Brew-tiful.

brew-tiful.

summary: you aren’t the most social person on the planet hence the reason you tend to avoid the crowded coffee shop not far from your dorm. but when you’re forced to go and get your most needed coffee, you had no idea the change your life would undergo when you walked through those doors. the cause of the change? the dumb charming barista behind the counter flashing smiles whenever he saw you.

pairing: oikawa tooru x fem!reader

genre: barista!au; strangers to lovers, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff!! oikawa’s a real sweetheart and major flirt uwu

word count: 7.0k

a/n: another repost! this is srsly one of my personal favs ive ever written, i need to write more barista/cafe fics​

you never walked into the campus café that was a convenient distance from your dorm building, mainly due to how crowded it always was. you hate crowds. crowds mean noise. noise means distractions.

but while looking out the large glass windows at the sight of the café as you stood in front of the empty vending machine, your thoughts change.

i need a coffee to help me stay awake to write this damn essay, you think to yourself with a frown etched onto your face.

looking back at the vending machine, your eyebrows furrow in frustration. huffing to yourself, you turn around and leave the dorm building, pulling the hood of your sweatshirt over your head when you notice the damp ground and the sound of light rain hitting against the pavement.

on your way to the shop, you pass by smiling students holding their picky coffee orders in one hand, laptop in the other, with a flat expression. you pull on the strings of your sweatshirt to further tighten the hood over your head.

maybe you can order a coffee without having much social interaction.

hah, if only it was that easy.

you walk into the semi-crowded coffee shop and your nose is instantly hit by the sweet smell of brewing coffee. the smell alone wakes you up a bit, causing you to look up and around for the cash register. mustering up both the courage and patience, you wait on the end of the line.

one of the baristas, you notice, is being occupied by a small group of enthusiastic girls twirling their hair and laughing at almost everything he says, causing you to scoff to yourself. maybe this is why the line isn’t moving, you note.

then you notice another barista rush up to the cash register, nudging the social barista with a pointed expression, before asking the next person in line for their order.

the few single people in front of you know their somewhat complex order like the back of their hand and you feel uneasy, not having a clue what to get. You could go for an iced coffee…or an espresso…but that macchiato that girl was holding on the way out looked pretty good.

you don’t notice the barista formerly speaking to the group of girls stop to take a glance around the shop, until his eyes land on you. he smiles to himself, looking at the deep-in-thought pout on your face.

“hey, can i get you anything?” the boy behind the counter excuses himself from the group of giggling girls and turns to you with a welcoming smile. the barista originally at the cash register leaves to take care of a customer’s order. you feel your cheeks heat at the sudden attention you’re receiving, both from the handsome boy and the group of now glaring girls.

“i uh…” you trail off, gnawing on your lower lip, scanning over the chalkboard menu behind his head. you admire the neat handwriting on the wall as you scanned; it’s definitely boyish but still legible. you don’t notice the barista observing your concentrated face––furrowed brows and twisted lips––with an amused smile.

“let me guess,” the boy chuckles, wiping his hands on his apron. “you’ve never been here before?”

averting your gaze to the girls beside you, you can feel yourself shrink under their scrutiny. quickly turning your head back at him, you shake your head. “no, does it look obvious?”

“i think i can recognize everyone who’s ever walked in,” the barista boasts, crossing his arms. “…and i don’t think i’ve ever seen you around before.”

“i don’t really go to cafés much,” you shrug, not taking into account the fact that you were making small talk with some stranger when a few minutes ago all you wanted was a coffee.

“oh, how come?”

part of you wonders why the boy seems so interested but by the way you previously observed his encounter with the now impatient girls waiting for his attention beside you, you figure he was like that with all of the customers. Must be good for tips, you presume, glancing over at the jar next to the register labelled TIPS.

“cafés, especially busy ones, are usually…loud. i don’t really concentrate well in them so that’s why i usually get a pre-made bottled coffee from the vending machine in my dorm.”

“and today’s different because…” the boy trails off, waiting for you to continue, the side of his lip quirking up into a half smile.

“they were all out of my coffee,” you pout, looking down. the barista watches your cute expression with a soft smile but immediately drops it when you look back up. he was not used to the way his heart was beating out of his chest.

