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  streetcorner ᵕ̈        akaashi keiji x gn reader ( pt. two ) ˎˊ˗

⋮⋮ ˒ ₍ᐢ..ᐢ₎ 𖥻 ⿻ : even in winter , you think    ⋮⋮  you can warm up to something a little ⋮⋮  different in your routine

📋 content     ♡ # 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧 🐮     ♡ # 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 🥛     ♡ # 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 - 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘱     ♡ # ~3.5𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴

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💬 kuroppiii ─ “ after four years since the last part WE ‘ RE SO BACK !!!! ( lmk if you want me to start a taglist for this series . thinking of maybe like two or so more parts <3 WE ‘ LL SEE THOUGH ! ) ”

that happened on friday. you didn’t think much of it, just a random event in the many days that string on and on...

you return to your routine like nothing happened. two days have passed and the weekend spent on your own (as it normally is)–either in your apartment doing chores or food prepping for the week ahead, or out running errands at the various shops nearby–is over. 

now, it’s monday. and you have another whole workweek ahead of you once again.

as you’re walking down the sidewalk toward the street corner vending machine and finishing up your chocolate croissant, like you’ve done countless morning before, a calm voice calls out,

“you can pick first this time, i'll wait my turn.”

what a coincidence: it was the handsome stranger, from last week’s broken vending machine incident. he was wearing the same tan coat, and the same glasses. he looked at you with those same blueish-graying eyes, but this time you noticed them creased a little at the edges as he subtly smiled at you.

flustered at meeting him again, you politely gave him a quick bow, “thank you! um, yeah, wouldn’t want to break it again, like on friday...”

you fumble with your wallet to quickly swipe your card so you don’t have to keep him waiting, suddenly feeling a little self conscious that the stranger might see the bright cartoon character design on it. you select your choice: a warm latte, again.

you and the stranger quietly stand beside each other as the machine dispensing your drink sounds off, the soft sounds of morning in the city surrounding you. you wondered if you should say something to fill the silence–you already referred back to last week’s incident so maybe you could complement him on something. maybe his tan coat, or the glasses, or... 

huh. you didn’t quite know what else you could’ve talked to him about. 

granted, your interaction had been a bit more focused on the broken machine than really processing the person you broke it with.

but maybe, you could quickly find something to talk about. you try to sneak some glances at him but to your dismay, it seems the stranger has the same idea, and a few times in the handful of seconds it takes for your drink to be delivered to you, the two of you meet eyes. but then you two would quickly look off to something else on the street corner when you did so.

you did notice he carried with him a little backpack, ‘a university student?’ you thought.

he was wearing shiny-looking shoes, ‘hmm... too professional for a university student.’

you look back up at his glasses, ‘a professor, maybe–? oh shit he saw me looking–”

a little sigh of relief leaves your lips as the clunky noise of your drink falling down saves you from the silence. you look away and swoop down to slip your hand in the dispenser. you relish in the warmth of the can in contrast to your chilly hand. upon straightening back up once again, you turn to the stranger and bow,

“thank you–! um...? ” 

“have a good day– uh...”

you two speak over each other. and both of you are forced to trail off because, well, you don’t know each others names yet.

you offer him your free hand,

“l/n.”

he looks down at a it for a moment, but then takes it,

“akaashi.”

akaashi... that’s a nice name.

you nod, “thank you akaashi-san, i hope you have a good day as well!”

you see as you leave, he nods at you before he takes out his card to order the same thing he did yesterday: a cold canned latte.

،   ビー   ✧   プ   🌱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗽 ... 

tuesday. strange, how you would normally love the silence of your morning walks, but in the silences with akaashi at the vending machine these past two times he’s been at it with you, you almost can’t bear the quiet.

you crack open your latte, a satisfying sound that filled the cold air. after taking a sip, you ask him the question you rehearsed in your head on the walk from your apartment to the drink machine, “akaashi-san, i’ve never seen you around here before, are you new to the area?”

a soft tumbling sound can be heard from the inside of the machine, and akaashi bends down to pull out his drink. (he had let you buy yours first, again. and they say chivalry is dead!) 

he pauses in the middle of opening his drink to give you an answer, “not necessarily. i live in the area, but usually i take a different route to work.”

mentally, you note: ‘so he’s working. good to know he’s not still in school. good to know i wouldn’t be some kind of cougar by talking to h–’

the sound of ripping metal as he finishes pulling the tab and snaps you out of your thoughts, “but i discovered this route is much faster so it– well, i get to catch up more on... on sleep in the morning by taking it.”

you laugh at his sheepish confession and in your mind you debate whether the redness on his face is from the cold or from shyness. ‘how cute,’ you think.

