Chapter Text
Tough and confusing times were ahead of Ayan. Usually, he didn’t have difficulty with picking up the signs of whether someone was into him or not, but this person was a complete mystery to him. No matter how much Ayan tried to figure him out, it just wasn’t working. Ayan tried flirting with him, he was dropping hints left and right that he was interested in this guy, but the other one was just ignoring him. So, that probably meant that he wasn’t interested, right? But, then why did he keep coming back to the cafe?! Ayan could’ve sworn that he saw him stealing glances at him, sometimes at least.
Ayan wasn’t sure anymore.
Ayan let out a frustrated little noise as he was staring at the guy that was living in his head rent free for the past month and he gripped onto the counter, closing his eyes. Ayan was working part-time at the Cafe for All – it was a nice little place that he was a regular ever since he was in high school. It was a place that he met in a time of need, when he was struggling with figuring himself out and it was his safe haven. So, when he finished high school and started attending university, he decided to find a part time job right there.
Luckily, they were hiring!
Ayan liked working there. He got along with all of his co-workers, the boss was kind and understanding. The atmosphere in the cafe was really comforting, welcoming to all people. So, Ayan was happy to be working there. The only thing that he was confused about was the cute guy that was always sitting in the corner of the cafe. He came around the same time that Ayan came to work and he sat there for hours, just typing away on his computer.
What was he typing?
The guy looked to be around the same age as Ayan, so probably an university student as well. He was cute as hell – he checked everything that was on Ayan’s type list. The guy was tall, he had big, cute and round eyes. Ayan found himself losing in that doe-eyed gaze far too many times, thinking about it even when he should be working. It was ridiculous!
However, the thing that he liked the most about the guy was his smile.
God, his smile was fucking gorgeous! The guy’s name was Akk, but that was also all that Ayan knew about him. He didn’t know which university the other one attended, Akk wasn’t really interested in making small talk with him. The two of them would exchange a few words, but Akk always went back to his computer, ignoring the world around him and Ayan clicked with his tongue, leaning against the counter, feeling sorry for himself.
“... yan,” heard Ayan someone calling out to him and he snapped back to reality, his eyes searching to see who was trying to talk to him and he blinked a few times when he saw that the person was no other than his good friend, who was also working part time at the cafe, Thua. Ayan cleared his throat. “Ayan!”
“What?” whined Ayan as he didn’t like how rudely he was awakened from his daydreaming. “Can’t you see I’m busy?” he asked with a pout and Thua snorted, rolled his eyes and gently bumped into his shoulder.
“Uh-huh,” said Thua. “Stop staring at him and help me out – we’re packed today,” said Thua and Ayan let out a little defeated sight because it was true – it was only the two of them working that shift and the cafe was full. It was hectic around that time, always. Not that it really came as a surprise – they were near several universities, so many students came after classes for a drink or two.
Ayan folded up his sleeves and rubbed his palms.
However, even if Ayan was diligently working, he would still keep on stealing little glances at Akk, trying to figure out a reason that would get him to talk to him today. Ayan would always come up with something, but after a month of trying, he was slowly starting to run out of things. Still – he had a good trick hidden up his sleeve for that day.
Ayan was sure that he had a full-proof plan!
You see, Akk was always ordering the same thing – hibiscus iced tea. It was time that he changed up the style a little bit. Honestly, Akk probably didn’t like changes since he always ordered the same damn thing, but it didn’t really matter to Ayan. He was really getting desperate trying to find a good reason to keep talking to Akk, who already wasn’t really showing any signs of being interested in him.
But, it would be such a shame if Ayan let such a beauty walk away without getting his number.
What was this… Love at first sight?
Ayan snickered and shook his head as he continued hurrying around the cafe, but his friend could see the same dopey smile on Ayan’s lips and he shook his head. It’s been a month and Ayan was still acting like a love sick puppy. Thua found it kind of funny as it was really unlike Ayan to be so hung up on the same person for so long, especially since the guy didn’t really seem interested in him.
Ayan and Thua met in highschool and had been friends ever since then.
Ayan was there for Thua when he was struggling, when he was bullied for simply existing, so the two of them were close. Thua deeply admired Ayan for always being courageous. Thua, on the other hand, didn’t really consider himself to be that brave.
So, about an hour later, when the cafe wasn’t as busy, Ayan decided to try his shot.
Thua had a curious look on his face when he saw that Ayan was making a drink that no one really ordered. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a little bit closer, pressing his lips together. The drink that he was making wasn’t even on the menu, so he was…
… ah, it was for the guy, right?
Ayan was trying to impress him?
Thua snorted and then he shook his head.
“No one ordered that,” commented Thua and Ayan waved it off.
