Latte Songbird

A Johnny/Ten oneshot for Leah Short

Taking his seat at the little cafe table near the small stage, Johnny took a small sip of his steaming latte. It was a quiet evening and only a few patrons sat around the softly lit lobby. On a stage decorated in twinkling fairy lights a man messed with a microphone close enough to Johnny that he could touch him if he stretched far enough. The atmosphere was so soothing and whimsical it almost felt as though he were in a dream. A dream he wouldn’t mind never waking up from.

The man on the stage, identified by the cafe’s many signs as ‘Ten’, began to sing and it was one of the most beautiful things Johnny had ever heard. An incredible voice for a gorgeous man. For the last three years Johnny had spent hours almost every night of the week sitting in the same seat watching this same man sing and each day filled him with as much admiration and wonder as the first. Each note filled his heart more and more with a love that never seemed to stop growing.

The singer locked eyes with him midway through his set and Johnny felt his heart skip a beat. Those perfect eyes always seemed to stare right into his soul, seeing even his deepest secrets. Every song he sang felt like it was meant for Johnny and, in the moments where they held each other’s gaze, he felt the most alive. This was what he lived for, these precious glances in this dimly lit room.

A woman whistled at the singer, blowing him kisses and winking at him, and a knot of jealousy began to coil in his stomach, making him grip his mug just a little tighter. The woman threw some money on the stage and he heard the singer let out a musical laugh. Shooting a glare at the woman, Johnny felt eyes on him and turned back to the singer to see him smiling, looking directly at him. Any ounce of anger in him faded away as he smiled back, holding the gaze for as long as the singer would let him.

One by one, patrons leave as the cafe begins to close. The lights go off one at a time until all that’s left on is the light over the barista station and the fairy lights on the stage. The singer wraps up his final song and, as he puts away his microphone stand and his stool, Johnny gives him a long, appreciative look. Everything he did felt like magic and Johnny just loved him more for it.

He stays until everyone else is gone and the lights starts going off one by one

Standing up, Johnny brought his cup to the bar and the barista handed over a coat in exchange. Nodding his thanks, he was only a little shocked to feel arms wrap around his waist from behind. Turning slightly, he smiled at the singer and put his arm around the other man’s shoulder. For the last five years, Johnny had come to this same small cafe and sat in the same small table and listened to the same amazing singer. For the past five years they ended every night like this.

“How did I get so lucky?” Johnny questioned as he and Ten left the cafe together. It was a valid question and one he had never been able to answer for himself. How had be been so lucky?

“You’re lucky?” Ten chuckled and held onto him as the began their short walk back to their apartment. “I’m the one with a husband that watches me preform every night with the same look of admiration he had the day we met.”

“You’re someone worth admiring.” Johnny gave him a soft kiss and rested his head against his boyfriend’s. When he had found that cafe five years ago he knew he’d love him forever, he just couldn’t imagine at the time that this perfect human would feel the same but here they were and here he hoped they remained.