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a-blue-secret · 2 years

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It's Alright If It's You

requested: yup! by dear lovely anon <3

g: fluff, barista au, coffee shop au, flirting, kang taehyun is oblivious as fuck, kinda humour?

pairing: taegyu

wc: 5357

warnings: occasional swearing

an: i'm not a huge coffee fan nor do i go to cafes often, but writing this barista request was fun, and i hope it meets your expectations, anon :) you can send in requests here !

summary: taehyun works the late shifts at the cafe. barely anyone comes in during that time, and taehyun sits behind the counter, bored. but when a boy named beomgyu begins to show up, ordering the most ridiculous coffees and smiling those stupidly bright smiles of his, taehyun's late night shifts suddenly become significantly less boring.

When Taehyun first encountered Beomgyu, it was during one of his late shifts at the cafe.

Taehyun was bored out of his mind. People rarely came to cafes at night to order things. Most came for the free Wi-Fi so they could finish assignments or work before the next day. He didn't know why the owner kept the cafe open so late, really. It was pointless.

It was another one of his boring late night shifts: there were very few people around, and Taehyun, left with nothing better to do, was doodling mindlessly on one of the paper cups when the cafe door tinkled, indicating someone had come in. Taehyun looked up, and almost dropped his pen in surprise.

The most beautiful boy walked into the cafe, smiling brightly. His eyes crinkled at the corners, hair adorably windswept by the cold winter air from outside. When he saw Taehyun by the counter, his eyes crinkled even more, walking up to him and resting his elbows on the counter, smiling. "Hello," he said, and even his voice was beautiful too.

"Hello," Taehyun replied, glad that his voice came out normal. "How may I help you?"

The boy regarded him for a moment, not saying anything. "I haven't seen you around here before," he said. "Are you new?"

"I've been here for a couple of months," Taehyun replied. "Mostly working night shifts though, so perhaps that's why."

"Perhaps," the boy said. Then his eyes lit up, a grin spreading across his face. God, he was pretty. "But anyways, I would like to order a drink.”

"Of course." Taehyun subtly swiped the doodled coffee cup off the counter, moving to the register to input the boy's order. "What would you like?"

"Hmm, let's see," the boy hummed. "Okay, I'd like a half-caf quad grande 3 pumps white mocha 1 pump peppermint, nonfat light water americano misto with curls, please."

Taehyun almost choked. He'd heard his co-workers tell tales of customers who ordered extravagant things, but since he worked late shifts he'd never experienced it himself. But, as the boy's complicated order flew right over his head, he wondered why he would have ever wanted to experience this.

"I—I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

The boy grinned, eyes crinkling further. "Sure. Do you want a bit of paper to write it down?"

"No, no," Taehyun said hurriedly. He had a distinct feeling that the boy was teasing him. "I'm good."

"Alright. So it's a half-caf quad grande 3 pumps white mocha and 1 pump peppermint nonfat light water Americano misto with curls."

Taehyun blinked, hard, trying to remember it. "Half-caf… quad grande nonfat light water Americano misto with 3 white mocha and 1 peppermint… ?"

"With curls," the boy added, grinning.

Taehyun sighed internally. By God was that a complicated order. He took the card the boy handed to him and, once the order was paid, he walked over to the machines. "Coming right up."

As he worked, the boy stayed by the counter, elbows resting against the top with his chin propped up in his hand, watching him.

"So how long did you say you've been working here?"

"Two months," Taehyun said, beginning to prepare the obnoxiously long order.

"Nice. Have you met Hueningkai yet? He's worked here for some time."

"I have," Taehyun replied. "He sometimes works on the same shift as me."

"Why are you all alone, though?" the boy asked. "Literally no one else is here."

"Exactly," Taehyun said. "No one comes this late at night, so I'm usually just the only person here."

"You work the late shift every night?"

Taehyun paused, focusing on the boy's pumps of white mocha. "Most nights."

"When?"

"Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays," Taehyun replied. What part of the order hadn't he finished? He was sure there was something missing… Really, it was too late in the night to be taking such a complicated order. "I don't work on Tuesdays and Sundays."

"Interesting," the boy mused. "And do you work the late shift all of those days?"