“Shh,” said Ayan and glanced around. “I know. The drink’s on me,” he said and Thua watched him for a couple more seconds before he spoke up again.
“It’s for him, huh?”
“Yes,” said Ayan and carefully placed the boba into the glass before he poured the milk tea over it and Thua arched an eyebrow. “He won’t be able to resist after trying this,” he said, confident as hell. The drink was purple and white, the two colours mixing, creating a pretty gradient in the middle.
Thua leaned closer – he could smell lavender and honey.
“Are you sure he’ll like this?”
“I can hope,” whined Ayan and looked over at Akk.
The other one’s eyes were on a computer screen, reading something. Akk looked tired, so Ayan decided that Akk needed a little drink break. After making sure that the drink looked pretty enough, Ayan decided to try his shot and Thua gave him a little nod.
“Wish me luck,” whispered Ayan.
“Mn. Good luck.”
Ayan straightened himself up, said a little prayer to himself, before he finally made his move. Akk was busy reading, so he only noticed that someone approached him when Ayan already placed a tall glass onto the table, in front of him, leaning a bit closer to him. Ayan had a little smile on his face and Akk blinked a few times, looking confused as hell because he obviously didn’t order this.
“What’s this?” asked Akk and Ayan gave him a little smile.
“A drink, obviously,” said Ayan, keeping the tone of his voice playful and cheerful.
Akk’s confusion only deepened.
“I didn’t order this,” said Akk. “So, there has to be a mistake.”
“I know,” said Ayan and then he made a little pause. “The drink’s on me, ” said Ayan, trying not to sound too desperate, but honestly – the desperation could be noticed miles away. Was Akk just that dense or was he really not interested… At all?!
“Why?”
Ayan almost choked on his breath, but he quickly recovered.
“You’ve been studying for so long and you look like you could use a little break,” said Ayan. “So, why not enjoy a little drink, mn?” asked Ayan, but Akk had a suspicious look on his face as he slowly glanced at the drink, leaning a little bit closer and he licked across his lower lip. Ayan could see that Akk was tempted to take the drink and Ayan almost smiled, but then Akk frowned again.
“Since I didn’t order this, I’m not paying for it,” said Akk and Ayan gritted his teeth, cursing mentally. Truly, Akk was freaking stubborn for no reason!
“Like I said, it’s my treat,” said Ayan and smiled, flashing Akk one of his most attractive smiles that he could ever muster. Akk looked like he was caught in a daze for a second or two. Ayan was just about to congratulate himself, but then Akk snapped out of it and it was as if nothing happened.
But, something happened, right?!
Ayan was losing his freaking mind!
“Okay,” said Akk finally, closing his laptop and pushing it to the side. Ayan’s eyes were full of anticipation as he wanted to see if Akk was going to like the drink or not. Akk was turning the glass around in his hands, sliding it across the table, admiring the mixing colours and then he glanced up. “Which one is this?”
“It’s not on our menu,” said Ayan and Akk got suspicious again.
“Huh?”
“It’s lavender honey boba milk tea,” said Ayan. “Something I whipped up especially for you,” said Ayan and Akk narrowed his eyes. Akk’s eyes widened – he looked surprised and shocked. The fact that a little smile spread across his face was something that Ayan didn’t notice as he was more concerned about how surprised Akk looked. Ayan started backpaddling when he realised that he probably came off too strong.
“It’s a new recipe we’re trying,” said Ayan, trying to salvage the moment. Ayan was cringing so much – he was never this bad at flirting! Argh! “But, we need opinions – to see if people will like it or not. Since you’re one of the regulars here, I decided to ask for your opinion,” said Ayan.
Ayan tipped his head to the side when he saw that a look of disappointment flashed on Akk’s face. Ayan didn’t know what to do with that information.
“Oh,” was all that Akk said afterwards.
Ayan was screaming on the inside.
Oh?
Oh?!
What was that supposed to mean, even?!
“So, how about it?” asked Ayan and placed his hands on top of the table and leaned a lot closer to Akk, who quickly glanced down, grabbing onto the glass tightly and Ayan hummed along, intrigued with the reaction that he got and he huffed along. “Won’t you give it a try? I put a lot of hard work into it, I even made it look all pretty, see?” asked Ayan and pointed over to the top of the drink, where he sprinkled some edible glitter in the shape of a heart.
Akk seemed to finally notice the heart and Ayan could’ve sworn that he saw his cheeks turning into pretty shades of pink. Ayan snickered because it was these moments that made him almost sure that Akk indeed had a thing for him. Ayan put a little pout on his lips as Akk quickly took a big sip of the drink.
Akk looked lost.
