her out (he’d asked and Geto had said no). Though Geto’s husband, Gojo, had said it'd be hilarious and that he should go for it– which was all the more reason not to do it.
So, being civil it was.
“What can I get for you?”
“Oh, come on, sweetheart, you know my name by now.” Choso’s eyes darted down to the badge that hung on her hip. She didn’t always wear it, but he’d seen it enough to know it said Detective Yuki Tsukumo. Not that he was actively looking or anything. He’d just noticed it. But far be it if he’d let her know that he remembered her name. That would only fuel her interest in him (could he even call it ‘interest’ or was it just Alpha bravado?)
“Do I?” He crooked an eyebrow at her, and she burst out laughing.
“God, you’re funny. So if I tell you I want my regular, are you going to pretend you don’t know that too?” His ears tinged a little at having been called out so openly, not even the little old lady who’d tried to surprise him with a blind date by bringing in the nephew she’d been bragging about had been able to elicit blushes from him the way Yuki could (though hers were mostly brought on by frustration than anything).
“An iced americano with whole milk, and,” he looked at the other Alpha who was well over 192cm (over 6’ 3”) and built like a fucking freight train, his name was Todo something, “a special lavender oat draft latte with an extra pump of vanilla.”
Choso didn’t (openly) judge people’s orders but his nose wrinkled a little at the thought of the later sweet drink.
“Good boy,” Yuki praised, her smile sharp and her voice approving as she held up her credit card between two fingers, holding eye contact as she tapped it against the machine. Choso felt his face flare (definitely from the smoke coming out of his ears at being talked to like that and no other reason) but he refused to look away.
If six months of her constant presence had taught him anything it was that she liked pushing his buttons.
The first time she’d called him sweetheart, he’d been making another customer's drink and her voice had reached him over the sound of foaming milk: “make mine extra hot, sweetheart!” His hand had slipped and he’d spilled the foamed milk all over the counter. When he’d looked toward her with pink cheeks and an angry expression she’d simply been smirking and looking at his hand as if she’d discovered something delicious.
And her laugh, God, it drove him crazy ! It was loud, and infectious, and deep, and sultry, and she always laughed when she felt she’d won something though he wasn’t always even sure what .
If he said something snarky to her, she laughed.
If he purposely gave her the wrong coffee (call him immature) she laughed it off.
If he glared at her, she laughed.
If he backed down (or as Geto puts it, chose the peaceful route), she laughed.
One time, when she apologized for being late and that hopefully he hadn’t missed her too much, he’d simply said “What I had hoped was that you were hit by a bus,” she laughed so hard she got a stitch.
So, no, he wouldn’t let her win this time. He wouldn’t let her know calling him a good boy affected him in anyway (and if it did, if he felt a weird zip of electricity through his stomach when she said it, that was between him and his demoralizing shower thoughts), because once she knew it affected him, it was over and she’d have a new nickname for him and that one was a bit much for people to overhear.
Instead he was stuck between the crawling sensation of heat on his ears and the searing, smiling gaze that watched him. Choso felt his frown pulling at his face, and he was aware that the edge of the counter bit into his palms as he held his ground, but besides that, he was barely aware of the tapping computers or laughter in the background. Instead his entire gaze and person was focused on the she-demon in front of him. That, and winning .
And of course, in that moment, the other blockhead decided to intervene, “Hey, what’s your type?”
“What?” Choso found himself blinking at last, looking over at the man with the wild bun and the scar that bisected his cheek.
“What’s your type?” He repeated.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, come on, Todo,” a laugh as Yuki leaned away from the counter to look at the other man, finally giving Choso space to breathe – though he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. “You know he won’t answer.”
“Not blondes,” Choso threw out to spite Yuki, not even bothering to consider if it was true or not. Yuki’s neck snapped in his direction with a smirk and Todo’s face furrowed in disgust.
“That’s it? That’s your only qualifier?” He asked.
