Fanfiction: Cardboard Cups - Part I
Fanfiction: Cardboard Cups - Part I
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Synopsis: By chance or misfortune, luck or some chaotic scheme against them both, they meet.
Genre: Slice of Life/Cafe Story
Pairing: ZukaFuji (and other couples if you squint)
Rating: PG-13 (maybe higher later)
Word Count: 1825
Warnings: None in this chapter
Disclaimer: Don't own it. But I want it.
Dedication: cleverlilwill, my dearest beta and friend, of whom without I would have never started writing ZukaFuji. ♥
Part One
"The spring of ice is growing clearer in silent storms of entropy"
- Wolfsheim, Entropy
Timeless was a tiny cafe hitched oddly at the corner of two busy streets. People usually overlooked it in an effort of finding their way to their destination, without taking the time to slow down, look around at their surroundings, and notice the small shop. With three stone steps leading toward its dark wooden entryway and its classy yet minimalist decor, Timeless faded into the background of the much busier, much brighter Tokyo lights.
The coffeeshop had been all but deserted by the inhabitants of the city. But sometimes (especially during rush hours) it stuck out like a sore thumb - in a good way. People walked by it with a curious eye and were lured in with the rich smell of coffee. If it was particularly early, the cafe would also fill the corner with the sweet scent of something baking. The delicious aroma would float down the forked path and bring potential customers in its wake.
Business was okay. It wasn't great, it wasn't ideal, but it was okay. And sometimes 'okay' was 'enough'.
The few frequent customers liked the smallness of it all, opting it over the larger, busier shops or even the cafe chains that lined the city (sometimes across the street from one another). It was quiet for the most part with the occasional outburst that was normal in life. Most of the time they were charmed by Oishi Syuuichiroh, the owner, who worked hard to keep the business afloat without sacrificing its natural appeal.
Fuji Syuusuke, on the other hand, had just thought it was funny where Timeless was located. The only reason he'd walked in two years ago was due to the main entrance facing the pole that named the streets where they intersected, as if to say "walk this way or that way" without the option of walking straight into the cafe. And since he was now wiping the counter top with a wet rag at seven-thirty in the morning, he had clearly taken "option unknown" and stuck with it.
Just because the job was quiet didn't make it uninteresting. On the contrary, the frequent customers were class acts of their own right (they'd have to be if they noticed tiny coffeeshops). And Fuji always got a kick out of watching people stare up at the shop window, mouth the word Timeless, then look around puzzled like "Was this here all this time?" He and Eiji often made bets to see who would come in and who wouldn't. Like now.
"That one." Eiji pointed to a mother with a son in tow, eating a crepe.
"You're just saying that because you want his food."
Eiji pouted. "That's not true, I wouldn't steal food from a little kid... but you think Oishi'll let us make crepes?"
A few more people passed and the subject was dropped, even though Eiji's stomach was now growling audibly. They stared from their positions at the counter again, Eiji leaning on the outside as if he was a customer and not a paid employee and Fuji behind it, rapping his fingers on the wood.
"Ugh... they'll never come in." Eiji stretched like a cat and flipped around so he was looking at Fuji upside down, the back of his head on the wooden countertop. "Wanna try and make crepes now?"
"That one."
"What?" Eiji shot up to catch what Fuji saw. A small crowd had formed while waiting for the light to change. "Wait, which one?"
"The one in the suit." Fuji pointed. "That one right there."
"Fujiko... it's almost half-past eight in the morning. They're all in suits. Can we make crepes now?"
"The one with the glasses..."
"Eh? How do you even see that? He's facing the other way." He rolled his eyes. Fuji returned the favor when the man in target turned profile, revealing the thin frame of his -
"Glasses."
Eiji tutted and found a seat on the counter top. "He's probably heading to work. Some job where they have a coffee shop inside the building that he swears by." When Fuji didn't answer, Eiji groaned. "He's not even looking over here!"
"Care to make a wager?"
Eiji's eyes grew as large as saucers. "Oho, nuh-uh! I'm not betting against you! It's scary when you bet."
