A Bit of Caffeine: USUK

Arthur needed caffeine badly. His morning had started out on the wrong side of the bed, literally; he had missed his bus because he overslept. His creepy French neighbour decided this was the perfect morning to hit on Arthur during the entire elevator ride and to his bus stop. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with the Frenchman since Arthur needed to focus on getting to an important meeting with his editor which, upon arriving at the office with minutes to spare, found out his editor had to cancel because of an emergency family issue.

He stepped into a small coffee shop and huffed as his mind replayed the day’s unforgiving event. Surprisingly the shop had just a few people in it.  Two men in the back were speaking in a mixture of Spanish and Italian appearing to be having a quiet disagreement.  The barista looked up from his cleaning at the tiny tinkling sound of bell above the door, meeting Arthur with a sincere smile. Arthur glanced around and made his way to the counter where the tall blue eyed blond was beaming at him. He looked up at the menu quickly to see if anything besides his usual sounded good before placing his order. ‘I’ll have an Earl Grey please.’

The blond grinned brightly and punched a button on the register. ‘That’ll be $1.25,’ he said in a cheery voice. Arthur pulled out the specific amount and paid the man before making his way over to a corner table and sat down heavily. He stared off into space until a steaming tea cup was placed in front of him as well as a plate with a petite scone on it. He looked up quickly to see the barista with a cheery expression. ‘It’s on the house. You look like you could use a little something to brighten things up.’

Arthur looked at the scone then back up with a small smile. ‘Thank you.’ He took a sip of tea and watched the other man make his way to the couple arguing. They paused as he approached and the darker one grinned. Arthur was shocked when the barista sat down at the table and started a bit of small talk with the two. The smaller one looked grumpy but Arthur noticed how he easily leaned into the touch of the other. The barista laughed loudly before standing and grabbing two fresh cups of coffee and setting them on the table. The two men seemed to have made up and snuggled together speaking once more in softer terms.

The tea was strong and the scone was light, complementing each other perfectly. Arthur sighed contently before leaning down to grab his laptop. He took another sip and threw one more look around before typing away.

He had no idea what made him come back to the coffee shop but for the next week Arthur would come back every day without fail. He would order his tea and sit at his table, occasionally grabbing a scone, and would work on his manuscript. He would smile at the barista who after a few days would automatically grab the tea when Arthur walked through the door. The couple that was there the first time he came in would sometimes be there and sometimes not. Other times it would be a tall blond with a German accent and a small peppy Italian who looked similar to the one with the Spaniard. The last couple that seemed to frequent the shop was an albino German with a loud voice who overused the word awesome accompanied by a very quiet blond. The barista and blond seemed related and would pass the time talking while the albino drank his hot chocolate. Other people would trickle in now and then but they were those who were always in a hurry and never took the time to appreciate the little things in life.

One morning Arthur walked in to the shop seeing a much larger crowd in it than he was used to. All the regulars were there and were gathered around one table. The two Italians were sitting in the middle, the peppy one a bubbling bundle of happiness while the other had a small smile on his face despite his usual grumpy demeanor. Arthur walked up to the counter like usual and noticed something different. The barista had a name tag on today reading Alfred.

‘Good morning!’ Alfred said cheerfully, stepping to the side to reach for the tea. Arthur pulled out the required amount and set in on the counter nodding towards the name tag.

‘Alfred is it? You finally have a name.’

Alfred looked down then chuckled. ‘I lost it a while ago and I finally found it the other day. Most the people that come in here already know my name so I never really thought much of it but you didn’t so I wanted to find it or introduce myself next time you came in.’

Arthur smiled. ‘Well I’m Arthur in case you were curious. You seem to know everyone pretty well here. Speaking of, what’s going on?’ Arthur nodded in the direction of the small gathering with a questioning look.

‘Oh it’s Lovino’s and Feliciano’s birthday today. They’re the twins in the middle. Feliciano is the energetic one and Lovino is the grouchy one. Antonio, the Spaniard, and Ludwig, the blond German, planned a small surprise party for them here. My brother Matthew and Gilbert were the ones who backed up the idea and I provided the location,’ Alfred explained. ‘I’ll make sure that they keep it down so that you can work.’

‘Oh no, don’t worry about that. I’m at a bit of a stall in my manuscript and sometimes it helps to just take in my surroundings,’ Arthur said as he picked up the mug that was placed in front of him. He nodded to Alfred his thanks and made his way over to his table. He watched the small group of people and secretly envied the close knit friendship they all had. Alfred joined the group and easily slipped into the light conversation that was going around. Lovino grumbled as Feliciano clapped lightly when Matthew pulled out a beautiful cake with a frosting plate of pasta and a tomato adorning the top. Arthur shook his head at the absurdity and turned to his laptop.

As days and weeks went on Alfred and Arthur made little small talk. At most they would talk about the weather or some small and insignificant thing. The others would throw Arthur a smile if they made eye contact. He noticed how they all would glance at Alfred whenever Arthur sat down and the tall blond would blush lightly. Arthur never thought much of it, his manuscript was almost finished and he needed that little bit to finish it off.

When Arthur finally finished his story he stared at the page with a blank look. Alfred caught the look and wandered over to the table to check up. ‘Hey Artie, are you alright?’ Arthur didn’t even catch the nickname instead looking up with dazed eyes.

‘It’s finished. I finally finished it!’

‘Finished what?’

‘My story! I finished my story! It’s taken me all this time but now it’s finished!’ Arthur smiled widely. ‘Alfred, may I get my tea to go? I need to get this to my editor immediately.’ Alfred smiled and went to make a quick cup to go and handed it to Arthur as he ran out the door with a grin.

‘Now’s the time,’ Matthew said coming up behind Alfred. ‘It’s now or never.’

Arthur rushed in and rushed out the next few days, grabbing his tea and leaving for meetings he had to make. His editor had liked his work at it was getting polished up to make it to the publisher within the month. Alfred would make him a quick tea with a smile and send him on his way, sometimes throwing in a scone to make sure Arthur ate something. Alfred was sad that Arthur no longer spent his time sipping his hot beverage and tapping away at his laptop but he still enjoyed seeing the other.

Friday morning came slipping into the afternoon with no sign of Arthur. He would usually show up in the morning and stay until mid afternoon but there wasn’t that familiar blond hair coming through the door as the bell rang. Alfred almost gave up and accepted that Arthur no longer had a reason to stop by when the bell rang near closing time.

‘Arthur!’ Alfred exclaimed happily. He immediately grabbed a to go cup he had set aside without thinking and made up a nice, hot Earl Grey. Arthur laid the money on the counter with a smile.

‘It’s actually going to be for here today Alfred. My book was sent to the publisher and now I have time to relax,’ Arthur said as Alfred set the cup down.

‘Oh well I can put it in another…’ Alfred trailed off reaching for the cup but Arthur grabbed it first. He lifted the cup up to his face when he caught sight of a small bit of writing along the side.

Arthur:
909-112-1324
Xoxox Al

Arthur looked up at Alfred who had a deep blush on his face. He smiled softly. ‘Would you like to sit Alfred? I think it’s time we got to know each other a bit more.’