Despite what was his third coffee of the day, Aidan found himself stifling a yawn. He was leaning against the counter, expression blank, as he stared out the large windows at the front of the cafe. Across the road, the shops were starting to shed the closed blinds and locked doors of the night, and a slow stream of people began trickling into the street. Some tightened their coats to keep out the morning air that began turning cold and crisp, while others frowned at the floor, looking resentful of the day's frigid greeting.

Inside too, Park's was only starting to stir awake, still empty except for Ben who was back in the kitchen with one of the sous chefs, a barista and Aidan. The waiters who were supposed to open the morning shift both called in to say they were stuck in some irregular traffic and would be twenty minutes late, but luckily it was hardly something they couldn't handle. Morning rush wouldn't start for another thirty minutes or so, and it was rare for more than the occasional customer to walk in this early in the morning. Aidan could certainly man the post until backup arrived.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the front door opened to reveal an unexpected guest who walked in and took a seat at one of the corner tables. Late twenties, dressed in a sharp dark suit that matched his neatly parted dark hair. The wind that sneaked through the door behind him gently mixed the scent of his cologne in the room, expensive no doubt, just like the watch on his wrist that reflected the rays of sun that filtered through the window next to him. His expression was unreadable, the sharp lines of his jaw and round curves of his lips holding onto an edge of a tension that showed that perhaps he wasn't as disconnected from his surroundings as he seemed. When Aidan approached him, two deep blue eyes lifted to look at him.

"Can I get a large Americano? Make it strong."

Brown eyes locked on blue, and all Aidan could do was stare in silence, frozen in place. A second ticked by, then another, and another. Then, a wide smile broke out across the face of the man sitting in front of him, his eyes alight with an amused spark that almost made it seem like he was laughing.

"Vanilla Latte, with lots of foam."

"Yeah, that's more like it, not sure who exactly are you trying to fool. You've been having your coffee the exact same way for the past ten years Chris, no amount of designer suits is going to make me suddenly forget it. What are you even doing here this early?"

Christopher Hunt was the young heir to Hunt Enterprises. Confident, handsome and wealthy, he was nearly a perfect stereotype, except for maybe his taste in coffee. He was also Aidan and Ben's friend from their school days, about the age his palate got stuck in, although he was two years older and very different from them. In fact, the friendship between them was almost a miracle. Ben and Aidan had no way of paying for a private high school, if it wasn't for the generous scholarships they both received, and even after getting in they never had the right clothes, the latest phone and certainly not a car - not to mention a new, expensive one. In their school, people like Chris just didn't hang out with people like them.

Yet, it was him who came and sat down at their table during lunchtime one day, declaring the one he was sitting at so far wasn't fun and that he was bored. Years later, after a night out and a somewhat excessive amount of alcohol, he admitted that the real reason he sat with them was because he was tired of people trying to compete for his attention just because of his family. How it made him feel like he wasn't a person.

Regardless, from that fateful day onward and until Chris graduated, they ate every single lunch together. Nowadays, while they met up often enough, Chris lived and worked on the other side of town. Seeing him there at seven AM was just about as surprising as that time Ben asked him to taste the chili brownies he thought he put too much chili in without telling him what they were.

"So harsh," Chris clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "I have a meeting around here, so I figured I'll try saving on breakfast."

"Really?" Aidan quirked a brow. "You're not even going to pretend you came here because we're friends?"

"I did come here because we're friends."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"What can I say?" Chris gave him the devilish smile that broke so many hearts over the past decade. "I'm an honest man."

"You're shameless is what you are. Anyway, coffee is not breakfast and I'm not feeding you for free."

The expression Chris looked at him with was more befitting a toddler than a 27 years old CEO-to be of a multi-million dollar company. Bottom lip sticking out, brows pushed together and eyes wide, he looked like a puppy begging for a treat, a full 180 from the suave young man who walked into the cafe not five minutes ago. Then, he added a quiet whimper.

The loud snort that Aidan let out made a customer who just walked in, a gentleman in his forties who still seemed half asleep, jolt wide awake. He didn't notice though, too busy covering his face with his hand, only the edge of his smile visible as his shoulders shook with laughter.

"Shameless," he scuffed again, though this time there was no mistaking the affection in his voice. When he finally removed his hand with one last chuckle, he came to find that Chris' expression changed again. Not the confident smirk he often wore, nor the puppy dog eyes he just gave him, but an actual smile, warm and genuine. One he couldn't help but return. 

When their eyes locked again, Aidan could have sworn Chris looked like he wanted to say something. Yet, the moment vanished as quickly as it appeared when his gaze shifted to the left, focused on something just over his shoulder. Or rather someone, as when Aidan turned around he found Ben heading in their direction, carrying a plate with enough croissants to feed a small family and smiling from ear to ear.

