Albus tapped his fingers against the wood, both wishing for a customer who could provide mental stimulation and dreading another interaction with the stuck up rich people who frequented the coffee shop. If he'd known how insufferable the clientele would be, he would have devoted his energy to looking for jobs elsewhere, but he'd made his decision, and he didn't want to quit. James would never let him live it down.

But it was becoming harder to deny that maybe his brother had a valid point when he'd said that Albus wouldn't last long at the coffee shop. It was true that Albus had felt more like a fancy robot over the past month than he had a human being. That was how the customers saw him, and he often thought his boss did too.

"I really hate rich people," Albus muttered to his co-worker Lysander the second the door swung closed behind their latest customer.

It was a slow part of the day, which meant that Albus had plenty of time to vent to Lysander about all of his troubles. Of course most of those troubles were going to be about their customers.

"You've got to get over all your pent up anger, Albus," Lysander said with a roll of his eyes. "Some of them are obnoxious, sure, but complaining about them all the damn time sure isn't helping anyone."

"Some people need to vent to stay sane," Albus shot back, kicking at the base of the counter to air his frustrations further. "It's a thing most normal people do. You're the one who's weirdly chipper all the damn time."

"Your venting is constant and too much," Lysander said with the sensitivity of a five-year-old. He stuck his bottom lip out in a pout over Albus' slight insult.

When Albus glared, he merely shrugged in response.

"I speak the truth. If it gets you worked up, it's only because you know it's true."

Albus was about to respond when the bell above the door rang, alerting them about another customer. Both boys took their assigned positions, Albus at the cash register and Lysander behind the coffee machine, as had been drilled into them since their first day.

The boy who walked through the door had the same general air about him that Albus had come to expect from rich people. His clothes certainly hadn't come from the places where Albus and his family shopped. Each piece had cost more than Albus' entire wardrobe; hell, the boy's entire outfit had probably appeared on a runway once. That fact alone was enough to make Albus hate him.

What he hated even more was that the boy was gorgeous. He was taller than Albus, that much was obvious even before he'd reached the counter. There was a silver and green-striped scarf wrapped around the boy's neck, and the colours complimented his eyes wonderfully. He looked hypnotic, and Albus struggled to keep his mind clear as he approached. Nothing good could come from falling for a rich boy anyway.

He plastered on the expected smile as the boy approached, blocking out all thoughts that weren't part of his script.

The boy smiled at him as he approached the counter, which Albus had to begrudgingly admit was a step up from the greetings he usually got.

"Hello," the boy said.

"Hi," Albus said in the same cheery voice he was always forced to use. "Welcome to Joe's Coffee. What can I get for you today?"

"A caffè latte, please," Scorpius said with far more enthusiasm than was normal while ordering coffee.

"Of course. That'll be £4.58."

He tried not to look at the boy as he took his money, put it into the cash register, and retrieved the correct change.

It wasn't until the boy was leaving the shop that Albus allowed himself to watch the back of his head as it disappeared through the door.

Laughter rang through the shop, and Albus snapped his head towards Lysander with a glare.

"He liked you," Lysander said in a sing-song voice. "Did you notice how he couldn't stop staring?"

"Shut up," Albus muttered, glaring down at the register in front of him. "He was not."

"If you hadn't been avoiding looking at him so much, you would've noticed. I thought he might accidentally drop his coffee with the way he was gawking at you as I handed it to him. I think I just witnessed the beginnings of love."

Albus reaches over to shove Lysander, trying to ignore the boisterous laughter he received in response.

Scorpius didn't know how to flirt. He could watch other people do it, and he understood the theory behind it, but when he was standing across from someone he liked, he struggled to actually implement it.

There had to be some unspoken science behind it that Scorpius couldn't grasp. The thing was, he didn't really care about grasping it, but flirting seemed to be the only way people caught on that you liked them.

That and flat out telling them about your feelings were apparently your only options, and Scorpius couldn't do the latter any better than he could the flirting.

Week after week, he came to the coffee shop where Albus (according to his name tag) worked. He would never allow himself to come more than one day a week. He wanted Albus to catch on that he liked him, but he didn't want to seem creepy.

The thing was, Albus was gorgeous, and that was intimidating.

