Work Text:
Finding a place that did good coffee was Thrawn's main concern. Back in the city he had a plethora of award-winning coffee shops to choose from. He could get them delivered straight to the apartment if he wanted and never have to leave the calm sanctity of his penthouse bedroom.
Things were a little different here.
People were friendlier for one thing, and they always made sure to smile and say hello to him in their thick southern accents. It had taken some getting used at first for Thrawn, partially because the accents were so hard to understand at first, but also because he’d never experienced a cheery greeting like this back home.
Living here would be strange, but nothing he couldn't adapt too, and he had been assured that it would only be for a short amount of time anyway. Well, he had been told he would be here as long as the job took, but Thrawn was sure that shouldn't take too long.
He’d even started viewing his little work trip as a vacation of sort, and the quaint rustic cottage they had put him up in wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but after a while he had come to enjoy it for what it was and the quiet tranquillity of the garden had made it a great place to get some painting done.
All in all, he had done a marvellous job of adapting and compromising with his new surroundings, and now he was quite at home in this sweet small backwater town he had found himself in. The one thing he would not compromise on however, was coffee.
Thankfully, he had found The Wild Space a perfect little cafe that suited his needs better than he could have hoped. One of those small vibrant family run places that greets you like an old friend. Whilst the decor was perhaps a little broad for Thrawn's liking and the furniture a little clunky, it did have comfy cushions and much better wifi than the cottage could ever give him, and so Wild Space had become his new base of operations.
Also, they made some of the best damn coffee he had ever tasted.
He was surprised at first, maybe even disappointed. All these years he had been ordering overpriced underwhelming coffee and investing in every coffee machine and cafetière on the market, just to have the best coffee in the world served to him by some rosy cheeked woman in an independent unheard-of cafe.
“Here you go darlin’.” That same smiley lady said as she handed Thrawn his usual order. A simple black coffee, but the beans were roasted to perfection and the blend was somehow not too watery, yet avoided being a thick gritty disaster. It was velvety and smooth, creamy almost yet it never lost that easy drinkable quality he looked for in a coffee.
“Thank you.” Thrawn smiled politely as he took the cup. It had his name scrawled along the side in her usually sprawled out handwriting, but she didn’t need it, she knew him and his usual order by now.
Thrawn turned and scanned the room for an available seat. It was unusually busy today, in fact it had been for a week or so now and the numbers had been picking up steadily. They rest of the patrons looked young, but then again everyone looked young when you got Thrawn's age. Students he presumed, judging from the hefty looking back packs and far too many enamel pins on denim jackets he could see.
He sighed to himself as he looked for a free table but that was looking unlikely, and he begrudgingly admitted he would have to ask someone, a stranger, to let him join them at their table. He chewed his lip; options were limited and he’d never been much of a conversationalist. He’d like to be, but for some reason his brain and his mouth had never really gotten on and without someone there to stop him, there was a good chance he was going to say the wrong thing.
By now Thrawn had made it all the way to the table in the corner, confirming his suspicions that every table was occupied. He contemplated turning around and doing another lap, but this wasn't like parking a car, he couldn‘t just circle around until he saw a space.
That man was there...
He always sat in this same table, nestled up by the corner. There was a bookshelf filled with generic coffee table books, and on the other side a window giving Thrawn a good view of some trees and the second hand book store across the road.
He was younger than Thrawn by about ten years (twenty if Thrawn was being truly honest) and he was possibly one of the most attractive men Thrawn had ever seen. Ridiculous really, he was rather short in a short of awkward teenage sort of way, like he was still waiting for a growth spurt that never came. He had unkept and floppy hair and Thrawn really felt like he needed to either cut it or learn how to style it. Yet, it did have a charming, almost wild, quality to it.
Thrawn wasn't the only one who had noticed this man's strangely alluring appearance, and he had spotted more than a few of the girls and a couple of the boys craning their necks to check him out. An uncharacteristic schoolboy flutter tickled in Thrawn's chest, and he found he needed a moment to work up the courage to ask,
“Do you mind if I sit here?” He pointed at the other chair at the table. It wasn‘t so close to the man that it would be an invasion of personal space, but it would certainly be awkward if Thrawn were to just plonk himself down there. “It’s rather full you see, I'll just be working as you are?”