“And not–”
“Please, let me guess,” Yuki leaned back, lazily counting out qualifiers on her hand, “not blonde, not tall, not an Alpha, not funny, not a detective. Did I miss any?” She blinked her eyes at him.
“Not annoying,” he offered.
“Ah, of course. Well, you know,” her fingers walked across the counter toward him, “until you find this mysterious dark haired, short, serious, boring Beta,” – okay, when she said it like that, it didn’t sound so good – “you could let me take you out for dinner tomorrow.”
“Busy,” he shot out. As if he’d go out to dinner with her. Why? So she could laugh at him and turn him inside out with her teasing.
“Saturday then.”
“Busy.”
“Ah, but I didn’t say which Saturday.” She wagged her finger at him.
“All of them,” he muttered. She let out a delighted laugh before pulling herself off the counter and straightening.
“Okay then, sweetheart, have fun finding your Prince Charming, he sounds like a treat.” And with that she gave him a cheeky wave and walked off to the right to wait for her coffee.
Todo followed behind, but not before throwing back, “I think I lost a little respect for you, dude.”
Yeah, he wouldn’t be the only one.
Because although Yuki had walked away first, and had dropped the idea of them going on a date almost as soon as she’d brought it up, Choso couldn’t help but feel like he’d lost in the end.
***
“She drives me crazy, Geto.” Choso was wiping down the tables as he aired his annoyances to the Alpha. It wouldn’t be the first time Geto had heard about Yuki in the last six months, but it was the first time Choso had been complaining about her for more than 30 consecutive minutes. Abrupting the cafe’s empty silence with short, bursting sentences.
“She’s always walking in here,” he aggressively scrubbed at a spot on the table, “always talking to me,” sprayed down the fabric of the chairs, “laughing.”
Geto had finished his portion of cleaning and was leaning against the counter, listening as Choso aired his grievances, while obviously fighting the smile that pulled at his cheeks – which only made the Omega glare at him harder whenever their eyes caught.
“You know, those aren’t normally negative qualifiers.”
“They are when she does them!” The poor table had been scrubbed clean four times now, but Choso just kept mindlessly spraying and scrubbing as if it was the table that had wronged him.
“She’s just flirting with you,” Geto offered, his voice a little softer, because the truth was, outside of this incident, this person, Choso had never spoken about a dating life of any sort.
“Well, I wish she wouldn’t.” The aggressive scrubbing slowed down with the soft whispered words. Then as if reminded of his frustrations, it picked back up, as he angrily stated “She’s just a good for nothing omeganizer.”
“Has she been using her pheromones against you? Because if she has, you should have told me sooner.” Geto’s voice suddenly took on a more firm and protective timber.
“No, no, nothing like that.” Choso was quick to say, not wanting to risk Geto going full Alpha on Yuki.
The Alpha’s body physically relaxed again. Choso knew that although Geto wasn’t much older than Choso, only having just entered his mid-thirties, he treated Choso like a little brother and Yuuji like a second son. Always watching out for them and lending an ear to any problems they may have. And though Choso had insisted he didn’t need it, that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, Geto was always ready to beat down any Alpha’s who threatened him. Maybe it was that Geto had an Omega husband and son, but, either way, he had a particular soft (read: protective) spot for the second gender.
“Then, what’s holding you back?” Geto tentatively asked as he leaned back again against the counter.
“I just–I don’t have time to date. I need to be there for the cafe and for Yuuji. He just got his second gender presentation, and with our new place, life finally feels stable. I can’t add something new like that.”
“I can respect that, Choso, but I just want to be sure you’re not holding yourself back. After all, she could genuinely like you. She has been flirting with you for nearly six months.”
“Who has?” Choso's neck snapped to the side to see Yuuji and Megumi standing toward the back of the coffee shop where the backdoor was located. Choso looked toward the front door wondering why it hadn’t chimed and then remembered that Geto had locked it earlier which was probably why the kids had come through the back.
Choso turned a look toward Geto that managed to portray both frustration and betrayal.
