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A Tale of Two Cups of Coffee--Taken Black;
Title: A Tale of Two Cups of Coffee—Taken Black
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Magoichi, Mitsunari, Mitsunari/Magoichi also Gakuto thematchmaker barista
Fandom: Sengoku BASARA, AU
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: SILLINESS
Summary: They ordered the same thing, the first time they walked in, and that’s what Gakuto noticed.
Dedication: To my darling Gabe. c: My Magoichi, the sanity in my day and one of the hardest workers I know. Love you, sweetie. <3
A Tale of Two Cups of Coffee—Taken Black
When Magoichi first walked into the coffee shop, the first thing the barista noticed was that she was smoking hot. The second thing he noticed was that he was staring, and not at her face.
“Can I help you with anything?” he stammered, flushing. The look she pinned him with stated that she knew exactly where he had been looking.
“A coffee is fine. Black.”
He hastily bowed his head and hurried off to get her her coffee, but as she walked off with coffee in hand, he called out, “Hey, are you taken?”
She closed the door behind her with a thunk.
--
Gakuto enjoyed getting to know his regulars; it made his job very boring if he did not.
And so, the third time the stern, sharply dressed white-haired man came in, the barista tried to strike up a conversation.
“Uh—hey! What can I get for you?”
The man leveled a sharp gaze on him and stated, “A simple black coffee is acceptable.”
“One coffee, coming up!” Gakuto responded cheerfully. As he grabbed for a cup he added, “Hey. So, what’s your name?”
The man arched an elegant eyebrow at that. “That is no business of yours.”
Thus subdued, Gakuto offered the cup and watched him go with a sigh.
“Geeze…”
--
Magoichi was one of his more dependable regulars, after that first awkward bad impression. To this day he didn’t know why she had still come back, but he had no complaints.
She was a good conversationalist too, he found—when she came in one morning with tousled hair and a yawn, he offered her the cup of coffee (black) and blinked.
“What’s up?”
She stopped mid-yawn to glance him over. Then she took a drink of her coffee, chuckled, and answered, “Trouble with the yakuza.”
Then she sauntered out the door with a jaunty wave, leaving him gaping.
--
The man was a pricklier case, but Gakuto was nothing if not persistent.
“Can I have a name, please?” he stated calmly.
“A name?” the man questioned, brow furrowing (and Gakuto noted he was as sharply dressed as always. A businessman?).
“For your coffee,” Gakuto answered quickly, and that seemed to be satisfactory, for an answer came.
“Mitsunari.”
Gakuto grinned brightly and handed over the coffee with a chirped, “Here you go, Mitsunari!”
It was only then that Mitsunari realized he was the only one in the shop—the barista hadn’t needed his name for the coffee at all.
Mitsunari narrowed his eyes and stalked off in a huff.
--
“You’re tough as nails, Magoichi,” Gakuto stated admiringly as he handed over her coffee, leaning on the counter.
She chuckled and stated, “Flattery will get you nowhere, barista”, but he was quick to lift up his hands in surrender.
“No, no. I’ve already accepted that you’re way out of my league.”
She merely “hmm”d at that and left him a generous tip, and Gakuto stared at it blankly long after she’d left.
“Geeze…” he sighed. “She sure does know how to play with a guy’s heart.”
--
“You’re always so busy, Mitsunari,” Gakuto sighed. “C’mon, sit down, stay awhile.”
Mitsunari accepted his coffee with a quietly arched eyebrow. “I do not have time. There is work to be done.”
Gakuto withheld Mitsunari’s change for a moment, tapping his fingers on the counter.
“Can’t you work here?” he finally asked.
“What?” Mitsunari frowned.
“Come on!” Gakuto finally slid Mitsunari’s change across the counter. “You’ve got a laptop, don’t you? It’s quiet at this time of night.”
Mitsunari hesitated, hand hovering over his change.
And then he sighed, grabbed the change and his coffee and wandered over to a table.
“Don’t bother me, barista,” he muttered in answer.
Gakuto grinned and pondered what he should ask his client first.
--
Gakuto looked up at the door opening to greet whoever had come in and had to doubletake.
Magoichi was an expected regular by now—so was Mitsunari.
Mitsunari and Magoichi together, however, made him stare.
