Bon

Jun let out a deep sigh as he made his way over to his desk. He’d hoped to get an assignment where he could really bring out the more extravagant ideas he had, like a jewelry or makeup company. Instead he’d gotten a bakery, somewhat small compared to other major chains, but rapidly growing in popularity nonetheless.

The pitch he’d been given was a set of regional desserts for the few shops scattered throughout the country. They wanted to start with the Yamanashi branch and see where it went from there.

The business owner wasn’t scheduled to come in for another day or so, but Jun decides to start planning out a rough promotional flyer, idly sketching a rounded peach and trying to decide what sort of font would be most appealing.

The time passes by rather slowly, and when his shift for the day finally ends, he feels as though he’s seconds away from going stir crazy.

He huffs and makes his way out of the company building, grumbling slightly. His gaze falls on the bakery across the street from his work, coincidentally the one he was going to be working with soon.

He decides to stop by and walks in.

‘Might as well see what kind of stuff they have.’

The interior is rather plain, Jun notes with some dismay. It’s all white, not really minimalism, but rather like the owner just hadn’t decided on a color scheme and left everything as it was.

There were a few small tables and chairs set up on either side of the shop, leaving the middle clear so customers to walk up to the counter, where a large glass display case was situated. Behind the counter was a small figure, a man, with his back turned to the door. He seems to be focused on something in front of him, and Jun stands by the door, unsure of how to approach.

“Uh-” he starts hesitantly before stopping. The man hears however and turns around, blinking.

Jun is immediately taken aback by how cute he is.

‘I was expecting some grandpa…’

The man, seated on the side of the counter, stands. He’s quite a bit shorter than Jun, and is dressed in a light blue polo, and a plain navy apron. His hair was styled into some sort of spiked up-do that looked incredibly soft, and he had a small, tanned face with impossibly round cheeks (with random smudges of flour on them) that made Jun want to reach out and pat.

He was really cute.

“H-hi,” Jun stammers awkwardly.

‘Kazu’s going to have a field day with this,’ he lamented.

The man looks at Jun, impassive.

“Hi,” his voice is soft, almost drowsy. He rather looked like he wanted to take a nap right there, as well.

Jun just stares, a small smile on his face.

“I’m Ohno Satoshi.”

Jun blinks at the sudden introduction.

“Oh-Matsumoto Jun,” he bows formally before straightening and making his way into the bakery  to look at the display case.

The man, Satoshi, simply continues to stare at Jun, face giving absolutely nothing away. Then he gestures to the case, where upon closer inspection, an assortment of delicious pastries were spread out.

“The apple tart is good,” he says simply.

“Is that your favorite one?” Jun can’t help but ask.

The small man nods, expression unchanging. Jun falters a bit, unsure of how to react.

Satoshi takes out a tart and serves it onto a small plate. He pushes the plate towards Jun, still silent and watching.

Jun takes the plate, equally silent. He feels nervous, yet somehow the silence isn’t all that uncomfortable.

But he’s not sure if he could keep his cool long enough to not blurt out his obvious attraction to the man.

So he takes a huge bite of the tart, stopping up his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything idiotic.

He immediately lets out a delighted noise; the tartness of the apple, paired with the flaky, buttery pastry and thin layer of sweet jam all filling his mouth with harmonic balance.

Satoshi’s face lights up (the first semblance of an expression on his face throughout the entire exchange), and he gazes at Jun expectedly.

“This is amazing! You made all these?” he gestures excitedly to the display case

Satoshi nods slightly.

“Oh, wow! If all your treats are like this, you’re probably getting a huge crowd everyday!” Jun mentally praises himself when Satoshi smiles happily, tanned cheeks puffing up.

“Thank you,” he says softly.

There’s another bout of silence, Jun awkwardly munching on the tart while Satoshi watches, face expressionless once again.

Jun clears his throat and makes an attempt at conversation again.

“Are… you a part timer here?” he asks. Satoshi shakes his head.

“I just help out from time to time.”

“I see…”

Jun must look incredibly flustered because Satoshi throws him a lifeline.

“Will you come again tomorrow?”

“Huh?!”

“Will you come again tomorrow?” As impassive as ever.

Jun nods eagerly.

“Sure! I’ll come visit after work!” he responds eagerly.

He makes to pull out his wallet but is stopped, by a warm, firm grasp on his wrist. He freezes, looking at the man.

“You don’t have to pay.”

Jun begins to protest but is interrupted by Satoshi tugging at his wrist, and leaning across the counter to look closely at him.

“If you come tomorrow, you don’t have to pay,” he says firmly. Jun can only nod, mutely.

Satoshi leans back, clearly satisfied, and releases Jun.

The taller man steps back slightly, hyper aware of the sudden heat spreading across his face.

“W-well, see you tomorrow then, Ohno-san.”

“Mmhmm. Bye, Matsumoto-kun.”

‘Matsumoto-kun?!’

Jun spends the train ride home, stiff as a board, trying to will away the blush he knows is on his face before he gets home to an unforgiving Kazunari.