Nero Vanetti loved the city of Chicago because it was different from the small town he grew up in. He grew up in a place with open fields. A place where everyone knew everyone. Chicago wasn't like that. The city was loud and dangerous, crime rising each day at an alarming rate, and it often smelled of pollution and garbage. One false step could lead you to a thousand regrets, or a miracle beyond all else. Living in the city was a gamble, and Nero loved every risk it gave.

Those were some of the many reasons he had decided to attend school there. Unsurprisingly, it was not hard to convince his father to let him go. After all, he was not a stranger to the city. His father was a businessman who often traveled to Chicago when necessary, and more often than not he would allow Nero to accompany him. The town they resided in was just outside of Chicago, one hour north.

Despite his father's willingness to let him go, there was still a deal that had to be made. Nero had to pay for it himself. Luckily Nero was a smart kid, and his scholarships as well as in-state tuition helped him pay off the majority of expenses. Still, there was the matter of books, food, and the little bit his scholarships weren't able to cover. To pay for this, Nero contradicted his wild side by working at a coffee shop just down the street from his university called 'Lawless Coffee.'

He walked into the café and immediately greeted his coworker. "Hey, Tigre!" he exclaimed.

"You were almost late again," he sighed.

Nero waved him off. "In the end I made it on time so why does it matter," he shrugged.

Tigre grinned. "Just hurry up and clock in, will ya?"

Nero went to the back room and dropped his bag against the wall. He shrugged his jacket off, securing it around the coat hanger, then tightened the bow tie around his neck. He opened the bag to pull out his black apron to which he tied around his waist. Rolling up the sleeves to his white dress shirt, he made his way back to the front, walking behind the counter to clock in on the computer.

"Corteo okay?" he asked Tigre.

"Yeah. He said something about needing the time off to help his mother," he explained.

Needing the money, Nero took all the shifts Corteo put up that week.

"Hope she'll be okay," he said benevolently. Tigre nodded in agreement.

The bell hanging from the door suddenly rang and that was the start of the morning rush. Admittedly, it was hard for the two of them to handle so many people at once, but thanks to their teamwork they were able to survive, rewarding themselves with a sigh of relief when the rush was finally over.

As the rush ended and more customers left, Tigre began cleaning off the tables. During this, a young man walked in. He looked younger than Nero, but old enough to be a college student. He set his book bag by one of the cleaner tables before making his way over to the counter. His hair was a little ruffed up, probably due to the wind outside, so he ran his hand through it to try and fix it as he walked up.

Cute, thought Nero.

His gold eyes trailed behind the older man like he was looking for someone, before landing back on him. Nero put on his brightest smile.

"What can I get you?" he asked enthusiastically.

The man looked up at the menu for a couple seconds. "Just a regular coffee," he eventually decided, already opening his wallet.

"Of course! And what size?"

"Medium."

Nero nodded. "And can I get a name for that?"

To be honest, now that the rush has died down the café wasn't busy enough for him to be needing to take names, Nero was just using his job as an excuse to learn it from the pretty boy.

"Avilio," he said.

Nero nodded as he wrote it on the cup.

Avilio walked away after paying for his drink, going back to the table where he set his stuff down. Nero watched him pull out a notebook and a psychology textbook from his bag, probably for homework, before moving to make his drink.

Within minutes, Nero had his drink made and called him over. Before sitting back down Avilio walked over to a small counter where the sugar and creamer sat. Nero was baffled by the amount of sugar Avilio put in his coffee.

Guess you can't judge a book by its cover, he thought.

Feeling he was being watched, Avilio turned his eyes to Nero with a slight glare.

"Ah," Nero let out. He turned away, trying to avoid his eyes. I've been caught.

Avilio just rolled his eyes before walking back to his table, continuing his school work.

As soon as Tigre was finished cleaning the tables he went back to Nero, intending to help him with any customers. He elbowed him in the chest. "Nice view?" he asked, head nodding to Avilio who had his back turned to the duo.

"Shut up," mumbled Nero, before taking care of a different customer. Tigre laughed.

"You know he's a regular, right?" Tigre asked him as he started on the woman's order.

Nero handed the woman her change before replying. "I've never seen him," he said.

"I think he's friends with Corteo. He always comes in during his shifts, so I guess it makes sense if you've never seen him before," Tigre explained. Nero and Corteo rarely worked together. Corteo's schedule just didn't work with his. He wasn't as flexible, which was why he took the morning shifts while Nero took the afternoon and occasional night shifts. Tigre was there almost all day, every day. Nero sometimes worries he's not getting enough rest.

He hummed in acknowledgement to Tigre's explanation.

Within an hour, Avilio appeared to be finished with his work, considering he was packing everything up in his bag. Nero tried not to let it bother him that he was leaving, but before he could think about it too much Avilio walked back over to him, ordering a second cup of coffee to take with him.

Nero smiled as he put in the order. Avilio walked away before he could give him his receipt, a sign by customers that usually told Nero he could just throw it away, but he thought better.

He made his drink quickly, and Avilio took it as soon as his name was called.

"Don't forget your receipt," said Nero, handing it to him.

"You can just toss it," said Avilio. But the brunet just shook his head.

"Sometimes these things become important," he said as he waved it around, trying to convince him. "It's best to be on the safe side!"

Nero could tell by his face that Avilio wasn't buying it, but grinned when he eventually gave in and took the damn thing.

Avilio walked back over to the small counter for his sugar and was about to throw away his receipt in the small trash can next to it, mainly just to spite the barista, but stopped when he noticed something scribbled on the back.

'Would you rather do homework or come hang out with me?' it said, with a poorly drawn winky face.

Avilio could still throw it away. He knew that he should. But against his better judgement, he pulled out a pen from his backpack and wrote something underneath the message.

Avilio dropped the receipt by the cash register Nero occupied before leaving the café.

Grinning, Nero picked up the receipt, pleased his plan was working. However, his face fell when he actually read it. 'Homework,' it stated. Tigre laughed from behind Nero as he read the receipt. "Ah… at least he responded," Nero smirked.

"It's amazing how fast you can pull yourself back together," mentioned Tigre when he finished laughing.

Avilio came in two days later and ordered the same coffee, and again Nero wrote a cheeky message.

'There should be a picture of you under the word "perfect" in the dictionary,' he wrote.

To which Avilio replied 'There should be a picture of you under the word "annoying".'

"I don't think he likes you," mentioned Tigre as he witnessed Nero's distraught look, but Nero waved it off.

"If this was true he wouldn't keep writing back," he said.

And he did. Avilio always wrote back.

'I think all you're missing today is a little vitamin ME' wrote Nero.

His reply: 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Cause obviously you landed on your face.'

Nero was momentarily shocked before letting out a chuckle.

Surprisingly, they continued on like this for a couple weeks; exchanging written messages instead of talking, until one day Nero asked, "You think about me?"

He was holding Avilio's receipt which contained the words 'I have a headache that comes and goes. Usually happens when I think of you.' Nero pointedly ignored the first part.

Avilio just shrugged before turning to walk away, but before he could walk out the door Nero rushed over and gently grabbed hold of his shoulder. "Keep it this time," he said, before handing the receipt back to Avilio.

Avilio looked it over, only to find a phone number written at the bottom. He smirked before folding the receipt, sticking it in his pocket. "See you later then, Nero," he said before walking out the doors without another word. For a second Nero wondered how he knew his name, considering he had never told him, before remembering that name tags exist. Nero smiled before turning back to work.

Nero was noticeably happy the rest of the day, and Tigre could only guess why.