Riverside Coffee

A surprisingly cozy coffee shop owned by Takahashi Shun, who runs the café on his own. Despite it being in the poorer part of the town, it's located at a rather nice street and is right by the big river that goes through the city. The nice location certainly has its price and most people around there can't afford luxuries like relaxing with a cup of coffee, but he's very particular about keeping it up. It's always clean, nicely decorated, the food he offers is always fresh and the coffee is delicious. Since the owner is gay himself and a very kind man, it's a safe space for the queer or younger folk living around there. Even though his business isn't quite sustainable, he continues to put all his effort into it.

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-first post-
"There's just no way he's that hot, Tom. I mean you're in your 30s already and he makes you stutter? And fall on your nose right in front of him?" The blonde man chuckled while cleaning a cup. There was no need to look to the man he was talking to, he could imagine what expression he had on his face. He was pouting and pressing his fingers against the cup of coffee he was served. "I'm telling you! You'd faint on the spot if you'd actually see him and I have to work with him. It's really hard to focus when all you can think of is how he looks with his shirt off." Shun turned around slowly to judge his friend, letting a few quiet seconds pass before he sighed. "Everyday I question how you even got such a good position. Seriously, how many dicks did you suck?" Tom turned away and pressed his hand against his cheek. "Just a few. A-ny-way! Tell me about what happened between you and, what's he called, Bert? I can't believe you dated a guy called Bert." The memory of the man made Shun shudder. "Yeah, I thought I'd get over it. But he was a creep, for real." Shun leaned against the counter, watching a grin spread on Tom's face. "Yeah, but what was the actual reason you broke up with him? You've managed to go out with some guys who I thought were gonna murder you for months, but this one you dropped in just a few weeks." Actually saying it was embarrassing, so he avoided his eyes as much as he could when he opened his mouth again. "...he wanted me to say his name while we were doing it. I just couldn't. I really couldn't." Tom was laughing hysterically in a matter of a few seconds and Shun could only blush furiously. He was red all the way up to his ears and hurried on the other side of the counter to grab his friend and start pushing him out of the store. "You should leave! Your break is almost over! You should get a boyfriend if you have the time instead of coming here!" Tom checked his watch, still giggling, and then pressed a few bucks in Shun's hand. "Stop complaining, I'm keeping your business alive. But I'll see you, Shun!" The man in the suit ran off, trying to get back to his company in time and Shun watched him run a little until he returned inside, using the calm hours to take care of the plants decorating the place.

- first post -

Masamune's Mercedes Maybach Exelero with its sleek, shining jet-black lacquer came to a halt at a busy traffic light. His car made heads turn, people almost walking into poles - the only cars coming out of the city district into this part of town were old, worn four-seaters. Gently his fingers tapped a steady rhythm against the black leather wheel, the only sound in the car. He never had the radio on - that would only bother his thoughts. With a quietly annoyed sigh he glanced at the note he pulled out of the pocket of his pants. "A café in this region could not possibly make good coffee. I don't even want to know where they order the beans from." He pushed the wheel slightly to the left, eyes staring blankly forward. The car didn't make a single sound, and it always felt like driving over clouds, but all those cars and he didn't even enjoy driving much. A license was just necessary in his circles.
He parked flawlessly in front of the small coffee shop. To his surprise, it didn't look as shabby as he would have guessed. Though he wasn't impressed either, but when did something ever impress him. The second he opened the door, stepping out like a movie star when straightening the collar of his suit shirt, he spotted the employee who had recommended the niche store to him. "O-Oh, boss! You actually came!" Tom stood frozen with a nervous chuckle. Masamune just looked at him as if he held him for a fool, like he just told him he saw a ghost. "You know you're fired if this isn't good." This made the other man's face drop even more, and it didn't light up when Masamune said "Just kidding." in the same cold, monotone voice. As they parted he still caught a muffled "Oh shit" which almost, almost made him smirk.
Masamune stepped inside and stood on the entrance doormat for a second as he checked the watch on his wrist, which could probably pay for the store's rent for a whole year. Before even ordering a coffee, he stood at the counter looking around the interior. "Do you take American Express?" In one swift motion he pulled the silver credit card out of his inside pocket and slid it over the counter. "Can I get an-" His sentence came to a soft early end when his and the barista's fingertips touched over the surface of the credit card. His gaze went upwards immediately and he stared into a familiar pair of blue eyes. Beautiful blue eyes. He remembered them like his daily routines, like his breakfast of oatmeal with water this morning, like picking up his dry cleaned clothed every Wednesday, like the exact colour code of all his suits. His mind was racing, placing image upon image, projecting memories onto reality. And there he saw the boy in the man before him again. He thought there were tears in his eyes - but there weren't, though the idea of crying was beautiful, yet so pathetic to him. Unsure whether he was feeling or numbing, or both at the same time? Is numbness a feeling?
Though he spent what felt like minutes to him in his mind palace, it was barely even a second. Years went by in his head as he compared the past to what he saw before him, taking in everything Shun exposed of himself. The littlest bit of skin he could see, black with tattoos, and immediately an image of him was burnt, engraved into his mind. "-Americano. An Americano, please." , Masamune finished the sentence and put the credit card back where it came from upon the finished transaction. Though he felt something deep inside of him, not his body language, nor his expression gave anything away. "Look what happened to you, Takahashi Shun. If just.. you had stayed with me.." His fingers started tapping on the armrest of the chair he sat down on again while his unreadable, cold eyes followed Shun's every move. "So tell me, what kind of place is this?" , he asked, not sounding any particular way, yet not uninterested when Shun brought his coffee, and he stirred in the cup even though he didn't add any milk or sugar.

