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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"You know, Shouta, you seem a little upset today. Is everything okay?" Y/N asked. They had closed up early today which wasn't too unusual, but Shouta seemed to be having a bad day. He just seemed upset, sad, down.
Y/N hadn't been sure whether to approach him about it or not, but in the end she decided to go for it. She liked Shouta and he seemed to be a very lonely man. She was pretty sure that he didn't have a lot of people to talk to, so Y/N wanted to at least try and be there for him when he didn't seem to be doing so well. And if she overstepped some unspoken boundary, surely he'd tell her, right?
Shouta turned around to her, giving her a questioning look. It seemed like he didn't expect that question. Y/N just hoped that he wasn't going to be angry with her for prying. It wasn't always very difficult to tell what Shouta was thinking, but some days it just was exceptionally difficult. At the beginning Y/N had no idea on how to figure out what he might be thinking, but over time it got easier. She had gotten used to the little cues he was giving everyone. But today was different.
"What makes you think I'm upset?" he wanted to know. Y/N smiled and sat down next to him, placing the sake she had brought with her on the counter, together with two glasses to drink from.
"You're more expressionless than usual. Why don't you have a drink with me?" she replied. Shouta glanced down at the bottle and then back at her. Y/N really couldn't tell what he was thinking, so when the corners of his mouth slowly turned into a smile she felt incredibly relieved.
"Sure, why not? We do have an early day, I suppose." Shouta answered. Y/N smiled and took the bottle of sake, pouring some of it for Shouta and then some for herself. She wasn't really sure what to talk to Shouta about, but she knew that she was enjoying his company. And what better way to enjoy someone's company than sharing a glass of sake with them? At least Y/N thought so.
She held the cup of sake in one hand, raising it a little together with Shouta, before holding it in both hands. She liked the warmth emanating from it and the slightly sweet smell. She took a small sip from the glass, enjoying the sweet taste while it lasted and gulping it down quickly when it turned slightly bitter.
She felt the liquid flowing down her throat and warming up her entire body as it ran through it. She closed her eyes for a second, hearing the heavy raindrops falling onto the roof of the teahouse and the light breeze blowing through the building. It was a beautiful moment to be in.
"So how have you been?" Y/N wanted to know, opening her eyes again and looking at Shouta.
"I've been good, I think. It's just a strangely long day today." he replied. Y/N nodded. It was a weirdly accurate thing to say.
"It seems like a really long day, true. I think it might pass more quickly now that it started raining." Y/N said with a smile. Cloudy days always seemed to be so long and grey. She wasn't even surprised that Shouta seemed somewhat down today. She knew there was still something else going on, but she didn't want to be nosy or too curious. Maybe it was too personal.
