Work Text:
It wasn’t like Xie Lian hadn’t seen the weather forecast that morning. He had simply forgotten to bring an umbrella to work, and since it was dry when it was time to go home, he’d decided to try his luck.
Unfortunately, his luck tended to not be very good.
The clouds had burst when Xie Lian was two streets away from the office, and within minutes he was completely soaked, down to his underwear.
He should just keep going. After all, he was wet anyway, and his bus stop was only a ten-minute walk from where he was. But he was so cold.
Looking around a little desperately for a place to take shelter, Xie Lian suddenly spotted a hopeful sight across the street, through the sheet of raindrops: warm lights behind a big window, with stylish letters declaring that this was the Silver Butterfly Café.
Xie Lian jogged across the street and practically burst through the door, raindrops splashing off him in all directions as he quickly closed the door behind him to shut out the cold. He sagged in relief. It was so much warmer in here.
“Oh wow, you were out in that?”
Xie Lian looked up to see a young man with a kind if somewhat plain face and long dark hair in a braid, who was apparently in the middle of mopping the floor. Then he looked down at himself and the water that was dripping off him, and he took a step backwards, towards the door.
“Are you about to close? I am so sorry! I’m really sorry about the mess, I can just go-”
“No!” another voice called out hurriedly, even before the young man could reply. “We’re not closing, gege, please stay. You can’t go back out into the rain.”
Xie Lian blinked. Gege? What? Who? He looked in the direction of the voice and saw another young man standing behind the espresso machine. He must have been crouching down behind the counter before, cleaning a cupboard or putting clean cups into neat stacks, because Xie Lian wouldn’t have overlooked him otherwise.
The young man was tall, a full head taller than Xie Lian. He had bright dark eyes and sharp features. His hair was tied back in a crooked ponytail, making him look playful and carefree. The sleeves of his black long-sleeve shirt with the café’s logo were pushed up to his elbows, revealing colourful tattoos on both forearms.
He was so handsome that Xie Lian just blinked at him for a moment. Then he shivered, more drops dripping from his hair into his collar, and the barista’s smooth brow pulled into a concerned frown.
“Yin Yu, can you mind the shop? I’ll give gege some dry clothes to wear.”
“Sure, I don’t expect a rush right now anyway,” the young man with the braid, Yin Yu, shrugged and went back to his mopping.
Dry clothes? For him?
“No no, you don’t need to,” Xie Lian said quickly, “thank you, but my clothes will dry eventually. Just a cup of coffee will do.”
The barista shook his head, his ponytail swaying. “Gege needs dry clothes. You’ll catch a cold if you keep walking around like this.”
Gege, gege, gege. It was making Xie Lian feel a little funny inside - not necessarily in a bad way.
“I don’t want to inconvenience you,” he mumbled, looking down at the puddle of water he was leaving on the floor.
“It’s not an inconvenience. Come, gege.”
Well, what was he supposed to do? He could hardly keep standing there, next to the door, dripping pathetically like a wet cat. And he really was rather cold, the warmth of the place not really reaching his skin, with a layer of cold wetness in the way.
So Xie Lian followed the barista to the backroom where his and Yin Yu’s coats and bags were. The striking young man gave him a towel, one of the long-sleeve shirts that the two employees were also wearing, soft grey sweatpants, and even a pair of black socks.
Xie Lian suddenly couldn’t wait to get out of his wet clothes, and he put his wet work bag in a corner before peeling off his soaked jacket.
“Thank you… What - what’s your name?”
The man gave him a small grin. “It’s Hua Cheng, but gege can call me San Lang.
Xie Lian dropped his wet jacket next to his work bag and smiled at Hua Cheng.
“Nice to meet you, San Lang! I’m Xie Lian, but - but gege is fine.”
Hua Cheng’s grin grew bigger. He really was very handsome. Xie Lian found it a little difficult to look directly at him from up close.
“Gege can finish getting changed, I’ll wait for him in the shop and make him something warm to drink.”
Xie Lian quickly changed out of his wet clothes and put on the borrowed set, sighing happily at how some of the cold started seeping from his bones right away. The shirt and the sweatpants were a little big on him, but they were so comfortable. Xie Lian dried his hair with the towel, and then he walked back into the shop on socked feet.
Hua Cheng smiled at him and pointed to where Yin Yu hadn’t mopped yet, so his socks wouldn’t get wet again right away. Xie Lian settled down at a high stool by the bar, and almost fell off when Hua Cheng suddenly reached out to touch the back of his hand. He frowned again.
