Disclaimer: Iwaizumi Hajime x fem!reader, inspired by @rizumary's art that you can see here (like and reblog, this human's Iwa art is amazing!)
Word count: 3k
Warnings: too much sweetness! fluff;
divider credit @skylightlantern
With keys and phone in your hand, you pushed the door open, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee tingled your senses. You scanned the place for your favourite spot and sighed in relief when you saw it unoccupied. You liked to call it 'your spot' but, in reality, it didn't have your name on it. You placed your laptop and the bag on the round table and walked back to the order counter.
There he was. Wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and a green apron over it, the boy whose name tag said 'Iwaizumi' mixed someone's coffee.
'Emelie?' He called the name on the paper cup.
When he looked up your heart skipped a bit. His fluffy hair ruffled softly, and honey-brown eyes glistened in the sunray coming through the window. You melted when the corner of his eyes crammed as he smiled. He was so beautifully sculpted and coloured, his every movement was calculated and smooth, he smelled like a smart-and-polite type of guy; in short, everything you wanted.
The girl came up front and took her coffee then left without a 'thank you'. It didn't bother Iwa too much, yet there was a faint tint of disappointment on his face. That was your chance and you seized it, even with shaking knees.
'That was plain rude,' you said, catching the boy's attention.
'Yeah, it's how some people are... What can I get you?'
Aaand his smile was back, brightening the entire place.
'Chocolate cappuccino with extra foam.'
It was the same order you placed daily since the shop opened. You did it simply because you liked the beverage, but Iwa got it the wrong way.
'You want me to always remember you, don't you?' He asked, with a joking smirk in the corner of his mouth, as he tapped on the cash register's screen.
Your eyes widened and blood flushed to your cheeks. Surprised more than embarrassed, you stood there for a full minute, trying to understand whether your mind played tricks on you, or the coffee boy just attempted to flirt. It was peculiar to not receive at least a giggle in return for his joke, so Iwa checked your state. Needless to say, his blood travelled quickly to his face, and he looked away.
'Sorry, that wasn't... anyway, anything else?'
You shook your head left to right slowly, eyes fixed on the redness in his cheeks.
'Ice? Syrup? Cookies?'
'Bro, you don't really put ice in a cappuccino,' one of his colleagues passed by and nudged Iwa.
The boy was slimmer and taller, his hair a total fluffy mess, and his thin lips wore a permanent teasing smirk. He looked at you both briefly and left to another side of the bar with a chuckle.
Too embarrassed to ask you again and hoping he didn't mistake your order, Iwaizumi turned with his back and began preparing your coffee, without asking for a name for the tag. You grabbed the receipt from the counter and almost teleported to your seat.
[There has been a flirt attempt🙃] was the text you sent to your best friend.
Your foot tapped quickly but noiselessly on the wooden floor as you waited for your much-desired coffee. Whenever Iwaizumi made your coffee, your days started better. You couldn't understand what he was doing differently from his other colleagues, so you took it as it was - the best coffee you ever had.
Soon enough, you saw him going to the pick-up counter holding your cup. 'Chocolate cappuccino with extra foam is ready,' he had to say instead of your name, and you jumped from the chair, regardless of you already having your attention directed at him. The urge to run to Iwa was strong, but you controlled it through small steps and voice straightening.
A hollow formed at the base of your throat when you saw the coffee cup resting in the boy's hand, instead of the counter. You looked him in the eyes - internally screaming - and reached your hand to grab the cup.
'Sorry if I overstepped back there,' Iwaizumi whispered when your hand touched the cup.
You smiled instinctively and tightened your hold on the coffee when he let it go. Numerous words tumbled on your tongue, none meant to make it past your teeth. You grabbed a paper straw from their box and returned to your seat.
'She comes here every day, you know?'
'Yes, Shittykawa, I know.'
'Why don't you just talk to her, like a normal person?'
'Shut up.'
'Your loss, you seemed to have her head over heels there.'
The coffee shop was too crowded for you to hear what the boys were talking about, but you saw Oikawa snicker close to Iwaizumi. Were they talking about you? Maybe his colleague just teased him again for the ice in the cappuccino part.
Your phone chimed. [I don't believe you did that.]
[Who? Me??? No, he flirted with me! And I just froze there 😤😤😤]
[😂😂😂🤦🏻♀🤦🏻♀🤦🏻♀ dumbass. Flirt back??]
[Easier said than done. He's just so handsome!!]
The text messages exchange eased your tension a bit. You sipped your coffee and smiled widely when the warm velvety texture embraced your taste buds. Wondering what type of coffee your crush liked to drink, you glanced at him. The immediate action was a loud clattering when Iwaizumi dropped the coffee cups which he was moving from one place to another. You looked away when his co-worker scolded him, wondering if the fact that your eyes met had caused the mess. You chewed on your bottom lip and tried looking back. Everything seemed normal this time, considering Iwa avoided looking in your direction. Maybe flirting back was a good idea.
