Work Text:
The first time Ren Amamiya notices the blond man entering the cafe he works in, sitting in a back corner, fishing out a laptop from a good-sized shoulder bag, and typing away at his keyboard, he finds himself intrigued. Not because of the particular situation, many people went to coffee shops to write or work, after all. It was the fact that the man didn’t fit the nerdy stereotype Ren had in his mind when he pictured the usual crowd that came to his cafe for several hours a day.
Perhaps, had the blond man only come in once, Ren wouldn’t have been as thoroughly intrigued as he was. But there he sat, in the same seat, furrowing his brows and looking stressed at something on his computer screen nearly daily.
“You should go talk to him,” one of the black-haired boy’s co-workers says after catching Ren staring at the newcomer for at least the fifth time.
He jumps, having not expected to be called out on his behaviour. Ren just couldn’t help but be intrigued by why the young man kept choosing this coffee shop of all places when he had yet to order something.
Wait.
Maybe the man’s lack of an order was the perfect opening to a conversation. Nothing is more inconspicuous and innocent than asking if the patron of the coffee shop wants something to drink or eat.
‘Don’t ask about what’s on his computer,’ Ren rehearses to himself as he dusts off his hands on his apron and dares to approach the blond man that looks to be around his age, ‘No matter how intrigued you are.’
When he’s only a few steps away from the man, the barista catches brown eyes meeting his own silver ones and he’s momentarily left speechless, forgetting why he’d even approached the man in the first place. Luckily, the blond man seems to have enough decorum to pick up the conversation for the both of them.
“Can I help you?” he asks, a slight tinge of humour in his voice.
Ren can’t help but feel a momentary wave of embarrassment wash over him at being caught before he could get close enough to the other man to properly ask his innocent question, but he soon regains his composure, taking a deep breath before speaking up.
He could do this.
“Oh, uh, hi,” he begins, hoping he doesn’t come off as awkward as he feels, “I just… I noticed you coming in here a lot, but you’ve never ordered anything. So I was just wondering if you wanted something?”
“A way to finish this stupid story,” the man mumbles under his breath before fixing a smile on his features and facing Ren again, “I’m good for the moment, maybe later.”
The barista doesn’t mean to look at the other man’s computer screen, truly he doesn’t. However, when it’s right in front of him, practically begging him to look, the curiosity is just too much to bear.
In the midst of walls of text depicting a very detailed description of a shipwreck, and drowning bodies, Ren catches a glimpse of a familiar name.
Captain Kidd.
Was this stranger really so much of a closeted nerd that he was writing novels about a famous pirate whose rumoured treasure had yet to be found. Ren isn’t sure if it’s worse that he knows so much about the aforementioned pirate or that this sportsy-looking (and very pretty) man knew enough to be writing about him.
Unsurprisingly, the other man catches the barista staring at his work and turns the screen away, chuckling under his breath.
“I’ve been writing it for years and I still don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere with it, isn’t that strange?”
The corners of Ren’s mouth quirk up in a hint of a smile at the other man’s comment about his writing, finding himself strangely charmed by his casual honesty. But when he sees that he’s been caught looking at the computer screen, he blushes slightly and looks away as an apology.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to look…” he says, feeling a bit guilty for snooping. But then his attention is brought back to the subject of the work and he just can’t hold his tongue.
“Wait, that’s who you’re writing about? Captain Kidd?”
“You’ve caught me,” the blond man laughs and puts his hands up in mock surrender, “Don’t tell anyone will you?”
His voice still sounds light and joking, but Ren can tell that there is some part of this boy that is actually embarrassed by what he’s writing. It’s really such a shame because from the few sentences he’d read, this man seemed to be a very talented writer indeed.
“Also…” the blond man trails off, grinning up at the barista, “Don’t you need to go back to work….”
His eyes glance at the name badge pinned to the black-haired boy’s apron.
“Ren?”
Ren can’t help but chuckle at the man’s playfulness and feigned embarrassment, feeling himself relax a bit more in the other’s presence. He really could see himself gleefully spending more time with this mysterious blond man that kept wandering into his cafe.
But when he points out that he should be working, Ren glances around and realizes that he’s been chatting with the pretty blond man for longer than he intended.
