Chapter Text
Levi sighed inwardly as he finished the seventh order that afternoon. Café Ensoleillé had been particularly busy today, and after the all-nighter he’d pulled the day before, Levi didn’t have the energy to attend to all these customers.
In a brief period of peace, Levi leaned against the counter, rubbing his sore fingers absentmindedly. In his haste to finish the engraving piece in time for the deadline, he’d gripped the burin too tightly, which left a sore line on his index finger. It was worth it , in the end, Levi thought. His engraving professor had commended him on the quality of the piece.
The bell on the door rang out softly, announcing a new customer. Levi fought to suppress the annoyed frown that was threatening to take over his features. He couldn’t seem to catch a break. Schooling his face into an impassive mask, the brunet turned around to face the door.
The customer, a tall blond with blue eyes approached the counter slowly, eyes dancing over the cafe and its occupants. Levi ran a quick glance over the stranger’s clothing. A white button-up shirt, khaki pants, and a leather crossbody bag.
He doesn’t look French.
Levi’s suspicions were confirmed when the customer reached the counter. The blond opened his mouth, hesitated, and then spoke.
“Ah, excusez-moi… um, english?”
Levi suppressed the urge to wince at how the stranger butchered the most simple french phrase. Damn tourists.
The brunet nodded and the stranger smiled, his relief clear. “Do you have wifi?”
Levi sighed audibly this time, unable to resist. He pointed at the sign on the counter that said “Free Wifi with the order.”
Apparently, tourists are blind on top of being annoying. The sign is right there and they always ask the same thing.
The stranger looked surprised for a second before embarrassment clouded his eyes.
“Ah, perfect. I’ll have an espresso and the… um… Crème... brûlée?”
Levi could tell the customer was trying his best to pronounce the words correctly and felt a surge of sympathy for this clueless tourist. He almost allowed his lips to tilt up into an amused smile. Almost.
“Crème brûlée,” Levi said, pronouncing it correctly. The stranger sighed and smiled ruefully.
“My pronunciation is terrible, I don’t mean to offend.”
Levi shrugged, “I’ve heard worse.”
While the blond pulled some coins out of his bag Levi set to work on the coffee and the dessert.
“Wifi password is on the receipt,” Levi explained before the stranger could ask, handing over the food.
“Thanks,” the blond said with a smile. He gathered his things and moved to one of the small tables near the cafe’s windows.
Levi looked away to attend to another customer, a young redhead with large eyes. When he finished the order, his eyes roamed over the cafe, finally coming to a rest on the blond tourist. The blond had pulled out a computer and was typing furiously, loud clacks from the keys reaching Levi’s ears, stopping only every once in a while to sip his coffee or take a bite out of his desert.
As if he could sense the pair of eyes on him, the blond turned around to look at the counter. When he caught Levi’s stare, he pointed at his half-eaten crème brûlée and raised a thumbs up in the air. Levi raised an eyebrow and nodded, kind of weirded out but trying to be polite. It wasn’t as if he had cooked the dessert. He was simply the barista.
The blond shrugged, smiled, and went back to his work.
The rest of the afternoon passed by slowly. A couple more customers came and went, but the afternoon rush had already passed.
Thank God. I can finally relax.
The sun was lowering in the sky, turning everything inside the coffee shop golden. Levi was sitting cross-legged on a chair behind the counter, reading his new college assignment on his phone. Levi would have to work on one more engraving project at the university before he was able to pass on to the new unit. The brunet frowned. The assignment was to come up with an original composition featuring humans and then engrave it on a large canvas. He set the phone down and stared out the window at the strangers passing on the street, trying to come up with ideas.
Two hours later, Levi looked up from his sketchbook when the doorbell rang. A group of three customers had just finished their food and left.
Finally. Were those the last ones?
Levi glanced around the shop and frowned when he saw the blond tourist still typing away on his computer. His food and drink were long gone but he didn’t show any intentions of leaving. It was already getting late.
Is he going to stay here until closing time?
Once again, the stranger seemed to sense Levi’s gaze and he turned around to catch the brunet’s eye.
“Do you need me to leave? Is the cafe closing?”
Yeah, I need you to leave right now so I can clean in peace. Sadly, Levi couldn’t voice his thoughts out loud. His boss would wring his neck if he found out that he was kicking customers out.
“We close at nine.”
“Great, then,” the blond stood up and walked to the counter, eyeing the menu. Levi suppressed a groan. Was he going to have to prepare something else? He’d been working on a good sketch and now he was distracted.
“What is a jambon-beurre? Is that food?”
“It's a ham sandwich.”
“I’ll have one of those. And another espresso, please.”
Levi wrinkled his nose, and the man laughed. “I know it’s late for a coffee, but I need to finish what I’m working on, and I don’t see that happening without caffeine.”