“ah, i see! so i assume you work late, then?” you ask, but receive no immediate answer. you look akaashi in the eyes and you can tell they’re trained on your croissant. you assume he wants to ask where it’s from.

“there’s a bakery nearby, um,” you spin around, trying to pinpoint a general direction the bakery would be from where you stood, finally shooting a finger in its general area, “it’s probably only a few blocks down, maybe a few turns and you’re there! it’s not terribly far.”

your sudden movements snap akaashi out of whatever trance he was in, and he quickly nods his head, “that’s good to know, thank you–”

you hear a grumbling sound. he must’ve skipped breakfast today.

“yeah i,” he clears his throat, “i’ll try to visit as soon as i can.”

،   クリ   ✧   ック   🌱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 ...

another day, wednesday to be exact. you already have your drink. he’s about to get his.

“akaashi-san, why do you drink cold lattes every morning? in this weather?”

you’ve been wondering about it for the what was almost a week now. you just couldn’t fathom it, especially with your favorite feature of this vending machine in particular: the warm drinks. 

to your surprise, he laughs lightly at your question. and you quite like his laugh. it’s subtle, but is sounds so genuine.

he picks his cold can from the machine, “it wakes me up in the morning, i guess.”

you hum and swirl around your drink in its can a bit, “what do you even do that’s got you wanting to sleep so much, anyway?”

“i’m an editor. just an editor,” he replies before taking a swig from his drink, “nothing too fancy–a magazine.”

“ooh, which one?” you ask excitedly. maybe the old couple that employs you had it somewhere in the restaurant, and maybe then you could find more to talk about with him in the mornings.

“ah–” akaashi readjusts his backpack strap and his eyes suddenly start shifting around, “just uh... a youth magazine. literature. yeah! it’s about youth– or, um– young adult literature.”

‘why’s he being so nervous?’ you thought. you take another sip from your coffee, ‘”young adult literature”... oh! maybe he’s talking about those romance novels i always see in passing at book store window displays. is he the romantic type, then? maybe he’s embarrassed. oh, i shouldn’t have asked–”

“... ahh, okay!” you decided not to push further, “well that sounds fun. is that what you studied in school?”

“yeah, yeah...” he replies, his gaze shifting down to his shiny shoes, “i studied literature.”

then there came a lull in the conversation. 

... and you realize how dull your life seemed to be in comparison to this person you’ve happened to cross paths with. 

at least, when you thought about how he probably had a bunch of friends from his editor’s office, and they probably went out for karaoke and drinks like what you saw in shows on tv. maybe that’s why he’s always in such a need for caffeine in the morning–from going out late with coworkers the night before. he must be really smart, too, having to read through so many articles for a magazine. he probably even gets his name printed on each volume for what he does.

meanwhile you, you were just a cashier and waiter. not to get it twisted, you loved your employers and your job and your routine–but, you really didn’t have much else than that since you moved into the city. you were the only employee there, and your friends were still all back home. for the first time you realized: you felt kind of alone. kind of sad, when you thought of it.

‘please don’t ask me what i do for work, please don’t ask me what i do for work, please don’t–’

“so what do you–?”

the nearby train blazed by not too far off from where you two stood, cutting akaashi off before you had to reveal you didn’t have nearly as an interesting life as he did. the passing of the train, like it had just a few days prior, signaled an allotting of time you both had not intended.

akaashi quickly pulls up his coat sleeve to check the time on his watch–a very shiny one, you can’t help but notice. you set a mental note for yourself to look up how much editors make in japan on the internet later once you get behind the counter at work.

“oh, i’m sorry but i’m gonna be late,” akaashi says, taking another quick sip from his can.