“ah, kinda hurts my ego that we were a last resort but i’ll take it since you’re here,” the barista smiles cutely and then you understand why the girls he was previously conversing with were giggling and beaming like idiots. this guy sure is charming.

noticing the line forming behind you, you flush in embarrassment. “oh god, i’m stalling. can i just get something strong to go please? i need all the caffeine i can get.”

shooting you finger guns and a wink, he says, “you got it. just wait over here.”

“how pathetic,” you hear one of the girls murmur to her friends, staring directly at you. “this girl’s just dying to get out of here.”

“isn’t that a good thing? wouldn’t want to stall our oikawa any longer~” another friend beside her whispers with a knowing smile.

huffing to yourself with an eye roll, you walk around the group of girls and wait at the end of the counter near the wall.

“alright, you didn’t exactly give me cream or sugar preference so i kind of guessed? try it first so i’ll know if i need to fix it.” the barista returns with a steaming hot cup of coffee and holds it out for you to take. it’s been a while since you hadn’t had coffee that wasn’t refrigerated and synthetic. raising a curious brow at the boy’s eagerness for you to try the drink, you find yourself intrigued.

taking a small sip from the cup, you raised your eyebrows in utter praise for the drink in your hand. “this…is incredible. how much?”

the boy shook his head while waving his hands dismissively. “no charge. every customer’s first drink at this café is free,” he grins.

“are…are you sure?” you murmur, noticing the dropped jaws of the girls beside you just before their glares are replaced.

“promise! i hope to see you again soon…wait, what’s your name?”

“y/n,” you clear your throat awkwardly, feeling heat rise up your neck. man, how many times have you blushed today?

“well then, i hope to see you again, y/n. that coffee from your vending machine is probably god awful and full of garbage so i really suggest returning here,” the handsome barista winks after his statement and woah, you didn’t think you’ve ever felt more flustered than you have in the past ten minutes. you notice the group of girls beside you whisper amongst themselves.

“i…i’ll see about that. thank you…” you trail off, cocking your head to the side slightly, looking for any name-tag on the boy behind the counter.

“oikawa. my name’s oikawa tooru.”

“well, ah…thanks oikawa,” you mumble before turning to leave and sprint back to your dorms, trying your best to avoid getting rained on too harshly. the girls take your place in front of the counter, beginning their conversation with oikawa again but he’s too absorbed in the sight of you to pay any attention to them.

-

“he what!? he gave you a coffee on the house?” your fellow classmate and best friend, tendou, raises the empty cup from the café to examine. you raised an eyebrow as he scrutinizes it.

“yeah,” you shrug nonchalantly, “he said it was policy that the first drink is free.”

“p-pol–” throwing his head back, tendou lets out a loud laugh and you send a confused expression his way.

“what’s so funny?”

“that policy doesn’t exist, sugar,” he says in amusement, putting the cup back on the table. currently the two of you are at the study hall of your dorm building, studying for your economics test in a few days. although you would have much rather finished your essay, which was your sole purpose of the getting the coffee in the first place, your friend decided to use your generosity against you to beg you to help him study instead.

“what are you talking about? yes it does.”

“oh yeah? then how come i had to pay for my first coffee?”

“i dunno, maybe it’s a new policy,” you reason with another shrug.

“no, y/n, you know what it is? flirting.”

“pfft,” you scoff with a dismissive wave of your hand, “don’t be so ridiculous! i had maybe a five minute conversation with the guy, got my coffee and left. no flirtation was present during my trip to the coffee shop.”

“hmm,” he hums in response, pinching his chin. “yeah, no. i don’t believe it. you were just flirted with the oldest trick in the book. ‘how much for my coffee?’ ‘for you? don’t worry about it darling, it’s on the house. my treat.’” he starts off mimicking your voice unnaturally high in pitch before mimicking what you assume to be oikawa’s in a much deeper tone. you can’t help but roll your eyes at his imitations.

“hey,” you frown, smacking his arm. “he did not say that.”

“yeah but he said something like that…are you gonna go back?”

“well,” you gnaw at your lower lip, wondering what to do with this new information. “i guess i have to?”

“you have to? damn y/n––”

“to pay him back obviously,” you cut him off, thinking aloud. “right? since the policy doesn’t exist, technically i’m stealing and there’s no way my conscience could deal with that without making it eat me up inside so the only reasonable thing to do is to go back and pay them back.”

