single origin (xiumin/luhan)
title: single origin
pairing: xiumin/luhan (minseok/luhan in fic), past!xiumin/lay (minseok/yixing in fic)
rating: r
genre: romance, angst, coffee shop!au
warnings: somewhat non-explicit smut
summary: they both know that the perfect remedy to a cold winter's night is a cup of hot chocolate.
Minseok has been working in his neighborhood coffee shop for years. He's used to the life of being a barista. Freshly grinding coffee beans, weighing the beans so that each pot of brewed coffee taste as good as the previous one, maintaining the consistent taste that his coffee shop's always so proud of. Plus, he does all the work for melting their famous chocolate that gets stirred up by a machine every time. His personal favourite is always a cup of the coffee shop's hot chocolate.
Most of his customers frequently order their brewed coffee, since that's what they're famous for.
Until he meets a new guy that came around recently by the name of Luhan.
It was one of those shifts where Minseok had been asked to be a cashier for a certain time, he wasn't always in the front of the store, so eventually he had to get used to using the POS system again. Once he set his eyes on his next customer, a young man whose youth was way ahead of him, his eyes large like a deer's, and he carried with himself this meek smile that made Minseok's heart skip a beat unknowingly.
"And what will you be having?" Minseok asks kindly, it's always that same question he asks every customer whenever he's asked to be the cashier for a shift or two.
It takes Luhan some time to view the menu, their extensive menu that's usually filled with foreign names for their freshly ground coffee. Unfortunately, non-caffeinated stuff like tea and hot chocolate, was always on other menus, so they're often overlooked if it's one's first time in the coffee shop.
It was in the middle of a frigidly-cold December, the winds are harsh, the sidewalks and streets are filled with slushy snow, and the perfect remedy there was always a good cup of coffee, or for Luhan's preferences, a good cup of hot chocolate.
"Do you guys serve ...... drinks other than coffee?" It takes Luhan some time to spit out the words, because for someone like him who finds it odd that everyone in the coffee shop's drinking coffee (why else would it be called a coffee shop, then?), he finds himself weird to be asking the cashier if he could have something other than coffee.
"We have teas, of course. There's also my personal favourite, hot chocolate, which barely anyone really orders anyways." Minseok admits, but it's true. If MInseok had to conduct a survey, 90% of the customers in his coffee shop (did I forget to mention that Minseok owned the place?) always stick to coffee, even though their hot chocolate was always a special surprise just waiting to be discovered by at least one of the curious customers out there, and it just had to be Luhan who was more than willing to try it out.
"Great, hot chocolate's my favourite. I'll have that, then."
Minseok punches in his order, and tells the assigned barista behind him, who just happened to be standing beside Minseok to see what was going on and why was Minseok taking so long to punch in Luhan's order, was a tall guy by the name of Yifan.
"He'll have a hot chocolate? That's a surprise, barely anyone even orders that." Yifan scoffs at Minseok, without even taking note that Luhan was still about to pay for his order.
Luhan laughs meekly at Yifan's comment, "Well that's about to change then, in case I come to like your hot chocolate."
Yifan hums in affirmation, "Fair enough, then."
While Yifan goes to the back where the baristas make the drinks and starts working on Luhan's order. After Luhan pays, he sets himself aside to one of the seats near the bar. He remembers when he first arrived in the area. His place was a couple of blocks away from the coffee shop itself so it was always within reach. Then again, he never realized the booming popularity of the place until he kept seeing people frequently coming in and out of the coffee shop, acting as if it was always their frequent place to stay in.
Now he understands why so many people in his neighborhood frequent the place, it felt like home even though Luhan's been used to his place for several weeks now. The minute he got in the coffee shop, it was so warm, a huge contrast from the cold weather outside that immediately had him shedding his clothes layer by layer. Plus, the customers and employees got along well as if they've been friends for a long time. Everyone got along well with each other, he sees people showing good manners everywhere and even to people he's never met before and he's hell sure they wouldn't even talk to him given the opportunity.
His thoughts are interrupted the minute he hears Yifan calling out for his name and his drink, he sees a lone cup on the bar and from the looks of it, no one else was getting up and getting the drink, so that must be his.
Luhan hesitantly gets up and walks over to the receiving end of the bar, he slowly takes his cup of hot chocolate. He doesn't even realize that Yifan is telling him something, which nearly causes Luhan to shake while holding the hot beverage.
"Enjoy your drink, and do let us know if you enjoy it. We keep hearing it's so famous here but we don't even understand why it's so famous. Possibly on the verge of being overrated," he scoffs at Luhan.
Luhan sets his cup down slowly on the bar, "I'm sure it isn't too bad." He takes a small sip from the cup and he's briefly overwhelmed by the heat of the drink but on the other hand he immediately understands why this very beverage he's drinking was considered a hidden gem of the coffee shop. Luhan thinks he isn't an expert at drinking hot chocolate but the taste itself is enough to explain how good it is. The chocolate was rich, very rich, and it's good since it isn't too sweet and it has a lot of body in it. Possibly drinking a tall glass of that very same drink on an empty stomach would be enough for a meal.
Luhan slowly nods to himself and hums in approval while he carries his cup back to his table.
--
It was around two weeks after Luhan came by Minseok's coffee shop when the former first drank their hot chocolate. Still, Luhan couldn't forget the amazing taste of the drink and he was surprised at how it wasn't even popular with the customers themselves, especially for someone like himself whose first time there was spent really well.
Other than the times where Luhan decides to spend his free time sitting around Minseok's coffee shop, he actually likes to walk around his neighborhood as well as other places in the city to see new places that he might find interesting. Luhan treats himself like a tourist in the city he's staying in, although he's been living in the city for a couple of months already. The idea of feeling like a tourist in places he's never been to never fails to amaze him anyways because there's a hidden spirit somewhere in Luhan's heart that tells him by instinct the good places that he should visit. He does, eventually, and he keeps note of all of those places in a notebook he always carries with him wherever he goes.
After spending a long day out on his own, even though the weather seems to be too bipolar for his taste. He immediately retreats to the coffee shop he's so used to visiting every now and then. Sometimes Luhan can't help but smile at the fact that the minute he gets in the coffee shop, Yifan immediately spot him from afar and calls his attention. Without a doubt Yifan would immediately spot Luhan, he's pretty much the tallest barista in the team and it's no wonder the other baristas in the coffee shop know that he's "Yifan and Minseok's friend".
Luhan sits himself at the usual spot and feels like it was just yesterday that he first came into this coffee shop and ordered a cup of hot chocolate for himself. Although the customers who usually visit the coffee shop frequently change around him, Luhan can't help but notice the amount of people who are burying themselves in either a book, or incessant amounts of schoolwork, combined with a laptop to make everything worse that would make Luhan think that this is why so many people come by and stick around Minseok's coffee place; it's grown itself into a haven for students, or people who generally want to shut themselves out from the hustle and bustle of the world and immerse themselves in a good book or a scholarly article or two.
Luhan's not going to lie, it always feels good to immerse the self in a good book at lease once in a while, it's a constant reminder that your imagination can always take you to different places you've never even thought of before. It's actually amazing what the mind can think of. Pair that capacity with a good book, and you're all set in imagining a world of your own without any limits.
It happens once again in which Luhan's own thoughts get interrupted as soon as he sees Minseok's pale-coloured wrist lay itself near the table; he's just serving Luhan his cup of hot chocolate, "You forgot to pick this up at the counter, I'm assuming you're deep buried within your thoughts, again?"
Luhan snaps out of his reverie quite immediately and his eyes widen at Minseok by instinct, "Y-yes, I'm sorry about that!"
Minseok shakes his head in consolation and softly laughs at him in the process and gestures at the empty seat right in front of Luhan, "No worries, mind if I sit?"
Luhan nods frantically as Minseok seats himself, "What are you so busy about?" as he watches Luhan flip through his notebook unceasingly. The sound coming from the fluttering pages can easily tell that Luhan has been busy writing - a lot. His handwriting's clearly etched onto the paper and the hardness of his writing style leaves indentations on every empty page that he leaves for the rest of his notes.
Luhan closes his notebook with a soft thud and passes it to Minseok, "It's my travel journal. I take it with me everywhere I go and I constantly record the places that I discover and visit along the way, there are also small notes on the people I meet and the things I learn and the trinkets I see," he takes a soft sip of his hot chocolate and heaves a sigh because he's hasn't drank this for quite a while and it's such a relief to be drinking it again.
Minseok nods to himself, he never imagined Luhan to be interested in things like this. He secretly finds it cute, but he tries to hide his happiness in for fear that the boy sitting right in front of him would immediately notice him blushing (that is, if he were) from the thought of Luhan walking around the city and trying everything that caught his eye.
Minseok briefly placed his hand on the cover of the notebook, feeling the smoothness of the cover as his eyes gradually follow from observing even the minuscule of Luhan's prominent features; his doe-like eyes that seem to widen every time Luhan takes a look at him, that large smile that Luhan never fails to carry with him everywhere, and skin so flawless as if age never even laid a hand on it, he was as young as he could be, until his eyes fell on the cover which was just a plain-coloured notebook that didn't seem too extravagant for something to be treated as a travel journal.
Luhan seemed hesitant for a few seconds, probably because no one he's met before was ever interested in reading what Luhan ever had to say about the places he visited and the people he met and all the discoveries he found along the way. Heck, Minseok never even bothered to ask about Luhan's roots and how he managed to find this place because he's very sure he's never seen Luhan before in the neighborhood; that quiet perks up Minseok's curiosity just as Luhan was about to answer his question.
"I've never really met anyone who would be interested in reading my journal," Luhan's voice draws soft, his hand slowly comes up from underneath the table to move itself closer to the cover of the notebook, just a few millimeters near Minseok's fingers, just so they're not touching each other, "but you're very welcome to."
Luhan's and Minseok's fingers are close to each other, the words Luhan just spoke out were by no means hesitant, unlike the phrase he had previously said, but there was a hint of trust, because the journal seemed like a world away from Luhan's current state of mind and it seemed so fragile enough that anyone else besides Minseok who would read the words Luhan writes along these lines might just be enough reason for Luhan to seek another place for solace - to keep himself into this world he calls his own.
Little by little, Luhan's fingers remain on the other side of the cover of the notebook, as Minseok's fingers slowly move its way until it manages to settle itself on top of Luhan's. Minseok doesn't take hold of Luhan's fingers until at least a few seconds later in which Luhan's body temperature immediately shifts from warm to freezing because he's suddenly afraid - not at the contact, but the question that remains underneath the surface; underneath the contact. As soon as Minseok shifts from his fingers being on top of Luhan's, to his palm moving underneath Luhan's fingers. Minseok wraps his hand around Luhan's cold fingers to lend him his own warmth, as if to answer the question that remains between them.
"Your secret is safe with me."
It takes them a couple of hours, not to mention several cups of hot chocolate that it might be deemed illegal for a person to drink even that much hot chocolate in one day.
Yifan comes out from the bar and sets aside Luhan and Minseok's fifth-or-so cup of hot chocolate and sneers at them as if automatically, "Are the two of you still reading through his notebook?" We're 10 minutes to closing, Baozi."
Luhan slams the cover shut on Minseok's fingers while they were lazily scrolling through Luhan's words, his handwriting looked as if they were written with a heavy hand and the words were nearly etched onto the surface of the notebook. As a result, the pages nearly wrinkled from the weight of his words.
Minseok looked up at Yifan while his hands were still sandwiched from the cover of Luhan's notebook, "Really? I never even took note of the time, shit."
"Wait, wait, did he just call you 'baozi'?" Luhan stares at both Yifan and Minseok and for a second there Luhan think he just saw Yifan steal a small laugh for himself but he immediately hid it by staring back at Luhan.
