Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Story summary: Cooking comes easily to Ashe, and so does teaching—until a certain someone walks through the door of his café. (Asheleth)
Written for Seasons of Change, a FE3H modern AU zine
It was by a stroke of luck that Ashe ran the register that day.
Sylvain walked into the kitchen, pulling out his phone from his back pocket. “Hey Ashe, would you mind taking over the register for me?” he said. “I have a phone call to make that I totally forgot about.”
Ashe stopped stirring the pot of onion gratin soup and hooked the ladle on the rim. “Sure thing, Sylvain!”
“This better not be about a girl,” Felix said darkly as he sliced a carrot with punctuated precision.
Flayn halted in mid-chop, perking up with interest. “A girl, you say?”
Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Of course it’s not a girl. I need to talk to our accountant about a few things, that’s all. I’m the finance guy, remember?”
“Likely excuse,” Felix muttered.
Sylvain just shrugged in response. Then he gave Ashe a wink and disappeared into the back office.
Ashe couldn’t help smiling. Running the Blue Lions Café with his closest friends was hard work, but there was never a dull moment.
He made his way to the counter out front. At two o’clock, with the lunch rush over and the café one hour from closing, the occasional customer might stop in for a late lunch or a hot drink to stave off the winter chill.
Indeed, there was a customer waiting by the register—but not just any customer. The woman in the dark coat and checkered scarf had started coming in about a month ago, and she was now a regular who showed up twice a week.
And in the rare times she smiled, Ashe’s heart would beat a little faster.
“H-How can I help you?” he said, wiping his perfectly clean hands on his apron.