“Gege is still cold. Here - wrap your hands around the mug. I made a pumpkin spice latte. If you don’t like that I can make you something else.”
Xie Lian loved pumpkin spice latte, and he accepted the mug gratefully, sighing softly at the warmth between his ice-cold hands. He smiled at the mug - there was a fluffy black cat on it, doing a big stretch.
Now that he was dry and warming up, Xie Lian looked around. It was a cosy place, with warm earthy colours as well as many accents of red, like the red of Hua Cheng’s and Yin Yu’s aprons. There were small vases with little white flowers on every table, and large palms and ficus plants had been placed in strategic spots to create cosy nooks. Houseplants were hanging in the window and above the counter in stylish macrame hangers. Xie Lian was sitting right underneath an abundantly vining scindapsus, with silver spots on its leaves.
There were small and large cups on top of the espresso machine. The small cups were white with red spots, and the big cups had red and white stripes. The mugs standing next to the espresso machine all had funny artwork or funny and witty quotes on them.
There was gentle music playing, almost completely drowned out by the drum of the rain on the large window. It was so dark outside that it seemed to be nighttime, though it was only late in the afternoon. Now that he was inside, enjoying a warm beverage, Xie Lian found it rather cosy.
The noise of the coffee grinder drew Xie Lian’s attention back to Hua Cheng, and he watched in fascination as the barista flattened the coffee in the piston with a sort of stamp device, before putting the piston in the espresso machine with one hand, almost nonchalantly. He then pulled a lever, and the coffee started pouring out into two cups.
Xie Lian sipped his pumpkin spice latte (really so good!) as Hua Cheng used the foot pedal on the floor to power his steam wand and steam his milk, and stared as he took one of the cups and somehow drew a butterfly with milk foam in a couple of practised movements, like it was the easiest thing in the world.
“How did you do that?” Xie Lian breathed. “You’re so good at it!”
Hua Cheng laughed, cleaning the steam wand. “It’s not that difficult. Does gege want to learn?”
Xie Lian doubted that he would be any good at it, but he really did want to try it! So he clambered off the high stool and walked behind the counter, only to accidentally step right on the foot pedal and get sprayed with hot water from the steam wand, right on the chest of his clean and warm t-shirt.
“Haha, at least it’s warm water this time,” Xie Lian laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek.
Hua Cheng shook his head, and Xie Lian’s heart seemed to skip a beat when he took his hand to lead him back to the staff room.
“I have something better for gege anyway.”
Five minutes later, Xie Lian stepped back behind the espresso machine, this time wearing an oversized hoodie with the silver butterfly logo on his chest. It was soft and it was warm, and Xie Lian was feeling so comfortable.
Yin Yu had finished cleaning the floor and he was currently in one of the lounge chairs, scrolling on his phone.
“I’d leave you to close by yourself,” he told Hua Cheng, “but I’m not going out into this weather.”
“Want a cappuccino?” Hua Cheng grumbled. “So I’ll be paying you to drink coffee?”
“I would love one,” Yin Yu replied, not looking up from his phone.
Hua Cheng muttered under his breath, but Xie Lian didn’t think that he was really angry. He smiled to himself. So Hua Cheng owned this place! It was so nice - it felt more home-like than his own apartment did.
Hua Cheng poured milk into the pitcher, showing Xie Lian that the milk should be poured up to just below where the spout begins. A moment later, Xie Lian nearly forgot to breathe. Hua Cheng had moved to stand behind him, and he was putting his own red apron on him.
“Just to make sure gege doesn’t get wet again,” he rumbled into Xie Lian’s ear, and Xie Lian swallowed, his mouth suddenly quite dry.
Hua Cheng stood behind him, his chest to Xie Lian’s back, as his hands guided Xie Lian’s movements and he explained what he was doing, his voice close to Xie Lian’s ear.
With Hua Cheng’s hand on his, Xie Lian tamped the coffee grinds (which was apparently what it was called to flatten the coffee in the piston), put the piston in the espresso machine and pulled the lever down to pour the espresso shots. Then Hua Cheng took the pitcher with the milk and helped Xie Lian hold it correctly, at a slight angle and with the steam wand just under the surface of the milk.
“Now, gege,” Hua Cheng murmured in his ear.
“Hmm?” Xie Lian replied, his face glowing. He really was quite warm now.