“i…” tendou trails off, scratching his head, “i guess so.”

it was the right thing to do wasn’t it? the gesture was kind and all but you couldn’t not pay them back. you know other people would call you insane for returning back to the café you knew you wouldn’t, just to spend a few dollars you could be spending on lunch. but hey, your fellow classmates worked and managed this café. they needed all the help they could get.

you march through the café doors and surprisingly, it’s less crowded than you originally thought it’d be. the sun is nearly set, indicating that most classes are well over for the day and you’d think that students would head over to the coffee shop as a way of winding down or to do some homework. seats are filled around the café but it isn’t nearly as loud and crowded as it was the day prior.

huh, not so bad.

“woah there, you look like you’re on a mission,” a messy haired barista wiping down a table toward the entrance raises his eyebrows at you and smiles in amusement.

“do you know if oikawa is here?” you cut to the chase, panting slightly from your swift walk to the shop.

furrowing his brows, he looks up in thought, “hm, he’s on break right now but he’ll be back in,” he pauses to look over your shoulder at the hanging clock hanging on the wall in the back of the shop behind the counter, “four minutes.”

“i guess i’ll wait then,” you murmur, taking an open seat at a booth against the wall of the café.

“can i get you anything in the meantime? some dessert or a drink?”

“no, no,” you shake your head with a smile. “thanks.”

“no problemo,” he grins boyishly. is it a requirement to be cute to work at this café? you thought to yourself. “if you need anything, i’m kuroo, so just holler.” it’s no wonder that this café was so popular; all the workers seem to radiate such charisma that you just couldn’t not return to say hello again.

you wait a few minutes, tapping your fingers without any sort of rhythm against the wooden table and watch the clock’s second hand gradually make its way around the circumference of the face. kuroo notices your rigid stare at the clock and fidgeting state with a mixture between an amused smile and a confused one.

“i couldn’t help but notice,” he begins when he walks back over to the side of the café you were sitting at, brushing his hands against the sides of his faded blue jeans, “that you seem kinda nervous? are you going to confess to him or something?”

popping your eyes open, you open your mouth to quickly deny his allegations before you felt yourself choke on your own breath and end up in a coughing fit. kuroo widens his eyes in panic at your response and quickly walks away to retrieve some water from behind the counter. he walks back to your table and places a tall glass of water on the table before you. “have some water.”

taking a gulp from the glass, you feel relief in your throat. placing the glass down, you sigh, “whew, thanks.”

“no problem.”

Before you could even refute kuroo’s earlier question, you hear the jingle of the café door followed by a, “good afternoon, beautiful people, i have returned!”

you can’t help but roll your eyes in amusement at oikawa and his big goofy grin. this guy just exudes charisma. he doesn’t notice you when he first walks in, probably because kuroo was in his line of sight but as soon as he walks behind the counter and grabs his apron from the hook on the wall behind him, he spots you.

“y/n, you’re back!” he smiles gleefully, while tying the back of his apron. “want another coffee?”

so he really does remember names…

shaking your head, you stand up from the table, giving kuroo a grateful smile in the process, and walk over to the counter oikawa is standing behind. “i’m here to pay you back.” you take out your wallet and start to fiddle with some bills.

“woah, what are you talking about?”

you don’t look up from your wallet when you replied, “the policy? i know it’s not real. you didn’t have to just give me a coffee on the house. it was a sweet gesture, don’t get me wrong, really smart marketing you got there but––”

“y/n,” oikawa stops you and you look up to see his amused smile.

“what?” you blink at him, tilting your head to the side in wonder. were you missing something? surely, it wasn’t for the pure reason of flirting…you didn’t exactly give him a reason to flirt with you.

“i gave you the coffee because….” he trails off before scoffing, “nevermind.” god, you’re lucky you’re cute.

“so… can I pay you back now?”

“to be fair,” oikawa crosses his arms defiantly, “since your coffee was on the house that means i paid for you so you don’t owe this shop anything.”

“oh, so i should pay you. how much was it?” you look back down at your wallet.

sighing to himself, he opens his mouth as if to answer before he closes it. drumming his fingers against the counter, he hums in thought.

“okay, how about a way to pay me back is to return here ever so often?”

“…what?” you squint your eyes suspiciously, wondering what he was asking. Is this…another marketing tactic?

“even though you said you’d think about coming here again, i saw right through you: you weren’t going to come back. and the only reason you are back is to pay me back. so to pay me back, you have to come back to this café…once a day for a week.”

“a week?” you furrow your brows. “dude, are you robbing me!? that’s like four dollars a day!”

“you don’t have to buy coffee if you come! even if you just come in to say hi, i’ll call it payment.”

you paused for a moment, thinking about his offer. “why?”

