show me love (with coffee) [winteam]

Part 1 of 1

After Team started university and moved out of his parents' place, he quickly became aware of the fact that he would need a job. Although his parents helped him financially – mainly by paying for his dorm – he spent way more money than he had when he went to high school, probably because he'd actually made friends this time around.

As soon as he started university, he'd quickly become friends with two of his classmates, Pharm and Manaow. And they were great, he loved spending time with them, but they were also the biggest reason as to why he spent so much money. Between trips to the cinema and the endless shopping Manaow insisted on them doing, his money was dwindling fast.

Therefore he'd gotten a job at a nearby coffee shop. Team had never had a job before, but he liked coffee, so how bad could it be?

Really bad, Team quickly found out. There were so many new things he had to learn and tings to keep check on. He had to learn how to use the different machines and how to properly clean them. He was told to smile at all the customers, even when stressed and when the customer in question was being unreasonable. He had to take classes before he was even allowed to make the coffee. Who knew working in a fucking coffee shop was so complicated?

But the worst thing, without a doubt, was all the foreign names and orders. Team wasn't great at English, nor had he previously been aware that there were so many different types of coffee and drinks, but apparently he was required to learn all of them by heart and be able to make them. Furthermore, he had to be aware that some customers might want him to alter the drinks, and therefore had to learn how the different ingredients affected each other, so that he could tweak each drink to fit the customers' wishes.

As much as he found the job frustrating, he also kind of enjoyed it. He wasn't the most social person, but he liked his coworkers, In and Del, and his boss, Sorn. And the coffee shop was mainly popular with students who liked to sit in the café and study, so there were rarely long queues.

It was a Tuesday, around 11 am. Team didn't have classes on Tuesdays till in the afternoon, so he often worked that particular shift. In was working too, making the coffees, while Team was taking orders. It was pretty slow that day, as he had expected, so him and In were joking around. In was a joyful person, and always gave Team an energy boost, even when Team was in a bad mood. In was also great at listening to Team's complaints about the customers, so they'd become fast friends.

The little bell above the entrance rang as the door opened, just as In was telling Team about how he had a date with his boyfriend Korn the upcoming Friday. Team turned towards the new customer and straightened his back to look more professional. Team beamed in welcome at the customer, a guy at around Team's own age, tall and with his bleached hair pulled up in a small pony-tail, samurai style.

Team didn't usually think of his customers as attractive – more often he thought of them as little menaces – but he had seen a few that made him do a double take. This guy, however, was next level. Team didn't think he had a "type", but if he did, this guy was definitely it. When he noticed the tattoos peeking out from under the guy's t-shirt sleeves, he knew he was done for.

The customer smiled back as he was walking towards the counter, and Team's heart nearly stopped.

"Hi," the guy said in greeting. He looked up at the menu on the wall behind Team, but Team was sure he saw the guy's gaze drift towards him several times. "Can I have... an iced skinny hazel macchiato, sugar free syrup, extra shot, light ice and no whip to go, please?"

Team's eyes boggled. He realized he'd been too focused on the guy's appearance to properly take down his order, but he was pretty sure that even if he'd been focused on the task itself, he wouldn't have been able to keep up.