Chapter Text
The bell jingled above him when Joel opened the door to the coffee shop and warm air greeted him. It smelled deliciously of pastries despite the late hour, and it all being eaten away already as he couldn’t see any on display. His stomach grumbled at the sad sight.
Inside, sitting at one of the tables, was only a single man in his middle years, looking like he needed much more than the big cup of coffee in front of him to get on with his life. He didn’t even lift his head to look at the newcomer, but Joel was okay with not being eyed, fearing he didn’t make for a much better picture.
He shuffled forwards to make his own order, wishing he was sitting on his couch instead of being out in this cold weather and having to interact with people. When he neared the counter, the guy behind it finally looked up from his laptop that was perched on a chair next to him. As the screen was tilted away from him, Joel couldn’t catch a glimpse of the internet activities of the guy. Weird though, Joel thought, wouldn’t be new for him to see the young adults working at the cash register in the night shift playing on their phones, but bringing their laptop? Did he actually work here, or was he a customer who sneaked behind the counter when no one was looking?
However, the name tag on his black shirt identified him as an employee. Alex, it said. Also weird, so English. Joel couldn’t say he ever met an Alex. He also wouldn’t say that he looked average. In any case too pretty to waste his time serving other people.
“Hello, what can I do for you?” Alex asked with a chirpy voice and a welcoming smile, that was totally unreasonable for the hour. Rehearsed to come across as friendly, no doubt. No one could look this happy while working. Well, Joonas maybe, but this guy was like an overexcited puppy on shrooms.
And Joel was anything but that. “A cappuccino to go. With a double espresso.” Joel mumbled. He was too tired to say more. He accepted he wouldn’t fall asleep tonight and wanted to counteract the drowsiness so he could at least work on some stuff and not sit around staring at the wall.
The barista blinked at him for a moment before telling him it will be ready in a second and turning to the coffee machine. Foaming the milk was loud in the otherwise quiet coffee shop. The music in the background was barely audible. Regardless of the volume turned down, Joel could make it out to be a Rock song. Also unusual for a coffee shop, he would’ve expected a Relaxing Acoustic Covers Playlist or whatever they were all called, but sounded the same nevertheless.
Interrupting his thoughts Alex put the paper cup on the counter and pointed to the boxes next to it, saying, “You can find milk and sugar here, if you need it. Do you want anything else?”
Joel only shook his head, already grabbing for the sugar. He definitely needed it to give his energy a boost. There was a bit of a walk back to his flat and with the sun not even up he had more than a bit of time to beat. Sugar was just the right thing for his brain.
Alex took up the space behind the register again, typed something on the keys and then told him the price.
Now it was Joel’s time to blink and needing a moment. That was pricey for a plain coffee, he wasn’t aware he would get the good quality stuff in here. Well, he had already ordered and couldn’t simply walk out now, couldn’t he? And he also had no other choice if he wanted to survive the night. There was no other option for him to get his elixir of life.
His own filter machine had broken down three weeks ago and the caffeine withdrawal hadn’t been nice neither on him nor the people around him. There was no money to buy a new one, he had looked into his savings account multiple times, but the number didn’t suddenly climb.
He knew he lived in a shitty district, but he was still surprised to find out there was no bakery around him. Not a single one. How can you live without a bakery offering freshly brewed coffee and buns? The gas station around the corner was out of question. It was also open 24/7 which was suitable for him as he had no real sleep schedule. But the coffee there was not drinkable, more poison to his veins than relief.
So Joel sighed as he eyed the numbers on the display and put the correct amount of money on the counter without another word. Then he grabbed his coffee and vanished out of the door, starting his walk home. Looking at the time on his phone he was relieved to see he had more than enough time for himself before he had to face his neighbour.
-
“You won’t believe how rude some customers can be.” Aleksi bewailed while stirring the pasta in the pot forcefully, a few drops of red sauce landing on the counter next to him.
