Work Text:
It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh, which meant it would be a busy one.
“Try not to get too distracted today, eh, Frank?” Robby claps him on the shoulder as he passes by, a grin on his face.
His boss was fair but stern, someone you could approach if you had a problem, but firm with customers when necessary. Frank liked mornings like this, just him and Robby and the smell of coffee filling his sinuses.
The bell above the door jingled, and he turned to face the customer, pausing his cleaning. “Good morning, welcome to The Pitt. What can I get for you?”
The girl looks up to him from the menu, a contemplative smile on her sweet face, and he’s struck silent for a moment. “Hi, good morning,” She beams. “Can I have an iced chai latte, please?”
He nods, clearing his throat and prodding the screen in front of him. “Sure, anything else?”
“Just that, please, my name is Mel.”
He almost answers back with his own name before it occurs to him that he needs it for the order and nods. He takes the money she offers and gestures for her to wait on the other end.
The woman is pretty, a standard girl-next-door type with her hair pulled back into a braid and little makeup highlighting her features. She’s a student, her Pittsburgh University lanyard hanging around her neck and her backpack that seemed bigger than her. She’s got glasses that frame her face and a cute little mole just under her eye.
It strikes him that maybe he could have a start of a crush on this customer, which is some bullshit love at first sight, but now he might believe it.
He had ended things with Abby long before he got this job, so he was single and had nothing holding him back. His college classes were good, and he worked here whenever he could.
“Coffee for Mel!” He calls out, sliding the cup across the counter with a protective sleeve over it.
He watches as she picks it up, her brows furrowed in confusion when she notices the protective sleeve around the cup. It was strange, especially since she ordered a cold drink, but how else was he supposed to write his message?
She caught sight of the words, pink starting to paint her cheeks as she mouthed the words written.
‘Hope you enjoy, sweetheart.’
She catches his eye, giving him a small smile before she turns and heads out.
-
The next time she enters the little coffee shop, it’s raining and it’s busy.
It’s him and Trinity working today, and they work like a team around each other behind the counter.
Frank is on the drinks, hearing Trinity shout the orders to him over the noise, while handing him the receipts and then calling for the next customer.
As much as talking to the customers is one of his favourite pastimes, working on drinks is his second favourite. He could be busy with his hands, a welcome distraction for his ADHD, and he thrived in the chaos.
“Hot chocolate for Mia!” He calls, swiftly placing the drink on the counter and wasting no time to start on the next
“Hi, could I have an Iced Chai Latte and a slice of your Banana Bread, please?”
That voice catches his attention, and he almost knocks over the milk in his swift move to turn around.
It’s Mel in all her glory, her hair down this time and makeup free. She doesn’t have her bag, but she’s holding several textbooks, and her glasses were off and in her other hand, dripping wet from the rain.
He feels something bubble in his chest, and a smile breaks out on his face.
“Iced Chai- Why do you look like that?” Trinity mutters, slapping the receipt into his hand and bringing him back
“Iced Chai Latte, coming up.” He nods, already grabbing everything he’ll need along with a cardboard sleeve for the drink. He doesn’t know what to write this time, what would catch her attention?
He takes the time to think about it as he’s making other drinks, handing them out quickly and soon he’s shouting Mel’s
“Another cardboard sleeve? My drink isn’t even hot.” Mel laughs when she sees her drink
“Gotta protect against the ice sweats,” he shrugs with a smile. Her laugh is like music to his ears.
“Alright then, consider me protected.” She doesn’t move away, instead moving closer. “Are there any good spots here to study? I’ve been meaning to find somewhere in Pittsburgh to be a good study spot, and I'm trying here today.”
Frank nods and looks around, pointing to a corner in the far left. “That’s the best spot, close enough to be part of the coffee shop still, but far away from the chaos and foot traffic. Plus, you get a good view of the street, and it’s good for people watching.”
“Do you have experience doing that?” She smirks
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He watches as she moves away, going to the spot he suggested and seeing her settle down
“Is that the girl you’ve been giving the hot cardboard sleeves to? Robby told me to watch out for that.” Trinity butted in, "That's not the best place in this coffee shop, though, it’s totally upstairs where it’s cool and quieter. You just wanted her in your eyeline.”
“I wanted to keep an eye on her, sue me.”
“Get your ass back to drinks, you’re behind.”
With one last look at Mel, he smiles to himself, knowing she’s probably seen the ‘Enjoy darling!’ on her drink
-
Today was probably the worst day of his life.
Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but to him? Why does the world hate him?
Robby, who usually operates the kitchen, is off on PTO, and so he was left in charge of baking the treats for the coffee shop throughout the day.
Trinity and Samira are in the front, working together as a team to reduce the queue of customers and navigate the lunch rush.
“Langdon!” Samira calls, startling him as he almost drops the tray of croissants he was bringing out of the oven.
The girl comes to the entryway, a giant grin on her face. “Your girl is here.”
He tries not to seem bothered, but Samira must know he was rushing by how he all but drops the hot tray and throws off his apron.
