Ao3 Writers Staring At Their Inboxes 0.2 Seconds After Posting A New Fic

ao3 writers staring at their inboxes 0.2 seconds after posting a new fic

Cat Cafe!AU Chapter 4

This time, it's Charlie's POV ;)

After Hector leaves, Charlie bangs his head to the wooden counter, groaning softly when he feels throbbing pain on his forehead. How could he blurt something like that? He could just word it better, he knows his flirty game is not that high but he doesn't know he could be that low. Yes, deep inside him he wishes he could spend more time with Hector, but with the way Hector fell silent, frowned and glared at him… He probably got offended, making Charlie pedaled back, wishing he could pull those words back to his mouth and the ground below swallow him whole.

It's not even a good joke either. It's a bloody cringe!

Charlie bangs his head again, but softly this time and stays in that position for a while. Juicebox, the brown munchkin, comes up to him and plays with his hair, pulling it gently. Charlie takes the cat and buries his face into its belly fur instead. He just has a regular customer, who almost everyday comes to his cafe and now he ruins it, just like everything else. There would be a small chance he will come to the cafe tomorrow, hell, maybe he won't come at all. Charlie's shoulders sag as he starts tidying up the cafe, the bells jingle as he flips the open/closed sign board on the door and makes sure the cats have gotten into their respected cages, except Mr. Holmes, as he will spend his night with Charlie.

After making sure everything is in its place, Charlie goes to his little apartment upstairs, finding the black cat waiting for him on his bed. By the look of him, he looks offended, as if Charlie was taking too long spending his time downstairs. His bed creaks when he lays down and makes sure he pets the cat from behind so as to not stratle him. "It's been a long day, isn't it, Mr. Holmes? The bad guy is gone and you are safe now," Charlie rubs his nape, soothing him. After a while, the cat decides to sit on his lap in a loaf form, closes his eyes and purrs loudly, indicating he is feeling safe and comfortable.

Charlie stairs at the ceiling, his mind is coming back to his favorite visitor. The first time he came, he was wearing a hat and black mask, covering half of his face and all Charlie could see was his brown eyes and thick eyelashes. He doesn't say anything, no matter how much Charlie tries to start a conversation with him. Of course for a second the barista suspected he is mute but he doesn't feel it's his place to ask him about it. At some point he is afraid he annoys him with his stories but those brown eyes, which look like a pool of honey when afternoon sunlight touches them, stares at him with undivided attention. The small nods and the thin smiles he gave him once for a while could energize him all day.

He notices Hector used to sit at the corner, far away from anyone, almost blending with his surroundings, looking all serious with brow furrowed and eyes glued to his laptop but even then, Charlie can feel his gaze on him from the corner of his eyes. After the rainy day happened, where Hector was dripping wet from the rain, he sits closer to Charlie and it's even easier for Charlie to catch the visitor staring at him and while Charlie smiles at him merrily, he only smiles awkwardly. But it's still better than averting eyes or staring back at his laptop. Along with his closer proximity, Charlie thinks it’s a big progress.

"He is just like you, you know," Charlie pets the black cat on his chest, "Staring at me from afar and getting closer as time goes. I wonder why you guys do that, isn't it easier to just come up to me and do something about it?” the barista hums and absentmindedly strokes the cat's cheek. Well, Hector just confessed to him he is mute, so it must be more challenging to him and he looks cautious. Could it be he is observing Charlie to make sure the best way to approach him? Whatever it is, Charlie feels the need to express his gratitude to him, properly. Hector has listened to all of his chatter and even protected him, getting his knuckles torn in the process. Maybe he does want to interact with him but with his disability it's difficult to do so? Maybe there's still one thing Charlie can do and not fuck up this time. Time to take his laptop and start researching.

Charlie groans softly as he feels his glasses pressed between his face and the mattress. He ends up staying up late at night to learn Basic American Sign Language; downloading tons of PDF, practicing with youtube, subscribing for sign language class online. In the end, he realizes he can’t cram all of the lessons into his head and decides to learn some words he wants to sign to Hector. As he brushes his teeth, he looks at his phone and realizes he is late to open the cafe’s door for Jamie, the cook who works in the kitchen, hence why she rarely appears on the other side of the cafe.

Charlie opens the door and finds the cook folds her arms on her chest, left foot taps impatiently, “Hello, sleeping beauty, your clock ran out of battery this morning?”

