Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

robin poured himself a cup of coffee, not thinking about the heat as he downed the mug of liquid gold. as the hot coffee hit the back of his neck, the squat dutchman swallowed harshly at the intense heat, gasping for cold air after the heat settled in his stomach.

“alright there, sunshine?”

robin turned in the direction of the british voice to reveal sam, who had come out of the back to greet his best friend. robin smiled and shook his head.

“just hot coffee again.”

“again? mate, you’ve worked at a coffee shop for how long now and you still forget that coffee that’s come straight out of the pot is boiling?” sam jeered, poking his friend playfully on the arm. robin laughed, putting his mug down and grabbing a cloth. after wiping down the cake display, a sudden noise startled the dutchman.

“sam, robin, whenever you're ready imma need you back here, alright?” came the voice of alexander, the ‘big boss’ at the coffee shop. after a synchronised “coming!” from the two, they followed alexander into the back, throwing themselves onto one of the couches alexander was grateful to have blessed his employees with.

ah, lavazza inc. easily the nicest and most delicious coffee to come out of italy. born here in milan was the signature coffee brand by alexander sims himself, along with the help of a master roaster. alexander opened up shop with the master roaster in the heart of milan to try and spread the luxury coffee brand far and wide, selling only the finest hot drinks and baked goods. the ‘master roaster’ in question is seemingly unknown, or at least not talked about, as far as robin was aware.

robin sat down beside sam and stoffel, one of the finest bakers in all of italy. stoffel could change anyone’s mood with one of his homemade cupcakes. that, and his natural charms. beside sam was pierre, one of the tea wizards of the shop. he knew how to work the tea leaves in a way no one else could, resulting in lavazza inc. being known for their vibrant teas and charming employees. the rest of the couches were filled up with sean, mitch, norman, jake and andre – the coffee bean whisperer, quote unquote ‘sexy’ barista, baked goods master, cappuccino god and expert photographer respectively.

“alright, everyone, settle down. i figured since everyone was in today that i’d let you all know of some updates to the shop,” alexander cleared his throat and stood before his employees with a clipboard and pen. fixing his glasses, he continued.

“okay, so norman, stoffel, that new fridge you guys wanted is on the way and will get here no later than next tuesday,”

the two bakers cheered amongst themselves, rejoicing at the fact their half-broken fridge would finally be getting fixed.

“pierre, i got your email and bought as many of those new tea leaves as i could for you. this will be coming out of your overall pay, by the way. its not much, but i have to get you to pay for something, you know?” alexander looked over his glasses at his french employee.

“understood, i don’t mind. its benefiting the shop so i have no complaints.” the young frenchman smiled, nodding at his boss’ words.

“alright, and there’s a couple other things that i’ll be discussing with you each in private, but there is something else i would like to make you aware about. i have been in contact over the past couple of weeks with a sister company of lavazza’s in portugal and we have come to the agreement to allow one of their workers to come join us for the summer.”

the employees reacted differently to this news; sam, mitch and robin rejoiced at having a new friend for the summer, stoffel and sean almost howled out of excitement, while jake rolled his eyes.

“mate, don’t tell me its gonna be a girl. like no offence to ‘em or anything, just i can’t stand having a girl come in and throw off our vibe, y’know?” jake complained, earning a nod from pierre. alexander laughed breathily.

“no, no. no need to worry jake. through the conversations i’ve had, i can confirm it is indeed another man.” alexander reassured his fellow brit, who sighed a breath of relief. “i would like to ask a favour of one or two of you, though.”

“what’s up?” sean asked, putting a slender arm over the back of the couch.

“since he’s starting here on sunday, i would like to ask a few of you to come in when we’re off to help show your new coworker around the shop and to help him throughout the week while he’s settling in. you’ll be payed for the extra hours you stay in here, by the way. i’m not that mean.” alexander read something off his clipboard before looking up at the sound of a throat being cleared.

“we’ll do it, simsy!” sam put his arm around robin and gestured towards mitch, who smiled warmly at his boss. alexander raised an eyebrow.

“you three seriously want to help out? it’s not just sam roping you two into work this time?” alexander asked, a puzzled tone to his question.

“not this time, alex. robin and i know what it’s like to be welcomed in from a foreign country and sam has been here longer than anyone else. it only seems fair to have us help him out.” mitch replied, earning a nod from robin.

“it’s true. we actually want to help out this time.” robin added with a smile. alexander nodded before circling something on his clipboard.

“fine then. i’ll let you guys know what times i want you in at on sunday and if you’re gonna stay in after hours during the week.” alexander looked up after a moment and smiled. “alright, now everyone, get back to getting ready for work.”