“What did they do this time?” Niko asked from the table where he had made himself comfortable, waiting for dinner to be finished.
Like most evenings they were in the kitchen, talking about their day and would then eat together, otherwise not seeing each other much because of their schedule. But it was nice to share these two hours together, having a familiar face around and interchanging some words. The other two tenants were rarely seen and quite frankly neither Aleksi nor Niko were particularly interested to get to know them better.
Apart from them leaving a mess in the kitchen they both had to clean up before being able to cook, only the loud music coming out of their rooms indicated they were actually present. Aleksi and Niko only rolled their eyes at that behaviour, but at least they had each other to complain about it and gossip about the red G- String they had found in the bathroom or hallway. Again.
Wasn’t it lovely to live in a shared apartment? Niko was glad to finally gain a partner in crime with Aleksi who had moved in only a few months ago. Since then, they had grown pretty close and after observing how Niko was unable to cook the simplest meal, Aleksi had taken pity and had started to cook for two, and so their evening ritual was born. And ever since starting his job Aleksi used their habitual dinner dates to complain about the overall rudeness of people.
Waving with the wooden spoon through the air, scattering more sauce around, Aleksi turned to him. “There was this guy this morning. No hello, no please, no thank you, no goodbye.”, he said, holding up a finger for every offense, “Nothing. How hard is it to say these little extra words, be nice to people, come one, it’s not that hard.”
Niko nodded, already having heard this speech several times since Aleksi started working at the coffee shop. It was a hard wake up call to realize not everyone was as courteous as him. Before Niko could reply anything Aleksi continued, “And also, who buys coffee at 4 in the morning? A cappuccino with a double espresso no less.”
“Maybe he works the early shift?” Niko offered. “I can’t start my day without coffee either.”
Aleksi though didn’t want a reasonable explanation, he was just here to rant about the people that he had to face every day. “He didn’t look like he would be able to work anytime soon. Dude was dead tired. Doesn’t seem healthy to consume coffee at this hour if you ask me. You start your day at 7, that’s normal. Being awake at 4 am is questionable.”
“Who knows, you’re awake at ungodly hours too. Don’t tell me you’re always forgetting to turn off your light, that I can see coming out from under your door when I walk to the bathroom at night, and not sit hunched over your laptop working.”
Aleksi gaped at him, unbelieving Niko would betray him like that. He just wanted to lament about work and customers and not get criticised himself. Niko didn’t even look at him, instead immersed into the music sheets on the table, sorting them, and scribbling notes on them with a pencil.
“I work better at night, you know that.” And it was true. The time around midnight into the early morning light provided him with the best environment to work concentrated on his homework. It was like his brain only came to life then. No one interrupted him, only the occasional customer reaching the coffee shop during his night shift. But they were few and far between.
He never outright asked if he was allowed to bring his laptop to work but who should come by and check on him? His manager was soundly asleep in his bed, elated he found someone stupid enough to work these hours, but Aleksi was overly happy how well the job paid, and he desperately needed it to afford rent. That in exchange for a bit of tiredness during the day was a fairly good deal for him.
“Whatever you want to tell yourself.”
Now it’s really enough, Aleksi told himself. He put effort into cooking for them and Niko wasn’t even really listening, instead giving his attention to the papers under his nose. Where was the understanding for Aleksi’s misery? “Are you done with your work and criticizing my lifestyle or are you set on not looking at me once today. Now it’s you who’s rude.” There was a pout on his lips.
Finally Niko lifted his head and nudged his glasses higher on his nose with a finger. “Happy?” He asked and looked him in the eyes for a few seconds before turning his gaze back to the table, his glasses sliding down again. “By the way, when is dinner ready?” He followed up with a grin that Aleksi was able to see even from his place at the stove, a mischievous one that was seemingly always resting on his face.
