for your heart ch. 3: dulcet
1:06 PM. you swung the door to For Your Heart open, the soft chime on the door ringing. you half-expected your manager to start chiding you for being 6 minutes late to your shift. instead of your manager’s grating voice, you were greeted with akaashi’s soft voice welcoming you.
“hey yn,” he smiled, making your heart flutter. you smiled back, making your way to the changing rooms. you collected your thoughts scattered by akaashi’s smile; god, had he always been that pretty? no time to linger on your feelings, you needed to hurry and get to work !
you put your bag into your cubby and hurriedly tied your apron walking out the changing room to help out akaashi. by the time you came out of the changing rooms, akaashi was already taking orders. “alright, so one hokkaido milk tea and mango passionfruit green tea?” akaashi asked, confirming your customers’ orders.
you rolled up your sleeves and got to work, pouring ice into two cups. the couple thanked akaashi, sitting down at a table. “sorry i’m late,” you started, “my lecture ended late, and i was trying to grab lunch on the way but–” akaashi took a cup from you, pouring milk into it.
“don’t worry, yn. that couple’s the first customers of our shift, it’s no problem,” he assured. “besides that, you said ‘trying to grab lunch’? you didn’t have lunch yet?” he asked.
you laughed nervously, reaching toward the green tea. “not really… it’s fine though, really. i miss lunch all the time anyways…” you trailed off. you focused on making the drink, not noticing akaashi’s worried gaze on you. akaashi finished making his drink and looked over at you finishing up. he was worried, he really was. akaashi had known you since high school, he knew you’d skip meals whenever you were busy. he mentally noted to treat you to lunch every so often.
you ringed up the two drinks, smiling bye to the couple. as soon as the couple left, you sighed to yourself. you’d managed every day you missed lunch, but you’d have to work until 5. maybe a 10 minute break in between, but that was it. you couldn’t wait for your shift to end. akaashi’s ears picked up your sigh, concern in his eyes. “you okay yn?” he asked.
you looked back at him, giving him a tired smile. “yeah, ‘m just fine,” you replied. “should we turn some music on?” you asked, changing the topic. you could get used to akaashi worrying about you. akaashi smiled back, responding, “yeah, why not?”
you grabbed your phone from the changing rooms, connecting to the shop’s speakers. browsing through your work playlist, you decided on valentine by laufey, hoping it would lighten the mood. “you like laufey?” akaashi asked. he noticed a light glimmer in your eyes, the topic intriguing you.
you responded, “i do. her music’s so good, the way she incorporates jazz into pop is so fascinating, and she’s the one that brought jazz into the modern spotlight!” you said, the glimmer in your eyes bright.
“sorry… i rambled a lot,” you laughed nervously when akaashi didn’t reply.
akaashi merely gave you a small smile. to him, your voice was dulcet and soft; the sweetest thing he had ever come upon. “i don’t mind. you can talk to me about anything. i like listening to you,” akaashi said. heat rushed to your cheeks, your entire body feeling tingly. akaashi might have seemed like he was keeping his cool, but he was internally freaking out.
the words spilled out of his mouth before he could even think about it. he hated having to act subtle about his feelings towards you when all he wanted to do was shower you with compliments and keep you close. akaashi’s face was burning up; he had practically told you he loves you !
the silence between the two of you was palpable, though not uncomfortable, with both your faces burning and hearts pounding.
3:51 PM. you and akaashi had just finished up a big order, and you bid your customers goodbye. checking the clock, it was almost four ! just one more hour until you could clock out, and even less until the UTokyo volleyball team arrived.
speaking of them, UTokyo volleyball team consisted of… well… characters. although they were all friendly, they were still quite intimidating. (most of) them being 6 feet tall or over didn’t help. these were the times you were glad your brother, bokuto kotaro, was on the volleyball team, as well as your friends.
you’d been checking your twitter every few minutes because of the live tweeting of the volleyball match. they were on their last set, UTokyo only needing a few more points until they won. it didn’t matter if they lost, anyways. they had won 3 sets so far, and the opposing team had only won one. it seemed the match would end soon.
with the volleyball team coming over soon, you mentally combed through everything you had needed to do during your shift. you had cleared and cleaned the tables, restocked the straws, and fed mii… it struck you. mii, For Your Heart’s resident cat hadn’t been fed yet. or that was what you thought.
once you looked out the shop’s windows, you saw akaashi crouched down putting a bowl out for mii to eat out of. you hurried in front of the main counter, opening the front door of the shop. before going up and talking to akaashi, you snapped a quick picture of him petting mii. (maybe to use for advertisement)
“you were out here, akaashi?” you crouched down behind him, practically startling the poor man.
