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It was a week before his chemistry final, and Ed needed something to keep him going.
His mother had never let him and Al have coffee; she had always said that the caffeine would stop you from growing, and Ed took his height very seriously. After Trisha’s death, there was coffee in the house for Al and their father; Ed, however, found that he still much preferred tea.
Tea, however, was not going to keep Ed up long enough to finish studying.
This was how he found himself at the local coffee shop. Al had been here before on a date with Mei and said that there was nowhere better that Ed could go for a good cup of coffee. Ed had to take his word for it, considering Al was the coffee-drinker in the house.
Never in Ed’s life, however, did he think that it would smell so welcoming . He expected the numerous different smells to disagree, but he found that it somehow worked. The strong scent of coffee, the sweet smell of melting chocolate, and even the scents of Christmas melded together to create a warm, cozy atmosphere.
Ed had to admit, it was heavenly.
He claimed a table with his textbook and backpack, then walked towards the front of the shop. In a case beside the counter, there was an array of freshly-baked goods on display. Ed had to stop himself from pressing his face against the glass as he looked. There were cookies, brownies, cupcakes…
Mmm, Ed thought, cupcakes.
“Sorry for the wait. Can I help you?” someone said, walking to the cash register. Ed glanced over at him; he was strangely familiar, but Ed decided to leave it be for now.
“Yes,” Ed replied, walking to the counter, “Can I have a cup of your strongest coffee, with three sugars and… and a shot of espresso?”
The cashier didn’t seem surprised at Ed’s order- in fact, he seemed almost bored, “What size?”
“Whatever your largest is,” Ed said.
The guy punched the order in. He looked over at Ed once again, “Anything else?”
“Uh… yeah, actually. Can I get one of those cupcakes?”
The cashier nodded, punching in the order, “Which kind?”
“Just vanilla, I suppose.”
“Will that be all?”
Ed nodded. The guy forced a smile, then grabbed Ed his cupcake. He looked so familiar, but Ed just couldn’t put his finger on where he knew the cashier from.
The cashier came back with Ed’s cupcake. As he handed it to Ed, he said, “I’ll bring your drink to you when it’s done.”
Ed nodded again, and that was the end of the conversation. He paid for his order, then took his cupcake to the table he claimed. It was quiet, and the silence paired with the gentle scents of the coffee shop was calming, almost therapeutically.
Just as he was opening his textbook, someone else walked into the coffee shop. “Sorry to leave you so long, Ling, traffic was absolutely insane .” the person said, “Now that I’m here, you can clock out.”
For some reason, the name “Ling” rang a bell in Ed’s head.
The person walked into the back, and the shop was almost quiet. Ed’s textbook was open in front of him, but he couldn’t seem to focus on the words. He instead skimmed through the text, picking out certain words- stoichiometry, limiting reagents, formulas...
“Are you okay?” the sudden statement pulled Ed out of his dissociative state. He looked up to find the cashier- Ling, as the other person who walked in called him- holding two to-go cups.
“Yeah, I’m good. Is one of those…?”
“Oh, here!” Ling handed one of the cups to Ed, “Here, this is yo- are you doing chemistry?”
Something clicked in Ed’s brain- Ling from chem! Of course!
“Yeah,” Ed replied before taking a few sips of his coffee; it burned his tongue, but not long after he drank it he felt a small surge of energy.
Ling sighed, “Oh, please tell me you understand how to figure out what the limiting reagent in an equation is.”
Ed placed his cup on the table. “Yeah, I can. Why?”
Without asking, Ling took the seat across from Ed, “Teach me.”
“Why should I teach you?”
“ Please .”
Ed knew that there was almost no winning with Ling- he had an uncanny ability to win the arguments he had with his fellow classmates, even if he was wrong- and even though Ed was sure he could win, he decided that he was much too tired to try.
“Fine.”
“Thank you!”
Ed simply nodded. He figured that it’d be fine; Ed had never played teacher, but he was sure that he could explain better than their chemistry teacher nonetheless.
* * * * *
“There you go,” Ed said. He tried to be enthusiastic, but the coffee was starting to wear off, leaving Ed struggling to keep his eyes open.
Ling sighed, “I can’t believe that it was that easy. Mr. Mustang really needs to work on his explanations.”
Ed snorted, but didn’t say anything further. He tried one more time to get the last drop of coffee from the bottom of the cup, but failed and placed the cup on the table, defeated. Slowly, he let his eyes close, though only for a moment.
“Ed. Ed ,” Ling said, shaking Ed awake.
Ed shook his head, then glanced around the shop confusedly.
“You fell asleep, so I bought you another coffee.”
Sure enough, there was a new to-go cup on the table in front of Ed. He looked up at Ling, “How long was I out?”
“About five minutes, I guess?” Ling replied, shrugging, “Long enough for me to make you a coffee, short enough that you probably don’t feel any more rested.”
“Wow,” Ed said, “very exact.”
“Look, I understand that you’re tired, but that doesn’t give you permission to be an asshole,” Ling said, sitting back down.
Ed sighed, “I suppose.”
Suddenly, Ed’s phone buzzed. He looked at the screen to find a text from his brother.
“Shit.” Ed said, quickly closing his chemistry textbook and shoving it in his bag, He stood up and turned to face Ling, “I’m glad that I could help, but I have to go.”
“Do you need a ride?” Ling asked.
“No, I’m good."
Ling raised his eyebrows, “Are you sure? You look like you’re falling asleep just standing there.
He was, but he really didn’t want to admit it.
“I can drive you home.”
Ed really didn’t want to walk home.
“Fine.”
Ling smiled, “I’ll pull my car up to the front.”
It wasn’t long before Ed was sitting in the passenger seat of Ling’s car. Ed was sure that it would have been awkward if he wasn’t so tired, but Ling didn’t seem to care either.
“Where do you live?” Ling asked.
Ed had to think for a moment, “Turn left at this set of lights, then go down two blocks and turn left again. I live in the apartments at the corner.”
Ling nodded, then pressed on the gas. The car was silent for a moment before Ling spoke up again, “Are you done all your studying yet?”
“No,” Ed sighed, “I still have one more chapter to review.”
“Me too,” Ling said. He was silent for another moment, then cleared his throat, “Are you free tomorrow?”
Ed glanced over at Ling; he was focused on the road, but there was a dark red tint to his cheeks.
“I just figured that we could finish our studying together,” Ling finished, glancing over at Ed.
Ed couldn’t help but smile, “Sure.”
It was Ling’s turn to smile. He parked his car, then turned to face Ed, “I’ll pick you up at one. Be ready!”
It was straight-forward- and almost rude- but something about Ling made the statement charming. Something fluttered in Ed’s chest.
“I’ll be ready at twelve.”
“Is that a challenge?”
Ed could only smirk in response.