"Apart from Monday, yeah," Taehyun replied. "Monday, I work in the early afternoon."

"Right, right… how long will my coffee take?"

"Too long," Taehyun muttered under his breath. "Not much longer now," he said, looking up. The boy blinked at him, tilting his head.

"I hope my order wasn't too complicated," he said, voice innocent. "Most baristas are able to get it right, so I thought you might be able to as well."

"Yeah, no, of course," Taehyun remarked. "Of course. Yeah, it's not that hard."

The boy gave a laugh, evidently amused by Taehyun's confidence.

"Alright, it's done," Taehyun finally announced. "A half-caf quad grande 3 pumps white mocha and 1 pump peppermint nonfat light water Americano misto… with curls."

"Thank you very much," the boy said, smiling happily as Taehyun slid the drink over to him. He took a sip, sighing contentedly. "Ah, that tastes so nice." He looked up. "You, are an incredible barista—" he leaned forwards, squinting at Taehyun's name tag— "Taehyun. Your skills are great."

"Thanks," Taehyun said, amused at how the boy could look so happy at receiving such an overly sweet drink.

"My name's Beomgyu, by the way," Beomgyu said, pushing himself off the counter. "It was nice to meet you, Taehyun."

"It was nice to meet you too," Taehyun replied.

Beomgyu grinned, sipping his coffee. "I hope it continues being nice to see me," he said, "because I have a feeling I'll be seeing you a lot more from now on." He waved, and skipped out of the cafe.

Taehyun smiled to himself, remembering the boy's smile. Beomgyu's smile. He sighed, sitting back down behind the counter, rolling over the boy's name in his mind. Beomgyu… His orders were tiring, but that could be overlooked. Taehyun smiled. Beomgyu was nice.

✧༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Forget everything Taehyun had ever said about Beomgyu being nice. Beomgyu was a little shit and Taehyun was infuriated by both his annoying orders and his cute little giggles.

He swore that Beomgyu was doing this solely to annoy him. After the first night, Beomgyu would continuously turn up to the cafe during Taehyun's shift. He'd bounce in looking like he was already high on too much caffeine, and Taehyun would hope that he'd order something normal for once. But then he'd come up to the counter, place his chin into his palm and smile that infuriating smile of his while saying the most twisted orders Taehyun had ever heard.

Taehyun tiredly punched in Beomgyu's latest order—a venti extra ice French press Tiramisu Chai Tea 'lightly salted' with chocolate sauce—absolutely done with the complicatedness of the order.

Beomgyu settled himself down on the counter, watching Taehyun work.

"I must say, I was contemplating between the chocolate sauce and the dark caramel sauce," Beomgyu said casually, "but I settled for chocolate because it's just a classic, you know?"

"Nothing else about this drink is a classic," Taehyun quipped, half to himself. Beomgyu heard him, and gave a bright laugh.

"That’s true! But it tastes so delicious, and I think chocolate makes it taste better than caramel."

Taehyun grunted. It didn't matter to him whether it was chocolate sauce or even mustard sauce, because it would still be complicated for him either way.

"Oh, but I am curious. Why do you work as a barista, Taehyun?"

"Normally, it isn't too stressful," Taehyun replied. "When I was applying for part-time jobs, barista was one of the least stressful ones that were being offered."

Beomgyu laughed. "Least stressful? Wow, I guess my orders must be changing your mind about that."

Taehyun huffed a dry laugh. "I mean, I guess it could be worse. Poor Hueningkai works during the rush hours, and you should see the amount of orders he gets in just fifteen minutes. It half makes me glad that all I have to deal with are your orders."

Beomgyu smiled amusedly, taking his drink from Taehyun as the barista slid it across the counter. "Oh really? Perhaps I should make them more complicated then…"

"Please don't," Taehyun said, and Beomgyu laughed.

"Hang on, this is normal ice," Beomgyu said. "I'm pretty sure I said extra ice?"

Taehyun blinked. "You want extra ice… in winter?"

"Hey, it tastes nice, okay?" Beomgyu protested. "Especially when the ice melts and it goes all watery."

Taehyun scrunched his nose, taking the cup from Beomgyu and beginning to remake his order. "And here I thought that I'd never meet someone who likes watery coffee."