“Oh… right,” he mutters sheepishly, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit at the fact that he hadn’t even introduced himself yet. He looks down at his name badge and back up to the other, a bashful smile on his face, “Yeah… I’m Ren.”
“Hi Ren,” the other boy smiles, “I’m Ryuji.”
The blond man, Ryuji, turns back to his screen, facing it towards Ren and grinning wider, “You seem like a cool dude, Ren. For real. How about on your next break or after your shift ends you let me know what you think of some of what I’ve written so far?”
The barista’s heart gives an unexpected jump at Ryuji's offer, and he can feel his cheeks grow warm with a mixture of excitement and a hint of nervousness. The fact that this attractive and nerdy stranger wants to share his work with him is more than flattering.
“Uh, yeah,” he stumbles out, trying to sound casual, “Yeah, I’d... I’d really like that. I can definitely do that.”
“Then you better get back to work,” Ryuji giggles, his cheeks also a light shade of pink, “And while you work I’ll try to write something worthy of your attention.”
It wasn’t quite said flirtatiously, but there’s an edge to the words that is just about teetering off the edge between platonic first conversations and an invitation to spend more time together, perhaps outside of the coffee shop.
Ren blushes even more at Ryuji’s words, feeling a flutter of anticipation in his chest at the thought of spending more time with the other man. He nods, a mixture of excitement and nerves warring inside him.
“Right,” he says, clearing his throat and hoping he sounds at all cool and collected. “I should… I should get back to work. But... I’ll check on you in a bit, yeah?”
“Yeah…”
Ryuji’s light laughter in response could move thousands of ships, but Ren doesn’t allow himself to linger to avoid embarrassing himself in front of a potential new friend (and hopefully more).
He has to force himself to focus on steaming milk and baking pastries so as not to lock eyes with the pretty boy with almond-coloured eyes sitting across the cafe from him, no doubt writing his little pirate story. But every man has weaknesses, and Ren does steal a few glances in Ryuji’s direction, feeling his heart stir in his chest when he witnesses the blond man’s nose scrunch up as he furiously backspaces on his keyboard.
It was not fair how adorable the blond-haired writer was.
Ren’s shift passes at a snail's pace, and by the time it’s finally over, the barista feels like he’s run at least a few marathons. He excuses himself to the small restroom in the cafe’s backroom, hanging his apron on a nearby hook before splashing his face with water.
“Get it together,” he hisses at his flushed expression, “You can’t get this tongue-tied over every pretty boy that comes into the shop.”
The black-haired boy takes a couple of deep breaths before drying his face and preparing to face the blond man waiting for him in the sitting area.
“I hoped you hadn’t ducked out on me,” Ryuji says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck with one of his hands, when Ren finally emerges, awkwardly plopping himself in the leather seat across from the writer.
Ren felt his heart skip a beat as soon as he realized what he’d done, just sitting in front of Ryuji, who looked just as charming and nervous as before. He runs a hand through his hair, trying to compose himself and act casually, but inside, he feels like a mess of nerves and anxiety.
“Nah,” he replies, giving a small, tentative smile, “I promised I'd come to hear what you had to show me, didn't I? I hope you didn't wait too long.”
“It didn’t feel long enough to me,” Ryuji replies honestly with an easy smile. “I wrote a little bit more of this chapter, but…”
The blond man momentarily averts the barista's gaze before pushing his laptop toward Ren.
“I don’t think any of it is worthy of you, but I will still let you read it because I don’t break my promises, and you looked very excited when you got a little preview of it earlier.…” he finishes.
The black-haired boy’s heart thumps loudly as he looks down at the laptop pushed towards him. He hesitates for just a moment, butterflies fluttering wildly in his stomach before he starts to read.
The words on the screen flow together easily, painting a vivid picture in his mind of wild, untamed seas, ruthless, bloodthirsty pirates, and forbidden treasure. But it's not just the story itself that enthralls Ren—it's the way it's written, the way the descriptions feel so real and raw.
When he finally finishes reading, he looks up at Ryuji in awe. He’s in complete disbelief that such an exciting story could have been created by someone as pretty as the blond man.
"This... this is incredible."
“For real? You really think so?” Ryuji’s cheeks are dusted a light pink as he retrieves his laptop, tucking it into the safety of his bag, “You’re not just saying things, are you?”
