#BRUNETTE MEN WITH BROWN EYES BEWITCH ME!!!!!!!!! WHAT CAN I SAY!!!!!!!

[trvelyans-archive]

no i’m so sick like i literally need a brown haired brown eyed boyfriend immediately. i’m being so serious

[allegra-writes]

"Upside Down Soy Iced Caramel Macchiato"

Aleksander Morozova x Reader

Coffee shop AU

Warnings: none, this is pure fluff.

I usually steer clear from physical descriptions, but this is a special little something for the Decaf Coven, @amayatheowl @cocoamoonmalfoy @seolaseoul and @chaoticpete @bleh-bleh-blehs just this once, this is a brown eyed, brunette!Reader. If you prefer, you can read the Darklina version on AO3

MY MASTERLIST | BUY ME A COFFEE

"Here, Ivan? Really??" Aleks raised an eyebrow, judgement clear in his voice as he glanced at the sign above their heads announcing the "Brewed Awakening" cafe, a new age, yoga friendly, law of attraction or some other hippie bullshit better suited for sunny, spiritual, hip Shu Han than for gloomy, cold, cynical, spartan Os Alta. And definitely not suited for the coldest and most cynical of Os Alta Business men, Aleksander Morozova.

Ivan shrugged, his stoic face carefully blank, as always.

"Fedya likes it. And they make a mean cold americano" 

Aleksander let out an sceptical scoff, but followed his friend inside, there was no time for arguing and no time to look for another coffee shop, their next deposition beginning in less than twenty minutes, so he would have to, as Fedyor would say, suck it up. He was under no delusions about the quality of the coffee offered at this place, in his experience, these kind of venues were far more concerned with decorations and ambience than with the grounds they used. 

Sure enough, the interior of the cafe looked like something out of a magazine, mismatched wooden chairs and tables artfully combined, royal blue couches on top of white plush rugs creating little cozy conversation spaces, empty cages hanging from the ceiling, candles in every available surface… 

There was a small queue in front of the mahogany counter. 

"Maybe we should leave, we'll be late"

"Non sense" Ivan replied, "if we have to sip our coffee on the way back, it will still be worth it, trust me"

Aleksander was about to protest, but the words died in his throat when a costumer stepped aside, and he saw her: Dark hair piled on a messy bun atop her head, warm coffee eyes and a smile that seemed lit up the entire shop, if not the entire city. 

His mother had told him legends when he was a little kid, fairy tales about the Grisha, seductive creatures of supernatural beauty that could control the elements at will, often leading men to their downfall with their bewitching wiles. As he watched her, shinning brighter than the golden Firebirds painted on the wall behind her, there was no doubt in Aleksander's mind that this girl was one of them, a sun witch, like Sankta Alina, who had bravely walked into the shadow fold and faced the Black Heretic, breaking the spell and turning him back into a man with a true love's kiss. 

The girl turned away from them to start making the drink for the guy in front of them. 

"Sorry!" She called back, "The other barista bailed on us, so it's just me today. If you can give me five minutes, I'll be right with you" 

Ivan made a face, opening his mouth to politely decline, but Aleksander beated him to it.

"No problem, take your time. We're not in a hurry"

Ivan frowned, but Aleksander was technically his superior, so he didn't say anything. 

"Really? Thank you-" The girls eyes' met Aleksander's over the pastry display case, and froze, doe eyes making her look pretty much like a deer in the headlights. Aleks' heart skipped a beat. 

The girl shook herself,

"Right. What- um… what would you like to order?"

"Just an espresso for me, and an iced americano for my friend" Aleksander announced.

"Zoya wants a soy latte" Ivan reminded him. 

"And a soy latte" Aleks repeated, obediently.

"Perfect. I mean, sure, right away. Just let me finish this Macchiato here and I'll… make them. For you." 

Aleksander felt bad for the obviously overwhelmed girl, but he would be lying if he said her flushed cheeks and nervous fumbling wasn't the cutest thing he had ever seen. 

The time seemed to fly as he watched her, dainty little hands dexterously turning nobs and levers and pressing buttons, until she finally stepped forward, presenting them with two drinks on the counter, but Aleksander only had eyes for her, and the way a single, rebel curl escaped her bun right under his attentive watch. His hand twitched with the urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear. And maybe, just maybe, cup her face on the way back, stroke those adorable pink cheeks, bring her closer to him, lean in and-

"What is this?" Ivan's stern voice tore him out of his daydream.

