The Smell of Coffee

A USUK/UKUS AU fanfic

Rated T

Warnings: Human AU, Arthur's POV

By GalgenhumorFF / cl41r3Tumblr.

This is a /HORRIBLY LATE BIRTHDAY GIFT/ (please do forgive me orz) to my friend Kisu/Alfie (kisufu), the one who suggested this AU to me and gave me ideas.

Note: Since British and American education systems confuse me, let's just say they're both on their last year of college/university. Ehehe… Sorry…

Note (again!): This is a repost from my art blog (cl41r3) in Tumblr. That is the only duplicate you'll find. I only posted this now because I was grounded when I published that story on Tumblr. Ehehe…

—

I've never been a fan of coffee, myself. I was born and raised in Britain, and was taught to drink tea since the age of three. Well, as far as I can remember. When I came to America years ago to study for college, most of my friends drank coffee and not tea. You could say it was quite hard to adjust, since tea is a bit harder to come by here in America.

It was the beginning of spring and the breeze was mild and calm. I pushed the glass door to a café open, where I hoped they actually served tea. I dislike staying at home, since all I'm reminded of are my upcoming exams and my theses and my projects due next week, and that stresses me out too much. Being outside for a while lets me relax for a bit. Since I can't stay at home, I can't have tea, and I have to settle for the tea in cafés. Unfortunately, tea is a bit harder to come by. More so, good tea.

The interior was all right, I guess. It had a homely feel to it, cosy and light. There were booths and chairs, classical music playing throughout the cafe, and the aroma of coffee wafted in the air. The smell somewhat irritated me. It somewhat assailed my nostrils. Don't get me wrong, it didn't smell foul or anything; I just really disliked the smell of coffee. It was too overpowering.

It seemed my type of café, if only they served tea. I looked at the menu, and sure enough, they had a few to select from. Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Chamomile, the usual. If the tea was good, I'd come here more often.

"Welcome to Café Bleu, what would you like?" the cashier smiled at me. The café's name was French, not that I had anything against them. Café Blue. How creative. The cashier was a young bloke; he looked a bit younger than me, but he looked old enough to be in college as well. Blonde, with a stubborn strand of hair sticking out, glasses, and energetic blue eyes. Taller and more well-built than me as well. 'Alfred', his name tag read.

"Earl Grey." I said shortly, handing over the payment due. There were a handful of customers, mostly college students and businesswomen, I observed. Most of them had their laptops out or whatever gadget they possessed that was WiFi-enabled.

"That will be all?" he asked to confirm, and I gave a short nod. I waited for my drink to arrive. I had a class to attend in an hour, so I didn't really have all day. The tea was done in a few minutes and was handed to me on a tray. They used a nice, porcelain tea cup with a baby blue and white motif, instead of a horrid styrofoam cup. Good for them.

The scent of my Earl Grey reached my nostrils as I inhaled it in delight. Ah, yes, they do make a good cup of tea. I could tell from its smell. I carried my tray to one of the tables in the corner, before sitting down on the chair. Maybe I should have asked for a scone or two, but scones would probably be harder to come by here. I took a sip of the tea, closing my eyes, feeling peaceful. Coming to a café was a better idea than staying home before class. I can't wait to get rid of the bad vibes of the exams and theses and projects inside my flat once this semester's over. I opened my eyes again, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the employee, 'Alfred', wiping a countertop humming to himself. He seemed like the kind who would talk to anybody since he was so friendly and social. Totally unlike me, who preferred keeping to himself. Alfred was now chatting with a co-worker who looked Japanese, before the Japanese went back inside the employees' area.

I'm probably what you would consider a wallflower, or an introvert, I guess. I'm pretty content with watching people do their routine from afar. I put my cup down, having drained it without noticing. Just in time. I stood up and left the café, remembering where it was so I could come back some other time.

During breaks and after classes, I would go there, when I didn't have a prior engagement with someone else, which was most of the time. It was fairly near my house and the college where I study in, so it wasn't much of a problem. I'd go there and always order tea, maybe a different kind of tea for some variety. I sometimes find myself ordering their scones which were quite good, despite being an American café. Occasionally, I would observe the workers. I'd see the young American from time to time and sometimes the Japanese co-worker. On my fourteenth visit there (Don't ask why I count my visits — I have this thing with numbers…), the American noticed me curiously staring at him. I-I wasn't staring, though. I just couldn't help but look his way.

"Is there anything I can do to help ya, mister?" he asked me, looking up with a grin.

"N-no, it's fine." I shook my head, looking away.

"Saaaay…" he lengthened the word and narrowed his eyes at me, eyeing me a bit curiously. "I've seen ya here a lot of times now… You're a regular, aren't ya?" he laughed a bit. So he's noticed my regular visits here.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." I smiled a bit at him, the corner of my mouth turning up a bit amusedly. He's pretty observant.

"You always order tea, though. Are ya British or somethin'?" he cocked his head a bit to the side.

"Well, yes, I am. Can't you tell by the accent?" I said a bit haughtily.

"It's not that thick enough to be noticed." he chuckled. I guess he was right, a few years living here in America toned my British accent down a bit.

"You have a point." I nodded and sipped from my cup. "You seem to have a lot of spare time on your hands, for you to be able to idly chatting with a customer like this." I raised an eyebrow, remarking mildly.

"Well, it's not that busy during my shift so I have a lot of free time. You could say I'm pretty bored." he shrugged and checked his wristwatch. "I have class in an hour and a half…" he muttered to himself.

