“What’s that?” Francis asked, pointing at a jar by the cashier.

Having only arrived this morning, it was just the baristas in Buns & Beans at the moment. But changes were made, starting with the LoFi music filling the air. He was now a mercenary working in a chill shop, with the bear putting smooth music in the air. Even the dragon was nodding his head to it! Francis didn’t mind that. It helped set a nice atmosphere, but what brought about all this? He wanted to know.

“This, my friend,” Lala proudly turned the jar around, showing the label taped on it, “is the tip jar! An idea Aki came up with last time.”

“And the music?”

“He suggested it too!”

“Oh? Someone’s awfully close with Aki.”

“What? He just thinks we should get tips for our service and drinks— most especially the sandwiches! And the music is a nice touch. Why I didn’t think of it sooner is beyond me, but at least now we have it.”

“Aww, he loves your sandwich!” Francis cooed. She turned red at the word ‘love,’ and slapped his shoulder repeatedly.

“Get a grip, you two.” You put a stop to it, and flicked their foreheads one at a time. As usual, he had a mug of coffee in his other hand.

They all got to work then when a few customers arrived, and the morning passed just like that. Francis wanted something fun to happen, but with Buns & Beans located in Los Baños where nothing ever really happens… it was unlikely for something eventful to just pop up out of the blue. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to happen. Just something at the very least.

Then again, a bunch of things worthy of being written have already happened in this coffee shop. Maybe Francis was being greedy for wanting more. Was it bad that he used those moments and placed them in his writing? For practice and exercise purposes, of course. Nothing else. They were fun to write, but they weren’t anything serious.

When Aki came in, Lala was now able to greet him properly. She didn’t need Francis’ help anymore, and he was proud of her for that. He smiled at the scene of them conversing as Lala punched in Aki’s go-to order, but then he was saying something else. About how he wanted to get something stronger this time, so he was asking what she’d recommend.

“Well, well.” Francis stood beside Lala. “What made you ditch Spanish Latte today?” And that was when he properly saw how Aki really looked.

He had his usual mushroom beanie and hoodie on, but his eyes— along with new eyebags similar to Francis’— look so exhausted that he might as well bring a blanket to sleep in here. There was no light in it either! His shoulders sagged in defeat, and he was hunching almost that he had to steady himself by holding the counter. He was like a decaying mushroom, losing its brightness and color while the apocalypse happened. 

“I pulled an all-nighter from all the commissions I had to do for like two days.” Aki mumbled and rubbed one eye.

“What kind of commissions?”

“Art— like portraits and such.”

“Ohhh.” Francis paused, then frowned. “But shouldn’t you, I don’t know, sleep first?”

“No, I can’t do that. I know you mean well, but I just can’t.”

“Why not?” Lala asked this time.

“Because I still have a bunch of commissions to do, so I would like to know what kind of coffee order I should get.” Aki sighed.

Francis shared a concerned look with Lala, and understood then that they were in the same boat. But while Francis was going to let Aki be because that was his decision, Lala looked like she wanted to say otherwise and throw him to bed so he could get a good night’s sleep. Which would help Aki a lot, but Francis wasn’t too sure if they were close enough for that just yet.

“If you want to torment yourself to keep going, order Espresso.” You chimed in, sipping on his coffee. “That’ll do the trick.”

“I’ll have that then. Oh, and for to-go, please.” Aki nodded his head and paid.

“But you should sleep.” Lala didn’t punch in his order. “Look at the state of you!”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Trust me, you don’t look fine.”

“I have days where I’m usually like this, so it’s nothing new.”

“Nothing new?”

“And that’s one Espresso coming right up!” Francis intervened and placed his order, gently pushing Lala aside before she could say more. 

The tone of her voice made it sound like she was ready to fight, and he couldn’t have that happening. After Aki got his drink, he waved them goodbye and left the coffee shop. Lala still had that concerned look on her face, scrunched up nose and crossed brows and all that. She then turned to You, and Francis had no idea what she was angry about. Was it his coffee recommendation?

“What did you do that for?!” She waved her hands at him.

You raised a brow, like he wasn’t impressed by this. “He asked for a recommendation, so I gave him an answer.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have!”

“He’s a paying customer who deserves his right to coffee.”

“Still! Didn’t you see the way he looked?”

“I get that you’re worried about him,” You moved closer and jabbed a finger on her blouse, his sharp eyes burning with anger as well, “but who are you to stop him from getting what he thinks he needs?”

She looked ashamed of that, but shook her head. “What he needs is proper rest!”

“Okay, I think we all need to calm down.” Francis stepped in between the two, pushing them away from each other. You remained annoyed, and resumed drinking his coffee like it was the only thing that could take his stress away.

“And you!” Lala grabbed Francis’ shoulders all of a sudden.

“Him, or me?” He stared at her wide-eyed.

“You could have backed me up! You were thinking the same thing, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but it’s Aki’s decision.”

She looked ready to cry from all this. “But he’s making it bad with the coffee…”

“I just— I’m not about to tell him how to live his life.”

“Francis!”

He shook her shoulders back, and gestured for her to take deep breaths. She didn’t follow at first, but when he wouldn’t let her go, she eventually caved in. In and out, in and out. They stayed that way for a while, until Francis was sure Lala had calmed down and let her go.

“How do you feel now?” He asked.

“Better, but I’m still…” Lala looked at the door as if she was hoping the guy would come back and return his coffee, “... worried about Aki.”

“I understand, but you should respect his decision. Look, if he doesn’t quit it next time, I’ll share my thoughts with him. Now, don’t you have something to say to You?”

When both Lala and You locked eyes, Francis silently prayed they wouldn’t go for round two.

“I’m sorry I took my anger out on you. I shouldn’t have done that.” She sighed, holding out her hand for a truce.

You said nothing to that, but he did shake her hand, so there was that. Francis was relieved nothing bad happened next, and that the argument was put to a stop before it could go out of control. Though he should have known disaster would follow the next day.