Minseok laughs at Luhan's tone, "Yeah, he did. He calls me that whenever he wants me to be serious. Plus he got that name for me because he told me that I do look like a baozi."
Yifan interjects, "Correction. Your face is as chubby as a baozi."
Luhan laughs and Minseok clicks his tongue at Yifan for the reminder, "I lost some weight, don't forget that!"
Yifan mockingly laughs at Minseok as the two of them race back to the bar and fix out all of the things for closing time. Meanwhile, Luhan sits on the chair still and that's when he realizes that Yifan was right, he hadn't even taken note of the time that had passed ever since Minseok was reading out the notes with Luhan, just so he could explain things that weren't so clear to Minseok and at the same time Minseok can give Luhan his own comments on what he thought about his writing.
One thing that Luhan couldn't help but notice during the whole thing, though, was that he was beginning to admire how Minseok was always so calm with Luhan, but at the same time there was this side to Minseok that held comic relief, especially whenever Yifan always came around and started picking on Minseok. While the two of them were reading Luhan's journal, there were moments where Luhan stopped to notice the finer details in Minseok's face. His eyelashes were unusually longer for a man like him, but his skin was like porcelain, it looked so smooth and longed to be touched, but makeup was golden and would do wonders in hiding scars. But still, Luhan immediately noticed the acne scars on one side of Minseok's cheek and Luhan grimaced to himself because briefly he thought about Minseok carrying that with him forever and that was one imperfection that made Luhan's heart melt at the thought that Minseok was human - he wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for Luhan.
Nothing else seemed more truthful than what Luhan's heart was telling him as if it were obvious.
The events that continued during the same night seemed like forever for Luhan. After Minseok and Yifan were able to fix up everything as they closed the shop, Luhan couldn't do anything else but wait for the two of them to finish. Of course, at the same time it didn't seem right that Luhan was staying after closing hours even though two of the staff members already knew him at a personal level.
It was nearing midnight and Luhan left the coffee shop after Yifan told the two of them that he has to catch his ride home. Luhan never expected Yifan to be the type who would live so far into the city just so he could work in a coffee shop whose hours were this late. Then again, anyone could use a good job if it paid well and one of its benefits was to certainly serve customers a good cup of coffee for their time. Minseok on the other hand was more than willing to walk with Luhan on the way home. Especially since his house was also along the neighborhood and since he didn't have a car of his own, he thinks it'd be nice to walk with Luhan on the way back. Besides, walking alone at this time of night plus with a weather like this was sure to make anyone uncomfortable, regardless of their clothes keeping them warm for the most part.
Luhan didn't mind for the most part, he liked the company anyways.
Luhan's house was at least 4 blocks away from Minseok's coffee shop, but Minseok's was just 2 or so blocks away. Bracing themselves for the cold weather outside, Minseok turns off the heaters in the coffee shop, locks up the doors and prepares to leave with Luhan accompanying him.
"Thanks for coming into the shop today, Luhan. It was good to have someone to talk to despite the huge workload that Yifan and I have to fill up everyday," Minseok tells him, his ragged breathing was clearly adjusting to the cold weather with every breath fogging up the space between them.
"It's no problem, I'm happy you were also willing to read my journal, too." Luhan straightens out the beanie Minseok puts on with his gloves. But to no avail, the thick gloves weare clearly not helping because the beanie comes onto his head awkwardly and Luhan laughs at his attempt to try and fix the angle of it on his head.
"I hate it when you have to put on anything on your head and then your thick gloves aren't helping out because they're too thick." Minseok clicks his tongue and tries to fix his beanie, still. Meanwhile Luhan's standing a head taller beside him and easily fixes the beanie on Minseok's head.
"That was no problem at all. Besides, I found it really interesting and you have a good eye for the peculiar things out there." The two of them start making their way uphill and on their way home.
It takes them a couple of minutes to get settled with the weather outside, in contrast with the warm heat that was always comforting to the both of them whenever they were inside the coffee shop.
"Do you," Minseok starts off by stuttering a bit but he regains his composure almost immediately, "have any plans for tomorrow?" For a minute there those words seemed so foreign to him, almost as if he was worried that Luhan might not reciprocate the same intention that he has at this moment.
The two of them stop in their tracks, Luhan only begins to realize that snow has started to fall. He pulls out his hand and tries to capture some snowflakes onto his hand. Luhan briefly looks up to check whether this has been going on ever since they've left the coffee shop or has it just started. Perhaps that was the Heaven's way of saying there was something going on between them but neither of them have realized it yet.
Luhan brushes off the snowflakes from his hand onto his jacket and looks back at Minseok, surprised at his sudden inquiry, "I don't think so? Do you have anything in mind?"
The two of them stare at each other for a couple of minutes, possibly to search for answers in each other's eyes. At least until Minseok shakes his head a couple of times, "I have to be at the coffee shop at least until lunch, you think you can wait until then? We can have lunch somewhere else if you'd like."
Luhan nods his head in reply and gives Minseok his signature eyesmile, setting off fireworks inside Minseok's head immediately. The two of them continue walking until they reach the entrance of Luhan's apartment. However, the two of them remain standing just in front of the doors for a few minutes.
"I really mean it, Minseok. I appreciate what you said when I was hesitant to let you read my journal, I found it really ..." he lets the words spill out of his mind profusely without taking any second-thoughts for it. There must've been something in the winter air that makes him fall under word vomit but it feels oddly good somehow, "touching."
They remained outside for a few minutes more until Luhan realizes it's been nearly an hour since they've been staying outside and he can clearly feel it the minute he tries to breathe through his nose -- he can't even feel his own nose from the cold weather.
"You should hurry in; wouldn't want you to get sick!" Minseok hastily pushes him to the intercom panel right beside the entrance doors so that Luhan can find it easier to scan his keyfob and get in quickly.
"How about you?" Minseok forgot to even mention to Luhan how he's going home, because he didn't tell him that his place was just a few blocks away from Luhan's apartment, therefore making it easy for the two of them to see each other at any time; their meetups don't necessarily have to be limited to the coffee shop itself.
"I live just a few blocks away from your place, so it's no worries. Besides, there aren't any cars along the streets anymore so it's safe to say that I can run along the streets until I get home." Minseok rubs both his palms against each other, the fabric of his gloves trying to create a minuscule amount of heat even though at the back of his mind, Minseok knows this is just the nerves getting to him because he really likes Luhan and a part of him just wants to scramble away back to his humble home and dwell on the fact that he was able to invite him out for lunch tomorrow.
"Really? You never told me that." Luhan scrambles through his pockets to find his keyfob while his eyes are still fixed on Minseok's feeble gesture.
"You don't know a lot about me." Minseok shyly looks down at his feet, his voice getting softer and suddenly even the wind's louder than his voice.
Luckily for him, Luhan doesn't hear what he says and he slaps the keyfob onto the scanner, a small light emits from the scanner and the door is unlocked for Luhan.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" Luhan asks through the doorway, still holding out a bit just so he could hear Minseok's reply while the other half of his body remains heated inside the lobby of his apartment.
"Sure. Feel free to drop by at the coffee shop so that you can wait for me if you'd like." Minseok waves a goodbye to Luhan and sets off slowly, at least until Minseok can see Luhan pressing the "Up" button on the elevator and briefly walking back and forth to the mirrors near the doorway to fix his hair for a bit, then that's when Minseok walks briskly back to his apartment.
Meanwhile, Luhan stands in front of the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. He thinks briefly about what Minseok said to himself softly about 'not knowing much about him' and tries to think about what that would mean.
For sure only time can tell, but for now he has a date to think about.
---
Pretty much the next day went by like a breeze. Luhan woke up early the next morning to see the sun shining outside, which is pretty rare for the winter season, and he could easily spot the remnants of last night's snowfall on his balcony slowly turning into slush from the heat of the sun.
But of course he easily realizes that it won't be that warm outside; he'll still be overwhelmed by the winter chill even though there isn't any wind outside to prove his theory.
For a guy like Luhan, he never has to think too much about what he has to wear simply because he feels that it's one of the perks of being a guy to begin with; you don't have to overthink about the clothes you want to wear for the day. Simply put; it's easy enough for him to don on a simple shirt and a thick coat to warm him up and he doesn't have to worry about the layers in between. Unlike other people who have to think about the billions of undershirts they have to wear in between their clothes and it can be such a hassle for them to take them all off at the end of the day and it just piles up the laundry, you know?
At least it isn't too complicated for him. He easily puts on a plain shirt and buttons up a flannel shirt on top, and a thick utility coat to keep him warm. He takes a brief glance at the clock to realize that it's only roughly 9:30 in the morning; he remembers Minseok telling him that he still has to stay in the coffee shop at least until lunch time and Luhan think about what he's going to do for the remainder of his time.
He steps out of his apartment immediately because his heart's set on knowing what he should do; have breakfast at Minseok's coffee shop.
Luhan has to admit, while he was admiring his daily walk to the coffee shop, he never really asked about their breakfast and whether it was even worth trying or not. On the other hand, he never really took the time to admire how beautiful everything seemed outside his place in the mornings because he sees huge clumps of snow sprawled on the concrete and even though he has boots on to spare his feet from the cold slush, he wants to enjoy that feeling of having to play with the snow for once. But not right now when the snow he's looking at looks mixed with melted snow and dirt from the wheels of cars that have rode past them countless times.
He eventually makes his way to Minseok's coffee shop, and sees a couple of new guys working at the bar, none of which know him by name or by face at all. Luhan immediately remembers the first time he's been in the coffee shop where he first met Yifan and Minseok on that very day. He remembers stepping inside and feeling overwhelmed by the warmth of the great big fireplace at the center of the room. Clearly he remembers seeing everyone's coats hung up on the hooks provided on the walls, because they can't help but remove their coats; it was just too warm inside not to. Luhan didn't complain about the heat, he loved the heat that the coffee shop always brought to him, in contrast to the cold winds outside, any sensible person would love to just crowd himself over this massive amount of heat and just walk away happily afterwards.
He takes a seat somewhere at the front of the coffee shop for once, so that he's easily facing the street right outside the store. He leaves his things by his seat and goes to the counter and asks about their daily breakfast.
"Do you guys serve breakfast here?" Luhan asks, while his hands are fiddling inside his pockets, looking for cash that he could spend on for a decent meal in the morning.
"We sure do!" Luhan gets taken back once the person replies to him looks so feminine and yet carries himself well as a man. Still, he can't help but notice how feminine his fingers look and Luhan becomes a bit concerned by how his own hands look.
"We have pancakes with bacon," A Canadian classic, Luhan tells himself. At the back of his mind, he's sure to think Yifan would enjoy something like that in the morning, "but our daily specialty's hash browns with poached eggs in hollandaise sauce." Luhan becomes briefly confused with the terminologies that the cashier's telling him at this point, but he can't afford to stall any longer, the name itself was already making him hungry.
"I'll have the specialty." He hands the cashier a $20 bill, "Great! We'll bring it over to your table once it's ready."
Just when the cashier was about to go to the back of the bar to help work out his order, Luhan immediately interjects, "By any chance ...."
"Yes?" The man -- boy -- Luhan really thinks he comes off as a young child but the last thing he'd like to do is insult Minseok's employees, and that's just rude, "Is Minseok here?"
It takes the cashier quite a while to answer Luhan's question. At least until the guy behind him actually overhears their conversation, "Baekhyun, I think he's referring to Xiumin-hyung." The boy behind the cashier looked way taller than the one who just took Luhan's order, and he carried a huge smile with him. Luhan immediately thinks he sort of looks like a dork. His teeth were no exception to the rule, Luhan thinks he really takes good care of his teeth.
"Right, right. How could I forget!" The so-called boy named Baekhyun, who actually took Luhan's order, was slapping his forehead lightly, "Xiumin-hyung's just at the back, would you like me to call him?"