“huh?” oikawa seems taken back by the way he straightens his posture, widens his eyes and his former side smile becomes somewhat pout-like.

“what’s the deal with getting me to come around to this coffee shop? do you do this with all your new customers?”

“no,” he leans back to grin before taking notice at someone at a table awaiting their order to be taken and oikawa nods at them and puts up a finger, gesturing ‘i’ll be right there.’ turning back to you, he wiggles an eyebrow. “i guess you’re just special. i’ll see you tomorrow y/n.”

he walks around the counter and over to the student with a charismatic smile and asked their order. you stand there for a few seconds, watching him interact with the customer, trying to figure him out. a clearing of a throat breaks you away from your thoughts.

“are you sure you don’t want anything?” kuroo asks from behind the register. you’d been so focused on the other boy, you didn’t even notice kuroo walk around the counter.

“uh,” you hum, looking down at the desserts behind the glass. you thought you weren’t hungry but the somewhat loud grumble of you stomach tells you otherwise. “a blueberry muffin please.”

“sure thing,” kuroo nods, opening the case before asking, “warmed up?”

“yes, please.”

he wraps your muffin into a small bag and folds it before placing it on the counter. typing away on the register he says, “that’ll be $1.75.” finally, you were getting charged for something.

“here,” you give him five dollars. “give the rest to oikawa please? just add it to his tip jar or something.”

knitting his eyebrows together, he asks, “why?”

“well, since he refuses to let me pay him back for my coffee, i guess this’ll be my only way to,” you grin, taking the bag and waving at kuroo. “thank you!”

kuroo watches you leave with an amused smile on your face and it isn’t until the bell jingled behind you, signaling you were gone that he turns to oikawa.

“did you literally pull a ‘it’s on the house’ flirt and it backfired?”

the few customers in the café look up from their coffee or studying at kuroo’s shout, causing oikawa’s ears to go bright red. “hey!” he whisper shouts. turning to the student with a nervous smile, he reassures, “i’ll be right back.” walking over to the older boy until he’s standing on the opposite side of the counter than him, he whines, “why’d you have to announce that in front of the whole café?”

“please,” kuroo rolls his eyes with a scoff, “you’re so red and smiley, everyone didn’t need to know because I announced it. you’re so obvious, dude.”

“not to y/n apparently,” oikawa grumbles to himself, looking down at the notepad in his hand with his customer’s order before pushing it over the counter for kuroo to make. “i tried to do a smooth thing and she doesn’t even notice,” he murmurs, rubbing his forehead.

“yeah that was kind of odd. it’s like she didn’t even acknowledge it at all,” kuroo nods with furrowed brows, turning to make the drink. “think she’s just clueless or…perhaps, playing hard to get?”

“hard to get?” oikawa’s eyes widened. the thought never came to him. “you think?”

“hm, maybe?” kuroo shrugged to himself, back turned to oikawa. “girls are complicated.”

turning around to lean against the counter, oikawa cups his forehead in frustration. he’s never been in that sort of situation. granted, he’s also never been so bold with a girl he was interested in either. it was one thing to charm and flatter girls ‘till they were weak at the knees for him, but to do it upon acting on his own feelings? all of this was new.

and now you were playing hard to get?

man, did he pick a tough one.

but he was willing to fight to win you over, even if it took months.

“i’m screwed.”

“oh yeah, and i’m pretty sure she’d rather you not know but she left a large enough tip for you in your tip jar to pay for her coffee yesterday.”

“are you kidding me!?”

-

the next morning isn’t a particularly productive one for you. you don’t have classes until later in the afternoon but you still had studying to do and staying up late to finish your essay certainly didn’t help your mood.

maybe some breakfast would do you some good. some actual breakfast. you had a piece of toast when you woke up but the grumble of your stomach tells you you aren’t satisfied. you walk out of your dorm building and involuntarily, your feet begin moving in the direction of the sweet smell of baked goods.

of course your luck was that you’d end up at the café at the same time oikawa was working. later you’d learn that your timing was so impeccable, you’d end up at the café when oikawa was working.

“my favorite girl!” is the greeting you receive when you enter, followed by the looks from random students. this boy…

you notice two boys beside him behind the counter that you’ve never seen before, slapping his shoulder and laughing to each other, before oikawa pushes them off and offers you a grin.

“do you find joy in embarrassing me in front of strangers?” you ask when you reach the front of the counter.

