#the actual break-taking happens towards the end most of this is just grumpy espresso oops

[the-l-spacer]

Ooo fic requests,,, how abouttt madeleine convincing espresso to take a day off to relax?

ao3

He really should have seen them sooner. The signs, pointing to the fact that something is amiss with Espresso. But as Madeleine sweeps up the stairs to the mage’s laboratory, situated two floors above Sparkling’s juice bar, he remains blissfully unaware of the uncharacteristic quiet of the stairwell, devoid of the usual distant crackling of electricity. He doesn’t notice that the hum of equipment, the bubbling and hissing of wildly coloured chemicals in little vials, the telltale scratch-scratch-scratch of Espresso’s quill on parchment, are absent as well.

Instead, he hums the chorus line of an old Republic cantata that had snuck into his head that morning. He balances the freshly-made scones, jam and cream in the crook of his right arm, the flasks of tea (for him) and coffee (for his boyfriend) in his left. And as he clears the last flight of steps, he certainly doesn’t register the musty smell of the room he stands outside, the scent of dust and stale coffee souring the air, as he bursts through the door, announcing heartily,

“Espresso! The hero of the hour has come to relieve you of your workaholism… with breakfast!” He brandishes the gifts — procured from the market that very morning — like they’re his sword and shield, flashes his trademark grin, and…

….and then he goes quiet.

Espresso sits (or rather, slumps) at his messy desk, head resting in both his hands. His carefully gelled up hair now falling in disheveled locks across his face. Slowly, thin fingers shift slightly to reveal a single, bloodshot eye, that regards the knight with disdain.

“Of course,” he murmurs, almost to himself. “As if things couldn’t get any worse, you show up.”

Madeleine blinks at the unexpected hurt the comment brings him. Yes, their early relationship was full of such... quips from Espresso, but more than half the time, Madeleine had deserved them. Now, after time spent trying to improve himself, stepping back to let others take the spotlight once in a while, not tying his worth to the adoration of the public (that was still a work in progress), he thought he’d gotten better. To hear his boyfriend say those same, biting words that characterised their interactions months prior, when all he’d done was say hello?

Something isn’t right.

“Well, that is to say, your work ethic is something I admire, of course, but you do tend to neglect yourself because of it.” Madeleine pads towards the desk, tries to find an uncluttered spot to set their breakfast down. “Hence, scones! Tear yourself away for a bit and eat them with me?”

Espresso’s finger twitches, and quite suddenly, Madeleine is sent stumbling back, a crackling magical barrier shooting up around the mage. “Leave, Knight-Commander,” Espresso says, “I’m in no mood to entertain your bumbling.”

Carefully, Madeleine sets down the packages on the floor. “Espresso. Are you well? Something about you seems… off, today.”

The Coffee mage, still unmoving at his desk, scoffs lightly. “Off? I’m fine. I was perfectly fine before you came along to distract me.”

Madeleine chances a glance around the room, at the crumpled up papers scattered across the floor, the dustbins filled with strange, foul-smelling goop, cups of half-drunk coffee set across every available surface.

“I do not think so,” he responds, gently as he can. “Something is troubling you, that much is clear. Let me help, Espresso.”

Espresso’s fists slam on the table, and the mage’s head snaps up, anger flashing in his eyes. “You’re not some white knight in shining armour, and you’re not a savior,” he snarls, “so stop trying to be one and leave. Me. Alone!” The barrier around him turns into a wave of Coffee Magic that sweeps across the lab, engulfing Madeleine in momentary pain.

Then, the room is silent once again.

Madeleine regards Espresso, head back in his hands. “Are you done?”

“Leave.”

He takes a breath, composes his next words, and speaks. “It’s true that I am none of those things, you’ve made that abundantly clear in the time we’ve known each other.” No response from Espresso, but for a slight exhalation of breath he chooses to interpret as amusement. He continues. “But I am your boyfriend. And while I may not be a saviour, I’m not foolish enough to let that stop me from caring about you. If caring means leaving you alone, then so be it. But I’ve left you alone for weeks now, and seeing you this way…”

He trails off, looking Espresso up and down. His robe had been long discarded, in favour of rumpled shirtsleeves, stained and singed, and the mage looks more exhausted than usual, if that is even possible.

“… So let me care about you. Please.”

As if a switch had been flipped, Espresso deflates, curling in, head falling from his hands to rest on the desk’s edge with a dull thud. His next words come slightly muffled from beneath the table.

“I’m sorry, it-”, They both wince at the rough, sarcastic tone. Espresso takes a shuddering breath, and Madeleine’s chest aches when he sees Espresso’s slight frame shake with the effort. He tries again, softer this time. “I’m sorry. It’s just. It's been-” his voice hitches. “It’s been a long day.”

And Madeleine is crouched at his side in an instant, rubbing soothing circles into his back. Espresso sighs, and leans against him.

“It’s the research grant for the Parfaedia Institute,” the words tumble out of him, “I have to develop a new spell, submit successful results as proof. Next year’s funding hinges on it but. But I-”

Madeleine leans on his shoulder. “It’s alright. You don’t need to say it if you don’t want to.

“No, it’s… it’s nothing. Just that none of my experiments have worked so far. I thought that if I simply buckled down and focused, everything would fall into place, like it had in the past. But the deadline is a week away and I’m no closer to a completed paper than I was a month ago. I.” Espresso shuts his eyes, fighting against the rising tears. ‘I don’t know what to do.”

Wordlessly, Madeleine straightens up, opens his arms.

Espresso gets out of his seat, wincing as blood rushes to his legs, and stumbles into his boyfriend’s embrace, the tension in his shoulders finally melting away.

“Madeleine, I need a day off, don’t I?” Espresso mutters, defeated, into his chest.”

The paladin chuckles. “I think you just might.”

“Had coffee an hour ago though. Probably wouldn’t be able to sleep, even if I tried.”

Madeleine breaks away gently. “How about some breakfast, to start? These scones aren’t going to eat themselves.”

For the first time in weeks, Espresso cracks a small smile. “Let me get cleaned up first?”

“Of course.”

“And Madeleine?” Espresso looks up at the knight.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry about earlier, truly. And… thank you.”

Madeleine smiles, too, and presses a soft kiss to Espresso’s forehead.

“Already forgiven, and thank you. For letting me take care of you.”

-

Later, they take breakfast together (slightly cold, but neither of them mind). Then, Madeleine takes Espresso’s hand, and pulls him out of his dark laboratory, to the sunlit Kingdom beyond.

If he was someone different, perhaps Madeleine would have pointed out the metaphor. But he’s far too busy trying to win a stuffed jelly horse for his boyfriend (currently riding a carousel bemusedly) to notice. Probably for the best, anyways.