Luhan nods slightly, "If he isn't busy, then sure? Tell him Luhan's looking for him."
The next thing Luhan knows is that he can clearly see Baekhyun skipping off, while humming a tune to himself, all the way back to where Minseok was supposed to be working in.
A little while later and Baekhyun arrives at Luhan's table to serve him his breakfast. He doesn't realize he's already hungry until he takes a whiff of the smell coming from his plate and Baekhyun just revels at the sight of Luhan restraining himself from devouring the plate in public view.
"You like the smell, don't you? Kyungsoo-hyung has done a good job creating these recipes on his own, Xiumin-hyung really loves his work as a chef." Baekhyun lightly claps his hands in delight while Luhan rotates the plate around slowly to observe Kyungsoo's intricate details that are seen in the presentation of his breakfast. It's a simple breakfast; yet the presentation look gorgeous and looks even more expensive than what he's paid for originally.
"Thanks, Baekhyun." Luhan smiles lightly at him.
"No problem, enjoy your meal. I'll have your drink served in a while, Chanyeol's still working on it." Baekhyun heads off back to the front of the bar to take care of the line that's piling up, "I'll take care of you in a minute!" Baekhyun shouts at the person at the front of the line on the counter.
Luhan was about to inform Baekhyun honestly that he didn't order any drinks to go along with his breakfast. Then again, Minseok must've known from Baekhyun that he'd be around so he must've took the chance to ask Chanyeol to prepare some brewed coffee for him.
"He's so sweet." Luhan thinks to himself. Minseok's doing a lot to show his appreciation and interest in him, and he really seems to like it, honestly speaking.
---
While Luhan was too busy enjoying every aspect of his breakfast (he thinks the hollandaise sauce is amazing, and he should tell Kyungsoo that if he ever sees him - he should probably get a hold of him, wherever he is, before he leaves with Minseok), until Minseok gently taps Luhan's shoulder and sits on the vacant seat just right in front of Luhan.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, I had to work on something at the back for a while," Minseok looks exasperated although he still manages to carry a large smile and weariness doesn't seem to be a bother to him at all. Luhan probably thinks he's used to it enough that he could just shove it alongside the things he might not want to think about, which is perfectly possible for someone like him who runs a coffee shop that's busy from the moment it opens for breakfast until near-midnight hours where students come to stay and study.
"It's alright, I never knew you served breakfast either!" Luhan takes a huge bite from his plate and a part of him wishes that Minseok wouldn't be the type who would judge table manners - but Luhan was too hungry to restrain his hunger from the minute he took his first bite from the plate.
Minseok laughs lightly while he watches Luhan enjoy his mean a little bit too much, "I noticed you really enjoyed it, I'll let Kyungsoo know what you think before we head out, he's really going to appreciate that."
Luhan nods vigorously and continues to finish off his plate as neatly as possible, Minseok leans on the table and continues to watch the other man have his fill of breakfast.
Minseok and Luhan spend the rest of the day just walking around Downtown. At least not without Luhan getting the chance to talk to Kyungsoo about the fabulous breakfast that he was able to eat.
"Really? You like it?" Kyungsoo was medium-built for his age, and he and Minseok shared the same height. Kyungsoo looked more shy and clearly appeared to do better whenever he was on his own. His clear reaction seemed pretty rare in his case to even receive compliments like that about his food from strangers, let alone from people who were of the same nationality as well.
Luhan nods happily while Minseok continues to explain to the chef, "Apparently Luhan didn't know we served breakfast around here, but at least Baekhyun was so kind as to gesturing him that we do, and it's never an ordinary breakfast because you always come up with such ingenious combinations that others would've never thought of."
"Thanks, hyung." Kyungsoo wipes off the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his chef's jacket. It was only then it came to their realization that it was extremely humid inside; there were only a couple of exhausts in the kitchen that could only do so much to lessen the stuffy feeling in the room. Luhan wanted to escape right away after feeling as if he would suffocate from the lack of air at any minute.
"Well, I better get back to work. Plenty of your customers out there love the beignets."
"Beignets?"
"Beignets are simply doughnuts without holes in them. We serve them with three kinds of sauces: a creamy chocolate sauce, a Crème anglaise, which is a type of vanilla creme, and a sour cherry compote. Besides the regular doughnuts that we serve around here, people love the beignets because it gives them a chance to taste another kind of doughnut that not many people are familiar about."
"Damn, I have to come back for those, then," Luhan laughs to himself.
"Don't worry too much about that, I hear Xiumin-hyung makes a good batch of those, secretly speaking."
Before Luhan gets a chance to react, Kyungsoo gets called by one of his sous chefs asking for assistance and the young boy runs immediately back to the kitchen before he can even say goodbye to the both of them.
Minseok leads Luhan out of the coffee shop and says, "Kyungsoo's always busy, but he does a pretty good job at what he loves best - cooking."
---
It was quick enough for the two of them to get to Downtown from Minseok's coffee shop. They took the bus all the way to Waterfront and from there, Minseok knew exactly where to take Luhan, since he was the type who would prefer to look through eccentric stores and try something different for a change.
"Where are we going?" Luhan finds it oddly weird at the change of scenery. Compared to the tons of tall buildings around Downtown, all he sees are cobbled floors, vintage-looking lamp posts and tourists everywhere carrying cameras and sweaters brightly coloured red.
"You'll see," Minseok has his hand on Luhan's and he's pulling him closer so that he can easily see what's all around him - vintage stores, and plenty of them.
The two of them stop at a nearby intersection, where there was an equal distribution of classy restaurants filled with people dressed up for several occasions, vintage clothing stores that aren't filled with several people, just some who want to casually try on clothes without having to be bothered by the bustle that comes with shopping malls, and coffee shops that casually cater to people who feel like reading a book or just watch the people walking by outdoors.
"We call this Gastown, and from what I've read from your notebook, it seems that you've never been here before. It seemed like the perfect place for someone like you who cherishes the little things out there," Luhan takes a minute to take in the view, the people walking around who he could stereotypically refer to as hipsters, and others who just feel like walking around here on a cold afternoon would be the best thing to do.
"Minseok, it's perfect. I never thought you'd bring me to a place like this," Luhan takes Minseok's hand and the latter immediately knows what's coming, Luhan's going to drag him around Gastown to go Christmas shopping. The two of them are lucky enough to be in a place like this where finding anything eccentric is actually possible.
---
A couple of hours later, and several shopping bags that the two of them were currently carrying in their hands, they settled inside one of the many coffee shops that the quaint little neighborhood had to offer. Minseok had recommended it not only because he knew the people who worked there, but Luhan also found the interior design as very minimalistic and spaceous for such a place.
As the two of them settled inside, Minseok left Luhan to fix the things he bought inside his bag; he went to the counter to order something for himself and Luhan.
"Xiumin-hyung! I didn't know you'd be coming in today!" The cashier, Yixing, said to him.
"I brought a friend in with me tonight, he'll have a hot chocolate and I'll settle with a london fog," Minseok hands Yixing a $10 bill.
"Awesome, I'll throw in a couple of almond croissants too. On the house, for the two of you."
Minseok first met Yixing when they were still trainees under an old coffee shop when they were still teenagers. Minseok knew precisely how Yixing was a perfectionist at his trade, and every single cup of coffee he made was done with such precision, he always ended up disappointed with himself whenever the coffee he made ended up as too acidic or too watered down.
Back then, when the two of them were still struggling with the coffee business, Minseok was always there to be Yixing's wailing wall, if you will. Yixing always took solace in Minseok that it eventually came to the point where Yixing had relied on Minseok to seek reassurance and comfort, until the time came where the two of them were given two different job offers for their hard work and skill had their journey reached the end of the road.
As Minseok sat back down onto his chair and silently observed Luhan packing up the trinkets he bought into his bag neatly, his mind shifted back to what took place between him and Yixing 5 years ago, a few nights before Yixing had even prepared himself for the job offer of his lifetime, which eventually led him into opening his own coffee shop, the one Minseok and Luhan were in right at this moment.
---
"Minseok-hyung! What if they don't like me?" Yixing asks for the nth time, he drapes his blanket over his entire body so much that he looks like a superhero wrapping his cape around himself.
Minseok doesn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that Yixing keeps asking the same question again and again. He's probably thinking to himself that instilling Minseok's answers within him several times would change his mindset about going in for the interview and being tested for his skills in brewing coffee.
"Yixing, just remember that you don't have to fear anything at all. It's all in the mind; just show them the best that you can do." Minseok lays himself beside the wrapped Yixing and the two of them are basking in the coldness of the dorm room that Yixing's staying in.
Yixing asked Minseok to come over several times a few nights before the day of the interview and even though MInseok ended up staying around until the wee hours of the morning, and alongside countless nagging that Yixing needed a lot of rest so that he doesn't have to stress about the interview the next morning, they were never really heeded to. On the other hand, Minseok doesn't regret staying over at Yixing's place because that's when he realized how much he actually means to Yixing.
That very day of the interview, Minseok decides to drive Yixing's car and drop Yixing off at the office of the coffee shop, where his interview and demonstration would take place. Yixing's interview was supposedly scheduled at 11:30 AM. The time they reached the office was around 11:15 AM. Still early enough, but Yixing decided if he wanted to make a good impression, he should come in around 11:20 and settle himself in by then.
"You're your own worst enemy, Yixing," Minseok places his hands on Yixing's shoulders and looks at the younger's eyes, they're filled with worry and grief still. But there's a little hint in Yixing's eyes that tell a spark of hope, there's that determination that Minseok had helped him build inside him. After several nights of pep talk, Yixing understands that if he fails this, there will always be a second chance for him, and his skill is no doubt that there will be someone out there who will be willing to take him in and train him, if it's necessary.
Silence fills the car while the engine's dead. But it's the good kind of silence. Yixing kisses Minseok's forehead, a thing that they've always shared as good friends.
11:18 AM. It's time to go.
Minseok pats Yixing's back as the two of them know what they should do, Yixing alights the car and runs up the stairs to the office. The only thing that Minseok doesn't hear is Yixing whisper a "thank you" to Minseok, but he can't say it out loud because his throat is getting choked up from the nerves. It's understandable.
---
The moment Minseok snaps out of his reverie, he realizes Luhan already took the liberty of picking up their drinks after they've been called out several times. It wasn't much of a hassle for Luhan to know that something that had hot chocolate in their orders was for him and Minseok.
"Did you order these croissants? I was told they're being given to us on the house." Luhan takes a bite from one of the croissants and dusts off his hands from the powdered sugar afterwards.
"They're on the house, I happen to know the owner and he gave these for us to enjoy." Minseok takes a small sip from his cup and nods to himself slowly.
"That's very nice of them."
Minseok stays quiet and continues to watch Luhan as he prepares his writing materials and starts jotting down notes and stuff he learned from going around the vintage shops in Gastown. The elder finds it weird that his relationship with Yixing has changed ever since the two of them had parted ways. They never had a proper closure since then and after Yixing had kept himself busy after being accepted from his spectacular showcase of skill from the interview, Minseok knew things were about to change from there.
It was only when Yixing was successful and experienced enough to open his own coffee shop, and Minseok had his own as well, was probably the closure that they were seeking, but nothing else other than that.
"Minseok, are you okay?" Luhan stops writing momentarily. He looks at Minseok's eyes that were actually brimming with tears, and Minseok never even realized them because the next thing he does is dabbing a finger of his on the sides of his eyes and laughing when he saw tears making his fingers wet.
It's funny because he hasn't thought about this for such a long time and it was only now that his tears were coming out and he didn't even realize that this would happen.
Minseok wipes his tears gently with the tissue that came with his tea and laughs in relief, "I'm okay. It's nothing, Luhan. I was just thinking about something."