The man peered over his laptop and up at Thrawn. Thrawn had always just assumed the man was a writer or something as equally flaky, but now he was stood looking over him and the laptop he so diligently worked from, Thrawn could see nothing but high intensity spreadsheets scattered with dates and statistics that looked beyond most people's compression.
It surprised Thrawn a little. This man was a floppy haired freelancer, he wore soft worn out flannel and blue jeans for goodness sake. He should be writing a terrible sketch show ideas and unfunny blogs, not cracking the enigma code in some hum drum little coffee house.
“Sure thing.” The young man nodded, and he motioned to the chair for Thrawn to take it. Thrawn faltered for a moment, as if he had really been prepared for the man to say no and it took a bit of forcing himself until his body realised that yes, you can sit here.
Thrawn shrugged his coat off, revealing his sensible slacks and neat tidy jumper, he never went as far as to wear a suit but he still made sure to wear what he believed to be appropriate work attire, even if it was just a coffee shop. He set up his laptop quickly and efficiently, and by the time he was ready to start his work, the coffee had cooled to the prefect drinking temperature.
“Enjoying your coffee...erm Thrawn?” The other man asked, squinting a little to read the name on the coffee cup and Thrawn turned it so it was easier for him to see. The man read the name with ease and Thrawn summarised the man must be a regular to be able to read the baristas handwriting like that.
“Yes, I am quite.” Thrawn smiled, making sure to smile in way that showed polite reservation and didn't give away just how badly he had been craving a conversation with someone lately. He tried get a look of the name on the man's cup but it was blank for some reason. “How’s your coffee...erm...”
“Eli.” The man grinned, and he held his hand for Thrawn to shake. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Thrawn.” Thrawn responded as he shook his hand, and then tried not to wince when he realised Eli already knew his name. “Sorry, you knew that already...”
“Haha, no worries. I’m the same before I've had my morning coffee too.” Eli laughed and he took a sip of his own drink as if to prove his point. “mmm, it is good.”
“Indeed.” Thrawn nodded. He agreed of course, but he made sure to keep his tone clam and impassive. People from small towns seemed to think it was some great victory to have a city native compliment their plain and frankly lacklustre little lives. “Given the selection out here, it’s the more preferable option.”
Eli smirked, and Thrawn assumed he agreed with him. The only other option in town was a rather generic and bland diner with coffee that had been sat festering away in a less than clean pot all day.
“I guess so.” Eli chuckled, and he looked around the room, taking in the sights and thinking deeply. Thrawn wondered what was so interesting about the place that it had caught Eli’s imagination so much. It wasn’t exactly breaking new grounds in the décor department. Eventually, Eli just shrugged happily and said, “I dunno, I think we gotta nice place here?”
“Well....” Thrawn sniffed. Something in the back of his mind told him to stop. He had gotten into trouble before for talking too bluntly and saying something that wasn’t polite. He never intended to offend anyone, he just never realised he was offending someone until the damage was done. But, his mouth and brain were already in motion and before he knew it was thinking out loud in that way he was known to. “It definitely needs some improvements, the coffee speaks for itself but, if I were a passing customer, I wouldn't really be drawn in.”
“Yeah?” Eli asked with a curious quirked brow. His body language changed slightly, before it had been the relaxed pose of someone simply making polite conversation, but now he was leaning in and eagerly awaiting Thrawn's response. He rested an elbow on the table, terribly impolite in Thrawn's opinion, the he leaned on his closed fist. “What would you improve then?”
“Hmm, the decor for one thing?” Thrawn hummed, turning his nose up at the art on the walls. Simple basic black and white photographs of landmarks and artistic close-up shots of coffee cups hung on the walls in large cheap canvas, the kind of picture you buy from a cheap home store.
There were stickers too, those cheap nasty decals people stick on their walls and it would seem every available space was plastered with an over italicised imitation cursive word, mostly the names of various coffees and baked treats. There was an unfortunate number of stick-on rhinestones accompanying them too.
