Work Text:
The coffee shop usually slowed down around four in the afternoon. It was that in between hour where it was too late for a quick pick me up and too early for those all nighter fixes. Typically Josh messed around on his phone and talked to the one other person on shift with him.
The bell rang occasionally and it was usually some white suburban mother who needed a coffee that was white with the amount of cream in it.
“Six extra pumps, please,” Josh mocked as he made the coffee, appalled at the amount of sugar this lady was asking for. He might as well not even brew any coffee, she wouldn’t be able to taste the difference at this point. She thanked him and left, not even offering so much as a tip. Josh really hated white suburban moms.
He was deep in a game of doodle jump, well on a way to his own personal record when the bell rang as someone entered. He looked up for a second, before going back to his game. It registered a little late that the guy who had just walked in was cute as all hell and he fumbled with his phone, palms growing sweaty. He peaked back up and was met with a gorgeous smile and he promptly dropped his phone, wincing just a bit as he heard it hit the floor. Needless to say, he didn’t beat his high score.
“How can I help you?” He asked politely, reaching for a cup and a pen. The boy looked up to the menu and then to Josh, his smile faltering just for a second. Josh wondered if maybe the smile wasn’t so sincere. His question was answered pretty quickly.
“Would you be uncomfortable if I started crying?”
And usually that wasn’t what people who came into a coffee shop asked first. Josh was at a loss for words, unsure of what the correct answer would even be for this. He looked at the boy and then down at the cup in his hands, mouth open as he tried to find words to answer.
“Probably?” He said finally, unsure if that was even the right answer.
His answer didn’t seem to matter much because the boy’s smile fell from his lips and his face screwed up in pain and then tears. So many tears.
Josh stood there, completely confused as he watched the boy lean forward, throwing his arms around Josh’s neck and pulling him in. Josh was trapped in an awkward hug over the counter, a boy he’d never seen before crying into his shoulder. Granted, the only reason he didn’t yank back was because the boy was cute.
The cup slipped from his hand and he took a deep breath before he rested his hands on the boy's chest and pushed him away.
“Hey now,” Josh started, cut off by the boy’s blubbering.
“Oh, God, I’ve done it again. You don’t want me around, I’m sorry,” he was rambling and Josh felt guilty. The boy was backing away making like he was about to turn and haul ass out of the shop any second. Josh was scrambling around the counter, stepping up to the boy whose face was stained with tears, eyes red and his nose snotty.
Josh still found him attractive.
“It was just hurting my back,” he said, reaching forward this time and pulling the boy into his chest. It didn't take long before the boy was wrapping his arms around Josh’s middle, holding on tight like Josh might push him away if he didn’t. There was so much that Josh felt like he needed to ask but he didn’t. He should have at least asked the boys name but he felt like if he opened his mouth it would ruin the mood. He didn’t want to ruin the mood.
Josh ran his hands over the boys back, letting a hand travel up to his hair and Josh ran his fingers through his soft hair. He wasn’t even thinking as he pulled back and pressed a soft kiss into his hair. It was hard not to when comforting someone, especially when they were as cute as the boy.
He pulled away from Josh then, bringing his hands up to wipe at his face. Josh dropped his hands to his sides, staring blankly.
“I’m sorry if that was weird to you-” the boy started, Josh cutting him off.
“I don’t mind,” he tried but the boy kept going.
“It’s just been a really bad day and my friend broke up with me in a friend way and I had no one to talk to. I just wanted coffee and that was weird. God, I should go,” he made to leave but Josh reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“Hey, wait, my names Josh,” he said, eyes hopeful that the boy would stay. He never looked up and made eye contact but he stopped pulling and trying to leave. A small batch of hope created itself a home in Josh’s heart.
“Tyler,” he responded, stepping back in closer to Josh, eyes flickering up to his face, his nose, his lips, his hair, never once meeting his eyes.
“How about I make you a coffee, on the house?” Josh asked, smiling, hoping that the boy would smile as well. He’d only seen it once but it was a great smile, it really was.
“Uhm, yeah, sure,” Tyler said softly, walking over to one of the tables and taking a seat, his eyes on Josh.
