Coffee in One Hand (Earphones in One Ear)
Fandom: SOTUS The Series Pairing: Prem/Wad
Summary: Every day he worked, like clockwork, the same young man came in at 2:30. He'd order a medium black coffee with room; he'd pour some 2% milk into it at the counter and take it to a booth nestled in the back of the shop. But he'd always still be in perfect view of Prem, who would not-so-subtly gaze longingly in his direction. Prem thought it was kind of cute how the man would push his glasses to the top of his head to keep his long hair out of his face and how he'd pull out his laptop and always only use one earphone while working for an hour.
Notes: The Coffeeshop AU no one asked for but I wrote anyway. Title is from Falling For U by Seventeen 2,949 Words
AO3 Wattpad
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"I wonder what he's always working on," Prem said to no one in particular.
"Who cares? Don't you have some fancy lattes to be making?" Bright asked from his spot sitting atop the counter.
"Don't you have literally any work to be doing?" Knot asked just as Arthit swiped at Bright's legs walking towards the register, effectively knocking him to the ground.
"MAN DOWN!" he yelled as his coworkers just laughed. Just a normal day at the shop, Prem thought, before turning back to the man.
Every day he worked, like clockwork, the same young man came in at 2:30. He'd order a medium black coffee with room; he'd pour some 2% milk into it at the counter and take it to a booth nestled in the back of the shop. But he'd always still be in perfect view of Prem, who would not-so-subtly gaze longingly in his direction. Prem thought it was kind of cute how the man would push his glasses to the top of his head to keep his long hair out of his face and how he'd pull out his laptop and always only use one earphone while working on something for an hour. He'd take little sips here and there from his cup, taking his time finishing his coffee. Sometimes he'd glance over to the counter, and Prem would look away, hiding his blush with his hat, and pretend he was cleaning. He didn't really do subtle well.
"Seriously Prem?" he jumped when a surprising hand connected with his shoulder. He pretended Knot's solid hand didn't hurt when he turned to him to see what he needed to say. "We really do have some fancy lattes to make. You can continue ogling that stranger in a bit."
"I am not ogling," Prem mumbled in return as he tightened his apron. He heard Bright snort behind him. And yes, the swift kick to his shin Prem landed was well deserved. Bright's yelp was satisfying enough to focus on his steamed milk designs.
The stranger was always packed up and gone before their after-work rush came in. Prem felt brave enough to send him a smile as he walked to the counter to return his mug. He smiled back softly and was out the door. Prem felt his face warm and he bit his lip. He grabbed the glass and studied it a moment. Knot always seemed to give him that particular mug; a taller, off-white mug with a tiny chip in the handle.
Bright, always one to ruin a moment, yanked it from his hands and walked it to the sink. Prem snarled at the oblivious dishwasher.
"You were drooling all over the counter anyway, Prem," Arthit teased, noticing his bewildered expression. Prem glared for a moment before turning back around to wipe down the steamer.
"I was not," once again mumbling in response.
"Hello friends!" a new voice announced as the front doors swung open.
"Ah, good afternoon, Kongpob," Knot greeted warmly, ignoring how Arthit ducked behind him when he heard Kongpob's voice. Kongpob smiled brightly at him despite the pink tinting his cheeks. "Your usual?"
"Yes, thank you, Knot," he replied as Knot rang him up. Kongpob was another regular of theirs, definitely more social than the stranger Prem was infatuated with. Kongpob also very obviously had the hots for their Arthit, while Arthit spent his time pretending he didn't notice him, yet always insisted on making his drink. Prem watched Arthit craft his latte, while Kongpob took his seat at the bar and continued his own gaze with his chin resting on his hand. Arthit filled his dark green mug, taking extra care with the heart drawn into the foam. Their same old song and dance.
Kongpob usually stayed for a bit under the guise of studying with an open textbook in front of him, but really just tried to get Arthit's attention. Prem knew he succeeded too, the tips of Arthit's ears always turning red when Kongpob smiled at him.
"Okay, I've got to go to practice, but I'll see you all tomorrow!" Kongpob announced a little while later. They each bid him farewell as he packed up his backpack. "Goodbye, Arthit," he said with a smile, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Arthit just grunted in response, pretending to be busy with the french press, but a blush was evident in his cheeks. Prem rolled his eyes at the encounter fondly and waved bye to Kongpob.
Their coffee shop only had two shifts and Knot was their shift manager. He was responsible for making sure they all stayed on task to get the shop closed and cleaned on time; he only smacked Bright occasionally to keep him focused on finishing up the dishes. Knot would mumble about how Prae, the first shift manager, would be mad if everything wasn't in tip top shape for opening the next morning. Prem, and everyone else, knew that wasn't true. Prae was a sweet girl and she did her job very well. She appreciated how everything would always be neat and ready for open and would tell them every shift change.
Prem was on floors, so after they locked the door at 8, he grabbed the broom and started making his way around the shop. His mind drifted almost immediately to the mystery customer, as he found it doing very often.
Perhaps he was a novelist, typing away every day to make his editor's deadlines.
Or maybe he was a programmer, scripting long sequences of code for work.
