Work Text:
I.
The first time Nirei met this guy was on a Wednesday afternoon during spring.
It was a normal day for Nirei at the tea shop he works at. It was a bit chillier than usual, but a coat would suffice. The shop wasn’t bustling with customers, but there were a few regulars occupying some of the tables and sipping their usual orders. Nirei wasn’t expecting any more customers to come in, as it was already late afternoon and they usually close at 6 p.m. on weekdays.
“Nirei-kun, it’s already 5:30 p.m. Sorry, I have to go home a little early today. Close the shop for me, yeah?” Hiragi, the owner of the shop, gently tapped his back. His boss was now out of his uniform, the strap of his backpack hanging on his right shoulder.
Nirei gave him a thumbs up. “No problem! You can leave it to me, boss!”
Hiragi smiled at him softly. “A’ight, I’ll get going now.” The older one marched towards the storefront door, but the door suddenly opened even before he could even touch the handle.
A tall figure stood in front of Hiragi, his burgundy hair parted in the middle and an eye patch hiding his left eye. And he wore what seemed like… Chinese clothing?
Interesting. And handsome, too.. . Nirei thought.
“Hey, sorry. We’re closing in about 30 minutes.” Hiragi apologetically smiled.
“It’s okay! I’ll take my order to-go,” the customer smiled back.
Nirei scratched his nape, waiting for a chance to speak. “Uh… It’s okay, Hiragi-san. I can stay for a little while. He’s gonna be our last customer, anyway.”
“Great!” The taller one beamed. He slightly bowed at Hiragi before walking towards the counter where Nirei was behind.
Nirei heard his boss sigh. “Fine. Nirei, close up right after his order, okay?”
“Copy, sir!” He exclaimed as he watched his boss’ figure disappear. He then glanced at the burgundy head in front of him.
With his classic customer service smile, he asked, “Now, what can I get you, sir?”
The guy smiled back at him, but this time, it looked a bit… flirtatious? Nirei mentally shook his head.
“Actually, Nire-kun…” Ah, he must’ve heard Hiragi-san call me that . “This is my first time trying tea. Any recommendations?” The taller one propped his elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his palm.
“Sure!” Nirei excitedly replied.
Anyone who looked at Nirei could tell that he loved his job. He loved talking and interacting with customers. But what he loved the most was memorizing various types of tea, brewing it, and smelling its aroma. “Are you more of a sweet tooth or not?”
“Hm,” the guy hummed, his lips into a thin line, and drummed his free hand’s fingers against the counter. “I’m not much of a sweet tooth, but I’d prefer something mildly sweet like your smile, Nire-kun!”
Heh… What a terrible attempt at flirting. Nirei smiled awkwardly as he nodded. He was now sure that the guy was trying to hit on him. “I think you’d love our jasmine green tea! How does that sound?”
“Sure!” The burgundy head cheerfully replied, his right eye now forming into a crescent.
“Alright, jasmine green tea coming up! Your name, sir?” Nirei fished out a small notebook and a pen from his apron’s pocket.
The guy smiled at him widely. “I’m Leonardo DiCaprio!”
What.
“I’m sorry, what?” Nirei asked, hoping that he just heard the guy wrong.
“Leonardo DiCaprio! That’s my name.” The burgundy head giggled. Now, he’s definitely just messing with me.
Nirei stared at him for a few seconds before he sighed in defeat, putting his notebook and pen back into his pocket. There’s just no way he could spell that. “Alright, Leonardo DiCaprio-san. Give me a few minutes to prepare your order. You may take a seat for now, sir.”
“Thanks, Nire-kun!”
Nirei probably took just less than 10 minutes to prepare Leonardo’s order. He walked back towards the counter with a cup of tea in his hand. “Jasmine green tea for Leonardo Dicaprio!”
He heard the burgundy head chuckling as he approached Nirei. “That’s me!”
Nirei immediately handed him the cup, their hands slightly touching. Nirei swore he saw the guy’s smile widen a little with the touch.
“Thanks, Nire-kun! I’ll come back soon!” The burgundy head winked before walking towards the storefront door.
Nirei sighed. What a weird guy.
II.
The second time they met was a week later. It was only 7 in the morning, the tea shop was usually busy during mornings with workers and students wanting to start their day off with a cup of warm tea. Nirei didn’t even notice the burgundy head walking in until he was already in front of Nirei, ready to give his order.
