"Ah, I'll have a triple grande cinnamon dolce latte with hazelnut syrup, to go-' he paused, thinking. "Plus a tall vanilla rooibos tea latte, also to go,"
The blonde gazed longingly at the money he handed over to the cashier, allowing the notes to slip through his fingers. It was a habit he had developed since beginning his job at the advertising firm. He'd only been there six months, and being the new guy who lacked any work experience whatsoever other than that of McDonalds', he wasn't exactly raking in the cash.
His parents had decided he could survive well enough on his own, and went touring the world or some other sappy romantic thing after helping with the down payment on his apartment. He was holding up well enough on his own right now, but it was all he could do to top up his rainy day funds a little each month.
Alfred set off for work, sipping his coffee and the tea in a carrier. The pavement, as usual, was bustling with fellow office workers and the roads were so congested the flow of traffic was more like that of water in a dammed lake than a river. Joining in the rush of people, he kept a close eye on the tea to ensure that it didn't slam into someone's leg or briefcase. That would be a complete waste of his effort and money.
Left, right, left- whoa, incoming briefcase- right left… black trousers brushed against the plastic and he hissed a curse under his breath, relaxing when nothing happened.
His own beverage was half gone by the time he entered the wonderfully empty reception area, and he flashed a smile at the pretty redhead at the counter as he passed by on the way to the elevators.
Alfred clocked in, then burst through the entrance of the department, yelling out, "Good morning, everyone~!"
Those within earshot- in other words, all present- returned his greetings, while at the other end of the room, an English accent made itself heard through the words, "Someone shut that git up," as per the norm.
From the individual cubicle by the entrance, the sultry Daena Key stood up, leaning over the separator justso, purring, "Hello, Alfred~"
Grinning, he responded, "Hello yourself, Daena."
She glanced at the extra cup Alfred was carrying and raised her thin eyebrows and asked, "What's that?"
He looked at it and grinned sheepishly, having forgotten its name. "It's an, uh, vanilla something tea… latte,"
Daena's eyes grew slightly, and she clasped her hands together, exclaiming, "A vanilla rooibos tea latte? Oh, I love those!"
He continued smiling, oblivious as to what her thoughts were. "Oh, you do? Hahah, that's great! Gotta get down to work now, Daena, 'else someone'll be after my ass. See ya!"
With that, he walked off to his workspace. Daena could only blink after him and shake her head with a sigh, soft dark curls bouncing lightly about her slender shoulders. That boy could be denser than steel sometimes.
As Alfred dumped his coffee and his bag at his desk, his co-worker Elizaveta stuck her head from over her adjacent cubicle and inquired cheekily, "Since when did you start drinking tea, hm?"
Alfred looked up, surprised, and scratched the back of his head shyly. Elizaveta pressed on, "I thought you were pretty damn broke, too, which is why you've been freeloading as much as you can."
Alfred pinked slightly and hushed her with a violent 'shush' sound, pouting. "It's not my fault I'm poor! And you know very well how it's like to be supporting yourself after paying for your own college," he pointed out.
Elizaveta laughed, "Of course I do, Al. You know I'm just teasing you. So, who's it for?'
"It's not for anyone!" He started defensively, but he knew that she wasn't going to fall for it- her 'I- know- everything' smile was in place.
"Mmhm, because you drink tea, right?"
"Uh…"
"No?" Her smile widened a little. "Then it's for someone! If not for office belle Ms Key, then whoever could it be? Not little ol' me, that's for sure,"
Alfred puffed out his cheeks in protest at the teasing, but Elizaveta stretched over to ruffle his hair. "Okay, I've had my fun, I have a shit ton of work to do before my leave or I'll be drowning in it when I get back. Have fun with your boyfriend~"
She giggled as Alfred gaped, unable to get any words out before the brunette dropped back down to her own workspace, out of view. In the end he decided to ignore the comment, strolling out to the back of the department.
The alcove there had two identical doors- one on the left wall and the other on the right. Neither was the Head's office, though, that was close to the entrance- Daena was his secretary. The door to the left had a small plaque next to it that read 'Arthur K.', and that was the one he knocked on before sticking his head around, not bothering to wait for an answer.
The little office was neatly, albeit rather sparsely furnished, with a workdesk in the middle and a cupboard as well as a file cabinet backed up against the left wall. It was well-lit thanks to the back wall being made out of windows, but the blonde at the desk still felt semi-blinded by his visitor's grin as he looked up, irate.
"What do you want, Mr. Jones?" he asked, tapping his pen against the tabletop impatiently.
Alfred's smile faltered just the tiniest bit as he stepped inside, nervous. "I was getting my daily cup of awesome down at Starbucks just now, and thought, well, why not get something for you too?" he answered, setting the tea down as he leant against Arthur's desk.
Said man's eyes widened in surprise, but rather than ask why, he stated bluntly, "I don't drink coffee."
Alfred chuckled and said, "I know." Indicating towards the beverage, he continued, " This is a vanilla rooibos tea latte," He sent a silent thanks to Daena for reminding him what the hell this was.
Arthur still didn't appear to be very impressed, intoning, "I prefer my tea plain, two sugars at most,"
Alfred's expression seemed to soften for some inexplicable reason as he repeated, "I know." Then, reaching out to touch the smaller man's cheek- "It's to keep you sweet,"
After mumbling which, he unhitched himself from the desk and left the private office. Arthur sat, pen sitting in his loose grip, a slow blush spreading over his cheeks as the realization of what had just occurred set in.
He shook himself, then went back to the papers in front of him.
A/N: This is the first time I've actually written a proper story for Hetalia outside of using the characters for my English essays (of which plot my teacher loves, but not my overshooting the word count or cliffhangers) , and I'm not really used to the format, so.
A/N: IDK if this is a oneshot or what, it's really just something I crapped out in Chinese class. Concrit welcome~
Edit: If you see any mistakes whatsoever or some parts don't flow well in this or the other chapters, do notify me. I'm irritating myself to no end with this horribly sub-standard writing. Help me watch out for italics, too. FF is giving me problems with those.