Author's Note: Hello guys! This is the first fic I've written in a long time, but I hope it entertains you~! I've been sick recently and it gave me some time to think of this coffee shop AU that I've been wanting to write for a while. I work at a cafe, and the week that I've been sick just gave me so much pent-up cafe energy lol I had to put it somewhere. Please don't be shy to point out grammar or plot errors that I might have overlooked during the editing of this!
Hehe okay now enough of me blabbering-on to the fic!
It was just another day at Mama Braun's Coffee and Cake Shop. The time was 8pm. Marco crossed his arms across his khaki-coloured uniform and dark brown apron as he surveyed the customers in the cafe. The after-work crowd were all happily seated and chatting with their dinner and drinks. The amber lights and wooden furniture motif of the cafe also helped to give the place a relaxed buzz. The cafe was mostly full, even though most of these customers just came in within the hour or so.
Marco exchanged a quick fist-bump with Connie, who was reclining against the cash register and sipping an almost empty cup of iced tea.
"Good job, Marco! Not bad at all, given there's just three of us working tonight!" Connie enthused, patting Marco on the back.
"Heh. Thanks Connie, I try."
"And this iced tea! It's hella great. Best I've ever tasted here!"
"It's just Earl Grey tea with lemon syrup and ice. Nothing special!" Marco giggled as he gestured to the glass jar on the shelf containing their Earl Grey tea bags.
When their shift had just started earlier this evening, Connie had complained to Marco about being bored of the drinks at the cafe. Not that the drinks tasted bad-hell no-but it was easy to get bored of the same few menu items, especially after working there for more than a year.
With that, Marco took up the challenge to make Connie something new to drink. He brewed a cup of Earl Grey hot tea, sweetened it with the lemon syrup Reiner used to make lemonade frappes, and poured it over their largest plastic cup with ice. It was Marco's favorite drink to make at home for himself and his mom, but he would use real lemons and sugar instead of lemon syrup whenever he could. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet, and it was great especially when the weather got warmer during the summer days.
It was still pretty cold out nowadays though, but Connie had insisted to Marco that he wanted an ice-cold drink. Evidently, he got what he wanted, and Connie hadn't stopped gushing about the drink even hours later.
"It's genius, dude, I'm telling you. We should totally get Reiner to add it on the menu."
"Get Reiner to add what to the menu? Connie, help me display this will ya?"
Sasha's flurry of brown hair popped out from the door that separated the kitchen from the cafe bar. She set a pan full of freshly baked chocolate-banana muffins on the dark brown countertop, eyes brimming with satisfaction at making yet another perfect batch.
"Marco's iced tea, Sasha! You should totally try it!" Connie raved about the drink while using a pair of tongs to arrange the muffins evenly on a metal rack beside the cashier, putting them within the customers' plain view. It was the best way to get the aroma wafting around the cafe too. This usually snagged them some last minute sales before the cafe would close at 10pm.
The muffin rack display was Bertholdt's-Reiner's boyfriend's-idea. Despite his quiet presence, the tall boy had a quick eye for new marketing gimmicks for the cafe. Everyone knew it was pretty hard to resist Sasha's baking, especially when it just came right out of the oven, but only Bert capitalized on this and thought of making the confectionaries even more alluring when displayed fresh on the counter. Evidently, Reiner didn't bring his boyfriend around just for show.
As Connie and Sasha continued their enthusiastic chatter about drinks and desserts, Marco whistled to himself as he polished the metal of the espresso machine with a few cloths. He still had a couple of hours before closing time, but he didn't like to rush his cleaning to the last minute. Filtering out the background noise for a while, Marco put some elbow into his work and made sure he could see his orange-tinted freckly reflection against the bright counter lights and the machine's metal finish before moving on to cleaning other things for the night.
The cafe barely had new customers at this hour. Once in a while, a harried-looking student from the nearby campus would bustle in ordering something large and strong, but it was nothing that Marco and Connie couldn't handle. Reiner and Bertholdt would come in after their evening classes to count money and close shop before closing time.
The cafe belonged to Reiner's mom-hence Mama Braun-but Reiner often got teased by his friends for being Mama Braun himself, as he was at the cafe so often. Reiner and Bertholdt shared a dorm at Trost University just a few blocks away from the cafe, making it relatively easier for the couple to manage things whenever Reiner's mother was away. Reiner's family home was almost an hour's car ride away from the cafe, so the real mama Braun came to the cafe only on weekends when the crowds were busier and sometimes more unruly.
Amidst the subdued cafe chatter, there was a tinkling of the bells by the wooden doorframe that meant some people were coming into the shop. A small group of college students came in, clinging to their laptop bags and looking drained from the cold weather outside. They were all decked in pullovers and sweaters as it was still pretty cold out, but their expressions quickly changed for the better after Sasha and Connie greeted them.
"Reiner! Bert! Armin! You guys are early today!"
"You guys wanna try today's muffins? I just took them out a few minutes ago!"
Armin was another part timer like Marco, Connie, and Sasha who studied at Trost. The smaller blond glanced at Reiner, almost as if asking for permission to try the muffin. After receiving a quick nod in return, Armin then grabbed one of the muffins and took a bite.