☼☾☆

“whatcha up to, mate?” mitch threw himself onto the couch beside robin, moving his body to try and look at what the dutchman was looking at. robin responded by slamming the phone onto the couch screen facing down and jumped to cover it with his apron.

“nothing!”

“were you trying to find the new guy again?” sam walked over to the duo while sipping on a coffee. even though robin didn’t answer, the blush on his face told the brit everything he needed to know.

“robin, we literally dont even know who this guy is other than the fact he’s a dude and is from portugal. that could be anybody.” mitch added, laughing at robin’s red face.

“i know, but i just thought that maybe alexander has followed him already. i just wanna see if i can see what he looks like before sunday, maybe.” robin responded, looking down at his feet.

“i mean, i get it bro. i’ve already come up with an image in my head of this portuguese hottie before i’ve even met him.” sean sat on the arm of the sofa, putting an arm across robin’s shoulders, sighing as he stared into the distance with a smile.

“bro shut the fuck up and stop flexing the fact you like men. not everyone needs to hear about your love life.” mitch scoffed at the indonesian, wiping his eyes.

“you’re one to talk! you gush about that ‘pretty florist’ of yours all day every day.” sam retorted, fist bumping a now-laughing sean. mitch went bright red and tried to cover his face with his apron.

“not the same thing.” he mumbled, embarassed at his friends’ remarks.

“uh, yeah it is! if you get to talk about your crush, sean can talk about his!” stoffel popped his head into the room before leaving again, making everyone in the room burst out in laughter, making mitch go even redder.

“i’m going back to work now.” the kiwi stood up and made haste for the door, dashing to the front of the shop to resume his shift.

“oh, i always love taking the piss out of mitch for that.” sean laughed, running a hand through his hair. robin joined in, quickly clearing the instagram search page from his recently used apps page and closing his phone before rejoining the conversation.

☼☾☆

“grazie, buona giornata!” sam smiled as he handed a woman her tea and cake, dropping the smile as soon as she turned around. “that’s literally the most italian i know. why did i decide to work in italy for the rest of my life? who let me do this to myself?”

“you did, mate. you did.” robin replied, not taking his eyes off the milk he was steaming. sam clicked his tongue and groaned.

“why isn’t it sunday yet? i’m bored of all these new faces, i juat wanna meet this new guy already before i lose my shit.” sam complained, taking the milk from robin who went to take a new order.

“tomorrow will come quickly, sammy. don’t worry. benvenuto, come posso aiutarti?” robin smiled at a customer who returned the comment with a puzzled expression. “oh, right, force of habit. what can i get for you today, sir?”

“no worries, haven’t exactly brushed up on my italian skills yet,” the man replied, laughing softly. his dark hair flopped onto his forehead, and he brushed it away. “do you have any chamomile tea here? i’ve been desperate for some lately.”

“of course we do, we have everything! pierre?” robin turned to his french coworker and received a nod in reply. “perfect, is it for here or to go?”

“to go, please. i left this super late and have to get back to work in a few.” the man smiled at robin, looking quickly at the cake stand, pointing at something. “could i have one of them eclairs please. the one with cream on top.”

“of course. is that all?” robin tapped something onto the screen of the till, printing a receipt after the man nodded. “alright, your total will be €3.50 whenever you’re ready.”

the man fiddled with his card in the machine before eventually getting it to work. he was tall – a lot taller than robin – and had a really strong british accent. he was definitely going to ask sam later where this guy was from, because his accent was very peculiar. he was pale, but not as pale as robin was, and his smile was infectious. he wore an apron that was stained with ink and had a dandelion pin attached to the neck strap. robin so desperately wanted to go and grab sean, knowing a guy like this would be exactly the indonesian’s type in both men and women. dang, curse bisexuals and the fact they’d be down to date anyone. if only finding a relationship was that easy, robin thought.

and after the man payed, pierre handed him his drink and eclair before thanking him. he left, quickly checking both ways before running across the road and into the florists that sat across the street. the florists was one of italy’s finest, called wolffs’. it was owned by a really nice woman named susie wolff (hence the name of the florists) who always greeted the boys whenever they opened shop. susie acted like a mother to any of her workers no matter how old or young they were. her husband, toto, had a really high-up job, and susie opened up shop in milan after moving from austria with toto a few years back. she always had nice things to say about everyone and never seemed to dislike anyone or anything.

robin turned around to find mitch leaning against the counter with his nails in his mouth, face bright red as he stared out of the window in the direction of the florists. a really pretty looking girl was putting some flowers on display in tin buckets outside the large windows of the florists, putting one of the dandelions behind her ear, the bright yellow flower standing out in comparison to her dark brown bob.

