NuNew Chawarin had never been a fan of coffee.
Ever.
He was more of a tea guy. Maybe a milk or juice guy, but never really a coffee guy.
Never saw the charm of the strong, bitter taste, as much as almost all his friends and colleagues of the Faculty of Humanities of the Kasetsart University were basically running on caffeine on daily basis to keep up with study and terms.
When they held some group meetings and brainstorming sessions over assignments and activities in the coffee shops nearby the faculty, they were always considerate enough to choose a place that also had a decent tea selection.
Today it was probably going to be one of those days, again.
After his Chinese III class was over in the afternoon, his closest colleagues deemed it to be a good idea to revise some group research over Chinese History and, over Nat's suggestion, they decided to go in a new coffee shop, opened just for a few days in the neighboring area of the faculty.
The other reason behind this choice was that the place was owned by his boyfriend's dearest friends and didn't seem like a bad idea to introduce the place to more and more people, so that it gains some traction in short time.
So...
He met with Nat, Pure, Yim and Tutor in front of the...
"... "Melt Your Heart Cafè"? Really, Nat?" Pure arched her brow, half amused, half nonplused.
"I wasn't the one choosing the name, that's not my café, why you looking at me?"
"It was your idea, right?" said Tutor, crossing his arms.
"Max's friends own the place. I know them, they are cool! I've already been here; coffee is amazing and the place is chill! You'll like it!" said Nat, trying to hype the group.
"Ok, no time to discuss over this place's name! Our research over Tang Dinasty won't write itself! Let's get inside and be done with it!" said NuNew, grabbing the wooden knob of the cafè door.
He was immediately enfolded into a whiff of warm, fragrant air.
The smell of coffee was strong but not in an unpleasant way.
NuNew scanned the room. It looked... cozy. Walls of a soothing dark brown wood and dark metal, in a nice industrial style. It wasn't a big place, maybe 15 tables at most but almost all occupied by students; some faces looked familiar, maybe from his same faculty, or the Science one that was not too far from there.
Pure, being the practical person of the group, immediately spotted a free table and proceeded to occupy it before it was too late.
"Ok, I'll go ordering coffees!" said Nat, putting down his bag on one of the chairs.
"Uhm? Why, they'll have some waiter coming here in no time." reasoned NuNew.
"Oh, they don't have one, yet..." he said, sheepishly, as if it was his own fault. "Remember? They only opened a few days ago..."
"Uhm..." mumbled Yim. "Ok, I'll take a cookie and cream Frappuccino."
"In the mood for sugar, Yim? You don't get enough already through the day?" teased Tutor, which Yim replied with a pout that was meant, only in the boy's head, to be reproachful but in the end, not really. At all. "I'll take an Americano, by the way!"
"Americano for me too!" said Pure, closing the menu in front of her. "Wouldn't be bad if they have some snacks but... I'll leave that to you!"
"NuNew?"
"I'll come with you; you can't bring all this stuff back alone. And I don't know this place, so... I wanna check the teas." said NuNew.
Nat shrugged and headed towards the coffee counter with his friend.
They sat on the wooden stools in front of it and Nat smiled at a tall older man with a goofy smile.
"Nong Nat, you're back today too!" said the guy in a friendly tone.
"P'Poppy, let me introduce you my univ bestie NuNew! NuNew, he's P'Poppy!"
"Sawadee krub!" wai-ed NuNew, which was replied by the older man in the same way.
"We are here with some colleagues. Group research, you know..." explained Nat, gaining a really expressive face by Poppy, his mouth shaped as a perfect "o".
"So, you need some coffee and maybe some snack too? Oh! Just wait here, I'll call P'Zee right away! Meanwhile I'll go preparing something tasty for you!"
It took a few seconds for Poppy to disappear inside what was probably the kitchen, and a few seconds more to see coming from that very same door who, NuNew presumed, was P'Zee.
He caught himself just in time before his jaw, not really metaphorically, dropped on the counter; as for his heart that made a somersault in his throat... that, he couldn't really prevent.
He was... tall. Not so much taller than himself but... pleasingly so. He was wearing a brown apron over a basic white t-shirt, but it was all enough to emphasize his lean but sculptured physique and... oh, was he just staring at his biceps? He batted his lashes as to dissipate a sudden haze but it didn't really work. As if in some cinematic slow-mo, the more he got closer, the more he noticed other details about him.
Strong eyebrows, long lashes framing big, dark, piercing eyes. Fair skin. Full rosy lips shaped in a soft curve.
Fearing to be caught, he lowered his gaze in shame.
"Papa Zee, sawadee krub!" chimed in Nat.
Papa Zee?
NuNew's mind literally rang for no reason. Oh right, Nat knew both of the older men through Max. It made sense. Maybe.
"Sawadee, Nong Nat. Are you here with your colleagues?" he said moving his eyes over NuNew. "Sawadee Krub, I'm ZeePruk, but you can call me Zee." he added, with a deep, soothing voice that tickled the back of his neck.
"Sawadee krub, P'Zee, I'm NuNew Chawarin. NuNew, for short." NuNew joined his hands in a wai, tentatively rising his gaze to him.
"He's my best friend, Papa Zee! And he's the top student in our Chinese class!" Nat said, proudly.
"Nat, please... too much praising..." smiled sheepishly the boy, very much self-conscious of the older man's eyes on him. Which didn't mean anything, really. But why he felt so out of himself? He needed to get a grip.
"So, what can I serve you, guys?"
