Affogato
Pairing: MatsumiyaLength: 3,484 words
Genre: Romance, AU
Rating: T
Summary: A man, a barista and a coffee shop. Part 3 of the Coffee Verse. ( Espresso) ( Ristretto)
A/N: 4 months after Ristretto and this is finally done. My affogatto order at St. Marc's Cafe reignited the flames for this fic. lol. Hope this is up to your standards~ Part 3/3! :)
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Nino had almost forgotten about that fateful night in the cafe which happened months ago. Keyword: Almost. Nino watched again as Jun entered the coffee shop with a new man in tow, making Nino sigh in combined disbelief and annoyance. Honestly, he felt put off after not hearing anything from Jun after that night even though he knew he shouldn’t since there was nothing between him and his boss.
The new man matched Jun in height and stature, and watching them walk together felt like watching runway models on a catwalk. Nino heard his co-worker mutter a name with an evident happy tone in his voice upon seeing them walk through the door.
“Good morning!” The man greeted with a bright smile, waving at all the regular customers who he seemed to know-even giving one-armed hugs to the others in the shop. Nino realized that people were calling him ‘Aiba-chan’, showing just how close he can be to everyone else.
“Get to work, Aiba-san.” Nino heard Jun say and watched as the man called ‘Aiba’ made his way back to his boss, laughing. Nino didn’t fail to notice the teasing and the little touches which made him a little bit uncomfortable if he was going to be honest.
Nino also noticed how his boss seemed more relaxed around the tall man. He sighed, getting back to work, “So, who’s that?” He asked, failing to keep his curiosity to himself.
“That’s his best friend and the shop’s interior designer.” Nino heard the man next to him say. “You’re awfully curious.” Nino felt he was being elbowed teasingly.
“Oh-chan, you’re such a child.” Nino commented as he heard his co-worker snicker beside him. He elbowed Ohno back while the other was pouring milk in a coffee order just to annoy him. As usual, the calm man just gently pushed his arm away, muttering a low “Stop it” before walking away, leaving Nino to his coffee making.
Nino chuckled in response, no matter how weird he was, he really enjoyed working with Ohno because the other man never got mad at him and could also always provide him relevant information. They grew closer in the few months that they were left practically running the shop together, they only saw Jun’s associates who gave them directives in the absence of their boss.
From his periphery, he saw and heard the two tall men order their drinks and tried to ignore the burning feeling of someone watching him work. Nino fought the urge to look behind him, knowing full well who was staring him down.
He tried his best to stay out of their way this time around but luck wasn’t on his side when ‘Aiba’ came up to the counter and addressed him directly. “Oh! A newbie!” The man cheerfully observed. Nino finally turned around, coffee orders in hand and gave the man a quick, half-hearted smile. “Nice to meet you, I’m Aiba Masaki.” Aiba grinned.
“You as well.” Nino replied shortly, not bothering to introduce himself as Jun came up right next to Aiba, elbow resting on the counter in a casual manner.
“Nino.” Jun greeted him with an easy smile and Nino hated how a simple greeting after a few months from this guy made his gut squirm. He did his best to keep his cool.
“Matsumoto-san.” He greeted with a curt nod for the first time since they walked in, even his own voice sounded extremely cold to him-Jun’s smile fell at the distant use of his last name. “Here you go, Oh-chan.” He ended, turning his back from them after hearing Ohno say his thanks.
“Oh-chan?” Jun blurted out, there was something lacing his voice other than curiosity that Nino couldn’t put his finger on. “That’s cute.” Nino heard Jun say but he tried to pay him no mind.
The rest of the day went by fast with the model pair-or so Nino and Ohno decided to call them-just making plans over at the corner of the café. Nino was called over a few times to their table for additional orders while Ohno stayed at the register.
Nino finally reached a new level of annoyance when he was called for the nth time, a few more cake orders in hand because, as Jun stated, “Aiba-san loves sweets”.
“Here are your additional orders.” He said through gritted teeth-tired of Jun’s power play-but before he could leave, he heard the man call out again.
“Wait, Nino.”
“What?” Nino snapped with so much venom that even he had to pause and remember that this guy was still his boss. Though Nino knew he was in the wrong, he didn’t apologize. Jun was taken aback, surprise etched on his face.
