Work Text:
Phil Lester knew he was going to break his big rule before he even got out of bed. To be fair to him, the rule was new and quite annoying. What kind of doctor would tell a university student to not drink caffeine?
When he told his flatmate this, she had just responded,“Phil, you put enough cream and sugar in that stuff to kill a mouse, just be done with it! Try yoga or something.”
Phil doubted a 23-year-old English student knew anything about mouse murder, but he kept that to himself. They both knew the real reason he didn't want to give up caffeine anyway.
That reason was currently sprinting through the streets of Manchester, desperate to not be late to yet another shift. His long legs made him seem like an excitable fawn as he tried to dodge holiday shoppers, bored teenagers, and mums with strollers.
If you had asked Dan Howell what he would be doing with his life after sixth form, “working in a cafe” would not have been high on the list. Sure, The Golden Pig seemed more like a study room than a cafe but it still counted.
His manager, Jen, was a nice northern lady, but she could only be so patient. Dan tried to tell her that nothing could be worse than the time he’d sold an axe to a child, but that conversation didn’t go over well.
Phil thought it was funny. Phil. Dan smiled to himself as he unlocked the cafe door. When they first met, Dan wasn’t sure quite what to make of him. His straight black hair framed his face nicely, his blue eyes were warm, and whenever he smiled the thought crossed Dan’s mind that he never wanted to make him stop.
“Hiya Howell! Sleeping in today were we?” his coworker Sophie asked with a raised eyebrow.
Dan just rolled his eyes and hung up his coat. “Sophie, I think we both know I never sleep. It’s this damn espresso machine.”
The curly haired woman laughed at him. “Well, my cat tried to make a nest in my hair this morning, so I think I have you beat.”
“Ahhh, I see Fuji is putting her salon skills to good use.” Dan nodded. “You look great.”
Sophie shot him an amused glare as he hung up his coat and slipped on his yellow apron. “Hey, did Jen tell you about the custom drink competition?”
Dan looked up quickly. “No, she didn’t. When was this?”
He wasn’t that surprised. Jen was always coming up with another harebrained scheme to keep the shop ‘down with the youth’.
“She sent out the email this morning. Apparently we all make a custom drink and whoever sells the most in a day wins tickets to that new Tarantino movie.”
Dan looked at her with a bemused expression. While he wasn't the biggest film guy, he was competitive to his core. “Well then, Newton. Game on”.
The noise of the bell shook them both out of their scheming.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” Sophie said smiling. “Hi! Welcome to the Golden Pig! What can I get for you?”
Dan tried to busy himself with the mundane jobs he had been assigned to today. He yelled out orders, warmed up pastries, drew a dog on a cup after a timid little girl told him she thought she left her stuffie under a sticky table. He even bravely volunteered to check if the milk in the walk-in fridge had gone bad. He would be lying if he said he didn’t have an ulterior motive for this burst of productivity.
He was anxious as hell.
Phil. Phil. Phil. It was always Phil these days, wasn’t it? Dan hadn’t seen him since last week when he left the cafe in a panic yelling about being late for an appointment.
It wasn’t like Phil owed him anything, he scolded himself. They were friends (at least Dan hoped so), and that was it. That’s all it could ever be at this point.
Dan opened the third milk on the shelf and gagged. It smelled worse than his dog did after eating his birthday cake last year. He hastily capped the offending bottle and ran out of the back.
“Sophie, oh my god, you won’t believe this! The 2% smells like the devil himself took as sh–” Dan cut himself off as he suddenly looked up. There, standing awkwardly at the counter, was none other than Phil. His emo fringe looked especially good today, and if he was a different person Dan may have asked him if it was a wig.
“Oh, hi!” Dan squeaked, looking from Phil to Sophie in panic. “How are you? I— I mean we— haven't seen you in awhile!”
“I’ve been better,” the black-haired boy said with sincerity. “I was at the neurologist last week, she said I have to stop drinking caffeine. Those damn migraines!”
