Kindergarten [Klance]

Ch. 4

The door of the coffee shop jingle happily as Keith walks in hand in hand with Kora, with Lance following behind.

Inside, the smell of coffee is overwhelming in a pleasant way, and the sound of small talk and cups clinking is relaxing. Along the huge window at the front of the shop, small succulents and plants gave an aesthetic touch to the entire shop.

Inhaling the scent of coffee grounds, Lance takes in the beautiful yet cozy shop.

How have I never noticed this shop? I've been here long enough to know when there's a good coffee place around...

He is snapped out of his thoughts when he sees Keith at the front of the counter with Kora, and decides to join them. As he approaches them, he hears their orders.

"Can I have a medium black coffee, and a small kids hot chocolate?"

"Of course. Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you."

Keith, still holding onto Kora's hands, takes out his wallet with his free hand, and manages to pull out a credit card. Swiping it and putting in his account information, Kora gets bored and decides to talk with Lance.

"Mr. McClain, do you know what you want to order?" She looks up at him with her head tilted slightly.

Lance laughs while scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know yet, kiddo," he says while glancing at Keith, "but I think I might go with something sweeter than what your dad got."

Kora grins mischievously, and motions Lance to crouch to her level. Once on the ground, she snickers and then tells Lance.

"Dad never lets me have coffee, but one time when he wasn't looking, I took a sip of it. It's disgusting!" She makes a pouting face as she emphasizes the last word.

Laughing at how cute Kora is, he gives her a high five, and then stands up. By this time, Keith had paid for his coffee and put his wallet with his card back in his back pocket. Taking Kora's hand yet again, Keith moves out to the side of the line, and motions for Lance to order.

Glancing at the menu, Lance confirms his drink, and he orders a medium ice caramel macchiato. However, as he reaches for his own wallet, Keith steps in, and takes out his credit card again, and swipes it to pay for his drink.

Before Lance could even ask about it, Keith looks at him, and then glances down to Kora.

"Thanks for taking care of her."

Lance, feeling his face flush, scratches the back of his neck again.

"Of course, Mr. Kogane, it's my pleasure."

At the sound of "Mr. Kogane", Keith smiles and shakes his head. In a lighter tone, he looks at a confused Lance.

"You don't need to call me that. Keith is good."

This time, Lance's face burned with embarrassment.

—

Making their way to a table by the window, Keith holds a cup of coffee and hot chocolate, while Lance was sipping his iced coffee while keeping pace with Kora.

As they slide into their seats and had Kora busy with a book filled with illustrations, Keith and Lance face each other, and Keith decides to break the light awkwardness.

"So, Lance, I can see that you're really good with younger kids! I was quite surprised, as I don't think I've seen such an excellent kindergarten teacher." He complements Lance.

Lance with a smile, just shrugs. "I have a huge family, so it's natural for me to be surrounded with younger kids and for me to babysit them occasionally."