50 Drabbles

blue

Seirin was a small coffee shop tucked between a convenience store and a flower shop. It wasn't exactly well known, but business wasn't bad. A friend had directed Kagami there when he was looking for work, and the manager, a short, lively girl by the name of Aida Riko, had accepted him almost immediately. She'd had a bit of trouble finding employees, she told him. He started the next week.

He liked it in Seirin. It was cozy, and the soft music and smell of brewing coffee set him at ease. Even when particularly stuck up customers came in and made a fuss, his good mood came back surprisingly fast. He got along with the other workers too. Hyuuga, vice president and in charge of finances, was even headed and kept things running smoothly, especially during rush hour when they had customers lined up to the door. Kiyoshi took orders, more socially adept than Kagami himself. He was good natured and friendly, always with a smile on his face. Those were the two Kagami saw most on his shifts, but there was also Izuki (who had an obsession with puns, but was good with customers), Koganei (a little loud, also good with people), and Mitobe (who Kagami had never seen talk, but always smiled at him anyways).

Kagami always liked watching the people that came in. He liked seeing all the different characters, seeing which ones stuck in his mind-a tall, sophisticated looking man with green hair; a cute pink haired girl who always ordered an iced latte; a rowdy blond who he had never seen order the same thing twice. There was one person that stayed in his mind the longest, though. He came in every morning and ordered a vanilla milkshake-that alone was enough to set him apart, because who orders vanilla milkshakes at 7 in the morning? He had barely any presence, and more than once Kagami had almost not noticed him. But the thing Kagami remembered most was his blue hair.

Now, vibrantly colored hair was nothing new to Kagami (he still remembers the day that a purple haired giant came in and nearly cleared them of all the sweets they had in stock), but that guys hair wasn't bright or flashy at all. It was a very light blue, falling messily onto the man's forehead in a way that screams bedhead-that-I-gave-up-on. Despite the color however, it didn't stand out the way you would expect it would. It must have been his faint presence, because Kagami was sure on anyone else it would be just as gaudy as the other brightly colored hair he had seen.

-

Kagami Taiga is not a morning person, not in the least. But even when he saw his schedule, where most of the week started at 6, he accepted it and thought to himself, at least it's a coffee shop.

He can't say how grateful he is that most of his shifts are with Hyuuga, who knows the pain of mornings and always has something waiting for him, 'on the house'.

This is an ungrateful thursday morning however, where Hyuuga comes in later in the afternoon and in stead of Kiyoshi he's left with Mitobe, who takes over making the drinks.

Which leaves him at the register, playing around on his phone (Mitobe isn't the chatty type) until the bell chimes. He quickly stuffs it away and composes himself. The person who walks in is the blue haired man that's always on his mind, and Kagami perks up minutely. His quiet fascination with the other man made him wonder sometimes just what drew Kagami to him, but often Kagami couldn't come up with an answer. Maybe it was the way mischief and amusement would flicker in his eyes with his face still perfectly impassive, or the way that he seemed softly spoken rather than reserved, or the way his eyes also seemed to stay to Kagami the way Kagami's did to him. Whatever it was, it was successful in keeping his attention.

"Good morning." Kagami said. "What can I get you today?"

The guy replied with, "One vanilla milkshake," as always, and pulled out his wallet. Kagami could hear Mitobe making his order behind him as he took the money and gave back change. As they waited, Kagami found himself staring at the mans hair. Was it dyed, he wondered? Or, in some weird freak of nature, was it natural? He wondered what shampoo he used for it to look so soft. Before he realized what he was saying, he asked:

"Is it dyed? Your hair, I mean."

The man brought a hand up to touch a couple unruly strands. "Dyed, though it's kind of a pain to keep." he said.

Kagami chuckled. "I bet." His own hair was naturally red, and he had dyed it brown a couple months ago. Re-applying the dye wasn't worth the effort though, so he let his roots grow out.

Mitobe came up with the man's drink, and he took.

"Have a nice day." Kagami said as he turned, and heard 'thank you' before he was gone.

He spent all day with a currently unnamed blue haired man on his mind.

-

The next time they talk is over a week later. The man hadn't come in that morning, and for some reason he couldn't explain, Kagami was kind of disappointed. He worked the day same as normal however, and when his shift was up at eleven, people were already starting to come in for their lunch hour. It was always busier around that time, and usually Kagami was grateful to get out before he had to deal with them. But today Kiyoshi was working, which shouldn't mean anything, but Hyuuga had called in sick, and Kiyoshi had no one to help him. So Kagami stayed an extra hour, until Koganei showed up for his shift.

It was during that time that the man showed up, faint bags under his eyes and paint on his shirt. His hair was ruffled messily and he was rubbing his temple with one hand as he walked up to the counter.

Kagami was a little surprised when he ordered coffee instead of his usual milkshake, but with the way he looked, he needed it.

"Rough morning?" Kagami asked, amused. The man gave him a dry look.

"Kids are monsters." he said seriously. Kagami frowned, and the man explained, "I'm a Pre-school teacher."

"Ah, makes sense." The man smiled a little.

"It's not bad though. The kids are cute, and usually they listen." he paused, then added. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Kagami Taiga," Kagami said, completely aware of the name tag hooked to his shirt but not wanting to be rude. But then Kiyoshi hands Kuroko his drink, and he says his thanks and walks off.

Another day spent with a certain blue haired Kuroko Tetsuya on his mind.

-

After that, Kuroko is back to his normal schedule, ordering his usual drink each morning. Kagami tries to have some semblance of a conversation with him each morning, asking how his students are, if it's really okay to have his hair dyed if he's a teacher, why he always had vanilla milkshakes.

(His students are okay; one of them, Haru, gives him a hard time in the mornings. "He's really shy, and doesn't talk almost at all. Sometimes he doesn't listen either."

He's friends with the principle at the school, so it's fine. His students love it--he pretends like its natural, for their sake, which is why he puts up with retouching the roots. He doesn't want to crush their hopes.

It's a tradition, he supposes. During high school, he would have one after school, and it would help him unwind. Now it's a calming thing that helps prepare him for the day.)

It's not until much later that he gets the courage to give Kuroko his number and the request to "call me sometime." And it's even later that he asks for a date, flustered and blushing.

A year and a half later finds them living together in a one bedroom apartment, where Kagami spends every day with a certain blue haired Kuroko Tetsuya on his mind.