Piano Days and Other Malec One-Shots

Falling in Love with Silence

Regular World! AU

After only a week at the coffeeshop, Magnus knew the regulars.

There was Beth, who came in every morning with her knitting bag, staying well after Magnus' shift was over.

Charles came in every two days like clockwork, always at five am.

Sue came in for a small decaf, double sugar, Monday through Friday, before her shift at the diner down the street at 12:30 am.

Then there was Alexander, who never spoke. He made his appearance and Magnus rang him up and made his coffee, and left him to surf the web on his Macbook.

Magnus worked the night-shift, to pay the bills while he spent the rest of his time at university.

His sleep schedule was hellish, to say the least.

When he wasn't in class and not on shift, he was in his apartment, passed out on the couch or his bed (depending on how far he made it).

Besides his hectic schedule, Magnus worked the night-shift because the pay was substantially better.

And it was nice. It was almost always quiet in the 24/7 cafe and the smell of coffee and the occasional cup kept him awake. He could study behind the counter, writing essays on his laptop hidden behind the espresso machine.

Jazz played on the speakers overhead as Magnus scrubbed down the menu boards for the night. He'd chalk tomorrow's menu on as soon as the baker and chef came in around 5 am and decided what could be whipped together from the day's fresh produce.

He was only two hours into his ten hour shift, which made it a little after midnight.

Sue would be here any minute.

Magnus set aside his cloth, climbing down from his ladder. They were running low on decaf beans.

He pushed open the swinging door to the back, searching around dry storage for a sealed bag of coffee beans. He found it fast enough and returned to the front.

Alexander was standing in front of the register, leaning on it. He looked tireder than usual and he was in a suit, which was different from usual.

Then there was the fact that he was here far too early.

"Long day?" Magnus asked, pulling a large paper cup out. Alexander nodded, staying silent otherwise.

Magnus started pouring milk into the steam cup, but kept his focus on Alexander, rather than his job.

Alexander pushed his hand through his hair, making a mess of what would have otherwise been straight perfection.

Magnus put the paper cup under the espresso dispenser, watching the concentrated coffee pour, then drip into the cup.

"Still want two pumps of caramel?"

Alexander nodded.

"You know, it tastes even better if you add a shot of vanilla," Magnus said. Alexander looked up, shrugging with his hands.

"On the house," Magnus added. No one was going to miss an ounce of vanilla syrup.

He dumped everything together, adding the caramel and vanilla.

Then he slipped the Sharpie out of the pocket of his apron, scrawling Alexander and then, because it felt right, You look nice tonight.

He handed Alexander the cup, it's message barely visible under the sleeve. He took Alexander's $3.89 in the form of a $10 bill. The change was exchanged but Alexander dumped the $6.11 into the tip jar, as he always did.