He was still staring when they walked up together and Mitsunari ordered—for the both of them.
“Two black coffees.”
Gakuto blinked.
“Barista. What is wrong with you today?” Mitsunari frowned at him disapprovingly.
“You two know each other?” he strangled out.
Mitsunari and Magoichi exchanged a glance.
“We are acquaintances, yes,” Magoichi answered in some amusement.
“You are wasting out time, barista,” Mitsunari snapped before he could respond. “Our coffee?”
“Ah. Right.” Gakuto rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. This one’s on me, okay?”
The two exchanged another glance. And then, reluctantly, Mitsunari shook his head.
“I will pay.” And in responde to the unanswered questions, he added awkwardly, “I owe Magoichi a coffee.”
She just smiled, and as Gakuto got their coffee, he thought there must be quite the story there.
--
Things changed ever so slightly. Mitsunari and Magoichi started coming together at least once a week, though the other days they came separately, as Gakuto was more used to.
But he liked this better, with some thought. They stayed longer, sitting at a table and discussing something or other—business or quantum physics or who even knew. He wouldn’t put anything past them at this point.
He kept up his dialogues with them when they visited separately. When they visited together, he smiled and observed like a proud parent.
And he observed.
And he observed.
And when, two months later, nothing had changed, Gakuto decided to confront Mitsunari as to why he hadn’t made a move on such a beautiful woman yet, especially as she clearly liked him back (or she would have elbowed him in the face for occasionally making her pay for the coffee, he rather thought).
--
“So…” Gakuto began as he slowly filled the coffee cup. He paused, focusing on the coffee.
Mitsunari blinked. “Spit it out, barista.”
Gakuto quietly handed over the full cup, pondering for a moment longer, and then he stated quickly, “What do you think of Magoichi?”
Mitsunari choked on his coffee.
Gakuto just reached for a napkin and handed it over, looking at his expectantly. “Well?”
“I don’t see what business this is of yours,” Mitsunari muttered sullenly, focused on the napkin.
“It’s my business because I made it my business,” Gakuto responded airily. “Well?”
“You are persistent,” Mitsunari continued, eyeing him. “You would make for a good consultant.”
“I will take that as a complement,” Gakuto said, taking back the napkin and tossing it into the trash.
Mitsunari watched him, finally responding slowly, “Why do you ask…”
And Gakuto responded quite bluntly, “Because if you don’t make a move, someone else will, and then your little coffee breaks won’t mean anything at all.”
Mitsunari spluttered more, eventually stalking out of the coffee shop, and Gakuto sighed, leaning against the counter. “So that’s how it is, huh…”
He was interested to see what would happen now, that was for sure.
--
The next he saw of them, it was Magoichi alone. Gakuto blinked at her as she strode up to the counter and stated calmly, “What did you say to him?”
Gakuto blinked again.
And then his mind connected the pieces and he gave a quiet ‘oh’.
He hesitated.
And then he responded, “Are you going to kill me?”
Magoichi stared at him, arching an eyebrow slowly, and Gakuto spilled. “I told him that if he didn’t make a move someone else would, since you’re just such an amazing woman and I—“
He stopped.
Turned.
Slowly started to make a coffee so that he would shut up.
He only turned back to the sound of Magoichi’s laughter.
“Thank you, Gakuto,” she said, laying the money for her coffee on the table and leaning over to pluck it out of his hand.
He blinked, staring at her as she walked out.
It was the first time she had called him by name, though he had always worn his nametag as his job demanded.
And he had an idea of what she was thanking him for.
And he laughed, slowly putting the money away.
“Mitsunari better hurry up and get in here…”
--
Mitsunari did not, in fact, hurry up and get in there. While he was a man of schedules and generally showed up every single day either before or after work, right on the hour, he did not appear for three days.
Which was a little unnerving for Gakuto.
So when the white-haired man stepped into the shop one early morning, Gakuto turned, stared at him and pointed. “You! Where have you been?”
Mitsunari was startled at the display so early in the morning, and it showed on his face. But he recovered quickly. “I have been busy. It is not my job to be here.”
“Aw, come on, Mitsunari,” Gakuto responded, reaching for a coffee cup. “You’re the most dependable guy I know when it comes to your schedule. What’s up?”