“Who has a crush on Choso?” Yuuji repeated his question as he dropped his bag on the ground.
“No one,” Choso was quick to reply, standing up and leaning his hip on the table as if he was super relaxed and not at all aware of the blush that was crawling over his cheeks.
“Who’d want to date you ?” Megumi asked as he placed his own bag on the ground, and Choso couldn’t help the tch sound he gave. But at this point he was used to the porcupine head’s sharp personality – and, honestly, out of everyone, it sucked to admit that they were probably the most alike.
“Choso has a suitor,” Geto let out in a sing-song voice sandwiched between teasing laughter, and it was moments like that that made it clear how Geto and Gojo were married – they both could be a similar level of annoying, in their own ways.
“I don’t.”
“He does , she comes in every day while you boys are at school.”
“Wait, really! That’s so great, Choso why didn’t you tell me?” Yuuji had started bouncing around, drawing closer and closer to Choso before grabbing onto his arm and shaking him as if to physically demand why Choso would keep this secret from him.
“She’s probably ugly,” Megumi chimed in, just looking to stir the pot.
“You think?” Yuuji turned to Megumi, even as he clung onto Choso’s arm. Megumi sagely nods.
“She’s not!” Choso piped in a little too quickly and felt everyone's faces turn to look at him. Geto was laughing. “I mean–” Fuck. How the fuck was he supposed to save ass? It’s not that he liked her, quite the opposite, but even he could admit she wasn’t ugly . She was tall, had strong arms, long hair, a big smile, and –
Ah.
Aaaaaaaaaah.
“ Some people would say she’s not bad looking.” He quickly saved (though that'd be a generous way of putting it).
“Since when is ‘some people’ synonymous with ‘you’.” Megumi smirked as he pulled an old croissant from the pastry container and popped a piece into his mouth.
“She’s very pretty and an Alpha.” Geto provided.
“That’s great! When can I meet her? Choso?” Yuuji begged.
“Never.”
“Come to the cafe around 2pm and you’ll see her,” Geto offered.
“I hate all of you, I’m going home.” Choso threw the rag in his hands and tried to wiggle out of Yuuji’s strong grasp – when did he even get so strong? Everyone laughed as Choso started using his other hand to try and pry Yuuji off him until somehow they ended up more entwined and even Choso was laughing.
***
It had been eerily quiet today. No surprise blind dates, no complaining customers, no loud arguing couple, and most importantly, no Yuki. And normally Choso would spend the whole day feeling like a livewire waiting for her to sneak up on him, but not only did she not come today, Todo had. Had come in and ordered his coffee like nothing was wrong, like he wasn’t missing his other half.
It left Choso feeling a little unsettled because there were only two days he normally didn’t see Yuki, and that was Saturday and Sunday. After that, if she was not going to come in during the week, she made sure to let Choso know as if they were some old married couple with a shared calendar, going “Don’t miss me too much, sweetheart, but I’ll be out of the city on a task tomorrow.” Or, “Work awaits, but I’ll be back next week, gorgeous.”
To each of these Choso would always simply respond with, “Are you going to order, or not?” But he hadn’t realized how weird his day would feel without the blond she-demon breathing down the neck.
He found himself turning to look at the door every time it chimed at a rate that was rather embarrassing – if he chose to acknowledge it, which he did not!
Instead, he spent the hours from two to six pm talking to every customer that came in, checking his phone, and cleaning the dishes and coffee machines the moment (and he meant the moment ) they got dirty. It was enough to make even Geto quirk a brow at him – especially when Choso washed the same mug three times and even went so far as to hand dry it simply because it had been the same brown as Yuki’s stupid eyes and the impulsive part of his brain had called it pretty.
Fuck .
Honestly at this point he was gonna blame the boredom.
Maybe he could organize the beans under the counter? Or clean the sprawling bookshelf in the corner that acted like a Take 1, Give 1 type of library for customers and neighbors – something Megumi had set up when he was 14 and had run out of space in his room for books.
