A/N Hi, all. Saw a prompt on Tumblr asking for a coffee shop AU, and I thought I'd try my hand at it. This may get continued (and is set up like it should be, so I probably should), but we'll see it how it goes. I hope you all like it and keep coming back for more! Characters are not mine.
The warm browns of the coffee shop shone gold in the early morning light. Anna stretched and leaned up against the doorframe that led into the shop, shaking the sleep from her body as she struggled to get the key from her purse. The winter wind scurried around the girl, and she squeaked, fingers shaking from the cold. The door swung open with a soft and friendly 'creak', and relief broke over Anna's face. She hurried inside without a second thought, stopped, and breathed in the warm, stale air.
It felt like she was coming home again.
With a huff and a shove, she moved behind the counter, hand straying affectionately across the wooden countertops. Opening the shop wasn't her favorite shift to work, but the silence before the storm was such a blessing. The morning rush was terrible. Each customer had the single most important meeting of their lives to get to; they jumped over and under each other to get their fix of whatever amount of caffeine and sugar would tide them over until lunch. Anna couldn't blame them, really; she loved a good cup of coffee, especially with warm, dark chocolate melted in and drizzled over a topping of hot, whipped foam.
She draped her coat over the empty coat rack in the back of the building, burying her purse beneath its incredible bulk. The burnt-smoky smell from last night's shift still wafted in the corners and crevices of the shop, and Anna licked her lips, tasting it on her tongue.
Soon enough, the water was boiling in the stainless steel kettles and the beans where brought out from the back. Cheap creamers were placed out in bins right by the registered, and the expensive bottles of flavors ranging from sweet to bitter were lined like stoic soldiers against the back wall. Anna wiped the windows down with a half empty bottle of Windex, then the steel kick plates, washing away any slush that had been dragged in after her.
The beans were ground, and the shop bloomed with the scent of fresh coffee. Anna filled the filters of the coffee pots and let the water simmer below before running to the back and pulling out the gallons of whole milk they had stored.
It was business as usual. The shop didn't open for another fifteen minutes, but she would unlock the doors before then. The milk was simmering, the coffee was steaming, and water was heated for any of the travelers who wanted tea.
The coffee shop glowed with light, sound, and smell. Anna loved it.
It would be a while before the first customers trickled in, but she would wait it out and smile, just like she was supposed to. Second shift should arrive around 8:00am, so she wouldn't be alone for long.
With a quick glance towards the doors, just to make sure no one was coming, Anna slipped into the back and into the office, only to fiddle with the PA system that ran through the entire shop. This might have been her favorite thing about coming in this blastedly early to open the shop.
When no one else was there, she got to pick the music. Seemed silly, in hindsight, but with sleep in her eyes and mischief in her smile, Anna never really managed to care that much.
The low notes of a piano leaked through the shop, and the girl smiled, skipping from the office. Was it the most cheerful thing to walk in to, first thing in the morning? No. But that didn't matter. The music circulated softly through the faux wood rafters, and she could hear the bass and electric guitars weaving gently together with the piano, and she loved every note of it.
On the rare occasion when the shop had a slow mornings—meaning it was a Wednesday and no one wanted to go to class or work or wherever they headed off to at this ungodly hour—and Anna was left alone, the shop became her playground. Her boss had scolded her, not unaffectionately, when he had caught her using one of the tables as a dancing partner, bored out of her skull and utterly enraptured by whatever musical theme that had been playing that day.
It appeared that today was going to be another one of those days. Anna grumbled and settled in to her duties behind the counter, taking the coffee off from a boil and setting the milk on to warm, but not curdle. She rested her elbow on the counter and a hand against her cheek, drifting in a daze as she waited for the people to flock.
Olaf, the 8:00am, blew into the shop with the chilly winter wind, half wrenching Anna into alertness. "Oh." She said, dismissing him with a chuckle. "It's just you!"
"Nothing too special about me, then, huh?" Olaf chuckled, unwrapping the scarf from around his neck. "This kind of morning, yeah?" "Yeah." Anna groaned. "Nothing like a slow one."
