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“Ah, good good! You did a good job! Now just keep that up and you’ll make it through the shift! If you need some help, just ask Izzy, okay? Looks like he’s just kinda doing his own thing.” Mrs. DeLuna looked over her little kitchen window, and she was right. Izzy seemed to only be sweeping right now and occasionally restocking some things.

“The drinks are made up front, so you can ask one of his sisters for help if you need it too. Now get to work!”

By the end of the shift, Izzy was exhausted. It took a surprising amount of energy to simply avoid Toby in such a small shop. There were times when it went pretty easily, like when he was with a customer, or preparing an order, but when traffic dragged, and the sun set, there was little he could do to completely ignore him.

And part of him really didn’t want to. Yeah, it was irritating in a way to have him around while he worked, but he still liked Toby...

He was just mad. And being mad led to him scowling rather than smiling when their eyes met, and turning away when he tried to ask questions, telling him to go ask someone else.

So when the cafe finally closed, he felt awful for acting that way, but too stubborn to do anything about it.

The best thing he could do was just count up the tips and split them between himself, Toby, and his sisters, and ponder what exactly he could say.

“... I mean... You’re not wrong. I was avoiding you. I was mad...” Somehow, the counter got more interesting as he wiped it down, and his gaze stayed fixated on it instead of looking at the other boy.

“It’s not... I mean, I’m really glad you had a good time, and you worked hard. You’re naturally good at what you do here... I’m just worried... I want you to stay but didn’t you decide you liked me when you saw me in this maid outfit and working? It’s dumb, it’s super super dumb, but I just kept thinking ‘someone else is going to end up crushing on Toby, and they are going to some how be way cooler than I am to you, and then you’ll not want me anymore.’” Even when saying it, the words sounded really stupid, probably more so now that he finally said it out loud. His face grew hot and his stomach flipped a few times, an unfamiliar sense of dread settling inside of it.

Izzy never doubted himself. It didn’t seem possible. But right now, with Toby before him... He really did.

“I don’t want you to quit, okay? You can stay, and... I’ll just get over it, because it’s a dumb thing to feel in the first place.”

“I like you Toby. I like you a whole lot.” What else could he even say after all of that? It was like Toby knew exactly what to say and do to ease just how upset he had been.

It wasn’t hard to simply put his arms around him and tuck his nose against his neck, letting out a sigh of both relief and frustration.

The day had been hard, and now that he was finally calming down, he felt so very tired.

“I don’t want to let you go... I want you to keep liking me and telling me you like me... Can I maybe... I dunno... Go home with you tonight? Please?”

"Cool... Cool cool.. Okay, so let's go. Right now. Sis can close up, and I can text mom I'm heading out." He didn't wait for an answer. The moment he was given the sure, he took Toby's hand and pulled him towards the door leading outside.

"We can get your clothes tomorrow out of my room, plus you'll need to bring back some info to actually get you officially working. But for now, I wanna just hug you all night. Today was so dang hard... Do you know how badly I wanted to hug you all during this shift? It was torture!"

What more could Izzy say when a kiss like that left him breathless. His face was hotter than a July day, and he stammered a bit of nonsense at whatever had come after the 'mwah!'.

As much as he loved to tease and be affectionate himself, suddenly receiving it through him for a loop.

"Y-you can't just say and do things like that Toby! I-I wasn't ready!"

"Nah, nah, you weren't nearly so flustered! But fine! Fine! If you're going to do this, I'm not going to let you sleep tonight!"