Work Text:
If there was one thing Brendon promised himself he’d never do, it was fall for someone in a way that he’s read about in fan fiction. Mainly because he figured that kind of perfect love could never be real, but he also knew that if he did indeed fall for someone who was the right-hand man of a gangster he was currently dating, it would not end well for him, even if it did end well for Isaac Garvey and Mack Marcevich. May Garcevich live on.
This was probably due to him being…kind of a geek. He knew he could never live up to the fantasies that would come from such a situation, and he really didn’t want to be a disappointment. So he made the decision to never get himself into that. Until he met Mickey.
He was the cutest barista at the coffee shop, and he always smiled at Brendon when he wouldn’t give anyone else a smile. And if that wasn’t the start to the cutest coffee shop AU of Brendon’s life, he didn’t know what was. Mickey was tough and crude to everyone else, but was always really nice to Brendon and made sure that he got his coffee quickly. He was like Mack Marcevich in so many ways that Brendon was smitten.
The problem with a guy like Mickey, though, was that Brendon how no idea how to deal with Mickey. Not deal with him like a problem, no — he was the opposite of a problem — but more like how to talk to him, and maybe ask him out without Mickey doing a complete 180 and telling him off. He wasn’t even sure how to figure out if Mickey was gay or not.
So he decided to ask the one person he knew who had someone like that in their lives — his co-worker, Ian. Ian was always going on about his boyfriend, who was a rough and tough guy on the outside, but a total softie, really, so Brendon figured he knew what to do.
He approached him by the water coolers, trying to come across cool and confident…which completely failed when he tripped himself up on a piece of unattached carpet. ‘Shit!’
‘Whoa, man, you okay?’ Ian asked with a concerned frown.
Brendon straightened up, plastering on a smile and waved Ian off as he leant against the water cooler. When it started to tip, he stumbled upright and grabbed onto it, only just saving it from falling over completely.
Ian’s frown deepened. ‘Was there something you needed, Brendon?’
Brendon nodded quickly, deciding to just stay standing upright. ‘Yeah, yeah…I just…uh…your boyfriend…you…I just—’
‘Okay, man, I really have to get back to work, so…’ Ian pressed.
‘I just wanted to ask your advice!’ Brendon blurted out before sighing. This was really not how he wanted to do this. ‘I just…You’ve said your boyfriend is kinda a hard ass, but also a really nice guy at the centre of it all and…there’s this guy who’s similar and he’s really cute and I just…I’ve never met anyone like that…I don’t know how to deal with them.’
The corner of Ian’s mouth lifted, clearly charmed by this awkward guy’s search for romance. ‘Oh, sure! Do you wanna meet up after work and we can talk about it?’
Brendon nodded eagerly, already dreaming up scenarios where he gets the tips he needs so he can woo Mickey like he’s never been wooed before. ‘Yeah! That would be really helpful, thank you.’
‘Great. I’ll see you after work, then.’ Ian grinned, patting Brendon’s shoulder as he made his way back to his desk.
Brendon smiled to himself before heading back to his own desk, trying to get work done instead of thinking about a particular barista.
‘Do you mind if we go to the coffee shop a few blocks over?’ Ian asked as he approached Brendon after work, texting with one hand.
Mickey had texted and asked if he would meet him after work so they could go home together, so he figured he might as well have the meeting with Brendon there. Maybe he could even give some practical demonstrations on how to charm guys like Mickey. Ian had already started pondering Brendon getting together with this guy and then having double-dates. That could be nice.
‘No worries,’ Brendon responded with an easy smile.
As they made their way to the coffee shop, Ian started listing things about Mickey and how he acted, and how Brendon could interpret those actions. Obviously Mickey and this guy were different people, but hopefully the things that Ian did could work on this guy also. Brendon seemed like a nice guy, so it would be a shame if things didn’t work out with this crush of his.
As soon as they stepped foot in the coffee shop, though, Brendon gasped before whispering, ‘Oh my God.’
Ian frowned, eyebrows furrowing when he saw that Brendon was staring at Mickey, who was serving a customer. ‘What?’
‘That’s him,’ Brendon hissed. ‘The cute one at the counter!’
Finally Mickey looked up to see Ian, and Brendon, and waved. When Brendon’s breath caught, it all clicked to Ian that Brendon was crushing on his boyfriend. Surprisingly, Ian wasn’t jealous at all. Mainly because he knew that Mickey would never go for a guy like Brendon, but also because Brendon was really nice and not a dick at all, so, if anything, he just felt bad for him.
He wasn’t really sure how to play this, though. Should he tell Brendon, or let Mickey tell him? It would be more humiliating to let Mickey reject him, wouldn’t it? If he, like, calmly and respectfully explained that that was his boyfriend that Brendon was blushing over, maybe Brendon would be thankful that Ian told him before he could embarrass himself?
‘He just waved at me!’ Brendon whispered. ‘Maybe I should go up there and try out some of the tricks you told me?’
Before Ian could object, Brendon was approaching the counter. Ian quickly scrambled after him to stop him, and he saw Mickey smiling up at both of them as they came closer. Ian opened his mouth and reached for Brendon, ready to pull him away and tell the truth, when Mickey greeted Ian.
‘Hey, babe. What can I get ya?’
Brendon shot Ian a scandalised look, clearly thinking this greeting was for him, before turning back to Mickey and opening his mouth to speak again.
Ian had no idea what to do. He didn’t want Brendon to embarrass himself, but he also didn’t want to say anything in front of Mickey. Deciding to just give Brendon the idea without saying anything, he pretty much leapt across the counter and planted a kiss to Mickey’s lips. When he pulled away, both men were staring at him with wide eyes. Mickey, probably because he wasn’t expecting it, and Brendon, probably because his co-worker seemingly just planted one on his crush. Ian was speechless, realising that was one of his less-elegant plans, but luckily, Mickey always knew what to say.
‘Whoa, Gallagher, I know you miss me, but save it for the fuckin’ bedroom, huh?’ he snorted. ‘Now, hurry the fuck up, what do ya want?’
Brendon, suddenly realising his mistake, muttered, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ before scurrying to the corner of the coffee shop and sitting down, resting his face in his hands.
Mickey frowned at the sorrowful and humiliated man in the back. ‘Is he alright?’
‘Uh…I’ll go see.’ Ian immediately headed over to Brendon, stopping awkwardly a few steps away. ‘Hey…’
‘He’s your boyfriend,’ Brendon groaned, clearly hating himself right now.
‘Unfortunately for you, yeah,’ Ian said before taking a seat next to him. ‘If it means anything to you, I was rooting for you before I found out it was my boyfriend you were after.’
‘Doesn’t really mean anything, no.’ Brendon sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. ‘God, I’m such a fucking loser, I can’t even find my own boyfriend, I have to try and hijack someone else’s.’
‘C’mon, man, it’s not like you knew.’ For once, Ian found himself wanting to console a guy who had wanted to date his boyfriend. It was strange for him, usually he wanted to rub it in their faces or punch them in the throat. ‘I’m just hoping that things won’t be weird between us now. I think you’re pretty cool, Brendon…I’d like us to be friends, and I’m sure Mickey would wanna be friends, too.’
Brendon looked up at him in shock. ‘R-Really?’
Ian nodded, smiling. ‘As long as it’s not weird now.’
Brendon smiled slightly back, looking between Ian and Mickey over at the counter. ‘Nah…I think you guys are cute together…you actually remind me of…another couple I know.’