Welcome back my Lattes! Enjoy this fresh story for tonight. (Also, thanks again gabbyjade04. Love you)
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Jake led Axel out back to the car so they could find a good coffee shop. After a short drive, they arrived at a cute little shop that was close to Times Square. Jake unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door, going to Axel's side and opening his door. They stepped inside the coffee shop, getting greeted by the pleasant aroma of coffee beans "I'm glad you chose this place to go to," Jake whispered, taking in the smell.
"Yeah, so am I," Axel replied, noticing the pastries on display. He felt his mouth water once his eyes landed on the cheesecake. He followed Jake to the lady running the cash register. "I'll take a small vanilla latte. Also, I'll have a piece of that cheesecake. What do you want, Axel?" Jake asked, smiling because he knew Axel wanted that slice of cheesecake.
"I'd like a tall cappuccino with extra sugar and a slice of cheesecake," Axel informed the lady after glancing up at Jake. "Is that all?" She asked, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Jake. "Take the cheesecake off of his order," Jake whispered to her, making sure Alex wouldn't hear him. "I think that's all," him continued as if nothing happened.
He then paid her, smirking slightly. "You're number is twenty-one," she replied, blushing. "Thank you," Jake smiled, ignoring her flirting. Axel then followed Jake to a table and sat down across from him. "So, what was the meeting about?" Axel asked, staring at the handsome man in front of him with curiosity filled eyes.
"Well, gangs wanting to find us, take away what we have, you know, threatening stuff," Jake told him. "I also saw the doodles you were drawing. They were cute." Jake gave Axel a genuine smile, showing him the dimples Axel never knew Jake had. Axel blushed a bright red.
The cause of the reaction wasn't just because of Jake calling his artwork "cute". It was also because Jake too looked cute. Axel quickly looked away, trying to forget about what he just thought about. "They weren't cute... I can't draw that well," Axel mumbled.
"I never said they were drawings. They were doodles, and you can doodle very well," Jake corrected. "Order twenty-one!" They heard a woman call out. "I'll be back," Jake said, getting up to grab their coffee and cheesecake.
Axel quietly watched Jake as he went up to get their coffee. He watched as the girl, yet again, tried flirting with him. Axel let out a huff of annoyance. Jake came back with their things, setting it down. "So," Jake paused, gaining the younger man's attention that never did seem to leave him.
"Dig in, but let me have a bite of that cheesecake." Jake chuckled. "Alright-wait, I thought we got two slices of cheesecake?" Axel mumbled the question to Jake. Axel then grabbed his cup of coffee and blew at it, making sure it wouldn't burn his tongue.
He pulled it to his lips and took a small sip. He winced a little, feeling the still very hot drink slid against his tongue. He looked back up at Jake, expecting him to answer his question. "Oh, I guess they just forgot about it, but you don't mind sharing, do you?" Jake lied, smiling innocently.
His plan was falling into action. Axel averted his gaze. "Yeah..., it's fine," he mumbled, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. Jake picked up his vanilla latte and took a sip, feeling a slight pain from the hot drink. He thought the drink most likely burnt his tongue.
Jake looked over to Axel, seeing him cutely eating his cheesecake. Jake picked up his fork from the table and got a small bite from the dessert. "This is pretty good," Axel giggled, glancing up at Jake and staring into his emerald green eyes. He then took another sip of his coffee. This time it wasn't as hot, but it still made him flinch a little.
Axel let a small giggle slip from his lips. Axel didn't know why, but his reaction was funny to him. "Yes, it is," Jake agreed with Axel's statement, sipping his coffee again. He then smiled at Axel, silently telling him that he heard his giggle. To be honest, Jake thought Axel was really cute for a guy that's apart of the mafia.
"So, um, what do you want to talk about?" Axel asked, lifting his head up slightly so he could watch Jake's reaction. He was just wearing a smile. Axel started to lightly kick his feet as he held onto his coffee cup with both hands, enjoying the warmth it emitted. "Well, we could talk about anything that you're comfortable with," Jake replied.
"I'm comfortable with talking about anything really," Axel mumbled, biting his lip in concentration. "Hm, how's your devision doing?" Axel asked, finally finding something to go off of. "Mine's doing alright if you look past all of the blood and other stuff. Man, we really need to get that room clean," Axel laughed.