“Shut up, I just had a rough night,”

“Really?” Jamie smirks as she gets in, eyeing his bed hair, “Amazing, Charlie Lonnit, finally get laid.”

Charlie snorts and decides to ignore her remark, “A drunk man came in and got bitten by Mr. Holmes, he almost thrashed this place if one of our customers didn’t stop him.”

Jamie frowns, the incident must be late enough after her shift is over. They go to the staff room and watch the CCTV record of last night. “Why didn't you tell me right away? And let me guess, that customer who helps you is the one who always bring his laptop and looks like he has gone to war or something,”

“You mean Hector? Yeah, he beat the drunkard…,” Charlie shifts uncomfortably as they watch he tended his wound on the monitor. He quickly taps the pause button, feeling Jamie looking at him with a big grin.

"Did he really? Damn, I think he is your biggest fan. I mean, come on, he comes here every weekday and I bet it’s not just because of coffee nor cats. "

"Shut up," Charlie takes on the rags and cleans the counter with Jamie following him. She won't miss any chance to annoy him, "There's no way he comes here because of me. Maybe he lives in an apartment where they're prohibited to have pets or something."

"Do you need to replace your glasses or are you blind? He comes here everyday and stares at you like you stole his soul."

"He is just staring, people do that sometimes." Charlie snorts and shakes his head as he prepares the coffee machine. He has thought about this all night but why now he denies it? Is it even harder to accept the fact that Hector might have interest in him when other people notice it too?

"Just staring? Are you kidding me? In case you forgot, he beat up someone to protect you,"

"You're jumping to conclusions. He is just a customer." Jamie just folds her arms on her chest and raises one of her brow. "Okay, alright, it's a little odd," Charlie retaliates.

"Odd? Come on, you see what you want to see, Charlie, but if you two become a thing, you owe me 5 bucks."

“Just go back to the kitchen,” Charlie groans and looks away, hiding his blush from Jamie. He has been thinking about his interaction with Hector all night and he doesn’t need his coworker spewing other facts at him. Jamie might be right, well, or not, she spends her time mostly in the kitchen and just occasionally sees Hector, of course she doesn’t have enough data to make any sound deduction. But what if Jamie is right? If that is even possible, then Charlie’s effort to learn sign language might be a good act to get closer to Hector. He hopes.

Charlie brushes his hair and wears his fake cat ears, making sure it snug neatly on his head before he turns the open sign board on the door. Totoro, a gray maine coon with white belly, lays on the way back and almost makes the Barista trip. Of course Charlie is the one who apologizes to him, cats never make mistakes, aren’t they? Charlie picks up the giant cat and puts him on the cat tower with a groan, Totoro is gaining weight again, he thinks. Last time he checked, he was almost ten kilograms, gotta put him on a diet and play with him more. He pets his head and gets back to sit behind the counter. It's almost eleven, Hector may come any time now and practicing his sign language as he waits might be a good idea.

The familiar jingling of the bell stops him practicing and when he looks up, Hector is there, standing rather awkwardly in front of the counter. He looks more rugged than usual, as if he doesn't have enough sleep. Charlie gulps, he feels excited and nervous at the same time. He puts the side of his hand on his forehead, moves it outwards and away from his head, signing it as a simple hello. Then, he spells Hector's name, his fingers tremble and he looks at them all the time, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, making sure he won't mess it up. He looks more confident as he succeeds, and starts to look at Hector again, signing with his eyebrows up, indicating it's a question, "What do you want to order?"

Charlie held his breath, waiting for Hector's response. His heart thumping loudly but his surroundings is so silent he can hear the clock ticking. Wait, did he forget to play the background music? And then, finally, a smile blossomed on Hector's lips and Charlie can’t help but smile back. At least he doesn’t mess up this time, a world record, really. Hector still looks at him and realizes he hasn’t answered his question. He clenches both of his hands into fists and puts his right hand on top of his left hand, the right hand rubbing the other hand in circular motion.

Charlie frowns, he hasn’t learned that sign but the gesture reminds him of grinding coffee beans with an old hand grinder, “Uhmm, coffee?”

Hector nods, still with a soft smile on face, eyes never leaving Charlie. Eversince he comes here, Charlie never really sees him smile, only a slight tug on his lips. Charlie's heart swelled as he realized the impact of his efforts to learn sign language—it was as if he had unlocked a door to a side of Hector that he hadn't seen before. And being the curious cat he is, he is ready to explore more. Charlie prepares his coffee and places it on Hector’s table, which is now closer to his counter. Hector signs “Thank you,” with practiced ease. Charlie's smile lit up as he caught the sign, feeling proud of himself he remembers the sign and he responded with a delighted sign of “You’re welcome,” and he knows he does it right because before he delivers the coffee, he looked it up on Youtube to just to make sure. Charlie might get into trouble a lot but he actually is a perfectionist to a fault.