“You like anything in particular?” Josh asked, brewing the coffee already. Tyler looked up at the menu, a small hint of his smile returning. Josh was almost proud.
“Just make whatever you like,” he said and Josh obliged, making it a little sweeter than he usually prefered. To his experience, most people that came in weren’t particularly a fan of black coffee. He walked over and set the coffee down, taking the seat across from Tyler.
“So, a breakup, huh?” He asked, watching as Tyler took a sip, that hint of a smile growing just a bit more before he frowned. Josh cursed to himself, disappointed that he was the reason the smile fell away again.
“Yes, but no. We weren’t ever together. She’s not really my type. Just my best friend and we got in a fight last night. Woke up to a text this morning and she told me she wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I think it would have been easier if she was my girlfriend,” Tyler explained, eyes stuck on the coffee cup, his fingers tapping idly at it. Josh could almost feel the nervous energy radiating off of Tyler.
“So, you drive to a coffee shop and burst into tears, hugging the first person you see?” He asked, wanting to hear Tyler say something along the lines of ‘no, it’s just you, I wanted you,’ but of course, those words didn’t come out, not really.
“No,” he said, almost defensive of his actions, “I didn’t exactly plan on that happening, okay?” Josh held up his hands in defense, picturing a train in his mind that was going off a cliff and down, down, down.
“I’m not saying anything against it, it’s just not something that usually happens to me is all.” Tyler shrugged and took another sip of the coffee. He pursed his lips and finally looked up, meeting Josh’s eyes for the first time that whole day. Josh was a little floored with just how gorgeous his eyes were, with how gorgeous he was in general.
“You just seemed nice. You’ve got a smile that’s welcoming and I was just gonna buy coffee and leave but then I just felt it coming like vomit and you were just there.”
Josh felt a little (a lot) less special at that.
“Well, you know me, I’m always here to cheer people up,” he said, almost sarcastically. He knew it was stupid and petty of him to be offended. They had met not even thirty minutes ago and he had no right to be upset that he wasn’t special in Tyler’s eyes. He had no right to take it out on Tyler in the way he was but he did and he couldn’t change it. Tyler stood up from his chair and Josh didn’t stick around to chat any longer. He walked to the back of the shop and sat down in a chair, letting out a huff of breath. He kept listening for the doorbell and it took awhile before he did which meant that Tyler stalled in the shop longer than necessary. He didn’t just get up and leave.
Josh stood up, curiosity consuming him. He walked into the main area and saw a twenty dollar bill sitting on the counter with a note under it.
I still appreciate what you did - Tyler
Josh felt guilt consume him and he wanted Tyler to come back.
~~~
Fortunately, Josh was a lucky guy for the most part. He also just so happened to work all day, every day which made it easier to intercept Tyler the next time he came in the shop.
It was during rush hour and Josh almost missed him when he walked in. There was a long line and Josh was on autopilot, walking through the motions and ringing people up like he always did. He didn’t even bother to look up as he grabbed a new cup and got ready to write.
“What can I get ya?” He asked, looking up when the person stalled. Josh saw Tyler standing there, head tilted up as he tried reading the menu. His neck was bared and Josh really wanted to lean forward and kiss it, mark it. He stopped that train of thought so fast that it almost gave him whiplash. Tyler looked confused when he met Josh’s eyes, a frown on his lips that Josh really didn’t like seeing. He remembered it from last time and he wanted it gone.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember what it was but it was good, can I get that again?” He asked, almost shyly. He looked away from Josh’s gaze, eyes on the counter. He was tracing a pattern into it with his fingers, distracting himself presumably. Josh wanted those fingers lazily tracing patterns into his skin. He cursed to himself again, frustrated that he was letting Tyler rule his thoughts.
“Caramel blondie,” he provided, openly staring at Tyler.
Tyler looked up at that, meeting Josh’s eyes before turning his head away quickly. Josh thought that there might have been a blush on his cheeks but he couldn’t be sure. It was warm in the coffee shop.
Josh made sure that he was the one to call out this drink, not letting his coworkers touch it even though it really wasn’t where he was supposed to be working that day.