Beomgyu chuckled. "Guess I'm just built different."

Taehyun eyed him. "Please never say that again." Beomgyu just laughed.

Taehyun focused back on Beomgyu's drink. It was a complicated order, and really he shouldn't have messed up the ice part, which was one of the simpler things to do. But he was tired, and Beomgyu's laugh had distracted him. This time, though, he wanted to get it right so he wouldn't have to do it again.

As he worked, Beomgyu continued to watch him, a smile on his face. He found Taehyun handsome like that, all focused and determined. He grinned, continuing to talk.

His chatter provided a sort of background noise to Taehyun's work. He mostly blocked out Beomgyu's talking, since Beomgyu did this all the time: he'd talk almost nonstop as Taehyun worked.

"Alright, here you go," Taehyun said, sliding the drink over to Beomgyu. "There should be extra ice in it now."

"Yup, there is!" Beomgyu took a sip, sighing contentedly. "Perfect coffee-making, as always," he said, smiling.

Taehyun smiled back, albeit rather tiredly. "Thanks."

He sat down behind the counter, expecting Beomgyu to leave. But Beomgyu just continued to stand there, drinking his coffee.

When he saw Taehyun looking at him confusedly, he grinned. "There's a lot of ice in here! What if it melts when I'm outside? Then I'll be dripping water wherever I go, and that will be a waste."

"So you're going to drip water here instead?"

"No, silly!" Beomgyu giggled. "If I stay still, the water won't melt, will it?"

Taehyun didn't understand Beomgyu's logic, so he just shrugged and let Beomgyu do what he wanted. Beomgyu continued happily sipping his extra-iced drink, and Taehyun slumped tiredly, exhausted by the day's events.

Upon seeing Taehyun's worn-out posture, Beomgyu paused, looking at him. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just tired," Taehyun replied. He rubbed his eyes. "But I'm fine. I only have like an hour left on my shift, then the last person will arrive."

Beomgyu regarded him, taking in Taehyun's tired eyes and hunched shoulders. Taehyun did look worse today than on other days, he realised. He looked down at his coffee, thinking.

"Would you like some?"

Taehyun looked up, blinking. Beomgyu had his coffee held out towards the barista, and he was smiling.

This smile… this smile was different to the other ones Beomgyu has given him. This smile was soft, almost shy. It wasn't exaggeratedly innocent, or teasing, or bright and dazzling. It was gentle, small and sweet. And… something else.

"Oh… it's alright," Taehyun said. "It's yours, anyway. I shouldn't really drink from it."

"If it'll help you stay awake, then you should," Beomgyu said. "You have straws, right? I wouldn't mind you taking a sip, if you need it." He looked at Taehyun, eyes bright, and Taehyun realised then what that other key thing about Beomgyu's smile was.

It was genuine.

Taehyun smiled back. "It's fine. Really, it's okay. Besides, it's a little too much ice for me."

Beomgyu looked down at his coffee, chuckling at it. "Right, yeah. I forgot about that." He sipped it again. Taehyun watched him, watching the way he held the coffee delicately in his hands, taking small gulps each time. Beomgyu looked up at him but when their eyes met he quickly looked down again, taking another sip of his coffee.

Taehyun smiled, resting his head on his hand. Yeah, Beomgyu was annoying as fuck, but maybe he was still sort of nice.

✧༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Beomgyu’s complicated orders carried on. Taehyun swore that they were steadily becoming more and more complicated. Taehyun had done some asking around: it seemed that none of his other coworkers dealt with Beomgyu during the day, so it looked like Beomgyu was ordering coffee solely during Taehyun’s shift. At night. It was almost like he was trying to annoy him, or something.

Taehyun practically anticipated Beomgyu’s visits now—they happened on all of his night shifts—but still he felt a sense of dread when Beomgyu would walk in with that infuriatingly bright smile of his.

"Oh god, what is it this time?" Taehyun sighed, immediately reaching for a pad of paper when the bell tinkled and Beomgyu skipped in.

Beomgyu smiled, leaning against the counter. "You look beautiful today, Taehyun."

