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“One caramel macchiato, and… a cup of black coffee?”
“Of course. Would you want any desserts to go with that?”
Claude looked down at the menu. Granger never said anything about being a sweet tooth. Should he order a cheesecake? Chocolate cake? The tiramisu sounds great… fuck it, even the black coffee order was just a guess. He really should’ve thought this whole thing through, this date was already falling apart and the one he’s having it with isn’t even here yet—
“Um, no, I think we’ll just call you up later if we want anything. That okay?”
“Alright,” the waitress nodded cheerfully, taking the menu back. “I’ll be back with your order in a minute!”
Claude smiled at her retreating figure before finally letting his face fall. He clasped his hands—clammy and sweaty. This is ridiculous, not even the most dangerous of missions made him this flustered—
“I’ll take the buff, I’ll help you get the next one,” Granger muttered as he and Claude shot simultaneously at the monster. The thief conceded, letting Granger get the last shot, the red wisps around him signifying he got the buff. They quickly made their way through the bottom lane; Granger killing off some minions while Claude took the crab.
They were alone. The rest of their team was in position, finishing off their roles before they did the first part of the rotation—
FIRST BLOOD!
REQUEST BACKUP!
“Damn Gusion attacking them when he isn’t even well-fed yet,” Granger groaned. He left the enemy turret, letting the minions finish it off. “All good for now. Let’s get there before that stupid assassin starts complaining—“
“—Want to get coffee with me this weekend?” the question popped from Claude’s lips, before he could reconsider it. And he wish he did. On his shoulder, Dexter was jumping up and down, in excitement or agitation, he didn’t know. Some wingman (wingmonkey?) he was.
As for Granger, well, the Demon Hunter’s face was perpetually covered, and that alone made for some communication barriers. But Claude thought he saw the other’s ears turn red, and was that a light blush just above his collar?
“I—“
REQUEST BACKUP!
Claude cursed. He was going to throttle that stupid Paxley himself.
“It’s my bad,” he said quickly, feigning a smile. From the sides of his eyes, he was pretty sure he saw Dexter do a facepalm. “I’ll, uh, ask you later I guess—“
“No,” Granger said suddenly.
“No, you won’t have coffee with me?”
“No, don’t ask me later. I-I’ll go with you. Just text me where tonight.” The musician stepped into the Cyclone Eye, the blue light glowing briefly before whisking Granger away.
Claude, on the other hand, was left stunned.
No, literally stunned.
An enemy Selena cornered him, giggling. “Congrats, Claude!” she clapped. “Now do you mind letting me kill you?”
The thief looked out the glass wall of the café, silently patting himself on the back for picking such a nice place. It was located right in the heart of the Capitol, but it wasn’t so well known that it was crowded. The place smelled of coffee beans with a slight hint of vanilla, and soft classical music played in the background.
The glass showed him a faint reflection of himself—hair fluffed up, as usual, clothes slightly wrinkled from fidgeting in nervousness. Was he slightly pale? Or was that just the lighting? He was regretting leaving Dexter, thinking that his partner was somehow going to be a third wheel in all this. He could really use some support right now.
“One caramel macchiato, and one black coffee,” the waitress returned with his order. “Sir? You okay?”
“P-perfectly fine!” He squeaked. “Thanks…”
The waitress rolled her eyes, leaving him once more. That was embarrassing. He ought to steal something from the café, just to get the higher ground, but something tells him this wasn’t the time for that. Instead he stares out the glass wall again, observing the people outside. Then he sees him.
Granger isn’t wearing anything special, and that handsome face is covered, as always, but the mere sight of him was enough to speed up the thief’s heart into overdrive. His hands grew clammy again, and he wrapped his hands around the cup of coffee to hide it. Their eyes met through the glass, and Granger waved in greeting. Claude smiled back weakly.
The musician entered the café, finding his way to Claude and sitting across from him. “Sorry for being late,” He scratched the back of his neck. “Did you wait long?”
“Not at all,” Claude managed to say. “I just went ahead and ordered drinks for us. Is black coffee alright with you?”
Granger picked up his coffee cup, seemingly smelling it. “Black… coffee?”
