The bell above the door rang as another customer walked into the cafe. And then another. And another. Then another, until there was a long line of customers waiting to order.

The mornings were always the busiest hours of the day; everyone was on their way to work, taking their kids to school, heading back home from their early-morning exercises at the gym— or any other variations of reasons someone could think of for going to the cafe so early in the morning.A short, blonde man with a bit of scruff on his chin, worked quickly at the counter, getting customers their drinks or food as quickly as he possibly could, as he did not want his customers upset. His charming smile lit up the room as he walked past with drinks balanced on a tray; as people saw him, it became contagious. Soon enough the room was bright of laughter.

Ring! The Frenchman looked over at the glass door to see who had entered— it was one of the cafe's regular customers; he came every day at the same time, even when he didn't have to work.

His name was Ivan.

He was a tall man whose build was a nice mixture of chubby and muscular. He always wore a scarf around his neck, his hair slightly wavy and silver draped over his purple-tinted eyes.Francis watched as his favorite customer got in line. He always looked forward to seeing Ivan every day.

Through his work shifts, Francis had come to learn that Ivan works as a Russian history teacher at the high school nearby. Francis bit his lip and started to speed up his work pace; a thing he only did to see Ivan sooner. A few moments later, Ivan was at the very front of the line; money in hand, ready to pay.

Francis had Ivan's regular order memorized at this point.

The Frenchman got Ivan's order out quickly so that way they could chat for a bit, seeing as no one else was in line behind him at that moment.Calmly, Francis closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to gain the confidence to ask Ivan out on a date.

Then, the door ringed again.

Francis opened his eyes.

There was no customer coming in; it was just Ivan leaving the cafe.The Frenchman threw his head back and groaned loudly, clenching his hands in a fist-full of hair. He just missed his chance- again! Now what was he supposed to do? Wait until tomorrow?