"Yeah, we do," Jake chuckled. "Also, my devision is fine, I guess. I just feel like it's always about politics." "Yeah, mine is more fun than yours. It's especially fun when you get to pull their-" Axel quickly halted his sentence.
"Sorry," he mumbled shyly. He forgot people usually don't like it when he talks about his job enthusiastically. Even the others who work in his devision. That's one of the reasons no one really talks to him. Which is the reason he mumbles a lot.
The only person Axel really likes talking to, other than Bruce, is Jake. "Oh, it's fine, Axel," Jake said, taking a sip from his coffee again. "By the way, why did you pick a coffee shop to hang out in?" Jake asked. "I, um, I knew that they would have pastries, and I wanted something bitter to go with the sweetness..., even though I did load my coffee down with sugar," Axel bashfully laughed.
He had the biggest sweet tooth. "I always knew you were sweet," Jake commented smoothly, chuckling after. Axel blush, not knowing how to respond. "Um, th-thanks?" He replied, feeling his cheeks heat up.
He looked up at Jake with wide eyes. Not the horrified kind of wide eyes. It was more of the "did I get complemented or no, and now I don't know how to respond" kind of wide eyes. Jake just chuckled and continued to drink his latte. He really know why he said what he did, but to be honest, both, Axel and himself, took it differently than what he meant.
It was true though. Jake really didn't know how a guy like Axel could've ended up in the mafia. Axel silently drank his cappuccino. Halfway through his drink, he heard the shop's bell ring. He glanced up only to notice someone from his younger days.
Axel lightly gasped, staring up at the person who was another reason he ran away from that God awful place. It was Julie, the girl who decided it was her job to make Axel's school life a living nightmare. She made sure he got beaten everyday at school. What made it worse was when she found out that he was gay. Apparently one of his "friends", who he trusted greatly, told her about it just to be apart of the popular group.
After that, Axel was basically beaten twice as much with much more anger. Axel whimpered as the past memories started to resurface. "Hey, Axel," Jake whispered, leaning over and putting his hand on Axel's shoulder. "You okay?" Jake was concerned.
He knew Axel always had these flashbacks from his past, and it worried him a little. "I-I wanna go home," Axel stuttered, on the urge of crying. He was mentioning the base where Bruce is at and where he was raised since the age of twelve. "Come on," Jake urged, "let's go home." Jake then quickly picked up the trash that they had and threw it away. He grabbed Axel's hand and opened the door to leave the coffee shop.
Jake let go of Axel's hand and whistled for a cab. One pulled up to the curb. Jake opened the door and let Axel get in. "Where to?" The taxi driver questioned.
"538 West Boulevard," Jake informed. "I'm sorry," Axel whispered, quickly moving towards Jake. He needed something to distract his mind. At the moment though, he just wanted to be with Jake and forget about everything else. Axel swore Jake has the body heat of a dog.
"Hey, it's alright," Jake comforted him. He shifted slightly so Axel could rest on his chest much more easily. "I swear, you're as cold as an ice cube," Jake mentioned, trying to lighten the mood. He wrapped his arms around Axel and let him cuddle into him. "I'm not cold," Axel grumbled.
"You two are so adorable! How long have you been together?" The taxi driver squealed, her eyes glancing at us through the mirror before returning to the road. "Oh, we're not a couple," Jake informed her. "Well, you sure do look like one," she replied, silently shipping them like FedEx.
"Anyways, Axel, you are cold. It seems like you are a lot of the time," Jake whispered. "Maybe I'm a snake!" Axel dramatically gasped. "Sss," he giggled, looking up at Jake.
"What's wrong with you?" Jake joked, chuckling slightly. "538 West Boulevard," the taxi driver informed them. "Thank you," Jake replied, letting go of Axel. Axel quickly got out after Jake.
He watched as the older of the two paid the taxi driver. They then walked to the entrance. Jake opened the door, like a gentleman, and let Axel go in before he did. "Just head to the front desk," Jake commanded him. Axel followed Jake's orders and went to the desk after noticing where it was.
