Chapter Text
After Benjamin Daniel Brookes (yes full name drop) got laid off from his last job as a barista, albeit a very inexperienced one, he was pissed.
Extremely.
Skeeter had heard of it, relayed the news to her boss and recommended Ben as someone who would be "a highly valuable asset" to their team.
Regardless of whether he was or not, Skeeter still pitied him; she knew how profound Ben's thirst was for independence. To have something his mother cannot use against him, to have something he can be proud of, to even have something to distract him from thinking about Ricky...
The problem was, Ben couldn't give less of a shit about work, in fact he hated it. It was one of the many reasons his last job decided to let him go.
No matter how much you convince him, his attitude towards employment will always be one of recusancy. Yet, he itched for independence so he just sucked it up when it came to working.
Nevertheless, he still got hired because of his aforementioned "experience".
Ben's mind lingered on Ricky, he couldn't concentrate on anything else.
Ricky had been ignoring Ben for a week at this point and it drove Ben beyond insanity. Richard Liam Collins (yes also full name drop), the man he had found extremely infuriating at first, his best friend and.. the love of his life? It greatly bothered him that he was deliberately being avoided.
Desperately wanting to be forgiven yet wanting to give Ricky the space he deserves at the same time, crushed him internally, as if he was being brutally torn apart from the inside. He had to keep going somehow, even if it was hurting him. So like he always does, he just shoved his feelings aside.
A few days later...
Ben showed up to work with a monotonous mood, his specialty, however, there was a hint of melancholy to it.
Skeeter had shown him the ropes a few days back so she doesn't need to look after him anymore; he's got this.. all on his own. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the annoying greaser's omnipresence in his mind.
"It's best for me to give Ricky some space.." he sighed to himself. "Ugh his annoying dumbass face won't let me focus." he chuckled to himself while he rolled his eyes "God, I wish I could see him right now, look him straight in the eyes and apologize for being a complete asshole".
Well, be careful with what you wish for, Ben.
He gushed on and on about his Ricky. "I miss how soft his lips were." he stopped for a while and thought "Actually, I need to ask him what kinda chapstick he uses." a thin blush started to color his cheeks. "If I use Ricky's chapstick everyday, I'll get to taste him even if he isn't with m-" he got cut off.
"How long is my cappuccino going to take? I'm running late!" a customer yelped at him. "Who thought hiring kids was a good idea??" the customer threw some cash at him then bolted off right as Ben gave the order.
Other customers in the (rather short) queue gave him looks. He was used to all of this so none of it really mattered to him, in fact, he found it quite humorous.
Serving customers he deemed incredibly irritating, staying behind a cramped counter while experiencing heartbreak pushed him past his limits.
Skeeter glanced at him from the other side of the counter. "Hey, are you good?" she noticed the heavy melancholy washing over him. "Mhm" he nodded unenthusiastically.
"Ricky's gonna answer you anytime now, besides, you might even see him here!" she tried engaging him, which did work. "He's a regular here y'know?" she smiled softly "he usually comes here to piss me off or to talk about you endlessly, but he does get coffee". "Huh, really?" Ben attempted to hide his growing smile, now with new found anticipation for his lover he was more than eager to work.
Suddenly, the bell at the entrance door jingled ever so slightly the pair looked up; curiosity swirled in Ben's eyes hoping it was his beloved 'shitbird' while hoping it wasn't either...