Requested by: MEEEEEEE
Lore: the only piece of lore is that, to fit timelines, Almond had Walnut at a younger age so she's already an adult. I don't wanna add depressing stuff about death to a smut, okay?? :((
~
Finally, a day without kids. A day to be free! Is what Latte thought as she walked into her favorite cafe on a sweet Monday morning. It had been a holiday after all.
She greeted the barista and sat down in her usual booth. She then pulled out a romance novel and began to skim through a few pages before her bookmark, and after she fully focused on reading the pages ahead. Another barista soon brought her a fresh latte, with a picture of her staff shaped with foam on it.
"Thank you," She said quietly, not looking up from her book. However, she did look up when the door opened and the bell rang. The cafe was obscure, nobody had really known it, so who was there?
Almost as if their already awkward meeting hadn't been enough, Almond walked through the door. He appeared to be a regular, too, as the barista took his order with only his charming smile as a pointer. Latte subtly watched him wait at the corner where drinks were usually laid out (though, she skipped this because of how often she came). But then, the real awkwardness began, right after he received his coffee.
Almond trotted over right to her, his cup in hand. He stopped a little ways away from her, and tapped her shoulder. "It'd appear you're in my booth." He said. Latte couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so she just stared. "The silence makes me assume you wouldn't mind if we sat together, hm?"
"That-That's fine." She said quietly, sipping her own drink.
Almond sat across from her. "How have you been faring?" He asked, trying to make conversation.
"With what?"
"You know... everything that happened. It's even in the paper."
"Oh it's... my students ask about it, and they hail me a hero. I know I'm not one, but it makes them respect me so I won't really complain." She laughed awkwardly, internally screaming as she immediately wanted to take back what she said.
Almond sighed. "Kids, eh? I had one... but she moved on as soon as she could get a job. We're still in faint contact though, I heard she's got a wife now."
"Wife?"
"She now resides in the Hollyberry Kingdom, I think because same sex marriage is legal there. But I'm not sure." Almond shrugged. "Have you got anyone special back home?"
"A body pillow." She mumbled. "Love isn't something I just search for. My students and my teachings are more important than that, to me at least. Plus, the body pillow is blank. It doesn't have anyone even on it!"
He laughed at her little freak out. "You're cute when you joke around like that."
Latte froze. "W-What?"
"I said... you're cute. Have you not heard that much? I figured you'd have cookies of all genders at your knees begging."
Latte rolled her eyes and shut her book, without even placing her bookmark in the right spot. "I wish. It gets lonely sometimes, not often enough to go clubbing but not too much to get drunk alone."
Almond took a deep breath, as if he was preparing for something. And, he was. "You could, you know... go home with me sometime. Even now."
It was tempting. Almond was an intelligent, hot guy with a relatively fitting haircut and a never-not-worn tie. He had an excellent sense of being, good reaction time, just something about him Latte had adored.
