A/N: Who doesn't love a bit of slice of life in the form of a coffee shop AU? Fire Emblem cuties doing cute things the fanfiction. Enjoy.
Lon'qu breathed out a gentle sigh as what he hoped was the final customer departed. The coffee shop, empty once more- to his delight- would bless him with a single moment's silence. The day's gruelling longevity drew to a close, the sun beginning to set over Regna Ferox as evening slowly began to turn to night. The blinds to the coffee shop had already been closed due to the low sun, so as not to discomfort customers.
"About time..." he said to himself in a subtly irritated tone, though not for the reason one would expect. It had been a good four months since he had begun working the counter at the coffee shops, many trials and tribulations having been thrown his way during that time.
Namely his aversion to women, something that had plagued him since highschool. Simply being near women had been more than enough to make his face light up like a Christmas tree, yet this was only ever something that made women want to chase him all the more. Needless to say, high school was a living hell for Lon'qu.
And, to add to the shyness factor, he was quite the good looking fellow- something that he had retained even to the current day. Something he despised for the first couple of months of his employment due to all of the phone numbers sent his way along with all of the terrifying pickup lines, such that they had all begun to blend together.
A rare moment of reflection came across him as he shuddered to think what life was like back then. Not being able to talk to women properly, let alone take their order without becoming a stuttering mess, was something that he looked back on with great shame. Though there was at least a ray of hope for him in those dark times. From an unlikely source at that.
This thought however was quite promptly interrupted by the door to the coffee shop being flung open without any warning, the bell almost being thrown from it's support beam as it was forced to let out a rattling chime. Lon'qu was snapped from his daydream as he came face to face with the very person who had been courageous and, if anything, eccentric enough to break the very curse he so detested all those months ago.
"Lon-Lon!" came the voice of a peppy, similarly aged girl as him, clad in a frilly yellow dress with white accents and a matching yellow beret and white pleated scarf, wrapped up nice and warm to keep the cold away.
"It's been sooo boring without you! Hugs? Hugs!" She called out, stretching her arms over the counter to him beckoningly. It took Lon'qu a moment to analyse the situation from start to finish as she stood on the other side of the counter, asking, nay, demanding his physical affection. A sigh escaped his lips as he caved in to said demands. She was just too cute stood like that, he could keep her waiting no longer.
The way in which he moved from one side of the counter to the other would make you believe that it was completely begrudgingly, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was all a front to make it seem as if he was disinterested. The truth of the matter really was, such an embrace made his heart skip a beat.
"Lissa, you really shouldn't be so loud. We said we would keep this relatively secret..." he said in a low and hushed tone, his naturally dour expression remaining over his chiseled features. Lissa snickered as she merely cuddled herself into him that little bit tighter, a gentle hum of satisfaction slipping from her lips as she took in the warmth of his form. Another sigh slipped from Lon'qu's lips as his arms instinctively curled around her that little bit tighter.
Being a few heads shorter than he was. her head came to rest against his chest, allowing her to hear the subtle increase in pace of his heartbeat, something she would often tease him about when snuggled close to him like this. But she was just too cozy to do so currently, although she made a mental note to do so later. A plotting smirk spread across her lips at the mere thought, if only for a single moment.
"When I want my Lon-Lon cuddles, I want them quickly! If you were as swift at giving out cuddles as you are coffee cups I wouldn't have to shout," she said in a smug, pointed tone as she pulled away from him slightly, but still kept in his affectionate grasp as she looked up at him with a bright enthusiastic smile.
Her eyes seemed to glimmer in the evening light that shone past the cracks of the shop's blinds. Lon'qu couldn't help but get lost in them whenever she stared at him so intently. Her words made him tisk defiantly however, his gaze lingering on her own for but a moment longer before he looked towards the door's sign, which was still to be turned to closed. He tried to go about doing so promptly. However, the second he tried to break away from the hug, he felt a sudden increase in pressure from Lissa's arms tightening around him like a constricter aiming to suffocate it's prey.
His eyes came to rest upon her own once more, half lidding them in a deadpan manner as he did so. Another sigh slipped from his lips as he began to shuffle along the floor with Lissa clinging to him. It was a sight he was relieved nobody was able to see, as it was as embarrassing for him as it was hilarious for Lissa, who had been snickering like a child throughout.
"You love it reeeeally," she stated as he finally flipped the sign, only to make his way back to the middle of the shop with her still in tow.
"I do not love it... It's- perplexing as to why you would even do such a thing in the first place," he said with a frown as he looked down at her in a disapproving manner.
It was a frown that would have the same scolding effect as a teacher telling off a rebellious student, however this only lasted about a second due to the fact that once their eyes met again he was putty. Who could stay mad at someone so constantly upbeat? Another aggressive tisk escaped his lips as he snapped his eyes back to the window in order to break the spell he had been put under, if only briefly.
"I'm always quick with my cuddles, anyway. I've no idea why you'd even suggest I'm not. You say that like I...don't enjoy giving you cuddles. N-not that I do," he said in a tone that suggested he thought that was the most convincing thing he had ever said. The truth of the matter, however, was that he was lying through his teeth, and Lissa very much knew this. She giggled sweetly, jabbing Lon'qu in the sides with her thumbs as she let him go. He flinched and jumped, looking down to her with a defiant expression, only to be met with a big cheesy grin from her that mean he was barely able to stay mad. He sent a roll of the eyes in her direction as he set about making the final closing preparations around the shop.