“oooh, someone’s got a crush on the lady florist across the street!” pierre nudged mitch in the arm when he caught onto who he was staring at. mitch snapped out of it, smiling and shaking his head.

“nah, mate. just thinking about something else.” the end of the sentence trailed off when mitch looked back up at the girl talking to susie across the street. pierre looked at this and laughed.

“mate, you’re fucking insufferable!” the frenchman laughed heartily before resuming his work, dumping the used tea leaves into a nearby trashcan.

☼☾☆

the alarm clock deafened robin, his ears ringing as he sat up. his body was burning, yet felt no need to cool himself down, either. soon after rubbing his eyes, he realised the alarm clock was just sam yelling at him to get up.

“c’mon sunshine! simsy will kill us if we’re late,” sam pulled on robin’s arm to get him up, only to let go as quickly as he grabbed him. “jesus, mate, you’re burning!”

“give me a minute, man. i don’t feel well at all, but i don’t wanna disappoint alex if i stay at home.” robin huffed, sitting up in his bed.

“i though you were excited for today, no?” sam asked, bending down to come face to face with his dutch friend.

“of course, but i just feel like i’m gonna throw up.” robin sighed, pulling a t-shirt mitch handed him over his head. wait, when did mitch get here?

“we can get you something to eat when we get to the shop. i got stoff and norman to keep us some food from yesterday to eat with the new kid today. plus, coffee might help you.” mitch stood back and smiled at his poorly friend. robin nodded, standing up to go put on the rest of his uniform.

“fine, but if i throw up or pass out, i’m blaming you two.” robin laughed, putting his pants on.

as they travelled via. sam’s fancy new jaguar car to the shop, robin grew paler and paler, hoping he could get to a drink sometime soon. eventually, after what felt like hours, they reached lavazza inc. and the trio rushed in, continuing their conversation from the car. robin excused himself from the trio to the kitchen to get some water, asking them to tell alexander of his whereabouts.

he grabbed a bottle of water from the half-broken fridge and took a sip, disappointed to find it was room temperature but relieved to finally have a drink. robin eyed up a slice of carrot cake but decided against it, not wanting to keep alexander and the new guy any longer. robin went out to find where exactly the other two had gone, following the sound of alexander’s voice into the staff room. robin stopped dead in his tracks as he saw who was in the room.

as well as sam, mitch and alexander, there was a short, very tan man with floppy brown hair and facial hair. his body was adorned in jewellery, from watches to rings to necklaces. he had sunglasses on his head and wore a t-shirt with some rock band robin had never heard of until now over some skinny jeans that had rips at the knees and thighs. he turned to robin when he heard him arrive, walking over and extending a hand to the dutchman. not only was his outfit attractive, but so was the man himself.

“hey, you must be robin, right? my name’s antonio maria de mello breyner felix da costa, but you can just call me antonio, it’s a real pleasure to meet you.” his portuguese accent was thick but understandable, and his smile. god, his smile was enough to light up the entirety of milan.

before robin could clock what was happening, his face started burning, his legs started to give out and his vision blurred. the last thing robin saw before he passed out was antonio’s face contorting into one of fear as he watched the dutchman drop to the ground. fuck, he really should’ve eaten that cake.

Chapter Text

robin (finally) managed to wake up, his face still boiling but wet and his body weak.

“hey, hey, woah be careful, sunshine!” sam’s voice echoed through robin’s ears, the dutchman wincing at the sudden noise. he opened his eyes to see he was on one of the couches with a damp tea towel on his forehead. alexander was sat on a coffee table beside mitch, and sam and antonio were on the ground beside robin. alexander explained that he probably passed out from lack of food or water, and walking around too much caused him to faint. thankfully for robin, barely any time passed, which meant he still got to do work with antonio.

speak of the devil, the portuguese beauty helped robin sit up, putting the tea towel to one side. sam brought it into the washroom and dumped it into a sink before coming back with water and muffins for everyone.

“here, mate, have some food.” sam gave everyone a bit of everything and sat down on the couch beside robin and antonio, who found his way onto the couch.

“really sorry about that, guys. it’s my fault for not taking care of my health.” robin took a bite of the muffin before recoiling. his muffin had raisins in it; one of robin’s least favourite foods. “man, who the hell eats muffins with raisins in them??”

