Work Text:
It was a slow morning, the quiet rumbling from the coffee machines mixed with the heat from the sun being casted through the windows was enough to lull anyone to sleep. However, unfortunately for Punz it was only the start of his shift. Working at the coffee shop by his flat seemed perfect when he first applied, he never really had a sleep schedule so the morning shifts weren’t an issue and it meant he still had his afternoons free.
The coffee shop opened early at 6am which meant Punz’s shift started at half five in the morning and finished at twelve. The first morning rush was normally at the start of his shift both him and his manager would be on the floor trying to deal with all the business people in their suits with briefcases ready to complain about the time it takes to make a coffee. It was busy but it wasn’t the worst, Punz could deal with the people who ordered a black coffee and were too busy checking their phones to give a shit about what he was doing. It was the 10am rush that was the real challenge. Being located near a university meant the 10am rush was filled with students, who for the most part were polite, but many wanted a lot of specifics in their coffee. He knew it was a part of the job but when he had to make it in a rush with a backup of 6 other orders, it became a lot to deal with.
His eyes had nearly closed when he was shocked back awake with his manager stumbling through the office door.
“Great news,” the sarcastic tone brought a sense of dread to Punz, “my child has decided to bite his classmate and get himself suspended. I have to leave and go get him but I’ve phoned in a favour and cover should be here soon, you won’t be doing the rush alone.” With that his manager put on his coat and left, frantically talking on the phone to someone.
“Fucking great.”
Any joy he could’ve got from no longer having to work under the watchful eye of his manager was squashed by the pressure of having to run the shop alone. He got along with many of his co-workers, but none of them were really known for their punctuality so he was ready to mentally prepare himself to take on the second morning rush by himself.
Despite being quiet inside the shop, outside was buzzing with activity. Punz watched through the window as people walked by, some rushing and looking at their watches, others just stroll past not in any hurry. A couple people stop to look in but only a handful of people actually come in and order. The light from the sun was coming in through the windows full force, hitting the suncatchers on the windows and creating rainbow illusions across the floor. Punz knew it was the calm before the storm but the atmosphere in the shop made it easy for his brain to space out.
His daydreaming got cut short by the bell on top of the door ringing alerting him that a customer has come in. Snapping back to reality Punz went straight into customer service mode.
“Hi, what can I get for you to- oh?” Looking up he was greeted by not a customer but Foolish, his co-worker.
“Think that’s the nicest welcome I’ve ever gotten here.” Foolish’s smile was as bright as the sun and if it was anyone else Punz would complain about them being too awake, but because it was Foolish, he let it slide. “Got called in today, something about a kid being bit and in ER? I dunno, I just needed the extra cash.”
Quickly removing anything from the counter, he swung it up to let Foolish through. As he watched him walk through to the staff room, he felt a spike of panic in his chest. He had never actually worked with Foolish for a full shift before.
This was never a problem with any other member of staff but Punz didn’t have a massive crush on any other member of staff. He first met Foolish a few years ago, meeting through a mutual friend. However, they never got further than just being a friend of a friend. Punz admired Foolish from afar since then, seeing him in Instagram posts from his friends or the few times they ended up on the same night out. He didn’t actually start speaking to Foolish until he got the job at the coffee shop. It was during his first shift after his training when Foolish came in wearing their uniform and excitedly stating that he’d be taking over his shift. Since then, Punz would spend the end of his shift just talking to Foolish until he had to leave. Foolish would always come in at lease twenty minutes early and Punz didn’t mind staying a few minutes after his shift.
It was during these moments that Punz started to actually learn about Foolish. Although they mainly complained about customers they’ve had on previous shifts or compared weirdest orders, sometimes they had actual conversations about what was going on in their lives at that time.
The main thing Punz learned was that Foolish was a ball of sunlight. He didn’t want to sound cheesy but the man’s smile could light up a room, he could charm customers into actually giving decent tips and he always knew the right time to make a joke to cheer Punz up after a hard shift. Soon Punz found himself looking forward to those minutes where they could talk after shift and his heart flutters slightly after learning something new about him.
As much as he hated to admit he had a crush, he couldn’t deny it any longer. It was painfully obvious and instead of denying he just had to get over it. Nothing could come out of his crush because:
- He could not face the humiliation of being turned down.
- Foolish was a friend of a friend and this meant possible friendship drama if they ever did get together and broke up.
And
3. Foolish was a co-worker. You can’t date co-workers.
Hearing the staff door open again, Punz tried to recollect himself before Foolish came over and would be able to see any traces of panic on his face.
“So, what’s your shift then are you on for a full seven hours?” Punz found it easy, like usual, to make conversation with Foolish.
“Nah just covering the original shift, so I’ll get off the same time as you.” Foolish leaned against the counter with his elbows as he stared at the door.