"When have I ever been scary?"
Eiji's deadpan look was enough to make Fuji withhold a chuckle.
"Scary things happen when you bet." He slowly repeated, his voice flattening to a stage whisper.
"But," Fuji pinched Eiji's nose just to hear him yip. "If you think he won't come in, you'll get 1000 yen out of it."
Eiji twisted his lips in thought before shaking on it. "Okay, you're on."
In retrospect, Eiji had known it was a bad idea to bet against Fuji. He had said it himself. Scary things just happen when 'chance' and 'Fuji' were in the same sentence. It was a law of nature: Matter could neither be created nor destroyed. E = MC^2. And Fuji was the walking definition of entropy. Order simply shattered in his presence.
So his jaw shouldn't have dropped as low as it did when the man at the light prepared to step onto the crosswalk and was splashed from head to toe by an oncoming car zooming through a puddle. Fuji, the ever helpful friend, set his jaw back in place as the bell over the door signaled a new visitor.
"Fuji..." Eiji waved at the visitor with a clenched smile. "It's not even raining..."
Fuji waved as well, seemingly unaffected. "Things happen."
The man stormed in and whipped his glasses off to clean the lenses, only to find his lavender handkerchief was soaked through. He sighed, looked at the two men by the counter, shook his head, and found a seat at a table where he proceeded to pull out his cellphone.
"You were right." Eiji huffed, patting his empty pockets. "Can I just buy you a bag of apples and we'll call it even? Fuji? ....Fuji?"
Fuji glanced at the clock before looking back at the man again. Eight-Thirty...
***
For a man who had devoted his life to structure and order, today was not going as Tezuka had planned.
The horror story had started early when his alarm hadn't gone off. Fine, he had another that rang five minutes after just in case the first didn't. But those precious five minutes had delayed everything else he usually did, from listening to the morning weather report to catching the right train on time. His life wasn't completely scheduled, far from it. Yet the value of preparedness, of not being careless...
And now a sick feeling had risen from the pit of his stomach as he got off the phone with his boss, who's anger boiled not because Tezuka would be late. But the fact that he would be late today was the issue. The architectural firm had been planning a big promotion, a merger with an elite engineering company. His boss had hoped Tezuka would be the liaison between their business and the young CEO and VP of the other. But with less than fifteen minutes to get there and a suit half stained in rain water (had it rained?), his boss' hopes were dashed and Tezuka was stuck with wet socks. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to tune in/tune out as much of his boss' disappointment ringing in his ears. The day had barely begun. Could it get any worse?
The sound of china tinkling on wood jogged him from his momentary woes. Someone had put a cup of simmering hot chocolate on his table. And that someone's back was to him while meeting his friend at the counter who kept saying "Fuji, what are you doing? What are you doing, Fujiko-chan? Oi! Oi! Hey!' before bouncing off and following 'Fujiko' through a door marked 'Employees Only'.
Cinnamon brown eyes flickered back to the chocolate. And then back to the door that was still swinging after the two friends had exited. And then back to the chocolate. He was met with the familiar scent of cocoa and something foreign in between. Tentatively, he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the mug and took a sip. Warmth spread through him, followed by the slow burn of the chocolate down his throat. And right at the end came the shock of something peppery against his tongue.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at the cup as if it was at fault. Was that chili pepper he was tasting? Another sip confirmed his initial conclusion as the pepper attacked his tongue again. Though this time he was prepared for it, the sweetness at the beginning and the bite at the end mingling into one blended sensation that made him take a third sip. And a fourth. By the time he lost count, the tiny china cup was devoid of its delicious contents and the knot that had been forming between his shoulder blades loosened underneath his white button down.
Considerably warmer and a little drier, Tezuka's eyes steadily moved back to the 'Employees Only' door. With the exception of a new clerk at the register, stillness answered.
Whoever the barista was, there was a good chance he wasn't working at the cafe for free. Tezuka pulled out his wallet, filed through a few bills, and was ready to drop them on the table when he noticed the tiny slip of paper sticking out from under the saucer. Unfolding it, the corners of his mouth twitched as he read the note written in tight, fluid characters that slanted just so to the left.