Luhan closes his notebook from there and holds Minseok's hand despite the small space of the table, "I'm not going to force you to tell me. But whatever that is bothering you, please don't hesitate to tell me." Minseok continues to stay silent despite Luhan's reassurance. "Because just like you promised that my secret is safe with you, so will yours be safe with me."
---
It eventually reaches the point where Minseok and Luhan had decided to stick around the coffee shop until the employees were busy fixing up the place and the customers were leaving one by one. They only realized the time had reached 9 PM when Yixing came over their table to tell them that they were about to close for the night.
After Yixing left the two of them to pack their things, Minseok could only say one thing to himself, "Shit, we haven't even eaten dinner yet."
Luhan replaces his notebooks and pens back inside his bag and settles it on his shoulders nicely enough, so that they're a snug fit, "You told me your previous love life and all you could think about right now is having dinner?"
Minseok briefly thinks how Luhan was right about what he just said. In a matter of hours and several more cups of tea (and hot chocolate for Luhan), Minseok never imagined himself to be telling his failed love life to Luhan, when they're not even in a relationship just yet. What even gave him the idea to divulge such personal information?
The two of them eventually leave the coffee shop and looked around aimlessly to see where they had to end up next, it was only 9 PM and in a neighborhood such as Gastown, the pubs and bars were only beginning to lighten up and the night has just begun for everyone who was nearby.
"I know the perfect place where we can have dinner, you don't mind drinking, right?" Minseok takes Luhan by the hand again and leads him down deeper into Gastown, as if the place wasn't large enough to be contained in a small area that wasn't too obvious from the outside.
Before Luhan could even answer, he and Minseok stop at the entrance of a vintage-looking bar that was extremely dim-lit inside. However, Luhan hadn't imagined the amount of people who were still inside and had changed the mood of the place from dreary to instant liveliness, had it not been for the failed lighting system.
The waiter of the pub leads them to a table somewhere upstairs inside, and as the two of them settled themselves in and were given the menu to choose from, Minseok took no time in choosing what he wanted the two of them to eat.
After their orders were taken and served on the table, Luhan couldn't help but continue the unfinished conversation that they had inside Yixing's coffee shop.
"So you and Yixing were pretty much a thing before you even started a business?"
"It goes way back to before Yixing and I were even trained baristas for our age. It had been that long and I barely even realized that we never considered each other as partners, but only very good friends that shared something much more than regular friends do."
Luhan takes a gulp from his beer bottle, "I understand, what I don't get now was how did Yixing even manage to just leave you all alone in the dust after he was taken in that coffee company you mentioned earlier? I mean it seems all too brutal for someone who looks like him; he barely looks like he could hurt an insect with that face."
"Luhan, looks can be deceiving. Up to this day, I still can't bring myself to ask him what motivated him to leave me all alone to begin with, so I just left it like that, and I'm pretty sure he had his suspicions the minute he saw the two of us together extremely happy."
The two of them nod to themselves in agreement, and only small talk took place for the remainder of their dinner. (Partly because Luhan really enjoyed whatever Minseok had ordered and the latter eventually took the liberty to explaining what were the things he ordered and what were the things that Luhan eventually ate.)
---
A couple of hours later, Luhan finds himself in Minseok's home. The latter invited Luhan in after Minseok realized that there was so much more that Luhan needed to know about his previous relationship with Yixing. As much as he didn't want to think about it anymore, he had to. The only way for Minseok to fully realize that he is able to get over his break-up with Yixing, will he be able to properly express his appreciation for Luhan. After all, Minseok brought this upon himself and he has to be the one who should be fixing this mess that he made, even if it means telling Luhan the entire story, because a part of him knows that Yixing would never do such a thing.
The two of them settled themselves on Minseok's bed. Besides accompanying themselves with a couple of bottles of beer, the two of them knew that this conversation would take a long time for each of them to digest.
"What else do I not know about your relationship?" Luhan helps himself and Minseok to opening each a bottle of beer for starters.
"After that day where I left Yixing for his interview and demonstration, I stayed back home and waited all night for at least a call or text from him, but he never sent me one. " Minseok said. He thought that maybe Yixing was too tired and stressed out after thinking about what might possibly happen in the interview or what he might be asked to do during the demonstration, so there's a possibility that Yixing might've slept in right after he came home from the interview. It's possible, and Minseok won't be angry at all if that was the case.
It turns out it wasn't.
What happened for a day, turned into a week, and eventually into a month. It's not to say that Minseok never tried; he actually did. He was dead-on persistent in sending Yixing a few text messages and a couple of missed calls every few days or so to remind him that he wanted to know what happened after the interview, or anything else that might've taken place ever since they've stopped talking. A part of Minseok felt that this action from Yixing had been too abrupt, and cutting him off at a crucial time where this interview determined Yixing's fate as a successful barista eventually took its toll on Minseok.
After three months of trying, Minseok had cut off all forms of communication with Yixing; he had already given up into persuading Yixing that he was still there; he still existed and he still loved Yixing whether the other was too reluctant to reciprocate his feelings or not.
Rejection was something that Minseok couldn't explain to himself, he had already been living with himself in solitude and now that rejection has come upon his life, he's considered himself lost ever since. The only saving grace that came to him was the opportunity for him to open his own coffee shop, and that had eventually led him to knowing Luhan.
"I had this hunch that you heard what I said the other night, about 'not knowing everything about me', Minseok ends his story by clearing up his parched throat and taking huge gulps from his beer bottle.
"Clearly, I heard it clearly. But I was too hesitant to ask why because maybe you didn't want to explain it, or you had other personal reasons for saying that." By now the two of them were inching towards each other, and thanks to the height difference, slowly Minseok founds his way into laying his head down onto Luhan's arm, and the other had taken the liberty of running his free hand through MInseok's hair. They didn't have to say anything anymore; they've said all that they needed and that the only thing necessary was that physical contact that asserted Luhan's concern for Minseok's emotional state.
By the time Minseok was already burying himself within Luhan's clothing, the latter immediately set aside the unconsumed beer bottles and the two of them bundled up in Minseok's bed. The two of them kept each other close to the point where Luhan could feel Minseok's heart rapidly beating and Minseok feels nothing else but Luhan's pulse.
---
There are moments where Minseok can't seem to understand the kind of divine providence that had allowed his and Luhan's paths to cross. Because as far as he knows, he's not the type who would commit himself to good deeds forever, even though other people see him as a genuinely kind person with a sincere heart that's always filled with good intentions. There's a sinister voice inside him asking if he truly deserves this: if he truly deserves Luhan slowly removing Minseok's layers of clothing one by one until the elder realizes that the only remaining piece of clothing on him, his boxers, were the only ones left on him.
How had this escalated so quickly? Minseok won't be able to answer that question coherently because his mind is partly filled with thoughts of unrequited love with Yixing, and the other seems to be focusing more on what was happening right now.
"Lu .. Luhan?" Minseok's voice travels out of his mouth like escaped breaths that mean nothing but sheer air that keeps his surroundings excessively humid.
Honestly speaking, not even Luhan knows what he's doing, and he's the one who initiated the idea of removing MInseok's clothes until he was left in his boxers.
"I'm here, Minseok." Luhan crawls back to the head of the bed, stealing kisses along Minseok's bare jaw, neck and collarbones. He decides to mark at least a small area on Minseok's neck, somewhere that's easily covered by his regular clothing. Luhan can't even begin to imagine how Yifan's going to freak out if he sees Minseok walking around the coffee shop with Luhan's mark on it.
Minseok sighs softly not because from relief that Luhan's there, but because he can't help himself from all of Luhan's minstrations that were slowly driving him crazy from pleasure.
"Luhan, please ..." Minseok breathes out softly, he can't even hear his own voice, let alone pleading for Luhan to stop properly without his breath hitching without warning.
Luhan had kept himself busy so far as to keeping himself under the covers and around the area of Minseok's boxers. He can't see from the darkness under the sheets but his fingers immediately sense that Minseok's boxers are slowly getting wet and that was always a good sign in this case.
The younger boy pulls down Minseok's boxers slowly, as if waiting for Minseok to react from how he's enjoying every inch of pleasure that runs through his bones. As Luhan revels in the sight of Minseok's cock a few seconds after he dragged out the wet boxers long enough for Minseok to softly complain about 'why isn't Luhan doing anything', Luhan immediately realizes that he's still fully clothed while Minseok isn't.
So unfair.
Luhan steps out of the bed momentarily to remove all his clothes and by the time he steps back into the bed with Minseok, Luhan takes a brief moment to take in the debauched beauty of Minseok just lying on the bed, covered in sweat all over. Despite Minseok looking too dead and tired to even make any kind of major movements, Luhan sneaks himself back beside Minseok and the two of them bask in the body heat.
---
The morning after leaves them even more debauched than the night before, the blanket's been discarded and found itself on the floor more than on the bed (thankfully Minseok keeps his blinds closed). Minseok and Luhan are still stuck to each other like glue. Despite being fully naked, Luhan has his faced buried along Minseok's hair and the elder is precociously tucked perfectly within Luhan's neck.
It was Christmas Eve, and Minseok's lucky that his coffee shop's closed on that day.
---
Breakfast is a different thing in Minseok's home, compared to having it in his coffee shop. He leaves Luhan dead asleep on the bed while he puts on some clothes and makes a fresh batch of hot chocolate for Luhan. While he waits for his coffee to brew up, Minseok approaches the bed quietly to wake up the sleeping Luhan.
"Luhan, wake up. It's 10 AM." As if telling the time would actually make a difference, Luhan turns around the bed groggily until Minseok lends him some spare clothes that he can wear while he's still in his place.
After Luhan got himself washed up and ready for breakfast, he didn't expect Minseok to make him a well-prepared breakfast. It wasn't the same dish that Kyungsoo had made in Minseok's coffee shop, but Luhan could easily notice the hard work that Minseok had released into making a simple plate of whole wheat pancakes with twice-smoked applewood bacon and two sunny side-ups on the side.
"Try the hot chocolate, it's something I haven't done in months but I personally make a good one, if I may say so." Luhan takes a good look at the cup of hot chocolate just placed beside his plate. He easily spots how Minseok intricately placed freshly-whipped cream and the chocolate shavings on top are so neat and tempting to drink.
For a moment Luhan briefly asks himself how on earth did Minseok manage to make all this in such a short span of time that Luhan was only able to wash his face and sober himself up from last night's events. Either way, Luhan shakes all those thoughts away from him for a while and takes a sip from his cup. The warmth of the chocolate wasn't too overwhelming, and in fact his eyes widen up upon the realization that the whipped cream has a hint of fresh vanilla bean in it, such sweetness.
As Luhan enjoys his cup of hot chocolate, Minseok settles himself beside him to watch the former eat his breakfast and see what he thinks. But for a moment, Luhan looks at Minseok with a wide grin and for a while there, Minseok thinks Luhan's a massive goofball for allowing himself to have a clump of whipped cream on one side of his lips.
The two of them share a brief kiss (partly because Minseok wants to try out his whipped cream and this is probably the least suspicious time where he could do that) and it's when Minseok realizes that perhaps this divine providence is something good after all.
a/n:
- many thanks to duijangs's prompt!
- this started off as a drabble here and some have suggested i continue it into a full fic.
- this is probably the longest fic i've ever written this year. it's nearing 10360 in word count.
- minseok's cafe described in this fic was inspired from 49th parallel roasters.
- yes they do serve doughnuts and beignets; the breakfast bit was my imagination.
- yixing's cafe was inspired by coffeebar, and it's a fantastic place.
- the pub that luhan and minseok ate at was inspired by six acres pub & resto.
- gastown and other places described here are all really in downtown vancouver.
