Disclaimer: Characters belong to geniuses known as CLAMP. The beverages and snacks presented are selections from the writer's favourite coffee place, Starbucks©. Other possible places of reference may be present and the writer does not own any of it unless otherwise stated.

Author's Notes: I'm a die hard coffee addict. I think my body is made up of 25%-30% caffeine. Or maybe even 60%. Lol! I don't think I'll finish my busy university life without caffeine by my side. I'm always inspired to do fictions (and study) whenever I drink coffee, and because of that, here's to a series of caffeine-related one-shots for your entertainment.

Summary: A series of caffeine-related one-shots that are best read with a cup of coffee—may it be homemade or store-bought, served hot or iced cold, partnered with a great snack or drank as is. Some may be as light and sweet as the whip cream on top of your beverage, while others can be as heavy and bitter like a good ol' freshly brewed drink.

Blended & Brewed
(The Cappuccino Series)

"Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven."
- Jessi Lane Adams

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Syaoran Li was a very hardworking man.

It was apparent with the way he focused on his job, with the way he handles himself with determination and straight-out perfection. His ignorance for his break time worries his colleagues, but his achievements make them envious too. He was a very motivated young man who works under the not-so-very-nice female boss. His unknown motivation was the cause of stares and occasional gossips around the office, but whatever it was, they knew that he will someday be rewarded for it.

After all, being part of the finance team was not a walk in the park, especially if you're the manager of that said department. He was the one in-charge for the final checkups of the documents, reviewing it again and over, before submitting it to their chief finance officer every three to four weeks.

Their CFO wasn't the friendliest of them all, but she was smart enough as hell to know something's wrong once she first set her eyes on something not valid.

Now Sakura Kinomoto may not even be a candidate for Miss Congeniality, but— cheesy as it may sound, she's the only suitable candidate deserving to have Syaoran's heart.

That was decided by the heart's owner.

His secret was simple: his own boss was his motivation.

Many people may see it as admiration, while there are few others who could see it as mere confusion. But for Syaoran, it was neither or maybe even twistedly both, because for him— it was love.

It was love that pushed him to do his best every day.

It was love that made him smile whenever he passed the final documents to his boss, even if his boss never smile back.

It was love that made him pass the documents with a short cup of hot espresso; the flavour differed every time he gave the monthly report.

The first time he gave a cup, green eyes narrowed at him and questioned, "why?"

He was determined. He didn't even second guess. He just said, "because I wanted to."

When his colleagues noticed it, they thought he was just kissing up to his boss so he can get merits enough to pull him at the top of the hierarchy. Syaoran would just snort at that rumor, ignore it and just do the same thing every month.

The first cup he gave her was a hot cup of cafe mocha. For him, she was the perfect mixture of chocolate and coffee— sinfully bittersweet. But she never knew that, and maybe she never will; but for Syaoran, it was okay.

He did it again the next month, and the third month, and the fourth. But Sakura didn't ask him anymore questions after the first time. Sometimes she never even bothered to know what flavour it was, considering how she would always be surprised with the choice. She thought that it would always be cafe mocha for during work hours, it was her preferred flavour for her own personal reasons.

The sixth month came and when Syaoran entered her office with a cup of caramel macchiato at hand, he passed the folder to which Sakura indifferently accepted. The silence was there as it always have been like the presence of the cup of coffee on the table every month.

The sixth month came and he boldly told her, "You should smile more often."

The statement obviously surprised her, a brow rose up as her attention was caught from the papers she was currently reading. She gave her a look that completely told him, "excuse me?" as if she never heard a word he said, but oh she did.

Syaoran just gave her a sincere smile and shrugged, turning his heels and walked out of the room.

Sakura's eyes were fixed at the closed doors for a few seconds until they gazed on the folder Syaoran had just given her. With a sigh, she grabbed the object and opened it, planning to scan the report so she could easily be through with her work.

Her original plan was blurred when a bright yellow post-it was attached on the first page of the report, blocking out some words.

"You should smile more often" was scribbled at the bottom of the sticky note, and on the middle of it was a poorly drawn smiley face. Sakura had to admit, it did make her smile though.

Shaking her head, she peeled the sticky note carefully and tucked it in one of her drawers, now continuing on with the original plan of doing the final review for the audit report. She always knew Syaoran Li was a man of diligence and hardwork, and with that comes with the knowledge that Syaoran Li would never miscalculate something as simple as addition of the month's expenses.

He did this on purpose. She was sure.

And another thing she was sure of, was that Syaoran did it to get her attention in a poor, unprofessional way—in Sakura's strict mind, that is.

The next day, Sakura called for Syaoran in her office. Snickers and teasing condolences were suddenly heard as Syaoran passed by his co-workers, now walking towards the room. He was sure he was going to get scolded after what he did, or didn't do, to the miscalculated sum.

When Syaoran neared the table, Sakura just looked at him straight and coldly, while he remained surprisingly calm. He waited patiently for the yelling, but it never came. He looked down and closed his eyes, guilt rushing over his body at the thought of disappointing his beloved boss.

He heard her get up from her seat and shuffled a bit, but he never opened his eyes. He heard her walk around the room and waited for any form of physical violence but it still never came. A few seconds passed and the last thing he heard was the door being shut, and that's when he realized that Sakura already left him in the room.

Surprised, he opened his eyes and indeed his boss wasn't there. He was about to leave until the folder he passed yesterday was in front of him, on top of the table. But what surprised him even more was a cup of cafe mocha labelled with his name, sitting beside the folder.

He was clearly not expecting this. With a smirk partnered with a silent laugh, he picked up the cup and his eyes widened when he turned it over and saw a bright pink post-it attached to it.

"Mind your own business" was what it said. That was expected.

But the big smiley face in the middle was just something... remarkable.