Mitsunari arched an eyebrow.
“If you must know, I was away on a short business trip.”
Ah…so he was a businessman. Gakuto blinked, asking curiously, “What do you do?”
Mitsunari fixed an eye on the barista, and Gakuto shrugged sheepishly. “You can’t blame me for being curious, right? I mean, you know what I do.”
Mitsunari huffed, but conceded that point. “I work for the Toyotomi corporation currently.”
His “currently” had the sound of “for the rest of my life and possibly beyond that”, but Gakuto just nodded. Everyone knew the Toyotomi corporation—it was a very prestigious business headed by two very powerful men. That Mitsunari worked there was not as surprising as it perhaps could have been; he was that sort of hard-working guy.
“What a job…” Gakuto sighed as he reflected on that, offering Mitsunari his usual coffee.
Mitsunari just gave him an oddly evaluating look. And then he turned and walked out, leaving the precise change on the counter.
It was only after he’d left that Gakuto realized he’d forgotten to grind him for details about the date.
“Dammit!”
--
But they came together the next day, and so Gakuto figured it couldn’t have gone too poorly.
They weren’t outwardly any different in their interactions, he thought with a tilt of his head—
Until they moved to leave.
And then Gakuto spied the tell-tale intertwining of fingers beneath coat sleeves, and he grinned as the door shut behind them.
Success.
--
The next time Mitsunari came for coffee, Gakuto stated calmly, “I’d better get an invitation to the wedding.”
Mitsunari choked on his coffee again, getting the liquid all over his counter, and Gakuto reminded himself to not bring up anything quite so volatile again when Mitsunari was drinking.
--
Magoichi took it better.
Sort of.
And by better, she stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before awkwardly hurrying out of the coffee shop.
Gakuto thought he was definitely onto something here.
--
And then he didn’t see either of them for two weeks.
It felt silly to pine away over customers, but they were…well! They were his friends now, weren’t they?
So Gakuto cleaned the counter for the fifth time that morning and sighed, normally cheery disposition a little dampened.
--
His tone was dull the next day when he said, “Welcome” to whoever had opened the door. It was the warm, amused tone of Magoichi when she responded, “My, is that any way to greet a regular customer?”
It was only after he’d hugged her that he realized that probably broke some sort of propriety rule, but he didn’t care—or so he told himself as he cleared his throat and stepped back to duck around the counter and grab the coffee cup.
She just laughed, tilting her head. “That’s a better welcome.”
He just gave her her coffee and said very, very seriously, “Don’t tell Mitsunari that I did that. I would like to live to see my 23rd birthday.”
Magoichi was laughing as she walked out the door.
--
It wasn’t a wedding invitation that Mitsunari came with, a few days later.
Gakuto blinked at him as he stepped in, but seeing who it was, he grinned cheerfully.
“Hey--! It’s been ages, Mitsunari! Another business trip?”
Mitsunari blinked, but then he shook his head simply. “No, I have merely been busy.”
“Oh.” Gakuto blinked, trying to not let it get him down. He was just a barista! It wasn’t like he was a seriously important part of someone as busy as Mitsunari’s day.
He silently went to grab a coffee cup, but Mitsunari just stated calmly, “I don’t need anything today. I came to give something to you.”
Gakuto blinked, turning back, curiosity overriding the hurt for a moment.
Mitsunari just slid the paperwork across the counter, answering Gakuto’s confused look with, “If you fill that out, you will have a new career. A career, not a simple job.”
Gakuto blinked again. And again, slowly grabbing the papers. Sure enough, they bore the crest of the Toyotomi corporation at the very top.
“You—“
Mitsunari huffed and interrupted. “You will work hard and you will work loyally. I recommended you to Hanbei-san, so…do not disappoint.”
Gakuto blinked again.
And then he grinned. “Ha…! You know me. Dependable, right?”
Mitsunari just arched that familiar eyebrow, and Gakuto laughed more. “I thought you were bringing a wedding invitation for a moment.”
And, flushing and stammering some sort of response, Mitsunari found his way to the door and left.
Gakuto peered at the papers when Mitsunari had gone, looking around the quiet coffee house.
…Ah. What an extraordinary story this was.
And then he went to find a pen.
