Work Text:
Yuri didn't know if he loved or hated all-nighter shifts.
A night owl since his preteen years, Yuri thrived off the chaos the late shift usually brought out. Most regulars were either fellow night owls, students on a tight deadline, creatives on a tight deadline, or trade workers coming in for a post-shift cooldown or pre-shift boost. Sure, there were the more-than-occasional drunkards and sketchy types coming in. And sure it wasn't ideal for a 'normal' social schedule. Or for getting 'normal' coworkers.
But when you wanted the late-night shift, you tended to work with some more-than-strange people. Especially since, among all the cafés in Fódlan City, the Ashen Wolf Café was the only one open 24 hours a day.
"Alright, bud," Balthus announced, placing a beefy hand on the shoulders of two drunk guys who were one spilled drink away from starting a fist-fight. "How 'bout you take this one outside?"
"Wwwhy?" one of them asked. "He'sss the one who—s-started it!"
"Yeah!" the other one yelled, followed by a loud hiccup. "And I'm gonna—hic—finish it!"
Balthus glanced at Yuri. Seeing where this was heading, Yuri gave the go-ahead signal and went back to picking up all the plates the two of them had left scattered on the table.
"Then let's finish it outside!" Balthus pushed the two men toward the side door. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for anything! Let's place a bet on which one of you is gonna hurl before anyone can throw a punch. I got my money on hiccup boy!"
Yuri rolled his eyes as the three of them headed outside. In the side alley next to the café, Balthus had set up a selection of rundown bean bag chairs under a makeshift canopy. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was a good place to get drunks to cool off and get their head on straight.
If Balthus didn't have to use his enormous, very well-kept physique to calm them down, the drunks would chill out and let Balthus call them a cab. If Balthus did have to step in, they'd typically calm down anyway. No matter what, Balthus would get a kick out of it. And if he managed to convince the drunks to place a bet, he usually wound up with some extra money in his pocket.
Usually.
Needless to say, night shifts were rarely boring. Especially when one of your all-rounder employees was also the place's informal bouncer.
Yuri had worked a lot of jobs, and something that became very clear was that nights were far better than the tedium of morning shifts. He had tried surviving the early shifts, sometimes by staying awake all night and powering through the day, or trying (and failing) to sleep early. But no amount of coffee had helped him to at least look like a respectable manager. For Yuri, morning shifts were as appealing as whatever syrup-loaded, mega-double-frappé Constance was concocting behind the counter.
So, when Yuri got a job at Ashen Wolf, he decided this was as good a place as any to rise up the ranks. And he did. Aside from the owner herself, he was one of two managers at the café, and the one who covered the majority of the late shifts. Something which made him a very pivotal employee.
Managing a café was one thing, managing night-shift was another. Especially an all-nighter. Out of all the Ashen Wolf employees, only four of them had proven that they could consistently handle the chaos of the late night. And of those four, Yuri was the only one responsible enough to take on the role of manager. A fact that he'd brought up once or twice to make sure he was compensated appropriately.
So yeah. On one hand, these all-nighter shifts were perfect for Yuri.
On the other hand…
"You're not 'experimenting' with my drink again, right, Constance?" Yuri said.
"Of course not!" Constance said. She was at the coffee machine, pulling a jug of milk away from the steamer wand. "After you threatened to put me on permanent moping duties, I swore to never tamper with your drinks. Now, if you'd willingly allow me to—"
"Not in the mood," Yuri said curtly.
"Ah, it was worth an attempt." With a swish of her wrist, Constance poured the milk into the tall mug and topped it off with a large dusting of drinking chocolate. "One extra strong, extra chocolate, extra large mocha for the manager!"
Yuri held back a groan and glanced up at the clock.
1:07am. It was 1:07am, and Yuri already wanted to yank off his apron and just go home.
Ignoring the stares from the customers closest to the counter, Yuri gripped the mug's handle. It was exactly how he liked it, with two bonus shots of coffee and an added helping of chocolate, sans the raw sugar most people added to make it sweeter. It was also in the mug that was almost as tall as Yuri's head. This mocha was Yuri's default on-shift drink, and it was the one he needed right now.
"Sleep is for the weak," Yuri said, raising his mug before downing more than half of the liquid.
Night owl he was, but even Yuri felt the weight of the long nights. The hours were long, something always needed to be cleaned, and slow nights tended to make him feel more tired than the ones where he was rushing around the café. Not to mention all the baking prep that needed to get finished and shoved into the oven before sunrise.
