As the days turned into weeks, Yuuto found himself drawn to the cafe more often than he cared to admit. The strong black coffee that Camilla prepared for him became a ritual, a brief respite in his otherwise tumultuous life.
Yuuto (to Camilla): You know, for someone who spends her days surrounded by the bitter taste of coffee, you're unexpectedly sweet.
Camilla (laughing softly): Maybe it's the coffee that's sweetened by my disposition, not the other way around.
Camilla's presence became a soothing balm, light and hope to Yuuto's scarred and withered soul. The cafe, once just a stopover, became a haven. And Camilla, once a stranger, became someone Yuuto looked forward to seeing. Yuuto constantly visits the cafe just to order coffee and to talk to Camilla every now and again, no matter how angry or upset he was he would always find himself sitting at a table inside the cafe waiting for Camilla to bring him his coffee and right as he gets his coffee and sips it he wonders home in the world did he reach the cafe.
Meanwhile, Camilla found herself intrigued by the enigmatic man who visited her cafe every single day he had become her most regular customer. Yuuto's stoic facade hinted at a depth of character that Camilla yearned to understand, in her sight he was just a hidden secret dying to be told or revealed.
Camilla (curiously): You always seem so serious and constantly upset. Don't you ever take a break from being the strong looking, angry and silent type?
Yuuto (with a rare, small smile): In my line of work, taking a break is not an option. But here, with you... it feels like I can breathe again, and be calm... the is just something about you and your coffee that has me coming back each time.
Their conversations grew longer, their silences more comfortable. They shared stories and laughs, each finding in the other a world they had never known. Yuuto began to reveal glimpses of his life beyond the cafe, and Camilla listened, his heart aching for the pain that Yuuto carried. To find out what his life is like and how his life was so much more different from hers.
One evening, as rain pattered against the cafe windows, Yuuto arrived soaked and visibly shaken. Without a word, Camilla handed him a towel and a cup of something warm and sweet—very unlike his usual black coffee.
Yuuto (taking a sip, surprised): What's this?
Camilla (smiling gently): It's hot chocolate. Sometimes, the heart needs warmth more than the body needs strength.
Yuuto (gives a small smile): That's nice. Still has your hint of sweetness to it.
Camilla (with a concerned look): Are you okay, what were you doing out in the rain?
Yuuto (stays silent for a bit): I was going home from work...
In that moment of Camilla showing concern for him, the barrier between them crumbled, they realized that their bond had grown into something precious, something neither of them had expected—a friendship that might just have the strength to withstand the storms ahead. Who would have expected this time of relationship to happen just over a month of seeing each other.