After this was finished and he was ready to head back into the cold of Regna Ferox, he once more found himself confronted by Lissa, who donned her ever happy-go-lucky grin as she trotted up to Lon'qu. She beckoned him to lean in as, she often did when she wanted to whisper something to him- usually something that would cause his cheeks to flare bright red with embarrassment. The words she spoke would ever be along the lines of calling him her 'schnookums' or something similarly teeth-rottingly sweet.
However, this time she was feeling daring. It had been a few months since they started dating, and Lon'qu had proven he wasn't the best at making the first move. It had taken him weeks to build up the courage to take her hand, and even at that Lissa was the one who went in for the kill so to speak.
This time was no different. She wanted more than just a hug. With a movement so quick it would make even Lon'qu look slow, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to press her lips against his own. They were exactly like she hoped they'd be- warm and smooth, with just a faint hint of the taste of coffee on them. A happy hum slipped out from the couple. The kiss lasted for but a fleeting moment before she lowered herself down, looking up to him with a playfully innocent expression.
Lon'qu, on the other hand, was left like a deer in the headlights. Completely speechless, he stood there, his a face like a tomato he was blushing so brightly, his jaw slack as his mouth tried to form words, with none coming. Being as shy and unused to what he referred to as, "the customs of dating" as he was, he was completely mentally unprepared for this. The moment replayed over and over in his mind as he tried to decipher what had just happened.
Lissa, the girl he adored and admired for being able to break him away from his aversion to women, the one who he had had a secret but not-so-secret crush on since high school, had just kissed him.
On. The. Lips.
He didn't know what to do or how to respond, to say the least. It was only once Lissa clicked her fingers at him several times that he snapped back to reality. A soft and frustrated grunt slipped from his lips as he folded his arms in that ever disapproving manner.
"Don't-... Don't do that without saying something first. You know I don't like your 'surprises.'" Much as he wanted to sound disinterested and distant, the blush that remained across his cheeks was almost like a trophy being planted on the wall in the name of Lissa's recent victory.
Unexpectedly, though, his words caused Lissa to wince, signifying he had hit a nerve. Being as proud as she was of her claim on his lips, she didn't expect quite as strong a reaction from him as that, despite being so used to replies of a similar nature, due to how easily flustered he was. A gentle sigh slipped from her lips as she gave a slow nod.
"Sorry, Lon-Lon. I thought you wouldn't mind if I... Took the first step like that." Her voice was hushed and her tone defeated. Clearly she had been hit much harder by this than Lon'qu thought she would have been. "I just did it thinking that you wouldn't mind since I... Since we..." At the thought of her own implications she sniffled but a single time. Lon'qu appeared to be even more caught off guard by this than by the kiss itself, perking an eyebrow at her reaction.
For the moment he chose to simply observe, seeing if it would escalate any further. Lissa was often one to play on Lon'qu's ineptitude when it came to social cues as a way of teasing him. But this was different. This was genuine and something needed to be done about it, for the last thing Lon'qu wanted to do was hurt the person he had come to care so much about over the last few months. Lissa made him feel happy, fulfilled. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be the cause of such evident anguish. Albeit, he may have been overreacting in his own mind, but that was just a prime example of his lack of ability to grasp any given emotional situation.
As Lissa's eyes began to gloss over with the imminence of tears to come he formulated a plan. An excellent plan. A plan to be swiftly executed in one unforseeable move that would leave even himself stunned at his own efficiency, and bravery.
Before Lissa could react his feet had begun to move with a powerful, purposeful stride to close the already small gap between them. In an instant Lon'qu had leaned forward, Lissa's head having already been tilted to look up at him with those teary eyes of hers.
"Be silent," he whispered to her before initiating an unexpected kiss upon her lips. A sensation he had felt but a moment prior returned to him. It was...pleasant. Soft and sweet, much like the girl that he now held so close. The subtle taste of strawberry graced his lips as he held the kiss for but a few seconds, before pulling his head back to gaze upon a sight he had never seen before.
Lissa was blushing. Brightly. Even if Lon'qu was blushing just as brightly, the fact that he had gotten Lissa to blush as well was quite the turn out. Not one he expected, but certainly not one he would be complaining about any time soon, as it was quite the victory for him. Even if it was a rather unintended one.
Tears of sadness turned to tears of joy as their embrace lingered, neither of them saying a word as they simply held one another closely. Comfortingly. Both of them were warm and fuzzy on the inside, as they had both felt the first time that they hugged one another. In that rare moment, Lon'qu's usual dour expression had softened into a serene smile. He couldn't be happier after having made such a bold move, but then again neither could Lissa. They both found themselves so lost in their embrace as they gazed into one another's eyes that they didn't even notice their foreheads leaning against one another, a warm and bright smile across both of their lips as they simply took in the moment for what it was. A couple holding each other in a loving embrace.
"Can we... Stay like this for a little bit longer? Please?" She spoke up finally, her voice a gentle whisper as she sought to steal another peck from his lips. If there was any chance of her getting a coffee addiction it would be from the taste of his lips. Likewise for Lon'qu, someone who had never really taken to strawberries, but this was a taste that he could get used to, even if it was for the shortest moments at a time.
"Let's," He said simply, leaning in from her coaxing smooch to engage her in yet another, longer lasting kiss, as that rhythmatic sway of theirs lingered on for just a while longer. As the sun set over Regna Ferox, the coffee shop's lighting began to dim. The couple stood, simply enjoying one another's embrace, choosing not to move for a fair while longer, as they were much too wrapped up in their own little world to pay attention to that around them. But that was how they liked it. Holding one another, loving one another. And as far as they were concerned, nothing else mattered. For to them, they were each other's world. And nothing could ever change how they felt no matter what came their way.