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"That's really what you want me to write?" He asked, eyebrow arched as he stared at the boy incredulously.
"Yep," he said, a smirk dancing at the corner of his lips.
Brett stared at him a moment longer, eyes sweeping over his face, taking in the floppy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, the flush across his cheeks that did nothing to hide the generous dusting of freckles. "Alright then," he shrugged, uncapping the permanent marker and scrawling Batman onto the cup.
The blond beamed at him as he handed up his money, exact change, Brett noted and walked over to the magazine stand while he waited.
As he made the coffee, Brett glanced up at the boy often, drawn to him like magnets. It was a pity, he would have liked to know his real name.
"Caramel latte for," he sighed, "Batman." Batman giggled as he took the cup from him, politely thanking him before walking out of the cafe.
"Batman?" Lori asked. "Really?"
"He insisted," Brett shrugged.
For the next week or so, Brett tried to forget the encounter, sending it to the back of his kind. It was one of those funny barista stories, nothing more.
Until on the same day exactly a week later, the blond walked in again.
"We meet again, Batman," Brett said, giving him a cocky smirk.
He looked surprised, and then smiled.
"Actually, it's Wonder Woman," he said gravely.
"Wonder Woman," Brett echoed dryly. He nodded. "Right."
"I think I'll have a mocha today," he mused, staring up at the menu, "and a ham and cheese toastie."
Again, he had exact change.
Brett wrote the name on the cup and sandwich bag under the blond's critical eye. Satisfied, he nodded and walk over to the magazine stand once more. They were busier today, so Brett passed the order on to Lori.
The look of confusion on her face as the boy took the completed order from her made Brett snigger.
The next week, Brett was restless all day, waiting to see if the boy would return.
"You're smitten," Lori snorted.
"He's interesting," Brett said defensively.
It was almost closing time when the boy trudged in. There was a tension to his shoulders that made Brett frown. "Hey, what can I get you?"
"The biggest blackest coffee you have," he said, eyes stormy. "With an extra shot."
"And the name?" Brett asked tentatively.
"The Hulk," he scowled.
"Marvel today," Brett mused, writing it down. "Thought you were a DC guy."
He looked startled, as if he hadn't expected Brett to know the difference. "Both are good," he said quietly.
"Four dollars fifty," Brett said. The boy stuffed a hand in his pocket and handed it to him without even looking. He looked down and counted it. The right amount, as usual.
When Brett handed him the coffee, the boy offered him a small smile, looking a little less grumpy than he had been when he entered. Brett counted it as a victory.
"Spiderman," he told him the next week.
Brett went to write it down but then paused. "Which one?" He asked, eyes narrowed.
"Huh?" The blond asked. Brett lowered the marker.
"OG awkward Tobey Maguire? Funny charming Andrew Garfield? Or babyface Tom Holland?" He asked.
"Does it matter?" The blond asked with a raised eyebrow. Brett bristled, standing straighter.
"Yes," he hissed. "It absolutely matters."
"Tom Holland?" The boy asked. Brett studied him, expression imperious.
"I'll allow it," he relented.
The cafe was pretty much empty, so Brett busied himself drawing an elaborate sketch of spiderman on the cup. "What can I get you, anyway?" He asked absently, biting his lip as he drew the web shooting from his hands.
"Um, a flat white with a shot of vanilla?" He replied.
Brett studied him over the rim of the cup. "Hmm," he said.
He added a few more lines, wrote down the name and then rang up the order. "Four dollars," he said, holding out his hand. Spiderman dropped the exact money into his palm.
"How do you always have the exact change?" Brett asked, eyes flicking up.
The blond grinned. "I'm Spiderman, duh."
Brett just rolled his eyes and made the coffee. He watched with a smirk as the blond examined the drawing he'd made, eyebrow raising at the caption he'd written underneath. He looked up at Brett, who winked.
He squeaked and blushed, rushing from the cafe.
"What did you write?" Lori asked, looking after him.
"My spidey senses aren't the only thing that's tingling," Brett grinned.
She groaned. "God, why don't you just ask him out already?"
"Maybe next time," Brett mused.
That blush had been pretty adorable.
Brett was on a break the next time he came in, lounging in one of the booths on his phone, a peach muffin and a frappe on the table in front of him.
Rather than walk up to the counter, the boy flopped into the seat in front of him, eyes shuttered.
"Hello," Brett said, blinking at him.
"Hi," the blond said, and then proceeded to go on a five minute rant about his dumb friend Liam who had been late paying his half of the rent again and the mess he'd left in the lounge room and a million other irritating things.
Brett just stared at him, watching the way his mouth moved, utterly enchanted.