It was a shame, it really was. The coffee was without a doubt the best Thrawn had ever tasted, and maybe there was something to be said about spending the budget on the coffee over the decorations, but still, it didn't do the products justice.
“The coffee is good, it really is, but when you walk in here it feels more like you’ve stumbled into someone's home.” Thrawn sniffed. He didn't point at the offending stickers, but he made sure to narrow his eyes over to them in a way that made his feelings known.
“That’s the point isn't it?” Eli countered. It could have been an argument, or it could have been a question, like he and Thrawn were trying to figure out the reasoning for the coffee shops design. It was hard to tell with the man's thick accents and the lazy smile and eager eyes of his didn't make it any easier. “You should feel like you’re coming home?”
“Perlese, if they were trying to invite us in to their home, you would hope they had better furniture.” Thrawn scoffed, shifting in his seat to try and get comfy. The furniture was cheap and it felt it. Ugly thick wooden chairs and plain pine tables that were always sticky no matter what time of day Thrawn visited.
Every coffee shop he had ever been was warm and inviting, they had plush rich sofas and high-backed leather armchairs that felt like the furniture was hugging you. The lighting was low and moody, usually provided by lamps and string lights, not stark overheard fluorescent lights. Even the floor, which shouldn’t be something you ever needed to notice, was covered in the most insipid looking linoleum that made the most horrendous noise with every step.
It was such a shame.
“Don't like the furniture either huh?” Eli asked, and then much to Thrawn's surprise, he bit his lip. At first it looked like he was trying to supress a smile or even a laugh, but then Thrawn's brain started working overtime. Not all of Thrawn’s brain, just that part that liked to over analyse everything and see what the ‘real meaning’ behind every little gesture and movement was.
Could it be a sultry lip bite? Could this man be about to suggest they go back to his and sit on some real furniture? Were casual coffee shop hook-ups something that happened in small towns or had Thrawn merely been spoiled by the never-ending supply of eager men in the city who's names he never seemed to catch?
Or, perhaps it had just been a very long time for Thrawn and he was reading far too much into such a slight gesture.
“It’s clear the owner has gone for a more cheap and cheerful approach.” Thrawn sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He’d seen this happen many times before in the city. People would try and open all kinds of businesses before they were ready: shops, cafes, restaurants. Nice ideas but with no experience or proper funding the business made too many mistakes to stay afloat.
“This is a first attempt at managing a coffee shop.” Thrawn declared. The man next to him gave nothing away, not a smile or nod, but Thrawn felt confident that his deduction skills were impressing him. “A recent graduate perhaps.”
Thrawn knew there was a community college in the next town and he was now positive that was where the hordes of teenagers must be either going to or had just gotten back from. They would probably get there unimpressive degrees in whatever limited subjects they had and then struggle to find a use for them in such a small, and frankly underdeveloped, area.
“I have seen this before.” Thrawn sighed with a sad shake of his head. “Now, with a culinary degree the coffee and food takes centre place, and I so believe someone with a culinary degree has had a hand in how this place is run, but sadly, the rest of the business has been handed over to someone with a business management degree or something equally as bland and the shop has suffered for it.”
“What degree do you suppose?” Eli asked, tilting his head with genuine curiosity. Thrawn was quite relieved, the man had been strangely silent throughout Thrawn's diagnosis and he was worried the man had given up ages ago and Thrawn may as well be pontificating to a wall.
Thrawn gave the room another once over, clearly the owner did not have an eye for art and they certainly didn't have a future in design. Finally, he curled his lip and decided. “Accounting.”
“Wow, so you hate the art, the furniture and accountants!” Eli laughed, it was a playful jovial laugh, but Thrawn saw the way his eyebrows lifted and his head cocked, and Thrawn couldn't help but feel like the man was judging him.
“I do not hate accountants.” Thrawn mumbled, remembering just a second too late the way the other man had been working away at a spreadsheet of numbers and statistics. “They are very good at accounts” Thrawn added, gesturing to Eli’s laptop in some sort of apology, “but they think in numbers, they don't see the big picture, the whole product.”
