Paint Us In Ink

2

Keith walked into work wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, making sure it covered the scars and the random doodles that covered his arms. there were never any words just little drawings. He knew that if his boss Allura saw the drawings, she would flip out, or maybe overdose on happiness. She always complained about him being mopey or emo. It wasn't Keiths fault that Allura had already found her soulmate, who happened to be their coworker Shiro. He looked down to see little flowers appearing on his left hand. 

" i can't believe I have a soulmate " he whispered softly. He couldn't tell if he was happy, scared or pissed. he guessed he was all three. but mostly he was lost in thought. Little unwanted questions popped into his head at random times.

  "are they a boy or girl" 

"do I know them" 

"what are they like"

The dark haired boy shook his head as he maneuvered around customers to get behind the counter so he could grab his apron. as he tied the apron behind his back a happy voice piped up from behind him

"OH hi Keith, your early " he groaned in the back of the throat as he turned.

" hi Allura," he said in a reluctant mumble as he faced his employer, who clicked her tongue in annoyance. 

" well ok, then Mr. Grumpy. you can work the register and hopefully, some human interaction will fix you up" His eyes shot up to meet hers with shock. His boss had to be insane. Beautiful but insane. Allura was the most beautiful woman he had ever met- besides his mom. She had long silver-white hair that shined against her dark skin. it was slightly curled today and pulled up into a loose ponytail. her normally full lips were pursed in mock annoyance, while her sky blue eyes sparkled with suppressed humor. unfortunately, she was also an optimistic extrovert who obviously didn't seem to understand taking people orders was literally an anxiety attack waiting to happen for a depressed introvert like himself. 

"Whatever boss" She laughed lightly at his irked tone and gave him a gentle shove in the direction of the register and he huffed in irritation but complied and walked over to stand in front of the machine and helped the small line of customers that had just shown up. Despite it being early in the morning, all the customers were really friendly and his mood began to lift. It was only dampened a little when one of the customers gave a knowing look to his hand, where he discovered stars appearing amongst the little flowers. He instantly growled and covered up the hand, ready to strangle the creator, but other customers helped him forget about the blue art creeping up his arm. 

**Time skip brought to you by my dogs' bubble butt**

It was nearly six ( in the evening) and Keith was both physically and emotionally drained. There were no customers in the cafe so he decided to sneak himself a cup of coffee. With a sigh, he put up his inky hair into a small ponytail and turned around to flip on the Espresso machine and quickly placed a mug under it. Soon the scent of hot coffee filled the quiet building and Keith soaked in the silence. His days at work were almost constantly filled with sound and he knew he would have to deal with more when he got home, so he always deeply appreciated these moments of silence, where he could relax and get his thoughts together. After a few moments, the machine gave a soft ding letting him know it was done and he grabbed the warm mug and slowly turned around, taking a swig of hot liquid and looked up to a person watching him. He choked on his drink and started coughing.

"Shit are you ok," the stranger asked with concern

"f- fucking fan-fantas-ic" Keith managed between coughs. After he stopped hacking up a lung, he gasped a few times to make sure he could breathe properly while lifting his violet gaze to glare at the strangers' sea blue one. who also happened to look very amused.

"You good," the blue-eyed boy asked, his tone still concerned but laced with amusement

"yea" 

"i suppose you deserve it for drinking on the job and ignoring a customer. a very sexy one mind you" he winked at the black haired boy who raised an eyebrow not getting the joke.

"i was drinking coffee...in a coffee shop. also, I didnt even hear you come in" the other boy snorted and the two stared at each other. Keith realized the boy was indeed very attractive. His skin was a deep tan and had a healthy glow, while his teeth flashed pearly white when he spoke, his eyes where a shimmering blue like the ocean and his hair was short and a dark brown. He was also lanky but with definite muscle and was a bit taller than Keith himself. Soon the young worker grew flustered and looked away with a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.

"so um are you going to order something or just stare at me" he mumbled, looking at the cash register with newfound interest.

" OH right," the customer smiled, showing his pretty teeth. "umm I'll get a menthe poivree, and let's see... AHA, there it is. I'd also like to get your number" his smile grew wider and Keith's blush grew darker

"my what now?" he had never been asked that before, and he smiled a little

"your number" 

"why"

"so I can talk to you later duh"

"o-ok" he took out a red marker and quickly scrawled his number on a piece of paper before going to make his drink. 

"um hey I still gotta pay for that," the attractive boy said, confusion written across his features.

"its on the house tonight" Keith gave the boy a smile before turning back to his work.

"Well dang I should have ordered more stuff" the boy laughed, and the employee gave him a playful scowl while putting a lid on the cup and handing it to the customer. their hands touched and both boys blushed. The brunette's hand was soft and his fingers were long and thin. They were much bigger than his, which were small and in his opinion, rather stumpy.

"S-sorry" Keith mumbled. the boy said nothing, instead took a sip of his drink with an amused smirk.

The tan boy turned and walked towards the door and before he opened the door he said in a clear voice "ill text you later cutie". he then did a two finger salute and left.

OH MY GOD

Keiths felt like his heart was going to explode, a hot guy