- merry christmas!
pairing: xiumin/luhan (minseok/luhan in fic), past!xiumin/lay (minseok/yixing in fic)
rating: r
genre: romance, angst, coffee shop!au
warnings: somewhat non-explicit smut
summary: they both know that the perfect remedy to a cold winter's night is a cup of hot chocolate.
Minseok has been working in his neighborhood coffee shop for years. He's used to the life of being a barista. Freshly grinding coffee beans, weighing the beans so that each pot of brewed coffee taste as good as the previous one, maintaining the consistent taste that his coffee shop's always so proud of. Plus, he does all the work for melting their famous chocolate that gets stirred up by a machine every time. His personal favourite is always a cup of the coffee shop's hot chocolate.
Most of his customers frequently order their brewed coffee, since that's what they're famous for.
Until he meets a new guy that came around recently by the name of Luhan.
It was one of those shifts where Minseok had been asked to be a cashier for a certain time, he wasn't always in the front of the store, so eventually he had to get used to using the POS system again. Once he set his eyes on his next customer, a young man whose youth was way ahead of him, his eyes large like a deer's, and he carried with himself this meek smile that made Minseok's heart skip a beat unknowingly.
"And what will you be having?" Minseok asks kindly, it's always that same question he asks every customer whenever he's asked to be the cashier for a shift or two.
It takes Luhan some time to view the menu, their extensive menu that's usually filled with foreign names for their freshly ground coffee. Unfortunately, non-caffeinated stuff like tea and hot chocolate, was always on other menus, so they're often overlooked if it's one's first time in the coffee shop.
It was in the middle of a frigidly-cold December, the winds are harsh, the sidewalks and streets are filled with slushy snow, and the perfect remedy there was always a good cup of coffee, or for Luhan's preferences, a good cup of hot chocolate.
"Do you guys serve ...... drinks other than coffee?" It takes Luhan some time to spit out the words, because for someone like him who finds it odd that everyone in the coffee shop's drinking coffee (why else would it be called a coffee shop, then?), he finds himself weird to be asking the cashier if he could have something other than coffee.
"We have teas, of course. There's also my personal favourite, hot chocolate, which barely anyone really orders anyways." Minseok admits, but it's true. If MInseok had to conduct a survey, 90% of the customers in his coffee shop (did I forget to mention that Minseok owned the place?) always stick to coffee, even though their hot chocolate was always a special surprise just waiting to be discovered by at least one of the curious customers out there, and it just had to be Luhan who was more than willing to try it out.
"Great, hot chocolate's my favourite. I'll have that, then."
Minseok punches in his order, and tells the assigned barista behind him, who just happened to be standing beside Minseok to see what was going on and why was Minseok taking so long to punch in Luhan's order, was a tall guy by the name of Yifan.
"He'll have a hot chocolate? That's a surprise, barely anyone even orders that." Yifan scoffs at Minseok, without even taking note that Luhan was still about to pay for his order.
Luhan laughs meekly at Yifan's comment, "Well that's about to change then, in case I come to like your hot chocolate."
Yifan hums in affirmation, "Fair enough, then."
While Yifan goes to the back where the baristas make the drinks and starts working on Luhan's order. After Luhan pays, he sets himself aside to one of the seats near the bar. He remembers when he first arrived in the area. His place was a couple of blocks away from the coffee shop itself so it was always within reach. Then again, he never realized the booming popularity of the place until he kept seeing people frequently coming in and out of the coffee shop, acting as if it was always their frequent place to stay in.
Now he understands why so many people in his neighborhood frequent the place, it felt like home even though Luhan's been used to his place for several weeks now. The minute he got in the coffee shop, it was so warm, a huge contrast from the cold weather outside that immediately had him shedding his clothes layer by layer. Plus, the customers and employees got along well as if they've been friends for a long time. Everyone got along well with each other, he sees people showing good manners everywhere and even to people he's never met before and he's hell sure they wouldn't even talk to him given the opportunity.
His thoughts are interrupted the minute he hears Yifan calling out for his name and his drink, he sees a lone cup on the bar and from the looks of it, no one else was getting up and getting the drink, so that must be his.
Luhan hesitantly gets up and walks over to the receiving end of the bar, he slowly takes his cup of hot chocolate. He doesn't even realize that Yifan is telling him something, which nearly causes Luhan to shake while holding the hot beverage.
"Enjoy your drink, and do let us know if you enjoy it. We keep hearing it's so famous here but we don't even understand why it's so famous. Possibly on the verge of being overrated," he scoffs at Luhan.
Luhan sets his cup down slowly on the bar, "I'm sure it isn't too bad." He takes a small sip from the cup and he's briefly overwhelmed by the heat of the drink but on the other hand he immediately understands why this very beverage he's drinking was considered a hidden gem of the coffee shop. Luhan thinks he isn't an expert at drinking hot chocolate but the taste itself is enough to explain how good it is. The chocolate was rich, very rich, and it's good since it isn't too sweet and it has a lot of body in it. Possibly drinking a tall glass of that very same drink on an empty stomach would be enough for a meal.
Luhan slowly nods to himself and hums in approval while he carries his cup back to his table.
--
It was around two weeks after Luhan came by Minseok's coffee shop when the former first drank their hot chocolate. Still, Luhan couldn't forget the amazing taste of the drink and he was surprised at how it wasn't even popular with the customers themselves, especially for someone like himself whose first time there was spent really well.
Other than the times where Luhan decides to spend his free time sitting around Minseok's coffee shop, he actually likes to walk around his neighborhood as well as other places in the city to see new places that he might find interesting. Luhan treats himself like a tourist in the city he's staying in, although he's been living in the city for a couple of months already. The idea of feeling like a tourist in places he's never been to never fails to amaze him anyways because there's a hidden spirit somewhere in Luhan's heart that tells him by instinct the good places that he should visit. He does, eventually, and he keeps note of all of those places in a notebook he always carries with him wherever he goes.
After spending a long day out on his own, even though the weather seems to be too bipolar for his taste. He immediately retreats to the coffee shop he's so used to visiting every now and then. Sometimes Luhan can't help but smile at the fact that the minute he gets in the coffee shop, Yifan immediately spot him from afar and calls his attention. Without a doubt Yifan would immediately spot Luhan, he's pretty much the tallest barista in the team and it's no wonder the other baristas in the coffee shop know that he's "Yifan and Minseok's friend".
Luhan sits himself at the usual spot and feels like it was just yesterday that he first came into this coffee shop and ordered a cup of hot chocolate for himself. Although the customers who usually visit the coffee shop frequently change around him, Luhan can't help but notice the amount of people who are burying themselves in either a book, or incessant amounts of schoolwork, combined with a laptop to make everything worse that would make Luhan think that this is why so many people come by and stick around Minseok's coffee place; it's grown itself into a haven for students, or people who generally want to shut themselves out from the hustle and bustle of the world and immerse themselves in a good book or a scholarly article or two.
Luhan's not going to lie, it always feels good to immerse the self in a good book at lease once in a while, it's a constant reminder that your imagination can always take you to different places you've never even thought of before. It's actually amazing what the mind can think of. Pair that capacity with a good book, and you're all set in imagining a world of your own without any limits.
It happens once again in which Luhan's own thoughts get interrupted as soon as he sees Minseok's pale-coloured wrist lay itself near the table; he's just serving Luhan his cup of hot chocolate, "You forgot to pick this up at the counter, I'm assuming you're deep buried within your thoughts, again?"
Luhan snaps out of his reverie quite immediately and his eyes widen at Minseok by instinct, "Y-yes, I'm sorry about that!"
Minseok shakes his head in consolation and softly laughs at him in the process and gestures at the empty seat right in front of Luhan, "No worries, mind if I sit?"
Luhan nods frantically as Minseok seats himself, "What are you so busy about?" as he watches Luhan flip through his notebook unceasingly. The sound coming from the fluttering pages can easily tell that Luhan has been busy writing - a lot. His handwriting's clearly etched onto the paper and the hardness of his writing style leaves indentations on every empty page that he leaves for the rest of his notes.
Luhan closes his notebook with a soft thud and passes it to Minseok, "It's my travel journal. I take it with me everywhere I go and I constantly record the places that I discover and visit along the way, there are also small notes on the people I meet and the things I learn and the trinkets I see," he takes a soft sip of his hot chocolate and heaves a sigh because he's hasn't drank this for quite a while and it's such a relief to be drinking it again.
Minseok nods to himself, he never imagined Luhan to be interested in things like this. He secretly finds it cute, but he tries to hide his happiness in for fear that the boy sitting right in front of him would immediately notice him blushing (that is, if he were) from the thought of Luhan walking around the city and trying everything that caught his eye.
Minseok briefly placed his hand on the cover of the notebook, feeling the smoothness of the cover as his eyes gradually follow from observing even the minuscule of Luhan's prominent features; his doe-like eyes that seem to widen every time Luhan takes a look at him, that large smile that Luhan never fails to carry with him everywhere, and skin so flawless as if age never even laid a hand on it, he was as young as he could be, until his eyes fell on the cover which was just a plain-coloured notebook that didn't seem too extravagant for something to be treated as a travel journal.
Luhan seemed hesitant for a few seconds, probably because no one he's met before was ever interested in reading what Luhan ever had to say about the places he visited and the people he met and all the discoveries he found along the way. Heck, Minseok never even bothered to ask about Luhan's roots and how he managed to find this place because he's very sure he's never seen Luhan before in the neighborhood; that quiet perks up Minseok's curiosity just as Luhan was about to answer his question.
"I've never really met anyone who would be interested in reading my journal," Luhan's voice draws soft, his hand slowly comes up from underneath the table to move itself closer to the cover of the notebook, just a few millimeters near Minseok's fingers, just so they're not touching each other, "but you're very welcome to."
Luhan's and Minseok's fingers are close to each other, the words Luhan just spoke out were by no means hesitant, unlike the phrase he had previously said, but there was a hint of trust, because the journal seemed like a world away from Luhan's current state of mind and it seemed so fragile enough that anyone else besides Minseok who would read the words Luhan writes along these lines might just be enough reason for Luhan to seek another place for solace - to keep himself into this world he calls his own.
Little by little, Luhan's fingers remain on the other side of the cover of the notebook, as Minseok's fingers slowly move its way until it manages to settle itself on top of Luhan's. Minseok doesn't take hold of Luhan's fingers until at least a few seconds later in which Luhan's body temperature immediately shifts from warm to freezing because he's suddenly afraid - not at the contact, but the question that remains underneath the surface; underneath the contact. As soon as Minseok shifts from his fingers being on top of Luhan's, to his palm moving underneath Luhan's fingers. Minseok wraps his hand around Luhan's cold fingers to lend him his own warmth, as if to answer the question that remains between them.
"Your secret is safe with me."
It takes them a couple of hours, not to mention several cups of hot chocolate that it might be deemed illegal for a person to drink even that much hot chocolate in one day.
Yifan comes out from the bar and sets aside Luhan and Minseok's fifth-or-so cup of hot chocolate and sneers at them as if automatically, "Are the two of you still reading through his notebook?" We're 10 minutes to closing, Baozi."
Luhan slams the cover shut on Minseok's fingers while they were lazily scrolling through Luhan's words, his handwriting looked as if they were written with a heavy hand and the words were nearly etched onto the surface of the notebook. As a result, the pages nearly wrinkled from the weight of his words.
Minseok looked up at Yifan while his hands were still sandwiched from the cover of Luhan's notebook, "Really? I never even took note of the time, shit."
"Wait, wait, did he just call you 'baozi'?" Luhan stares at both Yifan and Minseok and for a second there Luhan think he just saw Yifan steal a small laugh for himself but he immediately hid it by staring back at Luhan.
