Francis parked his motorcycle right outside of Buns & Beans, and took off his helmet to lock it in its case. It looked like he arrived just in time for Lala to open up the shop. She waved at him from the door as she flipped the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open,’ and Francis made his way inside. The ringing of the bells brought about a nice feeling in him, and he wondered if anything would happen today.

It’s been three days since he started working here on a trial basis, and since then he’s been bonding with the two baristas. They were a fun duo with their contrasting personalities, but they meant well. As for the customer named Aki? He hasn’t dropped by since, which gave Francis the chance to know how chatty Lala could get. She’d yap just about anything— his new shift included.

While Francis has been on the afternoon shift since, Lala trusted him enough to upgrade him to a whole day shift starting today. Initially, he thought it was You who owned the place or some other person, but to his surprise it turned out to be her instead. She didn’t look like it, but she was the boss. He imagined them as a mafia with Lala on the chair that spun around dramatically. You would be her right hand man, while Francis was the newly hired guy waving at the victims.

“Good morning, chat.” Francis called out.

“You’re too loud.” You grumbled, sipping on his mug. His half closed eyes and lazy posture of leaning on the counter was a sure sign he just woke up recently, but his blonde hair remained the same. Francis really wanted to know what his hair routine was.

“Don’t mind him.” Lala stationed herself behind the cashier. “He’s always like that in the morning.”

“Well, if that isn’t a mood, I don’t know what is. Are you alright, You?” Francis stood beside him, looking intently at his face.

“Do not talk to me until I’ve finished my coffee.” You pushed him away, making him laugh.

“Alright, alright. I hear you.”

Francis then got his apron from under the counter, and put it on just as he heard the bell jingle, indicating that their first customer had arrived. With his back to the door, he couldn’t see who it was. He was also busy tying up his apron, and figured Lala had it all under control. It was just one customer anyway. Although, he may have spoken too soon.

Without warning, Lala gripped his wrist and pulled him close. And when he let go of the waist straps, she spun him around so he could face up front. There, he was met with a very confused looking Aki who nonetheless nodded his head at them as a greeting. Ah, so that was why Lala was acting this way.

“You’re back!” Francis cheered.

“Oh, uh,” Aki shifted his weight from one foot to another, “yes.”

“What made you come back?”

“Huh?”

“Was it the interior design? The vibe of the coffee shop? Or your order from last time?”

“The Spanish Latte was too good to be true.” He smiled, and this gave off a comforting feeling that made Francis relax.

Lala, however, still had her iron grip on his wrist. She made him stand in front of her, almost as if she was making him her very own personal shield. The mercenary and the bear, off to face a mushroom, but the bear refuses to take a step forward. Francis couldn’t have that when he wanted them to interact again! Aki even made the effort to come back here specifically for her Spanish Latte! He tried pulling his hand free, but it was useless.

“I’m sure she can make it for you again.” Frances gave him a thumbs up.

“She better. It’s her job.” You added, and took another sip of his coffee. “Punch in his order, so Lala can go ahead and make it, Francis.”

“Yes, sir.” He saluted at him with his free hand. The man didn’t smile though.

“Don’t even start with calling me that.”

“Sorry, sir.” Francis then looked expectantly at Aki. “Spanish Latte, I take it?”

“Yes, please.” He took out his wallet to pay.

As Francis worked on the cashier to put in his order, he had to use the hand Lala was holding. With it out there and free for anyone to see, he noticed how Aki’s eyes landed on it and followed after it. His eyes squinted at that— or was he glaring?— and frowned. They weren’t hand holding because she was holding his wrist still, but somehow it felt like Francis did something bad to Aki. That, and it was somehow his fault Lala was holding him. He had to do something about this.

“Lala, can you get his payment?” Francis asked, hoping she’d finally let him go.

“Hm? What?” Lala snapped out of her trance from staring at the floor.

“The money.”

“Oh, right, uhm—”

Just as Francis hoped, Lala dropped his wrist and held out her hand to Aki. He smiled at her and gave the payment. Unfortunately, there was no skin contact and slow motion moment this time around. What a bummer! Nothing else happened after that, and You urged Lala to go make the Spanish Latte. Although, Aki stayed by the counter as he watched her. Maybe they needed to be prompted again to talk to each other.

“Can you add cinnamon again, like last time, miss?” Aki asked her.

Or maybe not.

Lala nodded her head at him, probably not trusting herself to speak else she’ll mess it up. Maybe it was just her who needed a push. Francis had to do it in a way that wouldn’t put her in a tight spot, but with the way she was with Aki last time, anything could put her in a pinch. Oh, this was harder than he expected.