"Mmmm this is great stuff, Sasha, thanks! I see you figured out how to perfect the balance between softness and texture, huh?"
"It was all in the whisking and the oven temperature, like you said Armin!"
"Heh. Glad to help!"
"Can't wait to try it out with potatoes next week! Hurrhurrhurr..."
"Yeah nice and warm, just what we need. This is really great stuff, Sasha! I made the right choice asking you to help us out here," Reiner added, while giving half of his own muffin for Bert to try. The latter nodded at Sasha with an appreciative smile, his mop of dark hair half hidden in a grey beanie.
Reiner then moved his attention to Marco, who was polishing glasses at a further end of the bar.
"Marco, have you and Connie had dinner? Have you tried these? They're pretty good stuff."
"Haha, thanks Reiner, I'll try them after I finish with these." He motioned towards the glasses he was polishing.
Reiner surveyed his work and gave him an appreciative nod.
"Hey Marco, after you're done, could I trouble you to make me some drinks on the house? Armin, Bert, and I have a group project to discuss with our friends-that's why we're here earlier, if you were wondering."
It was then when Marco noticed the two boys behind Reiner. One of them was just slightly taller than Armin, with messy dark hair that framed his large, green eyes. He was clad in a dark coloured pullover that spelled "TROST" out in big, yellow letters, and had a dark red scarf covering the lower half of his face. He looked a bit angry.
The dark haired boy was glaring at the other boy beside him. He was taller and leaner than Green Eyes, yes, and very visibly cold. He had a bright red woollen beanie, partially hidden by a dark blue sweater that he wore with the hood up. From Marco's vantage point, it looked like he had at least two layers of shirts beneath the sweater. Despite the thick frames of his hipster glasses covering a good proportion of his face, Marco had to admit that he was pretty handsome, albeit cold. Marco almost blushed at that last thought-he could always say it's just the freckles! He chastised himself mentally. Now's not the time to be ogling at Reiner's friends!
"Sure, Reiner. Just the usual for you, Bert, and Armin, right? Extra hot?" He got quick nods in response.
"How about you guys?" Marco smiled while gesturing towards the other two guys. "What could I get for you?"
"Can I get a Mocha?" Green Eyes asked. "And don't bother with Horse-face here. He'll be happy with a sugar cube."
"Hey, sh-shut up, J-Jaeger-boy." The other boy gave Green Eyes a glare, even though he looked like he was going to pass out from the cold. "I-uh-I just need something r-really warm to d-drink. Um. S-surprise me."
With that, the five boys found themselves a table nearest to the cafe's heating and started setting up their laptops. Connie got a tray and serving spoons arranged, while Marco got the drinks prepared. Soy green tea latte for Bert, flat white with one sugar for Reiner, double shot latte for Armin, and a hot mocha for Green Eyes. For the other boy-Horse-face?-Marco made a caramel macchiato, taking care to draw a snowflake design on top with some caramel drizzle.
After Connie served the piping hot drinks, both of them got back to cleaning the bar while munching on some ham and cheese sandwiches Sasha had made in the meantime. They didn't have a fixed mealtime, and both Marco and Connie felt bad taking too much time to eat, since Reiner insisted on not deducting the time they took to eat from their salaries.
Before long, it was closing time. Marco reclined on one of the comfortable, velvet sofas, having just completed his share of sweeping while Connie was mopping his side of the cafe. Bert was counting the cashier money while Reiner stood close by and was checking the individual item sales on the computer.
"So, a snowflake, Marco? Really?" Armin started amusedly as he sat on the sofa seat opposite his colleague.
"What are you talking about, Armin?"
"On Jean's caramel macchiato, Marco! Don't think I didn't notice." Armin eyes glittered teasingly. "You hardly make latte art since Reiner said it's not necessary. You didn't even make the spiderweb design on Eren's mocha with chocolate even though that's the easiest thing to do!"
Marco's cheeks flushed red just a little bit from Armin's teasing. Well, at least now he knew Green Eyes and his friend's names. Eren and Jean. Jean. Marco hummed his name in his head, liking the way it sounded.
"I don't see where you're getting at, Armin," Marco retorted while studying his fingertips with renewed fascination.
"Hehe. Whatever you say, Marco."
The group started packing up as the clock struck 10pm. As Reiner gave the cafe a cursory glance while locking up for the night, he asked Marco, "Did you know Jean before tonight, Marco?"
"Uh, nope. Today's the first day I saw him, Reiner."
Bertholdt quietly added, "Apparently, not a lot of people know Jean's favorite drink is caramel macchiato, and he was pretty surprised. Looks like he'll be dropping by more often now." The taller boy mussed up Marco's hair. "Good job, snowflake."
Connie, Sasha and Armin tried not to snicker too loudly as Marco's face turned a shade more crimson, despite the cold, windy evening air.
Chapter End Notes:
Heyy thanks for reading this far! How's that for a first chapter? Did you like it? Please leave a comment or review letting me know what you think or how you'd like the story to progress! Any characters you'd like to make an appearance?
You could also find me on tumblr, my username is coriandering there.
Alright peeps, til next time~!