Request by: @AnotherHatChild I think, getting a bit lost in my requests because of how long it's been but I'm sure it'll be fine. I DID ART FOR THIS LOOK! While this is GGtastic, but there's a bit of Fymoji because why not. The coffee puns are strong in this one. Also, I don't know much about coffee so yeah- Enjoy!
Cafe Inkspresso is a small coffee shop in Inkopolis. A cozy place to grab a drink. It's also awfully convenient for Gab, who has a bit of a huge coffee addiction. It's just down the block his apartment so it's even more convenient. Almost like some kind of God made it that way...
Anyways-
It's a wonderful little cafe. Whenever he has time, Gab will stay at one of the small tables with his computer until he finishes his drink. The shop is the perfect little place to stay if you ever need comfort. That's what Gab will always say at least. There are also wonderful people that work there, making the environment even more welcoming. The inkling that takes his order is very nice. He's read the inkling's name tag as 'Vian.' Recently he's been going every day. It's probably not the healthiest thing to do but Gab swears he's trying to slow it down.
Vian has definitely noticed that Gab comes in almost every day. He would take his order (A mocha with two shots of espresso), and Gab will sit down near one of the cafe's windows. Cafe Inkspresso gets a lot of customers in the morning, which makes sense, but Vian will always see Gab come in. He assumes that Gab gets his coffee first thing in the morning, which confuses the inkling since he's so cheerful even before ordering. He isn't sure what it is but he finds Gab quite charming.
"Psst- Vian. The line is starting to get long. Think you can handle it?" His friend and coworker Jay pokes him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Jay gestures to the line of customers. He nods and smiles.
"You just get ready to make all these drinks." He says, turning to the first person in line. "Welcome to Cafe Inkspresso. What would you like?" As he's writing up their order, Vian notices a certain inkling walk in from behind the line.
Gab orders his usual and waits for his drink. Sometimes he'd make small conversation with one of the baristas while waiting. They're like mystery friends to him. He's called over and he picks up his drink from the counter.
Sitting down, Gab takes another sip of his coffee, glancing around the cafe. It'll be the last time for a while that he'll be here. He's going to visit his parents for a few months. A whole family thing must be being planned. He's going to miss this place. It's not like he's not coming back, but it will be a while. Gab scrolls though his phone while he takes his sweet time finishing his drink.
~Short Timeskip~
The long line of early-in-the-morning customers has slowly freed up. Vian uses that as an opportunity to take a quick break, letting Jay take over taking the orders. He sees Fyrus, another coworker of his, give him an amused look. "You seem interested in that pink-haired inkling over there." Fyrus starts. Vian's only response is to tilt his head.
"I just think it's becoming a bit unhealthy of him to come here every day...or something." He trails off. It's not exactly a lie.
"Aww how cute!" Fyrus coos. "You care about him don't you?" Vian runs a hand though his hair before responding.
"I could say the same about you and Jay." He notices the octoling's face heat up.
"What?!-"
"You care about him don't you?" The inkling mimics the tone of voice from earlier. Fyrus rolls his eyes in embarrassment. Now it's Vian's turn to have the amused look.
After a minute of silence Fyrus responds. "Fine, you got me." Vian hums. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I like him..."
"Anyways," Vian starts, changing the subject. "We should both get back to working now huh." The octoling nods and walks over to the drink making counter.
~Timeskip~
It's a bit odd. Vian hasn't seen Gab in like...a month. He's not sure what happened. It's kind of funny, he never thought he would be so worried about someone who's just a customer. The inkling shakes his head, snapping himself out of his own thoughts. "I'm sure it's fine..." He mutters, turning his attention back to cleaning. Soft music playing though the cafe while he's closing up shop.
Vian straightens up and goes to put away the broom he's holding. It's awfully quiet, he thinks. Jay and Fyrus are nowhere to be seen. That's not fair, leaving Vian to finish cleaning up. He decides to find them, so he can scold them on having to clean up as well. Peaking his head in the break room, he sees Fyrus with his head down on the table. Jay sitting next to him. The octoling looks up and quietly shushes Vian. "He's asleep."
"Had a bad day?" He asks. It's rare for any of them to fall asleep on the job.
"Yeah, idiot was up all night and barely slept." Vian raises an eyebrow.