"You study in the university here as well?" I asked, placing my cup back on the saucer.

He looked up again and nodded, "Yeah, I'm studying business management. How about you?"

"Journalism. Though, I'd rather get into novel-writing than publicity work like newspapers and stuff." I shrugged. I recall my parents back in England, they were pursuing me to get a better course, one with a profession. Have I considered medicine or law?, they asked. Needless to say, it pissed me off a lot, so I told them I was going to study journalism in America. I hated it back there, with my parents. I'm only lucky my aunt and uncle decided to sponsor my education, or else I would have to work my arse off just so I could study here.

"That's cool." he smiled kindly and nodded. I know most people could only say much, since journalism didn't really sound like much of an impressive course. It entailed literature and English, we had to read all the classics, from Shakespeare's Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, to other famous works by Ernest Hemingway (To Kill A Mockingbird), Edgar Allan Poe and a few, less popular but nonetheless well-made pieces. It didn't excite many people. Admittedly, reading all those classics didn't excite me as much, not as much as when I'm actually writing a piece of my own.

Both of us lapsed into awkward silence. I looked away, trying to avoid looking at him. Forty-five minutes later, I looked up from my empty teacup and scone crumbs.

"Shouldn't you get going now?" I asked him. He was still standing in front of the counter, waiting to serve more customers. He looked up and turned to me. "Oh, yeah, you're right. I seem to have spaced out a bit." he laughed awkwardly. He went inside the staff area, and from the tiny glass panel on the door, I could see him remove his apron and place it on one of the hooks. He went into another room and went out a minute later, wearing casual clothes instead of the Café Bleu uniform after punching out.

"I'm going to go now, it was nice meeting ya!" he approached my table and grinned at me. He looked nicer wearing his casual clothes, I noticed.

"Oh, may I go with you, then? I have class in forty-five minutes, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a bit earlier." I asked, hoping he wouldn't say no. It's been quite a while since I have made friends with someone.

"Oh, sure!" he grinned and I smiled back, getting out of my seat and pushing back my chair.

"Thank you." I said and he nodded, leading the way out. It was fairly sunny outside. I normally preferred overcast days, but today was more or less tolerable.

It just occurred to me that neither of us knew each other's names. Rather, he did not know mine. I already knew his, since I saw his name tag on my first visit to the café.

"My name's Arthur, by the way. Arthur Kirkland." I said casually as we walked to the bus stop.

"Hm? Oh! I'm Alfred F. Jones." he smiled. "You only remembered to mention your name now, huh?" he chuckled, and I couldn't help but blush a bit out of embarrassment. Of course, you're supposed to introduce yourself first, right? Honestly, I never got the hang of these social relationships. I'm glad I won't be a newspaper journalist or a businessman, because judging from my people skills, I'm quite sure I'll suck. Still, it's a relief I didn't forget to mention my name, or else it would have been awkward for him later on, at least. Imagine being friends with someone but you don't know their name.

"I guess… Oh, and I already know /your/ name. Your name tag in the café, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! Haha, I forgot about that." he grinned, before coming to a stop in front of the bus stop sign. "Last name's Jones, though. I'm pretty sure /wasn't/ engraved into the name tag." he grinned at me again, slipping a hand into his pocket. Force of habit.

The bus pulled up in front of us a few minutes later, and we both paid the conductor. I sat near the window. I always liked it there better, since I could lean against the glass. Alfred didn't say much the whole ride, I guess he's shy when it comes to people he's just met. He was listening to his iPod minutes later, after deciding that neither of us would speak up and that he would rather not die out of boredom. I must admit, I'm not the most interesting person to talk to out there.

Fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped in front of the university's front gates, the huge campus was swarming with students. Some were just hanging around the sides and the trees, some were rushing towards the different buildings and some were just idly walking around, they probably have a lot of time to spare.

He and I stepped out of the bus, and before we parted ways, I asked him for his number.

I felt silly that time. I've never taken the initiative to do something like that, and my courage wasn't really fit for those kinds of things. I hope he didn't notice that I was quite flustered when I asked. He asked me to put my number into his phone as well, as he did the same with my phone. He surely didn't seem to mind, nor did he think it was weird in any way. Minutes later, I saw his eyes widen a bit when I returned his phone, saying that he had to go because he was going to be late. He left after I apologised, I honestly didn't want to keep him from getting there on time.

He said goodbye to me, and when he was gone, I looked into my cellphone and smiled a bit to myself. Minutes later, I decided to tuck my phone inside my pocket and stop grinning like an idiot in the middle of the campus' courtyard and walk to class, even if it was a bit too early.

I didn't really expect to gain a friend, and I didn't really expect to actually be the one to be more straightforward. A part of me thought I've taken a liking towards Alfred, but I'm not sure just yet.

—-

Author's Notes:

I NEED TO EXPLAIN OK:

Arthur's like, 21. He graduated high school in England when he was 16, but he took a year off when he moved to America mid-semester. According to my research, 'college' and 'university' are 2 different things in England, but they mean pretty much the same in America (both start after 12th grade anyway). Alfred should also be 21, since he graduated when he was 17, then entered college/uni when he was 18. NOW, I might be wrong, but he's also supposed to be 21.

Guys, I suck at researching AND numbers. Trufax.

Whatever, that's not even the main point of the fanfic. :U Chapter 2 next, I hope you liked this even if I confused you with useless factors and stuff XD;;