[F] Slow Afternoon [Antonio]

[southernitaly]

It was an incredibly slow day for the café. It was a thursday afternoon with cloudy weather, and absolutely nothing special about it.

Lovino didn't know whether he should be complaining or not.

On one hand, that meant less customers who asked him stupid questions or had ridiculously specific orders or talked to much, and just less work in general.

On the other hand, it made to whole café seem awfully empty. Lovino could even hear the dishwasher running over in the kitchen, and it was creeping the shit out of him. Public places were not meant to be this quiet.

But he didn't really have anything to take his mind off of it, and so Lovino simply stood behind the register, frowning and hoping that it wasn't this empty for the rest of the day.

[spain]

Of course, it just had to be the day Antonio ran out of coffee.

Not that he usually had much caffeine. But on lazy afternoons, when he was groggier than usual, a cup of coffee helped to wake him up before opening the bar. The weather didn't help much, either. On warm, sunny days, Antonio felt awake and ready to take on any challenge, but with the sun nowhere in sight, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

But, of course, seeing someone so cute would definitely help to wake him up.

He opened the door to the cafe, noting the somber atmosphere. The scowling man at the counter didn't seem too happy about standing there. But, Antonio figured, it was part of his charm. That, and the adorable little curl that seemed to separate itself from the rest of his hair.

He sauntered up to the counter, fixing his nicest smile on his face and looking the young man right in the eyes. Upon coming closer, he found that the brunette was younger than he looked. Antonio found himself wondering if the boy was of drinking age, and if he drank often. "Hey. Slow day?"

[southernitaly]

Lovino had started to space out a little when the door opened, and then he came back down to earth quite quickly.

This customer looked entirely too happy for Lovino's liking, but Lovino figured that the man could be some temporary company, even if he got annoying.

Once they made eye contact though, Lovino couldn't help but notice that the man's eyes were a very nice green.

He pointedly looked to the side, definitely not so that he could avoid staring at those eyes for too long.

"Yeah, pretty damn slow." was his only response to the man's question. Really, couldn't he have figured that out himself?

[spain]

His smile faultered a little, but he shouldered on, determined to have some semblance of a conversation.

"Such a shame, really." Antonio cocked his head a little, studying the features of the young man in front of him. The brunette had looked away quickly (Shy? Uncomfortable, maybe? The possibilities were endless, Antonio thought), so he probably wouldn't notice if Antonio stared a little, right?

After a beat of fruitless searching (Did they have no nametags? Though he shouldn't talk, Elixir didn't have nametags either, but he was the only worker), he asked bluntly, "What's your name?"

[southernitaly]

Well, Lovino figured once he saw that the man was not discouraged at all, at least he wouldn't be completely alone anymore. Not that he seemed like good company, or anything!

But even though he had looked away, Lovino noticed that the man was staring. Well, that was weird. People didn't normally do that. He wasn't really much to look at.

"I'm Lovino," he responded, and out of politeness and definitely not curiosity he added, "and you are?"

[spain]

He positively lit up, like being asked his name was the one and only thing he ever wanted from the boy. Of course, he'd like it if names led to more fun activities... "I'm Antonio," he chirped. Suddenly, he remembered why he was there. "You guys sell coffee, right? I had such a long night last night, and I'm completely exhausted. What kind would you recommend? Do you guys have anything with tomatoes?"

He was babbling, of course, but he didn't really know what to say. He wasn't used to people not opening up to him right away. Drink tended to fix that problem between strangers.

[southernitaly]

Lovino wasn't sure it was possible, but somehow the ma- Antonio's smile got even bigger than it was. Lovino frowned more than usual to make up for the other man's excessive happiness.

"Yeah, we have coffee, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific," they had a menu for a reason after all, "and I just drink straight black coffee, so I wouldn't know."

Lovino perked up a little at the mention of tomatoes, though he was careful not to let anything show.