Ren shakes his head vehemently, eyes wide with sincerity.
"No, I'm not just saying things," he replies, a hint of disbelief in his voice as he realizes this man has no idea how talented he actually is, "It's... it's really, really good. Like, really good. You could easily get published and win awards if you wanted to, good. I'm not exaggerating. I really mean it."
Ryuji’s skin is nearly entirely scarlet.
“I- What- Thanks-“ he stutters, eyes crazily darting around the room, settling absolutely anywhere but on the barista’s face, “I’ll- I’ll have to keep showing you the story as I add more then, but for now I have to… get going… I’ll be back tomorrow.”
The blond writer gathers the rest of his belongings in a rush and zooms out the door, leaving an extremely confused Ren in his wake. Had the barista put it on too hard and scared the boy away? The mere thought of losing something precious before it could even be given the room to blossom into something meaningful causes the black-haired man to have a rather fitful night of rest.
But, sure enough, when Ren enters the cafe the next day ready to clock in for work, Ryuji is there, dressed in his silly bright yellow t-shirt that really does wonders in bringing out the freckles on the boy’s skin. The boy is diligently typing away on his keyboard, but when he sees Ren, he smiles widely.
“Ren!” He exclaims, probably a bit louder than appropriate for a coffee shop, “Can I get your sweetest coffee?”
The black-haired boy’s heart gives a happy flutter as he sees Ryuji there, dressed in the same yellow T-shirt Ren had seen him in multiple times and looking even more adorable than any of the previous times. The barista’s worries of the prior night melt away at the sight of the other boy, and he can't help but smile back.
“Of course,” Ren replies, trying not to sound too eager, “I’ll make you the sweetest coffee you’ve ever tasted.”
He steps behind the counter, grabs his apron and starts grabbing the supplies he needs to make Ryuji's drink, stealing little glances at the blond boy every now and then. Now that he has the time to look at the other man more, he can’t help but notice that he’s brought a sketch pad along with him this time. And not only was the young writer typing up a storm, but he was also taking short breaks to doodle in his notebook. Looking a little closer, it seemed to be some sort of map.
‘God, he's so cute,’ Ren thinks, almost spilling the milk he was pouring into Ryuji’s drink because he’s too distracted to watch his hands.
A few minutes later, the barista makes a drink jam-packed with sugary flavouring and toppings without spilling it on the floor or making a fool of himself. He takes a deep breath and walks to the blond man’s table.
He’s just in time for Ryuji to turn around, throwing his arms out and knocking the drink out of Ren’s hands.
The barista truly does everything in his power to save the beverage from falling, struggling and grasping at thin air included. But it is all to no avail, as the drink that Ren had so painstakingly made with love spills on the table, ruining the map the blond had been drawing and giving his laptop a good soak with sticky coffee for good measure.
Oh shit.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no!” the barista exclaims in a mixture of shock and horror, watching the mess unfold. “I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry! I-”
“It’s completely okay, Ren,” Ryuji’s voice cuts through the impending panic attack in the barista’s mind.
The blond man stands, throwing his trashed notebook and the empty plastic coffee cup in the trash first, then grabbing a generous handful of napkins and beginning to soak up the mess on his table. His final task, once he’s confident that there’s not a standing puddle of sugary liquid on his table, is to examine the state of his laptop.
Sure enough, the computer doesn’t even flicker to life anymore.
“We had a good run, didn’t we?” The blond man talked to his deceased laptop like one might speak to a child.
Through all of this, Ren remains petrified, standing completely still and unresponsive like a spooked deer in the face of his terrible misstep. Next thing he knows, Ryuji is waving his hand in front of his face with a distinct look of concern.
“Ren?”
Ren snaps out of his stupor as Ryuji waves his hand in front of his face, the blond man's voice cutting through the panicked thoughts swirling in his head.
"Sorry," he apologizes shakily, still reeling from the fact that he'd just completely ruined Ryuji's laptop. "I- I didn't mean to-"
He tries vainly to help Ryuji clean up the remaining mess, but his hands are shaking so much he's more of a hindrance than a help. “I'll- I'll pay for it, I promise. I'll-"
“Ren!” Ryuji’s voice is much more forceful than before, “Stop for a moment, will you?”