(Though he was still hoping for wedding invitations, if he worked with Mitsunari, he would know for a fact when they were going to get married, so this worked out just fine.)
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Magoichi, Mitsunari, Mitsunari/Magoichi also Gakuto the
Fandom: Sengoku BASARA, AU
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: SILLINESS
Summary: They ordered the same thing, the first time they walked in, and that’s what Gakuto noticed.
Dedication: To my darling Gabe. c: My Magoichi, the sanity in my day and one of the hardest workers I know. Love you, sweetie. <3
When Magoichi first walked into the coffee shop, the first thing the barista noticed was that she was smoking hot. The second thing he noticed was that he was staring, and not at her face.
“Can I help you with anything?” he stammered, flushing. The look she pinned him with stated that she knew exactly where he had been looking.
“A coffee is fine. Black.”
He hastily bowed his head and hurried off to get her her coffee, but as she walked off with coffee in hand, he called out, “Hey, are you taken?”
She closed the door behind her with a thunk.
--
Gakuto enjoyed getting to know his regulars; it made his job very boring if he did not.
And so, the third time the stern, sharply dressed white-haired man came in, the barista tried to strike up a conversation.
“Uh—hey! What can I get for you?”
The man leveled a sharp gaze on him and stated, “A simple black coffee is acceptable.”
“One coffee, coming up!” Gakuto responded cheerfully. As he grabbed for a cup he added, “Hey. So, what’s your name?”
The man arched an elegant eyebrow at that. “That is no business of yours.”
Thus subdued, Gakuto offered the cup and watched him go with a sigh.
“Geeze…”
--
Magoichi was one of his more dependable regulars, after that first awkward bad impression. To this day he didn’t know why she had still come back, but he had no complaints.
She was a good conversationalist too, he found—when she came in one morning with tousled hair and a yawn, he offered her the cup of coffee (black) and blinked.
“What’s up?”
She stopped mid-yawn to glance him over. Then she took a drink of her coffee, chuckled, and answered, “Trouble with the yakuza.”
Then she sauntered out the door with a jaunty wave, leaving him gaping.
--
The man was a pricklier case, but Gakuto was nothing if not persistent.
“Can I have a name, please?” he stated calmly.
“A name?” the man questioned, brow furrowing (and Gakuto noted he was as sharply dressed as always. A businessman?).
“For your coffee,” Gakuto answered quickly, and that seemed to be satisfactory, for an answer came.
“Mitsunari.”
Gakuto grinned brightly and handed over the coffee with a chirped, “Here you go, Mitsunari!”
It was only then that Mitsunari realized he was the only one in the shop—the barista hadn’t needed his name for the coffee at all.
Mitsunari narrowed his eyes and stalked off in a huff.
--
“You’re tough as nails, Magoichi,” Gakuto stated admiringly as he handed over her coffee, leaning on the counter.
She chuckled and stated, “Flattery will get you nowhere, barista”, but he was quick to lift up his hands in surrender.
“No, no. I’ve already accepted that you’re way out of my league.”
She merely “hmm”d at that and left him a generous tip, and Gakuto stared at it blankly long after she’d left.
“Geeze…” he sighed. “She sure does know how to play with a guy’s heart.”
--
“You’re always so busy, Mitsunari,” Gakuto sighed. “C’mon, sit down, stay awhile.”
Mitsunari accepted his coffee with a quietly arched eyebrow. “I do not have time. There is work to be done.”
Gakuto withheld Mitsunari’s change for a moment, tapping his fingers on the counter.
“Can’t you work here?” he finally asked.
“What?” Mitsunari frowned.
“Come on!” Gakuto finally slid Mitsunari’s change across the counter. “You’ve got a laptop, don’t you? It’s quiet at this time of night.”
Mitsunari hesitated, hand hovering over his change.
And then he sighed, grabbed the change and his coffee and wandered over to a table.
“Don’t bother me, barista,” he muttered in answer.
Gakuto grinned and pondered what he should ask his client first.
--
Gakuto looked up at the door opening to greet whoever had come in and had to doubletake.
Magoichi was an expected regular by now—so was Mitsunari.
Mitsunari and Magoichi together, however, made him stare.
He was still staring when they walked up together and Mitsunari ordered—for the both of them.
“Two black coffees.”
