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Keith was not a morning person.
Sure, he was able to function alright on a sleep deficit—on weekends or during exam season, he was even prone to skipping sleep completely because he was so focused on studying or whatever else he was doing. And he usually got up far earlier than needed just so he could squeeze in a workout routine before having to get ready and head for class. But that didn’t mean that he was in any kind of good mood in the early hours.
In fact, if you spoke to him before he had his first coffee of the day, you were in for the most intense death glares the world has ever seen. And on days he had class, he didn’t have his morning coffee until he was on the way to campus.
Of course, he could simply make some coffee at home and have it while cooling down from his workout, but Keith was lazy and didn’t like bothering to make coffee or food at home when he was going to be able to buy it on the way.
Besides, the small coffee shop that was on his route to campus had the best coffee in town.
When Keith stepped through the door, he was immediately greeted by the scent of coffee mixed with the sweetness of cakes. There was also the sight of the (absolutely not terribly cute) barista greeting him with a smile. Keith frowned in reply. Thankfully, he was a regular and the barista was not fazed at all; by now, they had slipped into some kind of routine. Then again, Keith recalled, he hadn’t even seemed to mind back at the first time Keith went to Altea Coffee & Pastries.
“Hi, Keith! The usual for you?” asked the barista—whose name actually was Lance which Keith, of course, only knew because of the name tag on his apron, not because he had any interest in him.
When Keith just huffed in reply, Lance giggled softly and no, it was not the cutest sound ever, who would say something like this before he picked up a cup. Keith noticed that his name was already written on it; Lance must have prepared it before Keith showed up. Though why writing the name on it when Keith was pretty much the only customer at this time of the morning and a regular, was still a mystery to Keith. He guessed it must be a case of habit.
He waited in silence while Lance prepared his usual drink, a large black coffee with just a bit of sugar. Usually, customers add their sugar on their own, but Keith never really questioned why Lance did it for him. His mind wasn’t functioning right yet at that hour without coffee, and when the day went on, it’d slip to the back of his mind. Or maybe he kind of took it for granted because Lance had started doing it after the second time he came to the shop. Keith honestly didn’t know. And he certainly didn’t stare at the soft looking skin of Lance’s forearms that was visible thanks to the sleeves of his sky blue button-down shirt being up to his elbows.
Keith was snapped back to attention when the cup was placed on the counter right next to where he rested his hands.
“Here you go!” Lance said with a smile. His voice was always far too cheerful for the early morning hour but for some reason, Keith was never irritated at that fact in particular.
He took the cup and raised it to his lips to take a sip, finally getting some caffeine into his system. “Thanks,” he mumbled out now that he didn’t feel as grumpy anymore. “Your coffee really is the best in town.”
“Of course!” Lance said with a hint of pride. “We are the best shop, and I am the best barista.” Keith noticed that he didn’t add a wink this time.
“Sure you are,” Keith humored him. The smile he gained in reply for that didn’t warm up Keith’s insides. That was just the coffee. Keith turned around to leave with a wave of his free hand. “Till next time.”
“See you around!” Lance called after him.
Keith could feel the smile even with his back turned. He kept telling himself that the warm feeling was just from the coffee. Like every day, he also told himself that there was not, in fact, a heart dotting the “I” of his name. It was just his mind playing tricks on him this early in the day.
During lunch break that day, Keith was hanging out with his friends Hunk and Pidge. Keith still had the cup from his morning coffee, not having bothered with tossing it away yet.
Pidge noticed that he was absentmindedly staring at it and raised an eyebrow in question. “What’s so fascinating about that? You’ve already finished drinking, haven’t you?” Pidge asked and before Keith could react, snatched it from the table. Turning it around to inspect it with Hunk looking over her shoulder, the both of them let out a whistle.
“Keith, buddy, there’s a cute little heart dotting your name,” Hunk stated their observation.
Pidge added: “You never told us you had a boyfriend now.”
Keith scowled and grumbled at them. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Well, it is kind of suspicious that you are always in a relatively spectacular mood when you get your coffee from that shop. Especially considering you go there in the early morning,” Pidge elaborated.
“The coffee is the best in town.”
“I don’t know, are you sure it’s just that? The barista of the morning shift seems exactly like your type,” Hunk mused.
Keith snatched the cup back from Pidge and stood to toss it away. He also grabbed his bag even though there was still some time before his next lecture. He needed more coffee now. “I told you, it’s just for the high-quality coffee. And besides, I don’t have a ‘type.’”
He left without waiting for a reply. He didn’t see the knowing looks his friends exchanged before they started talking about their recent engineering project.
Keith couldn’t explain why he made the short walk to his favorite coffee shop when he could just get coffee from campus. He had never been there at different times of the day before. When he entered, there was a woman with hoop earrings behind the counter.
He ordered, not being used to actually having to say his order or his name anymore. Somehow, it felt awkward.
