It begins as an itch. His skin crawled, goosebumps arriving in such a quick instant, that Castel was almost too focused on his chilling forearms rather than the absolutely frigid smile against Kai’s face. Warm in appearance of course, but the effect was as cooling and nerve-racking as ever.
Castel’s eyes went comically wide, words failing to come to his brain which caused spurts of random letters and odd sounds to slip from his tongue first. “M?”
Kai curled an eyebrow, head tilting like a puppy that was both amused and baffled. Silly humans, the puppy would think, perfectly mimicking the expression that Kai adorned.
“Mmmm? Matcha? Macchiato? Are we guessing?” he quipped again, clearly used to these one-sided questions.
“Pocha meppermint.” Castel finally spit out, tongue twisted, his brain quickly following suit.
This time Kai left out a boom of a laugh, unlike his usual character. The first aspect Castel’s mellow brown eyes had noticed was that this sound was surprisingly, quite contradictory to Kai’s appearance. Kai’s cheeks and eyes were so soft yet his body was quite a built entity- too perfect to be human yet too real and right in front of Castel’s face to be anything other.
Kai was mostly legs, a slim yet built chest to make up for the height, topped with slightly broad shoulders and skin so pale Castel could imagine his mother immediately putting Kai onto bedrest .Yet, unlike his strong frame, Kai’s voice and laughter was anything of the sort.
It was a delicate, fluid sound, despite the loud volume it had taken up. It was so genuine and good-natured, that Castel wasn’t sure what an appropriate way to react was, without embarrassing himself even more.
If it weren’t for him openly staring and Kai’s dainty laugh vaguely fading from Castel’s ears, he would've kept staring, taking in the view. No, staring made the action appear vulgar and rude.
No, Castel was simply admiring the person in front of him, a big tipper who was also blessed with a face that could cause car accidents, since the drivers would be too busy oggling at him.
Yeah. This boy was a hazard.
“I mean if you’re gonna make fun of me, I could just serve you hot water.” Finally his wits were returning, hands steadying at his sides.
A snicker could be heard behind the doors leading to the kitchen, causing Castel to purse his lips.
“Doesn’t sound too bad, if it’s from you.”
Then there in that instant, the last strands of Castel’s composure snapped like Imani’s fingers whenever she was fed up with Elias.
“But of course a pocha meppermint seems delicious too.” Kai had continued, voice smoother than the coffee pouring from the espresso machine that was resting besides Castel.
Now, Castel was never one to get easily ruffled or flustered. He was actually quite proud of his ability to remain calm under intense situations, yet confident when needed. Hell, even in the face of romance, Castel had a nonchalant attitude and a level head.
Past suitors, male and female, came for his sly words (and a chance for discount coffee) but made the mistake of concluding that Castel’s tender face translated to a tender heart.
More than often, each suitor wound up with their tail between their legs and a heavily bruised ego.
Yet here he was, at a loss for words, confidence and stern ego evaporating into the air in a smoky haze, like the steam rising from the freshly baked cookies within the cafe.
I’m not one for petty romance, he’d use say. Yet, here he was, attempting to keep his lips in a straight line as he talked to a literal ray of sunshine before him, who was damn sure holding their ground.
“I meant to say peppermint mocha. It’s our seasonal special. Because, you know. Winter.” Castel quipped. The cringe was internal though, since it was clearly obvious what he meant, but his insistent need to be correct was making an appearance.
“I know. I was just teasing. Make it a medium, extra hot, with whipped cream.” Kai responded, smile soft, eyes even softer. “Also throw in a snickerdoodle cookie please.”
“Of course,” Castel responded, a hum arising to his throat at the familiarity of the order. No matter what Kai got, it was always extra hot then topped with the sweetness of whipped cream.
He began typing the numbers on the mechanical cash register before peering into the glass case displaying the cafe’s offered sweets. “You’re like the only person who buys those things you know. And your total is $11.87.” Castel decided to offer small conversation, the only thing his heart could handle apparently.
“Really? They taste like heaven.” Kai pulled out an old black wallet from his jeans, the thing looked rugged and worn and the leather was peeling.