“no! no, it’s fine, i should probably get going too,” you reassure him.

you both hurriedly give each other quick bows before you head off, each waving to each other with your latte cans in grasp.

،   クラ   ✧   ック   🌱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 ...

today is thursday. you woke up and the first thing you thought of was: akaashi. 

it’s been almost one week and you hate to admit it, but he was the closest thing you have made to a friend other than your old couple employers since you made your move into your little apartment.

‘maybe it’s time to actually try to make a friend,” you thought as you laid in your bed, and in your subconscious you had an additional thought: ‘a really smart and good-looking friend at that.’ 

but you quickly dismissed that line of thinking. you were just some person he bumps into on the street at the vending machine each morning, you had to remember that. and as if you needed a boyfriend right now. you barely have any normal friends.

so, you find yourself at the bakery this morning as you stand in place, the tongs in your hand hovering over the last custard bread on shelf. you were lucky today that they didn’t run out yet. and usually, you’d savor this little victory for yourself but... 

you thought of your hopefully-soon-to-be-friend akaashi again. you remember the one time you were finishing your croissant in front of him, and his stomach grumbled a bit. of course! he must skip breakfast sometimes because he sleeps in from how late he was hangs out with his other actual friends at night. it all checks out now.

you quickly placed the custard bread on your tray and then reached over to grab a croissant the next shelf over. you were going to give him a share of your breakfast today.

you went up to the nice cashier lady and said, “this will be all. and! could you wrap them up separately? one’s a uh... a gift!”

clutching the two brown bags in your hand, you checked the time on your phone with the other. dealing with your inner turmoil at the bakery on whether it would’ve been weird to bring akaashi some bread or not cost you some time. you hoped you’re not late to seeing him at the drink machine, or that he didn’t already eat breakfast this morning, or that he thinks you’re some weirdo he just met trying to poison him with this food from out of the blue–

“l/n-san! good morning, i was wondering where you were,” a voice called out to you, waiting by the vending machine on the street corner. you could tell it was akaashi by his silhouette the morning sun drew around him, a small puff of cold air emitting from where his mouth had just spoken.

you felt relief wash over you as you smiled back at him, but that quickly became replaced with anxiousness as you glanced back down at the second brown bakery bag you were holding at your side.

as you approached him, his drink was already open and he was taking a sip, “sorry, i already got my drink. i know i usually let you get yours first but–”

“for you,” you cut him off, holding out the bag of custard bread, “... if you haven’t eaten breakfast already, that is.”

for a moment, akaashi stood there stunned, his can frozen in the air by his mouth. you felt yourself try to retreat into the warmth of your winter scarf, starting to regret this attempt at forming some kind of bond with the man. why would he take random food from a stranger anyway? what were you thinking?

you start to trip over your words, eyes darting everywhere to avoid his, “it’s custard bread, from– from that shop i mentioned earlier this week? i think it’s the best thing they have there and there was one left on the shelf today and i thought you might like to try it! i mean you don’t have to take it, i can just save it for later and–”

“i haven’t had breakfast yet today, actually,” akaashi finally admits. when you look back at him, he’s smiling at you as he takes the bag from your hands. your hands slightly brush and you quickly shove yours in your jacket pocket. ‘is the sun sunnier today? it feels warmer, when does spring start again?’

“thank you, l/n-san,” he says, rustling with the brown paper bag–opening it much neater than you ever do, actually–and taking the bread out.

“it’s no problem, akaashi-san,” you return with a grin, happy he appreciated your gesture. you proceed to pay and retrieve your warm coffee for the morning, as he takes bites from his bread and comments on about how good it is. you’re about to hum in agreement when–

woosh!

it’s the much louder hum of the train. you’re both late to your jobs, again. 

“the train,” akaashi mumbles through the last piece of bread that sticks out of his mouth, dramatically rolling his eyes, and you can’t help but laugh a bit at his reaction. he crumples up the brown paper and sets his sights on the trashcan beside you and next to the drink machine. it’s a little bit of a ways off but from his spot, he tosses it past you toward the trash can. and to your surprise, it actually makes it in.

despite how mundane the little trick was, as he goes to turn toward the road he disappears to when he leaves you in the mornings, you think to yourself, ‘how cool.’