“She’s here with a guy, though, not sure if that’ll slow you down or deter you,” She adds, following behind him
When he comes out from the back, the place is busy and almost every table is full of chatting patrons. The table in the corner is occupied by his favourite customer and someone else, a mousy-looking guy who seemed too nervous to even look at Mel
“Who the hell is he?”
“We’re not sure, but he knows Mel’s order, though. He didn’t even ask what she wanted before she went to sit down.” Samira answered, sliding two drinks towards him. “Go and take them, there’s that cardboard sleeve on Mel’s for you.”
He flips her off at Samira’s wink and grabs his pen from his apron, writing a sweet ‘Enjoy Sunshine!’ on the cardboard and then braces himself for probably the most painful interaction of all
“Hey, Mel,” He smiles, placing both drinks on the table away from the textbooks
“Oh, Frank, hey!” Her hands curl around her cup, humming quietly at the message. “I didn’t know you were working today.”
“I was in the back. Robby is on vacation, so I'm stuck baking everything.”
She nods, “It must be nice getting away from all the customers.”
Not if it meant not seeing Mel
“Yeah, I guess so,” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “Who’s this?” He asks suddenly, definitely not smooth
She gives him a brief look, “This is Dennis, my study partner, Dennis, this is Frank.”
Good, okay, he could work with this.
“Nice to meet you, man,” Frank nods politely
“Nice to meet you,” The mousy boy replies, going back to his studying
“I continued the tradition,” Frank brings up after a couple of seconds of silence, desperately trying to keep the conversation going
“I saw, Sunshine?” She chuckles, “I don’t think your girlfriend will be thrilled with you if she finds out.”
“Who says I have one? Last I checked, I was single.” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, clearing his throat, “But uh- do you so happen to have a boyfriend? I wouldn’t want you to get into bother with him if he finds out about this.”
They’re both not subtle, and they both know it.
“No boyfriend here, completely single.”
“Noted, uh, I'd better head back.” He thumbs over his shoulder, running a hand nervously through his hair and almost walking into the table behind him (that was thankfully empty.)
“I’ll see you later then, Frank,” She waves, taking a sip of her drink and then turning back to Dennis
“Simp,” Trinity snorts when he gets back behind the counter
“Shut up, you can’t say anything with your crush on Garcia,” He hisses, lifting a finger in Samira’s direction, “Neither can you,”
-
Today will officially go down in history as the greatest day of his life.
First off, he got his grade back from his recent final, and he passed. The professor was even surprised by the success of his very passive-aggressive email, but Frank didn’t care; it meant he could bid farewell to that class and focus more on other things he loved.
Secondly, he was scheduled with good people. Robby was back in the kitchen, and Frank was at the front, making drinks again with Samira at the register. They had some assistance today with cleaning the tables and collecting trash. A kid named Victoria was there, and it was her first job. She was calm, quiet and clumsy, but she worked hard.
The third thing? Melissa King (he learnt her full name on her last visit, the one after she came in with Dennis.)
She made her appearance a couple of hours into the shift, coming in just before the lunch rush, and her smile was still just as bright, competing with the sun.
“Mel!” He exclaims when he sees her, gently moving Samira aside when he comes behind the register, “How are you on this glorious day?”
“Subtle much?” Samira scoffs, taking the loss and going to the drinks station to take over
“I’m good, Frank, you? I’m just passing by today. I need to go to some professors' office hours.”
He nods, punching in her order. “I’m good too, now that you’re here,” He winks, “Go to the end, I'll have it ready for you.”
“Dude, make up your mind, register or drinks?” Samira tuts, shaking her head
“I have a plan today, Mira. I’ve let this go on for too long.” He explains his plan, and soon the other barista is on board. She hands him the ingredients, helping him with the drink and then handing over the protective sleeve before she moves back to the register as he calls out Mel’s name.
“What pet name do you have for me today?”
“Something you’ll like, I think.” He hands it over, waiting nervously for her reaction
Her eyes widened; it was just her name. “Just Mel? Did you lose inspiration?”
He chuckles, “Look on the other side, honey.”
She does so, her frown turned upside down when she sees the number. “Your number? How romantic.”
“So, should I expect a call?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” She shrugs, “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Tease.”
“Am I?” She gives him an innocent look, one that makes him groan and lift his head back
“Go before you distract me any further. I need this job.”
“See you later, Frank,” She waves to Samira on the way out, and he feels like he’s on cloud nine.
She does end up calling that evening, and by the following Friday, she’s officially his girlfriend. It was quick, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
When he picks her up for their next date, she invites him into her dorm room to wait while she finishes getting ready.
His eyes caught something in the corner, a box full of cardboard that was tucked away from the public’s eye.
“What’s this?” He speaks up, moving closer.
She doesn’t say anything, but she’s paused her movements and seems just to be waiting for him
“Oh,” he grins, picking up the cardboard protective sleeves that had all the different pet names written on them. “You kept them?”
“Of course I did, they’re special.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Yeah, well, it was those that technically brought us together.”