Work Text:
It was a Tuesday when Keith met him at the university coffee shop. During the two hour break Keith had between classes, he usually gravitated towards the shop to study and have a quick bite. It was better than returning to the dorms, where Keith’s roommate often blasted loud, poorly remixed electronic music that made Keith’s ears ring after listening. The ambiance of the coffee shop felt calming and the chatter from nearby students getting their daily fix of caffeine allowed Keith to concentrate on the writing seminar essay that was due the following week.
Today, the café was more crowded than usual and Keith had the fortune of grabbing a table near the window when someone finished their meal. With his laptop open, Keith was furiously typing one of the body paragraphs of his essay. With every press of the key, Keith watched as his ideas gained form on the document. Keith was in deep thought until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Keith turned around, facing a tall man with olive skin and long white hair.
“Excuse me,” the man said. “Do you mind sharing a table? I forgot to ask to get my coffee to go. It’s fine if you don’t want to though, I totally understand––”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind sharing a table,” Keith interrupted, motioning at the chair across from him. “Take a seat?”
The man’s face melted into one of relief.
“Great, thanks for helping me out,” he replied, taking a seat at the table. The man gingerly set his backpack down on the ground. “By the way, I’m Lotor. And you are…?”
Lotor extended his hand for a handshake. Keith returned the gesture and gripped the man’s hand.
“I’m Keith,” he said, releasing the handshake with Lotor.
Keith continued fleshing out his essay, expanding his take on an analysis of the protagonist’s final choice in the novel they were reading in class. While he was working, Lotor reached into his backpack and took out a purple plastic folder. When Keith heard the shuffling sound of papers being flipped through, Keith slowed down with his typing and watched Lotor read through the papers. Every now and then, Lotor used his pen to scribble down some notes before shifting to the next page.
“What are you working on right now?” Keith asked.
“It’s a lab report that’s due on Friday. And you?”
“It’s an essay for my writing seminar. We’re supposed to write about this novel we read in class.”
“Oh, so are you a freshman then? Or did you transfer here this semester?”
“Yeah, I’m a first year mechanical engineering major.”
“Nice, I’m a chemistry major. This is my second year here. I won’t bother you anymore about it, but good luck on writing your essay.”
Keith gave a short nod in response and continued to work on his essay.
Around five minutes had passed until Lotor’s name was called by the barista working at the counter.
“Watch my stuff for me? I’m going to go get my coffee,” Lotor said.
“Yeah, of course,” Keith replied. “Go get your coffee.”
Lotor pushed his seat out and walked over to the counter where his coffee was placed at. He then dug into his pockets, pulling out his wallet and showed his student card to the barista before taking the drink with him back to the table.
“Good to have you back,” Keith greeted Lotor with a short wave.
“Thanks. It’s always good to have some coffee in the morning.”
Lotor blew gently on the coffee before taking a sip. He usually ordered the same thing whenever he visited the university café.
“How’s your drink?”
“I like it. I usually get a latte with a pump of vanilla. What do you usually order?”
“To be honest, I’m not that much of a coffee drinker. I like studying with a cup of green tea and oranges on the side.”
“That sounds nice,” Lotor replied, taking another sip of his latte. “I should try that some day.”
He then placed the cup gently on the table. With the latte, Lotor was careful to place it away from his papers. From experience, carelessly spilled drinks on important papers never ended well. Noticing that Lotor was getting back to work, Keith continued to write his essay. As Keith wrote, he felt a sense of satisfaction bubble within him. If he continued at the rate he was writing, Keith would have the essay done and a semi-free weekend ahead of him.
Keith didn’t even realize how quickly time flew by. His watch vibrated, indicating that it was time for Keith to start walking to his statistics class. He turned off the alarm and skimmed through his essay one final time. To Keith’s surprise, he made some substantial progress on the essay. Keith made a mental note to finish the conclusion of his essay before his nap after class.
“Lotor,” Keith said. “It was nice meeting you, but I need to go to class. It’s already 9:40.”
“Wow, already?” Lotor replied. “I’ll stick around and finish writing my lab report then. Good luck in class. Again, thanks for letting me share a table with you.”
“No problem. See you around campus.”
Keith folded his laptop shut and placed it in his backpack. He rose from his seat and slung his backpack over his shoulders. Keith was ready to start walking to the university’s classroom building until Lotor’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Wait, Keith. Before you leave, I’d like to ask you something.”
Keith furrowed his brows. “Go ahead? I still have some time before I’ll be running late for class.”
“Look,” Lotor said. “I know that we’ve just met, but can we get a coffee or something? In the future? I know that it’s going to be midterm season soon, but I’d love to see you again.”
Keith looked at Lotor, studying his expression. There was the beginnings of a smile forming on his lips.
He returned the smile.
“Sure.”