#and bakura ffs get a haircut or something

[ygodominos]

Chapter 2: Tall Skinny Latte

Kaiba goes to pick up his perfect coffee from the perfect coffee barista.

Soft chimes disturb the low hum of chit chat as navy blue legs stride through the door of the local coffee shop. Spotting the tiny, tricoloured barista, Kaiba approaches the counter. Awaiting him, as usual, double shot tall skinny latte. Bringing the cup to his lips, he pauses, noticing the doodle on the side of the paper cup. A tiny blue dragon. Everyday Yugi draws Kaiba a different doodle, enjoying the way the tall man smiles at each new mini-artwork. Turning to leave, Kaiba nods at the smaller man. However, he doesn’t move. Seeing the lack of a queue, he takes the opportunity to make small talk. 

“Uh.. hey.”

Magenta mixed with violet catches blue in a mix of surprise and relief. 

“Oh. Hey Kaiba, how are things?” Yugi’s tone was eager but reserved. It was rare that the quiet man would engage in conversation with him. Or anyone for that matter. Kaiba was one of those types of people who watches but never speaks. Yugi wondered if it was because he hated people, or just didn’t know how to interact with them. He leaned towards the former although the thought of the latter brought a smile to his face. 

Kaiba stood still for a moment, looking around the room for anything to stare at whilst he figured out what to say next. He hadn’t planned this far. Crap. Uhhh I guess work would be a good place to start.

“Well, we got a weird case at work today.” Refusing to make eye contact, Kaiba kept his eyes fixed on the delicately arranged syrup bottles on the back shelf. He wondered if Yugi could reach them. Imagining Yugi tip-toeing to reach the salted caramel bottle made Kaiba blush. 

Silence permeated the coffee-aromated air as Kaiba quickly realised he missed Yugi’s reply. Blushing harder, now out of embarrassment, he fumbled for a “pardon?” as Yugi simply smiled back and patiently repeated himself.

“What happened at work today? I saw a lot of black vans driving around as I walked to work this morning. One of them looked like yours so I assumed it was some big case or something”

Kaiba was momentarily stunned at how Yugi could tell Kaiba’s van apart from all of the others even though they were all the same make and model. He chose not to ask why he knew that. Clearing his throat he brought his thoughts back down to earth as he relayed his day to the beaming face in front of him.

“Um, yes. It was a big case. We were actually going to-”, he cut off the sentence, remembering how strictly against the rules it was to leak any information about ongoing cases to the public.  “...to the scene of a crime that was committed in town - now don’t look alarmed, it wasn’t anything too serious. Well it was-just not like that. I-uh-meant it like-uh”

“What happened, Kaiba?” 

Ah. He said my name. He hasn’t done that in a while. A warm feeling rushes over the flustered man as he regains his composure.

“Mm? Oh, yes. We were called in for a case that involved two people who left an... unsightly mess in an area meant for working. It was also a terrible health violation. Absolutely disgusting.” Kaiba’s attention was focused elsewhere now, as if he were addressing another entity entirely. Once soft blue eyes now became hard, accusing the very air he spoke to. A gaze that could silence even the loudest of men. 

“Anyways,” he continued, calmer this time, talking directly to Yugi once more, “I’m to investigate a large number of people over a very short period of time. However I can’t do anything until we are authorised to take DNA samples. It’s a pain really.” 

“I really hope you solve it soon.”  Yugi hated to see Kaiba overload himself with work. It tires him out, more than he’d ever admit to Yugi. Last time this happened Kaiba was completely unresponsive until at least 2 double shot coffees, and even then it was all grunts and one word answers. Kaiba really took his work personally. Hm. Yugi made a mental note to check on him daily to make sure he wasn’t overworking himself again. 

Chimes rang out again, signalling the end of their conversation as more customers entered. Giving a slight nod once more, Kaiba turns and slips into a booth close to the counter and opens his laptop. 

Yugi let his gaze follow Kaiba until a mess of spiky white hair entered his line of sight.  “Good afternoon sir, what can I get for you?” 

“Something hot and strong. I’m gonna need it.” Bakura huffed, his words lazily rolling over the countertop as his eyes searched for his ‘partner in crime’. He spotted him, hiding in the corner, stewing over a black americano. 

Yugi stops. Stares at the agitated albino in front of him, sporting the uniform from the local supermarket. He follows Bakura’s gaze to the hunched over man with even more untamed hair than before him. Bringing his attention to Kaiba who was staring intently at his laptop whilst typing furiously, Yugi’s thoughts clicked into place. Ah. I get it. 

“Of course sir,” Yugi could barely keep his grin to himself, “coming right up.” 

To be continued.