Chapter Text
It’s Friday and Ed’s on his way back from his evening classes when he sees the new café that opened recently. It’s tiny and quaint and looks quite out of place wedged between two fashion boutiques. The door is wooden with a glass pane and there was a sign above that simply read ‘Yao Café’ in a cursive font.
Even from outside with the door closed, Ed can smell the subtle, appealing scent of coffee and baked goods. Quickly making up his mind because it’s chilly and he could really use a coffee right now, he makes his way to the café and pulls the door open. Almost immediately, he gets hit with a blanket of warm air and the rich aroma of coffee. The café isn’t too crowded and there wasn’t a line, much to Ed’s relief. The cafe looked very homely and cosy with a fireplace and wooden floors that creaked a little with every step he took.
Ed makes a beeline for the counter, not even bothering to glance at the menu because he always orders the same thing anyway. The barista behind the counter, a black-haired guy who looks to be around Ed’s age perks up when he sees Ed approaching.
“Hi, welcome to Yao Café!” The guy says with a welcoming smile. “What can I get you?” He asks, a hand hovering over the register.
“One medium Americano, please,” Ed says decisively.
“That’s funny.” The barista comments, making Ed look up at him in surprise. He has a thoughtful expression on his face as he peers down at Ed. “I thought you’d order tea because you’re such a cu-tea.” He says casually.
Ed blinks.
The guy blinks back.
It almost takes a few moments for what the guy said to actually register in Ed’s brain, and when it does, he can’t help the snort that comes out his mouth. “What the fuck, man? That was so bad.” He manages to say, just barely managing to hold back a laugh at how lame the pun was.
The barista shrugs, a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. “I gave it my best shot.”
Ed rolls his eyes at the second pun but refrains from commenting on it. “Whatever, just tell me how much the bill is.” He says, crossing his arms and pointedly looking away from the ugly (not really) face of the barista.
“Sure thing,” He says breezily, annoyingly unfazed by Ed’s irritation as he types away on the register. “2.50, please.” He announces when he’s done.
Ed wordlessly swipes his card on the contactless machine before moving to stand to the side to wait for his coffee. As the annoying barista prepares his coffee, Ed takes the opportunity to look around the café. It’s a pretty sweet place, with photos up on the walls and even a bookshelf in the corner. Ed usually just goes to Starbucks to get his daily dose of caffeine, but this café is closer to where he lives so he wouldn’t mind making this his regular spot, depending on how good the coffee is.
Catching movement from the corner of his eye, he turns to see the barista slide a cup towards him.
“Enjoy your coffee!” The guy chirps, a little too cheerily considering their earlier exchange.
Ed doesn’t get a chance to respond as the guy walks off to deal with a new customer who just came in. With a sigh, he picks up the cup to see what looks suspiciously like a number scribbled on the cardboard sleeve. His eyes shoot up to look at the barista who’s taking the other customer’s order, but Ed swears that he shoots him a half-smile as types away on the register.
Rolling his eyes, Ed walks over to a corner and makes sure that the barista’s watching as he takes off the cardboard sleeve and crumples it before dramatically throwing it into the trash.
Ed gives him a smug smile, but much to his chagrin, the guy doesn’t look upset in the slightest by his actions - he somehow looks even more pleased than before. A quick glance at his naked cup clears Ed’s confusion pretty quickly, and his smile promptly falls away.
Written on the cup neatly, was yet another phone number. Ed briefly considers throwing the entire cup into the trash to join the sleeve but changes his mind because that would be a waste of his money and getting a reaction out of him is probably what the guy wants in the first place.
Instead, Ed settles on giving the guy the most menacing glare he can muster, but the guy’s still grinning so Ed storms off with his coffee, ignoring the uncomfortable heat seeping into his hands from the cup thanks to the lack of a sleeve (all because of that irritating guy).
“Come again soon!” He hears the barista exclaim after him, which Ed decidedly ignores as he opens the door.
Stupid barista with his stupid smile and puns. His coffee’s probably just as shitty as him, Ed firmly decides as he brings the cup to his lips. He’s never going there again –
Ed’s eyes widen as the taste of perfectly brewed coffee explodes in his taste buds. This was probably the best coffee he’s ever had, no joke. The bastard certainly knows how to make good coffee, Ed has to admit reluctantly as he observes the writing on the cup. When he turns the cup in his hands, he notices a chibi drawing of Ed himself (judging from annoyed expression and braid) surrounded by a bunch of hearts that he hadn’t seen earlier.
It’s badly drawn and ridiculous but it’s still somehow cute. Ed’s lips almost quirk up before he quickly catches himself. No way in hell was he giggling over this like some damned schoolgirl with a crush.
But he’ll definitely go there again, only because the coffee is just too good. Flirty, stupidly attractive barista be damned.