"Um, nothing really good. The tomatoes they buy don't suit the dishes quite right," he made sure to bitch about that at every opportunity possible, "but we have a couple of sandwiches that are alright, I guess." (His boss always got mad at him for giving honest recommendations like that, since Lovino never had singing praises, but he wasn't there, so Lovino figured he was safe.)

[spain]

Lovino's scowl was worse than ever... Was Antonio really that irritating? It was cute, but if only he'd smile a little bit, Antonio figured he could leave accomplished. But-- the coffee. "Hm... Do you have anything sweet? Coffee, I mean. Something with cinnamon, maybe? It is too bad about the tomatoes, though. I grow my own in my backyard. It's more work, but homegrown tomatoes taste much better."

His smile was softer now, something he reserved for his plants and his bar. It lasted only a moment, though. He quickly switched gears. "A sandwich does sound good, though. I slept through lunch today so I'm pretty hungry, and I probably won't get much time to eat tonight." He laughed goodnaturedly. Elixir would be open until late, and he'd probably eat just after he closed the bar. Or maybe it would be like the night before, where he would just go straight to sleep and get up to have breakfast before sleeping some more... Time would tell.

[southernitaly]

((I know nothing about coffee, so I'm just going to dodge using specific names, okay? x3))

"Um, most of the coffee we serve is pretty sweet, but my co-worker is always going on about how good our special this month is, and she's always drinking really sweet stuff, so...." Lovino hadn't really bothered to memorize the menu, so he was pulling up a blank on things with cinnamon, "and yeah, it kind of does suck."

When the man mentioned that he grew his own tomatoes though, Lovino may have started frowning a little less.

"Oh, really? I do that too, I just don't have much room to grow them. And I always eat homegrown tomatoes when I can, they really are just that much better." Lovino's garden was one of the few things he was actually proud of, despite its kind of pitiful size. At least the tomatoes were good!

Lovino noticed Antonio's soft smile and may have blushed a little, though he kept his frown the way it was. What exactly was Antonio thinking about, anyway? It was probably his garden, Lovino, don't get all excited, geez, he thought to himself.

"Well," he started talking again, "go check out what kind of sandwiches we have, then, and what do you do anyway?" (Not that he was curious about Antonio-with-the-nice-eyes, of course.)

[spain]

[[lol sorry. i don't know too much about coffee myself. xD also, Antonio-with-the-nice-eyes <3333]]

Antonio ordered his coffee and his sandwich, both of which were pretty irrelevant to his interests at that current moment. "I grow them in my backyard, so I don't have too much room either, especially since I grow a lot of other veggies too."

Antonio paused. He could lie. Again, his smile faultered, and he shrugged. "I have a bar. Love her to death. It's just me, though, so things can be a little tough." He didn't mention Lowtown. Change the subject. "Anyways, I bet your tomatoes are pretty good. If they don't buy good tomatoes, maybe you should bring in your own!"

[southernitaly]

((It's okay. :3 And expect more nicknames-that-aren't-quite-nicknames popping up in Lovi's mind. ;D))

Lovino prepared the coffee quite a bit quicker than he usually did and retrieved a sandwich, placing both of them on the counter before continuing the conversation.

"I just don't have a big yard in the first place," it was the best he could afford, as a not-rich café worker, "and I don't really grow much else, but I do have three kinds of tomatoes."

"Huh, neat," was Lovino's only response. It was certainly something that he'd never be able to do himself, "Eh, I like them, but they're my tomatoes, so..."

"I suppose I could do that, but-"

Lovino could very well say that his boss was a dick and would probably disagree on principal, but that probably wasn't the best thing to say to customer.

"-I definitely don't grow enough to stock a café. It's all 'quantity over quality' and shit, unless it's a really high-class place."

[spain]

"Ah, I see." Antonio's expression turned thoughtful. "That's too bad, really, but I can see where they're coming from."

He took the cup from the counter and took a sip of the coffee, jumping a bit when the hot coffee scalded his tongue. He took the food to one of the tables scattered throughout the shop, making sure to stay close enough to keep the conversation going. As he made his way through the sandwich, he asked, "Is it always this empty in here? The food isn't bad and the coffee is great. so I'd imagine you guys get quite a few customers..."