"And Theo stayed over again last night-" he continued.
Brett froze. Liam and Theo? He knew a Liam and Theo.
He was inwardly delighted over the fact that they had mutual friends.
"Dunbar is a dick," he agreed casually, sipping at his frappe, smirking at the way Nolan gaped at him.
"Wait, you know Liam?" He asked. For some reason, this seemed to horrify him.
"Since grade school," Brett nodded.
"Oh my god I just sat here like an idiot ranting about Liam to one of his friends," he said, eyes wide, cheeks flushed.
"I wouldn't say friends," Brett smiled. "More like frenemies. I used to kick his ass at lacrosse."
"Oh," he said, frowning slightly. "I think I remember you actually. I played one game against you when you were a senior."
"You have me at a disadvantage," Brett pouted.
"Oh?" He asked.
"I don't remember it," he shrugged. "If you're talking about the game I'm thinking of. Well, I was too busy trying to stall the game to pay attention."
The blond grimaced, no doubt remembering the shit show that had been the charity match. "Understandable," he shrugged.
They studied each other. "So," Brett broke the silence first. "What's your name today?"
"Loki," he smirked.
"A trickster, I see," Brett smiled. He slid out of his seat, picking up his plate and cup. "Well, my breaks over so I better get back."
He followed Brett to the counter, waiting patiently as he put his dishes in the sink and wrapped his apron around his waist.
"What would you like today?" Brett asked, grabbing a cup and the marker.
"What would you recommend?" He asked.
"For a person as hell bent on mischief and world domination as yourself, a frappuccino is the only possible choice," Brett said seriously.
"That will do," he said, eyes twinkling.
Brett watched him leave with a sigh.
"Still didn't get his number," Lori pointed out helpfully.
"It's not quite time," Brett said, shaking his head.
The next time, he wasn't alone. "Well, well, Dumb-bar, what brings you here?" Brett asked, leaning against the counter and smirking at the shorter boy.
"Oh, it's you," he scowled. He then turned to glare at the blond. "I thought you said the barista here was cute."
"Cute?" Brett asked, raising an eyebrow at the blushing blond.
"Stop fishing for compliments, asshole. I want a flat white," Liam complained, levelling his glare back on Brett. He took his money and handed back his change, rolling his eyes.
"A delight, as always," Brett said with a sniff, scrawling Dumb-bar onto his cup and handing it on to a snickering Lori.
"And you sweetheart?" He asked the blond.
"Um," he said, glancing at Liam and then back at him, looking uncertain.
"I got you," Brett smiled. He wrote something on the cup and then looked back up. "A hot chocolate with extra whip."
"Sounds perfect," he said, giving him a relieved smile.
"Dumb-bar," Lori called out. Brett smirked as Liam stormed over and took the coffee from her with a mutinous thank you.
Brett laughed, handing off the blond's cup to Lori as he took his money.
There were no other customers, so Brett cleaned the counter, watching Liam's arms flail, coffee threatening to overthrow at any given moment as he talked to the other boy. The blond just nodded along, letting Liam do most of the talking.
"Clark Kent," Lori called the completed order. The blond turned, a smile dancing on his lips as he looked at Brett. He nodded, tapping the side of his nose and giving him a wink.
He took the hot chocolate with a delighted smile, trailing outside after Liam, shooting a shy look at Brett over his shoulder as he walked out the door.
"Well that was disgustingly adorable," Lori muttered.
It had been a month and a half since the first time he'd walked into Brett's cafe. He approached the counter nervously. Brett was serving another customer, so he waited, chewing at his lip.
He looked as gorgeous as always, tall with that styled hair and burning silver sleepy eyes. Nolan had always thought that he looked like a model, could easily picture him gracing the cover of a magazine.
Brett made the other customer's coffee, glancing up at him regularly. Nolan stared back, drinking him in, feeling the nervous butterflies in his stomach. Today was the day.
Finally, the customer left, coffee in hand, and they were alone.
"Hi," he said shyly, blushing up at the taller boy.
"Hey hot stuff," Brett drawled, giving him one of those spine-tingling smiles. "What can I get for you today?"
Nolan felt his mind go blank as his words registered. Brett just smirked, and then Nolan was staring at his lips. He bit at his own lips again, filled with want.
A month and a half of looking like a complete idiot, giving fictional names instead of his own, because he was too fucking scared of his own shadow to get up the nerve to tell Brett his name and ask him out.
"Can I have a caramel frappuccino, please?" He asked quietly, shifting on his feet, fingers tangling together in front of him.
