Chapter Text
Marius von Hagen needs coffee to survive – before facing his university lectures and his easy-to-piss-off professor, he’d be damned if there isn’t his usual order of an Americano with whipped cream and two pumps of caramel gripped within his long pale fingers.
And (Y/N) (L/N) needs sanity to survive – but of course, there’s no way to get that while being a barista in the famous bustled coffeeshop around the campus corner. With a black apron hugging your waist, you almost never stay still when you're on the clock.
It was a habit you picked up from seeing most of the university students always rushing in and out, not even taking a second out of their day to greet you.
Well, all except one.
“‘Neesan-!” Marius exclaims as he enters the coffee shop today, dragging his feet along the floor, a hand dramatically posed over his forehead and his face looking more over-the-top than usual - there’s only one word to describe the 21-year-old right now:
dramatic.
You smile, seeing your absolute favourite customer make his way to you.
“Good morning, Marius,” you say, in the tone you're so used to using with him. You don’t lift your head from the cup of joe you're making, but even with that, you can tell that his purple eyes were practically glued on you. It’s a relatively busy day, the cold morning breeze welcoming itself in every time the Valentine’s-Day-themed door, littered with papier-mâché hearts and crafts store pink-and-white streamers, swings open.
“The usual?” You still are not looking at your dark-haired customer. “And based off your… everything, I’ll take it you’ll want extra whipped cream, yeah?”
“No.” The man mopes. “No whipped cream.”
This made you stop – no whipped cream? Marius? Marius von Hagen? You still remembered when he once made a regular customer stop coming in when he called them “what’s wrong with society” because they ordered a frappe with no whipped cream. The manager scowled at this and was moments away from telling Marius off, only to be stopped when you rushed to Marius’ aid, stating that the customer would always unwantedly flirt with you – you've never felt comfortable when they’re around anyway.
Artem, the manager, appeared to be at ease after being that explanation.
But oh my God, that stupid smug grin on Marius’s face as soon as Artem turned around...
“So… on a scale of 1 – 10, how special should I feel that I’m the only one who's allowed to flirt with you, ‘neesan?”
It was true. Ever since he had first said hey, it was like his mind was set on a mission.
His objective? You. And his way of doing that is by always starting your day off with amazingly terrible pickup lines, a devilish smirk, and ending it with a “Maybe not today, (Y/N)! But one day! You’ll see!”
Hearing him publicly acknowledge his actions made you tensed up — blushed, even — and looked down towards the pointy tip of your work shoes. He began to panic.
“Oh- uhm- but like, I’ve never realized, but if you don’t like it when I do it, I’ll stop—”
Within seconds, your red-as-blood face changed into a laughing one. The way he changed his demeanour so fast at the misinterpretation… pure gold. You liked that about Marius. He may act like a shameless seducer sometimes, judging by how quickly he can shift from flirting with you to flirting with literally any other being on two legs in the coffee shop. Never have you ever taken the alleged playboy seriously.
But you know the side of him whenever he drops the act — even for a second — you feel lucky enough to get a glimpse into that whole pile of awkward, adorable mess.
“No, no!” you had said between laughs. “I like it when you do.”
The look on his face after you said that was a face you’ll never forget.
It lit up, a bright genuine smile easily finding itself on his face. It has been embedded in your brain. Much like — despite your best efforts — the face he makes when he’s having a dramatic meltdown.
Like the one he’s having right now.
“What’s wrong?” you ask, not bothering to hide the concern in your tone. No-whipped-cream Marius is a depressed Marius. If this is serious, then—
“(Y/NNNNN)! Can’t you see the state I'm in?!” he yells out, spreading his arms all across the counter. “I’m—I’m sad!”
Not serious.
“Hm-m,” you reply nonchalantly. Your attention has dissolved, instead, turned to the task of wiping some lipstick-stained glasses from Table 3.
“‘Neesan! Hey. Heeeeey. Look at me. Acknowledge my crisis! Please? Please, I’m terribly desolated.”
You snicker. “Ah, you moguls and your big words.”
“Hush. Never mind that, would you like to know why I’m super sad?”
It doesn’t take you very long. “Alright… does it have anything to do with today being Va—”
“VALENTINES DAY!”
“Mar—”
“And I. am. single!”
And off he goes! Once Marius starts lamenting about his absolute loneliness, there’s no stopping him. You found this out the hard way when one day, you responded to his “Are you Paris? Because eiffel for you.” with a “Marius, don’t you have anyone else to waste their time on?”
That monologue went on for a full 15 minutes. And since today is the International Day of Making Out, you're not wrong in expecting this one to go on waaaay longer - maybe until closing time, if you're even that lucky. So as soon as you found a hole in the conversation, you rush to the other side of the counter to the coffee-making station with a cheeky grin.
“Hey! Hey—!” he yells out.
You turn around at his cries and pleas, but it’s clear that your hands are preoccupied with making Marius’ usual. The man curses himself. What did I even expect (Y/N) to do, CHANGE the fact that today’s Valentine’s Day? Sigh. They don’t even care...
Receiving no response from the (Y/H/C)-haired barista, he sighed (again) and pulled out his phone, leaning against the counter. His head was preoccupied in wishing there was a way to hide his Instagram feed from the many photos of his friends and coworkers happily celebrating the dreaded day for the singles - PAX group has never been a company to indulge in the holiday, but 298 staff-requested absences to spend the day with their partners? Seriously?
The spell is only broken when he hears his name being called out - he sticks his hand out, expected to be greeted by just his usual Americano, so imagine his surprise when he saw it accompanied by a heart-shaped doughnut; pink ribbon with a small piece of paper delicately placed on top.
Marius peers curiously, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.
__________
Dear Marius,
Are you a doughnut? Because I think you’re a-dough-rable.
Okay, okay, that was bad. Now you know how I feel.
Happy Valentine’s Day, dork.
Yours,
(Y/N)
_______
He is at a loss for words.
He looks around the shop, right as his coffee-coloured eyes land on his (Y/N), an indelible smile on your face as your attention turns towards taking the next customer’s order. Your hair is tied up messily at the crown of your head, loose tendrils curled with sweat from running back and forth behind the counter. But that smile… that smile stays firm on your face.
Marius von Hagen concluded that he needs coffee for his soul - and (Y/N) (L/N) for his heart.