[southernitaly]

"Yeah, I guess." it still didn't make Lovino any less displeased with their shitty taste in tomatoes.

Lovino somewhat appreciated Antonio's staying nearby. It saved him the trouble of leaving the counter, not that he was really that eager to have a conversation with Antonio.

"Well, there's normally more people than this, yeah. Not a crazy amount, but enough to keep me busy," unfortunately, "I don't know where they all went to today."

[spain]

Antonio paused a moment, chewing over his sandwich carefully. Some might've thought he was stalling for time, maybe working up his courage; he was just enjoying the sandwich, though. He sipped at his coffee, finally glancing up at Lovino over the edge of the cup.

"I have a question, Lovino," he finally announced, "If you don't mind indulging me."

He thought over the questions in his head... Are you of age to drink? Do you want to come over for drinks? Or sex? Preferably both? Can I try your tomatoes? Antonio blinked, taking another bite of his sandwich. That sounds like some sort of weird innuendo.

He smiled a bit at the thought. "Does a cafe like this make much money? I'd been thinking of turning my bar into a cafe, wondering if it might make things a little easier. There aren't as many patrons at night as there are during the day."

[southernitaly]

((Oh dear, "can I try your tomatoes" being innuendo. XD brb, laughing. Sorry I took so long, school is kicking my butt….))

Lovino wondered if Antonio was trying to accomplish something by by not talking. He idly noticed that the dishwasher had finished running.

When Antonio made his announcement, Lovino mentally panicked. Was it something that had the potential to be personal? He wasn't going to ask where Lovino's boss was, was he? Or he could always just ask what times Lovino was working so they could talk again? N-Not that Lovino would particularly want to, no matter how definitely-not-attractive Antonio was!

But the real question wasn't anything like that. Thankfully or not, Lovino wasn't really sure.

"Um, I don't know much about the profits or anything like that, but this place has been open for a long time," his boss liked to brag about it a lot, that prick, "and we just had renovations a couple of months ago," boy, had that been annoying, "so I assume they get a fair bit."

"But, do whatever you like with it I guess, it's your bar after all."

[spain]

[[it's okay, i'm sorry i haven't had the chance to reply either. damn school. -__-;;]]

"Hmm," Antonio's mind wandered back to Lilli and how the young blonde had offered to create uniforms. "Well, if you make enough for a renovation, I guess profits are pretty good. I'll have to think about it."

Antonio stood, adjusting his clothes slightly. He smiled at Lovino. "Anyways, Lovino, I must get back to Elixir," he walked over to shake Lovino's hand. "It was nice meeting you. This is a nice place, so I'll be coming by pretty often, okay?" He pulled out his business card and left it on the counter. "And if you ever find yourself in my area, stop by Elixir. I'll treat you to something nice, yes?"

[]

[southernitaly]

Lovino shook Antonio's hand when he offered it, but quickly pulled it away afterwards.

"Um, so that means I'll be seeing you again?" well, he couldn't say he didn't appreciate the company. And his eyes.

At the business card, though, Lovino may have blushed. Talking to random people while he was on the job was nothing new, but being invited somewhere, even if not directly, was certainly new. Hell, what was the last time he had been invited somewhere by somebody he did know well?

Regardless, he could definitely feel his cheeks heating up. Dammit, why did they have to do that?

"Uh, sure." Was his only response.

(He noticed that business card clearly pointed to a Lowlands destination. Damn him, making him pay for the train ride there. The food better be worth it. Not that he was planning on going. But free food was always appealing...)

[[Haha, Lovi would probably lose his job if his boss knew how much he complained about him mentally. X3

So, are we ending here or going somewhere else or continuing or something?...]]

[spain]

[[uhmmm... i think here should be a good place to end it ?]]

[southernitaly]

[[Sure! Then I should add something indicating it's finished to the title, shouldn't I?...]]