Not in a bad way, though. He looked flustered as he took a big sip of the drink. The sip was too big and he ended up choking on the boba, quickly pulling away as he started coughing, trying to slow down as he chewed on the boba. His ears were now red as well. Akk was embarrassed and Ayan dragged his teeth over his lower lip as he observed Akk.
So. Fucking. Adorable.
Ayan just had to ask him out.
Of course, he was going to be a gentleman about it, as he always was. Akk was the shy type, the type that seemed to be sent running the second he spotted danger coming his way.
Could the danger in question be Ayan now?
Ayan snickered and then he shook his head.
“Slow down,” said Ayan. “No one’s gonna take the drink away from you.”
Akk didn’t say anything as he kept his eyes focused on the floor, his cheeks burning and his fingers were gripping onto the glass tightly. He closed his eyes as Ayan was too close. Ayan picked up on his discomfort, so he quickly pulled away and walked over to the counter, grabbing a napkin.
Ayan handed it to Akk.
“Here,” said Ayan and Akk quickly snatched the napkin away from him, wiping his mouth clean. “So, how is it?” asked Ayan and Akk slowly lifted his gaze up. “Yummy, right?”
“Mmmmn,” finally hummed Akk in agreement and Ayan smiled all the way up to his ears. That made Akk quickly turn his gaze yet again.
“Glad you liked it. I worked hard on this recipe, y’know?” asked Ayan. He wanted to add especially for you, but then he agreed that it would be too much. Again, he didn’t want to scare Akk away. This was a good step, though. It was more progress than what Ayan had done in the whole freaking month. At least now he had some sort of proof that Akk perhaps fancied him.
Like that.
“It-it shows,” stammered Akk and Ayan smiled at the praise.
Since the cafe was pretty empty and no new customers had arrived, Ayan decided to keep Akk company for a little bit longer. That was why he pulled out a chair and Akk watched him with surprise in his eyes when he sat down on the opposite side of him.
Akk looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
Adorable.
“What are you-”
“Just trying to make sure that our most loyal customer likes his drink,” said Ayan with a little wink and Akk huffed under his breath, pressing his lips together as he drank in silence.
Ayan didn’t seem to mind it.
“So,” said Ayan after a few moments of silence and Akk’s eyes travelled over to him. “What are you always typing away on your computer, mn?” he asked and leaned closer, but Akk quickly pulled away, bringing the drink with him as well and Ayan’s eyes were smiling at him.
“That’s, uh, private,” said Akk and Ayan could tell that he was confused as to why Ayan was asking him all of these questions.
“Oh,” said Ayan playfully and Akk got very defensive.
“It’s nothing weird,” snapped Akk. “It’s just uni stuff. That’s all,” he said and Ayan slowly nodded along, tapping along the wooden surface of the table with his fingers and tried to ignore the way Thua was cackling behind him.
Akk was really a tough cookie to crack.
“What’s your major?” asked Ayan.
“Why do you need to know that?” asked Akk.
“I wanna get to know you better,” said Ayan.
“Why?”
Ayan leaned back and sighed along, pressing his lips together. Truly, Akk was making this way more difficult than it needed to be.
“I can’t?” asked Ayan with a small voice and Akk looked flustered again. He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just blinked and looked away. “Alright, keep your secrets then,” said Ayan, making sure that he sounded disappointed.
“We don’t know each other,” said Akk.
“We could know each other,” said Ayan, trying again and he leaned closer, running his fingers across the table. “Mn?” he asked and tipped his head to the side.
Akk was hesitating, at least it looked to Ayan like that. Akk kept staring at him for a good solid ten seconds before he pulled away and the moment was gone, shaking his head as he opened up his laptop again, cleared his throat and then he looked at Ayan again.
“I’m busy,” said Akk.
“Again?” whined Ayan and Akk shrugged, sipping on the drink and Ayan could tell that Akk really liked it. It made Ayan way too happy, more than it should. Before Ayan could say something in his defence, new customers walked through the door and Akk pointed at the door.
“It seems you’ll be busy too, so,” said Akk and Ayan rolled his eyes, but stood up.
“Yeah, yeah, fine, ” said Ayan as he dragged his ass back to the counter, but as he looked over his shoulder, he caught a small glimpse of Akk holding onto the drink that Ayan made for him.
The smile on his lips was… gentle, sweet. Akk looked happy as he was looking at the drink, trying his best not to smile too wide. His both hands were hugging the glass, as if it was the most special thing ever.
That was all that Ayan needed to know – he was right, Akk was into him!
Ayan just needed a little bit more work, to get through to him!
Ayan really didn’t mind the challenge – he was more motivated than ever. When Akk saw that Ayan caught him staring at the drink, he quickly looked away and pretended to be typing on his computer already.
Really, too cute.