“hey, do you like banana muffins? i’m not a big fan of bananas as a filling but i don’t mind raisins. we can swap, if you want.” antonio pointed to his bun that he hadn’t started eating yet. robin felt his ears get hot as he nodded, handing his muffin with a bit taken out of it to antonio, taking his uneaten muffin instead.

after everyone finished eating, alexander asked everyone to follow him out to the front where they could start showing antonio around. antonio followed alexander and mitch out, sam staying with robin to help tidy up and to make sure his friend was okay.

“mate, as if you’re already simping for antonio. he’s been in the country for less than a day!” sam whispered, just loud enough for anyone to hear if they were standing right outside the room. robin felt his face grow hot and he turned aggressively to his british friend.

“shut up???? what if he hears you?! you’re wrong anyways. he’s just attractive like sean said. that’s it.” robin put the empty water bottle in the bin, avoiding eye contact with sam.

“mmm yeah, and we live on mars.” sam joked, leaving the room. robin checked his phone to pretend he was doing something to calm himself down. after a moment, he followed sam out of the room and met up with the group in the coffee shop itself.

alexander explained to the quartet that he planned on having mitch, sam and robin help the portuguese man out for the next few weeks while he settled in, such as showing him how to make different types of drinks, how to work the register, etc. while being monitored by alexander himself. antonio nodded, before gesturing to everyone else.

“was i supposed to wear my uniform today? cause i don’t have my pants yet. they haven’t come from germany yet.”

“no, no, don’t worry. i just asked these guys to wear theirs today to show you how you should be wearing your uniform. that’s all. but i expect full uniform from whenever your pants come, ok? just wear what you have from tomorrow onwards, alright?” alexander reassured, earning a nod from antonio.

alexander told the boys to work in hour periods to give everyone a chance to work with antonio on a different specialty of theirs. sam was up first, and mitch and robin went into the back to relax until it was their turn. robin took this time to stalk antonio’s instagram account while mitch played some video game about car racing. robin never got the hype over car racing, finding it more dangerous than enjoyable. he looked through antonio’s instagram feed, trying not to show his obvious blush to mitch, who didn’t even care what robin was doing, anyways.

robin couldn’t help it, antonio’s posts ranged from workout videos to shirtless photos to pictures of his travels to selfies of himself at some expensive looking location in portugal somewhere. at some point, robin had followed him while waiting painstakingly for alexander to ask him to come help antonio. and somewhere along the long wait, robin got bored and decided to go look around the kitchen for some food that weren’t raisin-filled muffins or carrot cake, which the dutchman had gotten sick of eating every day when he first started out.

he put his head into the room temperature fridge, rooting through the cakes to find something else. he settled on a room temp juice box and a lemon square, taking a long sip from the box.

“grape juice. of course kids like this stuff, it’s addicting!” robin muttered to himself as he put the lemon slice and juice box onto the countertop. he rooted in the cupboards and began the long search for a plate to put the baked good on to not have complaints from alexander about crumbs in the kitchen or staff room.

“ah, there you are! i couldn’t find you anywhere.”

robin turned around quickly, slamming the cupboard door shut and hurting his ear with the sound. antonio leaned against the doorway, a smile on his face as he looked at robin. he had put his sunglasses hanging on the neck of his t-shirt, just covering a necklace that had a fancy-looking ring hanging out of it. robin pointed towards the food on the countertop, feeling a bead of sweat form on his forehead.

“was just getting food and a drink. did you want something?” robin asked, realising this was the first thing he had said directly to antonio all day. he would hit himself for that later. antonio chuckled and walked into the room. shit, even his laugh was attractive. was there anything about this man that wasn’t attractive?

“i want you to help me.” antonio said, standing beside the countertop, eyeing up robin’s lemon slice.

“w-what?” robin panicked, his brain melting. okay, maybe sam was right after all.

“alexander wanted me to come find you. said you had to help me now, or something? so i want you to help me.” antonio laughed, probably wondering why this dutch guy was acting weird.

“oh, oh! oh of course!” robin laughed, wanting to hide in a corner and cry forever. antonio picked up the juice box and took a sip of it, putting it back on the counter again.

“you like this stuff too? kids juice is the best for a quick drink. especially grape juice, it’s addictive.” antonio smiled and left the kitchen. robin could only stare as he tried to calm himself once again. putting the lemon slice into the fridge, robin finally followed antonio out of the kitchen and back into the front.

“ah, robin. enjoying some food in there?” alexander joked, the dutchman rolling his eyes in response. antonio giggled at this, enjoying these foreigners all too much. alexander explained what sam and mitch already showed antonio and what robin should aim to show antonio.

☼☾☆

“and that's roughly how you’d go about making a chai latte. as you can probably tell, i’m not the best at making it but what can you do, eh?” robin took a sip out of the paper cup of latte, making a face at the taste. antonio laughed.