Minseok laughs at Luhan's tone, "Yeah, he did. He calls me that whenever he wants me to be serious. Plus he got that name for me because he told me that I do look like a baozi."
Yifan interjects, "Correction. Your face is as chubby as a baozi."
Luhan laughs and Minseok clicks his tongue at Yifan for the reminder, "I lost some weight, don't forget that!"
Yifan mockingly laughs at Minseok as the two of them race back to the bar and fix out all of the things for closing time. Meanwhile, Luhan sits on the chair still and that's when he realizes that Yifan was right, he hadn't even taken note of the time that had passed ever since Minseok was reading out the notes with Luhan, just so he could explain things that weren't so clear to Minseok and at the same time Minseok can give Luhan his own comments on what he thought about his writing.
One thing that Luhan couldn't help but notice during the whole thing, though, was that he was beginning to admire how Minseok was always so calm with Luhan, but at the same time there was this side to Minseok that held comic relief, especially whenever Yifan always came around and started picking on Minseok. While the two of them were reading Luhan's journal, there were moments where Luhan stopped to notice the finer details in Minseok's face. His eyelashes were unusually longer for a man like him, but his skin was like porcelain, it looked so smooth and longed to be touched, but makeup was golden and would do wonders in hiding scars. But still, Luhan immediately noticed the acne scars on one side of Minseok's cheek and Luhan grimaced to himself because briefly he thought about Minseok carrying that with him forever and that was one imperfection that made Luhan's heart melt at the thought that Minseok was human - he wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for Luhan.
Nothing else seemed more truthful than what Luhan's heart was telling him as if it were obvious.
The events that continued during the same night seemed like forever for Luhan. After Minseok and Yifan were able to fix up everything as they closed the shop, Luhan couldn't do anything else but wait for the two of them to finish. Of course, at the same time it didn't seem right that Luhan was staying after closing hours even though two of the staff members already knew him at a personal level.
It was nearing midnight and Luhan left the coffee shop after Yifan told the two of them that he has to catch his ride home. Luhan never expected Yifan to be the type who would live so far into the city just so he could work in a coffee shop whose hours were this late. Then again, anyone could use a good job if it paid well and one of its benefits was to certainly serve customers a good cup of coffee for their time. Minseok on the other hand was more than willing to walk with Luhan on the way home. Especially since his house was also along the neighborhood and since he didn't have a car of his own, he thinks it'd be nice to walk with Luhan on the way back. Besides, walking alone at this time of night plus with a weather like this was sure to make anyone uncomfortable, regardless of their clothes keeping them warm for the most part.
Luhan didn't mind for the most part, he liked the company anyways.
Luhan's house was at least 4 blocks away from Minseok's coffee shop, but Minseok's was just 2 or so blocks away. Bracing themselves for the cold weather outside, Minseok turns off the heaters in the coffee shop, locks up the doors and prepares to leave with Luhan accompanying him.
"Thanks for coming into the shop today, Luhan. It was good to have someone to talk to despite the huge workload that Yifan and I have to fill up everyday," Minseok tells him, his ragged breathing was clearly adjusting to the cold weather with every breath fogging up the space between them.
"It's no problem, I'm happy you were also willing to read my journal, too." Luhan straightens out the beanie Minseok puts on with his gloves. But to no avail, the thick gloves weare clearly not helping because the beanie comes onto his head awkwardly and Luhan laughs at his attempt to try and fix the angle of it on his head.
"I hate it when you have to put on anything on your head and then your thick gloves aren't helping out because they're too thick." Minseok clicks his tongue and tries to fix his beanie, still. Meanwhile Luhan's standing a head taller beside him and easily fixes the beanie on Minseok's head.
"That was no problem at all. Besides, I found it really interesting and you have a good eye for the peculiar things out there." The two of them start making their way uphill and on their way home.
It takes them a couple of minutes to get settled with the weather outside, in contrast with the warm heat that was always comforting to the both of them whenever they were inside the coffee shop.
"Do you," Minseok starts off by stuttering a bit but he regains his composure almost immediately, "have any plans for tomorrow?" For a minute there those words seemed so foreign to him, almost as if he was worried that Luhan might not reciprocate the same intention that he has at this moment.
The two of them stop in their tracks, Luhan only begins to realize that snow has started to fall. He pulls out his hand and tries to capture some snowflakes onto his hand. Luhan briefly looks up to check whether this has been going on ever since they've left the coffee shop or has it just started. Perhaps that was the Heaven's way of saying there was something going on between them but neither of them have realized it yet.
Luhan brushes off the snowflakes from his hand onto his jacket and looks back at Minseok, surprised at his sudden inquiry, "I don't think so? Do you have anything in mind?"
The two of them stare at each other for a couple of minutes, possibly to search for answers in each other's eyes. At least until Minseok shakes his head a couple of times, "I have to be at the coffee shop at least until lunch, you think you can wait until then? We can have lunch somewhere else if you'd like."
Luhan nods his head in reply and gives Minseok his signature eyesmile, setting off fireworks inside Minseok's head immediately. The two of them continue walking until they reach the entrance of Luhan's apartment. However, the two of them remain standing just in front of the doors for a few minutes.
"I really mean it, Minseok. I appreciate what you said when I was hesitant to let you read my journal, I found it really ..." he lets the words spill out of his mind profusely without taking any second-thoughts for it. There must've been something in the winter air that makes him fall under word vomit but it feels oddly good somehow, "touching."
They remained outside for a few minutes more until Luhan realizes it's been nearly an hour since they've been staying outside and he can clearly feel it the minute he tries to breathe through his nose -- he can't even feel his own nose from the cold weather.
"You should hurry in; wouldn't want you to get sick!" Minseok hastily pushes him to the intercom panel right beside the entrance doors so that Luhan can find it easier to scan his keyfob and get in quickly.
"How about you?" Minseok forgot to even mention to Luhan how he's going home, because he didn't tell him that his place was just a few blocks away from Luhan's apartment, therefore making it easy for the two of them to see each other at any time; their meetups don't necessarily have to be limited to the coffee shop itself.
"I live just a few blocks away from your place, so it's no worries. Besides, there aren't any cars along the streets anymore so it's safe to say that I can run along the streets until I get home." Minseok rubs both his palms against each other, the fabric of his gloves trying to create a minuscule amount of heat even though at the back of his mind, Minseok knows this is just the nerves getting to him because he really likes Luhan and a part of him just wants to scramble away back to his humble home and dwell on the fact that he was able to invite him out for lunch tomorrow.
"Really? You never told me that." Luhan scrambles through his pockets to find his keyfob while his eyes are still fixed on Minseok's feeble gesture.
"You don't know a lot about me." Minseok shyly looks down at his feet, his voice getting softer and suddenly even the wind's louder than his voice.
Luckily for him, Luhan doesn't hear what he says and he slaps the keyfob onto the scanner, a small light emits from the scanner and the door is unlocked for Luhan.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" Luhan asks through the doorway, still holding out a bit just so he could hear Minseok's reply while the other half of his body remains heated inside the lobby of his apartment.
"Sure. Feel free to drop by at the coffee shop so that you can wait for me if you'd like." Minseok waves a goodbye to Luhan and sets off slowly, at least until Minseok can see Luhan pressing the "Up" button on the elevator and briefly walking back and forth to the mirrors near the doorway to fix his hair for a bit, then that's when Minseok walks briskly back to his apartment.
Meanwhile, Luhan stands in front of the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. He thinks briefly about what Minseok said to himself softly about 'not knowing much about him' and tries to think about what that would mean.
For sure only time can tell, but for now he has a date to think about.
---
Pretty much the next day went by like a breeze. Luhan woke up early the next morning to see the sun shining outside, which is pretty rare for the winter season, and he could easily spot the remnants of last night's snowfall on his balcony slowly turning into slush from the heat of the sun.
But of course he easily realizes that it won't be that warm outside; he'll still be overwhelmed by the winter chill even though there isn't any wind outside to prove his theory.
For a guy like Luhan, he never has to think too much about what he has to wear simply because he feels that it's one of the perks of being a guy to begin with; you don't have to overthink about the clothes you want to wear for the day. Simply put; it's easy enough for him to don on a simple shirt and a thick coat to warm him up and he doesn't have to worry about the layers in between. Unlike other people who have to think about the billions of undershirts they have to wear in between their clothes and it can be such a hassle for them to take them all off at the end of the day and it just piles up the laundry, you know?
At least it isn't too complicated for him. He easily puts on a plain shirt and buttons up a flannel shirt on top, and a thick utility coat to keep him warm. He takes a brief glance at the clock to realize that it's only roughly 9:30 in the morning; he remembers Minseok telling him that he still has to stay in the coffee shop at least until lunch time and Luhan think about what he's going to do for the remainder of his time.
He steps out of his apartment immediately because his heart's set on knowing what he should do; have breakfast at Minseok's coffee shop.
Luhan has to admit, while he was admiring his daily walk to the coffee shop, he never really asked about their breakfast and whether it was even worth trying or not. On the other hand, he never really took the time to admire how beautiful everything seemed outside his place in the mornings because he sees huge clumps of snow sprawled on the concrete and even though he has boots on to spare his feet from the cold slush, he wants to enjoy that feeling of having to play with the snow for once. But not right now when the snow he's looking at looks mixed with melted snow and dirt from the wheels of cars that have rode past them countless times.
He eventually makes his way to Minseok's coffee shop, and sees a couple of new guys working at the bar, none of which know him by name or by face at all. Luhan immediately remembers the first time he's been in the coffee shop where he first met Yifan and Minseok on that very day. He remembers stepping inside and feeling overwhelmed by the warmth of the great big fireplace at the center of the room. Clearly he remembers seeing everyone's coats hung up on the hooks provided on the walls, because they can't help but remove their coats; it was just too warm inside not to. Luhan didn't complain about the heat, he loved the heat that the coffee shop always brought to him, in contrast to the cold winds outside, any sensible person would love to just crowd himself over this massive amount of heat and just walk away happily afterwards.
He takes a seat somewhere at the front of the coffee shop for once, so that he's easily facing the street right outside the store. He leaves his things by his seat and goes to the counter and asks about their daily breakfast.
"Do you guys serve breakfast here?" Luhan asks, while his hands are fiddling inside his pockets, looking for cash that he could spend on for a decent meal in the morning.
"We sure do!" Luhan gets taken back once the person replies to him looks so feminine and yet carries himself well as a man. Still, he can't help but notice how feminine his fingers look and Luhan becomes a bit concerned by how his own hands look.
"We have pancakes with bacon," A Canadian classic, Luhan tells himself. At the back of his mind, he's sure to think Yifan would enjoy something like that in the morning, "but our daily specialty's hash browns with poached eggs in hollandaise sauce." Luhan becomes briefly confused with the terminologies that the cashier's telling him at this point, but he can't afford to stall any longer, the name itself was already making him hungry.
"I'll have the specialty." He hands the cashier a $20 bill, "Great! We'll bring it over to your table once it's ready."
Just when the cashier was about to go to the back of the bar to help work out his order, Luhan immediately interjects, "By any chance ...."
"Yes?" The man -- boy -- Luhan really thinks he comes off as a young child but the last thing he'd like to do is insult Minseok's employees, and that's just rude, "Is Minseok here?"
It takes the cashier quite a while to answer Luhan's question. At least until the guy behind him actually overhears their conversation, "Baekhyun, I think he's referring to Xiumin-hyung." The boy behind the cashier looked way taller than the one who just took Luhan's order, and he carried a huge smile with him. Luhan immediately thinks he sort of looks like a dork. His teeth were no exception to the rule, Luhan thinks he really takes good care of his teeth.
"Right, right. How could I forget!" The so-called boy named Baekhyun, who actually took Luhan's order, was slapping his forehead lightly, "Xiumin-hyung's just at the back, would you like me to call him?"
