Work Text:
Shay has worked at this coffee shop since the start of the semester a few weeks ago. There's a Starbucks just down the road, so it never gets too busy, but they get a steady stream of customers anyway - mostly students from the nearby University.
Every morning from Monday to Friday, without fail, the same girl shows up and always orders the same thing: a café latte to go. Shay had noticed her right away because she was always well dressed and has an air of grace about her. And, well, she's very pretty.
Shay must be pretty obvious about her crush, because her coworkers had started teasing her about it and always pretended to be busy when she came in so that Shay would be the one to serve her. By now, they have a routine - they greet each other (although Shay hasn't yet worked up the courage to ask her for her name) and Shay asks, "The usual?". Sometimes the girl orders a cookie. She seems to have quite the sweet tooth, although she never takes her coffee with sugar.
As Shay is musing, the bell chimes to indicate a customer has entered the shop. She looks up and almost drops the cup she's holding. It's the mystery girl, bundled up in a warm coat and puffy scarf. A chilly draft follows her into the store before the door closes behind her.
Winter is coming, Shay thinks and straightens up. "Good morning," she greets her. This time, the girl doesn't respond, just gives her a small smile and hands her a piece of paper. In neat, swirly calligraphy, it reads: Good Morning. I'm afraid I'm sick and have lost my voice.
"Oh," Shay says, blushing. "Sorry. The usual?"
The girl nods, so she starts busying herself with the order. Her coworker Nyma shoots her an amused look when Shay starts digging through the selection of tea bags.
Finally, she places the drinks infront of the girl. The student blinks in surprise when instead of just her one cup, there's a second, smaller one beside it and gives Shay a confused look.
"It's, uh, tea," Shay explains. "This blend is really good for sore throats."
The girl smiles at her and goes to get out her wallet to pay for the drinks, but Shay stops her. "Don't worry about it," she says, hoping she isn't blushing.
Mouthing Thank You, the girl takes both drinks and leaves.
Nyma mutters something uncomplimentary, but Shay is too busy staring after her crush to pay any attention.
♥︎♥︎♥︎
A few weeks later, Shay is watching the snowflakes flutter to the ground outside the window when the bell chimes again. It's the girl again - and really, Shay has to find out her name, this is getting ridiculous - and she gives Shay a little nod as she approaches the counter.
Shay looks at her with obvious concern. She doesn't look good. Or well, she does look good, fashionable as always in a dark grey coat with her curly hair spilling out from underneath a bright red beanie, but her eyes are red-rimmed and glassy from crying. She also seems to be struggling to keep her composure, if the weak smile she gives her is any indication.
"... Good morning," Shay says hesitantly, wishing she knew what to say.
"I'll have the usual, please," the girl says, and her voice is definitely rougher than usual. Silently, Shay turns away to make her order. As an afterthought, she grabs one of the brownies and wraps it carefully in a napkin.
When Shay hands over her order and the brownie, her customer smiles softly. "Thank you," she said, making eye contact. Shay just nods awkwardly and adds: "It's on the house."
For the first time, the girl doesn't leave right away. Instead, she sits down at one of the tables and eats her brownie. Shay keeps an eye on her as she serves another customer, watches her take slow, delicate sips of her drink. When she leaves about twenty minutes later, she looks far more composed and calls out a soft "goodbye" for Shay.
♥︎♥︎♥︎
"Your girlfriend has been asking after you," is what Nyma greets her with on Monday. She'd taken the last few days off to visit her brother Raz out in the country; the visit had been long overdue, she'd missed her family.
"She's not my girlfriend", Shay says, trying not to sound too dejected about it. "Wait, did she really-?"
Nyma snorts, and Shay realises she's being teased.
"That was very mean of you," she accused, and Nyma rolls her eyes. "Geez, so sensitive. But I wasn't joking. She did ask where you were, you know."
"Really?", Shay asks, and can't help the flutter of hope in her chest. "Did she say anything else?"
"Nope."
Shay groans and leans her forehead against the cool wood of the counter. It's a little sticky, like Nyma had forgotten to clean it. She doesn't mention it.
"Sweetie, you are far gone on her," her coworker observes.
"I know," Shay says. "It's stupid. I mean, what do I even know about her?"
"You know her coffee order. That's more than my last boyfriend could say."
"I'm her barista," Shay protests. "That's different. I don't even know her name."
"It's Allura."
"How do you know that?," Shay asks with narrowed eyes, and Nyma just shrugs before taking off on a smoke break.
Allura, Shay thinks to herself.
♥︎♥︎♥︎
A few days later, Shay fidgets with her apron as she waits for Allura to come into the Café. When she'd gotten her coffee on Monday, they'd made smalltalk, and Shay had resolved to finally ask her for her phone number. But ever since then, Allura had either been in a hurry or Shay had chickened out. It's already Friday, and she's determined to finally go through with it today.
Nyma rolls her eyes at her lovesick fidgeting, and opens her mouth to tease her about it. Just then, the door opens and Allura enters, so Nyma shoots her a smirk instead and heads to the breakroom.
Grateful for the privacy but incredibly nervous at the same time, Shay watches her coworker leave. There's nobody else in the shop right now, and when she finally turns to face the counter, Allura is already standing there and smiling at her.
"Good morning," Shay manages to say, trying not to get distracted by how pretty the other girl looks today. Her hair is a little mussed from where she'd had the hood up to protect herself from the snow and she's wearing make up. The winged eyeliner accentuates her gorgeous and oddly coloured eyes.
"Good morning, Shay," she responds and Oh, Shay really likes the sound of her name when Allura says it.
Shay's just about to ask her for her order when Allura speaks up, startling her into silence. "Actually, I was wondering..."
She looks up at Shay through her long, dark lashes. "... if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee with me sometime?"
There's the clatter of something falling to the floor from the breakroom as Shay blinks. "Um...," she says, looking around to assure herself that she does, in fact, work at a coffee shop.
Allura bites her lip to keep from laughing. "Or, we could do something else."
It takes a moment for the penny to drop, but when it does, she blurts out: "Wait, are you asking me out on a date?"
Her crush nods, looking endlessly endeared at the stunned look on Shay's face. "I'm free this weekend," she adds hopefully.
Shay breaks out into a wide grin. "Alright," she says, giddy with happiness. "That sounds amazing."