“uh–yeah, i didn’t think anyone fed her today, so…” he said, his words quiet.
you smiled. “i’m glad. i just remembered to feed mii, i was worried i was starving her,” you joked.
akaashi smiled quietly, looking down at mii nibbling at her food. “should we go back in?” he asked, standing up. you reached your hand out to pet mii on her head, smiling.
you responded, “we should, at least before the volleyball team comes over.” he nodded, watching you stand up. you walked to the door and held it open for akaashi to walk in, yet he abruptly stopped walking. you looked behind, only for his gaze to be fixed to the ground.
you cocked your head to the side. “hm?” his eyes met yours, gleaming with adoration.
“you can call me keiji, by the way,” he said. your heart swelled with happiness, a shy smile gracing your lips.
“HEYYY!!! YN!!! KEIJIIII!!!”
the tender moment was abruptly broken by your older brother’s exclamation. behind him was a group of seven others. you waved to the group with akaashi. kotaro ran up to you two, beaming. “whaddya doin’ outside?” he asked, full of excitement. “oh! you guys know, we won our game today! we won 4-1–isn’t that super cool?!” he exclaimed.
akaashi smiled, nodding. “that’s great, kotaro. we should talk inside, though,” he suggested. kotaro followed promptly, beaming. the rest of the group filed into For Your Heart, the quiet boba shop bustling with excitement.
in the crowd you saw familiar faces; your brother and his friends kuroo and oikawa, shoyo and his boyfriend friend/your colleague kageyama, your friends and roommates hitoka and kenma, and… some blond guy. you thought you recognized him somewhere, his name was miya atsumu, you recalled.
half the people in the shop you were barely acquainted with, yet the atmosphere was able to make you feel comfortable. after what seemed to be an eternity, the eight were able to decide on their drinks.
there were multiple orders of peach green tea, making you smile. ‘maybe i should ask shoyo to advertise our drinks more,’ you thought. what made your smile drop was the next drink on the order list.
plain milk. no toppings. just plain milk. you immediately knew who ordered this. “looks like kageyama's ordering plain milk again, aka–keiji,” you laughed.
akaashi looked over to you, smiling. “don't judge him for that, maybe he wants strong bones, yn,” he joked. he picked up on your slip up–accidentally calling him akaashi, smiling to himself when thought about how you still called him keiji.
“you done with your orders keiji?” you asked. akaashi nodded, sealing his last drink.
“almost. getting these drinks done was pretty quick with you though, yn,” he said.
“yeah, it was,” you replied.
the drinks were sealed, and you called the eight up for their drinks. you heard multiple “thank you yn"s and “thank you akaashi”s from the group. you smiled, “i'm glad i'm with you, keiji,” you whispered.
akaashi didn't seem to hear, much to your relief. you grabbed another cup to make your own drink, hurrying so you could tell hitoka everything. you whispered into her ear, “hitoka…” making her jump.
“yn… don’t sneak up on me like that,” she whined. you let out a laugh before motioning her towards you.
“i’m sorry hitokaaa,” you apologized, “but i need to tell you stuff!” hitoka smiled and turned to survey the room before leaning in. akaashi was on the other side of the room talking to kotaro and kuroo.
“is it about your little crush on akaa–” you shushed her before she could finish her words.
“yeah, it is,” you whispered back. hitoka giggled, dragging you to small table with two seats, motioning you to talk while sitting down. “he was so nice to me today hitokaaaa,” you said happily. “oh! you know how we were outside a few minutes ago?”
hitoka nodded, “yeah, i saw you two,” she said. you took a sip of your drink before continuing.
“we, well he was feeding mii, and i was about to get back in here, right? you know what he said to me?” you smiled. hitoka gave you a look that told you to continue. you whispered into hitoka’s ear, “he told me i could call him keiji.” hitoka pulled away and smiled, “you guys are too cute.”