It didn't help that Yuri sometimes worked for 12 hours straight. Multiple days a week.
This was his fourth all-nighter in a row. Sure, he'd made the schedules himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't hating his past-self for thinking that five all-nighters back-to-back was a good idea. Still, work was work. Even when that work made him want to stab rude customers with a fork several times a night.
"Don't go killing anyone yet, Yuri-bird," a bored voice droned.
Coming out from the back kitchen was Hapi, their resident late-night baker. With her messy locks barely held back by her hairnet, she raised her arms above her head and stretched. Her light-gray apron was already covered with flour, chocolate, and some kind of edible glitter Yuri would inevitably have to clean up. "If you get arrested, Coco gets promoted to manager. And I'm pretty sure she'll use that freedom to make something that'll set the whole building on fire."
"My dear Hapi, you wound me," Constance sighed dramatically. She held up a clear mug—filled to the brim with five different syrups, two types of whipped cream, and maybe half a shot of coffee—and grinned. "There is a reason why I was given the title of assistant manager. For you see, I am the most-experienced, fastest, and all-around best barista the night-shift has ever seen!"
"And the most humble," Yuri said, though he didn't admit there was some truth to her words. After all, she was the default employee to hunker down at the coffee machine when they were in the middle of a rush.
"I may have produced some… questionable drinks in the past," Constance continued. "But soon enough, one of my creations shall make this café the most popular in all of Fódlan! If only someone would let me add the final touches to this."
"For the third time, I'm not letting you add lit sparklers to a drink," Yuri repeated.
"What a shame," Constance bemoaned. Setting the sugar-bomb creation aside, she ducked under the counter to pull out a purple cat mug with a matching saucer. "If only you were as amenable as your paramour."
Yuri groaned and pointed at the colorful monstrosity. "Please tell me you're not gonna serve Bernadetta that. She actually has to work. Not get a sugar rush that'll have her bouncing off the walls."
Hapi chuckled. "Now that'd be funny."
Yuri held back a sigh. "Don't think you'll find it so funny when I have you clean the whole kitchen. By yourself."
Hapi shrugged. "Eh. I'll just have B do it. Might as well take advantage that all four of us are on-shift."
"Because it's Saturday night," Yuri said pointedly. "And soon as that clock hits 1:30, we're gonna get smashed with everyone coming out of the Dorothea Arnault concert. So no, you don't get to have Balthus clean your mess when I need him at the counter."
Hapi rolled her eyes. "Drink your mocha. I gotta get back to baking."
Yuri waited until she was out of sight to take another long gulp of his drink. "So," he asked Constance. "What is it this time?"
"A dirty matcha with honey, vanilla syrup, and a touch of lavender." With a satisfied smirk, Constance placed the cat mug and a tiny chocolate chip cookie onto the saucer. "Voilà! Another Constance von Nuvelle masterpiece!"
"Let's see how she likes it, first." Yuri picked up the drink with his free hand. Even though matchas weren't his thing, even he could admit it smelled good. The matcha was earthy without being overpowering, and the vanilla and lavender softened the smell.
"Why, of course she'll enjoy it!" Constance made a shooing motion with her hand. "Now deliver this to Bernadetta before we are swarmed by demonic beasts!"
"Don't call our customers that," Yuri hissed, but Constance had already turned back to the machine, muttering to herself about adding 'a touch of a spice' to her next drink.
Yuri breathed in through his nose. Out through his mouth.
He was definitely going to need another coffee.
Yuri slinked his way through the packed tables, expertly maneuvering around the half pushed-in chairs and random decorations his co-workers kept adding to the café. His regular was in the back corner, tucked between a bookshelf and potted plant that hid her from view, typing away on her laptop.
Yuri smirked as he took in the sight. Though taller and more put together than she had been in her youth, Bernadetta von Varley was currently hunched over her keyboard, her legs half-folded underneath her, and her short hair clipped back into a messy tangle. Her gray eyes scanned and rescanned the screen in front of her, and she kept biting her lip as she furiously pressed the backspace key.
It was pretty cute.
"Hey, Bernadetta."
"Aaagh!" Bernadetta shrieked. Her chair skidded backwards, and the only reason it didn't fall over was because it crashed against the wall. "Yuri! No sneaking up on me!"
"I've been standing here for almost a minute." Yuri knew that if she hadn't noticed him in that time, she likely wouldn't have realized he was there at all. So, yeah, he expected her to yell as if he was a ghost coming to haunt her, and didn't even flinch. "Brought you your drink."