Hector's gaze turned curious. He signed a question, his fingers forming the signs with complicated movements Charlie isn't familiar with but with his brows up and tilted head, Charlie knows Hector is asking a question.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t learned those signs yet.” Charlie looks at him sheepishly with his cheeks red in embarrassment. Hector nods in understanding and takes his phone to type his question.

“When did you learn sign language?”

“Oh, I learned it last night. I mean, you are coming here a lot and you just confessed you were mute so I think I should learn it so we can communicate easier. You don’t have to always type on your phone,you know? I learned it from watching tutorials online, practicing signs, my fingers hurt a bit, but I was so excited! I mean, I just thought, why not? It's a new way to communicate, and I really want to be able to talk with you, you know? Besides, I’ve learnt that cats behavior is kinda sign language with their tails so maybe it’s about time I learn the human sign as well.” Charlie kicks himself mentally, the last sentence is unnecessary, isn’t it? Why is he being self-conscious with what he says to Hector? Come on, Charlie, be normal.

“I don’t mean I compare you to cats or learning cat behavior is more important than sign language, but they are some sort of my coworkers here and they can be really troublesome.” Charlie, stop talking! He is just asking when did you learn sign language! The rational voice is blaring at him at the back of his mind and Charlie finally can bring himself to shut his mouth.

Hector's smile was both amused and understanding, his eyes reflecting a warmth that put Charlie at ease. Charlie's tendency to chatter when nervous was endearing, and Hector appreciated the effort he was putting into learning sign language.

With a silent chuckle, Hector gives him a thumb up, "Great job."

Charlie's cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and pride. He grins, a touch of bashfulness in his expression, "Well, I'm trying."

Hector nods and then teaches him a sign for “I learned last night.” along with other basic signs. Charlie’s movement is still stiff and slow, until suddenly he feels a warm hand engulfing his, correcting his hands to be more relaxed. The touch is gentle but instead of calming him, his heartbeat races and Charlie’s face becomes red again. Hector tilts his head in confusion and notices his tense shoulder, he lets out a long sigh and pats Charlie’s shoulders, urging him to the same. The barista nods, forcing himself to take a deep breath and release some of the tension that had built up. The touch lingers, warming his skin and sending shivers down his spine.

Charlie learns new signs and the correct fingers position, even he gets some tips from Hector. They only stop when there are other customers coming into the cafe. Charlie serves them with his usual enthusiasm and as he waits at the counter, instead of reading his veterinarian course book, he practices the new sign he has learned. While Charlie might mix up words or struggle with certain gestures, his dedication never wavered. He was determined to learn this new language—a language that would allow him to connect with Hector in a deeper, more meaningful way. As he learns, he can feel the gaze from Hector and he looks back at him with a smile, signing him excitedly, “I’m learning!”

Hector smiles at him and signs him a good luck before he continues to work. The cats have surrounded him and found comfort in his presence, almost like he is one of the parts from the cafe. When he walks into the counter, he types to his phone to ask for the bill but Charlie has already prepared them and proudly signs him the exact number of the bill. He looks at him expectantly and his face turns brighter when Hector approves and gives him a thumbs up. As usual, Hector puts the coin for the tips and Charlie signs him “thank you.” with touching his fingers to his lips then moving his hand toward him. He doesn’t need to purse his lips and blow but he does, probably because of muscle memory. The movement looks like Charlie is blowing a kiss to him instead. Hector thinks he should correct it but for some reason, he doesn’t want to.

Charlie watches Hector leave his cafe with a satisfied smile on his face. He picks up Charlizard, the orange cat who usually sits on Hector’s lap and looks at his face with a grin. “Today is a success!” He always likes to explore something new and dive deep to learn them until he can apply them into practice. Especially when that skill can help him to understand and communicate with Hector more efficiently. Charlie appreciates the effort Hector was putting into teaching him, the patience and the genuine desire to help him learn. But beyond the determination Charlie has and Hector’s patient teaching, there is a shared understanding—a silent agreement that they are both investing in something special.

16 notes View Post

meitsuki24

1 year ago