It didn't help that Albus was also a little hostile. Scorpius was sure Albus didn't like him much, but what bothered him was that he didn't know why. He'd tried to be kind, and he hadn't even attempted to make any moves on him.

Sometimes Albus blushed when he saw him, but then he'd make a concerted effort to scowl. Scorpius had no idea what to make of it.

But he kept coming back hoping he would figure it out.

It was Lysander who smiled at the blonde boy whenever he came in, and it was Lysander who found out that his name was Scorpius. Albus pretended not to be listening to the conversation, but the name ran through his mind whenever Scorpius arrived. He'd have to remind himself not to use it whenever he took Scorpius' order or handed him his coffee.

No matter how many times Scorpius came, he was always well dressed and composed. Even in his work uniform, Albus felt sloppy in comparison. Frequently, he would have stains from previous spills on his shirts when Scorpius arrived, and the stains felt like neon signs as he stood across the counter from Scorpius.

If Scorpius' elegant appearance wasn't enough to irritate Albus, his choice of university subject was. He'd taken to studying in the coffee shop, which in addition to being far too distracting, also meant that Albus couldn't help but sneak a peek at his textbooks whenever he delivered new drinks to his table.

At first, he'd thought Scorpius was studying to be a doctor; it had felt fitting. Over time, though, he'd realized that Scorpius was actually studying to be a nurse, and that left Albus more intrigued by the boy than ever.

Though Albus had never met Scorpius' parents, he could easily imagine the kind of people they were. He wondered how they felt about their son choosing to become a nurse, not a doctor.

Scorpius was careful to keep his eyes on his textbook as Albus approached the table. He knew that if he looked up and made eye contact, Albus' kind eyes would harden into a glare, and he hated watching it happen. As Albus sat a new coffee cup on his table, Scorpius' heartbeat quickened.

When Albus continued to hover over him instead of turning away, Scorpius stiffened, but it wasn't until Albus cleared his throat that he dared to look up at the other boy.

"This one is on the house," Albus said, motioning at the mug.

"Oh." Scorpius blinked several times, looking between the mug and Albus. This was new. "Thank you."

Albus gave a slight jerk of his head that was probably meant to be a nod.

"Let me know if you need anything," he said.

His lips turned upwards in a small grin, and Scorpius felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. Returning the smile, he leaned forward, feeling giddy and more daring than he ever had before.

"I'm sure I will," he said, only blushing a bit when he realized the tone he'd used was the closest he'd ever come to flirting successfully.

Albus didn't seem turned off by it as his grin widened.

"I'll let you get back to your homework," he said. "It looks important. Nursing, is it?"

"Yes," Scorpius said, smiling down at his book. There was a picture of a nurse drawing blood from a child on the page. "I'm studying to be a pediatric nurse."

"Pediatrics," Albus repeated, nodding his head absentmindedly.

People always had one of two reactions when they learned of his chosen profession: surprised disapproval or surprised enthusiasm. There were rarely any muted reactions.

"Pediatrics," Scorpius confirmed, holding up the book for Albus to see the title emblazoned on the front. "I've always wanted to work with children."

Albus was biting at his lip but couldn't hide his smile, and Scorpius felt his stomach flutter. For a moment, they silently watched the other, waiting to see what the other would do.

When Albus was no longer able to help himself, he blurted out, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"Yes," Scorpius replied before Albus had entirely finished the question. "Definitely yes."

Albus took a large enough exhale that Scorpius could see it, and he found it hopelessly endearing.

"Great," Albus said with a relieved smile. He reached over Scorpius to take one of the napkins from the holder and stole Scorpius' pen to scribble down his number. "You can text me once I get off work, and we'll figure out the details."

"Sounds wonderful," Scorpius said, nodding along in a daze.

He couldn't help but smile at the napkin as Albus headed back to the counter. And he was tactful enough to pretend not to hear the way Lysander sniggered before exclaiming, "Ouch!" when Albus retaliated.

Prompts:

HPFC

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy - sloppy

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Seasonal Challenge - Days of the Year: National Frappe Day - write a coffee shop AU

Seasonal Challenge - Autumn Prompts: (object) scarf

Button Bonanza: Blue - hypnotic

Word count: 1,720