"Sure," Brett smiled. He didn't ask for a name or for money. Nolan stuck his hand in his pocket, feeling his money there, exact change, because like always, he'd agonised over his decision for days, bringing up their website and deciding what he wanted to order. Stuck in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed that Brett had finished making his drink until he was setting it in front of him and spraying whipped cream on top of it.
He watched as Brett picked up the caramel, drizzling an obscene amount on top. Nolan licked his lips.
With a puzzled frown, he watched as Brett did the same to a second drink.
"Done," Brett said cheerfully.
"You didn't take my money," Nolan pointed out. "Or ask me my name."
"There's no one else here, and the store closed five minutes ago," Brett shrugged. "You didn't notice Lori lock the door?"
He hadn't even noticed Lori in the shop, if he was being honest. When Brett was around, the world narrowed down to a single point. "Um, no," he squeaked.
Brett took off his apron, grabbing the second drink and moving around the counter, leading Nolan over to the booth. He scooted all the way over, indicating for Nolan to sit next to him. He did so, blushing lightly as he played with the straw of his drink.
He could feel Brett's eyes on the side of his face, and ducked down, taking a sip of the frappuccino, sighing as the sugar tingled on his tongue.
"Good?" Brett asked.
"Everything you make is good," Nolan said, glancing at him. Brett looked pleased, taking a sip of his own drink. Nolan's eyes dropped to the way his lips pursed around his straw, swallowing thickly.
Fuck, that should be illegal.
"I'm heading out," Lori said, standing by the door, jacket and bag over one shoulder.
"Bye," Brett said, winking at her.
"Get his number," she said, giving him a thumbs up as she breezed out the door. Brett just rolled his eyes.
"Um," Nolan said, staring after her.
Brett chuckled. "Don't worry about it, freckles, she's just teasing me."
"Why?" Nolan asked, turning to look at him, gazing up into his beautiful silver eyes.
"Cause she knows I have a massive crush on you," Brett admitted. "And that I'm just about dying to know your real name."
"You still don't know?" Nolan asked, gaping. "I assumed you would have asked Liam."
"I considered it," Brett admitted. "But I wanted to hear it from you. Plus Liam probably would have told me to fuck off."
"Good point," Nolan agreed, nodding slowly. He felt warm.
"It's Nolan," he said quietly, flushing at the way Brett stared at him, mouthing it, testing it on his tongue.
"Nolan," he said eventually. "Nolan." His face broke out in a huge smile. "Adorable."
"I guess," he shrugged. "Batman is more interesting though."
"I disagree," Brett said with an open smile. "I think I want to know more about this Nolan character. Is he a hero or a villain?"
"Neither," Nolan said, fighting a smile. "A sidekick, maybe."
"To Dunbar?" Brett scoffed. "Hardly."
"He's not so bad," Nolan shrugged.
"How did you get to know him?" Brett asked, tilting his head as he considered him.
"We were co-captains on the lacrosse team," Nolan said. "We fought at first, but we figured it out eventually."
Brett nodded seriously. "Must be a hero if you put up with him for this long."
"Maybe," Nolan admitted, smile growing. Brett sighed wistfully, and Nolan frowned at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Brett said. "You just look really cute when you smile like that."
He took a sip of his drink, licking whipped cream from his lips, studiously avoiding Nolan's gaze. Nolan stared at him, mouth gaping open. How could he just say something like that?
His hands shook as he moved them into his lap, finger tangling together again.
"Do I make you nervous?" Brett asked, glancing down at his hands and back up at Nolan's eyes.
"Very," Nolan admitted.
"Why?" Brett asked, his eyes dancing as he looked at him. Nolan summoned his bravery.
"Because I like you as well," he whispered, looking down. Suddenly, Brett was cupping his cheek, tilting his head back up.
"Good," he said, leaning forward and pressing a soft, gentle kiss to Nolan's lips. Nolan shivered, hands twitching, closing his eyes as he reveled in Brett's silky soft lips against his own.
The next time Nolan walked into the cafe, Brett took off his apron and hung it up.
"Lori, I'm leaving," he called to the back.
"Why?" Lori yelled back.
"Nolan's here," he said.
"Wait, who?" Lori said, walking into the cafe. "Oh, Batman, hey. You have a real name now, I take it?"
"Yep," Nolan said, looking at her warily.
"Good for you," she nodded. "Have fun you two."
Nolan thanked her quietly, following Brett out onto the street. There were going on their first date, and Brett was delighted. He slipped his hand into Nolan's, thumb rubbing over the back of his hand.
"So where are we going?" Nolan asked after a minute. Brett grinned looking down at him.
"Movie?" He smirked, holding up two tickets to the latest Marvel movie, Black Panther.
"Perfect," Nolan grinned.