Keep your change
"Hn..." Tezuka placed the cup back on the saucer and stuck his money back into his wallet, not knowing the note had snuck its way there as well.
***
Carrying a clipboard, Oishi checked off the last of the morning stock. They had just got a shipment in of new china and tiny milk pots that had required his utmost attention. Beaming, he headed out of the stock room and toward the cafe to tell his workers the good news.
He didn't have to walk far. Eiji was standing on the other side of the 'Employees Only' door on tip toe. Every so often, he glimpsed into the cafe then scuttled away from the circular window.
"Eiji, why are you standing at the door? Someone could swing it open and you could get hurt and -" His maternal tirade ended when he noticed Fuji was there as well, sitting on a file cabinet. Which was equally unsafe, but something else bothered him. "...Why aren't you two outside, doing your job?"
"Shh, he might hear you!" Eiji flapped his arms behind him to shush the manager.
"Who might hear me? What's going on?"
"Doesn't matter, he's gone." A quick look just in case and Eiji got off his toes to look back at Fuji. "Think he'll come back?"
Fuji slid off the cabinet and headed back toward the cafe, a small smile toying with his mouth. "I think he's my new Eight-Thirty."
***
Author's Notes:
PHEW! That was the longest ZukaFuji I've ever written and it's only going to get longer. It's been years since I wrote a multichapter fic (the last one I completed I was in the 10th grade) so I hope I didn't disappoint!
Timeless comes from a song of the same name sung by various people. My favorite rendition is by Zhang Li Yin ft. Xiah Junsu of DBSK. I like the song (I love it actually as well as the two Super Junior actors in it) but for two days I couldn't think of a name for the cafe. In that space of time, cleverlilwill used the phrase Timeless...Love about thirty (nah, more like four) times around me. It stuck. It fit. It's just not a word you use in everyday conversation, so I liked it.
That being said I hope you all enjoyed it ♥
Part II//I can see it in your eyes. So why don't you do something?
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Synopsis: By chance or misfortune, luck or some chaotic scheme against them both, they meet.
Genre: Slice of Life/Cafe Story
Pairing: ZukaFuji (and other couples if you squint)
Rating: PG-13 (maybe higher later)
Word Count: 1825
Warnings: None in this chapter
Disclaimer: Don't own it. But I want it.
Dedication: cleverlilwill, my dearest beta and friend, of whom without I would have never started writing ZukaFuji. ♥
Part One
"The spring of ice is growing clearer in silent storms of entropy"
- Wolfsheim, Entropy
Timeless was a tiny cafe hitched oddly at the corner of two busy streets. People usually overlooked it in an effort of finding their way to their destination, without taking the time to slow down, look around at their surroundings, and notice the small shop. With three stone steps leading toward its dark wooden entryway and its classy yet minimalist decor, Timeless faded into the background of the much busier, much brighter Tokyo lights.
The coffeeshop had been all but deserted by the inhabitants of the city. But sometimes (especially during rush hours) it stuck out like a sore thumb - in a good way. People walked by it with a curious eye and were lured in with the rich smell of coffee. If it was particularly early, the cafe would also fill the corner with the sweet scent of something baking. The delicious aroma would float down the forked path and bring potential customers in its wake.
Business was okay. It wasn't great, it wasn't ideal, but it was okay. And sometimes 'okay' was 'enough'.
The few frequent customers liked the smallness of it all, opting it over the larger, busier shops or even the cafe chains that lined the city (sometimes across the street from one another). It was quiet for the most part with the occasional outburst that was normal in life. Most of the time they were charmed by Oishi Syuuichiroh, the owner, who worked hard to keep the business afloat without sacrificing its natural appeal.
Fuji Syuusuke, on the other hand, had just thought it was funny where Timeless was located. The only reason he'd walked in two years ago was due to the main entrance facing the pole that named the streets where they intersected, as if to say "walk this way or that way" without the option of walking straight into the cafe. And since he was now wiping the counter top with a wet rag at seven-thirty in the morning, he had clearly taken "option unknown" and stuck with it.