"Ooo!" Bernadetta's eyes lit up as Yuri set the cat mug in front of her. "What is it this time?"
"Dirty matcha. Plus the usual extras Constance adds." Yuri sighed and took a seat opposite Bernadetta, setting his mocha down on the table. "You know she's using you as a guinea pig to try out new recipes, right?"
Bernadetta nodded. "And that's why I get free drinks here!"
"Sure. And it's definitely not because you're dating the manager, right?"
"Definitely." Bernadetta brought the matcha to her nose. "Mmmm, it smells so good! This has coffee in it, right?"
"That's what the 'dirty' part of 'dirty matcha' refers to, Bernadetta," Yuri said.
"But, I mean, does it have a lot of coffee?" Bernadetta asked. "Because I still have ten chapters I need to go over, and I think I'm forgetting someone's character arc, and I'm still not sure about the pacing in the final act, and I have no idea how I'm gonna get all this done—"
"Bernadetta," Yuri cut in. Firmly. "First off, take a sip of that. 'Cause at this rate, you're gonna need the caffeine as much as I do."
"R-Right." Bernadetta let out a shaky breath. "Okay. Sleep is for the weak." She brought the mug to her lips, and took a long gulp.
Yuri gripped his own mug and swirled it around. "So? How—"
"This is amazing!" Bernadetta gasped and stared at the green froth. "I never knew matcha worked so well with honey! Or vanilla! Or—Or—"
"It's lavender!" Constance yelled. From the other side of the café.
"Lavender! That's it!" Bernadetta took another gulp. "Thank you, Constance!"
"You're more than welcome, Bernadetta!" Constance replied, still yelling. "See, Yuri? You need to have the faith in me that dear Bernadetta does!"
Yuri groaned and took a long swig of his mocha.
"Okay, I can do this." Bernadetta glanced back at her laptop. "I just have to completely rework the book's entire ending, and then I can send it to Sylvain for edits!"
"You know, you don't have to pull an all-nighter," Yuri reminded her. "You've got time. Not a lot of it, but enough that you can go home for some sleep and work on it tomorrow."
"I know," Bernadetta sighed. "But it's easier to work when I know you're working too, and you only have night shifts this week. And besides…"
Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Besides?"
Bernadetta looked at her drink. Her cheeks flushed pink. "I thought… Since you have so many hours, and you're working late, that if I was here, I could, um, maybe…"
Yuri held back a chuckle. "Yeees?"
"That-I-could-talk-to-you-when-you're-getting-sleepy-and-help-you-stay-awake," Bernadetta said, her words all in a rush.
It was rare for Yuri to be stunned into silence. It was rare for him to be stunned, period. But now he was.
"I know it's dumb." Bernadetta hunched her shoulders. "I mean, I know I usually write at night, but you're the one who works until 6am. But I thought maybe I could help. Or at least be there for moral support, you know? Or—"
Yuri grabbed her chin, cutting her off. Bernadetta blinked. Before she could say anything, Yuri leaned across the table, careful to avoid knocking over their mugs, and kissed her.
It took a moment for Bernadetta to register what was happening. Her dry lips—cracked in the middle from where she kept biting it—stayed still. But after a moment, she fell into the kiss, reciprocating it with glee. Yuri felt her smile.
They parted, and Yuri sat back in his chair. "Thanks, Bernadetta. You have a knack for surprising me, you know that?"
Bernadetta blushed again, but her smile didn't waver. "I didn't think anyone could surprise you, Yuri."
"Well, you do." Yuri smirked. "Not a lot of people who'd pull an all-nighter just to support their boyfriend on the night shift. Even if it's more likely I'm gonna help you stay awake."
"Yuriii!"
Yuri chuckled, and Bernadetta soon followed suit.
It was nice, to spend time with her. To talk and laugh and take a moment away from the world around them. Bernadetta might have a manuscript to finish, and Yuri still had half a shift to manage, but knowing that there was someone in his corner… That helped. Especially when that corner was a literal corner in the back of the café.
"Okay." Bernadetta took a long gulp of her drink. She hummed happily, then held her mug out toward Yuri. "Sleep is for the weak."
Yuri smirked and clinked his mug with Bernadetta's. "Sleep is for the weak."
Polishing off the last of his mocha, Yuri got up and headed back to the counter. They had the rest of the night to get through, but they'd manage.
After all, sleep was for the weak.