"And how do you know that?"
"He told me when we started this morning." Jay explains. "And he didn't want to sleep after out first shift."
"Well could you help me clean up at least?" Vian asks, gesturing to the broom he's still holding. "I'll get the counters if you get the tables." Jay nods and grabs some of the cleaning supplies from a nearby cabinet.
As they finish cleaning up, Vian decides to poke some fun at Jay. "So you and Fyrus huh?" He sees Jay slightly freeze up.
"What about us?" The music still playing is the only thing filling the silence between the two of them.
"All I'll say is that you should tell him how you feel soon. The park nearby is a nice place to confess, it's pretty when the autumn leaves fall." Vian casually says, smiling when we sees Jay get even more flustered.
"I'll...Take your advice on that" Jay mutters. Putting the supplies away and walking over to the sleeping Fyrus.
~Timeskip~
Gab finally made it back home. He wasn't expecting to be gone for so long but he had to stay to help his dad with a health issue. Thankfully everything is okay, but Gab wanted to make sure his dad was fully better before coming back. He adjusts his straw boater as the cold winter air blows past him. It's too cold for this, a nice drink should do just the trick. It's been a while since Gab has been to Cafe Inkspresso, so why not go back He's been craving a drink from the cafe for the whole time he was back with his parents. Gab sets to walk down the block to the small cafe.
The sound of the door opening and the cold wind being blown inside pulls Vian's eyes up from the cash register. His eyes widen before he realizes he's staring and he looks away. There in the doorway, standing in line is Gab. The pink-haired inkling is slightly flushed from the cold outside weather. Vian has to admit, he looks really cute.
"Ooo looks like you're little friend is here." Jay whispers to him as the octoling passes behind him to another counter. Thankfully, no one but Vian heard. Vian managed to help Jay and Fyrus get together, which made him think of Gab, and how he'd like something like that with him. He shushes the octoling and turns back to the customers. As Gab finally gets his chance to order, Vian makes a point to speak first.
"Medium mocha with two shots of espresso right?" Vian says without looking up. When he does, he sees Gab looking at him in shock, his mouth is slightly.
"How- How did you remember that? I haven't been here in months!" He exclaims. Vian rubs his neck in embarrassment.
"You were a regular and I always took your order. I remember your order because it was a bit concerning how much coffee you drink..." The two of them blushing.
"I... didn't realize you notice. I'm just surprised you remember." Gab trails off. The inkling behind the counter simple shrugs and smiles.
"Is that still what you would like?" Vian asks.
"Yeah actually, that would be nice." Gab smiles and pulls out a few dollar bills. "Thanks for remembering." He quietly says as he walks off to wait for his drink. Fyrus leans over Vian's shoulder.
"How about I take over on the orders. Take a break after. You go make that guy his drink." He winks. The inkling just awkwardly laughs and moves over to work on Gab's drink. He grabs one of the paper cups and glances at the pink-haired inkling who's huddled up in his hoodie. Vian grabs a pen and writes something on the side of the cup. He then pours in the dink and adds the requested espresso shots. After putting up the cup on the pickup counter, he calls Gab over to take the drink.
Gab thanks the purple-haired inkling and sits down in his usual table near the windows. He takes a sip and instantly feels all warm inside. There's something about the drinks here that just makes Gab feel at home. The really baristas know how to make comforting drinks. There's something on the cup that he didn't notice before. It's very neat handwriting in purple ink. Hey, I like you a latte.Where have you bean? Awww, that's cute. He doesn't notice the pink blush covering his cheeks. Well that's one way to warm up during the winter. The small words on the cup make him feel butterflies. He looks up and makes eye contact with a certain inkling barista. Vian awkwardly waves and they both quickly look away. Gab ends up looking out the window. There's light snowfall outside, it must be getting colder. Maybe he should stay in the cafe for a bit. It's already nice and warm here.
Vian lets Jay and Fyrus take over behind the counter. After watching the two of them awkwardly stare at each other, Fyrus nudged him to go over and talk to Gab. Something along the lines of: "You just have to, you told me you liked him a while ago. Now's your chance!"
As Vian walks over, Gab speaks up first. "Were you the one to write this cute little message?" He points to his cup, where the purple words hide.