“Tyler?” He called, watching as Tyler stood up from where he was sitting and waiting, stepping forward and reaching for it. Their fingertips brushed and Tyler took it, turning and leaving without another word. Josh was left standing there, staring at him, almost offended that there wasn’t even so much as a thank you.
Maybe it was better that way. Tyler didn’t seem like the kind of guy that Josh should get himself involved with. Straight and quite frankly, a little off-handedly rude.
So Josh resided it in himself that he was gonna get that wide smile out of his mind (even if it was a forced smile). He was gonna get those eyes that held so much thought and emotion in them out of his head.
Of course, that night he dreamed of intense brown eyes and soft brown hair.
~~~
Tyler came in the next day, wearing a baggy sweater, pulling the sleeves down over his hands. Josh recognized it immediately because he was a nervous person himself. He put on a smile like he usually did for customers but this one was a little less forced, a little more like ‘God, you’re amazing and I’m so glad you’re here.’
All thoughts of getting Tyler out of his head went out the door.
“I wanted to apologize. I never said thank you yesterday for the coffee and I didn’t get any sleep over it.”
Now that Josh looked, he could plainly see that Tyler looked so tired. He had bags under his eyes, maybe even a little puffy if Josh looked hard enough. His hair was a mess and Josh thought about how he could have just leaned forward and kissed Tyler. He didn’t but it looked so good in his head.
“Don’t worry, it’s just coffee that you paid for,” he said honestly, used to people not showing that courtesy. It wasn’t like he really expected it most of the time.
“No, I am sorry, you were so nice to me the other day and I felt like I’ve blown you off both times. You don’t deserve that,” Tyler said and it seemed like he stopped himself from saying something else. Josh was tempted to ask what it was, he wanted to know what the look in Tyler’s eyes meant. Of course, he knew that he shouldn’t. They’d only just met, really, he had no business prying into Tyler’s mind.
Josh just waved it off, not even caring because he got to see Tyler again (even if he didn’t want to for his own piece of mind).
“You know how you can make it up to me?” Josh asked, going over to the coffee machine and making one for Tyler without him asking. He looked up and Tyler looked worried. He swallowed down a gulp and shrugged his shoulders once, eyes not moving to Josh.
“Yeah, I’ll make it up to you, I’ll do whatever,” he said and Josh hated how Tyler looked and sounded so guilty. It wasn’t that big of a deal, Josh wasn’t even phased by the lack of a thank you. Half the time he was too busy to even really hear it.
“Smile,” is all he said and Tyler looked puzzled for a minute before a small smile found its way onto his lips.
“What?” He asked dumbly, looking up at Josh.
“You heard me,” he said, waiting and watching for Tyler to smile. He didn’t want to admit it to himself how he was looking forward to it. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he saw that same smile in his dreams. He’d only seen it briefly when they first met and he didn’t want to even think about how badly he wanted it back.
Tyler’s smile started off small, a little confused even.
“But why?” He asked. It was obvious he was trying to bite the smile off his face but Josh wouldn’t have any of that shit. He was about to pull out some ridiculously dumb jokes just to get Tyler to smile wide. He wanted a real smile, he wanted the image of that burned into his mind so badly.
“Because the first time I met you, you walked in and then cried on my shoulder. Then the second time you hardly even spoke. You’ve got a nice smile and I wanna see it. I wanna see you be happy,” Josh stopped there, wanting to continue, say something dangerously cheesy and lame and runoff, hand in hand with Tyler. That wasn’t how the world worked though and it was weird to admit that he was halfway to being in love with Tyler already.
Tyler did smile then. It wasn’t as big as Josh was hoping for but it was a smile and it was better than nothing. He handed over the drink, a smile returning to his own face for Tyler.
“See? Yesterday forgotten now,” he said honestly and this time he was almost completely certain that Tyler blushed.
He waved goodbye as he turned and headed towards the door.
Josh’s coworker, Brendon, was polite enough to wait until the door shut before he opened his mouth.
“I’ve known you a long time and I’ve never seen you this bad before,” he said, throwing the towel he was using to clean up with over his shoulder. Josh turned and glared, rolling his eyes.
“Shut the fuck up,” he said, going back to leaning on the counter.
“I’ve seen you drooling over people in here but that was bad,” he said, not listening to Josh’s order.