“Alright, alright. Stop bullying him, MatsuJun.” Aiba finally cut them off, shaking his head and putting an arm around Jun’s shoulder as an attempt to lighten the mood. Nino tried to keep his facial expression in check as he looked at them. “We’re okay with this, thanks. There’s also a thing as too much sweets, you know.” He chuckled, letting Nino off the hook.
“Thank you, Aiba-san.” Nino muttered. “I’ll be going on a quick break, please call Oh-chan if you’ll need anything else.” He said, addressing his boss before bowing and walking away towards Ohno, not bothering to be curious on what Jun was muttering under his voice again.
Once he got back from his break, the model pair were finally gone, making him sigh in relief. So, he was glad when the day final ended-he felt exhausted that day with Jun showing up again and then getting on his last nerves. Nino shook himself out of his stupor and left together with Ohno as they closed up shop for the day.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kazu.”
“Good night, Oh-chan.”
Nino walked home, earphones plugged in and listening to his music so it was an understatement to say that he was shocked once he turned the corner and saw Jun casually standing there. Nino’s brows furrowed but he kept walking, determined to not pay the man any attention.
Nino only stopped in his tracks when he felt himself grabbed by the elbow, the jerk turning him around which made his earphones fall off.
“Hey, Kazu.” His heart skipped a beat as Jun roughly said his name-it confused him. What was Jun getting at?
“What?” Nino finally asked, utterly confused. Jun stared at him darkly, a bitter expression on his face.
Oh. Oh. Nino finally realized what was happening and he was torn whether to laugh at Jun’s face or push him away for being creepy. He settled with just standing perfectly in place, gently shrugging Jun’s hand away from his elbow.
“Is there anything you need from me, Matsumoto-san?” Nino started, knowing full well that calling Jun by his last name annoyed the other man to no end. He was stopped once more now merely by Jun’s voice.
“Stop that.”
“Stop what?”
Jun shook his head at him and grabbed him by the hand, meaning to drag him away but Nino wasn’t having any of it. Two can play this game. Once again, he got out of Jun’s grip and stood his ground.
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with you,” Oh that was a lie, he knew what’s wrong and it almost made him want to let out a triumphant smile. “But if you’re angry about something, I would appreciate if you would please stop taking it out on me.” He calmly and politely said, it was far from their playful banter months before.
Jun stared him down and Nino could swear that behind that annoyed facade, the taller man looked like he was almost impressed at Nino’s boldness. A breeze blew as they stood there in a few seconds of deafening silence.
“It’s cold today, isn’t it?” Jun stated as a matter of fact, going off topic. Nino continued to stare at Jun, not budging. “Alright fine, would you accompany me back to the shop please?” Jun started, resigned.
“Why?”
“If you could just stop being difficult.”
“I’m being difficult?”
“Nino, I just want to talk.”
It was unfair the way Jun used a tone that worked well with Nino, a tone that’s hard to resist. He watched as Jun grabbed him by the hand again, gentler this time, and Nino could only sigh in defeat. Might as well hear him out.
He followed Jun back to the cafe, of course his boss would keep an extra key with him. Nino kept his cool and cold demeanor as he made himself comfortable by the counter. Jun turned a light on and if Nino was going to be honest, the dimly-lit corner of the cafe made the mood feel somewhat intimate and private.
A few minutes of silence passed with neither of them making the first move to talk and it annoyed Nino, seeing how Jun was just standing casually a few feet away from him with his arms crossed over his chest. He also did not miss the fact that the taller man had shed off his coat and was now wearing his usual simple white tee and pants which made him almost lose his resolve.
“Sorry, but there’s no talking happening right now, so can I go?” Nino started, after battling with himself to not talk first but failing. He couldn’t stand the silence so he spoke but made sure to have kept the distance with his speech and tone. “I have my games-” He saw Jun’s eyebrow shot up, Nino rolled his eyes. “-I have my games waiting for me.” He admitted, unabashedly.
“Cold.” Jun repeated his words from earlier, Nino shook his head.
“Then put your coat back on.”
Nino stood rooted on the spot as Jun closed the small distance between them, reaching out to him and gently placing a hand on his nape. It was surprising even to himself when he didn’t flinch at the sudden contact, he could feel Jun’s thumb caressing the back of his head and it almost sent shivers down his spine.
“That’s not going to help me thaw you out.” Jun said, almost in a husky whisper, pressing his forehead on Nino’s-noses touching, breaths ghosting on each other’s lips almost in sync except for the fact that Nino was probably going to start hyperventilating soon and losing his cool.