“Hm, you think? Elias is one of our bakers here and he usually doesn’t add enough sugar. I probably shouldn’t say this to a customer but,” Castel leaned closer over the counter, voice low as if he was revealing a deep secret, “I’m pretty sure he mixes up the salt and sugar anyhow. Those things taste horrid sometimes.”
Kai took the bait, but his surprise appeared genuine. “Well then,” he leaned a little closer as well, before sliding two crinkled twenty dollar bills onto the counter and nearly brushed his own hand against Castel’s fingers. “I can’t say I mind a little salt with my sugar.”
Castel had no idea what that meant but his heart jumped into his throat, as he gradually leaned backwards and enjoyed the content look on Kai’s face.
“Is that so?” Castel retorted whilst holding Kai’s gaze, refusing to back down. The action was mutual. Castel couldn’t read Kai and didn’t know if the male was at a loss for words or was just really good at egging Castel on, but his once soothing gaze was now something intimidating and fierce and it made the room stop, appearing to be at a stand still.
It wasn’t until a cough coming from the swinging doors near the kitchen forced the tension crack and pull both boys back into their surroundings.
“Casteeel are you revealing company secrets?” Elias had put on a high pitch tone. Kai cracked another wicked smile whilst Castel let out a huff that could pass as a soft laugh.
“They always like this?” Kai asked as a loud buzz could be heard from one of his pockets.
“Yes.” Was Castel’s quick answer, slightly relieved that Kai hadn’t inferred further on Elias’ antics. ”I uh- This is also way too much.” Castel’s teeth seethed as he pushed one of the bills back towards Kai. But the other man was distracted, eyes downcast at his phone, yet his voice still had a mellow note.
“I insist on you keeping the change. Actually, uh, I’ll be right back, sorry.” His chipper tone was now deflated, and Castel could only watch Kai’s expression turn into a miniscule frown as he walked to one of the vacant tables, littered with crumbs.
Castel completed the transaction and placed the remaining cash into a tip jar that had a piece of paper attached with the words Thanks-o-Latte scribbled on top.
The poor paper was hanging on with peeling tape and a dream.
Just as Castel began making the warm beverage, he felt his soul drain out of his body as Imani poked either side of his waist with her skinny fingers, and rested her head onto his shoulder- seemingly hugging him from behind.
“Cas what did you do to him? He looks sad.” She inquired, not hiding the fact that she was looking in Kai’s direction. It didn’t matter, since Kai was apparently oblivious to the situation and now focused on the phone.
“Why do you instantly think I did something?” He grunted back, settling into the groove of things and the familiarity of the recipe.
“You once made a girl who liked you cry at a McDonalds by bluntly saying you wouldn’t date someone who had a B- in statistical mechanics.”
“I just have standards.” He defended himself though his attempt was weak.
“Dude, you ordered a medium fry afterwards. That was cold.” Elias had piped up, head peeking over Imani’s shoulder with ease.
Castel heard her breath hitch at the presence of Elias behind her, but he decided not to comment on her small change of aura.
“I’m not the one who made Kai look like a sad puppy-” Castel paused, movements frozen as his mind worked overtime, before shaking Imani off and finishing off the drink.
But he could feel it.
Imani’s notorious smirk, and Elias’ beady eyes gazing at him. Chills ran cold down his spine.
“Don’t.”
“Puppy, you say?” Imani started, and Elias continued her sentence oh-so flawlessly. “What kind of puppy? A tiny yorkie or a cuddly golden retriever? You wanna snuggle with him?”
...at least he had the spirit.
“I make no further comments because you two are horrible,” he quipped, swirling whipped cream on top of the brown liquid, and snapping a disposable lid on top.
“Aw look, his ears are red Ima.” Elias noticed. But the feral look in Castel’s brown eyes dared either of them to come closer. Both put anymore jokes they had on the back burners in their minds.
“Vete a freír espárragos.” He spat. Imani snickered as she went to an enclosed tray, and pulled out one of the infamous salty snickerdoodles with tongs before placing them into a baggy.
“As an apology,” she began, sliding past Castel and taking the warm drink from his grasps, “I’ll go give these treats to the puppy for you. No more taunting, I promise.”
Castel squinted his eyes, not buying into the facade for a damn second.
“I actually have to bus some tables anyways and gotta unbury the welcome sign from outside. Don’t worry about it.”