“You’re unbelievable!” Aleksi said exasperated but with an amused undertone. “Am I nothing but a housemaid to you?” Despite the unfair treatment given, Aleksi turned to the cupboard on his left and pulled out two plates, a smile having worked his way on his lips now too, and the rude customer almost forgotten.
-
To Aleksi’s satisfaction Niko had played nice the next few days and to his astonishment the customers also seemed to be more friendly towards him, an older lady even gave him a generous tip after helping her to the right kind of cake she had enjoyed immensely.
There was not much to complain about so Niko had taken it upon himself to fill the silence over their meal with talk about his pupils, the kids he’s teaching how to play piano. It was so endearing to watch how he would light up telling him about an especially talented girl and how much fun it was to show her new songs as she’s advancing in her skill.
It reminded Aleksi so much of himself, how eager he was to learn new things, always on the search to incorporate different things into his music, never truly satisfied with his work. The classes he attended were good and very informative and he had surely learned a lot already since he started university, but it always felt like something was missing and until now Aleksi couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
All his free time was spent on his music, and homework, and developing his style, listening to other artists, analyzing what he liked and didn’t. There was nothing else he was doing. Didn’t know if there even was something worth reducing the time used on creating music. For him there was nothing better and fulfilling, really.
Whenever he started talking about his newest project and got into explaining all the details he had worked on until perfection and found himself running out of breath, not sure how much time he had been rambling, Niko gave him that look. That look of recognition. Because he was just the same. Driven by the need to create and surround himself with music until there was nothing else. Together they could talk for hours about their songs or music and bands in general.
Although they came from different backgrounds and were currently going into totally different directions, they had quickly found out how similar they actually were. Niko was open for pretty much anything, Aleksi couldn’t tell how often he heard Celine Dion’s high notes echoing through the flat while Niko was cleaning, or the Backstreet Boys had been on loop when he had been in an especially good mood. He expected a lot more Eminem or whatever kind of rappers were out there, and though he often heard Niko rapping along with the verses it wasn’t the most common genre that was played.
During his childhood Aleksi had been a big fan of Rock and Metal, to his parent’s dismay, as his ever changing bands liked to practice in their family garage, the drums loud, and the slightly out of tune guitars, because they didn’t know better back then, grating on their ears. But it was fun and freeing, just playing around.
And it had stuck to him throughout his whole life, even though he had decided to study something unrelated. The same bands that had kept him company in his teen years were still being blasted through his headphones. And he could share that with Niko because he had discovered the same bands back then, and just like little fangirls they had spent hours fawning over hot lead singers or the packed drummer, and of course the bass player, who generally seemed too shy to step in the spotlight, and not forgetting the charming guitarist.
Often they gave each other recommendations, having developed a feeling for what the other may like. It really didn’t feel like they had known each other for less than a year. It was more like early childhood friends that had found each other again. Aleksi would even go so far as to see an older brother in Niko as he never held back with advice and always had an ear open for him while still liking to tease him never endingly until Aleksi stomped away in mock rage, showing him the middle finger before throwing his door shut.
He liked their dynamic, cherished it, as he, after moving into a new city, didn’t find much connection, not even in uni where he had expected to see himself in every classmate. But apparently he had been too excited, and the students attending the same classes as him weren’t sharing his mindset and he often would lose interest talking to them. There weren’t many he liked to spend his breaks with and talk about life, and small talk was getting boring after so many weeks of always repeating the same things, how the potatoes in the canteen had been overcooked and how awful the weather was again.
Sometimes he wished his favourite co worker would share classes with him, but no, he was actually cool and played bass, though Aleksi had to keep himself from muttering pretentious when he had revealed he was studying Jazz of all things. Aleksi wasn’t judging, he just didn’t expect that from Olli.
Although... Aleksi had liked Olli from the first second because he was so easy going and laid back but had a quick mind when it came to rude customers. Often he admired him for his easiness with which he mastered the day, Aleksi could only dream about being this chill. He could very well imagine Olli softly playing his bass with his eyes closed, lost in the rhythm, and then Jazz sounded just right.