“That’s not too bad then only around 4 hours left.”
“Yeah, it’s perfect I was saving up for this new game but with the extra hours I’ll be able to get to by the end of the month.”
They spent the next half hour talking about video games and joking about until there was a noticeable increase of customers. There were also a few moments Punz could swear Foolish tried to flirt with him a few times but then again Foolish just had that kind of nice personality. “Are you ready for the 10am rush?” Punz voiced the question but he full well knew he was more asking himself then Foolish.
“I’ve not worked one in a while, but hopefully it won’t last too long.” Foolish giggled but stood up properly and fixed his apron.
The rush hour went by surprisingly fast. Working with Foolish was so much better than with his manager. They easily worked around each other, Foolish could tell when Punz got an order that fried his brain a bit and he would take over the order for him. There were a few moments where Punz got a bit distracted looking at Foolish’s hands, but he managed to get himself back on track before the other noticed.
The rest of the shift went quickly, the two were like a dream team working with and around each other flawlessly while also being able to have good conversations in between customers. It was easily one of Punz’s favourite shifts.
It wasn’t until the last hour that things took a turn. The shop was once again quiet with only a few customers sitting at the window-side tables and a few in the right side booths. A university student made her way in and up to the counter. Punz prepared himself for the possibility of a complicated order, what he wasn’t expecting was the answer he got when he asked for a name.
“I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?” Punz tried to keep the customer service voice and smile on.
“My name is single and available,” the woman replied nonchalantly. Punz caught her looking over at Foolish a couple of times while taking her order and realised what she was trying to do. Either way it was still the morning and Punz wasn’t about to argue with a customer. So, he wrote the name on the cup. Turning it to give to Foolish he rolled his eyes before going back to serve the person behind the woman.
“Iced vanilla latte for… single and available?” Foolish called out, his voice trailing at the end as he sounded more confused. Punz had to stifle a laugh at scene of his co-worker calling out the ridiculous name while looking adorably confused.
“That’s me, I’m single and available!” The woman cheered going up to collect her drink. Punz couldn’t help but scoff at the interaction, even looking away when he saw her attempt to wink at the other.
“Oh? Here’s your drink, have a good day!” Foolish rushed out, clearly trying to get the woman out the shop.
However, it didn’t work, “I’m single and available if anyone wanted to know,” by now the whole coffee shop had fallen silent as they watched this woman. “If anyone wants to stop me, you can.” She once again stated, very loudly, while looking right at Foolish.
Awkward didn’t even start to describe the feeling in the room. Foolish just stood, in what seemed like shock, staring at the woman who was now making her way out. Punz felt like screaming, partially out of jealousy of someone freely flirting like that but mainly out of second hand embarrassment.
Foolish was frozen on the spot and Punz wasn’t quite sure what he was meant to do. Taking the drink he just made over to the other customer waiting, he handed it over and wished them a good day, then grabbed Foolish’s arm and dragged him into the staff room.
“Hey, are you okay?” Punz waved his hand in front of Foolish’s face. He’s seen people try and flirt with the other before, he’s just never seen him react like this.
“Ugh I’m just over shit like that, honestly glad I’m quitting,” Foolish ran his hand down his face and fell onto the swivel chair they had in the room.
“You’re quitting!?” Punz exclaimed. Foolish winced at the volume the words came out, but Punz couldn’t read the expression on his face. “Ah, sorry, but are seriously quitting?” His mind started running with thoughts and he couldn’t lie, most were selfish questions about what he was going to do during shift changes.
“Uh,” Foolish laughed awkwardly, “yeah I am, put in my two weeks notice yesterday. I was going to tell you, I promise. Just didn’t want to dampen the mood on shift,” he gave another laugh, not as awkward as the first but still not a sincere one.
Now Punz wasn’t always great at reading the room, but even this was clear to him that Foolish clearly didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Luckily both of them were saved by the entrance bell going off.
Foolish stood up quickly, “I’ll get it, you need to take your break anyway.”
Watching him leave, Punz took the seat that was now free. He couldn’t take his eyes off the door, listening in to the order being taken from behind it. He felt as though he had gone into shock at the news. He knew he would see Foolish if they were brought together by their mutual friend, but apart from that he didn’t really know where they stood. They worked great together and were friendly towards each other in work. However, they never met outside of work without other friends. Punz started to realise that through his dumb crush, he failed to ever consider that there might come a time where he never got to talk to him again.
Fuck he was down bad.
Punz swore that for the rest of the shift and for the next two weeks he would have to get over his crush and act completely normal. And that is what he done. For the next two weeks he kept up his co-worker friendship as normal, but it was made exceptionally hard by Foolish’s increase of flirting. It almost confused him more than it flustered him. Foolish had never been this forward with him and it made his head spin. He wasn’t sure what was happening at any point in time he shared with the man. He was finally at peace with getting over his crush, but now he was full of hope with every exchange the two had.