Eli didn't respond, but not in an offended or angry way. He simply, looked at Thrawn with a deep and inventive gaze and gave him the slightest of nods that told him to explain.
“Take where we’re sat for example.” Thrawn explained, and perhaps, he was getting too excited and taking too fast, but it was so rare he had a captive audience willing to listen to his deductions and deducing's. Especially not in coffee shop. “It's small, it’s cosy, it’s right in the corner. This would make the perfect reading nook.”
“There is a bookshelf.” Eli pointed out, and he motioned to sad sorry excuses of a bookshelf next him. Thrawn had to supress his laugh, it would have come across far to smug and patronising.
“There is a shelf with some books on it.” Thrawn corrected him with a sad sorry shake of his head. It was a very popular make of bookshelf from a very well-known furniture store, and although it did it’s function well, it screamed of cheap corner cutting and gave no character to the room.
It was too small for the wall, stopping half way up and leaving a large unsightly mass of wall behind it. The owner had tried to use the space, adding a quote from a book, but sadly the quote had been misremembered and Thrawn had the sneaking suspicion the owner had only ever seen the film adaption. The bookshelf was big too, leaning forward into the space in an invasive and clunky way, so distracting was it that you could easily miss the sad section of books it had to offer.
“Books can be difficult to make look appealing, they have to be organised in a very particular way.” Thrawn tried to explain, but Eli looked truly lost at this explanation and kept glancing over to the bookshelf. He was clearly looking for a glaringly obvious issue with it, but it was clear he could not see what Thrawn was seeing.
Thrawn sighed to himself, and just had to remember that not everyone appreciated art like he did. Seeing as his words didn't seem to be having an effect, Thrawn quickly found an image online and turned his laptop around to show Eli. Thrawn smiled smugly as he watched Eli’s eyes widen and his pupils appeared to dilate slightly at the beautiful example of a well-designed bookcase.
“You see what I mean.” Thrawn practically purred. “Everything needs to be organised by hight to avoid that bumpy line that it truly awful on the eye, and look at the colours, dark spines at the bottom, getting lighter and lighter. It’s more visually appealing and it stops the shelf from looking top heavy.”
“I see what you mean now” Eli nodded, his eyes scanning the picture, staring at the bottom shelf and slowly dragging his eyes up the studied the bookcase the way it was meant to be studied.
“Now look at this bookshelf.” Thrawn suggested and then to Thrawn's delight, and possibly relief, Eli’s eyes did exactly what he hoped they would. The moment his eyes hit the bookshelf they darted back and forth, looking lost and disoriented almost instantly. “See, you didn’t know where to look, it's too messy and uninviting.”
“You're right.” Eli nodded, looking back at Thrawn with new found respect. “So, is this like what you do? Art and design and that?”
“No, it’s not.” Thrawn sniffed, he was careful to keep his answers short and vague. He wasn't sure how much about his work he was supposed to reveal, but he knew spilling all his secrets to this young man, as handsome and charming as he may be, would not be in his best interest. “It’s merely a passion of mine.”
“Well, that is a shame, you’re very good at it.” Eli noted, and he leaned back casually in his seat. Strangely the gesture brought with it an unsuspected shift and suddenly, Thrawn felt as though Eli had all the power with just that confident lean and smile he had. “This place could do with an eye like yours.”
“Hmm yes well…” Thrawn scoffed, doing his best to keep hidden just how flattered he was by that comment. Usually, his love for art and studying compositions was met with indifference or in some cases out right annoyance, but Eli seemed to be genuinely interested in Thrawn's deduction and techniques. “This place could with a lot of things, a new owner mainly.”
“You’re not from round here are ya?” Eli asked, his lip curling up into a curious little smile. Thrawn knew deep down he should probably be wary of it, but it had such a sweet softness to it that Thrawn could help but be hypnotised by it.
“What gave it away? My accent or my good taste?” Thrawn huffed, but his cold aloof persona was slipping under the watchful eye of his new found friend.
