Work Text:
Arthit smiled at the line of excited customers chattering away at the front of the store. The signs around them announced the arrival of their annual autumn drink menu. Thailand may not experience a meteorological fall the way America does, but that didn't stop Arthit's manager from capitalizing on everything pumpkin spice every October. Arthit loved it, the way the atmosphere in the cafe changed, excitement coursing like static through the air. More tips per day helped, just a little. Not that the cafe didn't usually do well, their crowd of regulars kept them busy enough most days. But there was a noticeable influx during pumpkin spice season. As much as Arthit loved it he wouldn't deny how stressful it was, which was not helped by his overbearing manager.
"Arthit, stop daydreaming and serve the customers!"
Arthit sighed and turned to his manager, Knott, who was in the middle of making a latte. "Bright should be back from his break by now so I can go."
"I gave him an extra 5 minutes. Take this to table six."
Knott handed Arthit the finished latte and gestured to the table. Arthit huffed in annoyance but started to walk, stopping short when he saw who was sitting at the table. A fairly (extremely) attractive, slender man sat in front of a laptop, munching contentedly on a muffin. Kongpob had been a regular at the cafe since shortly after Arthit had started working there, 3 years prior. Arthit's immediate crush on the man was obvious to everyone...except Kongpob it seemed. Despite pleading from his coworkers to make a damn move already, Arthit did exactly the opposite. He avoided Kongpob whenever possible, which Kongpob didn't make easy. He had a habit of popping up at the counter when Arthit was alone to order another latte or some baked goods, his dazzling smile and lingering gazes causing Arthit to flounder through the interaction. He tried to hide how his hands shook and spilled coffee on the counter every time, but Arthit was positive that at this point Kongpob just thought he was the most incompetent barista in the world.
Arthit tried not to spill the coffee this time as he turned back to Knott, shaking his head furiously.
"No, I can't. You do it."
Knott rolled his eyes. "Arthit, I'm about 4 orders behind right now. Just give your boyfriend his coffee and get back here."
Arthit froze, his mouth moving without sound but he was too shocked by Knott's boldness to respond. When Knott raised his eyebrow and pointed at Kongpob, Arthit shut his mouth and glared at him before turning back around. With a deep breath he plastered his patented Customer Service Smile on his face and walked forward.
When he reached Kongpob's table he carefully set the latte down, thanking every god he could think of that every drop stayed dutifully within the bounds of the mug. Without waiting for a response, he turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Ignoring the fiery warmth that spread through his body from the touch, he forced himself to turn back around.
"This is a pumpkin spice latte, right?"
Arthit blinked, confused. "No, it's your regular vanilla latte."
"Oh, I wanted a pumpkin spice latte." Kongpob's lips turned down into a small frown and Arthit would have literally sacrificed his own life to get rid of that frown.
"But it has cinnamon in it. That's like, the main ingredient," Arthit said, instead.
"Yes, I know."
"Ummm, but..." Arthit shifted uncomfortably. "You're allergic to cinnamon."
Kongpob looked taken aback. "How did you know that?"
"Well, you told me," Arthit explained. "The first time I offered you a pumpkin spice latte."
"P'Arthit," Kongpob said, the honorific causing a deep blush to form on Arthit's face. "That was almost three years ago."
Arthit's blush deepened even further. "I make a point to remember all the regulars' accommodations."
"Mhm," Kongpob hummed, thinking for a moment before pointing at a man sitting a couple tables away. "Okay, so what's his?"
"Umm," Arthit wracked his brain, but couldn't think of anything. Truthfully, Knott was the one who always remembered orders. Arthit could usually guess correctly after a couple of tries, but the only ones he knew off the top of his head were Kongpob's - vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin, unless there were chocolate scones then he had 2 of those. If he got another dessert with his second cup of coffee, it was always a warm oatmeal raisin cookie. Sometimes, very rarely, he would get a slice of cheesecake in a to-go box when he left. Arthit couldn't say that, though, couldn't admit that directly to Kongpob's face. "I'm sorry, Khun, I need to help at the register."
Arthit turned to make a hasty retreat, his cheeks aflame and mentally cursing himself for being such a fool.
"P'Arthit, would you want to go on a date with me?"
Arthit stopped mid-step, shock nearly turning him to stone. Slowly, every so slowly, as if the entire moment was an illusion that would be shattered if he moved too fast, he turned back around. Kongpob was standing and smiling shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I mean, would you maybe want to, like, get coffee or..." Kongpob trailed off, shaking his head with a grimace. "I mean, not coffee, that's not special enough. Not that I need it to be special or anything its just that, well, you're already here already every day and -"
"Okay."
Kongpob paused in his rambling, surprise evident on his face. "Okay?"
"Okay," Arthit repeated. "I'll go on a date with you."
"Okay." Kongpob nodded, a wide grin breaking out on his face. "Okay, yeah. Cool. I'll give you my LineID before I leave."
"Okay," Arthit said again, a shy smile turning up his lips. He was almost sure his face was red enough to resemble a tomato as he bowed just slightly and turned back around, walking back to the register. He hadn't even noticed that the entire cafe had stopped to listen to their conversation until the sudden swell of commotion finally brought his attention to the fact that holy shit he'd just planned a date. With Kongpob. In public. Knott was grinning at him from his position in front of the milk steamer, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Shut up," Arthit warned, no actual heat behind the words. His heart was far too giddy to actually care about Knott's jokes now. Knott just shrugged and turned back to his work right as Bright came flying into the cafe, hurriedly tying his apron behind his back.
"Knott! Did it work, did he ask Arthit -" he paused at the murderous look Knott sent his way, gesturing to where Arthit stood behind Bright, arms folded. Bright turned, his guilty smile giving him away immediately. "Ah, Ai'Arhtit, it's your break time, isn't it?"
Arthit just frowned, crossing his arms in front of him intimidatingly. "Explain."
"Well, you know, it was his idea, really, I had almost nothing to do with it. In fact, Knott was the one that planned most of it so you should ask him." Bright wasted no time hiding behind their manager, his pleading eyes begging Knott to save him. Knott just sighed and turned to Arthit.
"Arthit, if you weren't so clueless all the damn time we wouldn't have had to plan this, but Kongpob got desperate. You weren't taking his hints."
"What hints?" Arthit asked.
"I literally asked you out on a date the first time we spoke, P'Arthit."
Arthit whipped around to see Kongpob leaning on the counter, smirking. "What? No you didn't, I would definitely remember that. I would have said yes!"
"Oh but I did, and you didn't say yes," Kongpob said. "After I told you I was allergic to cinnamon I offered to take you to a shop that sells my favorite cinnamon-free fall desserts. You declined because -"
"Because Knott would get mad at me for checking out the competition." Arthit grimaced at the memory. "I'm an idiot."
"Yes," Kongpob replied honestly. "But you're a cute idiot, so I'll forgive it."
With that, Kongpob took the cheesecake Knott had been boxing up for him and slid a piece of paper across the counter with a wink.
"Text me. I can't wait for our date."
If Arthit spent the rest of his shift with his head in the clouds, his coworkers just shook their heads and smiled, glad to pick up the slack if it meant Arthit's usual grumpy demeanor stayed tucked away for the time being.