Unfortunately, classes started earlier that day, so you couldn't keep to your habit of writing something on your laptop as you savored your coffee. Upon checking the time, you let out a silly cuss, grabbed your coffee and the laptop and ran out of the shop.
'Someone forgot this, I suppose,' a girl propped herself in front of the cash register, hours later, and gave Iwaizumi the bag you had forgotten earlier. He looked at the girl, then at the bag, and its colours quickly painted the image of you with it on your shoulder in his head.
'This's your sign, bro,' Oikawa nudged him again as he passed by. 'I must switch shifts with Kyo in case she comes tomorrow. I don’t wanna miss the show,' the pale boy sought bicker again, but Iwaizumi was too caught up in the texture of your bag, his hand touching the exact thing yours did.
When you had realized you forgot your bag at the coffee shop, your mind went blank. You had never gone two times on the same day at the cafe, and you didn't know how that would appear. Nevertheless, you had to go. Your house keys were in there. The phone charger too. With emotion bubbling up in your guts, you parted from your friend after classes and headed back to the coffee shop. As you saw the price tags on the outside banner, the realization hit you. You couldn't even order coffee first for your wallet was inside the bag. What was left was to go inside and admit you had forgotten the item in the morning. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, you thought.
Only it turned to difficult difficult lemon difficult as soon as you pushed the door open. The coffee shop was full of people, the spots were all taken, and the order counter and cash register were flooded by clients. No way you'd bother the boys in such extreme conditions. You placed yourself in the line, determined to get your bag back, no matter how long it took. Besides, it was a good opportunity to admire Iwaizumi at work without causing him trouble.
The boy was handling the high number of orders greatly. His arms flexed more than usual, the dexterity of his fingers overwhelming you. He made coffee after coffee, cleaning the machine in between with no problem. Multitasking was a thing that always impressed you and seeing him do more than two things at a time was mesmerizing.
'Did 54 have Oreos?' Oikawa shouted.
'56 had Oreos, 54 has caramel syrup and oat flakes,' Iwaizumi answered as he put ice and vanilla syrup in what seemed a different order than the other two that he mentioned.
People entered and left the pickup line one by one, leading you to your turn in no time. You had thought about what to say once you were next but none of it sounded good enough. You hoped your request will give him a break from the making of coffee, but you also didn’t want to ruin his momentum. When your turn came and you saw him wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his forearm, a nerve twitched in you. He wasn't handsome anymore, he was hot. You weren't ready to encounter Iwa like that. Hell no. You'd just freeze in front of him again, making a fool out of yourself and annoying the rest of the people in line. You pulled yourself out of the crowd at the last second, leaving Iwaizumi eye to eye with a confused guy who didn't understand how you changed your mind after waiting for so long.
'Toru, we're out of cashew, I'm going to pick a bag from the back. We have a cafe latte with soy milk, no syrup and ice here, handle it.'
And with that, he opened the bar door and exited. Once again, your eyes widened when you saw him coming right at where you were standing. You had no idea that was the path for the back of the shop, and you couldn't pick a side to run to. At the moment you did, though, a girl passed by, and you tried your best to avoid spilling her drinks by spinning on your toes and losing your balance crashing into someone else.
Shaking your head softly and looking up from a four legs position, your heart stopped. Iwaizumi was knocked over, on his ass, underneath you. His face had caught on fire and now yours too. No words heard from either of you until Iwaizumi let out a throaty sound before a laugh clashed in the shop.
'Waaaaay better show than expected!' Oikawa leaned over the counter to grab some paper straws to refill the box. 'The cashews if you wish. We reached order 59.'
Iwaizumi inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, then he smiled at you, opening them.
'Did you hurt yourself?'
You shook your head 'no' again and pulled away from him, trying to get up, but your long skirt was trapped under your feet. Iwaizumi got up first and reached his hand to you. You grabbed it sheepishly and stood up, dusting your clothes off.
'I'm ok, thank you,' you finally talked, after averting your eyes.
'You're the chocolate cappuccino girl, right? You forgot your bag here in the morning. I will bring it to you,' Iwaizumi offered, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.
You threw him a quick look and blushed even deeper when you saw him blushing too. It was too good to be true, and also too close to breathe.
'Don't worry! You have a lot on your hands right now, I can wait until it cools off. Go get those cashews,' you told him, a gentle smile coating your lips.
If what was worth, you hoped for a longer interaction now that his morning flirt proved to have not been by mistake. Iwaizumi smiled back at you and placed his big hand on your arm.
'Have a seat, it's going to take a while. It's barely 5pm.'
You inhaled deeply the scent his hand left in your proximity. Ground coffee beans mixed with sweet syrup and metallic tools was a pretty unique fragrance. You embraced it and searched for a free chair.
Scrolling on your phone, occasionally checking Iwa and his friend, reading the brief menu over and over again was how you spent your next hour.
