Hercules P.O.V.

I sat down at my usual corner table for two, alone as usual. I needed a quiet place to work on my schoolwork, and this was always my go-to place to work when John thought Alexander needed a 'break'. The Schuylers owned the small 24/7 cafe, and I was close friends with all three of the girls who worked there.

Peggy held out my usual drink to me, no questions asked. She never let me pay, she always said it was on the house when I tried. I didn't bother anymore, and Peggy knew right now I probably would want to be left alone to work, so no words were exchanged between us two.

I sighed, opening my laptop and sipping on my coffee. It was almost ten PM and I had a three page essay due in two days that I hadn't even started on.

I groaned, glaring at the blank page before me before throwing my head back. I couldn't take this bullshit. I hated schoolwork so much.

A three paged essay on the founding father Lin-Manuel Miranda?

"I bet Alexander has over ten pages on this." I thought aloud, sighing.

"Probably. Alexander an overachiever. I love the guy, but... Sometimes he needs to take a break." The words came from somewhere else in the cafe, not from me. I glanced up, looking around.

I spotted a man with caramel skin and dark hair, face flushed. He sat a table away, looking towards me.

"I'm s-sorry, monsieur, I just... I h-heard you a-and.... I... I didn't m-mean to s-say th-that aloud-"

I had never seen this man before. I didn't see him here when I came in, and the bell didn't ring to signal an opening door... Also, how does he know Alexander?

I held up my hand to silence the rambling man, standing up and gathering my stuff, moving to his table.

"May I?" I questioned the mystery man, who nodded in return. I sat down, placing my stuff on the table, smiling to the man.

"Hercules Mulligan." I thrusted my hand out to him, and he took it hesitantly, shaking it slightly.

"Lafayette..." He spoke softly, obviously still embarrassed at his earlier outburst.

I nodded, setting my head on my hand, studying him a bit more.

He had deep brown eyes, his dark, curly hair pulled into a ponytail, although a few stubborn baby hairs had fallen into his face, framing it perfectly. He had long eyelashes and a fairly feminine frame, but it was beautiful on him.

"So, Lafayette..."

He looked at me, curious as to what I was going to ask him.

"How do you know Alexander?"

He looked down, using a spoon to stir his tea.

"I'm in his history class, amongst others..."

I gave him a questioning look. I was in Alexander's history class, though I've never seen Lafayette in my life.

"So am I? I've never seen you before..?" I questioned, and his face became flustered again.

"No-one ever does..." He softly mumbled.

"Oh...." I said. He just nodded in response.

"That's why it surprised me so much when you heard me... Eliza has been the only other one so far..." He gestured to the girl behind the counter, who was wearing a blue blouse with black skinny jeans. She looked tired.

"Oh..." I smiled to him, "Well, allow me to be the second."

~A few weeks later~

I went to the coffee shop more frequently after that day; me and Laf would meet up there everyday.

I didn't know why I always came to the coffee shop daily. I knew there was something about it that drew me to it, but I couldn't figure out what.

Me and Laf would sit in the corner and talk about life for hours a day, and after a couple weeks, I knew almost everything about Laf. I knew his favourite colour was navy blue. I knew he couldn't dance, and once a popular girl at his old school embarrassed him because of it. I knew that he loved cooking, and his favourite things to cook were pastries.

He knew everything about me, too. In fact, I was pretty sure he knew me better than I knew myself. He knew all the dark corners of my mind I didn't know about. The one thing he didn't know, however, was how much I was falling for him.

I walked into the coffee shop like I did every day, seeing the Frenchman at our table. I began to walk towards him, beaming, before I was stopped by Peggy.

"Can I speak to you, Hercules? Outside?"

This startled me, and I nodded, following the smaller female outside. To be completely honest, I was scared for my life. I had no idea what Pegs wanted, or if I was in trouble with her. If I was in trouble with Peggy... I was a dead man, for sure. Once outside, she turned to me with a very serious face.

"You like him, don't you?"

My face flustered.

"Is it that obvious?" She giggled.

"Don't worry. Guys don't catch on to these types of things." My face heated up more.

"What makes you think that I like him anyways?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking at her.

She giggled again, "Isn't it obvious? You come here everyday, sit with him, talk to him for hours, then reluctantly leave."

I bit my lip.

"I just like your coffee shop...." I said.

"Did you ever consider why?" She asked with a smirk before turning on her heel and walking inside, winking to me. My face flushed even more as I sat down across from Lafayette.

"What was that about?" He asked, his accent thick and... Well, hot.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with, Laf." I said, thinking deeply about Peggy's words.

~A month later~

Peggy was right. One hundred percent. I realized that I didn't like the coffee shop as much as I thought, but it was the man who visited it. Lafayette. All of the while, it was him.

Today, I decided, I would tell him how I felt. I had to, or this would continue to eat me up inside and cause sleepless nights, longing for the Frenchman's intimate touch.

I prepared a speech in my head on my way there, but as I saw the corner table with the curly haired Frenchman, everything I rehearsed was thrown out the window. I sat across from him, and Peggy, who knew my plan, brought my coffee over and winked, encouraging me to go through with this.

He opened his mouth to start talking, but I cut him off.

"Lafayette..."

He looked at me curiously.

"Oui, mon ami?" I bit my lip.

"I think that possibly, maybe, I'm falling for you."

My words took him aback, and he looked at me with wide eyes.

I became lost in thought. I wanted him more than anything. I had seen the paths his eyes wandered down, and I wanted to come too. I had seen the waters that made them shine, now I was shining with him.

I continued, "Yes, there's a chance, I've fallen quite hard over you."

If I couldn't know him, I'd rather not know... If I couldn't have him, I'd rather be alone.

"I really like you, Lafayette. And... I want us to be more... So-" He cut me off by leaning across the table and pressing his lips into mine. I was shocked for a bit, but it wasn't long before I was kissing back, wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss.

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much. All of the while, I never knew... I never knew....

It was you...

Word Count: 1308

Yo, yo, yo! Guess who's back, back again?

With fluff!!! Whoooooo

Song: Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg

So yes. That is it! Hope you guys enjoyed, and this outro needs to become more solid but... Stay cool my little chicklets! Peace!

Edited: August 12, 2018