MATCHA LATTES
A/N- this was inspired by the vacation i took recently. they sold really good matcha lattes at the hotel i was staying at, so have a self indulgent zukka coffee shop au.
(is that even a thing? i don't know anymore)
"Uh, one matcha latte, please?"
Zuko looked up from the cash register of the Jasmine Dragon, looking at the man again. "Sorry, what size would you like?"
The stranger blushed. "Yeah, uh, regular, please."
Zuko stared at him sceptically, confused by his odd behaviour, before shrugging and ringing him up. "It'll be $3.95."
The stranger, who Zuko had dubbed Cute Ponytail Guy in his head (because he was cute, mind you), rummaged through his pockets before finding his wallet and taking out the only thing that was in there, a 20 dollar bill. Zuko exchanged it before walking off to make Cute Ponytail Guy's drink.
It was his first year of education at Ba Sing Se University, and he felt like dying already, despite how much he loved the experience. Only so many cups of coffee could get you through the day, he mused, and having a scar that covered half your face didn't exactly help when trying to get to know people. It also seemed like half the professors hated him, seemingly set on flushing out his system with essays. All of his coworkers despised him as well. No, the only reason why he was working at the Jasmine Dragon was because his uncle owned the chain, and had put in a good word to the manager of this particular cafe.
He finished brewing the latte and drew a flower in the foam on top, capped it, then served it to his customer. "Thanks for stopping by the Jasmine Dragon," he said, looking in those too-blue eyes.
Cute Ponytail Guy blushed. "H-Have a nice day!" he yelled as he left the cafe.
Zuko looked around, and when he saw that no one was looking, he smiled.
Thanks for making my job bearable, he thought to himself.
He closed up and took the bus back to the apartment he shared with his best friends, Mai and Ty Lee. Opening the door, he was immediately tackled by a flying pink blur, and let out an oof as he was tackled into the doorframe.
"Hi Zuko! You didn't come by at your usual time, so I got worried! But you're here now so its fine, and if something did happen to you, I bet you would be able to defend yourself!"
"Hello to you too, Ty Lee," he muttered as he closed the door and picked up his keys.
Said girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet in front of him, hair in her usual braid and eyes wide, wearing a loose pink blouse. "How was school? Did Professor Zhao give you shit again? I really don't like that guy," she muttered. Zuko chuckled.
"Ty Lee, we're literally in the same music tech class. You know he gave me shit again."
He ran a hand through his hair, tossing his bag onto the floor before collapsing on the couch, his friend looking down at him curiously.
"Well, how was work, then? I still think your dad's an asshole for not paying for your college, he knows how much you want to go here. And don't give me that look, I know you hate your job at the cafe."
Zuko ran his hand down his face. "Actually, work was bearable today. That idiot, what was his name? Hahn? Oh yeah, he wasn't in today, so that made it a lot better."
Ty Lee pursed her lips. "Your aura's still off, though. Did anything else happen?"
"Ty Lee, you know I don't believe in auras. And yes, actually, something did happen." At this, the girl perked up. "This cute guy with a ponytail came in and ordered a matcha latte. I don't think I've ever seen anyone blush that hard in my entire life."
"Ooh! What did he look like? I might not like boys, but I can help you in getting some of that good dic-"
"I'm home!"
Ty Lee immediately ran towards her girlfriend, leaving poor Zuko red and choking on his own spit.
"Hi, Mai," he wheezed out to his friend, who was looking at him in concern.
"Babe, what the hell did you do to him?" she sighed. Ty Lee stared up at her with innocent eyes.
"Nothing, I swear! Zuko's just got a little crush, that's all!"
Mai raised an eyebrow as Zuko squeaked out something that sounded vaguely like I do not!
"A crush? This should be fun, you've always been a hopeless romantic."
Zuko groaned. "Thanks, Mai."
"Anytime."
"Well, he sure does sound like he has a crush! He's been gushing about this cute ponytail guy he met at work today."
Zuko flushed. "I do not gush, Ty Lee. And yeah, I did meet a cute guy with a ponytail today. So what?!"
Mai smirked as she started preparing dinner. "Yep. Totally a crush."
Zuko groaned and smacked himself on the forehead as the girls started to giggle.
Sokka didn't know what the hell he was thinking when he finally walked inside the Jasmine Dragon, but he'd like to strangle the part of his brain that made him do that.
Okay, maybe Toph was right, and he should have made a move the first time he saw the hot, mysterious boy with the scar walk out of the dance studio while he was waiting for Aang, but he's the first to admit he's a bit of a coward around hot boys, so maybe that's why.
He's pretty sure he became more infatuated each time he watched the boy stroll out of Piandao's modern dance class, sweat making his shirt stick to his body and showing just how fit he was.
What took the cake, though, is when he and Aang spotted him working inside the Jasmine Dragon, a cafe just off campus. Aang had not so subtly pointed him out, and Sokka had been sure that if he had water in his mouth at that moment, he would have spit it out all over his bald friend.
Finding out his not-so-secret crush was working in a cafe so close to his apartment had totally freaked him out.