“I said, shut the fuck up,” Josh tried, sighing when he knew that he was gonna have to sit here and listen until Brendon was done.
“Just ask to suck his dick already, Jesus,” and that seemed to be the end of it. Josh went back to playing his game and ignored Brendon for the rest of the day.
~~~
A week went by and Josh was upset that Tyler hadn’t come back. He assumed that he had scared him off. That he made it weird trying to get Tyler to smile like that. Maybe he should have just shut his mouth.
Of course, Tyler didn’t come in for coffee that day.
Of course that was the night that Josh had a dream about him again.
He dreamed of Tyler shirtless and below him, his lips kissed and bitten red and his hair was ruffled up, fingers having raked through it. He looked so damn beautiful below Josh, his neck and chest a blank expanse for Josh to explore. It was there for him to claim and to wonder how he had gotten so lucky.
Josh woke up hard, staring up at his ceiling and groaning because he didn’t need those kinds of dreams.
He took a cold shower before work.
~~~
It was two weeks after his dream that Tyler came back into the coffee shop. Josh and Brendon had been in the back, snacking on foods for their short break when the bell went off and Josh stood, walking towards the shop. He saw a corner of the person's face, immediately recognizing those eyes. He stopped in the doorway to the back, staring at where Tyler was looking at the menu, unaware of Josh standing there, frozen and awestruck. He was just as beautiful as ever.
The dream made a brief appearance in his mind before he felt Brendon pressed up against his back, leaning over his shoulder to see why Josh stopped.
Josh turned around and gave a warning look at him before backing away into where Tyler could see him easily.
“Don’t you dare,” Josh said seriously, his finger pointed at Brendon. The smile Brendon’s face held was evil and he didn’t like it all.
He really didn’t like it.
“Just suck his dick already,” Brendon called, trying to keep it quiet enough that Tyler wouldn’t hear. Of course though, when Josh turned around Tyler’s face was obviously red, his eyes staring down at his shoes.
“Fuck,” Josh muttered under his breath, walking up to the counter. He knew his own face was just as red. He tried his hardest to compose himself.
“Same thing as always?” He asked politely, grabbing for a cup. He never took his eyes off of Tyler as he did and usually he didn’t need to look to know where the cups were. It had to have been a combination of Tyler’s looks and Brendon’s comments but he fucked up. His hand knocked against the stack, sending it toppling over, the cups scattering across the counter. Josh turned and stared down at the mess, looking back to see Tyler’s hands on the counter, leaning up on his tip toes to be able to see the mess himself. Josh felt like this was the worst day possible.
Tyler scrunched up his nose, looking over to the case where they kept food for customers.
“How ‘bout I just get a coffee cake instead?” Tyler asked, a small laugh coming out of his mouth as his eyes looked back over to the mess that Josh was deliberately avoiding. Josh’s heart seemed to love the laugh that came out of Tyler’s mouth because he found himself saying one of his dumb jokes, just to hear it again.
“What do you call a sleepwalking nun?” He asked, cringing when he finished because this was so, so lame. Brendon was probably in the back laughing, not even so much as offering a second of help.
“I don’t know, what?” Tyler asked, his eyes amused. It seemed that this time Tyler was the collected one. His brief insecurities cleared up in their last meeting. He probably wasn’t having any damn wet dreams about Josh, he didn’t have this problem.
“A roamin’ Catholic,” Josh said, giving a forced and cheesy grin. His smile fell and he quickly retraced his steps to explain it.
“Get it, cause, y’know, Roman Catholics,” he said, waving his hands like that explained things better. Tyler shook his head, a smile growing on his face. This time it was a real smile, much like the first day but this time it reached his eyes.
“That was a good one, I’ll give you that much,” Tyler said, a short chuckle coming out. Josh almost swooned right then and there.
He distracted himself by getting the food that Tyler asked for, putting it in a bag and handing it to Tyler across the counter.
“Sorry about the coffee, I’ll make it up to you the next time you come in,” he said, hoping that was enough to get Tyler to come back again.
Tyler smiled and nodded.
“I guess I definitely have to come back now,” he said easily, turning and walking towards the door. He stopped, one foot out the door before he turned back and looked over at Josh.
