Shouta Aizawa has inherited his parents' teahouse and is having trouble finding new staff. Y/N has quit her job and is about to end her life, when she sees the poster about the open position and decides to give life another chance.
TW: themes of sui...
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Shouta was watching her out of the corner of his eyes. When he had agreed to let her work here for about a week to see whether she actually liked the job and whether she was suited for it, he didn't really expect her to actually show up in the first place. But she was here, on time, in a simple and tasteful yukata, her hair tied back, with one strand of hair refusing to stay in place and falling into her face all the time. Shouta hadn't really been sure what he expected, but she seemed to fit right into the place from the moment she stepped inside. It was strange.
But he wasn't going to complain. Not at all. He really hadn't expected to actually find someone that would be able to do the work here and that would do it so well, too. It seemed like he barely needed to explain anything to her, she just knew what she was doing. Even now, preparing the tea, she did it as if it was second nature to her. And this was her first day...
She had said she had learned a lot about tea as a kid, but Shouta hadn't really expected her to do just so well. He was pleasantly surprised. Maybe she'd even get some more customers back into the tea house, because no one could deny that she looked beautiful and wearing a yukata suited her.
But Shouta would think about that later. Right now he had to somehow stop himself from staring at her all the time. He blamed it on not being used to having someone else around this place, especially not a woman. Not since Mariko left, anyway. It was a little disconcerting not to be on his own anymore. He really wasn't used to it, he'd often turn corners without even looking.
It was really only thanks to Y/N being so damn good at what she did that he didn't bump into her a million times. The way she'd chuckle quietly and lower her eyes every time was driving him insane, too. He could have taken her out of a painting of Japan maybe a hundred years ago.
"Is everything okay?" he suddenly heard her asking. Damn it. She had caught him staring, hadn't she? What was wrong with him lately? Shouta shook his head, more at himself than at her question.
"Everything is fine. I was just... watching to see if you got the right temperature for the tea." he replied. Y/N smiled and looked back down at what she was doing. She was so gentle with everything, the way she was handling the dishes and the actual tea, even down to the way she was pouring the tea...
"Between 80 and 85° Celsius for Oolong tea, right? Would you like to try it before I serve it to those gentlemen over there?" Y/N asked, looking back up at him, brushing that loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
"No, that's fine. You really know what you're doing, don't you? Sorry, I'm just a little surprised, that's all." Shouta answered, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. Y/N's smile grew wider, as she placed the teapot and the cups on a tray and lifted it up, before moving past him.
Shouta kept watching her with a small smile on his lips as she slowly made her way up to the two customers that were already waiting. She took small, soft steps towards them and she seemed to have some difficulty walking in her yukata, but from what she had told him, it had been a while since she had worn one. And taking that into account, it was barely noticeable.