Luhan nods slightly, "If he isn't busy, then sure? Tell him Luhan's looking for him."
The next thing Luhan knows is that he can clearly see Baekhyun skipping off, while humming a tune to himself, all the way back to where Minseok was supposed to be working in.
A little while later and Baekhyun arrives at Luhan's table to serve him his breakfast. He doesn't realize he's already hungry until he takes a whiff of the smell coming from his plate and Baekhyun just revels at the sight of Luhan restraining himself from devouring the plate in public view.
"You like the smell, don't you? Kyungsoo-hyung has done a good job creating these recipes on his own, Xiumin-hyung really loves his work as a chef." Baekhyun lightly claps his hands in delight while Luhan rotates the plate around slowly to observe Kyungsoo's intricate details that are seen in the presentation of his breakfast. It's a simple breakfast; yet the presentation look gorgeous and looks even more expensive than what he's paid for originally.
"Thanks, Baekhyun." Luhan smiles lightly at him.
"No problem, enjoy your meal. I'll have your drink served in a while, Chanyeol's still working on it." Baekhyun heads off back to the front of the bar to take care of the line that's piling up, "I'll take care of you in a minute!" Baekhyun shouts at the person at the front of the line on the counter.
Luhan was about to inform Baekhyun honestly that he didn't order any drinks to go along with his breakfast. Then again, Minseok must've known from Baekhyun that he'd be around so he must've took the chance to ask Chanyeol to prepare some brewed coffee for him.
"He's so sweet." Luhan thinks to himself. Minseok's doing a lot to show his appreciation and interest in him, and he really seems to like it, honestly speaking.
---
While Luhan was too busy enjoying every aspect of his breakfast (he thinks the hollandaise sauce is amazing, and he should tell Kyungsoo that if he ever sees him - he should probably get a hold of him, wherever he is, before he leaves with Minseok), until Minseok gently taps Luhan's shoulder and sits on the vacant seat just right in front of Luhan.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, I had to work on something at the back for a while," Minseok looks exasperated although he still manages to carry a large smile and weariness doesn't seem to be a bother to him at all. Luhan probably thinks he's used to it enough that he could just shove it alongside the things he might not want to think about, which is perfectly possible for someone like him who runs a coffee shop that's busy from the moment it opens for breakfast until near-midnight hours where students come to stay and study.
"It's alright, I never knew you served breakfast either!" Luhan takes a huge bite from his plate and a part of him wishes that Minseok wouldn't be the type who would judge table manners - but Luhan was too hungry to restrain his hunger from the minute he took his first bite from the plate.
Minseok laughs lightly while he watches Luhan enjoy his mean a little bit too much, "I noticed you really enjoyed it, I'll let Kyungsoo know what you think before we head out, he's really going to appreciate that."
Luhan nods vigorously and continues to finish off his plate as neatly as possible, Minseok leans on the table and continues to watch the other man have his fill of breakfast.
Minseok and Luhan spend the rest of the day just walking around Downtown. At least not without Luhan getting the chance to talk to Kyungsoo about the fabulous breakfast that he was able to eat.
"Really? You like it?" Kyungsoo was medium-built for his age, and he and Minseok shared the same height. Kyungsoo looked more shy and clearly appeared to do better whenever he was on his own. His clear reaction seemed pretty rare in his case to even receive compliments like that about his food from strangers, let alone from people who were of the same nationality as well.
Luhan nods happily while Minseok continues to explain to the chef, "Apparently Luhan didn't know we served breakfast around here, but at least Baekhyun was so kind as to gesturing him that we do, and it's never an ordinary breakfast because you always come up with such ingenious combinations that others would've never thought of."
"Thanks, hyung." Kyungsoo wipes off the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his chef's jacket. It was only then it came to their realization that it was extremely humid inside; there were only a couple of exhausts in the kitchen that could only do so much to lessen the stuffy feeling in the room. Luhan wanted to escape right away after feeling as if he would suffocate from the lack of air at any minute.
"Well, I better get back to work. Plenty of your customers out there love the beignets."
"Beignets?"
"Beignets are simply doughnuts without holes in them. We serve them with three kinds of sauces: a creamy chocolate sauce, a Crème anglaise, which is a type of vanilla creme, and a sour cherry compote. Besides the regular doughnuts that we serve around here, people love the beignets because it gives them a chance to taste another kind of doughnut that not many people are familiar about."
"Damn, I have to come back for those, then," Luhan laughs to himself.
"Don't worry too much about that, I hear Xiumin-hyung makes a good batch of those, secretly speaking."
Before Luhan gets a chance to react, Kyungsoo gets called by one of his sous chefs asking for assistance and the young boy runs immediately back to the kitchen before he can even say goodbye to the both of them.
Minseok leads Luhan out of the coffee shop and says, "Kyungsoo's always busy, but he does a pretty good job at what he loves best - cooking."
---
It was quick enough for the two of them to get to Downtown from Minseok's coffee shop. They took the bus all the way to Waterfront and from there, Minseok knew exactly where to take Luhan, since he was the type who would prefer to look through eccentric stores and try something different for a change.
"Where are we going?" Luhan finds it oddly weird at the change of scenery. Compared to the tons of tall buildings around Downtown, all he sees are cobbled floors, vintage-looking lamp posts and tourists everywhere carrying cameras and sweaters brightly coloured red.
"You'll see," Minseok has his hand on Luhan's and he's pulling him closer so that he can easily see what's all around him - vintage stores, and plenty of them.
The two of them stop at a nearby intersection, where there was an equal distribution of classy restaurants filled with people dressed up for several occasions, vintage clothing stores that aren't filled with several people, just some who want to casually try on clothes without having to be bothered by the bustle that comes with shopping malls, and coffee shops that casually cater to people who feel like reading a book or just watch the people walking by outdoors.
"We call this Gastown, and from what I've read from your notebook, it seems that you've never been here before. It seemed like the perfect place for someone like you who cherishes the little things out there," Luhan takes a minute to take in the view, the people walking around who he could stereotypically refer to as hipsters, and others who just feel like walking around here on a cold afternoon would be the best thing to do.
"Minseok, it's perfect. I never thought you'd bring me to a place like this," Luhan takes Minseok's hand and the latter immediately knows what's coming, Luhan's going to drag him around Gastown to go Christmas shopping. The two of them are lucky enough to be in a place like this where finding anything eccentric is actually possible.
---
A couple of hours later, and several shopping bags that the two of them were currently carrying in their hands, they settled inside one of the many coffee shops that the quaint little neighborhood had to offer. Minseok had recommended it not only because he knew the people who worked there, but Luhan also found the interior design as very minimalistic and spaceous for such a place.
As the two of them settled inside, Minseok left Luhan to fix the things he bought inside his bag; he went to the counter to order something for himself and Luhan.
"Xiumin-hyung! I didn't know you'd be coming in today!" The cashier, Yixing, said to him.
"I brought a friend in with me tonight, he'll have a hot chocolate and I'll settle with a london fog," Minseok hands Yixing a $10 bill.
"Awesome, I'll throw in a couple of almond croissants too. On the house, for the two of you."
Minseok first met Yixing when they were still trainees under an old coffee shop when they were still teenagers. Minseok knew precisely how Yixing was a perfectionist at his trade, and every single cup of coffee he made was done with such precision, he always ended up disappointed with himself whenever the coffee he made ended up as too acidic or too watered down.
Back then, when the two of them were still struggling with the coffee business, Minseok was always there to be Yixing's wailing wall, if you will. Yixing always took solace in Minseok that it eventually came to the point where Yixing had relied on Minseok to seek reassurance and comfort, until the time came where the two of them were given two different job offers for their hard work and skill had their journey reached the end of the road.
As Minseok sat back down onto his chair and silently observed Luhan packing up the trinkets he bought into his bag neatly, his mind shifted back to what took place between him and Yixing 5 years ago, a few nights before Yixing had even prepared himself for the job offer of his lifetime, which eventually led him into opening his own coffee shop, the one Minseok and Luhan were in right at this moment.
---
"Minseok-hyung! What if they don't like me?" Yixing asks for the nth time, he drapes his blanket over his entire body so much that he looks like a superhero wrapping his cape around himself.
Minseok doesn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that Yixing keeps asking the same question again and again. He's probably thinking to himself that instilling Minseok's answers within him several times would change his mindset about going in for the interview and being tested for his skills in brewing coffee.
"Yixing, just remember that you don't have to fear anything at all. It's all in the mind; just show them the best that you can do." Minseok lays himself beside the wrapped Yixing and the two of them are basking in the coldness of the dorm room that Yixing's staying in.
Yixing asked Minseok to come over several times a few nights before the day of the interview and even though MInseok ended up staying around until the wee hours of the morning, and alongside countless nagging that Yixing needed a lot of rest so that he doesn't have to stress about the interview the next morning, they were never really heeded to. On the other hand, Minseok doesn't regret staying over at Yixing's place because that's when he realized how much he actually means to Yixing.
That very day of the interview, Minseok decides to drive Yixing's car and drop Yixing off at the office of the coffee shop, where his interview and demonstration would take place. Yixing's interview was supposedly scheduled at 11:30 AM. The time they reached the office was around 11:15 AM. Still early enough, but Yixing decided if he wanted to make a good impression, he should come in around 11:20 and settle himself in by then.
"You're your own worst enemy, Yixing," Minseok places his hands on Yixing's shoulders and looks at the younger's eyes, they're filled with worry and grief still. But there's a little hint in Yixing's eyes that tell a spark of hope, there's that determination that Minseok had helped him build inside him. After several nights of pep talk, Yixing understands that if he fails this, there will always be a second chance for him, and his skill is no doubt that there will be someone out there who will be willing to take him in and train him, if it's necessary.
Silence fills the car while the engine's dead. But it's the good kind of silence. Yixing kisses Minseok's forehead, a thing that they've always shared as good friends.
11:18 AM. It's time to go.
Minseok pats Yixing's back as the two of them know what they should do, Yixing alights the car and runs up the stairs to the office. The only thing that Minseok doesn't hear is Yixing whisper a "thank you" to Minseok, but he can't say it out loud because his throat is getting choked up from the nerves. It's understandable.
---
The moment Minseok snaps out of his reverie, he realizes Luhan already took the liberty of picking up their drinks after they've been called out several times. It wasn't much of a hassle for Luhan to know that something that had hot chocolate in their orders was for him and Minseok.
"Did you order these croissants? I was told they're being given to us on the house." Luhan takes a bite from one of the croissants and dusts off his hands from the powdered sugar afterwards.
"They're on the house, I happen to know the owner and he gave these for us to enjoy." Minseok takes a small sip from his cup and nods to himself slowly.
"That's very nice of them."
Minseok stays quiet and continues to watch Luhan as he prepares his writing materials and starts jotting down notes and stuff he learned from going around the vintage shops in Gastown. The elder finds it weird that his relationship with Yixing has changed ever since the two of them had parted ways. They never had a proper closure since then and after Yixing had kept himself busy after being accepted from his spectacular showcase of skill from the interview, Minseok knew things were about to change from there.
It was only when Yixing was successful and experienced enough to open his own coffee shop, and Minseok had his own as well, was probably the closure that they were seeking, but nothing else other than that.
"Minseok, are you okay?" Luhan stops writing momentarily. He looks at Minseok's eyes that were actually brimming with tears, and Minseok never even realized them because the next thing he does is dabbing a finger of his on the sides of his eyes and laughing when he saw tears making his fingers wet.
It's funny because he hasn't thought about this for such a long time and it was only now that his tears were coming out and he didn't even realize that this would happen.
Minseok wipes his tears gently with the tissue that came with his tea and laughs in relief, "I'm okay. It's nothing, Luhan. I was just thinking about something."
