fandomtownies | Ching Tai Coffee, Saturday (probably before graduation but sometimes time is meaningless!)

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Ching Tai Coffee, Saturday (probably before graduation but sometimes time is meaningless!)

When you had a newly formed inexplicable threesome you clearly needed to go on dates. Dinner dates. Wait, no, coffee shop dates at coffee shops that had always been coffee shops and had certainly not been chinese restaurants earlier in the week. If there happened to be some delicious dumplings on the menu to go with your coffee, well, this coffee shop needed something to differentiate itself from all the others, didn't it?

So Belle, wearing a low-cut top and a shorter skirt than usual, was at Ching Tai Coffee with her two handsome suitors (who may or may not have been wearing shirts, that had not been established yet), enjoying a meal. Or a coffee. Or maybe a coffee and some dumplings.

[What, we didn't need more coffee shops? Of course we did.]

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Harry had a shirt, but only the very bottom button was done, so he might as well have not done it at all, but he wanted to keep Belle's attention on him while being classy.

Because he couldn't take his attention off of her! "You look beautiful, my love," he said handsomely.

Five, inexplicably, had on a work apron. Because now he worked here. Still have on that leather jacket, of course.

"Belle," he said with gruff affection like the perfect, brooding hero he was. "Harry."

The leather jacket was his new signature. But did he still have the knee socks to go with it?

Belle beamed at the both of them. "I'm so glad we could do this. And you both look so..." she sighed dreamily, "so handsome."

"Anything for your, Belle," Harry said. "I'm so glad I could afford to take you here, to this coffee shop restaurant where Five works, because I'm rich."

It was true that his former employment sort of ended on a sour note so money was tight. But that was why he was the rugged, working class hero now.

"Maybe she needs someone who understands a hard day's work," Five muttered.

"Oh, please don't fight!" At least not while you were both still fully clothed.

"I work too, remember. At the library." Which wasn't a coffee shop yet. Or was it? "You were both there!" Fighting, with all those glistening abs on display.

"And you're both here now and you're both wonderful."

"I just want you to know that I can always provide for you, no matter what," Harry said. "What with all my money."

"I can provide for her too once I master time travel." Give him a few weeks. He'd get there. "For Belle, I'll do it."

Somewhere his siblings were so annoyed that he couldn't get there for them.

"You both provide so much already," Belle said, giving them both some very significant looks.

"It isn't about the money!" Although Belle did canonically enjoy a rich older man with mysterious powers. Harry and Five both hit 2 out of the 3!

"I understand," Harry told her, chest muscles rippling. "This is going so well."

Was it, Harry?

Five put down three coffees that definitely hadn't been established as being in his hands before now, but fuck it. There they were. And of course there were some intricately done romantic scenes somehow in the foam of them.

Because now they were lattes. Deal with it.

Ooh, fancy romantic latte art! What a delightful detail.

"These are lovely," Belle said, smiling brightly. "Thank you so much, Five. Are you going to be allowed to sit?"

Or was the whole date during his work shift because that was the only available time, for nonsensical plot reasons?

"It's okay if you're not," Harry said, casually.

"I'll join you," he said, squinting at Harry suspiciously. He tugged off the apron, which somehow took his shirt with it, but not the leather jacket, as he sat down to enjoy his latte.

Don't question it.

"Wonderful!"

Was Belle referring to the fact that Five was joining them or that his shirt had vanished? Both. Both was good.

"I was worried you'd have to work the whole time. Not," she added to Harry quickly, "that being here with just you would be bad. I just love spending time with both of you."

"Because it's going so well!"

If he said it enough, that made it true!

"It's going great," Five said, baring his teeth in a smile that was super real. Which wasn't what the fans wanted, so it became a normal, human reaction to things instead in an instant.

Cowards.

"I'm enjoying myself," Belle insisted.

Was she a little disappointed that feral bad boy smile disappeared so quickly? Of course!

"And that makes it all worth it," Harry said lovingly.

Look, the fans didn't always understand Five's appeal.

"Exactly," Five agreed. "I made both of your coffees specially."

They tasted like love. Which tasted like... something. Maybe lavender.

They did taste like love! Maybe the Love Latte would catch on and be a new Fandom craze.

"You are both so good to me," Belle sighed, gazing at them both adoringly in turn.

"Is there any way we can make this even better for you?" Harry asked.

By "we" he meant mostly him.

"I can get you some steamed buns!" Not dirty.

Unless...

"I am a little hungry," Belle admitted. "And thirsty." That was obvious, Belle, geez.

She took a sip of her love-flavored latte and smiled. "Better already."

"We can order the whole menu!"

Desperate much?

"Coffee shop dim sum it is," Five said, definitely managing to get one of those murderous smiles in there.

"I've never had dim sum," Belle exclaimed, delightedly. "I do like trying new things." Again, that was very obvious this weekend.

"I'll try anything you want," Harry told her, like have some self-respect, Jesus.

No, sometimes you just gotta simp.

"Don't you worry, I've got you, boo."

WHAT EVEN?

"I know you do," Belle said, smiling. "Both of you have me."

"That's what we want."

Dirty?

How did Five have all the food already? Don't think about it.

"All for you, my love." There was a slight pause before he added, "And Harry, I guess."

Restaurants that had turned into coffee shops always had extremely fast service. Or maybe Five did a little time traveling?

"Thank you!"

Was Five close enough for Belle to lean over and press a kiss to his cheek? He was now.

She wasn't going to be doing anything because she kept failing at it, and she was just going to stay over here in her corner and not say anything because she'd already gotten chewed out yesterday and it had Not Been Fun, but Ainsley was just going to be over here in the corner for a little while with her arms crossed and her most disapproving expression over your PROBLEMATIC AGE GAP SHIP, BELLE.

Because really, why should Steph and Vi be the only ones she singled out for that particular problem?

Five definitely squinted suspiciously at her. How dare someone come interrupt his very important date here, at the coffee shop where he worked.

And wasn't Harry.

Oh, Ainsley was judging you, Five. Silently, because guess who'd found out that she could dish it out but she definitely couldn't take it, but there was just. So much judgment. So much.

"Are you a new student?"

It seemed early for that but this island didn't always work on a schedule.

"No, and I hate it here," Ainsley grumbled.

THEN WHY WERE YOU EVEN HERE, AINSLEY.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm having a lovely time today." With her murderous older boyfriend and her rich, magical, age-appropriate boyfriend in this coffee shop that was definitely still a Chinese restaurant last night.

"I'd noticed," Ainsley said sullenly. It was all she said, but the undercurrent of and I disapprove a lot was unmissable.

"Is something wrong?" Belle asked, because this girl was clearly having a bad day and Belle couldn't have that. Not when she was having a great time with her boyfriends and their abs.

Everything was wrong, that was the problem. EVERYTHING.

Except this wasn't like being online where she could just deactivate her Tumblr account and disappear when she got called out on what she was saying -- as she was painfully aware by now -- so she just slouched down in her seat and shook her head.

"It's fine." It wasn't, but she was just going to double down on this.

Belle was not convinced, but she also didn't know this girl.

"Well. If you're sure. I should get back to my boyfriends." Because she'd clearly walked over to Ainsley's table from her own even if that hadn't been established earlier in the narrative.

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Ching Tai Coffee, Saturday (probably before graduation but sometimes time is meaningless!)

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