“what? you don’t like coffee but work at a coffee shop? how’s that make sense?” antonio smiles, causing robin to laugh awkwardly.

“no, not like that. i love coffee, but lattes always taste weird to me. maybe i just make them badly, but they just taste bad for some reason.” robin poured his drink down the drain of a metal sink. antonio ushered his paper cup in his new coworker’s direction. robin looked up with confusion. “hmm?”

“try mine. maybe i’ll convince you to like lattes.” he smiled again, and how could robin say no to a smile that convincing.

after robin put his lips to the edge of the cup, antonio began to pour the hot liquid into robin’s mouth. he watched the dutchman closely to make sure neither spilled the drink. after robin got enough in his mouth, he put a thumb up to signal antonio to stop. robin swallowed the latte, making yet another expression at the drink.

“still not like it?” antonio was still smiling. shit, robin thought, he does not stop, does he?

“lattes are still lattes, sorry. it’s nice though, just not nice to me.” robin wiped the corner of his mouth with his apron, watching antonio take another sip and pour the remainder down the drain. the light brown liquid flowed like a waterfall, settling in golden puddles at the bottom of the sink like waterfalls settle among the rocks below it.

“one day, robin,” robin looked up again at his portuguese coworker. “one day i’ll get you to like my lattes. i promise you.”

robin laughed, turning to grab another paper cup before handing one to antonio.

“has sam or mitch showed you how to make a hot chocolate yet?”

“not yet.”

“perfect,” robin grabbed a second paper cup for himself, placing it on the counter and turning to grab something behind him. “could you start steaming some milk for me while i’m doing this?”

“ah,” robin turned to see antonio holding his head with a smile on his face. “you see, mitch taught me how to do it earlier, but i’ve been so concentrated on learning how to make coffee and work the machine that i genuinely forgot how to steam milk. sorry.”

robin smiled to himself, shaking his head.

“no worries. i’ll just have to show you again, won’t i?” robin smiled, taking a carton of milk out from the fridge under the counter. after filling up a metal jug with milk, he turned to antonio again. “let’s do this.”

antonio watched carefully as robin demonstrated again how to accurately steam milk, his eyes following the dutchman’s hands. after robin’s masterclass, he let antonio try, the portuguese perfectly replicating what he was shown and rewarded himself with stale coffee he found on the counter.

robin showed antonio how to make hot chocolate, making sure every step was followed to a t. alexander let the quartet go on a short break before the second half of the day resumed. sam offered to take them out for some lunch at a local bar, to which they agreed. taking sam’s fancy jaguar to les bonnes choses – their local bar – took about 5 minutes with light traffic. the ride mostly consisted of sam and mitch in the front of the car singing to whatever cheesy pop song came on the radio and robin and antonio sitting awkwardly in silence in the back.

they went in and took their usual seat in the back corner of the bar closest to the outdoor smoking area and kitchen entrance. they called over the closest waiter, having recognised him from the back of his head.

“hey, hartley!” sam called, mitch adding a wolf whistle in for good measure.

the waiter, hartley, first name brendon, waltzed over to the quartet, a skip in his step as he did so.

“sup, princesses. hey, who’s this new face?” the kiwi bent down to face antonio, a smile on his face and an eyebrow raised.

“that’s antonio. he’s the new kid we were tellin’ you about.” sam stretched and leaned back in his chair. antonio raised a hand at brendon, smiling awkwardly at him. the kiwi laughed and pat the table before whipping a pen and notepad out of thin air.

“what can i get you ladies this afternoon? the usual or can i get you something else?” brendon asked, raising an eyebrow at the quartet and pointing at antonio. “and what does this gentleman want?”

“we’ll have the usual, thanks. hey, antonio, are you alright with a burger and fries?” mitch leaned in towards antonio and whispered. the portuguese man thought for a moment before nodding with a shrug. “yeah, make that four.”

“alright, you fellas sit tight and i’ll be right back with your food.” the kiwi smiled before bouncing into the kitchen, his blonde hair bouncing with him.

robin glanced across the table to see that antonio hadn’t touched his food. the burger had a small bite taken out of it and his basket of fries was almost full. robin felt bad and tapped the portuguese man on the shoulder. he looked up at robin, slightly confused. robin pointed to the plate, before asking:

“you not hungry? you could’ve said something.”

“no, i am. it’s just not what i’m used to. i mean, burgers in italy? it’s nice, just not my style of food, you know?” antonio laughed slightly, his smile dropping quickly. robin felt horrible that he hadn’t told his new friend of their eating habits. wait, could robin even call antonio his friend yet, or is he moving too quickly?