Luhan closes his notebook from there and holds Minseok's hand despite the small space of the table, "I'm not going to force you to tell me. But whatever that is bothering you, please don't hesitate to tell me." Minseok continues to stay silent despite Luhan's reassurance. "Because just like you promised that my secret is safe with you, so will yours be safe with me."
---
It eventually reaches the point where Minseok and Luhan had decided to stick around the coffee shop until the employees were busy fixing up the place and the customers were leaving one by one. They only realized the time had reached 9 PM when Yixing came over their table to tell them that they were about to close for the night.
After Yixing left the two of them to pack their things, Minseok could only say one thing to himself, "Shit, we haven't even eaten dinner yet."
Luhan replaces his notebooks and pens back inside his bag and settles it on his shoulders nicely enough, so that they're a snug fit, "You told me your previous love life and all you could think about right now is having dinner?"
Minseok briefly thinks how Luhan was right about what he just said. In a matter of hours and several more cups of tea (and hot chocolate for Luhan), Minseok never imagined himself to be telling his failed love life to Luhan, when they're not even in a relationship just yet. What even gave him the idea to divulge such personal information?
The two of them eventually leave the coffee shop and looked around aimlessly to see where they had to end up next, it was only 9 PM and in a neighborhood such as Gastown, the pubs and bars were only beginning to lighten up and the night has just begun for everyone who was nearby.
"I know the perfect place where we can have dinner, you don't mind drinking, right?" Minseok takes Luhan by the hand again and leads him down deeper into Gastown, as if the place wasn't large enough to be contained in a small area that wasn't too obvious from the outside.
Before Luhan could even answer, he and Minseok stop at the entrance of a vintage-looking bar that was extremely dim-lit inside. However, Luhan hadn't imagined the amount of people who were still inside and had changed the mood of the place from dreary to instant liveliness, had it not been for the failed lighting system.
The waiter of the pub leads them to a table somewhere upstairs inside, and as the two of them settled themselves in and were given the menu to choose from, Minseok took no time in choosing what he wanted the two of them to eat.
After their orders were taken and served on the table, Luhan couldn't help but continue the unfinished conversation that they had inside Yixing's coffee shop.
"So you and Yixing were pretty much a thing before you even started a business?"
"It goes way back to before Yixing and I were even trained baristas for our age. It had been that long and I barely even realized that we never considered each other as partners, but only very good friends that shared something much more than regular friends do."
Luhan takes a gulp from his beer bottle, "I understand, what I don't get now was how did Yixing even manage to just leave you all alone in the dust after he was taken in that coffee company you mentioned earlier? I mean it seems all too brutal for someone who looks like him; he barely looks like he could hurt an insect with that face."
"Luhan, looks can be deceiving. Up to this day, I still can't bring myself to ask him what motivated him to leave me all alone to begin with, so I just left it like that, and I'm pretty sure he had his suspicions the minute he saw the two of us together extremely happy."
The two of them nod to themselves in agreement, and only small talk took place for the remainder of their dinner. (Partly because Luhan really enjoyed whatever Minseok had ordered and the latter eventually took the liberty to explaining what were the things he ordered and what were the things that Luhan eventually ate.)
---
A couple of hours later, Luhan finds himself in Minseok's home. The latter invited Luhan in after Minseok realized that there was so much more that Luhan needed to know about his previous relationship with Yixing. As much as he didn't want to think about it anymore, he had to. The only way for Minseok to fully realize that he is able to get over his break-up with Yixing, will he be able to properly express his appreciation for Luhan. After all, Minseok brought this upon himself and he has to be the one who should be fixing this mess that he made, even if it means telling Luhan the entire story, because a part of him knows that Yixing would never do such a thing.
The two of them settled themselves on Minseok's bed. Besides accompanying themselves with a couple of bottles of beer, the two of them knew that this conversation would take a long time for each of them to digest.
"What else do I not know about your relationship?" Luhan helps himself and Minseok to opening each a bottle of beer for starters.
"After that day where I left Yixing for his interview and demonstration, I stayed back home and waited all night for at least a call or text from him, but he never sent me one. " Minseok said. He thought that maybe Yixing was too tired and stressed out after thinking about what might possibly happen in the interview or what he might be asked to do during the demonstration, so there's a possibility that Yixing might've slept in right after he came home from the interview. It's possible, and Minseok won't be angry at all if that was the case.
It turns out it wasn't.
What happened for a day, turned into a week, and eventually into a month. It's not to say that Minseok never tried; he actually did. He was dead-on persistent in sending Yixing a few text messages and a couple of missed calls every few days or so to remind him that he wanted to know what happened after the interview, or anything else that might've taken place ever since they've stopped talking. A part of Minseok felt that this action from Yixing had been too abrupt, and cutting him off at a crucial time where this interview determined Yixing's fate as a successful barista eventually took its toll on Minseok.
After three months of trying, Minseok had cut off all forms of communication with Yixing; he had already given up into persuading Yixing that he was still there; he still existed and he still loved Yixing whether the other was too reluctant to reciprocate his feelings or not.
Rejection was something that Minseok couldn't explain to himself, he had already been living with himself in solitude and now that rejection has come upon his life, he's considered himself lost ever since. The only saving grace that came to him was the opportunity for him to open his own coffee shop, and that had eventually led him to knowing Luhan.
"I had this hunch that you heard what I said the other night, about 'not knowing everything about me', Minseok ends his story by clearing up his parched throat and taking huge gulps from his beer bottle.
"Clearly, I heard it clearly. But I was too hesitant to ask why because maybe you didn't want to explain it, or you had other personal reasons for saying that." By now the two of them were inching towards each other, and thanks to the height difference, slowly Minseok founds his way into laying his head down onto Luhan's arm, and the other had taken the liberty of running his free hand through MInseok's hair. They didn't have to say anything anymore; they've said all that they needed and that the only thing necessary was that physical contact that asserted Luhan's concern for Minseok's emotional state.
By the time Minseok was already burying himself within Luhan's clothing, the latter immediately set aside the unconsumed beer bottles and the two of them bundled up in Minseok's bed. The two of them kept each other close to the point where Luhan could feel Minseok's heart rapidly beating and Minseok feels nothing else but Luhan's pulse.
---
There are moments where Minseok can't seem to understand the kind of divine providence that had allowed his and Luhan's paths to cross. Because as far as he knows, he's not the type who would commit himself to good deeds forever, even though other people see him as a genuinely kind person with a sincere heart that's always filled with good intentions. There's a sinister voice inside him asking if he truly deserves this: if he truly deserves Luhan slowly removing Minseok's layers of clothing one by one until the elder realizes that the only remaining piece of clothing on him, his boxers, were the only ones left on him.
How had this escalated so quickly? Minseok won't be able to answer that question coherently because his mind is partly filled with thoughts of unrequited love with Yixing, and the other seems to be focusing more on what was happening right now.
"Lu .. Luhan?" Minseok's voice travels out of his mouth like escaped breaths that mean nothing but sheer air that keeps his surroundings excessively humid.
Honestly speaking, not even Luhan knows what he's doing, and he's the one who initiated the idea of removing MInseok's clothes until he was left in his boxers.
"I'm here, Minseok." Luhan crawls back to the head of the bed, stealing kisses along Minseok's bare jaw, neck and collarbones. He decides to mark at least a small area on Minseok's neck, somewhere that's easily covered by his regular clothing. Luhan can't even begin to imagine how Yifan's going to freak out if he sees Minseok walking around the coffee shop with Luhan's mark on it.
Minseok sighs softly not because from relief that Luhan's there, but because he can't help himself from all of Luhan's minstrations that were slowly driving him crazy from pleasure.
"Luhan, please ..." Minseok breathes out softly, he can't even hear his own voice, let alone pleading for Luhan to stop properly without his breath hitching without warning.
Luhan had kept himself busy so far as to keeping himself under the covers and around the area of Minseok's boxers. He can't see from the darkness under the sheets but his fingers immediately sense that Minseok's boxers are slowly getting wet and that was always a good sign in this case.
The younger boy pulls down Minseok's boxers slowly, as if waiting for Minseok to react from how he's enjoying every inch of pleasure that runs through his bones. As Luhan revels in the sight of Minseok's cock a few seconds after he dragged out the wet boxers long enough for Minseok to softly complain about 'why isn't Luhan doing anything', Luhan immediately realizes that he's still fully clothed while Minseok isn't.
So unfair.
Luhan steps out of the bed momentarily to remove all his clothes and by the time he steps back into the bed with Minseok, Luhan takes a brief moment to take in the debauched beauty of Minseok just lying on the bed, covered in sweat all over. Despite Minseok looking too dead and tired to even make any kind of major movements, Luhan sneaks himself back beside Minseok and the two of them bask in the body heat.
---
The morning after leaves them even more debauched than the night before, the blanket's been discarded and found itself on the floor more than on the bed (thankfully Minseok keeps his blinds closed). Minseok and Luhan are still stuck to each other like glue. Despite being fully naked, Luhan has his faced buried along Minseok's hair and the elder is precociously tucked perfectly within Luhan's neck.
It was Christmas Eve, and Minseok's lucky that his coffee shop's closed on that day.
---
Breakfast is a different thing in Minseok's home, compared to having it in his coffee shop. He leaves Luhan dead asleep on the bed while he puts on some clothes and makes a fresh batch of hot chocolate for Luhan. While he waits for his coffee to brew up, Minseok approaches the bed quietly to wake up the sleeping Luhan.
"Luhan, wake up. It's 10 AM." As if telling the time would actually make a difference, Luhan turns around the bed groggily until Minseok lends him some spare clothes that he can wear while he's still in his place.
After Luhan got himself washed up and ready for breakfast, he didn't expect Minseok to make him a well-prepared breakfast. It wasn't the same dish that Kyungsoo had made in Minseok's coffee shop, but Luhan could easily notice the hard work that Minseok had released into making a simple plate of whole wheat pancakes with twice-smoked applewood bacon and two sunny side-ups on the side.
"Try the hot chocolate, it's something I haven't done in months but I personally make a good one, if I may say so." Luhan takes a good look at the cup of hot chocolate just placed beside his plate. He easily spots how Minseok intricately placed freshly-whipped cream and the chocolate shavings on top are so neat and tempting to drink.
For a moment Luhan briefly asks himself how on earth did Minseok manage to make all this in such a short span of time that Luhan was only able to wash his face and sober himself up from last night's events. Either way, Luhan shakes all those thoughts away from him for a while and takes a sip from his cup. The warmth of the chocolate wasn't too overwhelming, and in fact his eyes widen up upon the realization that the whipped cream has a hint of fresh vanilla bean in it, such sweetness.
As Luhan enjoys his cup of hot chocolate, Minseok settles himself beside him to watch the former eat his breakfast and see what he thinks. But for a moment, Luhan looks at Minseok with a wide grin and for a while there, Minseok thinks Luhan's a massive goofball for allowing himself to have a clump of whipped cream on one side of his lips.
The two of them share a brief kiss (partly because Minseok wants to try out his whipped cream and this is probably the least suspicious time where he could do that) and it's when Minseok realizes that perhaps this divine providence is something good after all.
a/n:
- many thanks to duijangs's prompt!
- this started off as a drabble here and some have suggested i continue it into a full fic.
- this is probably the longest fic i've ever written this year. it's nearing 10360 in word count.
- minseok's cafe described in this fic was inspired from 49th parallel roasters.
- yes they do serve doughnuts and beignets; the breakfast bit was my imagination.
- yixing's cafe was inspired by coffeebar, and it's a fantastic place.
- the pub that luhan and minseok ate at was inspired by six acres pub & resto.
- gastown and other places described here are all really in downtown vancouver.
- merry christmas!