Work Text:
The shop was pretty much empty at 3pm on a Tuesday, but one customer still remained. Vin watched her work while she pretended to polish the counter for the fifth time today.
Shallan (Vin knew her name from writing it on endless expensive sugary coffees) was hunched over her battered sketchbook in a coveted corner booth of the small shop. Her vivid red hair fell around her face, veiling her from the rest of the world. She was wearing faded blue jeans with smears of color, a thick brown sweater, and chunky white sneakers that had been doodled on. Three empty coffee cups sat on the table in front of her, as well as an empty brown paper bag.
Vin smiled to herself as Shallan put the end of her pen in her mouth. She'd watched her do it so many times, and it was still adorable.
"Still watching her?" Kelsier's voice came from behind her, a whisper in her ear.
"Shh! She might hear you," Vin hissed, whirling around to face her coworker.
"Come on. She hasn't looked up since she got her third caramel macchiato. I think she has earbuds in."
"Still, it's empty in here. She might hear your loud voice," Vin said, moving past Kelsier and towards the back, where they could talk more privately.
He followed her, and as soon as the door swung shut behind him, began to question her.
"Why don't you just talk to her instead of staring? You'll never know if you don't shoot your shot," Kelsier said.
Vin crossed her arms. "I'm on the clock."
"Oh, come on. It's an hour til closing, and everything is clean as a whistle. Plus, I think talking to cute girls on company time is the ethical thing to do."
Vin shrugged. She wasn't really concerned about not doing her job; she knew she wouldn't get fired for spending five minutes talking to Shallan. But the excuse of work gave her a convenient reason to avoid actually confronting her feelings.
It was ridiculous of her to fall for a stranger. All she knew about Shallan was her coffee order, that she liked to draw, and that she must not have a job because she was in the shop at all hours. She was cute, but her faded cutoffs and sweaters were nothing like Vin's baggy black clothes. She might not even like girls. There were so many things that could go wrong.
Kelsier just kept looking at Vin. He was a few years older than her, had trained her, and basically treated her like his work-sister. He knew her the best out of all her coworkers, and Vin didn't like disappointing him.
"Fine," she sighed. "I'll go talk to her, but you have to cover for me if anyone else comes in."
Kelsier glanced at his wrist. He didn't wear a watch; Vin knew he was just making fun of her. "It is past three in the afternoon, as long as your girlfriend doesn't order a last-minute drink to go, I think we're good," he said.
Vin rolled her eyes, but took off her apron and headed back out. She didn't want to seem like she was approaching Shallan in a professional capacity.
She walked up to Shallan's table. "Hi," she said.
Shallan looked up and, sure enough, removed an earbud from one ear. "Oh, are you closing early?" she asked.
"No, nothing like that," Vin said, nervously running a hand through her hair. "I just, uh… well, you're here all the time, I see you every day, and I don't mean to be too forward, but I think you're cute."
Shallan stared at her, blue eyes going wide. Fuck, this had been a terrible idea. Vin would need to have some harsh words with Kelsier later. Her tan cheeks were flushing red.
"I'm sorry, this was a bad idea—," Vin started to say, but Shallan interrupted her.
"I think you're cute, too," she said. "It's Vin, right? I never wanted to interrupt you at work, but I kept hoping I would bump into you out of uniform…"
"Is that why you've been here so late every day?"
"Maybe," Shallan said, ducking her head in embarrassment. "Um, did it work? Are you off the clock?"
Vin shook her head. "No, my coworker annoyed me into finally talking to you. He got tired of me silently watching you, I guess."
Vin was worried she'd sound creepy, but Shallan laughed. "I'm glad he did, because I don't know if I ever would have said anything to you. When do you get off work?"
"Probably around five?" Vin said. "We close at four, though."
Shallan grinned. "Trust me, I know. Well, if you'll give me your number, I can text you later. We can go out somewhere when you're done with work?"
"Yeah, that would be amazing," Vin said, smiling back. "As long as it's not coffee. I think you've had enough."
Shallan laughed again, and Vin was proud of herself for making that happen twice. "Well, I've gotta get back to work, but I'll see you later," Vin said, after entering her number into Shallan's phone.
Shallan waved at her, and Vin waved back as she walked. She nearly ran into Kelsier as soon as she opened the door to the back room.
"Well? How did it go?" he asked.
"Shut up, I know you were listening the whole time," Vin grumbled.
She went to put her apron back on and get back to work, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning the entire rest of her shift.