“come with me for a sec, i want to ask you something in private.” robin pat antonio’s shoulder before standing up, excusing himself from the table and heading outside through the smoking-only area. antonio watched before building up the courage to excuse himself too, following robin outside. when he left, he found robin sitting on a wall that surrounded the building and went over to join him.

“what’s up?” he asked, sitting down beside robin with concern on his face.

“what type of foods do you like eating? cause if there’s anywhere in specific that i can find for you i will. i don’t want you to starve while you’re here!” robin asked, his voice sounding unintentionally concerned. antonio smiled and giggled to himself.

“you’re very very sweet, robin. i’ll cope somehow, don’t worry about me. i have three whole months to figure out somewhere to eat!” antonio reassured the dutchman who had started sweating. it was either out of embarrassment or concern, but antonio wasn’t sure which one.

“i know that, but i just want to help. you seem like a really nice guy and i’d love to get to know you more, and that means i want to know what type of food you like so i know for future reference and stuff.” robin trailed off the end of his sentence, looking down while the heat grew on his face. beside him, antonio was smiling sweetly, his own face getting hotter.

“i’d love that, robin. but first, we should head back to work and learn more things for tomorrow before alexander kills us, or whatever mitchell said.” antonio gently grabbed robin’s shoulder as the dutchman laughed.

“mitchell? did alexander tell you his full name?” robin said through laughter. antonio looked on in confusion as robin wiped tears that pricked the corner of his eyes.

“what? is that not his name?” antonio asked, genuinely confused. robin shook his head, standing up.

“nothing, never mind. let’s head back. c’mon, i know a shortcut through the back here.” robin gestured to the laneway in front of him. the portuguese man nodded, standing up and following robin through the alleyway. they talked about life in italy and things antonio might miss from home, reaching the coffee shop in only a few minutes. maybe robin could get used to more moments like this, and maybe antonio could put his worries behind him in favour of moments like this here.

☼☾☆

“alright, thank you boys so so much for coming in to help myself and antonio out today. your help has been greatly appreciated. you will be getting paid for this, remember?” alexander thanked sam, robin and mitch before turning to antonio and whispering something in broken portuguese to him. said portuguese man laughed.

“muito obrigado.” antonio replied, smiling warmly at the brit who waved them out the front door, locking it after them and closing up for the evening. the quartet walked around to the car park, sam and mitch chatting amongst themselves once again. antonio walked with robin, laughing at the dutchman asking several questions.

“how did you get to work? do you even have a car yet? or your license? do you need an escort to bring you home?”

“relax, relax! i got a ride here because no, i dont have a car yet. i do have a license but never had a car of my own. i’m okay walking on my own, seriously.” antonio scratched the stubble on his neck, smiling warmly at his new friend.

“oh no, absolutely not. i wouldn’t trust you walking home alone at this hour. nothing against you, just dont trust milan at this time. i’d say the same to anyone. i’ll walk home with you today and i don’t want any ‘no’s or ‘but’s, alright?” robin announced as they reached a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change to green to let them cross.

“alright, fair enough. i won’t complain.” antonio replied, following robin across the road.

the two walked for what felt like ages, antonio eventually ushering robin up a long road towards a huge fence with cctv cameras everywhere. robin recognised this area.

“wait, hold up. you live here?? in the rich part of milan? i don’t even know anybody who knows anyone who lives here!” robin gasped, watching as antonio pulled a fancy keycard out of his wallet, laughing.

“a friend of mine gave me a loan of one of his summer rental houses he usually gives to celebs or something. it’s only until i go home and then i’m back to good-old lisbon.” he swiped his card over a box that sat in a hedge and watched as the gate opened.

“that’s so cool! you know a celebrity?!” robin gasped.

“well, you could say that,” antonio smiled, turning back to his friend. “thanks for this, robin. i’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?” he started walking backwards into the estate, raising an eyebrow inquisitively at robin.

“of course! see you then, antonio!” robin waved like a child and started speed walking in the other direction on the long walk home. antonio watched for a moment while the gate closed, smiling warmly to himself as he watched robin sprint down the road.

upon arriving home, robin hung up his apron and went to go grab himself something for dinner. his phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out to see two instagram notifications pop up on his screen.

afelixdacosta has requested to follow you

afelixdacosta: Hey Robin, found your insta :))

Chapter Text

robin almost dropped his phone seeing antonio’s instagram handle pop up on his phone. he didn’t even use instagram that much, but now that antonio has his account, robin suddenly feels like becoming an influencer. accepting antonio’s follow request, robin thought about what to dm antonio back. after moments of contemplating, he finally pressed send on a message he felt sounded friendly, but not too friendly.

afelixdacosta

Hey Robin, found your insta :))

Hey, Antonio!