“Your foot on the pedal,” Hua Cheng clarified, and Xie Lian blinked. Oh, right. Steaming milk. He put his socked foot on the pedal and Hua Cheng tightened his grip on Xie Lian’s hands a little, guiding him.
“You want to hear that sound like tearing paper for about five seconds, gege,” he said, “and then we move the pitcher up, just like this” he moved Xie Lian’s hands up, submerging the steam wand and creating a sort of vortex in the milk.
Just when the pitcher was getting too hot to hold, Hua Cheng told Xie Lian to take his foot off the pedal.
“Now knock the pitcher on the counter twice - not too hard, and covering it with a hand so gege doesn’t get hot milk all over him.
Xie Lian grinned at the imagery and did as instructed.
“Now waltz the milk.”
He looked at Hua Cheng over his shoulder, pulling up a brow. “Waltz?”
“Swirl the milk around in the pitcher in small circles until it’s smooth and glossy.”
When Hua Cheng said the milk was just right, he stepped away from Xie Lian, telling him to keep waltzing while taking a cup with espresso in his left hand.
Xie Lian felt a lot colder without him at his back, and he bit his lip.
“I think gege can do this part himself. Keep the cup tilted, and pour the milk into the centre of the espresso from a height. No, just a little lower - that’s perfect, pour from there. Just a little slower, that’s it! Now lower the pitcher to the edge of the cup - that’s great, see how you’re pouring a white circle in the middle? Okay, now lift the pitcher slightly and pull the thin stream of milk through the white part. Just like that! Gege, you made a heart!”
Xie Lian smiled proudly and carefully put the cup on the counter to take a picture of his creation. He’d send it to Shi Qingxuan later.
“Thank you, San Lang.” He felt the strange urge to hug this man he’d just met. Maybe it was just because he was so warm, or because he felt giddy with the joy of a new experience.
“You can have it,” he said softly, gesturing at the cappuccino with the latte art heart. He could feel himself starting to blush.
Hua Cheng swallowed, his own pale cheeks colouring a pretty pink. He picked up the cappuccino with both hands, closing his eyes as he took a sip to test the taste of Xie Lian’s first coffee.
“Gege is a natural, he should come work here,” Hua Cheng declared seriously, taking the other espresso shot and using the rest of the milk to make Yin Yu’s cappuccino before bringing it to him.
“And table service too, you’re spoiling me,” Yin Yu grinned.
“Enjoy it, asshole,” Hua Cheng grumbled.
Xie Lian stood behind the espresso machine and looked around, admiring the cosy coffee shop from this angle. Then he spotted something - red paper to-go cups that seemed to have writing on them.
“San Lang, what’s this?”
“Hm? Oh, if business is slow we write quotes and trivia about coffee on our to-go cups. It passes the time and gives the cups a personal touch.”
Xie Lian liked that idea. He really did, except - that handwriting was the worst he had ever seen. He really couldn’t read it! He doubted that anyone could read it.
Hua Cheng seemed to see something on his face. “Something wrong, gege?”
“No! I mean. The handwriting is very interesting. It’s a very unique style.”
Yin Yu barked out a laugh. “You mean it’s illegible. Just terrible.”
Hua Cheng told him to shut up, and then turned back to Xie Lian with a wounded expression.
“This one knows his handwriting isn’t good. Maybe gege can give me some tips and help me out? I think gege’s handwriting must be perfect.
Well, Xie Lian didn’t think he could say that it was perfect, but at least it was legible. At least some of Hua Cheng’s customers should be able to read what was written on their cups!
So Hua Cheng made Xie Lian a hot chocolate with cinnamon on top, while he finished the cappuccino Xie Lian made, and together they spent over an hour writing on the paper cups, until the rain had finally stopped and they had three stacks of finished cups. Xie Lian checked his watch and stretched his limbs with a sigh.
“I should head home,” he said, unable to keep the pout from his voice. He was really feeling so cosy here.
“Okay, gege,” Hua Cheng murmured. “I have an umbrella you can take with you, just in case.”
Xie Lian wasn’t about to trust his luck again. “Thank you, San Lang. I’ll bring it back tomorrow, with the clothes.”
“No rush, gege, though it would make this San Lang happy to see you again tomorrow. Does gege want a cappuccino for the road? On the house.”
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead. “San Laaang! If I come here every day, you can’t keep giving me everything for free!”
His new friend’s smile was warm - warm like a borrowed hoodie, a place to take shelter, a hot beverage.
“Every day? I’ll hold gege to it.”