The blond man reaches forward, takes Ren’s hands in his own, and squeezes.
“You’re not paying for the damaged laptop,” he asserts, “It was super old and barely functioned as it was. If anything, you did me a favour by taking it out because it was for real getting crazy what I was putting up with from that damned machine.”
Ryuji chuckles at his own jokes, offering Ren a sincere smile as he squeezes the barista’s hands once more before letting them go.
“If you truly want to apologize to me, why don’t you make that drink for me again,” he says coyly, “I was really looking forward to tasting your creations.”
How was this man still borderline flirting with Ren after his clumsiness destroyed his laptop and notebook?
Ren's heart skips a beat as Ryuji squeezes his hands, the touch sending a jolt of electricity through him. He can't believe Ryuji isn't mad at him for ruining his laptop and notebook; instead, he just makes a joke about it and practically flirts with him.
But he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he nods quickly at Ryuji's simple request.
"Y- Yeah, of course," he stutters out, trying to compose himself, "I'll make you the best damn drink you've ever tasted, I promise."
“I look forward to it,” Ryuji replies, smirking and mumbling to himself, “And now that I don’t have my laptop, I have no distractions from watching the professional at work.”
The barista feels his cheeks heat up even more due to Ryuji's smirk and words, and he hurriedly walks behind the counter to start making the drink before he does something else to embarrass himself in front of the guy he kind of sorta likes.
As he starts to gather the ingredients, he sneakily steals several glances at Ryuji, who is watching him with rapt attention. The blond man's gaze is intense, making Ren feel a strange mix of nervousness and excitement.
He can't remember the last time someone watched him make a coffee so intently, and the fact that it's Ryuji makes it all the more thrilling. No matter what, he couldn’t let his excitement get the better of him and cause another accident.
This time, Ren’s creation for Ryuji is a coffee blended with elements of caramel and chocolate. But he also elects to add his own drizzles of chocolate syrup and whipped cream to the drink. Things would be fine if his boss didn’t catch him ‘ruining’ his blends by covering them with questionable amounts of sugar.
“Here you are,” he says proudly, presenting his cup to Ryuji with a shockingly confident grin, even though his heart was pounding. “Tell me what you think?”
Ryuji happily accepts the drink from Ren and brings the lip of the cup to his lips, taking a tentative first sip. A smile blooms on his face after that initial taste, and he immediately gulps down almost half the drink at once.
“It’s so sweet and delicious! " he beams. I can definitely taste the caramel and chocolate!”
Did Ryuji have to get cuter with every passing minute? Why was he acting like an excitable puppy? Was this a test from the universe to see how much Ren could handle before exploding from the sheer cuteness overload that was the blond man’s reaction to the taste of his coffee?
Ren nearly melts right then and there watching Ryuji take a sip of the coffee and absolutely adore it, his smile spreading across his face like a sunflower blooming in the sun. He's never seen someone react to coffee this way before, and it's absolutely adorable.
He has to resist the urge to reach out and ruffle the blond man's spiky hair, or pinch his freckled cheeks, or his own arm to make sure he's not dreaming.
“I- I'm glad you like it,” he stutters once he realizes he hasn’t said anything to the other man in a moment. It’s clear how much he’s trying to remain calm in the face of such overwhelming cuteness.
And just because the universe seems set on ensuring that Ren’s limits are tested, Ryuji just has to say more.
“I think me enjoying the drink has more to do with the one that made it for me than the coffee itself,” the blond boy says earnestly, “I don’t even like coffee, which is why I’ve never ordered anything from here before now.”
Ryuji’s gaze moves to his cup again.
“But with this, I can’t even taste the coffee, so I might have to order it again,” the boy then has the audacity to wink at Ren, sending the poor barista to the verge of cardiac arrest, “Especially if I have someone sweeter than the drink making it for me.”
And with that, the black-haired boy’s brain short circuits completely, overwhelmed by Ryuji's onslaught of cuteness and flattery. His face feels like it's on fire, and his heart is pounding impossibly hard in his chest. If it beats any faster, he's probably going to pass out.
The barista valiantly tries to form a coherent sentence, but all that comes out is a strangled squeak.
"Y- You..." he eventually stutters, still blushing furiously, "You... you can't just say things like that..."