The brunet raised his eyebrows, “Okay.”
Weirdo.
Levi watched with a mildly disgusted expression as the man took his food back to the table and resumed his work. He shuddered a little when he saw the blond take a sip of coffee. Who in their right mind would drink coffee with their dinner? If the blond wanted caffeine, he should have ordered tea, as sane people did.
At 8:30, Levi got up from his seat and started cleaning down the shop. The movement seemed to rouse the blond from his work; he raised his eyes from the computer and watched Levi work. The brunet glared at him, but the blond seemed unfazed.
“Why do you clean the tables twice?” he called.
Levi sighed. He hated chatty customers.
“The people who sit at these tables are almost always filthy. They leave handprints and crumbs everywhere.”
“Hm. I doubt any other food establishment cleans everything twice,” the blond continued, seemingly oblivious to Levi’s growing irritation.
Levi shrugged, eyebrows knitting together in annoyance, “So?”
The blond looked amused, “I was simply making an observation.”
Levi rolled his eyes and resumed cleaning. Now he really wanted the blond to leave.
At nine o’clock sharp, the blond gathered his things and exited the cafe, with Levi following right behind.
“Have a good night!” The blond called over his shoulder as Levi was locking the door. The brunet raised his gaze to glare at the stranger, but he was too far away already and wasn’t looking back.
☼☼☼
Levi always enjoyed his Monday shift. He only worked the afternoon shift, after he finished his classes at the University, and as most Monday customers came in during the morning to get their caffeine dose for work, it was his least busy day.
The bell rang and when Levi looked up, a jolt of surprise passed through him. It was the blond tourist from Wednesday.
Does he live around here or something? He probably isn’t a tourist, then.
“We meet again,” the blond smiled when he reached the counter, “I’ll have an espresso and… hm… what do you recommend?”
“What do you want?”
When the blond looked confused, Levi sighed and pursed his lips, “Something sweet, salty? What do you want?”
“Oh, sorry, of course,” the man looked embarrassed, “Do you have something for lunch? Like a sandwich?”
“Do you like cheese?”
The blond nodded and Levi set to work. A few minutes later, he set the coffee and the sandwich on the counter.
“It’s called a Croque Monsieur,” Levi pointed at the food, “Basically a ham and cheese sandwich but better.”
“Better because it’s French?” The man asked, raising an amused eyebrow.
Levi rolled his eyes, not pleased. “Yes, obviously. Your total is eight euros.”
The man laughed as he handed Levi the money, and Levi had to suppress the urge to glare. The blond sat at the same table by the window he’d sat in on Wednesday, pulling out his computer. Levi almost groaned; it seemed the blond would repeat what he did on Wednesday. Levi only hoped that the blond would leave earlier this time.
Levi’s wish didn't come true. The blond stood up ten minutes before closing time, tucking his computer into the leather bag and stretching his back.
Thank God. He’s finally leaving.
When he reached the door, the blond turned to look at Levi, who stared back with annoyance from behind the counter.
“Have a good night,” blue eyes darted down to Levi’s nametag, “Levi.”
Levi huffed out a ‘fucking foreigners’ that he was sure the blond couldn’t hear.
☼☼☼
On Thursday, the blond turned up again. Levi had spent another sleepless night working on his engraving project and he was in a bad mood. He was sure his facial expression was less than agreeable and might have turned away another customer that wasn’t as eternally cheery as Mr. Blond. The man approached the counter with a smile.
“Good afternoon, Levi.”
“Isn’t it a bit rude to call someone by their first name if you aren’t acquaintances?” Levi growled. It was an unwritten rule that you didn’t call waiters or baristas by their first names. It was just weird.
“Why do you wear a nametag then?” The blond raised an eyebrow, and Levi felt his annoyance bubbling. His facial expression must have descended into something murderous because the stranger’s eyes widened and he raised his hands in surrender.
“I was just joking! My name is Erwin, Erwin Smith. I’m from England,” he said, extending a hand out for Levi to take. The brunet didn’t accept the offer and instead crossed his arms over his chest.
This guy is so fucking weird.
“Great, Levi, now we’re acquaintances!” the blond exclaimed, seemingly unfazed by Levi’s silence.
Wait, what?
Levi stared at him incredulously and Erwin smiled back. When it became clear that Levi wasn’t going to say anything, the blond cleared his throat.
“Could I have an espresso, please?”
Levi made the drink in silence, confused by the stranger’s actions. Apparently, he isn’t a stranger anymore, he thought annoyedly. They exchanged the food and cash in silence.
They didn’t exchange any other words for the evening; Levi was busy attending to customers and working on another sketch, and Erwin was too engrossed in whatever he was always writing on his computer.
