Juniberry Delight

Chapter One; "Call me Hunk." 💛

Mornings in the Alattéan coffee shop were normally quiet and peaceful. Today wasn't any different, luckily. Hunk loved working morning shifts the most; they were relaxing and probably some of the most enjoyable times he had during his job. The only downside to it, though, was that he had to wake up early. Really early. But that was alright. He could handle it, at least. The customers made it worthwhile, too. He loved interacting with them, learning little bits and pieces about them during their small chats, especially the people who came in regularly. So overall.. he loved his job for a lot of reasons.

    But today would be the day that his love for his job would.. increase. Today would be the day he meets a boy. A boy with a dark skin tone, beautiful dark ocean blue eyes, ruffled up brown hair, and a laid-back and friendly attitude. It started out like any other day; waking up early, getting ready, eating breakfast, feeding Cheeto and Coco Puff, and leaving Pidge to take care of the house while he was gone for the morning.

    Arriving at his job, everything was as usual, at least for the moment. He walked in at around 15 minutes before the start of his shift and made small talk with his coworker-slash-close friend, Allura. He was just finishing tying his apron on when the bell, signaling the opening of the door, rang. He frowned and glanced at the clock. It was still a bit before 6, but some people did get up earlier.. So he put on a grin and left Allura to finish up with getting ready as he took his spot behind the counter and greeted the customer, a smile on his face. "Hello! Welcome to the Alattéan coffee shop, home of the Altean Juniberry Delight! How may we help you?"

Things continued on as normal for a couple of hours. The owner, Alfor, stopped by to grab a cup of black coffee, which was named Nunvil, and chat with Coran, the manager and his best friend. Some regulars stopped by to grab a drink, maybe some baked goods, and chat with Allura and Hunk. The Alattéan wasn't a very busy shop, and not the most popular among everybody, since people needed their coffee early in the morning, stat, not 6:00 AM. But among the people who did go to the shop, their drinks and baked goods were said to be, in their opinion, their favorite, and were definitely well enjoyed.

Hunk preferred how quiet the shop was most of the time, honestly. He got the chance to interact with people and enjoy their company, but there wasn't an overwhelming amount. And that was good enough for him. But none of them made as much of an impact on him as a single customer, arriving one day just after finishing a late-morning run. The male was wearing plain gray sweatpants and a thin blue tank top, but he managed to pull it off insanely well. Hunk's eyes went immediately to him when he walked in, his jaw dropping slightly and making Allura giggle as she finished restocking their donut case.

"Pick your jaw off the floor, Tsuy." Allura smirked up at him, before walking off to the back room. He realised with a dark blush that he'd been staring. Damn it Tsuyoshi, stop being gay for two seconds, will you? A voice in the back of his head said. He shook his head, clearing his throat.

He quickly turned on his "professional" mode, and greeted the thin, tan-skinned brunet with the shockingly deep blue eyes, who'd made his way up to the counter and was looking up at the blackboards filled with Allura's neat handwriting, describing the options.

"H-Hi! W-welcome to the Alattéan coffee shop, home of the Altean Juniba-- sorry, Juniberry Delight! How may we- sorry, I help you?" He managed to speak, hoping his blush wasn't too obvious on his face. If the blush wasn't obvious, though, his nerves sure were.

If his blush was obvious, the boy didn't show it. He looked to be about 19 years old, just under Hunk's age. "Oh, and, uh, y-you look new here, never saw you around before. What's your name?" The boy looked at him, smiled, and replied. "The name's Lance. What's yours?" Lance's smile caught him off guard, making his heart  go haywire. And his voice, oh god, his voice... it really set Hunk's heart on fire, forming a calming feeling from within. "Uhh..." Hunk, his pansexual heart still pounding against his chest, couldn't think about his name.

Lance glanced at his name tag. "Oh! Tsuyu-Tsuhyo... Sorry, uh, how do you pronounce your name?" Hunk didn't want to be called by his actual name by Lance. He wanted to be called by the name his- now ex -girlfriend, Shay, gave him when they were still together. "I-it's pronounced Tsuyoshi, but you can call me Hunk." He extended his arm, shaking Lance's hand. It was warm, which was surprising, since it was nearing the start of spring and the end of winter.

Lance, being never-endingly flirty, couldn't help but smirk slightly as he looked at him. "Hunk, huh? Fitting~" His smirk only widened as Tsuyoshi smiles nervously, blush darkening across his face.

"Th-Thank you?" Hunk managed to speak through his surprise, looking away nervously and breaking their eye contact.

"It's no problem" Lance winked. "So, Hunk..." He made sure to place special emphasis on the nickname, not missing the surprised look as it once again flashed across the handsome barista's face. "...anything you recommend I get?" He gestured with one hand to the list of drinks and goods behind the counter.

"O-oh! Well, uhm, the Juniberry Delight is a r-really widely-chosen favorite.. Uh, we also have a lot of o-other things! We have smoothies, a-and shakes, and.. Er.. well, coffee of course.." Tsuyoshi trailed off, blushing and lowering his hands when he realized he'd been gesturing nervously with them.

Lance didn't mention his obvious nerves, or the anxious vibes radiating off of him, but instead smiled and thought for a moment, one finger tapping his chin. He took the finger off when he came to a conclusion. "Hm, well.. Why not the Juniberry Delight? It must be chosen often for a reason." He smiled as he reached for his wallet. "How much?" He tilted his head slightly as he asked, a small patient smile on his face.

"$3.29." Tsuyoshi stuttered, making Lance's smile widen as the cute customer handed over the money. "Th-thank you! Your order will be done shortly." He assured him with a shy smile.

"No, thank you, Hunk." Lance smiled and winked at him as he took his change and receipt, immediately placing the change in the tip jar. Hunk smiled back at him, their eye contact breaking again as Lance moved to the side to wait for his order. Hunk took a deep breath before moving on to help the next customer.