So, naturally, he started stalking him.
He didn't mean for it to go this far, but here he was, nearly a month later, watching the scarred boy prepare bubble tea for one of the patrons through the window. And it vaguely hit him that hey, maybe you should get off of your ass and, oh I don't know, actually talk to the guy?
So he had taken a deep breath and walked in, only to immediately get hit with the scent of coffee and tea.
Hot Scar Boy was washing a mug when he came in, and he immediately felt all his confidence wash away when he looked into those golden eyes.
"Can I help you?"
The raspiness of his voice took him aback, making him more flustered than he was before, and he looked up to see the menu, immediately ordering the first thing he saw on it.
"Uh, one matcha latte, please?" he asked, mentally facepalming himself at the same time.
He didn't even like matcha!
Or lattes!
The boy looked up at him from behind the register, and Sokka caught a glimpse of his nametag, pinned to an apron covering an oversized My Chemical Romance hoodie. Zuko, he thought. Now I have a name to remember you by.
And Zuko looked completely different from all the other times Sokka had seen him. Gone was the hot, fresh-out-of-dance-class college freshman. Instead, Sokka was seeing a new side of him, a barista that was a fan of alternative rock.
To be completely honest, it was adorable.
"Sorry, what size would you like?"
Zuko's voice snapped him out of his reverie, and he flushed again.
"Yeah, uh, regular, please," he stuttered, cursing himself for being so goddamn awkward.
Zuko looked at him weirdly, then shook his head and rung him up. "It'll be $3.95."
Sokka paid, then stood to the side to wait for his drink, admiring the boy's side profile as he did his job. Zuko finished making the latte, capping it and giving it to Sokka.
"Thanks for stopping by the Jasmine Dragon," the barista said, seemingly shrinking into his hoodie as he handed over the drink. Sokka, thinking that he had been flustered enough for one day, started for the door.
"H-Have a nice day!" he yelled, exiting the cafe and walking back to his apartment. Toph wasn't back yet, and probably wouldn't be for a while, seeing as she still had classes. He opened the cup to cool it off, deciding to leave it for Toph, seeing as she actually likes the drink, and found a flower drawn in latte art in the middle of the foam.
He thinks he might just have a heart attack if Zuko keeps being this adorable.
"Come on, Zuko! You clearly like him, why won't you make a move?"
Zuko sighed, massaging his temples and praying that Ty Lee would leave him alone so he could finish writing his essay. When that proved pointless, he swiveled around in his chair so that he faced her.
"Look, Ty Lee, I don't even know if he likes me back. Hell, he might not even be gay!"
"Zuko, you told me that everytime he walks in there, he's blushing. Unless he's just constantly horny, he likes you. Just ask him out, what's the big deal?" Mai asked from her spot on his bed, Ty Lee in her lap.
"Mai, I don't even know his name! It would just be incredibly awkward!"
"Like you aren't already," Mai mumbled, causing Zuko to roll his eyes while Ty Lee spoke up.
"Well, if you don't know his name, why don't you just ask him?"
Zuko took this as a cue to shoo them out of his room. However, he did take their advice, so as he's taking the boy's order the next day, he asks him for his name.
"Sokka," he replies.
It suits him, Zuko thinks. A hella cute name for a hella cute guy.
Things had gotten significantly less awkward for Sokka after Zuko asked him for his name, and now his matcha lattes came with his name written down on the sleeve.
One day, about two months after Sokka started coming into the cafe, Zuko was significantly more flustered than usual, and when Sokka asked him if anything was wrong, he started and squeaked nothing! So yeah, something was definitely wrong with him.
Sokka drummed his fingers against the table he chose, as today he didn't have anything to do after his visit to the cafe. He watched Zuko as he got his laptop out of his bag, starting to type up an essay for his engineering class. Roughly five minutes later, Zuko came by his table with the latte, steaming hot as always. Sokka moved the laptop aside to make room for the drink, and as he set it down, he noticed more writing than usual on the sleeve. Curious, he checked it out.
- hey, sokka! it's zuko, i've seen you around the cafe a lot and you seem to really like these lattes. anyways, i wanted to know if you wanted to go on a date sometime?
Sokka stared at the message in disbelief. He carefully slipped the sleeve off of the cup, and, noticing that the drink was still too hot to be drinkable, he took the cap off.
Instead of the usual flower or star drawn in the foam, Zuko had drawn a fucking heart.
Sokka noticed said barista staring at him from across the cafe, and looked up to see Zuko wringing his hands and biting his lip while watching him. Sokka grinned and nodded his head, causing Zuko to break out in a small smile of his own. He walked over to Sokka's table.
"I was wondering if we could meet by the fountain tonight at seven?" the scarred boy asked, hiding his hands in his sweater. Sokka smiled.
"It's a date."
As Zuko left to tend to the next customer, Sokka decided to try the drink that started this mess. Anyways, how could he resist, what with the note and the heart?
It turns out he doesn't hate matcha lattes as much as he thought he did.
A/N- reviews are welcome :)