"I was wondering what could make him laugh so early. Usually he only remembers how to communicate around noon."

"I was just complimenting him on the excellent service you have here," the grin on Chris' face as he eyed the croissants then Aidan again made him look like Hermann, the furry black tyrant he called a pet, napping in the afternoon sun after an especially large meal. Ben's smile, on the other hand, was completely genuine, if slightly confused, as he put down the stacked plate in front of Chris. When he straightened back up, Aidan noticed some flour stuck to his cheek right under his left eye.

"Seriously..." he sighed, reaching to cup Ben's cheek, using his thumb to brush away the white powder. This should have been illegal.

"Huh? Oh, thanks," Ben's gaze moved to Aidan, then back to Chris. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I have a meeting around here, so I figured I'll use the chance to drop by and say hello."

The speed at which Chris' smiles changed was astonishing. The one he was wearing now was, for lack of a better word, completely shit-eating and directed entirely at Aidan. It made him stop altogether and turn his attention back to Chris, his brow arched high on his forehead and his lips pursed.

"Right, when we're both working and you'll have to leave for your meeting in a second. You came to say hello."

"Is this your way of saying you missed me?" Chris tilted his head, earning a giggle from Ben and a roll of Aidan's eyes which made him straighten in his chair and let out a short huff of laughter. "Okay, how about drinks tonight then?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Ben's expression was just as excited as his voice. "It's been so long since we hung out. How about the usual place at nine?"

"Aren't you going to be tired?" Aidan turned to look at Ben with worry. "You got up really early today and it's a Tuesday..."

"So did you. I appreciate the worry but you're not my mom, thank god. I'm going to be fine, and besides I miss you guys. We haven't done something fun the three of us in ages."

"Yeah, if you don't want to come don't try using Ben as an excuse," Chris chimed in, causing Aidan to roll his eyes again, though the exasperated expression wiped clean off his face when Ben grabbed onto his arm.

"Don't worry, he's definitely coming too. Even if I have to drag him by his hair," Ben nudged Aidan with a small smile. "He's been doing nothing but work lately, he needs to have a little fun too."

Aidan had half a mind not to tell Ben that there will be no need of dragging. If he wanted him to come, that was enough of a reason to make him want to go. Besides, he was right. Lately he's been doing nothing but going to and from work, and it has been a minute since the three of them got to just hang. 

"Tonight then," he sighed in feigned defeat, although he had to admit, if only to himself, that the pure excitement on Ben's face and the sheer satisfaction on Chris' were worth it.

"Great!" Ben exclaimed before glancing over his shoulder towards the kitchen. "I have to get back to work but we're on. No last minute canceling!" He lifted a not-so-threatening finger towards Chris who laughed and shook his head.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he placed his hand over his heart. "I swear it on Hermann."

"It's a date then," Ben laughed in reply. "See you tonight!"

As Ben's back disappeared into the kitchen, Aidan's shoulders slumped with the quiet sigh he let out. He was always happy to talk to Ben, to spend time with him, but lately it also made him feel drained. Pretending didn't get any easier with time.

"You're a terrible liar."

The soft remark made him turn around to find Chris looking at him with an enigmatic expression. The edges of his lips still seemed as if they wanted to pull up into a smile, but his eyes held something deeper, more complex. It made Aidan's chest throb with a dull, unfamiliar pain.

"The only one who can't see through you is Ben, although I don't get how. If someone was looking at me this way, like you look at him, I don't think I would have been able to miss it."

"Of course you could have," Aidan sighed. Chris was the only one who knew his secret, almost for as long as he had it. He brought it up out of the blue one day when they were sitting outside, silently doing their homework next to each other. Aidan, who still struggled with the new feelings towards his best friend, was so flustered at being asked if he liked Ben point blank that there was no use trying to hide it. Yet, all Chris said was 'I see' before going back to his trigonometry notebook. Ever since then he rarely brought it up himself, all the while lending an ear or, when Aidan needed it, a shoulder to cry on.

"If you didn't feel the same way about them you might have never noticed."

A short silence began building between them as Chris looked at Aidan. It seemed as if he was searching for something in his expression, yet whatever it was, it appeared he didn't find it.

"Yeah..." the tension crumbled into dust, blown away by the sigh Chris let out when he glanced at his watch. "Maybe. Anyway, I have to go."

"But your coffee-"

"It's okay, I'll take a free cup next time as compensation for the slow service," he winked at Aidan as he got up, who snickered in response.

"I'll see you tonight?"

"If you don't bail on us."

"Wouldn't dream about it," Chris smiled at him one last time. "It's a date, remember?”