“sorry for making us late again!” you call after him before he fully rounds the corner.

you see as he finishes the last of the custard bread and shakes his head, turning to you as he walks backwards, “don’t worry about it, thanks for breakfast l/n-san, and don’t forget about yours too!”

he lifts his can, first gesturing to the untouched croissant bag in your hand, then up at you. you hurriedly crack open the can in your hands to return the gesture with a nod. once he’s gone, you’re left with you, your chocolate croissant, and your reflection in the window of of the vending machine–a dopey smile on your face.

،   クラ   ✧   ック   🌱 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 ...

friday. it’s been a week since you and akaashi broke the drink machine, and you’re astonished at how quickly you’ve grown attached to the cold-latte-drinker. god, maybe you really are that lonely.

‘but a friend is definitely a good thing’, you reason with yourself. it’s made getting up in the morning a little bit easier, knowing you get rewarded with a little chat in addition to your daily caffeine fix.

this morning, akaashi is there at the machine before you–again. 

as you walk up, you take a glance at the time on your phone. you’re definitely not late... did he get there earlier?

“morning,” he greets you, and you notice his hands were both shoved in his coat pockets.

“morning!” you quickly get a hold of your wallet to get your drink, so that he could finally get his, “did you not get your drink yet? you really didn’t have to wait for me, i didn’t even mind when you got yours before i arrived yesterday, seriously–”

“here.”

you turn to see akaahi’s hand has come out of his tan coat’s pocket, and is extending out a canned latte at you. you glance at him briefly, and he’s chewing on his bottom lip slightly in what you suppose is impatience–or could it be a bit of nervousness?

you reach out and take hold of the can. it’s warm.

“what about you? did you not get your drink yet–?”

“yeah, i did. see?” he brings an identical can out from his other pocket. you go to touch that one. that one is cold. of course.

you smile up at him and take your warm can for the morning and you both crack them open at the same time, taking a sip at the same time, too.

“it’s for thinking about me when you were getting breakfast yesterday,” akaashi explains, “so now we’re even.”

you shake your head politely with a little laugh, “there was no need to get even, akaashi-san, i just–”

“keiji.”

darting your head towards him, you watch as he fidgets with the aluminum tab of his can. a small smile on his lips, he repeats, “keiji. you can call me keiji, if you want, that is.”

you grip onto your can a bit tighter to feel its warmth, maybe in an attempt to distract you from the warmth fluttering around in your chest,

“y/n. if you want to, as well.”

then the train blares past, but only the sound of keiji’s name echoes in your head.

“i guess that’s our cue,” keiji says after the sound of the train fades away, and you happily nod. you two part, drinks in hand.

you wave back at him, “see you later– keiji!” saying his name felt like cotton filled your mouth, but it was cotton candy that lingered on the tip of your tongue.

“see you, y/n!”

maybe making new friends was as hard as you first thought when you moved here.

،   ああ   ✧   ああ   🌱 𝗮𝗵𝗵𝗵𝗵 ... 

it’s your last task before closing up and getting out of work for the week: taking out the trash.

usually you don’t have the unceremonious duty to fill up the dumpster out back behind the restaurant, but the old couple who owns it have noticed you’ve suddenly started to turn up late for work the past few days. 

you haven’t had the courage to admit that it was because you were so caught up befriending that same guy from the drink machine on monday, so you’ve taken up your trashy assignment quietly and without protest. 

it was only fair to the old couple, you already knew how much they do to take care of the establishment when it was just you three running it every day.

you reach down under the counter to empty out your little cashier trash can, when you catch a glimpse of the brown bakery paper that was once wrapped around the croissant you ate that morning.

funny, you’ve never had to spot it in this trashcan before, accompanying the empty can of your morning drink in there as well.

‘oh... that’s right.’

this morning you didn’t follow your usual routine of eating the bread first so you can throw it into the garbage at the vending machine. no, you were too busy talking to akaashi–or, keiji that you had to eat your breakfast on the route from the drink machine to work, instead.

the subtle change in your routine felt... different, in a way. 

but maybe different was something you needed in your life.

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