Friends: Asahi x Barista!Reader
A/N: Hey guys this is the first fic that I’ve written that I’m actually uploading onto tumblr so like, pls comment and lemme know what yall think! <3
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“Asahi we barely see you anymore!” complained Suga, as they walked towards the gym to practice.
“What do you mean?! I’m always here for practice!” he argued.
“Yes but we don’t see you before or after, where the hell have you been?” questioned Daichi suspiciously.
The trio had been best friends for years, and they’d spend a majority of their free time together. Lately however, the tall ace had been MIA, rushing out of every practice the second everyone finished cleaning up. They weren’t the only ones who noticed it either, the entire team had several conversations about his possible whereabouts, Tanaka even suggesting the possibility of a secret girlfriend, which everyone brushed off almost immediately as Asahi was far too shy. It even got to the point where Coach Ukai had noticed a change in his playing style, he was more focused and driven to succeed regardless of him having seemingly less practice, a fact that he was unsure whether to be glad or worried about.
“I’m okay! You guys are just being paranoid, please,” Asahi noted with a roll of his eyes, as he opened up the gym doors, earning a confused look from both boys.
“When did you start speaking like that?!” rushed out the gray-haired boy.
“This is what we mean! You’ve changed!” noted the captain.
“Is that such a bad thing? I’m happier! I’ve even learned how to word my emotions!” defended Asahi.
“No but we’re your best friends, Asahi, we just want to know what or who is making you so happy,” teased Suga, earning a blush from him almost immediately.
“It is a girl! I knew it! Tanaka was right!” yelled Daichi victoriously, as he fist bumped Suga.
“Or boy let’s not assume, Daichi!” added the setter.
“Shouldn’t you be yelling at us to do drills by now?!” exasperated Asahi as his face continued to redden, rushing away to get the equipment they needed, in disbelief at the fact that everyone was discussing his personal life.
“Should we-” began Daichi.
“For sure,” nodded Suga.
-
The boy sighed as he ran out of the gym, constantly checking the time on his phone. Practice had gone a bit late and he didn’t want the girl to think that he didn’t like spending time with her. He shook his head as he noted how his friends kept pestering him about her throughout the practice. He wished that he could gush about her with them but, what was there to tell? They were just friends anyway, she hadn’t shown any sign of reciprocating his growing feelings. Or was that just an excuse? Maybe he liked keeping her a secret, keeping their conversations about absolutely anything to himself. Factually, it wasn’t anything scandalous, it was just two friends keeping each other company at a coffee shop. Yet...it was special. The connection they had, to him anyway, was almost...cosmic. He was drawn to her in a way he couldn’t quite describe, not that he was any good with words anyway. A smile began to form on his face as he saw her through the glass windows of the shop, seeing her laugh with a customer as she handed the drink to them. He was only a door away from the girl he had missed throughout the day, and the idea of that, made his heart soar with joy.
“Welcome to Cioccolato Cafe- Oh ‘Sahi! Hi!” she beamed as she started making his standard order.
“Sorry I’m late,” he began, setting his gym bag beside him as he sat down on the usual table- his table as he liked to think of it as.
“Don’t worry about it! It’s been a busy day anyway, your timing is technically great since we’re about to close up,” she reassured, humming a song as she poured the milk into his cup.
“What are you singing?” he asked curiously, wanting to make a note of it to add to his playlist he made for her.
“Oh it’s just ‘Loving is Easy’ by Rex Orange County; it’s been stuck in my head all day!” she expressed with a giggle, earning a blush from the boy as he contemplated asking her if there was a reason she was humming that song in particular, but before he could even muster the courage to ask, he was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell clinging.
“Welcome to Cioccolato Cafe! I’ll be with you in just a second!” she announced, finishing up the milk tea for Asahi and handing it over to him.
“Take your time,” replied the customer, earning a sharp head turn from Asahi.
“W- what are you guys doing here?!” exasperated Asahi as he facepalmed and began muttering under his breath.
“We just wanted to see where you’d keep going!” defended Suga as Daichi smirked at the boy’s flustered face.
“You don’t mind, do you?” asked Daichi in mock innocence.
“Of course not,” he shot back harshly, his tone being an obvious contradiction to the words themselves.
The setter and captain sat down with him, as they briefly looked over the menus on the table.
“Are you still going to deny that you’re whipped?” whispered Daichi, earning a loud laugh from his partner in crime.
“Sorry to interrupt but I wanted to know what you two wanted to order?” asked Y/N sweetly as she walked over to the table.
“Y- you’re not interrupting anything!” rushed out Asahi, facepalming yet again as he internally screamed at the sheer awkwardness of the entire situation, earning a soft laugh from the girl herself.
“I’ll have a hot chocolate please!” asked Suga politely.
“And I’ll have a piece of coffee cake,” added Daichi.
“Alright sounds good! I’ll be here with your stuff in just a few minutes, but before I do, would you like to pay now or after you’re done?” she questioned.
“We’ll pay after,” responded Daichi, earning a nod from the barista as she walked over behind the counter to plug in the order.
“She’s cute, I get why you’re here all the time Azu,” teased Suga.
“I hate it here,” muttered Asahi under his breath, as he wondered how he was going to survive this for the rest of the night.
-
“Wait he really did that?!” giggled Y/N, as she sat next to Asahi sipping her white chocolate mocha.
“Mhm! His face when we found out was priceless!” chuckled Daichi.
“Okay but that’s so cute! Using your height for good!” teased Y/N as she leaned into the ace with a giggle.