The coffee was the same quality as always, but something didn’t feel right. It tasted like bitter disappointment, because it didn’t come accompanied with smiles as bright as the sun and a cheerful voice that was able to communicate with him flawlessly even when Keith barely said anything.
It wasn’t until he was back to campus that Keith realized that there was no sugar. He was too used to Lance adding it for him even though there was no reason for him to do the extra work.
Now Keith was left with no choice but to wonder why he might do it and why neither of them ever said anything about it.
Keith was finally unable to deny it anymore. It wasn’t just for the coffee.
Sure, that’s what had started it. Because Keith had read reviews saying that the coffee in that little coffee shop was very high quality, which was a great bonus added to the fact that it was right between his place and campus. But that wasn’t what made him keep going, what made the shop his favorite.
The true reason was that all along, he was completely smitten with the cute barista working the morning shift. With his adorable face, freckles dotting bronze skin like stars in the night sky, and his deep blue eyes like the ocean. His brown curls that looked so soft that Keith wanted to run his fingers through them. The fact that he was able to have playful banter with Keith, even though Keith was very much not a morning person and needed coffee to function for social interactions.
But most of all, he was smitten with Lance’s smile. His smile that was brighter than the sun and warmed Keith on the inside, more so than any hot drink could even on the coldest of days.
Yes, Keith was completely, absolutely smitten with Lance, and there was no way to deny it anymore.
Keith needed to find out if there was a meaning behind the hearts accompanying his name on the coffee cups (he couldn’t deny those anymore, either), same as the sugar Lance added to his drinks even though he didn’t have to. He also felt the need to express his feelings that he finally realized. He felt like bursting from them.
The next time Keith went to get his coffee, he was happy when he saw Lance through the shop’s window. He entered, and this time he didn’t ignore the fluttering feelings when Lance greeted him with that bright smile of his. Keith also couldn’t fight the fond smile that tugged at his own lips. As he walked up to the counter, he wondered if love might have the same effect on him as coffee.
“Hi, Keith! The usual again?” Lance greeted as always.
“Yes, please,” Keith replied.
Lance blinked at him and gasped: “You’re talking!”
“You’ve heard me talk before.”
“No, I mean… usually, you don’t talk until you had a sip of your coffee.” Lance was staring at him.
Keith gave a small shrug. “I guess I found something that works just as well as coffee.”
Lance finally seemed to remember that he had a job to do. They were silent while Lance prepared the coffee. When Lance reached for the sugar, Keith grabbed his wrist. He hoped the move wasn’t too rough. Lance looked at him with wide eyes, and Keith finally asked: “Why are you doing this?”
Lance blinked at him in confusion again. “You like your coffee black with a bit of sugar… right?”
“Yes, but why are you adding it to my cup? Do you do that for every customer?”
Lance shook his head and Keith noticed his cheeks were slightly flushed. He looked at Lance expectantly, waiting for an explanation.
“I… wanted to do nice things for you, because you always seem so grumpy, and I really wanted to see you smile.” Lance looked to the side while talking. Keith found this sudden flustered shyness to be very endearing.
“And the hearts on the cup?” Keith asked.
At this, Lance looked at him with wide eyes again. “So you did notice them?” When Keith nodded, he continued, voice soft: “That was the only way I could think of to tell you I have a crush on you.”
“You have a crush on me?” Keith blurted out. Wow, very eloquent. Lance nodded, averting his gaze again. Well, now was the perfect time for Keith to confess as well. “That’s good. Because I’m head over heels for you.”
Lance’s face was definitely red now. “Really?” he breathed out.
Keith nodded. “I kept telling myself I just come here for the coffee, but it’s actually because I fell in love with your smile. I realized when I came back when you were done with your shift already.”
He only received a giggle as a reply and found he didn’t mind at all because he really loved this sound. A lot. While they were talking, Keith had let go of Lance’s hand. He watched as Lance added the sugar and raised a confused eyebrow when Lance reached for the pen again to add something to the cup.
“My number,” Lance explained. “Text me later, okay?”
“I will.” Keith smiled fondly. Lance was smiling softly, different to what Keith usually saw on him, but he loved this smile just as much. Without thinking, he leaned forward to press a soft kiss on the corner of Lance’s lips. “I’ll see you soon,” Keith said as he picked up his coffee from the counter.
“I can’t wait,” Lance said, face still flushed and beaming.
It was the most beautiful sight in the world. And Keith couldn’t wait to see it more often and in different places from now on.
Yes, it had started out just for the coffee, and the coffee was still very important to get Keith through the day. But being in love with Lance and knowing that Lance loved him too, made his day better in ways that coffee couldn’t. And the next time his friends decided to tease him, he would be able to say that he did have a boyfriend now.
I don’t have any classes this afternoon. Want to have lunch together? I’ll pick you up when your shift ends.—Keith
I’m done at 1pm. I can’t wait ❤
I can’t wait either. See you later ❤