A good cup of coffee was exactly what you needed. Among the overstimulating backdrop of incessant buzzing of computers, pervading sweat, and grease that refuses to come off no matter how many times you washed your hands, your tongue still longed for another taste of coffee to get you through a night of working.
"That's the 4th time in a row, (Y/N)," snaked Felix. "Are you sure you want to keep at Mario Kart even after all your embarrassing losses?"
Well, you were supposed to have been working anyway.
Instead, here you lay, slumping down the plush chair of a crowded internet cafe. You waved your hands at Felix in dismissal. "It's not like we bet anything on it. I have nothing to lose."
Felix sighed, putting the mouse and keyboards to one side and replacing them with a stack of textbooks. "We have nothing TO bet on in the first place. We're college students, remember?"
This elicited a groan that made you slump even further in the seat.
"And we have a presentation due tomorrow. We're supposed to pitch our product in front of our media class, remember?"
The next groan sent your knees meeting the filthy, crumb-infested floor. "Don't remind me! I thought you took us to this cafe to take our minds OFF of the stupid project."
You felt yourself being heaved up by the arms before forcibly being sat back down. Huffing, you watched Felix return the tabs and windows of research you were working on before getting distracted.
"No, I brought us here because this internet cafe was open nearby, has fast wifi connection, and cheap food and drinks to keep us awake," he said in a mock tone not unlike one of your boring lecturers, then returned to his normal voice. "I come whenever I have to pull a serious all-nighter."
Throwing your hands up in exasperation, you returned his tiresome scolding with a wail, "But not coffee! They have no coffee!"
"(Y/N), that's because you drank their entire stock for the night."
This earned him a light punch to the shoulder. "That's not true and you know it," you said defensively. "I guess there are just a lot of people like us staying up late to work on their projects because they procrastinated until the last 24 hours."
"May~be," yawned Felix with a fleeting look of guilt. He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes but to no avail. "I can't believe you still need more coffee after all the cups you've had so far." He gestured towards your right where 5 mugs and 3 ramen bowls lay empty and stained, handing you a glass of water which you drank from begrudgingly.
"I drank those hours ago. The effects of caffeine should be running out by the 6-hour mark, which is..." you glanced at the time in the corner of your computer screen, "3 am? When did it get this late?!"
"Well, we did get kicked out for staying too long at the library some time after 9 pm," Felix pointed out. "Then we got here and ate for about an hour, worked on the project for another 4, then played for the last one." He counted on his hands to show you.
Your head dropped to the table with a thud, too exhausted to even look at the screen anymore. Instead, you let your eyes wander to Felix's tired face, while he let out a low chuckle at your state.
As much as he tried to hide it, sleep had long since got ahold of him. He almost always failed to stifle his yawns, and his eyelids would be sliding down, yearning for an opportune moment to close and retire permanently for the night. Despite all of that, Felix remained obstinately awake for the sake of the project. And yet, you couldn't help but find his little struggle against sleep simply adorable.
Sweet Felix. Always so reliable but knows how to strike the balance between work and play. That was what made you want to earn his friendship when you first met him in college. But sometimes you wonder, would be it wrong to ask for more?
"You know what, fine." You straightened up in your seat, knuckles cracking to demonstrate your resolution. "How much do we have left anyway?"
Felix's lips pressed into a thin smile that didn't quite reach his drowsy eyes. "Not much actually. Since we'd already come up with our idea in the beginning and finished researching most of the logistics tonight, all that's left is to clean up the presentation a little bit and work on the strengths and limitations of our product."
You blinked in surprise. "We sure did a lot since we got here."
He shot you a smirk that had you knowing what he was going to say before he said it. "I told you so."
"So you did," you smiled in resignation, opening up the food menu tab. "Then how about one more bowl of ramen while we wrap this up, yeah?"
(...)
In the hour that followed, you and Felix worked tirelessly over the bowl of noodles, researching and typing up the final slides of the presentation. It went surprisingly a lot slower than the 4 hours you'd rushed through in your coffee craze.
Now that all the adrenaline had petered out, you were left half-slumbering over your keyboard as Felix continued with citation. Sleep was lulling you in and out of awakeness and it was all you could do to keep your eyes open and refrain from snoring.
Against the illumination of the computer screen, Felix's every freckle was so visible you could count them, even the ones flecked across his ears. Now that most of the crowd had dispersed, most of the hubbub had quieted down. It felt like the only ones who existed in this little bubble of your subliminal mind were the two of you.
"Felix," you called. No response. Either you weren't loud enough or he was too exhausted to hear properly. You tried again, "Felix?"
Still nothing. So you rolled your chair in closer to his, completely unaware of the distance you were invading until you met with his startled eyes. The only indication of your proximity was his hot breath falling on your cheeks.
"What is it, (Y/N)?" He said warily, stealing a glance at your lips.
You hadn't noticed. You simply smiled, leaving him to raise an eyebrow in confusion. But what really took him by surprise was what you said next: "I really like you."
Now, his eyes widened, mouth hanging agape as he struggled to string together his next sentence.
"You're a really good partner." You rolled away your chair with a kick and leaned back, seemingly content with the state of disarray you left him in.
Felix's mind was racing, shifting between conflicting feelings of relief and disappointment. He was about to return to the project until you added in a wistful tone, "I wish you were my partner forever."
This was enough for him to pull you in by the arm rest, so that you were back to being face-to-face. He hoped he wasn't sounding too desperate when he asked, "What do you mean partners? You mean..."
"What do you think I mean? I mean I want to be with you, what else?" You gave him another punch to the shoulder that didn't quite land how it usually does.
Felix rested his hand on yours and paused. Although his were exceptionally smaller, they were still warm nonetheless, and they fit in yours like a winter glove. With the other, he reached up to cup your face and almost closed the gap. He paused, only to ask in a whisper only you could hear, "May I?"
You gave a single nod.
His kiss was soft and light against your dry lips, as if afraid of breaking the glass of friendship you've culminated over the years of college. The way his thumb caressed your cheek persuaded you to close your eyes and entrust your senses to him. It was perfect- until it ended too soon.
Finally, you breathed out a long, contented sigh. "What an amazing dream. I never want to wake up."
Felix laughed once again. Only this time, his eyes were positively twinkling, and you didn't think it was because of the lights. "Me neither."
When he looked back at you, you were already slumped over the desk, hair falling in every direction over your face, chest heaving up and down in peaceful intervals.
"We'll talk about this in the morning. I'll finish up from here."
When he thought you were sound asleep, he retrieved the jacket that was hanging off the back of his chair and gently lay it across your shoulders. Before he could stop himself, he planted a small kiss on the top of your forehead.
"Felix," you murmured. His heart almost stopped breating. "You're better than coffee."
He was suddenly grateful your eyes were closed, because he definitely wasn't awake enough to hide the blush pervading his face.That was quite possibly the sweetest thing you could've said to him.