A caramel macchiato? Does that mean is the mysterious cute brunette that bought mine earlier? Or am I thinking too much into this? These were the thoughts now racing through your brain. If he knew something about it, you couldn't tell. His face hinted at nothing. It hadn't changed one bit. But you needed to know. "What made you order a caramel macchiato?"

"Not too risky of a drink. Who doesn't love caramel?" he casually answered.

"It's my favorite actually," you admitted, looking for any hint of knowing in his eyes. Showing none, you continued to pry. "Had one at work today."

"Looks like I made a good decision." he smiled and looked around the place. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you really like strawberries?" Giving him a curious look, he explains further, "At your party, we ate strawberry cake, which was really good by the way. Now you ordered me a strawberry banana crepe."

"Oh yeah! Thank you. Baked it myself." you smiled widely at the compliment "and yes, I love strawberries. Well, fruit in general. Strawberries are definitely a favorite though."

"I like then too." he began to look out the window, asking random questions about the new places he saw. The two of you even made future plans. Apparently, Bokuto hadn't shown him any of the great places to eat in the neighborhood, so you promised you would. By this time, the waitress had brought your drinks. Taking a sip of the caramel macchiato you tried to slyly investigate your mystery again.

"I know I had one earlier today, but this is really good." you licked the whipped cream off of your face and Akaashi tried to stifle his laughter.

"There's still some on your nose." he pointed out, and you blushed as you wiped it away.

Apparently you wouldn't be finding out the answer to the coffee mystery anytime soon. Akaashi was like a stone wall, not showing any knowledge of the event that you could tell. Or was that just an act? There was no way for you to ask without being direct, and that was not something you were ready to do in fear of embarrassment. For now, you could only hope that someone would confess soon.

The two of you began to people watch, commenting on little things you noticed about the other diner guest. Nothing rude of course. It was another game you made up to pass the time without an awkwardness having a chance to arise. The game was to make presumptions about each table. Such as table number one looks like they're on their first date, table number two has known each other for over 10 years, table number three spent all their money at the bar before arriving, etc.

"What do you think they would say about us?" he asked curiously.

"Hmm, I don't know." you began to think of the possibilities. What did the two of you look like to any onlookers? Best friends? Siblings? A couple? The thought of the latter made you blush, and you decided to do what you do best, cover it up with a joke. "Probably the two losers that didn't get invited to the cool party down the road."

Akaashi laughed at your joke and didn't mention your blush, which you were grateful for. It didn't take too long for your food to arrive at the table after this. The two of you split up what you had, so that way you both got what you wanted. This was surprisingly the first time you tried the pecan french toast that Akaashi had ordered, and you were pleasantly surprised. "This is really good! Good job, I wouldn't have tried this on my own!" you gushed.

"Do you not typically like nuts?" he questioned, wary that he made a mistake.

"I do! It's just once I find something I like, I typically get that. I don't change it up too much. I really should though, because this is great!"

"Ah, I see. You're one of those people," he said, taking a bite of your choice. He must have liked the crepes because he smiled and took another bite.

"One of those people?" you questioned.

"Yeah." he laughed at your offense. "I'm the opposite. I tend to try something new whenever possible."

"I admire your bravery, soldier." you joked playfully.

The rest of your diner went smoothly. You found it very easy to connect with Akaashi. Not a moment seemed out of place or awkward once you arrived at the diner. The two of you had another cup of coffee at the end of your dinners, just to kill some more time talking. Once you were completely stuffed and ready to go, Akaashi paid the entire tab. You argued with him for 5 minutes on why you should pay instead, but he refused. You made him promise that he would let you return the favor on one of your next adventures, and he reluctantly agreed. After that fiasco, the two of you took to the streets for the 15 min walk it would take to get home. Akaashi and Bokuto's place was a little closer than yours was. Upon reaching it, you tried to say your goodbyes to Akaashi, but he was having none of it. According to the gentleman in him, even 3 blocks was too far for you to walk alone this late at night. "No, I insist. What kind of man would I be if I let you walk me home?" he joked. "Besides, you don't live far from us."

Finally agreeing to allow him to walk you the rest of the way, you two made your way through the quiet streets. The night's air had grown quite colder than earlier and there was a light fog now. This made you happy that Akaashi offered to walk you home. it would have been eerie all alone, but Akaashi for some reason made you feel safe. You had only known him a little over a week now, but it was remarkable how comfortable you were around him. Once arriving at your house, he waited for you to unlock the door and make sure everything was ok inside. Being home alone at night always left you a bit paranoid so you were grateful he was being so cautious. Verifying everything looked safe, you closed your door and stepped back onto the front porch with him.

"Thank you for skipping out on the party with me. I had a good time and thanks to you I will enjoy my day off without a hangover." you take the keys out of your door and place them back inside your pocket, but realize you aren't ready to go inside yet. "Is it overstepping any boundaries if I hug you?"

Bursting out laughing, Akaashi struggled to answer. "I'm sorry. It's just party (Y/n) never asks or worries about overstepping any boundaries. And doesn't blush like that." His answer only made your face flush more, but it was quickly calmed down by the feeling of him taking you in for a hug. "Thank you too, (Y/n). I ended up having a better time than I would have at any party."

Offering a smile as you tuck some of your hair behind your ear, you end the night. "Goodnight 'Kaashi, get home safe!" you say, but turn back around before you could walk into your house. "Hey, could you text me when you get home? Just so I know you made it? My anxiety will keep me up half the night if you don't."

"Sure." he gave a gentle smile, turning on his heel to walk away. "Talk to you soon."