“That only makes me worry more.”
“Don’t worry your pretty head babe, I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything devious.” The blond chimed in once more, going in to pinch and prod at Castel’s dimples.
“Wow. What a big word Elias.” She gave her last witty reply before sliding into the kitchen, mostly likely to retrieve cleaning materials though her hands were already full.
Odd.
He was nearly prompted to follow her, but the door chime, cold and tired customers waltzed in and duty called. Castel bit his tongue and went to the register though his mind still wandered to Imani and more specifically, the comments she had made in the past.
Castel showed no romantic interest in people, he was aware of that.
There was a point in time where Imani confessed that she genuinely believed that he would sooner be engaged to an overpriced textbook rather than be caught holding hands with another human being. She had vowed to change those odds.
He exhaled loudly before putting on a presentable expression, preparing to take orders. But in the back of his head, a thought was pooling about.
She was definitely up to no good.
✧
The guilt was settling in. Or maybe it was the embarrassment. Or maybe a concoction of both that gave an accurate representation of what Kai was and the story of his life.
In the moment as Kai sat in the dusty booth, breath leaving his nostrils so fearlessly that the crumbs below him slid to the otherside of the table, he was getting his ass chewed out by Aurora.
Ah, Aurora. Infinite owner of Eternal Ink, a breath of beauty, with a tongue so sharp it could rival a serpent’s. But more importantly she also came equipped with a very valid reason as to why Eternal Ink was closed, and that reason did in fact, involve Kai.
“You requested this day off, then you forget, then you bother Silas instead of contacting me directly?” Her usually gentle voice was stern, sounding like the mixture of a mother scolding a young child and a boss close to popping a blood vessel.
“Right, haha…”
“We moved the schedule around for you.” Again, that unwavering tone, followed by a soft and condescending, “By now you should know the shop can’t function without your aide.”
Though he heard her, Kai wasn’t listening. Instead the embarrassment inside him was bubbling up to the point that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He wished he could cover his face or get up and just leave because what the hell did I can’t say I mind a little salt with my sugar even mean? The sentence didn’t even make sense.
But more than that- Kai had accidentally eavesdropped. Though there was a voice directly against his ear, his focus had still been on Castel and apparently, his heightened hearing had been too.
All he registered was that he was indeed called a puppy, and he wasn’t sure if it was in an endearing manner. Warmth ran up his neck, as Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut and mind swarming.
“Are you even listening?”
“No.” Kai’s honest nature worked much faster than his common sense. He knew the wrath of a thousand suns masked as affable daisies in a field would be awaiting him at Eternal Ink.
“Drop by when you can. We can talk about getting you a proper meal, as well.” Tone poise and proper, straight to the point,
“As well? What’re we talking about first?” The line was met with silence before the call was ended.
“I’m so dead,” he choked up- startled when another voice appeared beside his own. “You so are.” She spoke, jokingly. Kai was greeted with the woman who he had always seen near Castel. Her umber toned skin set a nice contrast against her russet colored eyes, that were gazing into his soul.
She was judging him, that was for sure. But why, he didn’t know.
He knew her name was Imani but opted to play dumb since the two were never formally introduced.
“Yeah. Family stuff.”
“Understandable.” Her words were well-natured yet hadn’t matched her tone. “I’ll get straight to the point. Consider me a guardian angel- a match-maker, even. Here.”
She placed Kai’s cookie and drink beside him, steam wafting from the only open port on the container’s lid. He lifted an eyebrow, unsure of what to say besides a quiet ‘thank you’.
Kai watched as Imani tapped her nose, a smile gracing her face effortlessly, braids swaying softly as she tilted her head. “Under your nose, big guy.” Was her response before waltzing away, a small jump in her step.
This was probably his favorite thing about Bruce’s. There was always a show to look forward to, at the very least. Kai eventually did as he was commanded and looked down at the tasty drink below him and for a moment he really did consider her an angel.
There, written in a neat script, were seven digits and Castel’s name resting besides the numbers. There was another note written beneath that gave him an authentic chuckle before he took his first sip.
Kai of course wanted to blame the newfound warmth in his chest and stomach on the drink passing by his lips, while the written words repeated in his head and became a mantra.
Don’t mess this up, salty snickerdoodle.
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