“maybe a little bit,” he teases, resting his chin against his palm as he leans his elbow against the counter. “what can I get you, brew-tiful?”

the boys standing behind oikawa stifle laughs while you stare at oikawa’s wide grin with an unamused frown. “really, now? you’re gonna give me dumb coffee puns?”

“not dumb,” he denies matter-of-factly, the smile on his face never faltering, “genius. now, what would you like?”

“something filling, i’m starving,” you pat your belly with a frown. “any suggestions?”

“how about i surprise you?” he asks, quirking one of his eyebrows up.

“well the last time you did, i was pleasantly satisfied so why not?”

“great! i’ll be right back.” oikawa walks further down the counter to grab you a treat.

“so you and oikawa, huh?” one of the boys you noticed before smirk with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

“me and oikawa what?” you ask blankly. “i just met the guy a few days ago.”

“oh really? you guys seem pretty close for how long you’ve known each other,” the other boy pipes. you look at the boy’s name-tags with furrowed brows. bokuto and hinata.

the first boy, bokuto, nods in agreement.

“i wouldn’t say close but i guess we’re friendly with each other. no clue why, though,” you shrug.

“you’re the one who got the free drink, right?” hinata blurts, not even bothering to hide his amusement with his grin.

furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, wondering how they even found that out, you respond, “yup, that’d be me. why?”

“you must feel spe––”

“hey, what lies are you feeding her?” oikawa cut off the barista with a scowl, holding the small paper bag in his hand.

“none, we swear!” bokuto pipes, raising his hands in surrender. “were we?” he asks, turning to you with a look of pure innocence. yup, your initial thoughts about this place were right: you had to be incredibly cute to work here.

“not really,” you shrug before noticing the bag in oikawa’s hands. “is that mine?” you ask shyly, pointing your finger at it.

“it is,” oikawa beams, handing you the bag.

you found it funny how he’d look at his own friends with such pure disgust and then turn to you with the brightest smile.

“uh-uh.” you stop him from walking away, wagging your finger at him in scolding manner.

he turns back to you with a sly smile, “aw, don’t want to leave so soon y/n?”

“no-o,” you drawl, rolling your eyes, “i’d like to pay for it.”

sighing, he turns to the register and tapped the screen a few times before opening his palm out, “$1.25 please.”

“thank you,” you grin, fishing out two dollars from your wallet. “and please…keep the change.” you flash him a final smile and a wave before you turn to go.

you don’t notice him go on his tippy-toes to look over the people sat in the café and waiting on line, carefully watching for your reaction to what he picked out for you. noticing the pleased smile on your face, oikawa gives himself a pat on the back and nods to himself confidently.

“woah, she’s blind. it’s pretty obvious you’re into her,” hinata chuckles to himself, wiping the counter with a damp washcloth.

“and dumb. you were just going to give her that cookie for free again! man, i wish i had free food,” bokuto whines, shoving his hands into his empty pockets, searching for any loose change.

“yeah well, jokes on her,” oikawa said, a smile growing on his face, “i gave it to her with a discount.”

“she gave you an extra seventy five cents anyway,” hinata pauses wiping to deadpan with a knowing look.

“oh, shut up.”

-

“so what’s it like dating a barista? does he, like, make coffees for you during his free time?” tendou asks in the middle of one of your study sessions the following day.

“huh? who am i dating?”

“uh, that oikawa dude. isn’t he the guy who gave you the drink for free?”

“yeah… but we’re not dating??”

“oh really? everyone i talk to has been saying that so i just assumed you were being an awful friend and not telling me about your love life simply because i’m a guy.”

“please, when I get a boyfriend, you’ll be the first one to know,” you wave a hand dismissively. “but people seriously think we’re dating? that’s totally ridiculous!”

“yeah being offered things for free and being smiled at and called his ‘favorite girl’ means absolutely nothing. ridiculous.”

“i….i have no idea what you’re talking about,” you cross your arms stubbornly with a huff.

“ask anyone,” tendou says with a nonchalant shrug, “they all think you’re dating.”

“…i just met the guy!”

“ooh, i didn’t hear anything about you not liking him at all. usually your first denial against dating anyone would be explaining your feelings but…”

“don’t say that! i don’t like him, now if you’ll excuse me,” you stand from the table. “i need to go sort something out.” you’re getting a sense of deja vu from needing to confront oikawa earlier days prior.