"Um, an americano and an upside down iced soy caramel macchiato…" The girl replied, "That- that was your order, right?" 

Aleksander's heart twisted inside his chest at the uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes, that's exactly what we ordered" He reassured her quickly, closing his mouth around the straw of his designated cup for good measure. The girl gasped, eyes zeroing on his lips, making the butterflies inside his stomach take flight. 

"Delicious" he declared, blindly handing her a bill that the girl distractedly took and stuffed into the register, eyes never leaving his. 

Ivan wondered if either of them had realized his boss had just handed her a fifty. Gruffly, he grabbed his drink,

"Well, we should get going now. There's an important meeting and we're already late" 

Taking his boss' elbow, he practically dragged him away as the barista girl waved them goodbye.

"See you soon" It sounded like a question. Aleksander threw her a smile over his shoulder,

"Very" he promised. Ivan was starting to think he had made a terrible mistake showing him this place…

…

There was a tall, handsome dark skinned boy next to his barista when he walked into the cafe the next day, poking her in the ribs and telling her something apparently very witty if the way she threw her head back laughing was anything to go by. Aleksander felt the strange impulse to bite his hand off.

However, his unexpected desire for violence left as suddenly as it had arrived, when the sunshine girl spotted him, her face breaking into an impossibly bigger and brighter smile.

"Upside down iced soy caramel macchiato guy!"

Aleksander beamed: she remembered him. 

Well, kind of. She still had his order wrong, but to be honest, Aleksander was too happy to care. 

"That's me" He laughed, "or, you know, Aleksander, for short" 

"Aleksander" She repeated, and he could have died right there and then. His name was probably the most common name in the entire Ravka, but it sounded different from her lips. It sounded special. "I'm Y/N" she offered him her hand to shake. He took it, and swore he could feel sunlight fill his veins where his skin met hers. 

"Y/N" he tried it, loving the sweet taste it left in his mouth. Sweeter than yesterday's macchiato. A throat cleared somewhere beside them. 

"Right" She seemed to wake from the spell first, "Same as yesterday?"

Aleksander nodded,

"Of course! That was the best iced macchiato I've ever had" 

Y/N smiled again, positively glowing as she made her way to the espresso machine. 

Yeah, Aleksander could drink overly sweet coffee drinks until he got diabetes, as long as he could see that smile every day for the rest of his life… 

[chaescupofdepresso]

✧ 9th of september

                                                                                  (banri settsu x reader)

𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘳𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘪 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵.

𝖿𝗅𝗎𝖿𝖿, 𝗃𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗎𝗌𝗒, 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩: 2,175 words 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚: happy (late) birthday to my mushroom head, banri! — [♡] I know his birthday is on a weekday but let’s just pretend it’s during a weekend. I was already in too deep into writing this when I realized September 9 falls on wednesday. — [♡] it’s late because i struggled in finishing this and i don’t like how it turns out and i almost made this into an angst lol.

“This is annoying.” He scoffs, eyes rolling out of irritation as the young man skids to a stop in front of Omi and Taichi’s room, a burning sensation creeping up from the pit of his stomach and consuming every inch of his body as his ears pricked up at the sound of her hearty laugh through the door, followed by Taichi and Kazunari’s muffled voices. Banri gritted his teeth, hand clenching on his side while he glowers at the wooden barrier separating him and his best friend, who had come over early on a weekend to the mankai dorm to hang out with him since he could only be with her during lunch time on weekdays as he needed to get home in time for their practice for a new play. Though he would not openly admit it, he had been looking forward to spending his weekend with her especially on his birthday that following day.

He woke up early on a Saturday but has been asked to accompany their director to a morning grocery run. Of course, he can’t say no to Izumi—sakyo would kill him, and he could not possibly let the brunette carry bags and bags of grocery all the way home.