“Good night, Levi,” the blond called as he left the store five minutes before nine.
☼☼☼
On Friday, Erwin was back. Levi groaned inwardly. He didn’t understand what in this little coffee shop made this weird foreigner want to come back so often. The coffee couldn't be that good.
“Two days in a row?” Levi called, exaggerating his annoyance. The blond shrugged, a small smile gracing his lips.
“What can I say? I like the coffee here.”
“Same as always?”
Erwin blinked, then smiled, “No, I’m afraid not. I’m trying something different today. Can I have a cappuccino, please?”
Levi grimaced, “It’s called café crème here.”
“Oh… Excuse my ignorance. I’m still getting used to what things are called here.”
Levi rolled his eyes and set to work. After a few seconds of silence, curiosity got the better of him.
“So you haven’t been living here long?”
If he’s going to come every day it’s better if we get along.
“I’ve been here for a month, so no. But I’m staying for a while so I have to get used to the local language. I’ve been trying to learn French, but it’s been pretty much fruitless.”
Levi nodded and didn’t answer as he added the finishing touches to the coffee. He handed it to Erwin, who smiled when he saw the figure drawn on top of the foamy milk.
“A sun? Because of Café Ensoleillé ?”
“Oh, wow,” Levi joked drily, “You already seem to know what ensoleillé means. You’ll be speaking like a local in no time.”
Erwin laughed as he grabbed the cup, “Oh, you offend me, Levi. I’ll learn to speak French just to spite you.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Levi rolled his eyes at the blond’s retreating back, admitting to himself that he was just a tiny bit amused by the strange foreigner.
☼☼☼
Each time the doorbell rang on Monday Levi raised his head quickly, expecting the blond, but Erwin never showed up.
On Tuesday, the familiar face walked through the doors, blinking quickly as his eyes grew accustomed to the dimmer light of the cafe. When he saw Levi behind the counter, he smiled.
“Hello, Levi.”
“Erwin,” Levi tilted his head slightly to the right as a greeting. The blond ordered another cappuccino and a Croque Monsieur.
“Do you work the afternoon shift only?” Erwin asked as Levi was making the coffee. Levi raised his head, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.
“Yes, why?” he admitted, handing over the coffee. He’d drawn a star on the foam.
“I came by yesterday morning and there was a different barista, so I assumed you were either sick or worked only in the afternoons.”
So he did come by yesterday.
“Yeah. Gunther takes the morning shift and I do the afternoons.”
“Great. I’ll keep coming in the afternoons then.”
Levi blinked in surprise, eyebrows coming together for a brief second. Erwin shrugged.
“You’re a better barista. The other guy didn’t draw anything on the foam.”
“Oh,” Levi nodded once, feeling a tad disoriented. He didn’t consider himself a “good” barista; he simply served the food and tried not to glare too much at the customers. Erwin smiled at him and went to sit at his usual table.
☼☼☼
Erwin came by on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
It was already eight o’clock on Friday night and Erwin showed no signs of leaving. All the other customers had already cleared out, leaving the coffee shop silent save for the soft sounds of Erwin’s typing and the scratch of Levi’s pencil on his sketchbook.
Levi heard the groan of Erwin’s chair being pulled back from the table, and a few seconds later, the blond appeared at the counter. Levi raised his gaze from the sketchbook, eyes tired, an eyebrow raised.
“What do you want?”
“What are you drawing?” Erwin asked, peering over the counter to try to catch a glimpse of the paper. Levi pursed his lips and closed the book, eliciting a cry of protest from the blond.
“You won’t let me see?”
“No. It’s not finished yet. I’ll show you when I’m done.”
“You’ve spent all day working on it, surely you must be almost done?”
The truth was, Levi was almost done with the piece he was working on but for some reason, he didn’t want to show it to Erwin just yet.
Levi narrowed his eyes at the blond. “Art takes time, you idiot. I’ll show you when I’m done.”
“Fair enough. You’ll have it ready by Monday?”
Levi didn’t know yet what exactly needed to be fixed, but he was sure there was something . The first impression of someone’s art was important. He didn’t want Erwin to dislike what he did.
I need to fix some minor details. The fruits looked weird, right? And the perspective might be off… yeah, no. It’s not ready to be shown.
Levi sighed, “You’re very insistent, you know? Why the sudden interest in what I’m doing?”
Erwin shrugged, “You draw every time you have free time. Simple curiosity, nothing more.”
Levi hummed, noncommittal. “When are you going to show me what you’re writing, then?”
Erwin looked surprised for a second, then he laughed. “I could show you, but I’m afraid you might find it kind of boring.”
“Why? What is it?”
“I’m working on my thesis.”
“Oh. I didn’t take you for a Ph.D. What’s it on?”