"It could be worse." Her coworker chirped far too cheerfully, leaping the counter to come and affectionately place a platonic kiss on her cheek. "There could be less pleasant company." Anna laughed and swatted him away, and he bowed, disappearing into the back office. "PDA!" She shouted after him. "I can have you reported, you know!"
"But then you'd miss seeing my handsome face on lovely mornings like this!" He shouted back, and Anna could hear the zing of electricity as he turned on the small, black and white television they had stolen away for themselves.
She giggled to herself and settled back down onto the counter, the quiet sounds of the morning news and Olaf's muttered curses lulling her into relaxation. It wouldn't be so bad, to have a slow morning. It meant she'd get to go home earlier, and then she could get in her pajamas and go back to bed…
The bells on the front door tinkled merrily as it swung open wide, and in trampled a gabbling collection of over-enthusiastic students. Anna was up off her elbows and smiling professionally in a moment, all while mentally scolding each and every one of them. How could anyone afford to be so unnaturally cheerful without their first cup?
The students poured themselves at her, chirping and laughing and generally making mischief, and Anna rolled her eyes, turning back to face the array of ingredients behind her.
The morning had begun in truth. Welcome to hell.
XXX
Kristoff woke up at 11:12am on the second to last Wednesday of the semester spewing curses like a man twice his age. He had been in the middle of some fantastic dreams, something with a girl, and a reindeer, and a sleigh, when the chirping of his bloody alarm clock smashed through it all and forced him into the real world.
It didn't help that he had slept through his 8am. Again.
He struggled out of bed and across the room, tripping over loose clothes and nearly slamming into the dresser. His roommate was long gone, probably out with some friends or in class or whatever normal people did when they weren't busy enjoying sleep.
He had work to go to himself, later that day, but first came classes and homework and, ugh, parts of him hated it. Backpack in hand, he spat the remnants of toothpaste from his mouth and made for the door, unenthusiastic about facing the day.
XXX
The predicted slow morning turned out to be a bust, as students poured in, alongside the crowds of suits and sweats and hats of different colors. It was a mad rush, and it left Anna and Olaf dashing from one counter to another, running out of ingredients just when they were needed most.
Kristoff had wandered into the shop on the off chance that it wasn't filled to the brim, and found himself sorely disappointed. The shop advertised some decent priced coffee, though, and all he really wanted was something black and quick. He ended up in line behind some blonde in a red jacket, who delivered her order shortly to a flustered, albeit fairly cute, barista.
"What do you mean, you don't have any shake on cinnamon?" the woman demanded, causing Kristoff to groan in dismay. "I always get cinnamon on my hot cocoa; I've been getting it the same way here for weeks! Why is it suddenly a big no-no?"
"Come on, leave the poor kid alone." Kristoff muttered, resisting the urge to shoulder past the sour woman. She turned and leveled him with a glare fiercer than the winter weather, and he shut his mouth, looking nonchalantly at the ceiling.
The woman was off with a huff, and Kristoff stepped up in line, looking down at the barista sympathetically. "Good luck with her." He muttered. "I just want a black coffee, to go."
The barista chuckled before moving to get him his cup. "That's the easiest order I've had all morning." She said, laughter evident in her voice. "No imported Irish Cream or fresh hazelnuts from Brazil?" "Oh, gods, no." Kristoff laughed. "Way too fancy for someone like me."
The barista grinned mischievously. "What's your name?" she asked, pulling a Sharpie from her apron. "Kristoff." He said, smile dropping only a hair as he waited for her to misspell it.
Miraculously, it appeared that she didn't. She smiled at him again and passed the cup down the line to a skinny, pale man in bright orange. "Black coffee?" The man wrinkled his nose, but jumped to the back and brought forward the pot. Kristoff glanced back at the barista, who looked away from him as quickly as she could to speak to the next guess.
"Emma!" The pale man called out, and Kristoff saw the red jacket-ed woman walk up and storm off with her fancy hot chocolate.
"Hey," the man turned back to face him again, leaning in close to whisper. He smiled knowingly as he passed the larger man his coffee. "Her name is Anna." He said conspiratorially, indicating the red head. "She works Wednesday and Friday mornings, and nearly every afternoon." Kristoff's face must have morphed into some look of confusion, and he felt himself flush as the man laughed.