Just because the job was quiet didn't make it uninteresting. On the contrary, the frequent customers were class acts of their own right (they'd have to be if they noticed tiny coffeeshops). And Fuji always got a kick out of watching people stare up at the shop window, mouth the word Timeless, then look around puzzled like "Was this here all this time?" He and Eiji often made bets to see who would come in and who wouldn't. Like now.
"That one." Eiji pointed to a mother with a son in tow, eating a crepe.
"You're just saying that because you want his food."
Eiji pouted. "That's not true, I wouldn't steal food from a little kid... but you think Oishi'll let us make crepes?"
A few more people passed and the subject was dropped, even though Eiji's stomach was now growling audibly. They stared from their positions at the counter again, Eiji leaning on the outside as if he was a customer and not a paid employee and Fuji behind it, rapping his fingers on the wood.
"Ugh... they'll never come in." Eiji stretched like a cat and flipped around so he was looking at Fuji upside down, the back of his head on the wooden countertop. "Wanna try and make crepes now?"
"That one."
"What?" Eiji shot up to catch what Fuji saw. A small crowd had formed while waiting for the light to change. "Wait, which one?"
"The one in the suit." Fuji pointed. "That one right there."
"Fujiko... it's almost half-past eight in the morning. They're all in suits. Can we make crepes now?"
"The one with the glasses..."
"Eh? How do you even see that? He's facing the other way." He rolled his eyes. Fuji returned the favor when the man in target turned profile, revealing the thin frame of his -
"Glasses."
Eiji tutted and found a seat on the counter top. "He's probably heading to work. Some job where they have a coffee shop inside the building that he swears by." When Fuji didn't answer, Eiji groaned. "He's not even looking over here!"
"Care to make a wager?"
Eiji's eyes grew as large as saucers. "Oho, nuh-uh! I'm not betting against you! It's scary when you bet."
"When have I ever been scary?"
Eiji's deadpan look was enough to make Fuji withhold a chuckle.
"Scary things happen when you bet." He slowly repeated, his voice flattening to a stage whisper.
"But," Fuji pinched Eiji's nose just to hear him yip. "If you think he won't come in, you'll get 1000 yen out of it."
Eiji twisted his lips in thought before shaking on it. "Okay, you're on."
In retrospect, Eiji had known it was a bad idea to bet against Fuji. He had said it himself. Scary things just happen when 'chance' and 'Fuji' were in the same sentence. It was a law of nature: Matter could neither be created nor destroyed. E = MC^2. And Fuji was the walking definition of entropy. Order simply shattered in his presence.
So his jaw shouldn't have dropped as low as it did when the man at the light prepared to step onto the crosswalk and was splashed from head to toe by an oncoming car zooming through a puddle. Fuji, the ever helpful friend, set his jaw back in place as the bell over the door signaled a new visitor.
"Fuji..." Eiji waved at the visitor with a clenched smile. "It's not even raining..."
Fuji waved as well, seemingly unaffected. "Things happen."
The man stormed in and whipped his glasses off to clean the lenses, only to find his lavender handkerchief was soaked through. He sighed, looked at the two men by the counter, shook his head, and found a seat at a table where he proceeded to pull out his cellphone.
"You were right." Eiji huffed, patting his empty pockets. "Can I just buy you a bag of apples and we'll call it even? Fuji? ....Fuji?"
Fuji glanced at the clock before looking back at the man again. Eight-Thirty...
***
For a man who had devoted his life to structure and order, today was not going as Tezuka had planned.
The horror story had started early when his alarm hadn't gone off. Fine, he had another that rang five minutes after just in case the first didn't. But those precious five minutes had delayed everything else he usually did, from listening to the morning weather report to catching the right train on time. His life wasn't completely scheduled, far from it. Yet the value of preparedness, of not being careless...