When Choso decided that cleaning the bookshelf would be just the right amount of time-consuming, he turned to the front of the coffee shop and immediately dropped to the floor behind the counter.
“What happened?” Geto looked down in alarm to where Choso was pressed against the cabinets. He then looked up as the door chimed.
“Shh! Don’t be so obvious.” Choso pressed himself deeper into the cabinets.
He’d thought he’d been lucky today, had been gifted some weird day of peace. Had prayed worried thought that maybe she’d been transferred to a different station or department (he wasn’t really sure how the police worked outside of the crime series Yuuji liked to watch).
“If she asks, I’m not here.” Honestly, he’s not really sure what made him hide, maybe it was that it was almost the end of the day and he was tired, or maybe it was the fact that he’d found himself thinking of Yuki more often than not today. Maybe even missing her.
Nope.
Scratch that last bit.
“Hey there Suguru,” Choso could hear her smile in her voice and it caused his brows to furrow. He doesn’t know why, but he hadn’t thought of the way she talked to others outside of his presence. Hadn’t thought that maybe she laughed loudly with them too. That maybe that was just who she was.
“Hi, Yuki. What can I get you?”
“Hmm, do you happen to have something tall-ish, with hair in two wild buns, and a questionable face tattoo?”
Tall- ish ?
It took everything in Choso to silence his tch. Luckily the annoyance on his face was naturally silent.
“Ah, I’ve been told to tell you he’s not here right now.”
Choso made a mental note to strangle Geto later.
It was quiet for a moment before Choso felt something press the top of his head. He reached up with a hand to touch it, but when his hand closed around slim, warm fingers he quickly looked up.
A few inches away from his face was a smiling Yuki. She was resting her chin against her arm as she draped her body over the counter so that all Choso could see was her head, forearms, and a touch of her shoulders. Their faces were close and he was staring at her with wide-eyed surprise, because not only could he make out the soft freckles on her skin but he could also smell her. Like really and truly smell her. Where normally the space was filled with the scent of ten or more people and the grinding aroma of coffee beans, now, here, he could barely even smell the cleaning spray used to mop the floors at the end of the day.
Instead, his nostrils tickled with the pheromones that seemed to ooze from her skin and cover her entirely. How had he missed them before?
They were smokey like cedar but also delicate like jasmine – there was something so feminine, overpowering, and sexy about it. He was suddenly conscious of his own pheromones, and the way they poured out into the space as if wanting to be heard, seen, felt.
“Hiding from me?” She whispered, her lips bending around the words, and the sultry tone she used had him swallowing. Her eyes tracked the movement.
He felt like prey, and her a hungry predator that was watching its meal.
Her hair had fallen like a curtain around them and he shivered slightly when a silky blonde tendril brushed against his cheek.
He was also still holding her hand from where it had been poking his head – why hadn’t he let go? His eyes shifted to where his pale fingers were wrapped around her slim tan ones. When he felt her flex them from within his grasp, Choso quickly let go as if he’d been holding fire and stood up, patting down his apron as if he needed to brush off some dirt.
Yuki took her time, like a cat as she stretched over the counter before pushing herself up until she was resting on her elbows, her head held in the palm of her hand, looking up at him.
Choso’s heart was racing and he’d rather not think about the fluttering he’d felt in his stomach when Yuki had wiggled her fingers while in his grasp.
God, how touch starved was he?
“So?” She asked from her spot on the counter, looking rather comfortable, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
So? “I wasn’t hiding. I had just dropped something.” Also, how did she know he had been behind the counter?
“Oh, yeah? Dropped something, huh?” Her eyes drifted toward Geto with a smile as she purred each word, and Choso snapped his head toward the sheepish Alpha.
“Seriously, Geto?” Choso indignantly yelled at him. How hard was it to do the one thing Choso had asked of him?
“It’s really not my fault, Choso. She’s a detective after all.”
“That is true. Also it wasn’t Suguru who gave you away, but those.” She pointed up with a smile at his hair, and Choso reached up cautiously until he touched a bun.