They were delighted to find out they were actually studying at the same university except Olli was a year above him, already having started last year, but also took the job like him a few weeks ago after he had moved out. He let it shine through that he had had a few quarrels with his parents and couldn’t stand living with them under one roof anymore but was now desperately needing the money. Aleksi didn’t ask any further, understood him well enough and didn’t want to prod and make him spill things that maybe would only lead to aggravate the wound that undoubtedly must be in the same place where Aleksi had his own. But he also didn’t share, being more closed off and not easily communicating all his problems. Not to strangers, albeit Olli was hardly a stranger anymore. Something more akin to a friend if Aleksi listened to his inner voice.
The weeks or months they had worked together had been awesome though to both their disappointment their work schedules never lined up and they mostly only saw each other at the time between changing shifts. When Aleksi was almost finished and Olli came in to start his own, together bracing the time frame where the first people got up to work and needed a caffeine boost to not fall asleep on the bus or the train.
But everything was so hectic they barely got to talk to each other, busy fulfilling coffee orders, packing pastries, and cautious not to mess up with the cash register. Hurrying past each other, attempting to shorten the line that had formed with the people getting impatient and impolite.
It was really strange to be the only coffee shop around, and Aleksi had often wondered what the reason for that might be. The demand was undeniable there but in the vicinity around them he had yet to spot another one. And the gas station he had stopped on his way to uni sometime with Niko was not cutting it. The coffee there was more of a dark broth, watery and vaguely tasting of what coffee was supposed to taste like. He would rather not go there again, except for a pack of cigarettes once in a while.
A hand snipped with his fingers before his eyes, and Aleksi was rudely pulled back into reality, the smell of ovenfresh dough in his nose again.
“Good morning. Did we have a good dream?” Olli smiled at him and joined him behind the counter, fiddling with his name tag on his chest.
“No.” He replied in a sad tone. “My mind is too bored to come up with imaginative fairy tales.” Standing lonely in an empty shop with nothing to do absolutely didn’t do anything to stimulate his brain.
“No riding into the sunset with a knight or a princess?”
Aleksi had never outright told him he wouldn’t be opposed to a knight, but he guessed the button with the bisexual flag on his rucksack was hint enough, he was just impressed that Olli had picked up on it or didn’t ignore it after the revelation like so many other people did. The jokes were definitely better this way though and Aleksi secretly enjoyed the teasing.
Snorting at Olli’s concept of a good dream, Aleksi got up from his elbows on the wooden plate and turned to Olli to help him with the name tag that just didn’t want to stay in his place. At least he had turned up with one, most days Olli forgot it at home or would find it in odd places like the freezer.
“You know what, leave it.” Olli said when he had enough of Aleksi patting his chest in another attempt to keep the tag stuck to his Shirt. “People don’t need to know my name anyway.” And then he tossed it in one of the compartments under the counter, going back to the room behind. “You already put the buns in the oven I see.”
Aleksi shrugged with his shoulders. “I had nothing to do and daydreaming about my fictional horse ride on the beach got boring after a while.”
Giving him a pat on the shoulder out of sympathy Olli showed him a smirk. “Well, don’t do it too often or I’m losing my job because I’m not needed here anymore.” As if anyone here really watched their fingers and what exactly they were doing. Aleksi liked this job so much because he had so much freedom and no one was standing behind his back to criticize every move.
But he would not turn down an opportunity to tease Olli back. “Better late than never, and I can finally get back to my job without getting teased for my non-existent love life.”
He could see that Olli already had a remark on his lips, but the bell made its noise, and they gave their attention to the very early customer coming towards them. The sun wasn’t even up yet and wouldn’t show for another while. Near winter in Finland was lovely.
