Chapter Text
"Why, you seem in a hurry, Kinard," Lucy Donato pokes fun at Tommy in the locker room. "Got a hot date?" They were supposed to finish their shift an hour ago. But of course, the bell rang at just the right moment, forcing them to stay longer.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Tommy sits on the bench, tying his shoes. He took a quick shower and dressed to impress. At least, that's what Tommy aims for. It is hard to look impressive after a 24-hour shift.
"Dude, do you ever sleep?" Lucy grumbles. "I feel judged by your social calendar. It makes me ashamed of myself,"
Tommy brushes some imaginary lint on his jacket. "Do you need a lift home? I could drop you off before my hot date," He wiggles his brows.
Lucy turns the offer down. "No, it's fine. I'll take Uber home. I haven't finished the report from that last call,"
"Alright. Have fun!" Tommy walks out of the locker room with his bag.
"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Lucy shouts to Tommy's back since the man has already speed-walked out of the station.
Tommy waves Lucy's comment off like he ignores tiredness after the long shift. He is going to spend the day with his dream guy. The excitement to meet Evan pumps more energy through his body. Who needs sleep anyway? Tommy scoffs in his head.
It is almost 11 AM when Tommy reaches Evan's shop. The café is much quieter than the last time he was here, now being the awkward time between breakfast and lunch. It is nearly empty except for Tommy and...
A little girl, who is sitting at the register counter.
Tommy pauses. Huh, this is peculiar. Tommy looks around to see if somebody else is around. Nope. It is still just the girl and himself. Why would anybody leave a little girl alone, unattended in the shop? Tommy's brain creates a few working theories here. He slowly approaches the little girl to find out the correct reason.
His first theory: the little girl is actually May, who had been shrunk down somehow.
As if listening to Tommy's ridiculous thought, the little girl throws Tommy a questioning look. Her slitted eyes squint - they are almost shut all the way, observing Tommy. The little girl doesn't look like May at all. So Tommy's first theory of shrinking May goes out of the window quickly.
Tommy goes to his next theory: Evan employs underaged labor.
The little girl is too small to reach the counter without help. So there wouldn't be a lot of work she could do around the café. Maybe her job is to be extremely cute, so people are willing to buy and pay more? Yeah, she could pull it, Tommy thinks. Not that Evan needs help in that department. But what does Tommy know about managing a coffee shop?
Before Tommy could investigate further, a woman pops out from under the counter like a Jack-in-the-box toy.
"Oops!" The lady gasps. She puts her hands, which carry a stuffed toy, to her chest, surprised. "Sorry, I seemed to miss the bell," She laughs after she gets her breath back. The little girl tugs the toy from the woman's grip. "Someone dropped her toy and asked Mama to find it for her," The woman explains as she runs her hand through her daughter's hair.
Tommy smiles politely. None of his working theories were actually working. But at least one mystery is solved.
"So, what would you like to order?" asks the woman.
"Evan," blurts Tommy. His cheeks redden as promptly as his reply. "Uh, I mean, is Evan around?"
"Yes, he's just taking the garbage out. Should be back any moment," The lady looks behind her shoulder like Evan will magically appear behind her. "Would you like something to drink as you wait?"
"Dirty chai?" Tommy answers, uncertain. He never saw the woman in the shop before. He has only been in the café three times. Tommy doesn't know any other staff besides Evan and May. He watches the woman's face as it shifts from frowning to wondering. It finally settles when she comprehends something.
Him.
It looks like the woman knows Tommy.
"Oh my god, you're the hot pilot!" squeals the lady.
"Uhh, what..?" Tommy is befuddled.
"You're the hot pilot! It's Tommy, right?" She repeats with an extra.
It confuses Tommy even more. She knows his job and his name without him telling her. Tommy still knows nothing about her. That's 2 - 0 for the lady.
"Tommy!”
Tommy hears a bright voice calling his name. Evan walks in from behind the woman, smiling. Tommy never gets tired of looking at that brilliant smile. It accelerates his heart rate more than caffeine.
“Hey, you, good morning,”
Evan steps out of the counter to stand beside Tommy. “It’s almost midday,” He chuckles.
“Yeah, the last call ran long. Then report-writing made it longer,” Tommy rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed.
Evan frowns, “You just did a 24-hour shift plus overtime?”
“Yeah, I did,” Tommy concurs.
“You must be tired,” Evan wonders. “How come you’re not home sleeping it off?”
“Because I told you I’d come back after my shift,” Tommy replies like it is something prominent.
“Wow,” They hear someone whisper loudly. Both Evan and Tommy turn their heads toward the source of the noise that is standing behind the register counter.
The seemingly-know-it-all woman smiles sheepishly, “Sorry, sorry.” She puts both her hands up. “Pretend we’re not here,” The woman picks up her daughter and disappears to the back of the shop.
“Tommy,” Evan turns his focus back to Tommy. “I didn’t expect you to come running right after your shift,” He tells Tommy bashfully.
Now Tommy feels dumb for being too excited for his date. Evan didn’t believe Tommy would return as he promised yesterday. They didn't even make a mutual plan! Why did Tommy boldly assume they'd go on a date? “Sorry. I guess I couldn’t wait to see you again,”
“Neither could I,” Evan smiles softly. “But you could go home first, you know. Take a rest. In fact, I encourage it. I don’t want you to fall asleep into your coffee,” Evan’s eyes crinkle as he giggles. "It would bring a bad rep to my café,"
Tommy’s face breaks into a small, unconvincing smile. “I planned to hang out here all day with you,”
Evan puts his hand on Tommy’s jaw, “You’re so sweet,” He shakes his head, laughing softly. “But it'd be so boring. It definitely would put you to sleep,”
“No way,” Tommy disagrees, slightly distracted by the warm hand on his skin. “Nothing about you is boring,"
Evan blushes at the compliment. “Hey, what if we go out for dinner and a movie tonight?” He drops his hand to squeeze Tommy’s shoulder.
Tommy brightens at the idea. That's definitely a date, right? So he hasn’t tanked his chance with his dream guy! “I’ll pick you up here at 8?”
“It’s Saturday. We usually close the shop after lunch,” Evan pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Why don’t you put your number here, and I’ll text you my address?” As his phone moves into Tommy’s hand, Evan moves around, busying himself behind the counter. Tommy saves his number on Evan’s phone. He calls his own number so that he also has Evan's number. When Tommy returns the phone to Evan, he trades it with a cup of something warm.
“It's not your usual chai. Golden milk latte, it will help you sleep better,” Evan explains as he returns to stand beside Tommy. “Thanks for stopping by, even after your long shift,” Evan’s hand lingers on Tommy's arm. The warmth spreads through. Tommy knows that is not solely due to the hot beverage.
Tommy shakes his head. “I wanted to. So, I'll see you tonight? For our date?” He emphasizes.
Evan nods. “Only after you have a decent nap,” He leans in, brushing his lips right on the corner of Tommy's mouth. “Text me when you arrive home? So I know you're not stuck in a ditch somewhere because you're too tired to drive,” He jokes.
Tommy lands his own lips on Evan's cheek. “I will,”
An hour later, Tommy lays on his bed. Safe at home. Clean after his shower. The golden milk latte has long gone. Tommy's eyes almost refuse to open when he hears his phone ping. Tommy forces himself to take one last look at his phone because he knows it'll be Evan replying to his last text.
Sweet dreams, handsome.
After that, Tommy doesn't fight his body. Smiling in his sleep. Sweet dreams, indeed.