“Hi, Nire-kun!” The taller one greeted with his usual smile.
“Hello, it’s you again!”
“Yep! I actually went here yesterday to see you, but your boss said it wasn’t your shift.” The burgundy head pouted to make himself look upset, but there was still a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.
To see me, huh? That thought made Nirei feel his blood rushing through his face.
“Mhm! I work on Wednesdays to Saturdays.” Nirei smiled apologetically.
The taller one grunted. “Man, I had no choice but to talk to that grumpy guy with black and white hair.”
“That would be Sakura-san,” Nirei chuckled. “Anyway, what are you getting today?”
“I’d like to have the drink I had last time.”
“All right,” Nirei replied as he took note of the order. “Your name, please?”
Nirei prayed to all the gods to get his real name this time when he asked. But as expected, the guy liked to be playful. “I’m feeling like Tony Stark today, Nire-kun!”
“Avengers today, huh…” Nirei mumbled as he scratched his head. “Okay, Tony-san. I’d really love to chat a bit more with you but…” He glanced at the long line behind the burgundy head. The taller one also turned his head to see what Nirei was looking at and nodded, understanding what the blonde meant.
“It’s fine, Nire-kun! I didn’t want to disturb you, anyway.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you again next time.”
Now, why does that sound like a threat?
III.
It’s been three weeks since Nirei met the burgundy head. He usually visited the shop on Wednesdays and Saturdays, exactly the start and end of Nirei’s work days. Nirei was now getting used to his quirkiness, expecting new strange names each of his visits. So far, he had gotten Edward Cullen, Tom Holland, and even female names like Julia Roberts and Elsa of Arendelle. Nirei couldn’t help but shake his head at that thought.
Today was Saturday and the shop was unusually lifeless. To Nirei, Saturdays are the busiest days of the week. It was a weekend, after all. A day where almost everyone is free to spend the day however they want. But nonetheless, he was thankful that he could get some rest from this.
Nirei was at the counter, lost in his thoughts, when he felt something poke his cheek. “Earth to Nire-kun?”
Oh, it was that guy.
“I’m sorry!” Nirei panicked. “I didn’t hear you coming in.”
The taller one laughed. “You were spacing out, Nire-kun.”
Nirei smiled sheepishly. “Yeah… I guess I was.”
“Thinking of me?” The guy teased as he poked Nirei’s cheek for the second time.
“Stop teasing,” Nirei pouted. “What can I get you today?”
“You didn’t even deny,” the burgundy head chuckled, gently covering his mouth with his fist to stifle his laugh. “Anyway, I kind of want to try boba today. Would you recommend a flavor?”
“Of course! Wanna try matcha? It’s our newest flavor,” Nirei suggested.
“Hm, sounds good.” The taller one nodded. “Do you want to guess who I’d be today?”
Nirei stared at him and sighed in annoyance. “As if I could ever guess that. Come on, why don’t you just give your real name? It’s been three weeks.”
The burgundy head laughed. “I’m Hugh Jackman today!”
“How do you even spell that?!” Nirei huffed. The burgundy head was surely enjoying all of this. Nirei watched as the guy threw back his head as he laughed, which made him furrow his brows further in annoyance.
“Here’s a proposal, Nire-kun,” he smiled cheekily. “I’d give you my real name in exchange for your number and a date. How does that sound?”
“I’ll think about it.” Nirei answered before heading towards the backroom to make the guy’s order.
Okay, now that's a bold move. Nirei thought. He knew the guy would eventually ask him for a date because it was painfully obvious that he was interested in Nirei. But he didn’t expect that the guy would ask him in such a way.
After a few minutes, Nirei came out with the beverage in his hand. With the beverage, he also handed his phone to the guy in front of the counter. “Put your number here.”
The burgundy head smiled amusingly. After a few seconds, his phone started ringing. “Here you go!” He exclaimed cheerfully, handing the phone back to the blonde.
Nirei glanced at his phone. Suo Hayato . There was a tiny smile that ghosted his lips. “You have a pretty name, why not use it?”
“It was easier to remember me with the English names, don’t you think?” Suo beamed at him. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Mhm. See you tomorrow,
Suo-san
.”
With a victorious smile and faint blush on his cheeks, Suo replied, “I can’t wait, Nire-kun.”