Shun looked up when he heard steps coming in his direction, surprised to see such a well dressed man coming into his little shop. It was unusual enough for someone like Tom to come to this part of town, which was only because he used to live there and they got along pretty well when Shun moved there, so they stayed in contact. Even though he made fun of Tom, he was always impressed with how far the man came. He prefered to stick to the place he felt was familiar, where he knew his customers, instead of heading in the big city. Which is why he coughed a little when he saw the man, trying to overplay his reaction by smiling politely. Holy shit he's rich. He headed to the counter calmly though, he was professional after all. "Welcome, sir." He greeted him and then looked at the credit card before reaching out for it. Their fingertips lightly stubbed against each other and he smiled, a little nervously, when the man looked him in the eyes. His eyes are really sharp, he's damn attractive. Why does it always have to be businessmen who are blessed with these looks? He wouldn't let himself get too nervous though, he turned around humming the melody of the calm song that was playing, noticing the gaze on his arms. He had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt since it was fairly warm, his tattoos obviously exposed. He didn't mind being looked at, especially by someone like him. He placed the coffee in front of him once it was ready, holding back a chuckle at his attempt at starting small talk. "I would say it's an average coffee shop, though I suppose average might mean something different for you, sir. Everything is fresh and made with natural ingredients, maybe not something the big chains can promise their customers anymore." He had a small sarcastic grin on his face. "But it's still rare to see a customer like you around here. Did you want to escape the noise of the city?" From time to time he had customers who said they just wanted to get away from all the people and he wondered if it was the same for him. For being a quiet place the location was perfect, if you tried hard enough you could even hear the river outside, but that also meant it was more difficult to find.

Masamune nodded. It looked nothing like it, but hearing this voice, this warm, familiar voice again was like music to his ears. His first thought was that finally, after all those years he could get revenge. Ask Shun why he did what he did, why he left him. Unsurprisingly he wasn't feeling any sort of way. Just revenge, making Shun suffer for the way he made him suffer decades ago.
For all the passion Shun put into explaining his work, Masamune's answer to the question sounded more like an abrupt ending to the conversation: "No." He looked back at the man now, one leg casually over the other as he leaned back. An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them following his short answer, noticing that it was expected of him to explain what he was doing in this part of town, so he did. "An employee of mine recommended it. I thought he'd accidentally given me the address to his brothel instead until he nearly walked in front of my car. Oddly enough it was always very hard to make out whether he was being sarcastic or completely serious by the tone of his voice which, oftentimes, made for some awkward laughs from other people. Though, really, he didn't quite grasp the concept of "sarcasm" which is one should always expect him to be completely serious, but most people laughed it off anyways.
Masamune complimented the coffee. More so out of trained habit and an opener to his real prize question, but he did enjoy the taste. "You remind me of someone I used to know." , he suddenly said, stirring in the coffee again yet looking at the other man. "What did you say your name was? Shun? His head dipped a little to the side, just enough for his hair to bounce gently. As though he forgot that Shun's name was never mentioned - or maybe he just ignored it? "Do I remind you of someone, Mr. Shun?"

Shun flinched hearing the sudden reply, quietly blinking at the man who didn't say anything after that for a while. He held his breath the whole time, incredibly relieved that the man said something after all. He snorted and began to laugh. "I guess you could confuse this place with a brothel if you haven't been here too often. So Tom recommended it, huh? Good to know that he actually advertises this place." He assumed that the man tried to make a joke, although he was an awkward soul. Not like I'm not used to it. Part of the reason why I didn't wanna open a café in the city. They were a bit of a hassle to deal with, but in a way that was attractive to him. The more difficult and unavailable the better and he hated himself for it. When his coffee was complimented he smiled brightly, always a pleasure to hear. He seemed like the type to drink a lot of coffee too. Next time Shun looked up he seemed rather puzzled. His eyes followed the movements the man in front of him made. I guess Tom told him my name. Takahashi Shun. He replied to the first question, at first a bit wary, but then he began to smile. "Sadly I don't think we ever saw each other. I would remember that handsome face." A little shameless, but he tried to make the situation lighter again, since the tension between them was too much for him. "We don't really work in the same type of business either, so I think you're just confusing me with someone else." With a melodramatic sigh he leaned his head on his hand. "They do tell me I have an average face. Oh it can't be helped, must be my everlasting youth." He chuckled since he wasn't all that serious and started walking around, grabbing a plate and a piece of cheesecake with fruit on it. "On the house for my new customer, who will hopefully tell me his name as well?" With a gentle smile he looked at the man, hoping to find out his name. Truly there was not a single memory he had that reminded him of the man in any way. But he did want to get closer to him. Before he went to get the cake his gaze might have slid on his hand, noticing that shiny golden ring for a second.