"Don't look so surprised. She is quite adorable." Olaf said affectionately, looking at her fondly. "If that's the case, why don't you date her?" Kristoff muttered back, cradling his coffee.
Olaf blessed Kristoff with a look so sweet it could have ruined his soulless coffee. "Not my team, bud." He said kindly. "But no matter. That's going to be $3.21." Kristoff started and fished the money from his wallet, handing it over while subtly taking in a sidelong view of the bubbling barista.
"You're so hopeless." Olaf chuckled, handing him back his change. "See you around, Kristoff!" He said, before moving along to his next order.
Kristoff offered a backhanded wave as he walked out the door, just catching the smiling eye of the barista as he closed it softly.
Class made a point to drag that day, and the professor droned on for what seemed like hours instead of a 50 minutes course. The coffee he had gotten barely kept him focused, and Kristoff would've paid anyone at least the cost of that coffee to interpret the notes he had taken.
Still, it was better than usual. He usually didn't take notes.
XXX
It was only because she had been working at this ridiculous little coffee joint for so long that Anna didn't collapse after she completed a shift. She sighed and tried to catch her breath between the waves of students, trying to find a good time to run off to the back and just rest.
The morning rush worked pretty simply; classes began, and business lulled. She and Olaf ended up in the back office watching brief moments of an early morning sitcom, laughing at jokes that wouldn't have been funny anywhere else. When classes ended, they prepared for battle. The masses of zombies who just wanted their caffeine fix seemed ever more resilient against their best efforts to get them all out the doors and back into the world. Some of them curled up at the tables and pull out notebooks full of ink and illegible symbols that Anna couldn't understand if she tried.
The surprise of the day came as Anna prepared to close up her shift, sweating and smelling of salt and coffee beans. She looked up from the cash register to see that massive blonde from the morning walking back in the door. He looked so awkward, standing in the doorway and trying to find a seat. Anna couldn't help but grin as she unwrapped another roll of quarters and let them fall into their bin.
"Hey sunshine princess." Olaf's cheeky grin told her all she needed to know about this conversation. "No." she said immediately, grinning right back.
"But he's back, Anna." The pale man whined, grabbing the rag from her hand. "Go say hi, or something."
"You know I don't do that." She teased, chasing after him to get it back. "What kind of person says hello to a complete stranger?"
"You tell me." The new voice sounded like it had a tease written in to its seams. Anna leapt back from the counter and slammed her back into the carefully lined bottles of flavoring. "Hello again." She stuttered, righting herself and the bottles as quickly as she could. He was laughing at her, she could tell, but it didn't look like mean laughter.
"Hi." He chuckled. "I was wondering," he started, looking as delightfully awkward as he did when he first walked in. "Got anything with more caffeine than black coffee?"
"What, fall asleep in your lecture?" Olaf, ever-present life-raft in Anna's floundering sea of embarrassment, teased. The look on the blonde's face changed from sweet to snarky faster than Anna could track, and she quickly cut in.
"Absolutely." She said, throwing a quick chuckle on to the end of the sentence. "Kristoff, right?" The man's ears tinted red for just a second as he turned his gaze back to her. "Yeah." He said slowly. "Whatcha got for me?"
"We could add some espresso shots, to start." She said, all business now, buzzing around the collection of ingredients on the shelves. "Are you a fan of chocolate?" she called, as the men watched her with mild interest.
"I certainly don't mind it." Kristoff said, a smile growing on his face.
He heard the girl hum and bounce to another shelf. She was carrying brews, he could see, scrunching up her nose and looking all around adorable.
"Alright, here's what I've got for you." She set down an array of supplies in front of him, and he silently thanked the gods that the shop was slow.
"We have this," she help up what looked like a shot in her hand. "Which I really don't think you want right now. It's called Death Wish coffee. Strongest stuff we sell." She tucked that back into her apron, her sheer look of disgust deterring the man from trying it. "We could make you a mocha," she said next. "The caffeine in the chocolate and the coffee might work together to get you going, if that's you're thing."