"I did..." Vian shyly nods. They make small conversation before Jay calls Vian back from his break. "Why don't you stay until my first shift is over. The cafe will keep you warm for now. Then we can hang out after." Vian says, getting up from his seat.
"Yeah, why not. I don't have much to do anyways." Gab smiles. He waves to Vian as the barista walks back behind the counter.
~Timeskip~
"You sure you have the afternoon covered?" Vian asks the two octolings he works with.
"We'll cover till the normal people come. I know the people after us are down a person this week." Jay explains, waving to Vian as he walks into the break room. He simply shrugs glancing over at the schedule written on a chalkboard behind the counter. The three of them take the early morning shift and the closing shift. But someone from one of the shifts directly after theirs is off for the week so it's fair for someone to stay just to help.
"Makes sense, I guess." Vian mumbles. He looks over at the pastries that came in earlier. There was an extra box of muffins that came in. No one really knows why there was another box but Jay and Fyrus just decided to take the box for the employees. Vian grabs a bag, might as well take advantage of the extra snacks. He grabs a blueberry muffin before walking over to Gab. The inkling on his phone, his cup already put in a bin. "Hey."
Gab looks up, slightly startled. "Hey, where do you want to go?" Vian pauses and hands him the muffin.
"I'm...not really sure. And here, have this, on the house." He smiles." Why don't we walk around and talk?" The two inklings get up and head to the door, making sure they're bundled up for the cold. Fyrus sees the two of them from the counter and whistles at them, giving them a smug look. Vian goes to shush him but Jay ends up nudging him on the shoulder before him and Gab leave the shop.
"Whaaat?" Gab looks over at the inkling next to him. The inkling in question waves his coworkers off, his face slightly red.
"Ignore them, they just like teasing me."
"Are they a thing? I always see them together." Gab asks, curious of the two octolings.
"They are, its pretty obvious right?" Gab nods. "They only recently got together. I guess I can say I had a part in that." Vian says proudly. "But never mind that. Like the cup says, where have you bean." He makes a point to emphasize the 'bean.' The puns are always something Vian likes to bring up with customers, maybe it'll spark some conversation while they walk. Gab laughs a little at the pun, explaining his trip to visit his family.
The two inklings end up walking through the nearby park. "Well that's grounds for concern. Is your dad okay?" Vian chuckles at his own joke.
"He's alright. Everything ended up fine." After a bit of catch-up, they end up walking to the plaza. "Why not a few rounds of turf?" Gab suggests.
"Sounds like fun!"
~Timeskip~
The inklings end up back at Cafe Inkspresso after spending most of the afternoon together. "Well, we're back at the cafe. I need to take my second shift."
"Before you go..." Gab pauses before continuing. "I- have coff-feelings...for you..." His voice gets quieter as he finishes the admittedly bad pun. Although Vian doesn't really mind. In fact, he turns to Gab with a look of excitement.
"You...made a bad pun!" He exclaims happily. Gab's face is now dark pink as he nods shyly. "Well, brew are so cute!"
"I- another coffee pun? Really?" The purple-haired inking smiles cheekily at him. Gab starts rambling on how bad the pun he made was, and how Vian shouldn't be that happy about his dumb pun. Although he's cut off when Vian pulls him in for a quick kiss, effectively shutting Gab up.
"I like you too." Vian leads him inside the cafe and he takes his place behind the counter. He pulls out a cup for Gab, starting to write down his order. "Have another drink, consider it a gift from me." Vian hands Gab his usual drink, which he takes in surprise.
"Are you sure?" Vian nods, his face flushed purple. Gab takes the drink and walks out of the cafe, waving to the inkling that gave it to him. It's only after he takes a sip that he notices there's something on his cup. Written in that same purple pen from earlier: Here's my number so we can keep talking outside the cafe -Vian. And a phone number underneath. Gab adds the number to his phone and smiles.
Gab takes another sip of his drink, smiling as he walks back to his apartment. That crush he developed on Vian really is something huh. He never expected something like this to happen. But it's pretty nice, getting both a boyfriend and a free coffee. He'll definitely come back to talk tomorrow.
Haha... Coffee shop AU go brrrrr-
Should I make this a mini series? I can add more ships and maybe even fully write out a Fymoji one-
~AshinAce