“tell your boyfriend i said ‘hi!’” your best friend cups his hand over his mouth to shout after you begin walking away. you shoot him a final scowl of disapproval before continuing on.

it’s a busy day at the coffee shop. you crane your neck around to calculate just how many people were in front of you on line and groan in impatience when you count more than fingers on one of your hands.

this is why I don’t go to coffee shops. they’re too loud and busy.

you passed the time gazing around the coffee shop. the first few times you were in there, you didn’t really look at the scenery, too busy focusing on your coffee and paying oikawa back.

although you weren’t a huge fan of cafés, you like how warm the whole place felt. the whole shop was painted a dull forest green and there were brown wooden floorboards, perfectly accenting them. you take notice of the greenery around the café, small and tall potted plants scattered about and a fake vine wrapped around the menu board giving it an extra touch. the lights are dim, mostly because of the large array of windows in the front of the shop where the sun shone brightly through.

the tables are all wooden, that you observed the first time you sat down, but you didn’t notice how happy all the customers seemed to be until now. there are pairs and groups of friends sitting about, talking about their day or what’d they like to do over the weekend, or students in single seats, reading a book or making a conversation with a barista. you don’t see a frown anywhere. it seemed that this café radiated such good energy that no one could be angry in such a chill place.

“uh, y/n? earth to y/n?” a voice snaps you back to reality. you blink at the fingers snapping in front of your face.

“oh…hey!” you shake your head out of your daze, trying to remember why you’d come to the café in the first place.

chucking to himself, oikawa asks, “hey, brew-tiful, can I get your order?”

“just a water,” you gnaw on your lower lip in regret. why show up to his workplace if you simply had to ask him a question? you could’ve easily found him when he was done…

but then again, you never saw him outside the coffee shop so you wouldn’t know where to look in the first place.

“you came all the way here for a water?” oikawa pries, raising an eyebrow.

“no, of course she didn’t,” a voice sings, the owner of it showing up behind oikawa. “she’s obviously here to say hello to her boyfriend. don’t you have manners, dude?”

“b-boyfriend?”

“uh no.”

the two of you spoke in unison, turning to the speaker.

“you have a boyfriend?” oikawa repeats, turning to you with an almost betrayed expression on his face. “that works here?”

“i don’t?”

“wait what’s going on,” the boy, now confused, scratched his head. “are the two of you not dating? that is y/n, right? i’m pretty sure someone told me you were dating.”

“please excuse suga,” oikawa leans over the counter with a whisper, “he gobbles up any gossip he hears.”

“hey, I heard that! now move over, the people need their coffee!” suga announces, nudging oikawa to the side to take the next customer in line’s order.

oikawa nods his head, gesturing for you to walk further down the counter, to not hold up the line. you lean against the counter with your arms crossed.

“this is why i came,” you mutter. “i don’t know who said what but my friend is telling me that people are telling him, gossiping i guess, that we’re dating,” you motion between the two of you with your hand.

“wha––really?” you furrowed your eyebrows at how oikawa’s ears perk up and he smiles at what you’d told him.

“yeah, they’re all saying something about favoritism and giving me free stuff and discounts. but i haven’t gotten any since the first time though so i don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“right,” oikawa chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “well, i didn’t say anything if that’s what you think. you think i’d do that to my favorite girl?”

“well you sure like to embarrass me so i wouldn’t be too surprised. you seem like the kind to tease me that way.”

“huh, that’s probably true but i promise it wasn’t me.”

“i believe you.” you truly did. even though you probably wouldn’t have a few days prior, but oikawa really new to to charm his way into befriending people. “so, if you didn’t tell anyone, who did?”

he shrugs. “probably people around saw us and just assumed.”

feeling your cheeks flush at the thought of people observing you and assuming you two were dating by your actions, you scoff. “pfft, what? how on earth could they think that?”

“it may sound like a total shock to you, y/n, but i don’t talk to many girls as often or as willingly as i talk to you so…”

your eyebrows furrow at that. several days prior, you saw the guy swarmed with girls around the counter giggling and cooing at him, and he seemed to bask in it. at least, you thought he did.

no doubt about it, you thought the guy was attractive since you first saw him so it didn’t come as a surprise that he had girls crowding him, hoping to earn a chance with him.

“i know what you’re thinking,” oikawa deadpans. “i talk to other girls here in the coffee shop, sure, but it’s my job. i can’t just ignore them. you, though, i engage in conversations with you first.”

you didn’t like the warm feeling bubbling in your chest.