"It's definitely hers." Olaf said, flashing another grin their way. Anna stuck her tongue out at him.
"Or, if you want to make it simpler," she continued, trying her best to ignore her coworker. "We could just add a shot of espresso."
She looked so eager to please, and he couldn't help but find it sweet. "Let's try the mocha. I've never had one before." He was being honest, and even with the cute barista beaming at him, it still felt like he was ordering a ridiculously girly drink.
"I'll get right on it!" She said, dashing back to begin.
Olaf looked at the larger blonde from behind the counter with what appeared to be a smirk. "Didn't think you'd be back so quickly." He said, picking up the rags from where Anna had left them. Kristoff shrugged in response, letting it slide.
"It's not half bad coffee." He said lamely. "And it doesn't look like a bad place to study." Olaf snorted and looked around the depleted shop. "For now it's not." He agreed. "Just wait until class gets out. Nightmare, that is." "I believe it." Kristoff said, remembering the throng from that morning.
Olaf chuckled, setting the rag back in the bucket. "Look, she's just about to get off shift." He said, smiling. "She'll make herself a mocha, too, and she'll hang out a while. Her usual table is in that window corner." He indicated vaguely to the left. "The only reason I'm helping you, buddy, is because she seems to think you're interesting, too. Don't waste this."
Kristoff looked at him suspiciously, but the pale man merely smiled. "It might not even turn in to that." He said under his breath. "I just met her, man. Let's do this slowly."
"HaHA! He admits he's interested." Olaf crowed, punching the air with delight.
"What's he interested in?" Kristoff flared an intense shade of red as Anna returned, holding two cups of foamy-looking coffee.
"Working in the coffee business." Olaf lied smoothly. "Apparently he's quite the hard worker."
"Now, I wouldn't say that." Kristoff forced a chuckle. "Unfortunately, I already have a job, so I can't come join you to in feeding the masses."
"Oh, that's cool!" Anna chirped. "Where do you work?"
"Uhm…" Kristoff hesitated, and the doors behind them tinkled as they swung open once more.
"I got this." Olaf said, casually sliding between the king and queen of awkward situations. "Anna, why don't you head on back to the office and clock out?" He said. Kristoff watched as Anna's wide, open face turned to ice, and she nodded shortly before heading out of sight. Olaf changed dramatically in those few moments. His shoulders were back, his gaze was firm, and the corner of his mouth threatened to twitch into a rather nasty grin.
"Excuse me, sir." The voice behind him was sweet, really, in a masculine, obnoxious, 'dammit man, you ruined my moment' sort of way. Kristoff turned to be greeted by a significantly shorter red headed man, who looked at him with droll, boring eyes.
"Have you placed your order?" The man said casually, picking at some invisible flaw in his nail.
Kristoff felt his hackles starting to rise, far too quickly for a civil conversation. "Just finished." He said roughly, turning to block the entire cash register from view.
"Then I think it would be best if you moved, please." There was ice in that man's stare, Kristoff determined. He waited a moment, hesitant, then let the smaller man pass him.
"There's no need to be so needy, Hans." Olaf's voice took on a sick, tormenting sound as the red head took Kristoff's place. "And what can I get his majesty today?"
"Oh, Olaf, it's so good to see you again." The man smirked, dark lips lining teeth whiter than snow. "I'm surprised, I didn't think you'd be working today. Where's my little Miss Anna?"
"Gone." Olaf said shortly. "She was doing an exceptional job, and the boss let her go home early."
"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Hans said, shaking his head sympathetically. "I was going to tell her that I saw her sister again today. Poor little thing, she was half freezing walking to class—"
"You shut your mouth right now and order," Olaf hissed, hands coming down hard on the counter. "Or you leave this shop."
Hans smirked and leaned forward to meet him. "Yes, keep that up." He murmured coyly. "I'm sure your boss would be thrilled to here you threatening a guest like that."
"There's a distinctive difference between a threat and a promise." Olaf replied, eyes narrowing to slits.
The shop shook with tension, and from the corner of his eye, Kristoff could see Anna peeking out from behind the office door.