"We'd love a Frappuccino cookie and cream, 2 Americano, 1 Caramel Macchiato for me and... what you take, NuNew?"
"I'd... like some tea." he said, in some irrationally ashamed way.
"Sure. Which one? We don't have a huge selection but..." he said, pointing at the blackboard behind his back.
"Uhm... a cup of matcha green tea will be fine, kobkunkrub" NuNew said.
"I must warn you, tho. I don't happen to make tea much here. I might be rusty but I'll do my best." he smiled and NuNew, again, felt like there wasn't enough air in his lungs.
Oh... he was even more handsome when he smiled. His lips arched in a pleasing shape and his eyes became like crescent moons, even just for a few seconds.
"I'll bring your order to your table; you don't need to wait here. Is it that table out there, right?" Zee pointed gingerly with his chin to the general direction of the table where NuNew could see, Pure was busy bickering with Tutor about their research.
As soon as NuNew assented, Zee promised to be fast, and to bring snacks too. The two boys just wai-ed at him and walked back to their table.
As he could finally sit, NuNew, for all he tried, couldn't just process what just happened.
P'Zee was handsome, so what?
He turned to the coffee counter, just in time to see Zee maneuvering the coffee machine in a very focused way.
Ok, he was VERY handsome.
Very much so, he repeated in his own mind.
Even more so when he was so deep at work.
As if he felt a pair of eyes on him, Zee raised his head, looked towards him and gave him a tiny smile and a wink.
A... wink?
NuNew averted his gaze at full speed, feeling very much stupid at doing so.
He must have noticed, right? He was caught up staring...
That was so embarrassing!
After a few minutes, Zee arrived with a tray full of cups and glasses.
NuNew tried to focus on his attention on the table, on the drinks put on it one by one by... slender, wiry but elegant hands. Yeah, of course even his hands looked beautiful...
"... and matcha green tea for you, nong NuNew. I took the liberty to add some milk to it, hope it's fine for you." and the boy almost jumped out of his own skin just at the mere sound of his voice caressing the syllables of his name. "and here some snacks for you all, courtesy of Poppy!" he added, positioning a dish at the centre of the table.
As soon as he was far enough, he looked at his friends, that were looking at him in a way he didn't like one bit.
"... what?"
"Yeah, "what" is exactly my question..." Pure smiled in a knowing smile.
"Oh, I don't know NuNew, he seemed very much concerned that you liked his tea..." said Tutor.
"He even added extra milk for you..." nodded Yim, quietly.
"Listen, whatever you are thinking, I'm sure I don't wanna know any of it, so please, stop! Nat introduced me as his bestie, of course he was being nice with me for his sake." NuNew reasoned.
"Uhm, papa Zee is a kind person. I bet he was a bit nervous because teas are not his forte." muttered Nat, while sipping his Macchiato.
"See? Now please, we should be here working at our research! Now we have food and coffee, I say it's time we start to work for real!"
Pure raised her hands in surrender. At least for the moment, she was dropping the topic which made him so ... uncomfortable.
Guilty of all charges, he had noticed Zee's gentle tone and couldn't lie to himself, he felt warmth spreading in his chest. A bit. But sure... he was just Nat's bestie.
What else could have been the reason, right?
They worked peacefully, NuNew could say it was turning into a productive study session, beyond his expectations. Not because his colleagues were bad at it but... sometimes they got lost into frivolous topics. Like... handsome baristas!
His tea wasn't bad at all. Sure, not as good as his mom's but that could hardly be beat.
He dared to take a look to the room, that was now emptier and much more silent.
What time was it? Probably, late.
He spotted Poppy bringing some dishes around, while Zee was refilling cups of Americano at a nearby table.
He averted his gaze just in time, because he was walking their way.
"Everything fine here? Would you like a refill?" Zee said, swaying lightly the coffee pot in his hand.
"Yes, for me!" said Pure, and so Tutor.
"What about you? Would you like something else?" asked to Yim, who politely declined.
"Nat?"
"I'm fine, papa Zee, kobkunkrub!"
"Nong NuNew? Some more matcha tea?" he smiled and NuNew could feel a rush of blood to his ears.
"I'm fine too, kobkunkrub, P'Zee."
"Was it good, right? Your tea. I didn't mess it up, no...?"
"Oh... it was good, very. You didn't mess anything, P'Zee." he answered with a tiny smile that, he hoped, was polite enough.
"Good!" he smiled too. "If you guys need anything else, you know where you can find me. But we are closing in an hour, so..."
"Don't worry papa Zee, we'll be out of your hair in half an hour to the most!" said Nat.
"Didn't mean it to kick you out, but it's getting late for you, too! Well, I'll leave you to your research..."
Nat raised his hand in salute, while NuNew couldn't help but follow him with his eyes for just a few seconds... only to find, again, all his colleagues' eyes on him.
He didn't even need to know... he zeroed them with his gaze and they just shook their heads with another, irritating, smile.
Really, he didn't need this at all.
As if he wasn't aware enough that he probably was beet red at the moment, simply for a flash of a smile? He couldn't help it, if P'Zee was so... so...
He stopped his brain before he made any compromising implication.
For the sake of the Aboves, he had to stop this nonsense now.
He was just a man, what was so special about him...
He raised his gaze, so very discretely, to find him busy sweeping the floor, and it was just so embarrassing, to feel another rush of heat to his cheeks at the sight of his elegant figure doing something as mundane as that...
Oh. No way. This could be troubles, he realized.
Big troubles.
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