Foolish’s last day was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Punz. It was a Monday morning and clearly everyone was feeling it. First, his manager was running late which meant he was left waiting outside in the cold for him to arrive and open the shop. Then, the business people decided to be so much ruder to him and the students wanted much more complicated orders than usual. To top it all off, he ended up scolding himself on some hot coffee. Foolish came in thirty minutes early for his shift and stood and talked to him and it made him forget about his terrible day for a minute. But a minute is all it lasted. The realisation that Punz had to finish his shift and say goodbye to Foolish hit him and as he gathered his stuff from the staff room, he felt tears gather in his eyes.
“Get a grip of yourself.” Punz mumbled to himself, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears.
Walking back out to the front, he said goodbye to Foolish and wished him well on whatever new job he was applying for and left. When he got back home, he screamed into his pillow, cried a bit and fell asleep.
It was the next day and Punz was leaning against the counter, staring out the window. The warm light coming through the window softened the room, mixed with the permanent coffee smell, it was like he was in a dream. The atmosphere helped dull the harsh contrast of Punz’s misery and the beauty of the room.
The entrance bell rang and Punz came back to reality. Standing straight, he began to welcome whoever came in, but when he looked up his breathing hitched when he saw who it was.
Foolish was standing smiling at him looking like an absolute angel with the sun rising behind him and the orange glow reflecting off his face.
“Thought I’d see if the coffee tastes any better when I’m not the one responsible for making it.” Foolish laughed at his own joke while Punz was trying to get his head concentrated on talking and not on how the light made Foolish’s eyes look brighter.
“Oh, no pressure then. What would you like, stranger?” Punz pretended like he didn’t already know his regular order.
“Uh, I don’t know, what do you serve here?” Foolish continued the joke of not knowing each other.
“I can make a pretty good vanilla latte,” Punz gave Foolish a smirk knowing that was his favourite drink and giving the grin he got back, he was right.
“Y’know that sounds perfect.”
“And can I get a name for the order?” Punz picked up a medium cup and a pen.
“Single and available.”
Punz choked on his own spit. He really wasn’t expecting that answer, the incident hadn’t been mentioned after it happen, Punz assumed Foolish didn’t want to talk about it so the joke came out of nowhere.
By the time Punz composed himself, Foolish was still laughing. Squeaks filled the room and Punz could hold back his own giggles at it. Somehow Foolish had managed to brighten the room more than the sun that had fully risen now.
“You’re so dumb!” Punz retaliated but it only made Foolish laugh more. He turned round to make the drink still listening to Foolish laugh. It made him feel giddy that he could joke around with Foolish like that.
“Okay drink for single and dumb- oh sorry available.” Punz announced way too loudly since Foolish was still standing in front of him.
“That’s me single and available and maybe a little dumb.” Foolish gave him a wink as he accepted the drink.
Instead of leaving after getting the drink though, Foolish leaned his elbows against the counter, “If anyone wants to stop me, you can.” Punz felt his face flush, he really wasn’t expecting Foolish to continue the joke. However, now it really seems like it’s no longer a joke.
So, if Foolish was going to be serious then so was he. “And what if I do want to stop you?” It was a simple question, but by asking it Punz was putting his heart on the line.
“Then I’d give you my number, attempt to wink again and leave happy knowing I’ll get to see you again.”
Punz didn’t know what to do, frozen on the spot with his face burning.
“I- uh, yeah, um no, that sounds good, yeah.” Punz managed to splutter out. His brain was screaming at to move or say something coherent but his heart was beating out his chest and he couldn’t focus on anything else.
“Get me a pen then, can’t write with thin air” Punz envied how calm and collected Foolish was. While he was a stuttering mess, Foolish was standing there casually asking for his number like Punz hasn’t dreamed of this for months now.
“Um yeah, of course, here.” Punz went to hand over the pen he used to write on the cup. His hand shaking as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
“Holy shit, you’re shaking so much! Don’t worry I’ve got you Punzo.” Taking the pen with one hand and grabbing Punz’s hand with his other. Punz didn’t know what to do. His breathing had stopped, his heart was beating fast and his brain was too busy panicking about if his hand was too sweaty. He was a mess.
“I gotta bounce, but I’ll see you soon, yeah?” Foolish said sweetly, handing over the napkin that had his number on it.
“Of course, I’ll text you on my break,” Punz was proud of himself that he actually managed to get a sentence out and he didn’t sound too shook up.
“I’ll be waiting,” Foolish winked at Punz before turning round and leaving, giving a small wave as he exited through the door.
The rest of Punz’s shift flew by with the napkin safely in his pocket he couldn’t care about anything else.