“I’m working on outlining the Anglo-French relationships during the Hundred Years' War. That’s why I came to France, of course. I’m working on field research in the area, focusing on the documents and battle scenes preserved here.”
“That sounds… interesting,” Levi offered, trying to hide his distaste. It sounded like the most boring research paper someone could possibly make.
Erwin laughed and shook his head, leaning on the counter to look more closely at Levi. “You’re making the face everyone makes when I tell them what my thesis is on. I promise you it’s not that boring.”
“Yeah, no, it sounds like a fun time,” Levi deadpanned. Erwin laughed and left the shop.
☼☼☼
Levi spent the whole weekend working on the engraving project, but every once in a while, he went back to his sketchbook, fixing minor details on the sketch he was supposed to show to Erwin. It wasn’t like him to get nervous over such a small thing as showing someone his sketchbook, but still, he couldn’t help it. He wanted to cause a good impression.
When Monday afternoon rolled around, Levi was ready for the blond. Erwin came into the shop with a small smile on his face, ordering his new favorite drink. Levi drew a large flower on the cappuccino, and when Erwin saw it his eyes lit up.
“You’re just showing off now,” he smiled slightly at the brunet.
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is simple coffee art, anyone can do it.”
Erwin hummed and sat down at the counter, earning a frown from Levi.
This is new. He’s never sat down at the counter.
Tall chairs lined the counter, and while technically customers could sit there, this was the first time Levi had experienced it when the shop still had other available seats.
Those chairs are uncomfortable. Why would he want to sit there?
Erwin looked confused at the expression on Levi’s face. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
“Suit yourself.”
Levi went to attend to another customer, and when he turned back to the blond, he found Erwin was looking at him intently. His stomach dropped for a fraction of a second when their eyes locked.
“Why are you staring at me?” Levi frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Erwin raised an eyebrow, “Are you finally going to show me your sketchbook?”
Ah. That explains it.
“You’re seriously the most persistent person I’ve met.”
The blond shrugged, “What can I say? I’ve always been like this. Once I latch onto an idea I don’t let it go.”
Levi huffed and rolled his eyes, but there was no malice in the gesture. He admired people who were persistent in reaching their goals.
“Here,” he said, opening the sketchbook to the still life he’d finished over the weekend, “I’ll show it to you before my ears fall off from your nagging.”
Erwin smiled and leaned over the counter to see the piece. Levi’s gaze roamed over the blond’s face anxiously, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Erwin’s eyes had widened slightly, but other than that, he hadn’t said or done anything. Levi shifted on his feet, getting more nervous by the second.
Why isn’t he saying anything? Does he hate it?
“Say something,” he snapped suddenly. Erwin blinked as if waking from a trance and looked up at Levi, eyes wide.
“This is… this is actually pretty good, Levi,” he breathed, shaking his head slowly, “I didn’t expect you to be this talented. You did this with just a pencil? And no tracing?”
“Did you expect me to be bad?” Levi narrowed his eyes, feigning offense, but his heart was racing with the praise, “Of course I didn’t trace. What would be the point then?”
“Can I see the rest?”
Levi almost considered saying no, but Erwin looked so delighted, eyes still fixed on the drawing, that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Sure,” he shrugged, handing over the sketchbook to the blond, “don’t stain it or anything.”
“Stain it?” Erwin raised an eyebrow, holding the sketchbook gingerly. Levi narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t act innocent, I’ve seen how you leave crumbs all over the place. If I see a single crumb on the pages…”
The brunet trailed off menacingly. Erwin laughed and raised a hand, “I promise you I’ll keep my mess of the pages.”
Levi huffed and moved away to clean the tables some guests had just unoccupied. He could have cleaned it later, but he didn’t want to stress over what Erwin was thinking of his art. His heart had already gone into overdrive when he’d showed Erwin the still life; he didn’t think he could bear it to stress over the other drawings.
When he returned to the counter a couple of minutes later, Erwin was still poring over the pages, gaze fixed intently on an anatomy study Levi had made a couple months back.
Levi cleared his throat, “What do you think?”
Erwin jumped slightly, seemingly so engrossed that he hadn’t heard Levi approaching. He smiled wide. “Levi, you’re pretty good at this. You should be an artist.”
Levi stared at him incredulously for a few seconds before he remembered he had never told Erwin anything about his private life. “I am, actually. I’m a senior at Bordeaux Montaigne. Mixed media degree.”
“Wow. You take your classes in the morning, I presume?”
“Yeah,” Levi nodded absentmindedly, mind replaying Erwin’s praise for his work. He felt shy all of a sudden and so he held his hand out for the sketchbook. Erwin closed it gently and gave it back.
“You have to show me your other works, someday.”
Levi felt another wave of embarrassment and turned away, “Sure, someday.”