“Oh, Phil! Well, don’t worry, we can find some herbal teas for you. I know sugar always gets me going,” Sophie said with a kind smile.
In the background, Dan panicked. The Golden Pig was the only place he saw Phil. He couldn't risk losing him by telling him how he felt. But maybe… a small voice came through from the back of his brain. Win him the tickets. Tell him that way. Show him how much–
“Earth to Dan.” The older boy’s voice came into focus and he tried to meet Dan’s worried brown eyes. “You look like you went somewhere else for a bit. I was just telling Sophie here not to worry, I can still drink decaf.”
His blue eyes crinkled when he smiled and it made something settle in Dan’s chest.
“Decaf you say?” Dan said softly. “I think Jen’s updating the menu soon, and we’ll have more of those in the coming days.”
“That’s amazing! Wow, what a nice coincidence.” Phil smiled. “Well, I think I’m gonna head out. It was great seeing you guys!” He dropped his voice. “Don’t work too hard, Danny”.
As soon as the flannel clad student had left the shop, Sophie made purposeful eye contact with Dan. “Jen’s adding new decaf drinks you say?” Her eyes glimmered as she took in Dan’s blushing face. “You know there’s easier ways to admit you have a crush.”
“Am I really that obvious?” he said with a resigned sigh.
“I just have excellent deduction skills.” She sagely nodded. “The pity won’t last long though. I want those tickets.”
Dan laughed. “Oh, you’re on, Newton.”
Later that night, in his cramped beige bedroom, Daniel Howell tossed and turned. Despite how much he talked a big game, he actually knew very little about coffee. With a huff, he opened up his laptop and started googling.
As the sun rose on Manchester, Dan had a plan.
According to one of the 76 websites he checked, people who had migraines and a caffeine sensitivity often also had problems with chocolate. He also knew Phil’s usual order was a medium hot mocha with cold foam.
He spent his next shift mulling over this problem until he caught sight of a bottle of syrup on the back shelf. Bingo. This might work out after all.
That Friday before closing, Jen called a staff meeting. These were often short affairs with someone getting an employee of the week cupcake, and the others getting told to restock the napkins more.
Dan settled in a plush chair between Sophie and PJ, one of the newer employees. He shared Dan’s curls and love of video games and was often staring at the apparently "perceptive" Sophie.
“So.” Jen clapped her hands. “The drink competition will start on Monday, I trust those entering know the stakes.”
PJ and Sophie nodded quickly as Dan anxiously bobbed his leg.
Jen made eye contact with everyone in the room and said, “Newton, you're top of my list this week.”
Sophie beamed.
“The rest of you, go scrub the sinks in the back bathroom! Heaven knows they need it.” With a clap of her hands, the red haired woman was off.
Dan was the first to break the silence. “Have you two losers started yet?”
PJ clutched a hand to his chest. “Howell, you wound me. Of course I have!”
Sophie shushed both of them. “No telling! I want you both to be surprised when I crush you.”
PJ smiled and held out his pinkie finger. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Dan put out his finger and smiled.
The weekend went faster than Dan wanted it to. Sleeping in and annoying his grandma were sacred events and he wished he could do it more.
He had called her Sunday night to hear about the bingo gossip and how she was doing. Veronica was not elderly (at least in Dan’s eyes), but he wanted to spend as much time as possible with her.
“How’s work, Daniel?” Veronica asked after their conversation stilled.
“Oh, same old same old. I’m actually making a custom drink for a competition there.”
“How nice! I would love to come and try it sometime, I know Popsie would feel the same.”
Dan grinned at the mention of his grandfather.
“Okay, Nana, I should go. Sleep well!”
Dan was about to hang up but just like clockwork his nana responded, “Daniel, where are my kisses?”
“I love you,” he replied, fondly rolling his eyes.
“Sleep well deary.”
Dan drifted off soon after.
The Golden Pig was busy, but there was no way that Dan would have missed the customer who had just entered the shop.
“Dan!” Phil exclaimed as he reached the register. “Are you ready for competition day?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Dan smiled.