When he wrote his stories, he’d sometimes be challenged on how two characters would interact with each other. This would then lead him to try and find something the characters could both have in common, leading them to bond over it. If Lala and Aki were his characters in this scenario, what would make them click together? Perhaps small talk could be a start.

Francis tilted his head to the side as he crossed his arms across his chest, his brain going overdrive in coming up with something at the very least. Just then, You flickered his hand on his shoulder. When he looked over at him, You pointed at the two before them. Aki was still watching Lala. Not at the coffee making, but at her face. Did she have something on it? If not, then Aki must really be enjoying the view with how he couldn’t look away.

Oh la la.

“Aki, do you live around here?” Francis ended up asking to get something going.

“Huh?” He snapped out of it and looked his way. “Oh, yes. I moved here just last month.”

“Are you—” Lala looked at him for a second, then back at the coffee— “are you liking it here?”

Aki nodded his head to that, and left it there. While You tended to a new customer by the cashier, Francis kept watch of the two and their progress… well, if there ever was one. With the way Lala kept retreating to her shell, and with Aki opting for silence, they might as well go nowhere. So he gave it another try again.

“You've been working here for a long while, or no?” He asked You, who let out an amused huff.

“Since its first day, yeah, but it hasn’t been that long.” You then gave him a copy of the other customer’s order. “Now get to work.”

And when Francis started preparing the coffee beside Lala, he made sure to check in on them. See if Aki heard him about the shop. It looked like he did with the way he kept opening and closing his mouth, almost as if he wasn’t sure what to say or how to start it. Francis silently cheered him on when he finally gave it a shot. Was the feeling mutual? It was too soon to tell just yet.

“When did Buns & Beans open?” Aki asked. “It felt like you guys just popped out of nowhere.”

“Not that, er, long ago.” Lala replied, and Francis wanted to coach her to speak better. Still, he continued with his job as they talked.

“Well, I’m glad I found this coffee shop. It’s nice.”

“Oh! T-thank you.”

“I’ll try and come here more often, if that’s okay.”

Lala looked at him then with a smile. “Buns & Beans will always be here.”

At that moment, she finished up making his drink and placed it on the counter. Aki thanked her for that, got his order, and left just like that. Lala kept her eyes on him until he couldn’t be seen anymore, and dreamily smiled at Francis and You. While Francis was happy for her and gave her a thumbs up, the latter only scoffed at the scene.

“You guys talked!” Francis cheered.

“We talked!” Lala held her hands together and pressed it against her chest.

“Ayayay.” You finished up his coffee. “Don’t get so caught up in it. You were still eating your words.”

“But at least I tried!”

“Sure, Lala. What was up with ‘Buns & Beans will always be here' anyway? That was so cliché.”

“I panicked, okay?! He said he’ll come by more often, and I panicked at that! What was I supposed to say to that? He said it so suddenly too, which made my brain put a brake on it, and so it stopped running and everything! Like, hello? I need you to keep going? Why did you stop at such an important time?! And why does he have to be so cute? It’s a crime, I tell you! Aki and his mushroom beanie is a crime!” 

As Lala said all that, she was gesturing her hands all over while pacing around in circles. Almost as if the moment she had with Aki fueled her with energy, and she needed to let it out. It was very entertaining to watch at the very least. Francis couldn’t help but chuckle at the very scene as he finished up the order.

“Hey, it’s okay, you did good!” He reassured her, patting her back before going to the table to deliver the coffee. “Your Espresso, good sir.”

“Really?” Lala looked at him with hopeful eyes.

“No.” You intervened before he could reply, making her panic once more. “Also, Francis, wrong table! It’s the one beside that.”

“My bad, my bad.” Francis turned around to give the order to the right customer. 

As he did so, Lala was egging on You about his immediate ‘no.’ “Are you sure about that?”

“Pretty much.”

“You!”

“Lala!” He spared her a glance and placed his mug in the sink. “I’m just saying.”

“What matters is that you were able to converse with Aki.” Francis skipped back to the two with how happy he was for the blossoming love. “Like, that’s a step!”

“Oh, I like you better than You right now.” Lala sighed in relief. “A small step is still a step.”

“Yeah! You did introduce yourself to him already, right?” At that, she quieted down and this made Francis confused, so he tried again. “Lala? You did, right?”

“Uhm…”

“Oh my god.”

“I think I forgot to.”

Francis blinked at her while You laughed, filling the air with his voice. Then again, Francis never heard her say her name to Aki, but he assumed she did when he wasn’t looking or listening. Oh boy, did this bring them back to step one? He hoped not.

“How do you forget to do that?” You asked in between laughter.

“I don’t know!” Lala covered her embarrassed face with both hands.

Well, at least Francis knew what they had to do next time Aki came back around.