Gakuto blinked.
“Barista. What is wrong with you today?” Mitsunari frowned at him disapprovingly.
“You two know each other?” he strangled out.
Mitsunari and Magoichi exchanged a glance.
“We are acquaintances, yes,” Magoichi answered in some amusement.
“You are wasting out time, barista,” Mitsunari snapped before he could respond. “Our coffee?”
“Ah. Right.” Gakuto rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. This one’s on me, okay?”
The two exchanged another glance. And then, reluctantly, Mitsunari shook his head.
“I will pay.” And in responde to the unanswered questions, he added awkwardly, “I owe Magoichi a coffee.”
She just smiled, and as Gakuto got their coffee, he thought there must be quite the story there.
--
Things changed ever so slightly. Mitsunari and Magoichi started coming together at least once a week, though the other days they came separately, as Gakuto was more used to.
But he liked this better, with some thought. They stayed longer, sitting at a table and discussing something or other—business or quantum physics or who even knew. He wouldn’t put anything past them at this point.
He kept up his dialogues with them when they visited separately. When they visited together, he smiled and observed like a proud parent.
And he observed.
And he observed.
And when, two months later, nothing had changed, Gakuto decided to confront Mitsunari as to why he hadn’t made a move on such a beautiful woman yet, especially as she clearly liked him back (or she would have elbowed him in the face for occasionally making her pay for the coffee, he rather thought).
--
“So…” Gakuto began as he slowly filled the coffee cup. He paused, focusing on the coffee.
Mitsunari blinked. “Spit it out, barista.”
Gakuto quietly handed over the full cup, pondering for a moment longer, and then he stated quickly, “What do you think of Magoichi?”
Mitsunari choked on his coffee.
Gakuto just reached for a napkin and handed it over, looking at his expectantly. “Well?”
“I don’t see what business this is of yours,” Mitsunari muttered sullenly, focused on the napkin.
“It’s my business because I made it my business,” Gakuto responded airily. “Well?”
“You are persistent,” Mitsunari continued, eyeing him. “You would make for a good consultant.”
“I will take that as a complement,” Gakuto said, taking back the napkin and tossing it into the trash.
Mitsunari watched him, finally responding slowly, “Why do you ask…”
And Gakuto responded quite bluntly, “Because if you don’t make a move, someone else will, and then your little coffee breaks won’t mean anything at all.”
Mitsunari spluttered more, eventually stalking out of the coffee shop, and Gakuto sighed, leaning against the counter. “So that’s how it is, huh…”
He was interested to see what would happen now, that was for sure.
--
The next he saw of them, it was Magoichi alone. Gakuto blinked at her as she strode up to the counter and stated calmly, “What did you say to him?”
Gakuto blinked again.
And then his mind connected the pieces and he gave a quiet ‘oh’.
He hesitated.
And then he responded, “Are you going to kill me?”
Magoichi stared at him, arching an eyebrow slowly, and Gakuto spilled. “I told him that if he didn’t make a move someone else would, since you’re just such an amazing woman and I—“
He stopped.
Turned.
Slowly started to make a coffee so that he would shut up.
He only turned back to the sound of Magoichi’s laughter.
“Thank you, Gakuto,” she said, laying the money for her coffee on the table and leaning over to pluck it out of his hand.
He blinked, staring at her as she walked out.
It was the first time she had called him by name, though he had always worn his nametag as his job demanded.
And he had an idea of what she was thanking him for.
And he laughed, slowly putting the money away.
“Mitsunari better hurry up and get in here…”
--
Mitsunari did not, in fact, hurry up and get in there. While he was a man of schedules and generally showed up every single day either before or after work, right on the hour, he did not appear for three days.
Which was a little unnerving for Gakuto.
So when the white-haired man stepped into the shop one early morning, Gakuto turned, stared at him and pointed. “You! Where have you been?”
Mitsunari was startled at the display so early in the morning, and it showed on his face. But he recovered quickly. “I have been busy. It is not my job to be here.”
“Aw, come on, Mitsunari,” Gakuto responded, reaching for a coffee cup. “You’re the most dependable guy I know when it comes to your schedule. What’s up?”
Mitsunari arched an eyebrow.
“If you must know, I was away on a short business trip.”