Ren was entirely and utterly flustered, struggling to find words to respond to Ryuji's compliment. He's never had someone flirt with him like this before, and especially not someone as cute as the blond boy in front of him.
"Y- You're going to make me-" he tries, but the words fail him as he looks into Ryuji's eyes and is struck dumb by their beauty.
The blond man laughs under his breath and takes another sip of his over-sugared beverage.
“When you react like that, you just make me want to keep doing it,” he admits, “Pink suits you.”
Ren, beyond flustered, is desperate for a change in subject that will take the spotlight off him and his thoroughly embarrassed state.
“S-so,” he stutters, “Why did you start coming here to work on your book if you don’t like coffee?”
Ryuji slightly laughs in response, “Changing the subject, are we? I’ll let it slide this time because you’re… you.”
Then the blond man sighs, averting his gaze from the barista for a moment before continuing.
“I…I’m part of a sports team, a track team to be specific, and well, they’re all super manly dude-bros,” Ryuji begins, “I love them and doing track, but I’ve always had… nerdier interests, and writing has always been a sort of outlet for me. So, I was searching for a place where I could write since I had nowhere else to go….”
The writer smiles at Ren with a bashful, almost embarrassed expression.
“So imagine how lucky I was when I happened to pass a cafe and see the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen working behind the counter,” he admits, cheeks burning a light scarlet, “I’ve never liked coffee, but I know that a lot of people like to write in cafes and I desperately wanted inspiration for the story I’m working on. So I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone and use working on my book as a cover to hopefully get the cute barista to notice me and start a conversation.”
Ryuji awkwardly scratches his neck as the other boy finishes his explanation of what had made him choose this cafe as the site for his writing. He had shamelessly flirted with Ren for the past couple of days, but yet, when genuinely revealing his true thoughts and feelings for the barista, he was fumbling. And now he was picking at his nails while he waited for the other man to take in his words enough to be able to formulate a response.
Ren had listened intently as Ryuji explained his reasons for choosing this cafe to write in, how he needed a space to indulge his nerdy side away from his more jock friends on the track team. But then he had mentioned seeing Ren working behind the counter, and his cheeks flush a brilliant scarlet.
Sure, he’d known for a while now that Ryuji was flirting with him on purpose, but now he knows exactly why - he'd simply used writing as a cover to get closer to the barista.
But the way Ryuji stumbled over his words when truly explaining himself… it's endearing, and incredibly cute.
"I-" he struggles to find words to respond, completely awestruck by the blond man's honesty. He can still feel his own cheeks burning, his heart pounding in his chest, and there's a strange fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach.
But after several long moments of silence and awkward pauses, he somehow manages to stammer out, "You… you think I'm pretty?"
“How could I not?” Ryuji responds immediately, recovering some of his confidence, “Have you seen yourself, Ren? Your hair is messy in the cutest ways, and I have to fight myself to not run my hands through it to see if it's as soft as it looks, your glasses suit your face perfectly, framing your pretty silver eyes that remind me of a curious owl’s. Everytime I see you I find more things about you that are so utterly endearing I don’t even know what to do with myself.”
The blond man sighs, closing his eyes for a few moments before facing Ren again with a sheepish grin on his face.
“I really like you, man, for real,” he says warmly, “And… if you’d like… I’d like to go on an actual date with you sometime.”
Ryuji looks away from Ren, unable to hide his unabashed thoroughly flushed face as he waits for the other boy to process and respond to his confession.
Ren feels like his head is spinning, completely overwhelmed by the barrage of compliments and confessions coming from Ryuji. He's never had someone talk about him like that before, and the words just keep coming. Silver eyes like a curious owl? Soft messy hair? The more Ryuji talks, the more flustered he feels.
How could this writer not only notice all the things Ren felt the most insecure about, but enjoy them?
But when the blond man ends with a question - a request for a date - his heart skips a beat. A million thoughts race through his head, but one is above them all.
"Yes," he blurts out, the word spilling out unbidden.
The barista’s face reddens as he realizes how quickly he'd responded, but he doesn't take it back. He's had a growing fondness for Ryuji over the past few days, and the thought of going on a real date with the blond boy makes his heart thump wildly in his chest.
"I… I’d like that.”