Maybe he was just screwing around on reddit.
"Oi, Prem, you've been sweeping that one spot for five minutes. I think it's plenty clean!" Bright yelled out to him. Prem pretended he was going to throw the broom and made Bright flinch, but he couldn't help the flush on his face. He couldn't get that guy out of his head.
Prem traded out his broom for a mop and a bucket and tried to keep his mind occupied by listening to his coworkers banter while they cleaned the back. They mentioned that Knot got tickets to a concert later that month as a surprise for his boyfriend and automatically Prem thought about the one earbud in the mystery man's ear.
"I wonder what he listens to..."
.
"It was all kind of slow besides the 7 o'clock rush," Prae told them as they put on their aprons, "we tried to keep it as tidy as you guys always do," she finished with a smile.
"It's always appreciated. Thanks Prae," Knot responded.
"And thanks Tuta," Tuta added snarkily as he closed his register. Knot chuckled and playfully punched his shoulder. "Ow."
"Thanks Tuta, and thank you May and Tee, we'll see you tomorrow." The first shifters made their way out the door and Prem quickly fell into the normal rhythm. He really enjoyed his work at the shop, and he liked the company. His coworkers were the only really close friends he had since he came out to the city for uni. Sure, they had their quirks, but he got a long with them nicely. They worked around each other smoothly, making life a little easier.
It was 2:30 before Prem realized and he had to catch his breath when the young man walked in. He went up to Knot at the register and ordered his usual. Prem bit his lip and tried to distract himself from watching the exchange. He didn't want to be too creepy. He failed, of course, a faint blush gracing his cheeks as he saw him make his way to his table and push his glasses up. And then he caught Prem's gaze, causing Prem to jump and busy himself behind the steamer. He felt his heartbeat in his throat and he tried to shake it off.
Prem was glad it got kind of busy in the shop, so he could successfully avoid looking at the customer again for a chunk of time.
"Oy, Prem, watch the register for me really quick?" Knot asked him, shifting his weight from one foot to the other a couple of times. Prem laughed before shooing him to the bathroom.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his stranger stand, getting ready to leave. Prem swallowed the lump in his throat and focused on the door. He was surprised to see Kongpob walking in way earlier than he usually arrived. Prem watched as he looked up from his phone to smile at the mystery man walking towards the door.
"Oh, Wad, hey!" he heard Kongpob greet. Prem gaped at them as the customer — Wad — smiled back.
"Hey Kong," they bumped fists, "how're you doing?"
"I'm alright, a bit tired. I'm gonna grab some much needed caffeine," Kongpob said lightly, but the circles under his eyes suggested he was more tired than he was letting on.
"Maybe take a nap too, man. Are you still coming to practice?" Wad asked.
Kongpob nodded, "Yeah, of course."
"I'll see you later then. Take it easy," Wad told him before finally making his way out the door.
Prem stood, dumbfounded, at the register. He kind of just stared at Kongpob as he walked up to order.
"The usual, Prem... are you okay?" Prem blinked. He then cleared his throat and shook it off.
"Oh, um, yeah," he said as he put Kongpob's order in. "You're here earlier than usual today," he said, attempting to be casual despite not feeling the slightest bit casual.
"Yeah, I had kind of a long night and I needed some coffee ASAP," he chuckled before handing him the correct amount of cash. Prem nodded, and took it.
"So, um, you know that guy?" Prem winced at his own words and Kongpob furrowed his brow.
"Who? Wad?" Prem felt the growing warmth on his face, but nodded anyway. Kongpob just smiled at him. "We've shared a few classes and we play basketball together. He's a good guy, albeit reserved... when he wants to be."
"Thanks for covering, Prem— oh, Kongpob, you're here early—" Knot said upon his return being cut off by Arthit clearing his throat loudly.
"Your drink is up," he said tersely, placing it in Kongpob's normal spot before he even sat down. Kongpob smiled fondly and excused himself from the register. Prem saw the concern in Arthit's face upon seeing Kongpob. He leaned forward and spoke to Kongpob in hushed tones while he sipped in his coffee. Prem went back to his station and watched as Kongpob's eyes slowly brightened. Prem wasn't sure if it was entirely the coffee's doing, noticing Arthit's hand atop of Kongpob's.
He bit his lip, willing the thoughts of holding Wad's hand one day away.
.
"Arthit," Prem whispered to get his attention. They had locked the doors some time ago and it was just him and Arthit cleaning the back as the others roamed around to close.
"Yeah?" He asked, looking over to Prem.
"Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just really curious..." Arthit quirked an eyebrow, signaling Prem to continue, "you like Kongpob, right?" Arthit's face showed a flash of confusion before snorting a laugh.
"Um, yeah, Prem. I do. We've been dating for weeks."
"WHAT?" Prem yelped, causing Bright and Knot to glance over. Prem flashed them a toothy grin before asking, lower, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"You didn't ask!" Arthit replies defensively. "I thought you guys knew!"
"Arthit come on! We had money on this."
"What?"
"Nothing! Anyway, that's actually really awesome and I'm happy for you, I'm sorry this is so awkward now."