“oh,” you mumble, fiddling with your fingers.

“i understand if you want me to back off and stop bugging you so people stop assuming we’re—“

“it’s fine,” you cut him off sharply, snapping your head up to look at him. he’s taken back by your answer, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes. “you’re, uh, pretty cool so i don’t mind.”

“you don’t? didn’t it bother you like two minutes ago???”

iIt did,” you admit quickly, looking away for a split second, “but I changed my mind.”

“oh… so you’ll still come around?”

smiling at him, you raise an eyebrow, “where else am i supposed to get my coffee? the vending machine doesn’t compare, you know…”

“oh.”

“i’ll see ya around. i have a test to study for. bye oikawa.” you give a final wave before making your way to the entrance of the café.

even after you left, oikawa was frozen, mouth agape and eyes widened.

“uh, dude?”

“she’s willing going to come around,” the lovestruck boy sighs longingly, feeling his heart flutter in chest.

“oh man, you’re whipped,” suga chuckles to himself, patting oikawa on the back a few times before returning to making coffees. “he’s whipped!” oikawa can hear suga say to the other baristas working to which they all agree in unison.

and man, he was. at first, he might’ve seen you as a mystery, looking so out of place in that café the first time he saw you, but then the more of you he saw, his initial curiosity became anticipation in seeing you again. he couldn’t put his finger on it but something about you drew him closer to you. maybe it was your first impression of him which wasn’t like the other girls he came to meet in the café. or maybe it was the fact that you treated him like some normal guy and not eye candy. maybe he liked the fact that you were a challenge to go for.

whatever the reason was, he couldn’t wait to see you again.

-

“i think i like this better,” oikawa muses, leaning over the counter, while you sip your steaming hot chocolate.

“hm?” you hum, looking up at him curiously. you’re currently sitting on a stool pushed up the the coffee counter, watching oikawa clean up from the busy work day. it’s a wednesday evening and there were plenty of crammers in the café that day.

“you being here voluntarily. when I made you come, i felt a little guilty so this is much better,” he smiles, turning away from you to clear the counter of any stray mugs a customer left around.

“yeah,” you nod in agreement, looking around at the empty coffee shop. “i definitely like being here when it’s almost closed.” it was only the two of you in the coffee shop. kuroo was there about an hour earlier but left when oikawa offered to close up for him.

“y/n, we closed up a half hour ago,” oikawa says, putting the mugs in the small quaint sink in the back corner. you pause sipping from your mug to look behind you at the door. the sign was flipped open to face the interior of the cafe.

looking up at the clock, your eyes widened. “crap, i didn’t even notice! why didn’t you kick me out?” no wonder nobody had walked in.

“because it’s just you.” he shrugs before turning to you, patting his hands against his apron. “besides, it’s not like i’m itching to go back to my dorm.”

“you’re not getting paid extra though,” you frown, feeling bad for wasting his time. here you were, blabbing about how sucky your lab day was because your impotent partner couldn’t even hold a scalpel correctly when your dear friend could’ve been in his dorm sleeping peacefully.

“your company is enough,” he sighs with a side smile, resting his hands against the counter to hold himself up.

“alright, charmer,” you roll your eyes, taking another sip of your hot chocolate. you’d grown to get used to oikawa’s smooth comments but that didn’t mean you aren’t any less affected by them. “you still look tired.” his eyelids are drooping and he seems less perky during the later hours of the day.

“i’m fine~” he coos, waving you off, motioning you to finish your hot chocolate.

“no, no, you need to go to sleep. take it, i’m finished,” you hand him your half full mug.

“y/n,” he whines, hesitantly taking the mug out of your hands when you shake it around slightly.

“you have to close up,” you ignore his protests and stand up from the counter stool. “come on.”

“i’m not a baby, don’t baby me,” he frowns, putting your mug in the sink and turning on the faucet to rinse it off.

raising an amused eyebrow at him, you gesture to his face, “you’re pouting like a baby.” you tug his sleeve and hand him the keys sitting on top of the counter. “and you have an early class tomorrow, no?”

honestly, you thought your friendship was going to maybe last a few weeks before you inevitably lost touch or got too busy to see each other. but, weeks later, your friendship prevailed. neither of you share any classes in common together, yet you manage to see each other everyday.

you weren’t at the coffee shop everyday, however. sometimes, he’d meet you in your dorm’s lounge to hang out, with an occasional interrogation from a very suspicious tendou.

people didn’t bother to stop talking about the two of you either, or even bother to hide it. sure, people knew you guys weren’t official or dating, but that didn’t stop them from shipping it from afar. you always ignore it. you thought you ignored it for the reason that you didn’t even care but maybe you did. perhaps you ignore it because you didn’t mind being shipped with him.

