A/N: this is from 2018, and yes, I wrote this as a joke, how did you know? lol but everyone loves a good coffee shop AU

A Shot Of Despresso, Please

Severus glared at his computer screen, as if he was daring it to crash one more time, and take his paper away with it. Sadly, he should have known to be careful what he wished for, because, while his computer did not crash this time -something he found himself incredibly thankful for-, he did realize that he had forgotten his charger in his dorm room, and that the assignment that was due a few days later would have to wait.

He tried to stifle a yawn, before shifting his eyes to glance at his laptop's clock- 6:34PM. He'd been sitting in one of the corners of the library for a while now, trying to finish his molecular chemistry paper as quickly as possible so he could move on to studying for the upcoming quantum mechanics exam he'd make the mistake of ignoring until then.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered under his breath before running his hand through his hair, "I need coffee."

He got up, carefully stuffing his computer into his bag, before walking off to the nearest coffee shop on campus- some new store that had recently opened. He was at least glad for not having to walk 20 minutes to get his fix.

He groaned as he entered the shop, the harsh fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling painfully clashing with the pitch black color the sky had taken after sunset, and Severus rubbed his temples with his indexes in a desperate attempt to alleviate the throbbing in his head.

He sighed, before making his way to the counter, desperately trying not to bump into the tables and customers.

"One Americano, please. Large."

The barista looked up, and Severus was struck by his grey eyes. He grabbed a large red cup from the pile resting on the counter, pulling his marker out of his apron pocket, "And that will be for?"

"Severus."

The barista started scribbling down, "Oh, that's an unusual name. Never heard of it before."

"I know, or so I've been told," Severus gritted his teeth, and took yet another deep breath. Someone commenting on his name certainly wasn't worth getting worked up over, especially when he had a paper to finish, a backache and a distinct lack of motivation to deal with.

He waited for his order to be complete, before getting up when he heard his name.

"Here you go," the blonde barista said, as he handed him his drink with a smile, and Severus mustered the energy to give a small smile back.

"Thank you," Severus said, paying for his drink and leaving the shop.

This may have been the first time Severus had stepped into the shop, but it definitely wouldn't be the last. The amount of assignments he had to complete had doubled over the course of a few weeks, and work was piling up- coffee was becoming more of a necessity every day. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he did enjoy spending time there. It did beat seeing his ex snogging the git he called his boyfriend in some far corner or the library, where they thought no one could see them.

So he'd taken to spending time there, and had even become familiar with one of the baristas.

"The usual, I imagine?" he'd ask. Severus would nod, pay and wait on the side as always. They'd find themselves discussing astronomy, both having taken an interest in the subject, and, over the course of the weeks, they'd grown quite close.

"So, Sev- when are you finally going to ask him out?" his best friend, Lily, kept pestering him, "It's time you finally get over Re-"

She was quickly interrupted by Severus, who sent her a glare intense enough to scare the most hardened criminals, "Don't."

Lily rolled her eyes at him, "Ah, boys... But, sure, girls are the sensitive ones," she shook her head, "You can't keep avoiding saying his name forever, you know. It's been months."

"Who says I haven't tried? Wherever I go, he's always there, holding hands with Black, snogging Black, fucking groping Black. I feel like these two bozos are nagging me."

"Okay, all this coffee you've been drinking has definitely gotten to your head. Maybe it's time for you to start over," she said, an eyebrow, "And it's not like you guys had the best relationship, anyways. You two didn't even want to go public for like three months at first! Plus, near the end you two were being completely dysfunctional. Things are better the way they are."

Later that day, Severus went to the coffee shop.

"Hey Sev," the barista greeted him, "The usual?"

At that moment, the little doorbell signaling another customer had entered the show rang. Severus did not pay attention to it, until he recognized the person who had entered the shop's silhouette.

"Remus," he said, nodding. He did his best not to stare.

"Severus," Remus said, awkwardly nodding back.

He turned back to the barista, "Yes, I'll have the usual." he answered through gritted teeth. Severus paid the 4£50 and waited at the counter.

"Alright," the blond man said as he got to work, "Are you okay? You look tense today... Well, more tense than usual," He raised an inquisitive brow when Severus scoffed at his comment, "What? You're always grumpy as hell, don't even deny it. Probably all those dimethyl...oxide something vapors getting to your head."

"Dimethylsulfoxide," He said, shaking his head, the corner of his lips quirking up into a smile. It left his lips as soon as it appeared, though. "Nothing important... An ex-boyfriend. Considering the way things ended, if I never see him again, I fear it'll still be too fucking soon."

"Been there, I'll admit... Is he bothering you?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I'm trying to move on."

"Interesting," the barista paused for a second, before regaining his composure.

Severus frowned as he examined the cup of coffee he was holding, "Thank you, but- why is there a bunch of numbers written instead of my name?"

The barista winked at him, his gray eyes shimmering with mischief, "Figure it out." He beamed at Severus, "Name's Lucius, by the way."