Arthit rolled his eyes fondly before replying, "thanks. What were you going to follow that up with, anyway?"
Prem bit his lip. "I mean... I was going to just see if you liked him... to see if you would tell me how you got a good boy like Kongpob to like a curmudgeon like you." A wet rag hit him in the face. "I'm just kidding! Ow! Also gross!"
"You deserve it! And if this about your earbud boy, Wad," Arthit said, giving Prem a pointed look, "Kong told me he asked him about you."
"What?" Prem felt himself freeze while Arthit just smirked at him.
"Yeah, at practice he asked Kong, and I quote, 'who the cute barista with the ballcap' was. It wasn't Knot, because he doesn't wear a hat and it wasn't Bright, because he's not cute."
"But... wait, what?!" Prem spluttered, making Arthit laugh at him again.
"Prem please. He stares at you just as much as you stare at him," Arthit informed him. Prem kept gaping at him, unable to process. "You both just miss each other's gross love lorn glances. It's actually really sad." Prem whimpered at the comment. "Buck up and just talk to him! Tomorrow. Please. It's getting really hard to work with your pining all day." Prem whimpered again.
.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us!" Bright yelled as soon as Arthit walked behind the counter the next day. Their group chat had been lighting up all the night before once Prem let it slip that Arthit was dating Kongpob. Which, of course, spurred Arthit to tell them that Prem was going to talk to Wad finally. "I can't believe I'm the only single one now! Do you think Tuta from morning shift has a boyfriend?"
"You know I'm still here, right?" Tuta asked, taking off his apron.
"Don't even start with that Bright," Knot warned.
"Wad isn't my boyfriend! I haven't even talked to him!" Prem exclaimed back to Bright.
"Yet. You haven't talked to him yet," Arthit said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Well. As much as I would love to know what's going on, I have class," Prae announces to the afternoon crew. She grabbed onto Tuta's wrist to pull him away from glaring a hole into Bright's head. "We have class. See you all tomorrow!" She said sweetly on her way out the door.
The afternoon staff quickly dispersed, their laughter trailing behind them as they took their usual spots. They fell into their rhythm; taking orders, steaming milk and making lattes, then cleaning up and doing it over again. Prem hummed a song that had been stuck in his head for days as he took the blender over to the sink.
That's when he realized Bright was no where to be found. Prem scoffed and turned toward the registers to shoot Knot an incredulous look.
But he wasn't there either. And Arthit wasn't by the steamer.
Prem furrowed his brow, completely at a loss. The door chimed and his eyes flashed to the entrance. 2:30. Prem cursed his coworkers as Wad made his way to the register. "Um, hi," he greeted Prem quietly, looking confused at the lack of workers.
Prem swallowed the lump in his throat and threw the blender down into the sink unceremoniously. He winced but powered forward. He grabbed the chipped, off-white mug and brought it with him to the register. "Black coffee with room?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Wad blinked at him twice before nodding eagerly.
"Could I get a piece of coffee cake too?"
"Of course," Prem said, trying not to let his voice crack. Wad never usually ordered food, so he was slightly surprised. Wad handed him too large of a bill and shoved all his change that Prem returned into the tip jar. Prem turned to fill the mug quickly to hide his reddening face. "I'll warm up that coffee cake and bring it around to your table?" He tried not to make it sound like a question but he was nervous.
"Oh, thank you!" Wad replied, taking the mug from Prem's hands. Prem tried not to faint right on the spot as their fingers brushed during the exchange. Prem couldn't help but smile as he saw the tips of Wad's ear go pink as he turned and walked to his usual table.
"Thanks for covering, my man, I had to go to the bathroom," Prem heard Knot say from behind him.
"And I had to check something in the stock room," Arthit added as Prem turned around.
"And I just wanted to not be out here for five to ten minutes!" Bright said, punctuating with a wink.
"I hate all of you," he told his coworkers. He grabbed a slice of coffee cake and put it in the warmer, ignoring the whispers and chuckles from his so called friends.
Wad already had his computer out, glasses on the top of head, and he took a sip gingerly from his mug. He met Prem's gaze and smiled as he approached with the plate.
"So you don't usually order anything but coffee," Prem blurted. He was never good at thinking before speaking.
But Wad just smiled again and said, "you know my order well." Prem almost choked on his own spit, making Wad laugh at his spluttering. Prem thought his laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds he's ever heard.
Prem realized he was still holding the plate so he put down, a little too hard, by Wad's laptop. "So, um, I'm Prem." Wad chuckled.
"I know. I sort of asked Kong about you. I'm Wad."
Prem grinned then, "I know. I kinda asked Kongpob about you, too."
By the end of the shift, Prem had a new number in his phone and a date scheduled for the weekend. He didn't stop smiling, even after he was back in his apartment for the night.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and brought up a new message:
'So what are you always working on when you're at the shop?'
.
Additional A/N: Too much background and build up for little payoff? Maybe. I'm sorry. I've been in a funk. Wad is a graphic designer in this AU and he's WORKING okay but it doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy the view of the cute barista that has the cutest smile and hums songs Wad doesn't know.