Finally, Hans shrugged, moving back to look at the menu. "I'll just have a coffee, if you don't mind." He said. "Black, like my heart." The grin that appeared on his lips made Kristoff want to punch him right then and there.
Olaf made quick work of pouring his cup. He shoved it into the man's awaiting hands and turned away immediately, keeping his back to the invader. Hans chuckled to himself. "Ta, Olaf." He said as he started for the door.
"I'll see you again soon." He called, the bells singing merrily in his wake.
The coffee shop sat in silence for a few moments, with the guests who had stayed to study looking either worriedly or annoyed up at the shaking pale man. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, trying to collect himself.
"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Kristoff muttered, leaning back on the counter.
Olaf turned back to him and scowled, dark and deep. "He's a bully who hasn't grown out of his filthy, disgusting habits." He spat. "He's decided to make prey of Anna's older sister. She's perfectly capable of handling herself, of course, so he's gotten nowhere with her. He comes in here and harasses Anna, though, and everything tends to go…haywire."
"Sounds like someone might need to help him break some of those habits." Kristoff muttered, flexing a meaty fist. "Never really liked bullies, anyway."
"Come on, boys, let's not do this." Anna's soft voice was between them in a moment, and they both looked down at her soft red head. She smiled gently up at them, two mochas in her hands.
"He's only hurting himself, in the end." She said firmly. "And if he keeps this up, he's going to say something one day that'll really get him in trouble."
"With you or with the law?" Olaf said, his tone suggesting that he was only half joking. With a sigh, he leaned back on the counter, eyes closed blissfully. "Oh, I remember the day you gave him a black eye when you saw him outside of work. What a glorious morning that was, picking at him while he tried to explain himself."
"Olaf," Anna chastised, while Kristoff looked on, something like pride bubbling in his chest.
"Come on, love, you have to admit that it was a pretty incredible sight." Olaf teased, ruffling her hair.
"That's not the point." She muttered affectionately. She handed Kristoff his mocha and offered him a smile.
"Sorry you had to see all that." She said. "No problem." He felt his ears turning red. "How much do I owe you?"
"We'll start you up a tab." Olaf joked. "It's $4.00, bud." "$4.00? Geez, you guys are expensive." Kristoff teased, opening his wallet and throwing a $5 in the man's direction.
Olaf stared as it fluttered to the ground and eyed Kristoff carefully. "Do I look like your stripper?" he said, deadpan.
Anna couldn't help herself; she burst into laughter, placing a hand on Kristoff's arm to steady herself. His flush doubled, and he bent down to pick up the bill. "Sorry man." He said casually, handing it to the pale man. "I don't play for your team." With a wink and a wise-cracking grin, he took a sip of his mocha.
"You staying for a while?" he asked Anna, who was still choking on her laughter. "This is stuff is good."
"I'm glad you like it!" she said, trying to get herself back under control. "Yeah, I've got a book that I was going to try and finish."
"What's the book?" Kristoff asked, genuinely interested.
"It's called the 'Night Circus'." Anna said, her eyes lighting up. "It's wonderful! It's about magic and love and mysteries and ugh! I love it!" She leapt a little at the end of her statement, and Kristoff chuckled.
"Well hey, I don't want to keep you from your book." He said, glancing quickly at his watch. "And I've got to get to work, anyway. But I'll see you again soon, alright?"
Anna flushed and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. "Yeah." She said shyly. "I'll look forward to it!" Her smile was dazzling, and Kristoff smiled back. He nodded a goodbye and walked to the door. Glancing back, he saw Anna watching him go, and tipped his cup in her direction.
Anna giggled as she watched him leave before lunging into her favorite table.
"Look who's got an admirer." Olaf teased, walking back to sit behind the counter. "Shut up, you." She said affectionately. "I've got to finish this today." She walked away from him, smile crawling its way onto her face as she settled down in her favorite booth.
Despite herself, she glanced out the window, and watched as the tall, blonde form disappeared into the snow.
"You do that." Olaf smiled fondly. "I think you're going to be pretty distracted in the future, anyway."