This man, his boss, really knew no bounds in personal space. It took all of Nino’s willpower to place a hand on Jun’s chest-internally admitting that said hand stayed a few seconds too long because of how good his boss’ broad chest felt under his palm-and pushing him away gently.
Nino took a step back but not too far out of reach. He watched as Jun closed his eyes, shook his head frowning, and ran a hand over his hair. Nino could feel his heart hammering in his chest, damn it, it won’t be hard for him to thaw me out if he’s like this, he thought disappointedly to himself.
“You’re mad, I know, but I had a lot of stuff on my plate for the past few months.” Jun explained, back to his casual stance. Nino wanted to smile because he really didn’t need an explanation, though if he must admit, he did want one.
“I’m not mad,” Lie number one. “I appreciate the explanation but I don’t really need it because you’re my boss and what you do in your private time isn’t my concern,” Lie number two. “And don’t worry, I was advised by a fellow barista that I shouldn’t expect too much.”
Two lies and a truth, a variation of a famous game that’s useful in this scenario when he wanted to take a jab at Jun. He saw the other man squint his eyes a little bit at his last sentence. What he didn’t expect though were the words that came after.
“What if I did want you to expect?” Jun seriously stated, not breaking eye contact with Nino, taking that two steps forward to close the gap between them again. He reached out once more, this time for Nino’s hand and Nino could swear his head was going to burst soon.
It’s hard to keep up the cold shoulder when your opponent was this good. But he was never one who backs down from a fight.
“Alright then,” He started in a challenging way. “What should I expect from you, Jun-kun?” Nino had a lilt in his voice-flirty, if he was honest-saying Jun’s name the first time that day. He saw how that small thing affected his boss, lips curling up in a small smile.
“Well, first, a lot of this.” Jun responded, pulling Nino closer, lifting his chin up gently and placing a soft kiss on his lips.
It has been months and Nino would be lying to himself if he said that he did not miss those plump, warm lips touching his own but he held back, wanting to know how much he can pull from Jun. The kiss was short and sweet, unlike the previous ones Jun initiated which was entirely passionate and hot.
Nino worried his bottom lip as soon as the kiss ended, an attempt to stop a grin from forming. “Okay, I kind of expected that. Was that it?” He said and Jun openly chuckled at that.
“I guess you’re right.” Jun said, “There would also be a lot of this.” He ended before pulling Nino into a hug which, Nino knew, they had never done before.
They weren’t children so their meetings had gone from idle staring, flirting to a raw need that was cut off because of an effing phone call. This was entirely new territory, intimacy and simplicity, and Nino didn’t know what to do with it. A shiver ran down his spine when Jun chuckled breathily near his ear.
“I bet you weren’t expecting this.” Jun smugly said to which Nino just snorted in response, enjoying the feeling of Jun’s warm hands on his back. “But if I’m really going to do this right, I want you to expect that I’m going to stop leaving you behind.” He ended, placing a gentle kiss on Nino’s shoulder.
Nino raised an eyebrow at that, pulling away and looking into Jun’s mischievous eyes. “You were thinking of leaving again, weren’t you?”
Jun grinned, “Yup, but not without you. So, let’s go.” Jun grabbed his coat and Nino’s hand, locking up the cafe and started dragging him towards his car. Nino followed with no objections because damn, he wanted to see where this was going. He was still as addicted to this man as he was with coffee and wanted to take his chance.
Once they were in the car and driving around the city, Nino finally had the right mind to ask a few questions. “So, why the sudden change of heart?”
“Hm?” Jun asked, focusing on the road.
“You seem like a no-commitment type of guy.” Nino commented straightforwardly, looking at everything else around him but Jun.
“You wound me.” He faked hurt then chuckled, not denying it. “It’s not sudden and there was no change of heart.” Jun simply responded. “I’m sure you knew that I was interested in you for a while, I’ve seen you notice me staring at you every time I visited the cafe.” Nino could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s just that I didn’t have the time to pursue you.”
Nino frowned at that, finally looking over at Jun who, he noticed, was already putting the car on park. They’ve arrived at their destination but that didn’t stop him from probing. “Yeah? But you did have the time though. Remember that impromptu coffee making session and the pulling session that came after?” Nino almost chuckled, recalling the ristretto night at the cafe.
