coffee war

vii

gansey didn't know what made him do it. he could've went to starbucks or dunkin' donuts, but neither one gave him the same feel as fox coffee. maybe it was the owner, because gansey could always make people like him, but she wouldn't. she acted like he was the devil and he just wanted to know why. so back and back and back he went, trying to figure it out. no other coffee shop cared that he was in there at almost close, so why did she?

again, gansey threw on one of his heavier jackets and yelled to ronan, who was lounging on the couch in the middle of their shared apartment. "hey, i'm going to get some coffee."

ronan, whose head was upside down hangin off the couch, smirked at gansey. "going back to see the demon so soon? it's been a day, you seem desperate," he sniggered and flipped himself right side up and stretched.

gansey just straightened his coat. "i'm sorry, but as a perfectly normal human being, i would like to understand as to why she doesn't like me. everyone likes me," he sighed as ronan slowly put on his boots and grabbed his leather jacket that was hanging on the hardback chair nearest the couch.

"she's a demon," he shrugged, like saying it again made it clearer as to why it was the answer. gansey thought that it did not make anything clearer whatsoever.

ronan walked to the door and out of it, signaling to gansey that he was ready to go, even if gansey wasn't. gansey followed him and locked the door, checking first to make sure he had everything on him.

the short walk to fox coffee in the november moonlight gave gansey chills. he and ronan walked in silence, ronan always swaggering a few steps ahead to give gansey his pondering time, even if it was only a short few minutes away.

when they arrived, they could see all three of the employees, the quirky noah, always able to take a bite from ronan and laugh it off, the elegant adam, who could easily destroy anyone he wanted with just a look, and the angry blue, whom gansey couldn't understand, just staring at them like they placed bets on their arrival, which they had.

"i just don't get it," gansey said to ronan as he was opening the door. "why doesn't she like me?"

"you offend her," ronan shrugged and held the door open as he and gansey talked.

"but how," gansey started to say as he was cut off by the girl in question now.

"if you're gonna come in, come in. don't just stand outside with the door open letting out all of our hot air!" blue hollered from the back counter, glaring at gansey like it was his fault ronan held the door and didn't go in.

"see what i mean! it's you who did the thing, but i'm still getting the blame? unbelievable," gansey muttered as ronan shrugged and walked inside.

"demon," ronan said unhelpfully. he looked around for a second at most then turned to glare at adam, who was already staring hard back at ronan. ronan let a smirk fall onto his face and licked his lips as he and adam began their nightly contest.

gansey sighed as he walked into the coffee shop after ronan. "good evening," he said, polite as always.

blue set her gaze to death stare and glared at gansey. "it's 9:57, you have three minutes to order," she said as she kept staring at gansey like he'd killed her dog.

gansey didn't remember killing her dog.

"in that case, i'll have a medium caramel macchiato, please," gansey said, even more polite.

blue sighed and rang up his order by memory, having been doing this for years. "4.06," she said as she stuck out her hand for the money, which gansey handed her very quickly with exact change. as she put the money in the register and turned away to make his drink, gansey dropped a fifty into the tip jar quietly.

blue turned around and started to say something as noah cut her off, coming literally out of nowhere. "so why do you come in here so often and so late? these two will never have the balls to ask since they're both planning to marry you two."

blue and adam whipped around to stare at noah. noah giggled. "what?" he said innocently.

ronan started cackling and turned to gansey. "yeah, dick, why do we always come in here so often and so late? i just come with him because it endears me to see adam over here hate me so."

adam turned back around to glare at ronan, who was still laughing, then turned to blue who was still staring at noah, mouth gaping. "can we just kick them out? i know they bring in a lot of revenue with their dick tips-"

"dick tips?"gansey asked quickly, turning to face adam more squarely. "what do you mean 'dick' tips?"

adam gave gansey the most confused looked a gansey had ever received in their lives. no one is ever confused with a gansey. "your huge tips you both leave every time you're here that show that you're both rich dicks instead of normal customers? those are dick tips."

gansey looked away and pondered for a moment about what he meant. it was almost as if they were calling gansey a bad person for wanting to leave a nice tip for such a nice place, considering gansey was there all the time and so late.

he looked back at adam, and calmly said "i didn't realize that's what you thought i was doing, and i apologize. i just thought that since i inconvenience you so often that you deserve a large tip for still servicing me so late," he looked at all three of them, gaging their reactions. noah pursed his lip and nodded, showing that he was okay with gansey. adam sighed and looked slightly skeptical, and blue looked almost resigned, like she had expected that answer and gansey's confusion.

"fine," she huffed. "but maybe you could come in at, i don't know, an earlier time so we don't have to wait for you when, or if you show up late."

gansey immediately answered. "what if i gave you my number? that way i could text you if i show up?"

he didn't understand blue's sheer look of shock, adam's raised eyebrow, and noah's fucking cackle.

"i was so right!" noah screeched and laughed and danced around to blue and bopped her little pony tail as she stood there, jaw dropped.

gansey stared at noah as ronan sniggered behind him and clapped gansey on the back. "oh boy, dick, you're a genius. if i️ knew that was the way to shut them up, i would've given adam over there my number a long time ago."

adam whipped around so fast. "i don't even talk to you! you just stare at me and i stare back!"

ronan started cackling. he doubled over and grabbed his stomach as the other people stared at him, adam's eyes especially quizzical. he straightened up and locked eyes with adam. "maybe you might enjoy my company if you spoke, pretty boy."

adam seethed, but it was less because of anger and more because of annoyance. "if you wanted to talk then why don't you start the conversation?" he cocked his hip and and crossed his arms.

ronan smiled his heathen smile. "if i knew how," he said cryptically.

adam huffed in annoyance and went back to his and ronan's normal: a staring contest that never had a winner.

gansey looked back at blue, who was looking differently at him than he'd ever had her look at him. it was less annoyed and more interested, like he was a creature from the deep that she brought up on her fishing line.

"so," gansey started, "would you like to exchange numbers so i could inconvenience you? i would only text you if i was coming here late," gansey said as blue kept staring.

noah answered for her. "yes, she'll take it and you'll take hers and adam will take ronan's and ronan will take adam's-"

"i did not sign up for this-" adam cut noah off and noah cut him back off.

"i don't give a flying rat titty if it's what you signed up for, it's happening," noah said.

adam walked towards noah and started arguing with him and ronan watched joyfully. gansey and blue exchange numbers and actually started a conversation that didn't have to do with gansey being inconvenient.

when the boys left, something felt different. something felt, better. gansey and ronan had a place at fox coffee for good. and they loved it, even if ronan would never admit it.

a/n
im writing im trying to write fcuk this is like 1450 words gah