Taehyun eyed him weirdly, knowing full well that he looked like shit after the long day. Beomgyu was wearing that odd smile of his, and Taehyun didn’t know exactly what he was thinking. “Like the prettiest flower in a green field.”

Taehyun, coming to the conclusion that Beomgyu was messing with him, decided to respond sarcastically. He flower-cupped his face with one hand, keeping a straight face. “I know right, I’m the picture of prettiness.”

Beomgyu laughed delightedly, amused by Taehyun’s action, and Taehyun couldn't help but smile a little at Beomgyu’s laugh. Taehyun clicked his pen. “What drink would you like this evening?” he asked.

Staring at him for a few seconds, it took Beomgyu a moment to focus on Taehyun’s words. But then his grin turned mischievous. “Oh, right! I would like…” He pursed his lips, thinking for a few seconds. “Okay! I’d like… a venti triple three pump tiramisu cappuccino… in a venti cup with 1 pump of hazelnut and 6 pumps of vanilla.”

Taehyun blinked down at the horrendous coffee order. “Coming right up.” He heard Beomgyu laugh at his dry tone as he settled himself down against the counter to watch Taehyun.

As Taehyun went about making Beomgyu’s order, Beomgyu chattered on, recounting to Taehyun the events of his day as he always did. Taehyun made various noises of interest at different points to indicate that he was listening, half paying attention but half not, focusing on Beomgyu’s drink.

"And I have to say, I've never heard the words 'accurate' and 'philosophy' together in the same sentence in my whole life," Beomgyu was saying. Taehyun hummed, tuning in at that moment to Beomgyu’s rambling.

“I guess a philosophy could be accurate in some ways?”

Beomgyu nodded thoughtfully. “I guess, but wouldn’t it be difficult to see if it’s accurate until it’s been proven?”

Taehyun paused, looking up at Beomgyu. Beomgyu gazed back at him, eyes bright. And under the yellow lights of the cafe, Taehyun swore that Beomgyu looked like he was glowing.

Beomgyu tilted his head, grinning teasingly. “Taehyun? Hello, earth to Taehyun?”

Taehyun blinked, shaking himself. “I’m sorry, what?”

Beomgyu laughed. “Why, was I that breathtaking that you forgot what you were thinking?” His tone was teasing, voice having a playful lilt.

Taehyun, brain still short-circuiting after suddenly seeing Beomgyu in such an angelic light, didn’t pick up on the teasing. “Yeah,” he said instead. “Yeah, you looked really pretty.”

Beomgyu didn’t say anything, surprised. Then he laughed, softer this time. Taehyun was able to recognise it as his genuine one: gentler and a little shyer compared to his teasing laugh. “You look really pretty too.”

Taehyun continued to stare at him, before abruptly looking away, looking down at the coffee. “Oh, great. I think I lost count of how many pumps I put in here.” He sighed. “Sorry. I’ll have to make it again.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Beomgyu said, resting his head on his hand. He was smiling, smiling widely as Taehyun continued his work. Under the yellow lights, it was difficult to see, but there was a faint pink dusting his cheeks, an appreciative blush which made his voice warmer and brighter. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes, because as long as you made it I’d love it all the same.”

Taehyun glanced back at him, chuckling dryly. “If that’s the case, then could you make your orders a little easier?”

Beomgyu giggled, watching as Taehyun made his coffee again. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Taehyun looked over at him, frowning jokingly. “Mean. Do you know how hard your orders are?”

“Very hard, judging by the exasperated expression on your face when you take my orders,” Beomgyu grinned.

“So you know that they’re hard, and order them anyway?”

“Yeah.”

Taehyun blinked at him. “You’re evil.”

Beomgyu laughed. “I know.”

When Taehyun finally slid the finished coffee towards Beomgyu, his eyes were narrowed. “I still can’t believe you asked me to make this, knowing full well how difficult it was.”

Beomgyu simply smiled, taking a sip. “Ah, it tastes beautiful. I love it.”

Taehyun eyed him, still sulking. “Thanks, I guess.”

Beomgyu laughed at Taehyun’s sulky expression, the pinkness creeping up into his ears. “You’re welcome.”

✧༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“Say, Taehyun, have you ever been in love?”

