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Louis' hands had been shaking for over an hour after he accidentally spilled his cup of tea all over a bunch of books at his job at the library and his boss had gotten mad at him. He was still pretty new at his job and was terrified of messing up since he genuinely loved working there so it had felt like the end of the world at the moment. His body was still winding down from the anxiety.
When he got off work late due to cleaning up and attempting to save a few of the books it had been pouring down and since being late meant he’d missed his bus, he had no other choice but to walk for half an hour in the rain.
A few minutes into his walk back, it hit him that today was Friday and he’d have to text his friends to cancel their Friday night plans for the second week in a row. No matter how quickly he’d be able to walk back to his apartment and make it to the bar a little late with the state he was in and having to walk through the rain, the only plans he had for the rest of the day were jumping into the shower to warm up and then head straight to bed. He truly felt like a horrible friend since they always did anything to support him and he kept having to cancel on them. Louis was sure they wouldn't even be upset at him and be understanding as always but somehow that made him feel even worse about the whole thing. He felt like he deserved at least some annoyance.
Clearly his day couldn't get much worse so on his walk home he’d decided to just get it over with and decided to head into a small café to get a hot chocolate (to make him feel better and help calm his anxiety) and be safe from the rain under a roof while texting their group chat to apologize and explain.
The café’s warmth rushed over him the second he walked through the doors. Sighing happily at the comfortable atmosphere of the café he quickly decided on a small table near the windows sitting down, unwrapping his scarf from his neck and hanging it over his chair to dry.
In the corner of his eye he could spot a curly haired barista making his way over to him, the café seemed pretty empty at this time with just three other customers sitting at tables spread throughout the small space.
“Hi, I’m Harry. Welcome to Cats & Coffee! Do you know what you're getting already?” The barista’s warm smile and deep voice rushed over him, painting his cheeks in a faint rosy color. (He could always blame it on the cold)
“Hi, uhm.. yeah, thank you. I’d like a hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll… if you have any?” Louis replied, his own awkwardness deepening his blush.
Though the kind smile and reassurance that they do, in fact, have cinnamon rolls he had received as an answer made him feel slightly better about it.
After typing out his message and sending it off to their group chat, he decided to put his phone away into his bag, not wanting to see the replies right away. While he waited for his order to arrive he felt something bump against his legs looking down at two big yellow eyes in the midst of lots of white floof staring up at him. He had already been wondering about why the café had been called ‘Cats & Coffee’ and he clearly had gotten his explanation now. He cooed at the large cat making space on the chair next to him where he put his bag down earlier to make space for it.
“Hi Baby! You're the sweetest trying to cheer me up.”
Instead of jumping onto the chair next to him he had freed, the cat promptly decided to jump into his lap instead, turning around a few times and then settling curled up as a ball demanding pets from Louis. And as any normal human being would, Louis wasn’t one to say no to some cat cuddles. His family's cat they’d had throughout all of his childhood had passed away a few years ago, petting the white cat’s adorable little head made him realize that he missed having a cat more than he thought, the loud purrs pulling at his heartstrings.
“I see you’ve met Tofu,” Harry commented while placing his cup of hot chocolate and cinnamon roll on a small plate onto his table, an amused smile on his face. “She’s not usually this affectionate with strangers so quickly. She clearly likes you a lot but I can't really blame her.”
Louis quickly looked up at him, blushing deeply at the last comment. “Thank you… uhm.. for bringing my order I mean! Shit, sorry my day has been long. I already spilled my tea at work earlier and my boss yelled at me and it was absolutely humiliating so I’ve been a bit shaken all day. I really need that hot chocolate... I don't know what I’m saying anymore, god. I’m so sorry for rambling.” He internally winced at already having ruined this short interaction with an incredibly good looking man showing interest in him by embarrassing himself.
Harry let out a loud laugh at that, showing off the cutest dimples Louis had ever seen. “It’s all right! No need to apologize and you can say thank you to both, Tofu’s a good judge of character! I trust her.”
“Well then, I’m very honored to have gained her approval. I like her very much as well! She’s a sweetheart… I missed getting some cat cuddles,” he replied in an attempt to keep the conversation from ending too quickly.
“You should come by again then. I’m sure Tofu will be happy to offer her services to you again. I wouldn't mind baking more cinnamon rolls either,” Harry replied with a wink before leaving to serve more customers leaving Louis a flustered mess.
✿
A couple weeks later, in early April, spring seems to have awoken. Even in rainy London the sun is out and shining, warming people’s faces through the still crisp and cold air. On a bright and early morning Louis decided a bit of fresh air and a walk outside would do him some good, which meant walking his way to work instead of taking the bus as usual.
Almost at work, a sign with a little drawing of a cat and the words “Cats & Coffee” caught his eyes, reminding him of the kind barista and cat named Tofu who had cheered him up on a bad day a few weeks earlier.
Without much further thought, Louis simply opened the door, being once again welcomed by the café’s comforting warmth heading towards the counter. Once at the counter he was greeted by a familiar face grinning at him, showcasing the swoon-worthy dimples.
“Hello, lovely to see you back here! What can I get for you?” Harry asks kindly.
With a small smile, secretly being very glad to be remembered, Louis replied, “I sadly can't stay for Tofu cuddles because I’m on my way to work but I’ll gladly take a cup of tea to go.”
“Sure! We’re happy to serve however we can. What's the name for the order?” the other man answered with a small smirk and a glint in his eyes.
Later at work Louis found a row of numbers scribbled onto the paper cup beneath his name.
