Chapter Text
“Poor guy” Suguru tuts as he tapes up the bloody box, “This could’ve been so easily avoided”
Toji lights his cigarette,taking a long drag, “Yeah,poor guy”
“Ugh,I’m so bored ” Satoru moans from the chair he’s draped over, “Aren’t we done?”
“Almost” Suguru writes something on the box in black sharpie, “Back to sender” he finishes with a flourish and a heart
“I’m so hungry” Satoru rubs his flat stomach, “There’s this new cafe uptown,anyone interested? Boss?”
Toji flicks the ash from his cigarette and hums, “I could eat”
“Yes” Satoru pumps his fist
“If you’re suggesting it,it probably sucks” Suguru snickers,dodging the pen Satoru throws at him
“Knock it off idiots” Toji scolds, “Get Nanami to clean up.Let’s go” he makes his way up the stairs and out of the cellar
“ D-dam na-n bèl ? What kinda name is that?” Satoru peeks at the cafe sign over his dark glasses
“It’s French you moron” Suguru rolls his eyes and opens the door,the tiny bell tinkling
The girl at the counter is flicking through a magazine,clearly uncaring about the three men that walked in.
The cafe is cute. Some cute pictures of cats and puppies on the wall and some abstract art on pale pink walls
Toji walks up to the counter and clears his throat
The girl finally closes her magazine, “ Bonjou . Welcome to—“ she looks up and gapes at him, “T-to—“
“To?” Toji smirks
“Um—I—I’ll be right back” she stiffly turns and walks through the swinging back door
“She’s cute” Satoru says
“She looks fifteen” Toji grunts
“Looks doesn’t mean she is—“
There’s scuffling in the back followed by loud conversation
A boy that looks identical to the girl from earlier comes out,clicking his tongue“ li pa ka sa—“ his eyes widen, “Oh,hi. Yes! How can we help you?”
“You two need to learn some manners” Toji looks at the chalkboard on the wall behind the counter, “Club sandwiche”
The boy taps the iPad
“Steak and fries” Suguru adds
“Chicken sandwich” Satoru chirps, “And how old is the cutie from before?”
The boy bristles uncomfortably, “We’re both sixteen”
“Oh,tell her to give me a call in two years- Oof ” Suguru elbows him
“Sixteen?” Toji sizes him up, “Bit young to be working aren’t you?”
“Our mom owns this place so we help part time”
“Mmm,good kids” he pulls out his credit card and pays, “What’s your name kid?”
“Uh—-Ajani”
“You foreign?”
“Yes sir,Haitian”
“Mm,no wonder your Japanese is awkward as fuck”
He looks down,embarrassed, “I’m still learning. Your food will be ready in fifteen minutes” he slides the receipt over the counter but Toji just leaves it.
The three of them sit in a corner booth to wait
“Must not get a lot of business” Suguru observes the empty space, “Or word hasn’t got out yet”
“Foods probably shit” Toji grunts,reading the plastic drink menu
The girl from earlier comes out to restock the drink fridge,stealing fleeting glances at the three of them
“ Madichon yo pè ”( Damn they’re scary ) she mutters and finishes up
“Hey,maybe you should introduce her to Megumi” Satoru nudges Toji
“Ugh,I’m not letting my kid mingle with some coffee girl” he huffs
“Right. Gotta keep moneyin the family and all that shit” Satoru rolls his eyes
The bell tinkles a little while later and you step in,walking up to the counter
Satoru whistles lowly, “Now there’s a piece of ass”
They watch you flip your locs over your shoulder and adjust your glasses
“ dezole mwen an reta ”(Sorry I’m late) you smile at Ajani, “Traffic”
“It’s fine” he smiles back, “Hasn’t been busy”
Mirlande comes out with the orders,two plates in her hands and one balancing in her elbow, “ alo manman ” she greets and blows you a kiss
“Alright. Here you are” she smiles as she puts the food down, “ bon apeti ”
“That your mom?” Toji points at you
“Yes”
“Mmm,call her over for me”
Mirlande hesitates but goes over anyway , “ Manman, mesye sa a vle pale avè w ”(Mom,that man over there wants to talk to you) she points at Toji
Your nose scrunches in confusion, “Why?”
“I dunno,he’s scary though so be careful”
You laugh quietly and pet her head, “Maybe they want to talk about the food”
You go over and your twins watch you with big eyes
“Hello?” You now slightly at them, “My daughter said you want to speak to me?”
Toji snaps his fingers and the other two men take their food and go sit at another table.
Odd
“Sit. Please” Toji gestures to the now empty seat across him
You hesitate but it’s not busy in the cafe so you go ahead
“Your kids are great” he says plainly,popping a fry into his mouth
“Uh….thank you?”
“Your son said you’re not from here”
You adjust your glasses, “Yes,we’re from Haiti. We came here just three years ago”
He notices the slight accent in your soft voice,awkward Japanese but fairly easy to understand. You look young though,too young to be a mother but who knows
You’re cute. Big eyes framed by round tortoise shell glasses with a slight blue tint. Dark locs hanging down your back in a half up ponytail and twisted at the roots
You’re soft looking from pregnancy,soft plush curves all over
“Young girl like you? With twins? Big move”
Your giggle is just as soft as your voice, “I hardly think forty two is young but thank you”
He nearly chokes on a fry
Forty two?
So you’re two years older than him
“You look good” he says plainly,now noticing the tiredness in your eyes and the light crows feet.
“Thank you,the secret is stress and sunscreen. I do have to get going but it was lovely meeting you Mr?”
“Toji” he stretches out his hand for you to take, echoing the softness of it
“Y/n” you nod, “Enjoy your meal” you walk off and Toji watches your hips move
Satoru and Suguru come back with half empty plates, “So?”
“So?”
“Well you’ve barely touched your food so the conversation must have been interesting”
“Eat so we can fuck off” He growls
In the back room,your kids are hounding you
“ kisa li te di? ”(what did he say?)
“èske li te mande w soti ”(did he ask you out?)
“Ah ah,only Japanese please,you two need to practice”
They groan
“Just tell us” Ajani gripes
You shrug, “He was just making small talk,said you two are great. That’s it really”
“Manman,you have to go out with him” Mirlande bounces on her feet
You Blanche, “Why?”
“ Look at him” Ajani gestures vaguely and you both look at him funny, “Listen I’m not gay but—“ he leaves the implication in the air
“Can you two please stop” you giggle, “We have prep to do”
They both whine until you shush them sternly
After a while, the men finish up their meals
“Thank you for coming” You wave sweetly
“See ya ,doll” Toji winks at you and Mirlande swoons behind the counter
“See ya boss” Satoru throws an arm over his friends shoulder, “Tomorrow” they start down the sidewalk,chatting excitedly
Toji gets in his sports car and starts the drive home,thinking about you the whole time
You’re a pretty woman. Soft spoken,seemingly kind. He wonders where your husband is or baby daddy,there wasn’t a ring
Hm
Another time
He parks in his private spot and sighs,resting his head back and willing the oncoming headache away before reaching into the cup holder and picking up what he’s been trying to avoid all day
Slipping his wedding ring on feels like attaching a ball and chain to his leg but that’s his reality
She’s probably out—hopefully— with friends so he doesn’t have to deal with her and he can think about how he’s going to see you again for sure