“Ha, they were a big giveaway,” Eli laughed, his mouth splitting to a delightful little grin and it took everything Thrawn had not to smile with him. “No, it’s just…anyone from round here would know that er…I am the owner”
“Ah…” Thrawn hummed, and he nodded thoughtfully and stroked his chin with his hand. Perhaps if he looked deep and thoughtful enough, he could make it look like it had always intended to offend the owner with his blunt and frankly uncalled for comments.
“Don’t worry I'm not really the owner.” Eli smiled, a kind a reassuring smile that made Thrawn feel entirely at ease. Thrawn was almost about to smile back, when Eli pointed over to the couple working behind the counter and explained. “My parents are the owners…I'm just the accountant.”
“Oh?” Thrawn forced himself to say, trying to sound like he was completely unaffected despite the fact that this new information was in fact making it a thousand times worse for him. This is why Ar’alani never let him talk to men alone. He was generally better at social interactions with another person there to reign him in. “I…I love accountants, you know, some of my closest friends are accountants.”
“Haha, Thrawn it’s ok, I'm not offended. In fact, I found this conversation quite enlightening.” Eli laughed, but Thrawn wasn't convinced. Then, to his surprise, Eli reached over and placed a hand on his. “I mean it, I should have told you but, I was interested to hear what our customers really think, especially one as educated and worldly as you”
Thrawn knew he should say something, anything, but the moment Eli’s hand touched his, his brain left his body. Then, he made the mistake of glancing down at the hand on his, and Eli quickly moved it away. Thrawn felt instantly cold when he did, and he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life wishing he had had the courage to ask Eli to put his hand back.
“Ahem er...anyway.” Eli said, clearing his throat nervously. “You were right about the accountant by the way. I have been cutting corners and doing things on the cheap, but now we have a sizable amount saved up for redecorating the place.”
“Oh well, good luck with that.” Thrawn smiled politely. Obviously, he was dying to step in and give Eli and long list of what needed fixing and how best to do it, but he figured he had over stayed his welcome. He gave the room a quick once over out of the corner of his eye, but sadly no tables had become free yet.
“Well actually, I was sort of hoping you could help out?” Eli asked, and his cheeks were turning a very sweet shade of pink. “I can’t afford to pay you, but there’s free coffee and any cakes that don’t get sold by the end of the day?”
“You want me to work in a coffee shop?” Thrawn scoffed, turning his nose up at the mere suggestion.
“No, I was hoping you would work, um, with me?” Eli explained. “I hope this doesn’t sound odd but, I've been watching you from afar for some time. You clearly have an eye for this sort of thing and I was really hoping you would help me redesign this place.”
“I see.” Thrawn hummed as he pretended to think about it. Inside he felt his heart do a childish little flip. He had thought he had blown it with this man, yet here he was, asking Thrawn for his help and his opinions. “I suppose I could give you some of my time.”
“I understand you’re busy with your own work and I never want to get in the way of that, but maybe, I don't know, we could spend an evening or two going over some ideas?” Eli suggested. He was doing his best to sound casual and off handed, but he wasn’t doing a very good job and thrawn could tell this was a very rehearsed speech. How long had Eli been preparing to ask him this, practising his lines over and over in the bathroom mirror and just waiting for his chance.
Probably for as long as Thrawn had been sneaking glances at him from across the coffee shop and fantasizing about things one should not be thinking of when they're supposed to be at work.
“That sounds amenable.” Thrawn nodded. “In fact, I find myself free this evening if that suits you.”
“That's perfect!” Eli grinned, a giddy childish grin that made Thrawn's heart beat so much faster. “So, do you wanna come back to mine...to look at design ideas I mean.”
“I'd love to come!” Thrawn declared, and he grimaced a little when he heard the unfortunate inuendo in his words. “To come over and discuss designs that is.”
“Yeah.” Eli blushed, and if he had heard the double entendre, he didn’t seem to have a problem with it. “I think we could do some really great stuff together, you know.”
“I think so too.” Thrawn smiled. Thrawn wasn't sure what this meant for him, a fun way to pass the time maybe. Perhaps he had made a new friend, or perhaps there was even protentional for something more.
Thrawn definitely knew one thing, his time in this small town was about to get a lot more interesting.