When they came back, Izumi had to call out to him to slow down but he was already sprinting to the lounge, with a few eco bags hanging on each arm, expecting to see her waiting for him only to find out from Omi that the puppy pair had stolen his raven-haired girl, much to his dismay. He didn’t like that information, one bit. The old Banri would have kicked the door down and thrown the duo out of the window but this Banri—the leader of autumn troupe, a proud actor of Mankai, won’t do anything to hurt his fellow troupe members even when standing outside of the door, glaring at it as he listens to Kazunari crack up his lame jokes that had her bursting into fits of laughter, made him feel helpless.

Prior to him becoming an actor, it was just her and Banri. Not that he didn’t have friends before meeting her but they were not as steadfast and deep as it is with her.

His birthday has been the one thing he only genuinely enjoy celebrating with his family, he couldn’t care less for the gifts from the girls who admired him or of the ‘happy birthdays’ from his schoolmates, whether they were sincere or not he simply can’t be bothered. He’d just scroll through them anyway—clicking each messages and closing it just as fast he had opened them without so much of a glance. He would rather be out of the godforsaken place, taunting some other student from another school to a fight, he knew damn well he would win.

On his 16th birthday, however, the dull day took an unexpected turn—far different from what he had plan.

Autumn has started to come around. Wind is blowing a little colder in contrast to the warm hues of red, orange, and yellow that line the trees. The leaves that had parted from their branches and laid rest on the ground, breaks into hundred fragments under his expensive pair of shoes with a soft, satisfying crunch.

Hauling the hood of his grey jacket over his head, Banri languidly stride through the crowd of students pouring out of the building and dispersing into different directions—some made their way to the cafeteria while others excitedly ran to the field. The boy with light brown hair, however, is headed to a different route. At the far back of Hanasaki high.

Only known to a handful of delinquent, like himself, who skips classes almost on a daily basis. Lunch period is the perfect time to escape since students are scattered about the school grounds and he has about a few minutes’ window to flee before the next set of guards make their rounds.

“What the-” he muttered under his breath, halting in his tracks to observe the girl standing a few steps away from him. Her small hands tightly gripping the straps of her brown leather backpack with her head tilted towards the brick wall towering over her, she’s staring ahead most likely mulling over her plan.

Banri has heard about her quite a few times since the beginning of the term—the new student who transferred to Hanasaki from a foreign country but she is the least of his concerns for today. There has been talks of a tough guy from Ouka High with purple hair of some sorts and he wanted to see if he is as strong as they had made him to be.

Who am I fighting? Barney?  

“The guards will be here any minute. If you don’t do it now, you’ll get caught.” He lets out a bored sigh, making his presence known by standing beside her, his hands casually tucked inside the pockets of his blazer.

“I don’t know how to.” she replied, truthfully, in a quiet voice. He peered at the girl, blue eyes scanning her features—short ebony hair falls about her face, creating a soft shadow against her cheekbones, the contrast of her dark locks against pale skin made her undoubtedly spectral. When she turns to look, her eyes are golden as the colors of the leaves that pirouetted in the air. It was bewitching and he couldn’t look away, not when her lips quivered and she is staring back at him with a silent plea.

His eyes shut closed, taking a deep intake of breath before glancing over at her again and groaning in response, “you owe me.”

The corner of his mouth turned up into an amused smirk as he watches her bounce on the balls of her feet, a small grateful smile gracing her features while she places a hand on his shoulder and a foot over his clasped hands, allowing him to hoist the shorter female over the wall. He had to avert his gaze when she raises both legs, ultimately hiking up her skirt as she turns around, letting them dangle on the other side.

“Do you need help?” she offered, a hand stretched in his direction but he shook his head in response while taking a few steps back, just enough to give him a boost to climb up the wall.

Having done it countless of times, it took him less than five seconds to get to the other side of the barricade, a smug grin etched on his face as he steals a glance at her; his fingers slipping through the gaps between hers and holding them in his before pulling her along as he started to run—heart pumping, feet slapping against the concrete floor as the two of them sprint along the alleyway.

Her calves were burning and she didn’t even know the guy yet she allowed him to lead her to wherever because it turns out, her escape plan wasn’t so much of a plan after all and he, somehow, ended up ditching his to show her around town. Leaving her to explore the foreign place, alone, wasn’t an ideal choice and there are a bunch of creepy men targeting naïve highschool students out there, she could end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

Banri has always been indifferent to people for as long as he can remember. Befriending them? Sure. but having a meaningful, genuine connection? No, at least not until her.

