Did y'all know it can take about 7 days to get an ao3 account? I didn’t. Here’s a small bit of my fic to apologize for the delay:
“A caramel americano,” Ashur announced, placing the beverage on the table in front of Nic.
“Thanks,” Nic said in the fashion that people said things when they weren’t sure what else to say- that is, hesitantly and drawn out. His fingers wrapped gratefully around the coffee and he wondered how Ashur had decided what kind of coffee Nic enjoyed. “What did you get?”
“Chai tea,” Ashur answered, sitting down across from him with his own cup. Nic snorted which earned him a curious smile. “What?”
“Nothing,” Nic said as a reflex. But Ashur didn’t seem offended, only inquisitive. “You just seem like the type to drink chai, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Ashur said simply, still smiling as he took a sip of his tea. It was a little unnerving. The smile was genuine and aimed directly at Nic as if he found Nic amusing or simply just liked his company. There was so much attention on him at one time just with that smile. “I suppose I do.”
Nic enjoyed the warmth of his own beverage against his fingers for a second more before tasting it.
“How’d you know what to get me?” He asked curiously.
“Maybe you just seem like the type to drink a caramel americano,” Ashur said. “Am I correct?”
Nic thought of lying just to see what he would do. “It’s good,” he admitted instead. “But why a caramel americano?”
“I don’t know,” Ashur shrugged. “The same way suppose you thought it obvious that I would get chai tea. Maybe we just know each other well.”
That thought also was unnerving. Nic wasn’t sure what to do with the information. If this were anyone else, he could have waved it off, but this was Ashur. This was someone who could have been running an empire, who could get anything he wanted in an instant, and who Nic only knew through delivering flowers to his mass jewelry store. They were, in many ways, complete opposites. The very idea they could be having coffee, and tea, technically, together should have been impossible much less knowing anything about the other person beyond where they worked.
The thing was as it was actually happening, it didn’t seem impossible. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Ashur was wearing jeans in place of slacks and a suit jacket. His hair was casually untied from it’s usual ponytail and he seemed much more obtainable. Less like someone above everyone else in society and general life.
“I’m glad you decided to take up my offer for coffee,” Ashur said when Nic didn’t say anything.
“You technically got tea,” Nic responded.
Ashur laughed- even his laugh was elegant and foreign- raising his cup in a mock cheer. “"Touché.”
