Airbrushed

Chapter 1

"Yes. Sure. So you wanted three tiers? Oh, sorry. Four, then? Great. When's the wedding?"

Akaashi's hand furiously scribbled down the happy couple's order, the shop's phone balanced in between his shoulder and his ear. He heard the woman explain in detail her perfect wedding cake, donned with elaborate lacework and delicate fondant flowers.

His gut was churning nervously. Akaashi had made cakes like this before, with the fancy decorations and everything. With working at the specialty cake shop, plus his culinary degree, Akaashi knew what he was doing.

But this cake was for the daughter of a major CEO, whose face is often plastered on the news for his unbelievable accomplishments.

He couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"Okay, December 12. So that is in..."

Akaashi nearly dropped the phone when he realized the wedding was so close. Of course, he couldn't start making the cake until at least two days before, but he already had other orders and tons of other wedding cakes to make before then. The shop was already short-handed, so how would he be able to finish all this in time.

But he tapped his pen on the notepad, thinking carefully. This sale would really boost their sales once the news hits the papers, and his boss would be incredibly happy. But it would also mean a lot of work.

Akaashi sighed.

He really needed to work on saying no.

"Yeah, that should work. I'll make sure it looks great for you. Have a good afternoon."

Akaashi hung up the phone and groaned, running his hands down his face. He really needed an assistant.

The bell in the front door chimed and the door slammed open.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Akaashi didn't even jump at the sound of his boss entering the shop, loud as always.

Bokuto had left in a hurry after a serious phone call earlier that morning. Akaashi was almost worried at his boss' unusual behavior, and he even thought about going after him, but with the flood of orders and regular patrons in the cake shop, he had no time.

Akaashi took his hands off of his face and looked up, about to ask where Bokuto had scurried off to, but the words died on his tongue.

Bokuto had his arm thrown over a young man's shoulders, practically dragging him into the store. The young man had black hair and dark, blue eyes that avoided everyone's stare. He wore an uncomfortable frown on his face, his expression almost sheepish and shy.

Akaashi wasn't sure if he should feel sorry for the guy or worried. He had the phone in his hand just in case Bokuto admitted he kidnapped him.

"I'm back, Akaashi!" Bokuto announced, tugging the man to the shop's counter.

"I can see that," Akaashi said. "You also brought a... friend?"

Bokuto blinked at him for a moment and then grinned widely, his free hand resting on his hip.

"Oh, right, right! This is Kageyama Tobio! He's a friend of Shouyou's, and starting today, he's going to be working here," Bokuto announced happily.

Akaashi's eyes widened a fraction and they flitted over to Kageyama. His shoulders were to his ears and the pout on his face was prominent, almost giving him a brat-like appearance. Akaashi had almost written him off but stopped when Kageyama finally met his eyes.

There was a deep sadness in those blue orbs.

"Kageyama, this is Akaashi!" Bokuto introduced, finally releasing the poor guy's neck. "You'll be assisting him with some cake orders."