You found my account lol.

I did 😂😂

robin laughed quietly at antonio using emojis. he wondered what other habits the portuguese man had, and wanted to continue the conversation to find out more.

Haha.

Anyways, I still can’t believe you live in

that really fancy estate.

I’m jealous lol.

Oh yeah 😂

Like I said, a friend is letting me stay

here until I go home in August

You’re going home in August?

Well yeah

I’m not staying in Milan forever 😂

even though robin knew antonio would have to leave eventually, august was so close. although may had barely started, soon it would be june, then july, and then august would be here before he even had a chance to think about it all.

I knew that lol.

Just didn’t realise it would be in August.

Thought it would be later to be honest.

Only a summer job for me 😂😂😂

I wish I could stay longer

Milan is so pretty already and I’ve

only been here for a day

Yeah :(

Not sad about Milan lol.

Just about you leaving.

You seem so cool already and I’ve

known you for a day lol.

Aww Robin

Too kind 😂

Same goes for you ❤️

robin felt his cheeks heat up almost instantly. he put his phone down and just stared at it while antonio continued typing. the little symbol of antonio’s profile picture in the corner pulsating while the portuguese man typed put thoughts running through robin’s head. why did he put a heart? he barely knew robin, did he too find something about robin attractive? maybe antonio is just a natural flirt and does this to everyone. maybe he’s already done this to sam and mitch, too.

Anyways, I’m off for tonight

Gonna get some dinner and call it

a day 😂

Goodnight, Robin!

Hope your night will be as good as

today was for me ❤️

it took robin a moment to respond, but eventually he managed to stop his hand from shaking to send a simple:

Night Antonio :)

robin felt like a teenage girl who fell in love with the attractive boy in her class. he buried his face into the sofa cushion and screeched, wanting to hug his phone and scream forever. even though it was only two hearts, robin felt more in love than ever. god, sam was right, he was simping for antonio. and boy, was he simping HARD.

☼☾☆

“you know, for your first day on the job, you’re doing really well.” sean leaned on the table, smiling wide at antonio who laughed heartily.

“well, i thank this shop for being so welcoming and kind to want to help me settle in on their break day. that’s all, i’m just a good learner.” antonio finished putting the lid on top of a cappuccino he made, calling out a name and handing it to a customer.

sean was right, though. antonio was such a good learner that he managed to make coffees and teas just as good as that of the likes of alexander and sam who had been here since the coffee shop opened. antonio loved it here, even if he had only just started there.

a young couple walked in, the sound of the bells at the door alerting mitch and robin. robin recognised the two as people who worked in wolffs’ florist; the man with the dandelion on his apron from the other day and the girl with the bob and the flower in her hair. robin turned to mitch, knowing the kiwi had a huge crush on the girl. robin didn’t know much about her, other than the fact she was british, as was the man, and always worked on the register.

“you’re on this one, evans.” robin tapped his coworker on the shoulder and walked into the bathroom, laughing under his breath as he watched mitch’s face turn bright red.

“uhm, benvenuto, welcome, what can i get you today?” mitch stuttered, trying not to make direct eye contact with either.

“hi, can i have one small chamomile tea and what do you want?” the man said, turning to the girl beside him. mitch gulped nervously.

“erhm, do you have any type of non caffeinated drinks? i can’t handle the caffeine this early.” the girl asked, laughing slightly at the end. she had a strong british accent that sounded very posh. it matched that of the man’s accent; posh, but not snooty posh. mitch tapped shakily on the register, shaking his head in response.

“not currently. we’re all out for now but we’ll have our signature brand back in soon. can i interest you in a tea or...?” mitch asked, trying not to let his nerves become obvious to the duo. the girl scanned the menu and the prices, thinking carefully about the options.

“can i have a earl grey tea, please? a small, thanks.” she asked, watching mitch as he tapped something onto the register.

“alright, perfect. are they for here or to go?” mitch didn’t lift his eyes from the numbers flashing up on the screen.

“to go, thanks,” the man replied. mitch let the man pay, watching his hands fiddle with the machine until he got his card in. “one of these days i’ll get my card in on the first try.”

the girl laughed, making mitch’s face turn even redder than it was before.

“can i get a name for the order? we have a lot today so just in case we confuse yours for another’s.” mitch asked, feeling sweat form on his hairline. the man raised a finger before replying:

“put it down as ‘alex’, thanks.” the man (who mitch now knows as alex) said, smiling after. mitch asked them to stand aside while he gave the order to pierre and antonio. the two quickly got to work, making the two teas and handing them to alex and the girl. the entire time, sean watched and laughed at mitch’s reactions.