Claude felt his face paling again. “… You don’t like?”
The hunter put down the cup, and unzipped his high collar. Claude selfishly took this moment to stare at him—his chiseled features, that jaw, those lips—then Granger had the gall to smile at him. How rudely handsome of him…
“It’s perfectly fine,” Granger reassured him, sipping from his cup.
“Oh, okay,” Claude sighed in relief. He finally sipped from his own coffee, still staring at the man across from him, when his brain finally registered that this was it.This was the date. He was having a date with Granger—
“This must be quite a change for you.”
Claude choked on his coffee. He quickly put the cup down, coughing. He felt blood rushing to his cheeks again, and he was tempted to cover his face. How many times was he going to feel embarrassed today? They had hardly even started yet!
“W-why’d you think so?”
“Well…” Granger shrugged, looking at his surroundings. “You’d have to pay for the food here. You can’t steal.”
“Well, that’s the thing about cafes, Granger,” the thief smirked. “And for most food establishments in general. You have to pay to eat.”
“Hilarious.” The musician quipped. “At least we’re not eating anything you stole out of someone’s pocket.”
“Hey! Even if I stole it out of someone’s pocket, I’d still make sure it was the best quality food!” Claude bragged. “I do have taste, you know.”
“Yeah…” Granger looked down at his coffee, and this time, Claude was positive about the blush he saw, even as the musician tried to hide it by sipping his drink. “…I suppose you do.”
Why would he blush about such a thing? It’s not like I was flirting or anything—oh…
“Anyway, uh, how are things with you?” yes, Claude, real smooth.
Granger looked up at him again, face composed once more, though a slight blush remained. “Fine, I suppose. Harith keeps complaining about his nerfs, Alucard still feeds when we play, the usual…”
“…But didn’t you get nerfed as well?” Claude tilted his head inquisitively. “You’re not worried about that?”
“I can handle it, Claude, don’t worry.” Granger smiled at him again. “I’m pretty sure our last match was proof of that.”
“Oh, please, don’t remind me…” Claude felt embarrassed again, but at the same time, he felt much more at ease. They can talk about matches for hours! And maybe Claude wouldn’t do something stupid!
“I haven’t seen anyone die to a minion in months.”
“I was trying to recall! If someone would’ve just backed me up—“
They continued their conversation like that, for the rest of the morning. They ordered a dessert (Granger likes the black forest cake—Claude will have to remember that), and for some reason, when their conversation finally moved on from their games and into completely random things, Claude no longer felt flustered. He didn’t know Granger could be such good company, what with his emo hunter image and all. But the musician put him at ease. When he wasn’t making Claude’s heart flutter, at least.
A part of his heart wished Granger felt the same way, too.
“Where do wanna go after this, then?” Claude asked the musician as he scooped up the last bit of cake.
“… I thought we were just going to have coffee?”
“Well, yes, but… uh…” Claude stuttered. Damnit, Granger had a point, he explicitly said he was only taking him out for coffee, now what? He didn’t want this to end just yet! “I… I wanted to spend more time with you...”
His hands trembled as he said those words, and so did his heart. He wasn’t used to being that honest, besides, as a thief, you couldn’t afford to be half the time. But now he watched Granger closely. A flash of emotions seemed to flicker in those cerise eyes, fast and fleeting. There was a tiny bit of chocolate just at the edge of his lips. Claude was strongly tempted to wipe it off.
“That was quite frank of you, Claude,” he only said. Then a slow smile spread through his face, like sunlight flooding a room. “I wanted to spend more time with you too.”
That sunlight reached Claude’s chest, made it bloom and shine. He couldn’t help it, he reached out to flick the chocolate smudge off Granger’s face. As he did, the musician grasped his wrist, his touch warm through the bandages. He brought their hands down on the table, slowly adjusting until their fingers were intertwined.
Claude’s heart went into overdrive again. He panicked internally. His hand still wasn’t clammy, was it? It didn’t seem sweaty, either. How awful it would’ve been if it was, the sweat would make Granger’s bandages all damp and—
“There’s a theater just around the block,” Granger said. “Want to watch something? My treat.”