And now a sick feeling had risen from the pit of his stomach as he got off the phone with his boss, who's anger boiled not because Tezuka would be late. But the fact that he would be late today was the issue. The architectural firm had been planning a big promotion, a merger with an elite engineering company. His boss had hoped Tezuka would be the liaison between their business and the young CEO and VP of the other. But with less than fifteen minutes to get there and a suit half stained in rain water (had it rained?), his boss' hopes were dashed and Tezuka was stuck with wet socks. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to tune in/tune out as much of his boss' disappointment ringing in his ears. The day had barely begun. Could it get any worse?
The sound of china tinkling on wood jogged him from his momentary woes. Someone had put a cup of simmering hot chocolate on his table. And that someone's back was to him while meeting his friend at the counter who kept saying "Fuji, what are you doing? What are you doing, Fujiko-chan? Oi! Oi! Hey!' before bouncing off and following 'Fujiko' through a door marked 'Employees Only'.
Cinnamon brown eyes flickered back to the chocolate. And then back to the door that was still swinging after the two friends had exited. And then back to the chocolate. He was met with the familiar scent of cocoa and something foreign in between. Tentatively, he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the mug and took a sip. Warmth spread through him, followed by the slow burn of the chocolate down his throat. And right at the end came the shock of something peppery against his tongue.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at the cup as if it was at fault. Was that chili pepper he was tasting? Another sip confirmed his initial conclusion as the pepper attacked his tongue again. Though this time he was prepared for it, the sweetness at the beginning and the bite at the end mingling into one blended sensation that made him take a third sip. And a fourth. By the time he lost count, the tiny china cup was devoid of its delicious contents and the knot that had been forming between his shoulder blades loosened underneath his white button down.
Considerably warmer and a little drier, Tezuka's eyes steadily moved back to the 'Employees Only' door. With the exception of a new clerk at the register, stillness answered.
Whoever the barista was, there was a good chance he wasn't working at the cafe for free. Tezuka pulled out his wallet, filed through a few bills, and was ready to drop them on the table when he noticed the tiny slip of paper sticking out from under the saucer. Unfolding it, the corners of his mouth twitched as he read the note written in tight, fluid characters that slanted just so to the left.
Keep your change
"Hn..." Tezuka placed the cup back on the saucer and stuck his money back into his wallet, not knowing the note had snuck its way there as well.
***
Carrying a clipboard, Oishi checked off the last of the morning stock. They had just got a shipment in of new china and tiny milk pots that had required his utmost attention. Beaming, he headed out of the stock room and toward the cafe to tell his workers the good news.
He didn't have to walk far. Eiji was standing on the other side of the 'Employees Only' door on tip toe. Every so often, he glimpsed into the cafe then scuttled away from the circular window.
"Eiji, why are you standing at the door? Someone could swing it open and you could get hurt and -" His maternal tirade ended when he noticed Fuji was there as well, sitting on a file cabinet. Which was equally unsafe, but something else bothered him. "...Why aren't you two outside, doing your job?"
"Shh, he might hear you!" Eiji flapped his arms behind him to shush the manager.
"Who might hear me? What's going on?"
"Doesn't matter, he's gone." A quick look just in case and Eiji got off his toes to look back at Fuji. "Think he'll come back?"
Fuji slid off the cabinet and headed back toward the cafe, a small smile toying with his mouth. "I think he's my new Eight-Thirty."
***
Author's Notes:
PHEW! That was the longest ZukaFuji I've ever written and it's only going to get longer. It's been years since I wrote a multichapter fic (the last one I completed I was in the 10th grade) so I hope I didn't disappoint!
Timeless comes from a song of the same name sung by various people. My favorite rendition is by Zhang Li Yin ft. Xiah Junsu of DBSK. I like the song (I love it actually as well as the two Super Junior actors in it) but for two days I couldn't think of a name for the cafe. In that space of time, cleverlilwill used the phrase Timeless...Love about thirty (nah, more like four) times around me. It stuck. It fit. It's just not a word you use in everyday conversation, so I liked it.
That being said I hope you all enjoyed it ♥
Part II//I can see it in your eyes. So why don't you do something?