Axel felt a little panicked as he got closer. Axel hated having anxiety. It made him bad a doing things by himself. Jake saved Axel though because he stepped up to the desk and got in front of him. "Name, please?" The receptionist questioned.
"Flynn," Jake answered. "Jake Flynn." "Top floor, turn right, last door on your left. Your room number is 657," she informed, handing Jake a card and key. He then led the way to their room.
Axel let a sigh of relief escape from himself. "I'm so tired," he whined, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Well, now you can sleep once we get in the room," Jake said, stepping into the elevator that opened. Axel followed him into the elevator. "Yay," he sighed, causing himself to laugh.
"That coffee was good," he said randomly. "Yeah, it was," Jake replied, ruffling Axel's fluffy hair. He then pushed the button and watched the elevator door close. Alex blushed madly. Axel scolded himself for behaving like this.
It was only Jake being friendly, but Axel enjoyed it. He slowly felt like he was becoming some kind of puppy. He was pulled out of his thought by the elevator. He quested they were on their floor now. "Come on," Jake urged him, stepping out of the elevator.
He walked down the hall, going to the last door. As soon as the door was open, Axel walked in and started removing his formal wear. "Hey, where's my bag?" Axel asked, halfway through with removing his clothing. He was now only in his sock, underwear, and his surprisingly larger undershirt.
"Ask Ralph," Jake replied, pointing at Ralph's figure walking from the kitchen. "Ralph," Axel whined, looking at him with puppy dog eyes. "Where's my stuff?" He asked, walking towards the way taller man. Out of the three of them, Axel was most definitely the shortest by a mile.
Jake and Ralph were closer to the same height though. "It should be next to your bed," he informed. "Thanks," Axel nodded and then walked towards the bed he guessed was his. Ralph was correct. He then opened it and pulled out some sweatpants and a baggy long sleeved shirt.
He then opened the bathroom door and announced he'll be taking a shower. He turned the shower on and removed the rest of his clothes. Once it was hot enough, Axel stepped in. "Thanks again, Ralph," Jake told him. "No problem, S-, um, Jake," Ralph replied.
"Also, your bedroom is down the hall, third door on your right." "Thank you. I'm going to go change," Jake said, walking to where he was told his room was. On his way there, Jake heard water coming from a room, meaning Axel was taking a shower. He saw his bags lying on his bed.
He zipped one open, grabbing basketball shorts, a tee shirt, and socks. He quickly put them on and exited the room, heading into the kitchen. After stepping out of the shower, Axel dried himself before putting his clothes on. He tried checking his reflection to check his hair but the mirror was fogged over due to how hot the shower was. Axel pulled open the bathroom door and shivered at the sudden contact with the colder air.
Axel heard conversation from outside his room. He decided he wanted to know what they were talking so he went to investigate. He entered the kitchen clumsily due to the hot shower and him already being tired. "Oh, Axel," Jake said, "nice of you to join us. Ralph and I were just talking about what we should have for dinner. Ralph wants Indian food, but I want Greek food. Which one do you want, Axel?" Jake asked, slightly glaring at Ralph.
"I don't know. Anything sounds alright," Axel answered after a short but deadly silence. He then jumped on top of the countertops and started to sway his legs. "We need you to be the final decision though," Jake mentioned, heading over to where Axel was and hopping up on the counter. Axel bit onto his lip in concentration.
"I guess I'm siding with Ralph..., sorry, Jake," Axel mumbled, looking over to Jake. "Yes!" Ralph laughed, grabbing ingredients and utensils from the kitchen. "Alright, go off and do something. I'll holler for you when I'm done," Ralph informed, happily cooking.
Jake nodded his head and jumped off the counter. Alex slid of the counter and stumbled to the couch. He sat down and plopped onto his side. A sigh of comfort escaped his lips as he pulled himself into a ball. A little nap wouldn't hurt.
Jake stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door and taking in the sights before his eyes. Lights were lit up all over the city, making it beautiful. He turned around and saw Axel sleeping on the sofa in the living room. He looked so adorable. Jake turned back around and leaned on the railing, failing into deep thought.
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Goodnight, Lattes. Get some rest. ❤
(Again, for my morning readers... Have a wonderful day, Tea Cups)