Double Shot Espresso

There was something comforting about stepping into a steamy café out of the bitter winter cold. The smell of espresso and freshly baked pastries assaulted the senses, coaxing an air of peace out of the room's inhabitants. Tension seemed to melt out of everybody that was there, either typing on laptops or clutching cups of pleasantly warm coffee. Gentle jazz music floated in the background under the tap-tap of keyboards, occasional sprays of steam or harsh grinding of blenders.

Yes, if heaven existed, it would take the form of a coffee shop.

And easy smile made its way onto Fai's lips as he stepped through the foggy glass door. A burst of heat flooded over his chilled body and he quickly shut the door as to not let any of that glorious warmth escape. He sighed and shrugged out of his heavy jacket, placing it on the back of his chair. He tugged off the leather gloves, fingers numb and freezing. He would order his usual cup of tea after he got some blood flow back into his appendages.

He leaned back in the chair, crystalline droplets of melted snow starting to drip from the ends of his white-blond hair. He closed his eyes, simply absorbing the relaxed atmospheres like a sponge in water. He allowed the muscles in his back—overworked and tired from a long day of work—to unwind for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Your tea!" a cheerful voice above him chirped. He opened a single blue eye to be met with a pair of jovial jade. "Two cream and four sugars, yes?"

Fai chuckled to himself—a breathy, quiet sound that resonated in his chest more than his mouth. "Ah, yes. I think I come here to often if you know that by now, Sakura," he hummed, sitting up and taking pleasingly hot cup into his hands. It burned the still-cool limbs at first, but it soon turned to a pleasant tingle on the surface of his skin. "Thank you." He smiled over at the small brunette girl.

"My pleasure!" she chirped, giving the blond man a quick bow before turning on her heels and scurrying back behind the counter and filling out other orders.

Fai laughed against the rim of the cup, the rising steam condensing against his chilled, red nose. He took a careful sip of the beverage, cautious not to burn his tongue. While he drank, his eyes began to move around the café out of habit.

There was the young, blond, business-type woman, typing with one hand and sipping from a cup with the other. Her hair, as per usual, was pulled back into a tight bun. She was always perched in the far corner, right next to the coffee machine. There was the Paper Man, who sat right against wall and read the paper, but never ordered anything. His hair was long and fell in thick, black waves over his face. Then there were High School Sweethearts. Two high school aged teenagers that always sat together and simply cuddled for maybe an hour or so. They fed each other scones and croissants, sipping away at bottles of water. Fai found it rather cute.

Those were just the regulars.

One of Fai's favourite activities while sitting in the café was people watching. It was always interesting to see those normally faceless strangers in a whole different light. Whether they were relaxed tourists in tacky shirts or hurried regulars in pressed suits, they had their own stories. Though they never had time to share them, it was fun to guess. And from the time Fai started sipping on his cup of tea to the time he had to go home, he would enjoy making up backgrounds for these random strangers.

"Double shot espresso, please."

Fai first heard the rough, gravelly and yet oddly quiet voice between sips of tea and rapt contemplation of the last person who ordered a double vanilla latté. The blond quickly decided that the Latté Woman had two children judging by her age and weight she carried around her hips.

But this man was different. He was young, possibly younger than Fai. He had short, black hair and was obviously some sort of Asian. He was tall, muscular with an angular face and sharp cheekbones and his eyes... They were the most peculiar shade of brown that he had ever seen. If such a thing were possible, the blond could have sworn that they were a very deep shade of red.

In a word, he was... handsome.

It was strangely difficult to place a background on this man, though. He was clearly rough around the edges and worked out, but... what could have made him that way, for once, escaped Fai. Football player, perhaps? No... his voice and all-around way he carried himself didn't say football player. Track star? No. His torso was far too well-defined for that. Body builder was a distant possibility, but he seemed too... disciplined.

"What are you staring at?" the black-haired man growled, swirling his espresso in his small cup.

Fai jolted slightly, snapped out of his thoughtful reverie by the rough voice. His eyes widened significantly when he realized that he had been caught. "Uh..."

Oh, what a wonderfully intelligent response. The blond silently berated himself, racking his mind for some sort of intelligible reply for the other man. Though, as he stared into those amazingly crimson eyes, his mind went as blank as a classroom whiteboard.

The man raised a single, charcoal eyebrow before scoffing and turning to leave. Fai felt a blast of cold air as the door was opened. He glanced behind him and saw the black-haired man turn to walk down the street, still taking careful sips of his double shot espresso.

Fai let out a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding. His heart pounded in his chest, whether from the exhilaration of being caught or something... else, he wasn't sure. But it was an altogether pleasant sensation. The palpitations in his heartbeat sent shivers and shocks up his spine and seemed to suck the oxygen right out of his blood cells. Breathless...

He didn't know exactly why, but he was certainly hoping to see that mysterious, crimson-eyed stranger again.

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Author's Notes: Mini-series time! Yes. This is part one of a three or four part mini-series. Yes, it is a rather short chapter and for that, I'm sorry. It just sort of ended up that way! The next chapter should be out within a few days, depending on how busy I am.

Erm, by the way, in case you couldn't tell, this is a modern AU of Tsubasa. XD'