[Soooo? Did you get it?]
[😳😳😳 what?!?!]
[The bag, dummy!😂 unless 👀]
[Shut uppppp! 😳😳😳]
The conversation with your friends wasn't of help either, the image of hot and tired Iwaizumi displaying itself in front of your eyes.
Footsteps approached slowly and made you lock your phone. Old habits die hard, even though you had nothing to hide and whoever passed by didn't have the time to read the texts anyway.
'He asked me to bring you this. I'm not supposed to say anything, but I don't usually listen so, here.'
Oikawa stood tall by the side of your little table and placed a tall coffee cup on it. You were surprised, to say the least. By 'he', Oikawa surely meant Iwaizumi. Your heartbeat increased considerably, especially after seeing a phone number written on the side of the paper cup, next to the
'I'm sorry you have to wait so much.
-Hajime'.
You glanced at the bar, but Iwaizumi was still too busy. You smiled and sipped the coffee he gifted you, right before you saved the number in your phone.
A couple of hours later, as the coffee shop began emptying, Iwaizumi took off his apron and came to your table.
'Hey, did you enjoy the coffee?' He asked with a confident smile stretching his lips.
'I did!’ You exclaimed and grasped the cup to hide the phone number on it. ‘It was my cappuccino but somehow it was different?'
'Yeah, I put a special ingredient in it,' the charming boy admitted. 'May I?'
'Sure, of course!' You answered a bit too enthusiastic when he pointed at the other chair.
Fade pink coloured your cheeks again. He was so close to you, still out of reach.
'Oh, fuck, I forgot,' he announced and sprinted away from the table.
You remained dumbfounded with the cup in your hand until he returned holding your bag.
'Here, I believe this belongs to you,' Iwaizumi stood by your side, holding the bag to your reach.
You took it from his hand, intentionally avoiding touching him - not that you didn't want to recreate a movie scene or something, but you didn't want to make him feel awkward - and smiled.
'Thank you!'
'My pleasure. I kept it safe, I hope everything is inside,' he continued, retaking his place at the table. 'Listen, I don't want to sound cheesy...'
You fore heard the question in your head. It echoed from ear to ear, and it turned your stomach inside out. The emotion almost made your hands tremble, but you sipped from the cup again, as your crush continued.
'...but would you like to have a coff- ... wait,' a laugh busted out of Iwa's mouth, and he faced the table. 'I meant to go out with me. No coffee, you've had plenty of coffee today.'
He laughed it off, but you could see how embarrassed he really was that he messed up the invitation.
'I would love to, even if it's coffee,' you giggled your answer, bringing hope in the boy's eyes.
'Really? Awesome. When are you free?'
'Now,' you rushed to answer.
The surprise on Iwaizumi's face only enhanced the surprise you shocked yourself with when your mouth spoke before your mind could process. You hoped to heavens you didn't sound desperate, and you tried dilating the tension by drinking from your cup. However, your favourite beverage betrayed you with the sound of air sucked through the straw.
'At least I know you liked my gift,' Iwa giggled, almost eating you with his eyes as he reclined in the chair.
'I did,' you copied his reaction.
'Where would you like to go? What's your favourite place?'
'This is,' your mouth out ran you again.
'Oh?'
Iwa's slightly thick brows raised, and he looked around.
'What's so beautiful about this place? It's a normal coffee shop,' he continued.
'It has you in it,' you mumbled, with the paper straw caught between your teeth and lashes hiding your eyes.
'Well, in that case, it is my favourite place too since you come here every morning.'
His rough, coffee-smelling hand slid on the table and tipped your pinkie resting next to the phone. You looked up with a smile brightening your figure and hooked the finger on his. Your acceptance deepened Iwa's blush, and he chuckled happily.
You ended the evening helping him tidy up and close the place. Then he walked you to the bus station holding your hand.
The lump in his throat seemed to have taken all his air because when he spoke, his voice came out broken.
'Can I ask for your number?'
'Yes,' you answered with an equally dry voice as you took his phone and typed your number down.
One thing you hadn't expected, though, and that was for him to give a short call instead of just saving the number.
'Hajime 💞' appeared on the screen and you didn't get to hide it quickly enough.
He sighed but in the end, his lips curved up.
'Oikawa?'
You nodded bashfully and covered your face.
'It's ok. I like the first name basis, though. And the heart,' he teased you, grasping your hand again, and with it, your heart.
'See you tomorrow morning?' He asked when he saw the bus coming.
'Of course,' you admitted and turned your face from him as the bus stopped in the station.
A kiss tickled your cheek right before you attempted to turn and say farewell. One second earlier and it would've been an unintended and awkward kiss. Your ears turned red, just like Iwa's and you got on the bus. Holding your cheek with one palm and waving at him with the other, you felt your heart thumping against your ribcage. From the look on the boy's face, you knew he was feeling the same way. Especially because he remained in the station, looking after the bus until it disappeared from his sight.
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