shoto remembers that he fell in love with you in the springtime, in a boba shop.
...
he remembers your order then, even though it’s been nearly ten years since you were both teenagers in your senior year of high school, covering up the scars of a war you were both two young to bear. a sweet treat, you’d offered him, something he’s never had before in his too-rich and too-stuffy upbringing.
he followed closely behind you, watching you order with bated breath as though it were an exact science. he wasn’t sure then why exactly he was so nervous - you order without event, a jasmine milk tea and brown sugar pearls with a little extra brown sugar, and when his turn arrived, he ordered matcha tea with boba, hesitated, then added lychee jelly for fun.
he thought it would make him interesting. you thought it was odd but cute.
warm, chewy and sweet tapioca contrasted nicely with ice-cold matcha, and it reminded him of himself. he glanced at you as you took your first few sips, and you looked positively delighted. he wondered then if he could ever make you happier than you are in this moment, and by the end of the evening, vowed that he would.
not knowing anything better to say, but wanting desperately to talk to you, he commented then,
“yours looks sweet. that’s fitting.”
and he could practically see your complexion warm, and that look on your face is instilled in his memory forever.
...
today the barista offers him a matcha tea with boba and lychee jelly. it’s not necessarily his favorite drink, but it’s what he orders out of force of habit whenever he frequents these establishments.
“you also got the jasmine tea with the brown sugar pearls, extra brown sugar, yes?” the bubbly young girl asks. shoto nods and she hands him both drinks. the baby in the carrier strapped to his chest reaches for the drinks and he tuts at the squirmy little thing.
“that’s for mom, silly,” he says in a soft voice. “you’re too young for boba.”
he looks up at the barista. “choking hazard.”
she looks surprised for a moment when he raises his eyebrows as if asking for her agreement then nods her head quickly and politely.
“yes. bad for baby,” she says solemnly. shoto smiles and thanks her then turns, delighted to make it back home and make you happy.
you still love bubble tea. and him.