With a small nod, Masamune's gaze drifted to the outside world behind the window glass of the coffee shop. "I see.""So he does not even remember me." Really the only way you could somewhat tell what was going on inside of his mind, behind this brickwall of a serious face was to look at his hands. And only if you cared to remember patterns it would make for some sort of way to read him, though if you asked him about it, he would immediately stop. His right hand formed a loose fist when he thought about Shun who had, apparently, not thought about him one bit. Who had apparently forgotten about him. The other hand was still, or again, tapping. Very slowly, conscious that he was tapping, because his therapist recommended to do it to keep his cool. "Yes, I must be.. confused." He nodded again, slowly turning his head to look at Shun again. And he knew he was not confused, because this was the one face of the one person he ever had feelings for. Whichever feelings those may be now.
"I'm on a diet." , he, again, replied very straight-forward as he was, declining the cake, however inviting Shun to sit with him and eat it since he had already gone out of his way to get it. "So- Who is telling you that? That you have an average face." Masamune asked him out of genuine curiosity. "Since you look different from the people I meet day to day, it will be easy for me to remember you." When Masamune looked down on his watch it looked almost as though he was smiling, but when he looked up again, even the faintest note of emotion had left his expression. Then, he fumbled in the inside pocket of his suit again and pulled out a very polished, shining silver card holder out which clicked open with a little noise. It revealed a business card, average looking to every man. Masamune had spent hours on its design and choice of paper, to bring him that little bit of satisfaction every time he could show it off to his colleagues. He showed it to Shun, holding it between his two fingers, then flipped it around and laid it down on the coffee table. With an expensive on-brand black ballpen he scribbled numbers on the backside which only had the logo of his company stamped in gold on it. The pen's metal and his marriage ring made quiet noises when clinking against one another. "This is my private phone number. Save me under 'Tadashi'." Within one motion he handed Shun the card and stood up, looking somewhat intimidating when looking down on Shun. "I will be texting you so you know which coffee to prepare for me and when my assistant is picking it up." When walking towards the door he turned around once again before leaving. "Apologies, this is all the time I have for today. I hope you do better than the last café did. For starters you could change up the wall decor." Not expecting a reply he exited and walked straight towards his car, started the powerful engine and drove a few blocks only to park in an alley. For a moment he sat in his car, tightly gripping the wheel with fingernails digging into the leather. While he didn't open his mouth, he clenched his teeth, but regained himself a moment later and left his car with a jet black briefcase in hand. His other hand ran through his hair, then he took the glasses that were dangling from his suit pocket and put them on.
Masamune walked through the alley until he passed a homeless woman curled up in her dirty blanket. For a brief moment he stood there, staring down at her. Actually, he was standing there until she noticed him after a good minute. "S-Sir..?" He hunched down, careful not to touch the ground. With one hand he was flailing a $100 bill in front of her, which made her sit up straight and look at him. "You know, I feel really good today. Really alive." , he said, his blinding white teeth showing as he expressively mouthed the word "alive", and he put his briefcase on the ground. "Oh sir, that's great news! Fantastic news!" The two hinged on either side snapped open and he put his hand inside. One second to another he pulled out a knife, you could barely see it as it was already buried deep inside the woman's chest. She struggled and tried to grab Masamune's hand to push him away, but he pulled it back out, then slammed it back in, he counted 18 times that he stabbed her. 18 because she wasn't dead enough by 12 and it would bug him if the number wasn't dividable by 3 and 6. Even more satisfying because 18 is also 3 times 6. Very swiftly he stood up again, driving his hand through his hair once more. His head laid slightly in his neck as he took a deep breath of the fresh air and smell of blood. "This really.. makes me feel alive." He marked today as an okay day from a scale of bad day to okay day, because a good day, he determined, would be the day he got to do this to Shun.
It didn't occur to him to clean up any of the mess as he drove towards his wife's home to spend the evening with a fancy sushi dinner, and the sodium level of soy sauce worried him more than someone finding the corpse. He was sure enough that in these poor parts, who would even care, who would even search for some homeless woman?