Ah…so he was a businessman. Gakuto blinked, asking curiously, “What do you do?”
Mitsunari fixed an eye on the barista, and Gakuto shrugged sheepishly. “You can’t blame me for being curious, right? I mean, you know what I do.”
Mitsunari huffed, but conceded that point. “I work for the Toyotomi corporation currently.”
His “currently” had the sound of “for the rest of my life and possibly beyond that”, but Gakuto just nodded. Everyone knew the Toyotomi corporation—it was a very prestigious business headed by two very powerful men. That Mitsunari worked there was not as surprising as it perhaps could have been; he was that sort of hard-working guy.
“What a job…” Gakuto sighed as he reflected on that, offering Mitsunari his usual coffee.
Mitsunari just gave him an oddly evaluating look. And then he turned and walked out, leaving the precise change on the counter.
It was only after he’d left that Gakuto realized he’d forgotten to grind him for details about the date.
“Dammit!”
--
But they came together the next day, and so Gakuto figured it couldn’t have gone too poorly.
They weren’t outwardly any different in their interactions, he thought with a tilt of his head—
Until they moved to leave.
And then Gakuto spied the tell-tale intertwining of fingers beneath coat sleeves, and he grinned as the door shut behind them.
Success.
--
The next time Mitsunari came for coffee, Gakuto stated calmly, “I’d better get an invitation to the wedding.”
Mitsunari choked on his coffee again, getting the liquid all over his counter, and Gakuto reminded himself to not bring up anything quite so volatile again when Mitsunari was drinking.
--
Magoichi took it better.
Sort of.
And by better, she stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before awkwardly hurrying out of the coffee shop.
Gakuto thought he was definitely onto something here.
--
And then he didn’t see either of them for two weeks.
It felt silly to pine away over customers, but they were…well! They were his friends now, weren’t they?
So Gakuto cleaned the counter for the fifth time that morning and sighed, normally cheery disposition a little dampened.
--
His tone was dull the next day when he said, “Welcome” to whoever had opened the door. It was the warm, amused tone of Magoichi when she responded, “My, is that any way to greet a regular customer?”
It was only after he’d hugged her that he realized that probably broke some sort of propriety rule, but he didn’t care—or so he told himself as he cleared his throat and stepped back to duck around the counter and grab the coffee cup.
She just laughed, tilting her head. “That’s a better welcome.”
He just gave her her coffee and said very, very seriously, “Don’t tell Mitsunari that I did that. I would like to live to see my 23rd birthday.”
Magoichi was laughing as she walked out the door.
--
It wasn’t a wedding invitation that Mitsunari came with, a few days later.
Gakuto blinked at him as he stepped in, but seeing who it was, he grinned cheerfully.
“Hey--! It’s been ages, Mitsunari! Another business trip?”
Mitsunari blinked, but then he shook his head simply. “No, I have merely been busy.”
“Oh.” Gakuto blinked, trying to not let it get him down. He was just a barista! It wasn’t like he was a seriously important part of someone as busy as Mitsunari’s day.
He silently went to grab a coffee cup, but Mitsunari just stated calmly, “I don’t need anything today. I came to give something to you.”
Gakuto blinked, turning back, curiosity overriding the hurt for a moment.
Mitsunari just slid the paperwork across the counter, answering Gakuto’s confused look with, “If you fill that out, you will have a new career. A career, not a simple job.”
Gakuto blinked again. And again, slowly grabbing the papers. Sure enough, they bore the crest of the Toyotomi corporation at the very top.
“You—“
Mitsunari huffed and interrupted. “You will work hard and you will work loyally. I recommended you to Hanbei-san, so…do not disappoint.”
Gakuto blinked again.
And then he grinned. “Ha…! You know me. Dependable, right?”
Mitsunari just arched that familiar eyebrow, and Gakuto laughed more. “I thought you were bringing a wedding invitation for a moment.”
And, flushing and stammering some sort of response, Mitsunari found his way to the door and left.
Gakuto peered at the papers when Mitsunari had gone, looking around the quiet coffee house.
…Ah. What an extraordinary story this was.
And then he went to find a pen.
(Though he was still hoping for wedding invitations, if he worked with Mitsunari, he would know for a fact when they were going to get married, so this worked out just fine.)