✿
Once he got home after a long day at work and conflicting thoughts about the number currently on the empty paper cup in his bag he decided that Harry had seemed nothing but kind so far, so what did he really have to lose by sending a text. If things didn't work out he could always say that at least he’d tried. So. That's what he did.
‘Hi Harry, this is Louis. From Cats & Coffee earlier today. You wrote your number on my cup, I hope you remember :)’
Harry hadn't let him wait too long for a reply, saving him from the agony of overthinking his text when it had already been sent, unable to change anything about it either way.
‘Hello Louis :D Of course I remember!! I’m so glad you texted me, I don't just write my number on every cup :) I’d love to go out with you or just hang out sometime if you're up for it x’
Reading the reply made him feel all warm and giggly on the inside, excited at the prospect of potentially having some romance back in his life.
‘Sure, I’d love to :) What do you have in mind?’
‘Are you free next Saturday at 6? We can meet at the café and I’ll surprise you xx’
✿
The week had flown by so quickly that Louis had almost forgotten about their date (at least he hoped it was a date) until he received another text from Harry Saturday morning telling him how excited he was for tonight. Louis had panicked a little, not knowing what to wear since he didn't even know where they would be going or what they’d do. So he’d decided it was time for some professional help from his best friend. Taylor always loved helping him pick outfits and playing dress up with him – maybe a little too much, but he appreciated her either way.
In the end they decided on comfy mom jeans, a black oversized band tee, loosely tucked in, and a warm beige cardigan over it in case they spend some time outside. He left his fringe feathery and soft, not feeling like using a lot of hair product that would eventually cause him a headache.
Before he had to leave, she gave him one last pep talk before the date wishing him good luck and telling him to have fun. After he hung up it was already 5:45, so he rushed to gather all his things, texted Harry that he was on his way, and made his way out of his apartment walking towards the now familiar café.
✿
By the time he arrived at the café it seemed very calm and empty inside, with only Tofu greeting him by winding through his legs, clearly asking for attention. He picked her up scratching under her head, cautiously asking into the room, “Harry? Are you here?”
He could clearly hear some fumbling in the back of the room followed by a shout of “Shit, yeah, sorry! I’ll be right with you, you can sit down for a moment. I just have to finish cleaning up here.”
Louis hummed to himself and sat down in the closest chair he could find, setting Tofu down into his lap, enjoying every bit of affection she was offering him (even if she got white cat hair all over his black shirt).
A few short minutes later, Harry showed up in front of him with messy curls all over his forehead and the sweetest grin on his face.
“Hello, love. Sorry I’m late, had to close up by myself tonight so it took a little longer than planned. Are you ready to go?”
“It's no problem at all. Tofu kept me entertained,” he answered with a soft smile, getting up from his chair and setting Tofu on the ground, not without complaints from her.
“I can't believe how attached she is to you already, if I mess up tonight she will be so mad at me.” Harry let out with a giggle. “I’ve planned on going to my favorite restaurant not far from here and if you're still up for it, maybe a walk through the city. I hope that’s alright with you, I know it's not the most extravagant first date but I always enjoy getting food and having time to talk.”
Louis blushed at the mention of it being a date and replied, “Food sounds amazing right now actually, I’m kind of starving.”
They stepped out of the café together, Harry closed up behind them and led them in the direction of the restaurant. “You look cute when you're blushing by the way,” he commented way too casually, instantly causing Louis’ face to heat up again.
He pulled his cardigan tighter around himself at a shiver going through him, letting out a weak “Shut up, I don't blush!” even when they both knew he was lying. Harry just looked down at him with one of his warm, soft smiles, not fighting him on it further only commenting in an amused tone “Sure, if you say so.”
Once they reached the restaurant and a server had shown them to their table, Harry pulled out his chair for him like a real gentleman at which Louis couldn't help but giggle and let out a shy “Thank you, Harry.”
When the waiter asked for their orders both of them got a pasta dish and each a glass of white wine, Louis following suit to Harry's choices since he’d mentioned it was one of his favorite restaurants. During dinner they spent more time talking than finishing their meals, once they got over the initial awkwardness of the situation and the wine making them a lot more talkative they spent the entire evening talking about everything from their jobs and their friends and families to their past experiences and hopes for the future.
Harry had offered to pay for their dinner with some initial apprehension from Louis, eventually convincing Louis to let him pay after he’d told him he could pay on their next date. The prospect of a second date made Louis grin stupidly at Harry with butterflies in his stomach. After having spent such a lovely night together he couldn’t wait for more to come.
After dinner, they were both exhausted and decided to head home early, Harry walking Louis back to their apartment. During their walk back in comfortable silence Louis took all his confidence together and grabbed Harry's hand, who in reply squeezed his hand and they happily swung their entwined hands back and forth till they reached Louis’ building.
“We’re here,” Louis whispered quietly into the night, not wanting to disrupt the soft atmosphere around them.
“Don't wanna let you go yet,” Harry replied with a pout, pulling Louis in for a hug.
“I know, me either. But you still have to get home as well, I can't keep you for too long,” Louis mumbled with his face squished against Harry’s shoulder, relaxing in the warm hug for a few seconds before eventually pulling away. “Goodbye, Harry. I had a very good time and I like you a lot and I’d be very happy to see you again soon.”
“God, me too. I like you so much, Lou. I’ll text you about another date very soon, I promise. Thank you for agreeing to tonight, I’ve had the best time.” Harry told him before giving him a kiss on the forehead, making Louis' face heat up and the butterflies in his stomach going wild, and saying his final goodbyes with a promise of a text once he’s home and safely in bed.