“yeah,” he murmurs, accepting the keys and shuffles closely behind you. you both exit the café and you wait for the barista to lock up before heading off in the direction of your dorms.

“why’re you still following me? isn’t your building over there?” you ask, pointing in the direction of a few buildings in the distance.

“can’t I walk you all the way to your dorm to make sure you get in safe? it’s 8 p.m., who knows what psychos are around,” oikawa shrugs tiredly. even in his obvious exhausted state, he still wants to be a gentleman. you smile in response to the gesture.

“thanks,” you mumble, looking down at your feet, feeling heat rise to your cheeks. it was getting harder and harder to keep your pulse under control with oikawa’s blunt statements, especially when there was some sort of underlying meaning you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

“you know, i may be half asleep and it’s dark out and all,” oikawa begins when you both approach the doors of your dorm building, “but don’t think i didn’t notice you get all quiet just now.”

“hm?” you hum, snapping your head up from fumbling around your wallet for your student card. “wha-what are you talking about? i’m not being quiet…why…why would you think that?” by the end of your pathetic rambles, you rub the back of your neck nervously.

oikawa raises an eyebrow at your obvious flustered state.

“just admit my endearing comments are affecting you~” he sings, holding open the door you unlocked with your key. Walking in and turning around to face him, you scowl.

“they most certainly are not!” total lie.

“mhm, sure thing, sugar,” he smiles to himself knowingly.

“oh yeah? if your endearing comments affect me so much, what’re you gonna do about it?” you huff, crossing your arms. if his endgame was for you to be flustered, what was the purpose? he had to have a reason for his incessant charms.

“well, i would most likely ask you out but being that you fail to acknowledge any of my advances on you, i’m sure it would just go over your head and you’d think it’d be a friendly hang out.”

“pfft, as if!” you rebuke stubbornly, furrowing your brows.

“bowling last week? that was supposed to be a date… and then you invited tendou,” oikawa trails off with a knowing head tilt.

oh.

OH.

“w-wait, you’ve been asking me out this whole time?”

noticing your look of pure shock, oikawa throws his head back to laugh and smacks his forehead. “to think i thought you were just playing hard to get and it’s just that you are indeed blind.”

“hey!” you whine uncrossing your arms to throw them up, “i was out here thinking you were just so flirty by nature! you know, part of your whole charm package. i didn’t actually think you wanted to date me.”

“well, I do, so now here I am being as clear as possible: y/n would you like to go out with me?” you find it hard to laugh at the way he resembles that meme of that girl you’ve seen on your twitter timeline once or twice.

“well, duh. i wouldn’t have stuck around such an annoying dude for so long if i didn’t have feelings for him,” you smile coyly, finally accepting the blush heating your cheeks.

“hey, i am not annoying. i’m charming and kind of clingy sometimes. but NOT annoying!” he grins, beginning to walk backwards away from your building. “i’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

you hum in agreement before calling out, “you know i actually kind of hated you when we first met? you were too happy and it messed with my ‘don’t care’ aura.”

“yeah, you made that a bit obvious. it was more the reason to be your friend and bug you though,” he calls back before giving you a final wave.

you’re about to close the door behind you when you hear a panicked, “wait!”

“hm?” you ask, eyes widening in concern. “did you forget something?”

“yeah,” he pants when he reaches you, bending over and holds his knees with his hands. when his breath evens out, he smirks, “this.”

and just like that, another way oikawa tooru makes you a flustered mess. not only will you have to deal with his incessant teasing and pun-making, but kisses now?

he kisses you gradually, bringing his hand up to cup your cheek, smiling when he hears you squeak in surprise. after getting over your nerves, your hands make their way to his arms, holding him in place as he kisses you. he releases from the kiss with a smile on his face. “better,” he murmurs before pecking your lips once more. he smiles at the dazed look in your eyes.

you thought consuming too much caffeine was the only cause of jitters but the race of your heartbeat told you maybe it wasn’t just coffee; perhaps it was some annoying barista who snuck his way under your arm and into your life.