“O-okay…” He smiled at Granger, suddenly shy, the feelings overwhelming him again. The musician simply smiled back, his face utterly relaxed, those ruby eyes gleaming.
He really was falling, wasn’t he?
Usually, thieves weren’t supposed to be caught, but if this Demon Hunter would be the one to catch him as he fell, then perhaps he was willing to make an exception.
“Shouldn’t, we, uh, shouldn’t we be going?” Claude managed to say. He started to stand up, but Granger tightened his grip on the thief’s hand, keeping him from leaving. “What’s wrong?”
“Idiot,” Granger said, his smile twisting into a smirk. “You still haven’t paid yet.”
“Oh… right…” Claude laughed, flustered once again. He caught the attention of a waiter and he sat down once again. “Old habits die hard.”
“Good thing I’m here then.”
“Yeah…” The thief nodded, letting his thumb graze the rough surface of the bandages. “Really good.”
They were still holding hands as they left the café.
_________________
“I have something to tell you,” Granger whispered into Claude’s ear, months later, as he held him close to his chest, the sheets tangled somewhere near their legs.
“Mmmm?” Claude looked up at him. The early rays of the sunrise did wonders on Granger’s face, illuminating him like some sort of fae, turning his eyes into fire. “What is it?”
“… I hate black coffee.”
“What?” All drowsiness left him in one big swoop, mortification flooded through his nerves. So he was hesitating during their first date! “Why didn’t you tell me? And why did you let me order you that for every date after?”
“Hmmm… I don’t know, actually.” Granger shrugged, leaning his chin on the crown of Claude’s head. “I didn’t want to ruin the mood, maybe?”
“Ruin the mood? You idiot,” Claude huffed. “You should’ve told me that ages ago. Now I’m regretting every single time I bought you that. And you drank it… poor you…”
“See? I ruined the mood… now you’re all upset…” Claude could feel Granger smirking against his scalp. He pouted, burrowing into Granger even further.
“Smart-ass. What drinks do you like anyway?”
There was a comfortable silence as Granger thought about it. “Tea. Milk tea.”
Claude looked up at him incredulously. “Seriously? Milk tea?”
“Yeah…” Granger looked down at him cluelessly. “Why?”
“Milk tea. You mean the one you can get with pearls and coffee jelly—“
“Yes,” it was Granger’s turn to huff. “Harith bought me one before and it was good—what’s so funny?”
Claude couldn’t help it, giggles burst out from him, escalating the more he saw the hunter’s obliviousness. How adorable. “It’s just that—you, the Death Chanter, one of the most fearsome Demon Hunters of the Empire, likes bubble tea—“
“I didn’t say bubble tea,” Granger’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“It’s called bubble tea when it has pearls, idiot,” Claude teased, reaching up to poke him on the nose.
“Oh…” the musician nodded, digesting this new information. “I like bubble tea, then.”
There was simply no limit to how cute this guy is, is there? “Noted, darling.”
“Good.” The hunter pressed butterfly kisses onto Claude’s forehead, tracing a nonsensical pattern, sending tiny flickers of heat into his skin with every touch. “Because I don’t want you not knowing my favorite stuff when we get married.”
“Yeah, me neither—wait, what?” Claude’s heart tripped, stumbled, it struggled to contain itself, it asked the rest of his body whether he heard right. “D-did you just say…”
“Married?” Granger’s lips pecked his cheeks now, soft and smooth, warm from the blush swiftly forming. “Why, yes, darling. I did say that. That is… if you want to…”
Claude sighed. Despite everything that has happened to them, all the changes around them, Granger was still somewhat innocent with him. Shy. Sweet. Maybe that was why he felt so at ease in the first place with him. No one else would ever treat him this way, make him flustered and loved at the same time…
He fell all over again, and at least, this time, he has already made exceptions for the only one who can catch him.
“Is this seriously how you’re proposing? You really should…” Claude complained, only to have the rest of his rant brought to a stop by a pair of sweet, supple lips. Suddenly the proposal wasn’t that bad at all.
“…Idiot. Let’s do it.”