On the 9th of September, instead of chasing after trouble or wasting away his day at the arcade, he is sitting down in a stall at the market with a tower of takoyaki and a single blue candle adorning the top as his “cake” yet it still happened to be the perfect birthday, in every sense.

She is tranquil and soft spoken—the loudest her voice got was almost in par with Banri’s normal tone, she is someone who he’d pass by the halls of school giving not even a second of his attention and their friendship might seem like a string of unrelated events to other people but what they have is unbounded. And he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

She never tried to change him—she said, change is something he should do for himself not because she told him.

and though he is a blasé teenager, she still quietly adored him.

Whenever he is bored and feeling a little impulsive, she would stir him away from trouble but on days she is unable to stop him she would be anxiously waiting for him to knock on her bedroom window. Unable to calm until she’s seen him and tend his wounds and bruises all the while nagging at him and struggling not to cry at the same time.

“Oi,settsu. Quit staring at the door.” He whipped at the sound his Juza’s deep voice and sneered.

“What are you doing here, dumbass?” when her name left the latter’s lips, Banri’s nostrils flare as though smoke is going to come out of it. “Why is everyone suddenly best friends with my best friend!”

Banri is aware of how good he is at everything he does, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when he passed the audition for autumn troupe albeit the lack of passion for it. She teased him for being juza’s stalker but if it wasn’t for her friend following the purple haired student into mankai, he wouldn’t discover that there are stuffs he could be passionate about—pour his heart into, eventually keeping him away from starting brawls. She stood by his side, almost every morning she would be at the dormitory to have him up in time for rehearsals and when she can’t come, she’ll call him a hundred times until he answers. Even with the absence of drive in the beginning and only ever interested in beating his roommate, she supported him.

He could have the craziest, utterly questionable dream and she will be there, sitting at the front row.

He recalled standing backstage after their first show, when he started getting serious and acting like a true leader of autumn troupe he had requested for her to watch him at the show instead. It was the first time in weeks since he’s seen her and he hoped their performance had blown her mind.

Holding a bouquet of dahlia in the lightest shades of pink, a wide contempt smile adorned her features and her amber eyes glistens at the sight of him.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, leaning forward, large hands framed her small face while his thumb wiped the tear that had unknowingly rolled down her cheek.

He held her with a gentle, affectionate gaze, heart swelling as she told him how proud she was of him.

“Dahlia has a lot of meaning.” Tsumugi answers while the two of them work in the garden that is slowly coming to life thanks to the older guy’s skill. Recognizing the small flower that has started to bloom he couldn’t help ask if it hold any significance.

“Standing out from the crowd because of their undeniable beauty is one.” definitely Settsu Banri.

“Offering a support, good luck, or a congratulation.” For falling in love with acting.

“Commitment and honesty.” Two words that best describes their friendship.

The last sentence definitely quirked his attention. “Proud love without compromise.” Hmm, interesting.

He certainly was not hoping the last one was one of the reasons why dahlias are her favorite. Sort of.

“Sounds like you’re jealous.” Juza shrugged his shoulders, unaffected by banri’s tantrum, and popped a lollipop into his mouth as he walks past the latter to enter room.

“Banny! Juza!”

“Hyodles and Settzer are here.” Banri briskly walked to the couch she is sitting on and plops over the empty space beside her. while listening to kazunari’s story, she bumped her shoulder against his quietly giggling making him break out into a smile, the crease between his brows soften as the familiar warmth rush through him at the sig her beaming at his direction.

He isn’t one to get easily jealous not even in his past relationships but why does the green-eyed demon visits every now and then, clawing at the seams of his heart every time she gets close to the other guys at mankai or when they steal her attention from him.

He has yet to unearth the reason though he has his suspicions and he can only pray that it does not ruin what he has with her or that she does not hear the thumping against his chest as she lie her head over it. For now, he basks in the light that is her.

“is there anywhere you want to go, tomorrow, before your party?” she inquires in a whisper, scooting closer to his side as he wraps an arm around her shoulder.

“Anywhere with you.” To the ends of the earth or the depths of hell, she only has to say the word.