“If you wanted to suck my dick so bad, all you had to do was ask,” he said and Josh choked.
Brendon walked out with a brand new stack of cups.
~~~
He did end up coming back the next day and Josh made his coffee without any huge mess up. He was trying to make casual conversation but it was hard to focus when Tyler was folding his arms on top of the coffee machine, resting his chin on his forearm. He was watching Josh with such intensity that Josh was scared he was gonna mess up and spill coffee all over himself. He kinda predicted that would happen soon.
He handed the coffee over and he hadn’t spoken much to Tyler that day, it was kinda hurting his heart. He wanted to hear that voice again and wanted to see him smile.
“So, about that dick sucking,” he said, going back to the offer of sorts from the previous day. That seemed to peak Tyler’s interest. He stood up straight and gave Josh his full attention.
“I mean, if you want that I’d probably be pretty willing to. It doesn’t even have to be fancy, I’d do it in the backroom if you asked with that smile,” Josh started ranting, a hand running through his hair. He couldn’t look at Tyler’s face even though he knew there was an amused expression, a smile he was desperate to see.
“What I meant to say was, I would like to take you out on a date.”
Dick sucking and dates were nowhere near close in topics. Tyler only snorted, nodding his head.
“I guess a date would be better than a quickie in your backroom,” he said, eyes glancing over to where the backroom was. The nerves in Josh flared up even though he’d gotten a yes.
“I get off at five today,” he said, not saying anything else as Tyler smiled and left the building.
~~~
Josh was off shift and Tyler was waiting outside the coffee shop.
“How about a walk?” Josh offered, and Tyler nodded his head, sliding his hand into Josh’s without anymore hesitation.
It was calming, to just walk and let out his nervous energy that way. Josh was pretty sure that if they’d gotten food and sat down that he would probably be stuttering and unable to form a coherent sentence. This was miles better.
Night fell pretty quickly and it didn’t get cold right away so they stayed out a little longer. Tyler had a thing for stars.
“I love them,” he explained, eyes glued to the sky where they were starting to come out slowly, “I think they’re beautiful. There’s so many stories about the stars and how they were created, what they mean. It’s amazing. There’s all these constellations that we know of and then others that we don't. There’s galaxies and universes that we’ve never explored and stories that we’ve never seen and it’s all so vast and scary, I love it all.”
He looked over at Josh then, meeting his eyes.
“I look for the stars in people. It’s how I decide if they’re worth my time, I guess. Not in friends though. I fall in love with the stars in the sky and I fall in love with the stars in people’s eyes,” he said and Tyler sounded a bit breathless. They’d stopped walking and they just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Josh felt a knot in his stomach grow, a second of hesitation even though he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he had no reason to be nervous.
“Well, do you see stars in my eyes?” He asked, scared to hear the answer. He got a smile in response, small and shy almost. Tyler nodded.
“I see a whole galaxy in your eyes, Josh,” Tyler said easily, his eyes so sincere that Josh felt like he might pass out right then and there.
He didn’t, so instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Tyler’s. He brought his hands up to cradle Tyler’s face and it was so easy to stand there and kiss him. It was so easy the way that they fit together and it was even easier in the way that Josh just knew his feelings. He wasn’t second guessing himself.
He felt Tyler melt against him, his hands reaching out and grabbing at Josh’s waist, holding onto something to keep them close.
Josh barely pulled away, enough to be able to talk. He wanted to stay as close to Tyler as possible.
“I guess the stars are pretty cool,” he said, eyes opening to see the resulting smile on Tyler’s face.
And suddenly every fuck up was completely worth it. Every awkward moment that had Josh cringing led him to this point and he was so damn lucky.
“To think, this all happened because I cried uncontrollably into your shoulder,” Tyler said with a laugh.
“I’ve got a thing for sad boys,” he said, shrugging like it was nothing. Though all his mind was really processing was that Tyler seemed thankful for that day, Tyler seemed happy right then and there, Tyler seemed like he wanted to be with Josh.
“So, about that dick sucking,” Tyler started, cutting himself off when Josh groaned, “Okay, okay, how about we just cuddle first?”
“I’d like that a lot.”