Work Text:
Powdery, white lines are drawn across the chalkboard. Friction creating quiet scratching as Espresso wrote some calculations alongside his coffee notes. Well over the time all his classes ended, taking time for his own research.
Papers are strewn across his desk, a small pile of books present beside them. The only light illuminating the room was the sun shining in the windows, a little low in the sky.
The chalk made a small clattering noise as he dropped the chalk onto the board ledge. He took a step back and observed the writing, reaching for his steaming caffeine. Bitter and dark, the only acceptable way to drink it in his eyes.
Quiet.
Undisturbed.
The mage caught the scent of something sweet, and immediately scowled. The door swung open and a cheery voice greeted the coffee cookie. “Espresso!~”
Espresso turned to the door. One of his colleagues stand in the doorway, and he could see a second shadowy figure standing behind her.
He exhaled, raising an eyebrow to the intruder interrupting his work. “Do you need something, Latte Cookie?”
“Now don’t be like that! We work together, surely you can spare me a moment?” Latte smiled. Espresso’s catlike pupils narrowed. “I’m a little busy here. Make it quick.”
He made an attempt to keep himself calm, collected. He took confident strides to the door, trying to spot the other cookie in the corner of his eye.
Latte spoke again. “I’d like some help for my next lecture tomorrow, if you’d be interested. A fun teaching moment for those bright and young students in my class!” She clasped her hands together, the silvery staff she held glittering under the glow from the sun.
“Hmph.” He thought it over, a deep distaste for working together, but he wouldn’t mind showing off some of his magic. The mage’s eyes show a flicker of interest, and he shrugs. “I suppose I could. As long as it doesn’t cut too much into my precious time.”
Latte giggled. “Fantastic! One more thing, you have a visitor. I wanted to redirect him to where your classroom was. Have a good day now!”
Her heeled boots clicked on the tiled floor outside the class, and a familiar face slid into view. The professor’s demeanor relaxed, slight irritation fizzling out.
“..Detective.”
“Espresso.” Almond nodded in greeting. “I knew you’d still be here.”
The shorter mage huffed, drinking the rest of the coffee. “Not a bad guess, but I suppose any good detective should have fairly accurate deduction skills.”
Espresso’s gaze drew to the ever so slow setting sun, and then spoke up again. “Whatever you may have needed, I can’t deliver. I must pick up my research somewhere else.”
Almond approached Espresso, using a hand to tilt the mage’s head up. The detective pressed a brief kiss to the other’s lips. “Would you mind if I came with you? I’d just like to talk. It’s been a while.”
“Talk?” Espresso’s face flushed a dark sienna color, looking back up at Almond. He was silent for a moment, before he walked over to the pile of papers on his desk, his progress throughout the day, to pick up.
“..I suppose it has. Very well, you may.” The coffee cookie brushed past the detective, impatiently beckoning Almond to follow. He obliged, closing the door behind the two as they left the classroom.
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The aroma of coffee is strong within Espresso’s laboratory. He placed the papers down on an already messy desk, a cursive scrawl covering the surface of each page. Mumbling to himself. The room is lit up by dim bulbs and a couple candles anchored to the wall. One’s Espresso lit up with the flick of his wrist, barely even thinking about the action.
The detective found the mage’s sofa, draping his coat over the top. He attempted to pull the coffee cookie away from his work by posing a question. “How have your classes been going, Espresso?”
The mage blinked, turning around to lean on the end of the table. “Quite well, actually. My students show promise..” Tsk. “They can’t help but keep running back to my classroom.”
Almond chuckled, resting an elbow on the armrest. The cushions supported his terrible back, slightly aching from his own long day of work. “I hear they praise and look up to you. The students and your fellow professors alike. You impress them.”
Espresso’s expression seems to shift, smirking confidently. “So they do. Rightfully so, I dedicate every waking moment to this.” The mage decided to demonstrate, raising a hand, palm up as he summoned a dark, levitating circle. A red-orange flame flickering within, emitting a warm glow before extinguished once again.
“I take pride in what I do Detective.” Espresso’s every move is calculated and precise, elegantly sweeping up some of the older pages to make room for the new ones. “It’s my passion.”
Almond nodded. “I can see you’re quite talented. Even if I have distaste for magic. I have to arrest little troublemakers who use it for anything but good. Hope I won’t see you in any kind of trouble involving your research?”
“Ha!” The mage forced a laugh. “As if. I do it for the sake of pure curiosity. I would never want to hurt others with my experiments.” He slipped off his dark brown coat, hanging it up. Leaving himself in a casual button down and suspenders. “I do this to learn, pass down some of my knowledge to cookies who are eager to learn as much as I am.”
“Right.” The detective smiled, closing his eyes as he thought. He decided to get up and approach Espresso. “Do you need to keep working so hard until the break of dawn? You could rest those turning gears in your head for a minute.”
The professor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a hand, back turned to Almond.
“I’ll do just fine thank you. Any time not used on my research is time wast-“ All the coffee cookie felt was Almond’s hands on his waist, hoisting the smaller cookie up. Carrying him over to his couch all while Espresso audibly protested against it. He didn’t dare use his magic against the detective, considering the nullifying effect of his cuffs.
He just slouched into the cushions when placed down, crossing his arms as he frowned. “Detective, I don’t need a break.”
“It doesn’t hurt.” Almond sat back where he was, exhaling deeply. He patted the spot next to him. “Come over, relax yourself.” Espresso weighed the options in his head, and ended up scooting over close enough to where Almond could pull him in, arms wrapped around the other cookie as the detective gently kissed his face.
The jam under Espresso’s dough seemed to boil, a dark blush spreading across his cheeks. Yet he only leaned into it, practically accepting the fate of being trapped in a cuddle. Almond seemed to chuckle quietly, brushing a hand through Espresso’s hair fluff. The two’s limbs entangled.
Almond lifted the coffee cookie’s face up with a hand, pulling the other into a tender kiss. Their lips connected, and all of Espresso’s resentment from being pulled from his work melted away. Arms slid under and around the detective, pressing himself against Almond’s body. As close as he could.
The kiss broke, and Almond took pleasure in Espresso’s flushed face.
“Not so bad, is it?” Almond asked, knowing the answer already, but asking nonetheless. Espresso grumbled, feeling prickly. “It’s not..I guess..”
The both of them cuddled for a while, time seeming to slow down when they were around each other. Almond softly stroking Espresso’s dark curls, soft kisses being administered every couple minutes. Even after Almond drifted off to sleep, the coffee cookie stayed within his arms. His eyes scanning every feature of his face.
He felt quite at ease with this arrangement despite begrudgingly being on the couch instead of using his time for his research..
He’s going to be here for a while.