“You’re early today.” Olli noted and Aleksi wondered why he was on such friendly terms with a customer. He couldn’t say if he had ever seen him, he was taller than him and had a mess of blonde curls on top, definitely looking better than average, and there was a brightness to him that didn’t come from the overhead lights. No, Aleksi thought, he would be able to recall him if he had ever shown up during his shift. Maybe he was an uni friend from Olli, but the accessory instrument was missing.
The guy gave a dazzling smile at his welcome that didn’t miss to make the corner of his own mouth twitch too. “Have to cover for my coworker, which means I have more work to do, so getting up early it is.”
“And I guess you’re in need of a good coffee to start the day?” Oli continued, already turning to the coffee machine, a to go cup in hand. How long did they know each other that Olli knew the order from memory? If not a fellow student, then who was he? Aleksi watched their interaction with his eyes flickering between the two. The banter they were currently displaying was definitely too normal for them to be new acquaintances.
“Who is your cute coworker by the way? He looks nice, why didn’t you introduce us yet?” The guy suddenly asked and turned his smile towards Aleksi, who was too surprised to answer for himself or even get his name out.
Putting the coffee down and moving the milk closer to his friend/stranger/acquaintance, Olli said, “Great, now you scared Aleksi. Don’t flirt with him, he doesn’t know how to take it.”
“Well, I know where I would take him.” His smile grew even wider and Aleksi wondered if this was really happening right now or if he was still alone and Olli had never woken him up and he had simply fallen from one dream into another.
“Okay, I think that’s enough, I need him for another hour and he’s no use for me if he’s rendered speechless.” Tipping the price into the register, Olli accepted the money and closed the box again, leaning against it.
“A pity. Aleksi is a beautiful name, have a nice day.” The guy said at last and walked back out, a sweeping step in his walk. Aleksi could just hear him starting to whistle before the door finally closed.
“Hey, earth to Aleksi, are you still there?” Once again Olli pulled him out of his thoughts. Would it be a good excuse to just say he was tired?
Blinking at Olli, Aleksi found back into his body after the otherworldly experience of getting flirted with. When did anyone ever give him compliments for his appearance or his name? “What was that?”
“A person named Joonas.” Olli answered casually like the previous conversation had been the most normal one, or maybe their conversations were just like that, who was Aleksi to judge.
“And who is that? A friend of yours?”
“No, he first came in about two weeks ago, always right after the morning rush was over, and sometimes also in the evening. You know, the first times he flirted with me too until he suddenly stopped. I didn’t even say that I was uncomfortable or something, maybe he just lost interest in me, who knows. And I told him he will get the discount either way so there was no need to.”
Aleksi stared at Olli, disbelieving. “You are giving him a discount? Are we allowed to do that?”
Not that he would be the one to get into trouble, but he wouldn’t like losing Olli just because he was nice to someone who was basically a stranger. That’s what he meant when he called Olli easy going. Sometimes he wasn’t concerned enough about the consequences or didn’t think too far in the future. More living in the presence, which Aleksi admired about him on most days, but not when it came to illegal things. Well, okay, giving a discount was not illegal. Or was it? He had to read through his work contract again.
“What should I care?” Olli asked dauntless. “He’s nice and his funny remarks are cheering me up. Also gave me good tips and he’s a regular, so it’s not like we wouldn’t make any money from him.”
Aleksi was still sceptical. “Sounds more like you’re buying yourself a friend. Or getting bought? One of the two.” Apart from his eagerness to flirt and his bright smile, Aleksi didn’t learn anything about Joonas and as he was rather careful when it came to new people, he was more than suspicious of the guy flaunting in and talking up the barista.
Olli shrugged at Aleksi’s opinion. “I don’t mind. If he's always as nice as in the few minutes he’s buying his coffee I wouldn’t refuse to get to know him better. You should try it sometimes.”
“Try what?”
Getting back his teasing smile Olli said, “Meeting new people.”
“I hate you.” Aleksi said in mock outrage and tried to strike Olli with a towel, but Olli was already in the backroom, taking the buns out of the oven.