Mystic Coffee by blindwire is the Cutest Clexa Coffee Shop AU story that includes some of the most beloved tropes – set in a coffee shop and against a backdrop of magic existing freely in the world.
Lexa Woods is an absolutely adorable nerdy Polis University student who supplements her scholarship by working as a barista at a quirky coffee shop – Mystic Coffee. She lives in a dorm room with her roommate and is generally on a trajectory towards a rather boring existence of a hamster running in the wheel of life.
Until one day a young woman enters the coffee shop and Lexa notices something on the woman’s wrist that changes her life forever.
You see, Clarke Griffin has magic and it makes the tattoos on her body move and pretty much live a life of their own, depending on her mood and her emotions. Despite her large number of friends, she holds a deep secret inside and is inherently a loner as well as deeply lonely. A shy barista accidentally noticing the flying raven on her wrist sets in motion a series of events that will either take away said loneliness or will drive her farther into it.
With numerous obstacles in front of them, with judgmental people, enemies, and a deeply guarded secret, will Lexa and Clarke overcome their shyness and awkwardness as well as the aforementioned obstacles or will they pass each other by in the bustling rush hour of the coffee shop?
Pros
Come for Clarke The Cool Witch and stay for Lexa The Adorable Nerd. The author does such a great job of transmitting the shyness and the anxiety and lack of self confidence that this young Lexa possesses, qualities make her so uniquely her. Gorgeous and absolutely unaware of her own power, she shine on the page. And of course Clarke despite all her coolness and her magic simply cannot stay away, cannot help but be drawn to the quiet barista like a moth to the flame.
Cons
The story is a bit of a slow build but you get to savor their adorable awkwardness around each other that way. It is also a bit of a fade to black in terms of their physical interactions once those do occur.
Additionally there is some mind control in the later chapters on behalf of one of the minor and completely idiotic characters that cause harm to other people.
Conclusion
The cozy coffee shop, the adorable art supplies shop, the dragon, the old dusty books, the lattes and drawings, paper and paint – all these elements make for a remarkably sweet and cute read. Clarke and Lexa are still themselves, their personalities unchanged yet perfectly adapted to the setting. The writing is beautiful and evocative.
Oh and thank god, Snow White isn’t part of The 100 fandom, or she’d be extra insufferable in this story, trying to meddle into their relationship basically smooshing their pretty heads together while shouting “NOW KISS!”.
Excerpt from the Cutest Clexa Coffee Shop AU
Mystic Coffee
“You have to stop staring.”
Lexa pulls the shot of espresso with practiced ease, her hands going through the motions without conscious thought. “I’m not staring.” She feels a blush rise to her cheeks regardless.
“You’re totally staring.”
Lexa doesn’t reply and tries to steer her gaze away from the large burgundy armchair in the back corner of the room or rather the girl lounging in it.
It wasn’t as if the girl in question was doing anything particularly interesting at that moment. All she’d done actually for the last couple hours was sip from the large mug precariously balanced on the arm of the chair and flip through the heavily dog-eared book in her lap.
She doesn’t need to look at Raven to know she’s rolling her eyes. Lexa turns her attention back to the drink in front of her and hands it over to the waiting customer who grabs it with thanks and hurries on his way. She takes a second to wipe her glasses on the end of her shirt before letting her gaze wander around the shop and the handful of customers settled inside of it, looking for any work that needs doing. She specifically avoids looking towards the back corner now that Raven has noted her fixation.
Lexa has been showing up to work at Mystic Coffee since her first year of college. Desperate for a way to pay for what her scholarship wouldn’t cover, she hadn’t put much thought into where she’d applied. Just seeing the “Hiring” sign in the window had been enough to have her pushing through the door.
The place is decorated with an odd collection of old mismatched furniture that looks like it’s spent some time on sidewalks and anything with a flat surface can be seen crammed between the chairs to be used as tables. Crooked framed portraits of people Lexa can’t name adorn the walls along with shelves whose contents are mostly comprised of the books that people have accidentally left behind on their visits.
The pay is nothing amazing and she’s had some miserable workdays over the years but the place had grown on Lexa in a way she hadn’t expected. What had once merely been a means to a paycheck is now one of the places she surprisingly feels most comfortable. She had even come to not mind Raven’s company after they had begun working most of their shifts together. You’d be surprised how quickly a truce can form between two people with contrasting temperaments when faced with a mob of people who haven’t yet had their caffeine fix.
But despite having dealt with customers of all sorts over the years, she is still wholly mystified by the one in the leather jacket and red chucks currently propped up on tea table in front of her.
“Have you noticed anything different about her?” The words are out of her mouth before she realizes what she’s asked.
Raven leans against the counter next to the espresso machine and throws her a quizzical look, Lexa wasn’t typically one to just start chatting. “Different how?”
Lexa shrugs, avoiding Raven’s eye, “I don’t know, just…different.”
Find the full story here
Bits And Bobs
- Fandom: The 100
- Length: 46,243
- Author: blindwire
- Rating: M (but honestly, it’s a T in terms of explicitness of intimate interactions)
Rating Guide: G= General, T = Teen and up, M=Mature, E = explicit
If you enjoyed this fanfic then try this book
Please note: We only review completed fiction. We do not own the rights to the photos used, this story nor do we control the website on which this story is hosted. Please let us know if any links are broken or if it was removed from the site.
