Days Go By | lavashipping

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Propping his head up by his hand, Cole guided the pencil across a page from his sketchbook, doodling something far, far from what he had in mind when he pulled it out to kill some time.

And when Kai approached his table, he hid the drawing of his face at light speed.

"What can I get you, beautiful?"

Cole raised his eyebrows.

"Is that what you call all the customers?"

"What? Are you jealous?"

"Terribly."

"Hmm..." Kai tapped the end of his pencil against his little notepad. "So?"

"You know what? Surprise me."

"What a daring request. All right, I'll come up with something."

Cole watched him walk away – Kai turned his head back to flash him a grin – before turning his attention back to his sketchbook. He was quite proud of what he drew so far but, he thought as he glanced back up at Kai behind the counter, the original was far, far better.

The simple portrait was the only thing ruining the theme of his sketchbook. Up until now, he always used it as a quick dump for the ideas he might have gotten on the way. Faint visions of dresses and suits and accessories and all sorts of clothes, some of which got the chance to come to life, some not so lucky.

And just a page before that lay his notes for his gift for Kai. Fortunately, most of it was already checked out. Even the main point was close to being finished, all that was left were the details. It actually got Cole all giddy inside, just the mere thought of giving it to Kai. But it also made him feel a little lighter, the weight of guilt almost gone by now.

He went back to the doodle, fixing some missing details which made Kai a walking masterpiece in his eyes. Maybe one day he'll have every single little detail memorised perfectly, that seemed like a nice vision of the future.

It was ironic, really. They haven't said anything yet, officially they were still (as far as he was aware) platonic friends and here Cole was, planning how they will one day sit on the porch together with their cats in their laps, overlooking the nature and life outside. All he wanted was to lay beside him in bed every day for the rest of his life, from the first discovered grey hair until the last remaining colourful one. Fighting for every ounce of warmth during cold winter nights and trying not to melt during hot summer nights while still being able to hold each other close. Able to kiss them whenever he wished to do so, calling them his–

A few clinks shook him out of his daydreaming as Kai placed a glass and a plate in front of him and Cole quickly hid the sketchbook again. However, this time the contents, apparently, didn't go as unnoticed.

"What are you drawing?" Kai asked and Cole had no idea whether it was teasing or whether he was being genuinely curious.

"Nothing, just mindlessly doodling, you know."

"Uh-huh." They looked at him warily, so Cole decided to switch the subject.

"Hm, lots of sweets, I see. You're spoiling me."

"Actually, the iced chocolate isn't all that sweet, that's why it works so well with the cake."

"I really wouldn't've thought of a cold drink despite it being so warm outside today."

"Yeah, you seemed lost in your own world."

"That's not my fault."

"Oh?" Kai raised their eyebrows and leaned against the table. "You mind elaborating on that?"

"Well, for starters–"

"Kai?" They both turned, staring like deers caught in headlights. "There are other customers too, you know?"

"Yeah, sorry." He fixed his stance and offered Cole a shy smile. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course."

Cole enjoyed his drink and cake, both of which were, of course, delicious, and his view too. Kai noticed his stare several times but it didn't matter to him because it meant he got to see his smile more clearly.

Kai was a man of many talents as he stated himself, one of them was looking effortlessly handsome as he collected people's orders, and carried various cups and plates, and worked with the machines...

Eventually, they changed his empty dishes for another plate with some cookies.

"Stop staring, you're worse than all those cameras."

"But you're nice to stare at."

Kai turned his head away, stealing Cole's view of the smile he managed to create.

"You're a terrible customer, making me blush during work hours, who does that..." they muttered while walking away again.

Cole ate the cookies, giving up on his sketchbook completely. There was no inspiration coming his way again, it seemed. Well, not the inspiration he could really use at the moment.

And time passed until it was finally the end of Kai's shift. After Cole paid (dismissing Kai's insisting that they could pay the bill themself) they both walked outside into the sunny day.

"Do you wanna go to the park? We haven't been there in a while and since it's such a nice day..."

"Actually, I had a different idea." But Kai didn't offer any explanation or elaboration, they simply took his hand and led him through the bustling city all the way to the nearest shopping centre. Cole wasn't sure what to think when he noticed they were going to the pet shop.

"You want to get a pet right now?"

"What? Oh no, I just wanted to look, thought we might play a game like..." They stopped as he thought. "Nameth the peth."

Cole raised his eyebrow, trying not to laugh.

"I wanted it to rhyme."

"That's not how rhymes work."

"Whatever. Are you down? Let's go!"

Walking carefully through the small shop, they watched all the various animals, trying to come up with the best names to fit them.

"The blue one Mr Cloudy McCloud and the grey one... Albatroz."

"You know albatross is already a bird?"

"Yeah, but it sounds like a good name, let a bird dream."

At one point it just became a competition of who can come up with the most ridiculous name and they had to try really hard not to let their giggles get too loud for they didn't want to disturb the animals too much and get kicked out of the shop.

Kai was squatting, watching a bunch of mice chase each other around their small place.

"They probably think we're weird."

"Yeah... Can't blame them."

"They're all so cute it could kill. Now that would be a biological weapon." They stood up. "Would you also kill for an ice cream right now? 'Cause I would."

"Now that you say it, it sounds like the perfect idea."

"Awesome, let's go!" Cole found his fingers once again interlaced with Kai's as he led the way to the nearest ice cream stand.

If there was anything Cole would kill for, it was days like these.