Anthology (BoyxBoy)

Belong

Declan honestly had no idea what he was doing here.  He didn't fit in - not one bit.  As a hulking 6'4 man with a built frame and a seemingly limited wardrobe (black on black on black), he stuck out like a sore thumb between the frilly white and mint table covers and the pastel wall decals surrounding him.  One looked like a puppy, the others he wasn't so sure of.

So where was he?  Well honestly, Dec had never been to Tea Tree Coffeehouse before, despite walking past it many times since it opened up in his local train station.  Every week he had watched the place bustling with travellers, obviously proving a big hit due to its wide range of tea, coffee and pastries - a holy grail to the office workers stopping at this station.

Though, despite the fancy sweets and infused teas Tea Tree Coffeehouse had to offer, something else had caught Declan's eye as he passed the cozy looking café each afternoon.

The owner - who seemed like a different being entirely.  With freckles and brown doe eyes, and a mop of short honeyed hair on top of his head - he looked something akin to a small animal.  Along with that, he never seemed to stop smiling.  Each time their eyes met, the smaller boy's pink lips would pull into a massive grin - something Dec struggled to return, instead awkwardly shuffling away.

Now, Dec was standing at the counter of Tea Tree Coffeehouse, looking incredibly uncomfortable in his black formal suit despite the blistering heat just outside.  In front of him stood the owner - named Archie, according to the silver pin on his mint green shirt.

The uniform Archie wore made something bubble up inside of Declan, like butterflies or giddiness.  He wasn't sure what it was; the chocolate brown apron with cream stitching, or the loose mint shirt that seemed a little bit too big for him.

After placing his order and watching Archie turn around, only to bend over and grab some paper cups from the cupboard behind him, Dec decided it might just be the way his tight tan jeans seemed to hug his ass way more than necessary.

Once the boy was back up and making his order, Declan averted his gaze to focus on the interior of the café with mock interest, feeling guilty for looking at him in such an inappropriate way.

The coffeehouse was very cozy and homely - it had a colour scheme of cream, brown and light green, which reminded him immediately of the sweets he enjoyed as a child.  Plants in wooden planter bowls adorned the shop in corners or on tables, and wooden log styled coasters and cutlery holders.  The earthy style reminded Declan of his grandmother's home back in the country - one that had since been knocked down to make way for newer, cheaper homes.  The sad wave of nostalgia hit him like a truck and he wondered if that was why he had avoided this place prior.

"Not liking the decorations?" A voice chirped in front of him, and he looked down at Archie - who was holding out a cup of green tea for him with widened eyes.  They were apprehensive, seemingly scared to know exactly what his customer thought.

"No, it's nice," He reassured the boy quickly, but apparently that wasn't a good enough answer judging from Archie's worried gaze, and the way his teeth played with his bottom lip slowly.  "Just reminds me of a place I lived when I was younger - kind of sad, I guess."  Was his very intelligent response.  The smaller man smiled empathetically at him from behind the counter, taking his time because there were no other customers waiting to take their orders.  The next rush from an arriving train was coming in around 30 minutes, leaving them plenty of time to chat.

And boy, did he want to chat with the god of a man standing in front of him.  Archie had seen this man before - every day, in fact.  He would walk past the shop and peer in through the window, always seeming to change his mind about coming in at the last second.  His hesitance had disappointed Archie, and why wouldn't it?