“thank you, do come back.” antonio handed alex the tray with the two teas, the brit nodding at antonio’s words. the two left, heading back over to the florist as mitch tried to hide his red face behind his apron while sean and robin laughed at him.

“aww, mitch and his little crush on the lady florist.” robin laughed, with antonio even joining in now. damn, a man couldn’t have a crush in peace anymore without having the piss taken out of him for it.

without thinking, mitch quickly rushed past his co-workers and into the back, yanking his apron over his head and throwing it into his locker. he grabbed his wallet and phone and left, sending alexander a text to tell him he was leaving for a few minutes to pick something up. rushing across the street, he went into the florists, spotting the british guy – alex – from earlier at the register. he went over and stood behind an old woman who alex was serving.

“alright, perfect. grazie mrs. colombo, do come back again,” alex smiled as he handed the woman a beautiful bouquet of roses. she thanked him in italian and left, leaving just alex and mitch in the store. “hey, welcome. say, you’re that guy from the coffee shop, right?” alex asked, smirking at mitch. the kiwi swallowed harshly before stepping forward.

“yeah, uhm, that’s me,” mitch laughed, swallowing again. “i’m just in here looking for a bouquet for...” shit. how was mitch gonna tell alex that the flowers were for himself? he didn’t want to sound like a loner who buys himself flowers. mitch thought about what to say, letting his eyes trail up to a sign behind alex’s head that advertised flowers for significant others. “...for my girl. flowers for my girl.”

alex smiled but raised an eyebrow inquisitively. nonetheless he continued.

“alright, lovely. would you like to buy a bouquet we have out in the store or would you like a personalised one?” alex asked, tapping something on the register.

“personalised?”

“yeah. we offer a service here where we ask you a few questions relating to either you or whoever you’re buying the flowers for and we make a bouquet that’s personalised just for you. what would you like?” alex inquired, raising his eyebrow again. mitch thought for a moment before replying:

“i’d like that one please. the personalised one.”

“perfect. so i’ll ask you a couple questions about your girlfriend and then i’ll get on to making you a bouquet. so firstly, is there any type of allergies we should know about before we make the bouquet?” alex kept his eyes on the register.

“nope. not that i’m aware of.”

“great. what about her favourite colour? or colours?”

“she likes yellows. oh, oranges and pinks, too.”

“wonderful. would you like just flowers or could we throw in a few plants here and there?”

“go all out.”

“perfect. what colour wrapping and ribbon would you like? we have pretty much every colour if you don’t want to match the bouquet itself.”

“nah, colour match it to the bouquet please.”

“alright, and is there any flower or plant in particular that you want to be in the bouquet?”

“nope. whatever you think fits.”

“great. can i get a name for that, please?” alex looked up, smiling warmly at mitch.

“uhm, mitch please.” he replied, reciprocating the smile. alex chuckled to himself.

“never met a guy called ‘mitch please’ before. hey, there’s a first for everything!” alex said, laughing as he typed something onto the register. mitch felt his face heat up in response.

“wait, no, i didn’t mean-”

“i’m only kidding. i know your name is just mitch,” alex smiled, finishing typing something onto the register. “okay, what time are you free at today? to pay and collect the bouquet at.”

mitch looked up at the clock on the wall just beside alex.

“about 2-ish hours from now? i finish at 5 so i’ll be here for then.” mitch answered, looking back at alex who was smiling still.

“great, i’ll still be here so i can help you with any finishing touches. thanks, mitch, see you at 5.” alex smiled, watching as mitch left. the bells by the door jingled for a moment as alex went back to tapping away at the register.

“soooo, mitch, huh?”

alex turned in the direction of the british accent to face the ‘lady florist’ that accompanied him to the coffee shop earlier. he laughed, turning away with the shake of his head.

“yup. at least we have a name to the face, now.” alex replied, printing off mitch’s order and clipping it with a clothes peg to his apron.

“to be honest, never really saw him as the straight type.” the girl leaned on the counter, reading the order off of alex’s apron.

“yeah, he does give me those vibes.” alex responded as he started to walk towards the back. the girl gasped.

“mate, how on earth do you know what the vibes of a gay person is?” she voiced, offence evident in her british accent. alex chuckled.

“jamie, i’m friends with you and nyck; i think i know what a gay person looks like.” alex smiled, leaving his colleague – namely jamie – standing there.

“true, true. can’t argue with facts.” she followed alex into the back, preparing to get to work on the bouquet.