pluviophile • a.nakajima

6 | cafe date

upon arriving at an indeed cozy cafe, the sweet aroma of coffee filled the air and the casual chatter of customers filled their ears, creating a relaxed atmosphere. atsushi and [y/n] were greeted by the door chimes and the staff with a friendly 'welcome,' and took in the warmth of the small cafe.

"nice to see you again, [y/n]-san! i see you brought someone this time...are you perhaps on a date?" a friendly brown-haired girl welcomed them, seeming familiar with [y/n]. at the innocent but suggestive question, atsushi felt his cheeks warm at the thought that people saw them as a couple, a nervous smile crossing his features.

"hello, haruka-chan! and no, he's actually a new friend of mine that i met some time ago," [y/n] explained with a small smile. unbeknownst to her, the word 'friend' sent a slight pang in atsushi's chest. it kind of hurt to only be considered a friend given his current feelings, but he quickly brushed it off in his mind telling himself that that was inconsequential at the moment.

"oh, alright then, i guess i shouldn't assume, but make yourselves comfortable!" haruka gestured for them to come further inside the cafe.

soon they made themselves comfortable at a small table beside the window, displaying water droplets across the glass and the street that was occasionally filled with passing cars, rain hitting their metal roofs.

"did i mention that i work here as a part-time job?" [y/n] said as she handed atsushi the menu.

"that explains it...i was thinking you just came here often," atsushi murmured as he mentally noted the piece of information if he were to come see her again. briefly, he was reminded of how dazai would visit the uzumaki cafe that was below the armed detective agency on the first floor to flirt with manami, a sweet waitress who worked there. atsushi silently prayed he wouldn't seem creepy and maybe a bit obsessed like his brown-haired mentor.

scanning the menu's options full of delicious-sounding choices, atsushi briefly peered over at [y/n] who was now gazing out the window, cheek leaning against her propped-up arm. "what are you getting?"

"oh, i usually get an iced milk tea and sometimes a cake or something along with it," [y/n] answered before looking back to atsushi. "I think you might like their green tea, i usually drink it when i'm stressed: the taste and aroma really helps me calm down—um, but i guess you didn't need to hear the rest of that..." she cut herself off while sweat dropping as she bashfully rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"n-no, you're fine..and that sounds nice and simple," atsushi assured her, accepting her suggestion, while he stored her yet another thing about her into his memory. likes milk tea but sometimes drinks green tea when stressed. to be honest, atsushi felt like a creep taking mental notes of everything he discovered about [y/n]. but it only made him feel more drawn to her by the smallest things like her favorite beverage, to how she would stare at any sort of scenery when she had nothing to say.

"cute..." he muttered to himself, unintentionally catching [y/n]'s attention.

"did you say something?"

"eh! n-no! i-i-i was just talking to myself!" atsushi blurted with a flustered blush. [y/n] only smiled before laughing softly, raising a fist to attempt to suppress her amusement. but boy, was dumbstruck by the chuckles that bubbled from your throat that was attractive in its own way. it matched her personality; the deep emotion in her eyes that atsushi had yet to discover.

"you're interesting, nakajima-kun," [y/n] said, giving him a closed-eyed smile as her chuckles died down.

his last name. it didn't sit right with atsushi at all, not because everyone called him by his first name. nevertheless, it was normal for [y/n] to address him by his last name. but the uneasy feeling only lingered in his stomach before he eventually said it.

"atsushi is fine!"

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author's note: sorry if this seems a little short, i thought stopping here was the right thing to do for the build-up?...sorta?... ^v^''