Ah. Yes. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He was an idiot.
But he bet Geto had still done something to confirm the fact, if his sheepish face was anything to go by.
“Well,” He opened his eyes again and leveled Yuki with an even expression, “I wasn’t hiding from you.”
“Well, that’s good because I came to ask you out to dinner this weekend.”
“I already told you–”
“Saying you’re busy is kinda the same as hiding,” she shrugged from her languid spot on the counter.
She had him there. Choso looked over at Geto for some backup, but Geto was waving at someone through the glass front door, and when Choso looked up all he could think was: God, please kill me now .
Yuuji and Megumi were standing outside, looking hesitantly inside as if they weren’t sure if they should come in or not, and Geto had just waved them in.
People often gave Gojo a bad rap for being the idiot in the relationship but Choso was starting to think that that was just because they didn’t hang around long enough to get to know Geto.
Seeing their attention had turned somewhere else, Yuki fully stood up from the counter and turned to look at the front door just as it chimed.
“Uh, hi!” Yuuji offered a hesitant smile and waved, “I thought we were closed already, we’ll let you finish up.”
“We are closed,” Megumi interjected from behind Yuuji, eyeing Yuki and where she casually stood, leaning against the counter. His expression said, what are you doing here?
“Don’t worry boys, I was just leaving, I was just trying to get Choso to come out with me this weekend,” Yuki politely offered with a smile as if Choso were not RIGHT HERE.
“Oh. Oh. You’re her. The suitor Choso thought was pretty.” Yuuji was now nodding enthusiastically as if their conversation from the prior week was all coming back to him now.
“‘Thought was pretty,’ eh?” Yuki turned to him with a cocky smile.
“I never said that and you know I never said that, Yuuji.” Choso looked past Yuki to his brother who was staring at him with a confused face.
“Didn’t you?”
“No, he said she wasn’t bad looking,” Megumi interjected.
“Isn’t that kind of the same thing though?” Yuuji looked back at the black haired boy behind him.
“Basically,” he shrugged. And Yuuji nodded as if that all made sense.
Choso was going to move. Change names. Addresses. Leave it all behind to become a potato farmer. Because he could feel his face turning a soft pink as Yuki continued to smile at him as if he’d said she was the most gorgeous woman on the planet.
Which he didn’t .
What he actually needed was to get out of here, because he knew that Geto had a video camera in here that captured audio which meant he and Gojo were 100% going to pour two glasses of wine tonight and watch this entire embarrassing scene together again as if it were some twisted episode of The Bachelor.
But of course lightning coming down to hit him right now was just too easy, instead Yuuji spoke up, “So, you wanted to ask my brother out?”
“Yes, I had just asked him if we could go out on Saturday.” Yuki and Yuuji (Megumi and Geto were on their phones, for sure texting in their family group chat about this) were looking at him expectantly.
“I already said, I’m busy–”
“No, you’re not. You have this Saturday off.” Yuuji ‘helpfully’ added.
“No, I’m busy–”
“Going to a museum by yourself doesn’t count,” Megumi added without looking up from his phone.
This was his chosen family? Was he an idiot?
“So, what I’m hearing is, you’re free this Saturday?” Yuki asked.
“Yeah, he is!” Yuuji again. Choso felt his eye twitch.
Yuki was looking at him with a challenging smile, and maybe it was that he’d been backed up into a corner, or maybe it was that he could still feel the warmth of her hand in his, but Choso just let out a sigh and said, “Yeah, I’m free this Saturday.”
“Great!” Yuki stood up straight, “Then I’ll pick you up out front at 6pm on Saturday, sweetheart.” She gave him a wink and walked out the front door without another word, clearly satisfied at having won this round.
The room was quiet after she left, the echo of the door’s chimes the only thing filling the space until – as if they ran on clockwork – all three looked at him and said in varying tones of amusement, glee, and disgust, “Sweetheart?!”
Choso groaned and turned away from them, not wanting to acknowledge how his stomach fluttered at the invite.