“So, what do you recommend?" The older boy grinned.
“Well, I’m quite partial to the White the Dust, it's a decaf white mocha latte with a caramel drizzle.”
Phil’s eyes widened. “A decaf? And white chocolate? I didn't know you guys even served that here!”
Dan had the decency to blush. “We don’t usually, but, um, Jen can sometimes be persuaded to add new things to the order list.”
“And who made this one?”
Dan looked up at him, brown eyes meeting blue. “It was me.” He smiled softly. “I heard you talking about how you can’t have caffeine… and Google said chocolate can also sometimes be an issue, and I wanted you to feel included and—”
Phil cut him off, a strange expression on his face. “One large White the Dust. For here.”
Phil took out his wallet but Dan pushed it away. “This one’s on me,” he said, turning around before Phil could argue.
6 minutes and one near burn later, Dan called Phil's name.
He smiled and Phil jumped up from his table. “Enjoy.”
“Oh, I know I will,” Phil responded, stilling Dan’s shaky hand with a kind touch. “I know because it’s you.”
Now it was Dan’s turn to blush. He turned quickly and got back to work. Throughout the day, the competition continued. PJ had brought in a mini whiteboard and was recording order numbers and scores. So far, Sophie led with her iced hazelnut cold brew. PJ’s pumpkin chai latte was close behind. Dan’s decaf was in last place by far.
“Howell, you’re not looking so sweet,” PJ teased him.
“Well, we both know Sophie is gonna win,” Dan responded, stealing a glance at a certain occupied chair in the corner.
“Mphmph. Let’s wait and see,” PJ responded.
Dan couldn't agree more.
The hours ticked past, but Phil didn’t move. Dan looked at him in between customers. He had a worn book and looked to be engrossed in the story. Dan wanted nothing more than to go over there and shake his shoulders and demand to know everything he had been wanting to know about him for the past few months. But he knew he couldn’t. He tried to tell himself it was because he was at work, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to ever tell Phil his true feelings.
At 5pm sharp, Jen clapped her hands and addressed the shop.
“Thank you all for being here. Whether you’re a regular or someone who stopped in for a wee two minutes ago and is now very confused, it makes no difference to me. Today was the 1st annual Golden Pig drink contest. I would like to bring up our participants and announce the winner!”
Dan glanced around the room nervously. Sophie was fidgeting with her apron, and PJ looked less energetic than usual.
“Dan Howell, with his decaf White Mocha! Sophie Newton with her hazelnut cold brew, and PJ Liguori with his pumpkin chai!”
The room erupted in polite applause as the three baristas stepped forward.
“Drumroll please!” Jen shouted as she checked the whiteboard. “The winner of the competition AND two tickets for Kill Bill volume 1 is….. Sophie!”
PJ and Dan cheered as she walked over to Jen.
Dan suddenly felt a touch on his shoulder. Phil stared timidly at him. “Hey, I’m sorry you lost,” he said, stepping into Dan’s space.
“Oh, you know, it’s not all bad. Sophie is great,” he sputtered.
“Well, that was the best drink I’ve ever tasted.” Phil grinned, his face getting somehow closer and closer to Dan’s. “I have an award for you.”
“Oh yeah? What would that be?” Dan whispered, half convinced he was hallucinating.
Phil softly grabbed the brown haired boy’s face. “This.”
As soon as Phil’s lips met his, Dan felt his brain leak out of his ears. He kissed Phil back, slow and sweet, and hoped and prayed that his lips were telling Phil even a fraction of what he’d been holding in since the first day they’d met.
They stood there, wrapped in each other until Dan heard a distant whistle.
He slowly broke apart from Phil, who was smiling bigger than Dan had ever seen.
Sometime during the kiss, the room had gone silent. 10 pairs of eyes trained on their embrace.
“Damn, Howell, I think you got the best prize of all,” Sophie yelled.
Dan grinned and wrapped his arms around Phil. “Oh, I definitely did.”