“Such a cliche though,” joked Suga.
“Listen, he saved a KITTEN! I don’t care how much of a cliche that is, please!” commented Y/N as she gazed at Asahi, earning laughter from the pair as they realized where his new vocabulary was coming from and a light blush from the ace.
“Honestly, this boy is a saviour on all accounts! Graveyard shifts were usually hella boring until ‘Sahi started coming around at night too,” reminisced Y/N as memories of them began playing in her head.
“We knew he was disappearing for a reason when he stopped staying late at the gym to practice,” noted Daichi.
“Oh God I’m sorry! Don’t cut practice time for me! I’ll feel too bad honestly!” rushed out Y/N with a furrow of her eyebrows.
“No no please don’t! I come here for a reason,” piped up Asahi, as he turned to the girl to ensure that she knew that he meant the words he was saying.
“Okay but still! I know how much you love volleyball!” she whined.
“If it makes you feel better, his playing has actually been getting better,” reassured Daichi.
“Yeah, he barely misses his serves anymore!” added Suga with a smile.
“Damn, guess it’s my influence!” joked Y/N as she giggled, earning a laugh from everyone, but for a different reason.
In a way Y/N was right, the only new factor that entered his life was her, and the pair were certain that if they had asked when the two lovebirds had met that the dates would match up. Even just talking to her for one night, the boys understood what their friend saw in her. She shined with positivity and joy; her genuinity and kindness were refreshing.
“It’s getting a bit late now, shouldn’t you be sleeping soon?” asked Daichi.
“Technically yes, but I still have homework to do anyway,” responded Y/N with a shrug of her shoulders.
“What are we still doing here, then? Let’s pay so you can go home, the sooner the better!” declared Suga, already getting up and pushing back his chair.
“Guys it’s honestly fine, I’ve stayed up far later!” she reassured, getting up herself and walking towards the cash register.
“Still, we wouldn’t want to keep you up,” commented Asahi meaningfully, as he gathered his things and hers.
“You guys are the sweetest, ugh! I lowkey don’t want to even let you pa-” she noted, interrupted by the money already placed on the counter before she could finish her sentence, leading her to add a “I hate yall” jokingly.
-
“You didn’t have to walk me home again, ‘Sahi,” sighed Y/N as she ignored the butterflies in her stomach.
“It’s unsafe for you to walk alone, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you,” he replied honestly.
“I would’ve taken the bus though!” she shot back with a laugh.
“And? Like that’s any less safe? The possibilities are endless!” he expressed, then whispered, “Besides I- uh- like walking with you.”
“Even if you have to slow yourself down so I can keep up? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that by the way!” she teased, earning a soft chuckle from the ace himself.
He didn’t know how to respond, how could he? His mind was racing as his heart rushed to match the rhythm, both almost in a race, competing to see who could say the sentence that least gave away his true feelings. None of which ended up winning, as they had both seemingly come to a compromise that anything would be too risky.
“Y’know...I’ve never really felt as safe with you as I do with anyone else,” she expressed quietly.
“Because I’m tall and look scary?” he questioned, already preparing himself to hear yet another joke about how his physique didn’t match his personality.
“No, though that does help!” she replied with a giggle, then cleared her throat as she played with her hair, a nervous habit that Asahi had picked up on.
“It’s because you make me feel comfortable, like, I don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or annoying you or anything. With you I can just- be me I guess,” she admitted, before adding, “That’s such a cliche thing to say please! Tell Suga and Daichi that you have some competition for being the most cliche!” she joked as she shook her head.
“In your words, ‘I don’t care how much of a cliche that is’, that’s the sweetest thing that’s ever been said to me and I’m beyond happy that I make you feel like that,” he replied joyfully, chuckling softly.
Her heart began beating faster as she smiled brightly at his words. She had acknowledged a while back that she had a crush on him but she didn’t realize how easily the boy could make her melt. There was something about his honesty that she admired greatly; she had been surrounded and used by people, both platonically and romantically, who had never reciprocated her compliments, so to hear something back was wonderful. Was it the bare minimum according to others? Of course. Doesn't make her feel any less elated, though.
“Well looks like that’s my stop,” she finally let out, as they approached her house.
“Y/N I-” he began.
He couldn’t take it anymore, she had to know how he felt about her. His hands began to shake as he looked around nervously. What if she didn’t like him back? What if she ran away from him? Was he willing to ruin their friendship over his selfish feelings? His eyes fell upon her as he noted how cold and exhausted the girl looked, failing to see the hope that shone behind her eyes, as she prayed that the words she craved to hear would slip out.
“Nevermind, have a goodnight and please don’t stay up too late,” he said simply with a sad smile, beginning to turn around and walk away.
“Wait!” yelled Y/N suddenly, forcing him to come to a sharp halt.
Was he...going to say what she thought he was going to say? Surely not right? Yet she recognised that look, that was the very same look she gave in the mirror when she would practice telling her crushes how she felt. Did he like her? No no that would be ridiculous, she was...well, her and he was him. They were on two opposite ends of the spectrum, there’s no way in hell he’d reciprocate her feelings.
“...You too, ‘Sahi, I’ll text you before I sleep so you can not so subtly hint at me sleeping earlier tomorrow,” she teased with a chuckle.
“I’d love nothing more,” he expressed with a louder laugh, walking away as he placed his hands in his pockets and sighed.
He really thought for a second there that she was going to tell him she liked him. How could he be so naive? Of course she didn’t, after all, they were just friends.
-