“that’s not all,” you told her. she leaned back in, itching to hear more. “i was talking about laufey to him, right?” you continued. “i said something like, ‘sorry for talking so much,’ and he told me it was fine, and that he liked listening to me,” you cheerfully said.
hitoka’s smile widened impossibly, giggling. “he’s totally in love with you,” she teased.
you straighted your posture, asking, “you think so?”
“obviously not,” another voice chimed in. it was kenma, one of your best friends, and your biggest hater.
you frowned, retorting, “shut up, kenma. you don’t get how nicely he told me that!” kenma rolled his eyes, replying, “cool story yn.” he began to walk off to talk to kuroo, before stopping in his tracks.
“tell me more later, ‘kay?”
hitoka just smiled. “he acts all mean, but he’s rooting for you and him just as much as me and shoyo are,” she reassured you.
you sighed, shaking your head. “i know, it’s just… why can’t he be nicer about stuff sometimes?” you frown. hitoka pats your hand reassuringly. she smiles, saying, “i can’t wait ‘til the day you two get together so you can prove kenma wrong.” you laugh with hitoka, the conversation drifting away from akaashi.
on the other side of For Your Heart, kenma moved to another corner of the shop with kuroo, leaving kotaro and akaashi by themselves. kotaro was the one to stir the conversation about you up first. “so… how was your shift with yn?” he asked.
akaashi fidgeted with the straw of his drink. “uh–normal? i guess,” he hesitated. kotaro pushed, sensing akaashi was hiding something.
“c’mon, keiji! i know basically everything, you know i don’t care about who yn dates–” kotaro was shushed by akaashi who was looking for anyone who heard. akaashi sighed, looking defeated.
“if you really want to know,” he started, “we were outside feeding mii, and that’s what you saw. nothing more.” kotaro frowned, looking disappointed.
“that’s really all you two did? really?” he questioned. akaashi hesitated. should he tell kotaro about what he said? he seemed curious, and akaashi couldn’t let his best friend be deprived of his love life’s details.
“well, we didn’t do anything physical–not like that,” akaashi clarified, just so kotaro wouldn’t get any thoughts in his head. he continued, “but, i did tell her she could call me keiji. and i accidentally told her i liked her talking…”
kotaro’s eyes widened impossibly, shaking akaashi by his shoulders. “whaddya mean you told her that!?” he exclaimed. thankfully, the rest of the group was too engrossed in their conversations to hear kotaro’s rather loud interjection.
akaashi jumped, quick to shush kotaro. “please,” he said, “don’t shout like that, kotaro. everyone will hear.” kotaro apologized, lowering his voice.
he smiled, patting akaashi on the shoulder, saying, “you two are fit for each other.” he held akaashi firmly by the shoulders, lecturing him. “listen here, keiji. it’s weird saying this about my sister and you, but i think you two are a good match. don’t ever give up on her, ‘kay?” akaashi smiled and nodded.
“the guys are going out for dinner today, by the way. you’re coming,” kotaro declared.
akaashi let out a laugh. “of course.”
the ticking clock now read 4:51 PM, almost time for the shift change, and time for you and akaashi to clock out. you two slipped out of your conversations, telling your friends that it was time to tidy up. kotaro and hitoka, as well as the others each filed out of For Your Heart.
as the new shift came in, you and akaashi packed up your respective cubbies and bid each other goodbye at the front door. you waved to akaashi, smiling, “bye keiji. i hope we get to work together again.” akaashi smiled back, nodding.
“i’ll see you around, yn,” he said. with that, he turned and walked towards the group of guys waiting for him. you walked to hitoka, kenma, and shoyo, turning around to look at akaashi. his gunmetal eyes met yours, looking back at you as well. you stood surprised before giving him a small wave.
he waved back before turning his back again. as he walked away, you turned once more. the summer breeze was cool on your skin. the breeze made akaashi’s hair flutter as you stood to admire him.
“hurry up yn, or we’ll leave ya behind!” shoyo yelled out. you turned to shoyo and your friends, smiling back at them.
notes : dulcet (adj): sweet and soothing. i learned what it meant on pinterest !! it's a very cute word, so i made it the title. idk if the characterization n stuff is correct :(
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