Jun shrugged, both of them getting out of the car and continuing their conversation while walking. He held Nino’s hand and guided him, the latter allowing him to lead the way. “Because it was hard to resist you. As it turns out, it was bad timing since you got mad when I suddenly left and vanished for a while.” He ended.
“I really wasn’t mad.”
“You really were.”
A door. A pause. The door opening and they walked in, Jun opened up the lights and Nino was too pre-occupied with his thoughts that he didn’t notice his surroundings at first.
“Well, who wouldn’t when-” Nino finally admitted but was cut off when he looked around and saw a lot of plans scattered almost all over the place. He finally realized that he was at Jun’s apartment and that his boss was currently busy making the place look presentable. “Wait, you’re opening up a new shop?” Nino voiced out, his brain putting all the pieces together.
Jun smiled, coat discarded, walking back to Nino and urging him to remove his own coat which he did. “Yes, that’s why you’ve been seeing Sho-kun and Aiba-kun a lot.” That sentence was met with deafening silence and Jun had to sigh. “They’re my friends and business partners, Aiba’s been my best friend for years and Sho, well,” He paused. “He’s an ex but we parted ways really well-”
Nino invited himself further into the apartment with Jun close behind him, feeling right at home even though it was his first time there. “There’s really no need to explain, it isn’t any of my concern.”
“But you’re worried about it.”
“Well, ‘cause you’re a huge flirt.”
Jun laughed at that, it’s what he probably loved about this thing that they had. They were careful but also brutally honest at a fault. Again, Jun placed a hand behind Nino’s head and caressed it.
“And that’s never going to change,” Jun admitted, earning him a glare from Nino. “But it’s all thanks to me being a flirt that we’re now here.” He said.
Nino paused before sighing in defeat, “Point taken.”
Jun smiled, his eyes scrunching at the sides which made Nino feel warm inside. “So, are you all thawed out now? No more cold shoulder? Because if not, I have an idea.” Jun’s eyes lit up with a mischievous glint.
“Enlighten me.” Nino said, stepping impossibly closer towards Jun, slightly looking up to meet his gaze.
“Gladly.” Jun smirked, leaning in and finally kissing Nino like he used to-passionate, deep and filled with need.
The night was a blur of hot breaths and whispers and Nino melting at every touch Jun made on his body. All thoughts of giving him the cold shoulder flew out the window as Nino drowned himself in the addicting world of Matsumoto Jun. Every part of him felt like it was on fire, all cohesive thoughts leaving his body as he took all of Jun in, making up for the lost pulling session.
If he thought he could still let go after just giving it a try, now he just wanted to monopolize Jun. The man had an unbelievable effect on him, worse than caffeine.
Jun peppered him with kisses on the lips as they both came down from their high, he pulled away for a moment to admire the sight of Nino under him, smiling. Nino could swear he can stare at Jun’s disheveled looks every day-lips swollen, hair sticking out everywhere, body glistening from sweat. Nino gently pulled Jun down into a hug, bodies touching as they both relaxed in each other’s arms.
Jun never stopped peppering Nino with kisses, now on his shoulder and neck and finally, pressing a long kiss on his lips again. Nino responded willingly, letting Jun take control.
“You still taste like coffee.” Jun whispered as soon as the kiss ended.
“And you’re still a terrible boss.” Nino chuckled in response, Jun laughed with him.
“I’m a great boss. You, on the other hand, have just passed the performance test. I just might give you a bonus as long as you stop flirting with Ohno-san.” Jun said, tapping Nino’s nose with a finger.
Nino rolled his eyes, grabbing Jun’s finger. “Nicknames are nothing compared to putting up with you flaunting Aiba-san and Sakurai-san around.” Nino pulled away. Again, two can play this game.
Jun stared blankly at him at that comment. “Alright, no performance bonus for you then.”
Nino squinted his eyes. “Terrible boss.” Nino repeated before placing another playful kiss on Jun’s lips.
It was probably going to be a nightmare going into this what with both of them being smart mouths but it also might turn out to be a dream. He wouldn’t know unless he gives it a try. For now, Nino was content with finally being able to have Jun. Here’s to hoping it would last. He thought.
--
Affogato: Italian for "drowned".
Let's be honest, Nino is the only one who can challenge Jun like this and get away with it even irl. Haha! Yay~! My first multi-fic. I don't usually write multi-fics anymore since I get bored midway but at least I finished this one even if they're 4 months apart. lol. Thanks so much everyone! ♥ ♡