Work Text:
Today was a busy morning at the coffee shop. The barely awakened customers were queuing up to get their morning fix. You tried your best to keep up with the orders when you spotted him, that handsome guy in his usual trench coat.
You first noticed him that time he came in with two other tall dudes and for the past two months, he has been coming in alone. He always orders the same thing: coffee with all the options. All of them. Dash of milk, dash of soy milk, dash of almond milk, caramel syrup, vanilla syrup, two shots of expresso, cream, sometimes gingerbread crumbs, other times hazelnuts on top. But everytime, he would sit at his usual table by the window, touch the whipped cream with his lips, lick them and put the steaming hot mug back down. He would sit there, with his hands on his lap and stare outside quietly, peacefully.
He never asked for any of the cakes you were famous for. He never got rude or annoyed, not even that day when the coffee machine stopped working in the middle of service and you thought your business was done for. He just ordered a cup of milk with ice cubes in it. He was odd to say the least. And cute. Very cute. With big blue eyes. And a soft smile. And a soothing aura.
There he was again today, waiting in line. Standing out from the hipsters and suited-up bankers with his calm demeanor.
"Hi!" you said a little too loud. You hoped you didn't sound too desperate or too happy to see him even though, well, you absolutely were, "the usual?"
"Yes please," he nodded.
"All right, you can go have a sit, I'll bring it to you."
He did as you said and you started to work on his order.
"Your weirdo is here again..." Andrew whispered, "you gonna ask him out this time or do I have to make a move for the two of you?"
Andrew had been working with you for months and had seen the evolution of the relationship. Meaning he had basically seen zero evolution in a customer/seller relationship. He was lucky enough however, to have witnessed some beautifully awkward exchanges and longing stares.
"No no, I'll take care of it, don't worry!" you said, taking out a slice of Angel Cake out of the fridge and putting it on a plate.
"Free food? Yes, that's the way to go!" he said.
You winked at him and took a deep breath as you reached the handsome guy's table.
"Here you go! Hum, I also been working on a new recipe," you said, "it's an Angel Cake, it's on the house. I'd like to have the opinion of one of our most loyal customers," you said with a big smile, "whose name is...?" You waited for his answer, already starting to regret what you thought was smooth.
"Oh, I'm Castiel," he replied, looking like a blue-eyed baby deer in headlights.
"Castiel..." you repeated, the sound of it rolling easily on your tongue, "it's a beautiful name, very rare too..."
"Thank you," -was he blushing?- "and thank you very much for the cake, I will give you a full review of it," he said with a tone that felt like you had given him the most important mission on the planet.
"Ok, well, let me know," you chuckled.
You stole some glances at him, he looked incredibly focused, turning the plate around to check the slice under every angle. You smiled to yourself at his quirkiness.
He later came back to the counter with a clean plate. "It was... heavenly!" he said, obviously proud of his choice of words. He smiled and your heart almost gave out.
"I never asked you for your name," he continued, "please pardon my rudeness, my 'people skills' are 'rusty'" he said, putting air quotes around his words.
"Mine too, don't worry!" you laughed. You gave him your name and tried a joke, "wow, two months for us to know each other's names, how long will I have to wait for you to ask me on a date?" Andrew slid behind you and high fived you discreetly.
"Well, I wanted to ask you out every time I came in here but..." he suddenly straightened up with fierce determination on his face, "I would like to take you out now." He said, raising his voice slightly, turning heads. Andrew let out a "finally!", throwing his hands in the air.
"Asking for my name and a date on the same day? Now you sir are being greedy!" you joked and instantly regretted it when you saw a flash of terror going through his eyes.
"Oh, am I going too fast?"
"No! Not at all! I would love to go out with you! But you will have to wait for me to finish my shift, in 15 minutes?"
"I've waited two months, I can wait 15 minutes..." he smiled.