UNTIL I FOUND YOU , sturniolo triplets !

tomorrow , chris

❝ but then we laugh until it disappears . . .
funeral, phoebe bridgers

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cw: none
! fluff

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you look up to the sound of bells clinking against each other as the door to your coffee shop opens, and a fluffy brunette-haired boy comes bouncing in; rather, he comes slumping in.

he comes and sits at one of the bar stools in front of the countertop, and you wordlessly begin to pour him a cup of decaf coffee because god knows he drinks too much coffee for his own good.

"rough day?" you ask, pouring extra cream into the coffee because you know that's how he likes it.

he nods, running a hand through his hair. "college is whooping my ass. it's like my professors want me to die," he says, watching you prepare his coffee. "they don't even teach, but they just expect me to know everything."

"well, i'm sure they're tired, too," you say, sliding the cup across the counter to the boy and wiping your hands on a cloth. "i'm sure having a christopher sturniolo in their class has got to be pretty exhausting."

"yeah, but they're teachers," chris says, picking up the cup of coffee and taking a sip. "they should be used to it at this point."

you nod and shrug, pulling out and sitting on the high chair that rests behind the counter. you fold your hands on the surface and rest your elbows on the table. "well, other than the obvious, how's the rest of college? glad you decided to go?"

chris sighs, but he nods and grabs a few sugar cubes from the jar to his right, placing them in his coffee and causing a faint plop sound. "would be better if you were there, though. it's pretty boring, and i'm having to make my own friends." he shudders for dramatic effect, and you laugh.

"you know i would go if i could," you say, looking down. "but this," you gesture around the coffee shop, "kinda complicates things."

recently, your mom had fallen ill, and this coffee shop belonged to her; you took managing the business into your hands while she was in the hospital, and the cafe paid the hospital bills for the most part, but it would not be able to pay for your mom and for college.

"but you could," chris says, looking up at you through his long eyelashes. "you know my family could help you guys out with that. we're well off, and my mom's already offered a billion times."

you sigh and shake your head. "you guys already help me pay for the hospital bills sometimes. you do enough."

"it's the bare minimum," chris says, groaning. "please, y/n. just let us help you. it was your dream to go to college since you were, like, five. we were always gonna go together."

"well, that was before life happened. that was my old dream, chris. for now, my dream is to just get through tomorrow, and then the day after that, and then the day after that." you look at chris, who looks like he feels guilty for even asking. you sigh and take his free hand in yours. it's so warm, and it's a nice change from the cold you've felt in your heart recently. "look, really, thank you. but i couldn't pay you back, and that's not fair. i'd like to handle myself for now."

but you know chris is right when he says that it's been your dream to go to college since forever ago. you've wanted to be a doctor ever since you got your first toy medic kit, and you'd perform play check-ups on chris in his mom's backyard. now, chris is in college majoring in psychology, and you are working the coffee shop left in your mother's name until the day she dies and it's given to you.

it isn't ideal, but if you're going to reach your real dream, you want to know you earned it.

chris sighs, but nods. "just please think about it. okay?"

you smile. "i will, but for now, i'd like another coffee. would you like another, too?"

chris raises an eyebrow. "i thought you said i drink too much as it is?"

you shrug. "i gave you decaf."

he gasps, and looks down at the empty mug in front of him. "i feel betrayed."

you laugh as you brew a real cup of coffee for him and yourself. a couple of people are sat at the tables scattered around the shop, some studying and some snacking with whoever their date is. you smile at the sight of all of the happy people, and you frown with the sad ones, and you feel the indifference radiating from those who are bored. with chris, you tend to feel all of these emotions at once, as well as a couple more that you would rather not name. it's quite confusing, and exhausting, and sometimes you wonder if it would be easier on your heart if he were to leave the coffee shop and never come back.

but that would never do, because his very presence stokes the fire burning within your heart, and you don't want to think about what may happen if that fire were ever to be put out.

you chat with chris about nothing and think about everything and push any bubbly feeling that develops in your chest away. it's much easier to push the bubbles down than to let them overfill, because then you'd really have to deal with them, and you just don't have the patience right now.

maybe one day you will, and you know chris will wait for you. but until then, you take the coffee from the pot and pour two cups of coffee; one for the sun and one for the moon, and neither wants to admit which one they are.

and when chris leaves, you watch him go. you wonder if maybe you should've brought it up then; maybe you should tell him how you feel right then and there. because if you don't do it now, when will you?

tomorrow, you tell yourself, drinking your coffee that you supplied to yourself because you are the barista, after all. get through tomorrow, and you can tell him then.

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a/n
this is very much inspired by luke & lorelai gilmore bc im on a gilmore girls kick rn! i love them and i love chris sturniolo and maybe i love wolfstar enough to write a fic of them in the near future ( <3 )

but THANK U FOR 4K READS WTF??? i feel like a real wattpader now & all the reads & votes & comments mean the world + more to me.