Survival Challenge Gone Wrong

Chapter 13 - the next day

Gen briefly stalled in front of the cafe door, crumpling the edge of his oversized sleeve with his free hand. He was not nervous, thank you very much. Gathering an adequate amount of courage, he pushed open the cafe doors and was immediately hit with the wonderful scent of coffee beans and croissants. A quick scan across the room revealed Senku sitting in one of the corner seats, his favourite one, actually – the one where the standing plant covered the table from the hall. He examined the rest of the space. It was not busy this time of day, only with a few other customers present, each clearly minding their own business. He entertained a thought to enter the bathroom first to check his appearance, but that would be pushing it. He had to just get this conversation over with.

He walked over in wide, confident strides. Fake it 'till you make it was an old trick in his books, something that rarely failed him. Senku sensed Gen approaching before he could greet him first, offering a lazy wave. Gen felt the corners of his mouth stretch into a smile, his body betraying his mind.

"Hello hello, Senku-chan, nice to see you again. How are you eeling-fay?" Gen gracefully slid into the seat opposite Senku, smoothing down his kimono-style coverup from any creases. Senku stashed away his phone and gave Gen a pointed look from head to toe. Well then.

"Good, thanks," Senku replied with a brief nod. "So about the confession-"

"Ah-Ah!" Gen threw up his palm to hide Senku's face from his view, successfully interrupting his speech. He let out a nervous giggle, thrown off by how quickly the conversation was heading in that direction. He was prepared but not that prepared. "Let me just order a coffee first. Do you want anything? My treat." He was glad for the fact that the table was empty. Gen did not question why Senku did not buy himself a drink if he came in before him, but that fact gave him an opportunity to mull over what just happened.

"Oh, right, I'll come with you," said Senku, rising from his seat but Gen was quick to push him down by his shoulder.

"It's alright, you should hold the table. I'll order. What will you have?"

Senku halted and looked at the hand, making Gen pull away quickly, "Okay. I'll have whatever you're having." Then reached for his phone again. Gen watched him type out something, fully engrossed in whatever he was looking at before making his way to the counter.

His usual order consisted of a latte with five shots of espresso, skimmed soymilk and five pumps of hazelnut syrup, which was not to everyone's taste, and probably not to Senku's if he had to guess. He looked like a gross and bitter americano type of guy, but he went with the safe option of cappuccinos instead. The girl working at the cash register took his order with a flirty smile, then left to make the coffees herself, taking extra time to pour some intricate heart latte art. Gen was not in the right headspace to appreciate the effort, instead standing still with his feet planted on the ground, hyperconscious of a particular set of red eyes that may or may not have been on him.

To be fair, Senku did state in his email that he was not great at emotional intelligence, but this was... something. What happened to: hello, you look great, I've been thinking about you... maybe not the last one, but to jump straight to the point could unsettle even the most stoic man. Gen breathed out slowly, trying to clear his head of Ukyo's phantom voice nagging him. He collected himself in time to grab the tray with their coffee, near snatching them out of the poor girl's hands.

"Here you go. I love the roast of their beans in this place. A shame they don't sell them separately," Gen blurted, placing the coffee with the smaller heart in front of Senku. He still raised an amused eyebrow, which Gen dutifully ignored. "How is your father? Did he finally get all the details out of you?"

Senku pulled the cup to himself and took a sip. Giving a satisfied hum of approval, he looked up at Gen, licking the foam off his upper lip. Gen did not look. He positioned himself comfortably with his elbows resting on the table, ready for battle. "Oh, he was even more annoying back home. I think I retold him the story seven times in total, I don't know how he found it entertaining every time." Senku snickered at the last part.