Taehyun’s hand stuttered. He'd been in the middle of making yet another one of Beomgyu's infuriating orders when the boy had sprung the question on him. “Uh, I—I don’t think so,” the barista said, startled by the sudden question.

“Hm,” Beomgyu hummed. “Has anyone ever been in love with you?”

Taehyun glanced at Beomgyu, surprised by the random questions. Beomgyu just blinked back at him patiently, waiting for an answer.

Taehyun turned his focus back to the coffee. “I don’t know. I don’t really… do love? Love isn’t really my thing.”

Beomgyu was silent for a moment. Taehyun, finishing up Beomgyu’s order, put the lid on the cup and slid it over the counter.

“But what if someone said they were in love with you?”

Taehyun shrugged, sitting down behind the counter. “Depends on whether I know them well, I suppose. But I’d probably put them down, politely, because like I said, love isn’t really my thing. I don’t know what to do with love.”

Beomgyu nodded thoughtfully. “Alright. Okay, that’s understandable.” He sipped his drink, avoiding eye contact with Taehyun. “Mm, nice as always,” he said, licking his lips appreciatively. Beomgyu stood up, giving Taehyun a slight smile. “Well, have a nice evening, Taehyun.”

Taehyun waved, feeling a strange hollowness at Beomgyu’s small smile. “You too.”

✧༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“Bet you’re glad I convinced you to take night shifts, huh?” Hueningkai grinned as Taehyun flopped tiredly down beside him.

“Oh, shut up,” Taehyun groaned, half-heartedly punching Hueningkai in the arm. Hueningkai chuckled.

It was Monday. The one day that Taehyun wasn't working at night. He and Hueningkai were just taking a break during their shift, and Taehyun was exhausted. Monday afternoon always saw a huge influx of customers, and that Monday had been no different.

“I swear, I’ve made so many flat whites today that I’m sure I’ve mastered it now,” Taehyun sighed, leaning his head against the wall.

“Hm, I wouldn’t say that. I think your flat whites still have some way to go,” Hueningkai chuckled. Taehyun just sighed tiredly, worn out.

“Hey, I’m pretty sure they’re okay.”

Hueningkai chuckled again. “Eh, the foam could still do with some improvement.” Taehyun rolled his eyes wearily, and Hueningkai laughed again. He still looked as bright and cheerful as always, a complete opposite to how dead Taehyun felt.

“Night shifts are better, aren’t they?” Hueningkai said, uncapping a bottle of water. “You get barely any customers, and all you have to do is sit there and sleep until your shift is over.”

“They are better,” Taehyun said grudgingly, accepting the other bottle of water Hueningkai handed him. “But I can’t fall asleep, which sucks.”

“Oh, why not?”

“I’ve got this one customer who comes in literally every time and orders the most ridiculous drinks,” Taehyun explained.

Hueningkai snorted, choking on his water. “Wait,” he said between splutters. “Let me guess, Beomgyu?”

Taehyun gave Hueningkai a tired thumbs-up. “Bingo. He always comes in right in the middle of my shift too, so I don’t really get a time to sleep. Not that I should be sleeping while working, but you know.” He fiddled with the bottle. “His orders are so annoying,” he groaned.

“I can relate,” Hueningkai laughed. “He used to come every so often during my shifts.”

“Barely anyone even orders ventis! And I think he has a hyperfixation on our chocolate sauce, because lately he’s been getting that on literally every coffee,” Taehyun said. “His orders are so long, too! Do you know how many times I’ve had to remake his orders because I forgot something?”

“Too many times, I’m guessing?” Hueningkai quipped.

“Too many times!” Taehyun said. “Far too many. And he talks so much? He comes skipping in at six at night, grinning that stupidly bright grin of his and ordering the most ridiculous coffees ever. And then he talks and talks and talks while I make his drink.”

Hueningkai chuckled, enjoying seeing Taehyun’s suffering.

“And when I tell you he talks about everything, I mean everything. Beomgyu doesn’t shut up when I make his stuff! It’s almost like he wants to stay and watch me for longer, I swear,” Taehyun said. “He asks me about the randomest stuff, too? The other day, he asked me if I’d ever fallen in love. How am I meant to answer that while I’m making a— a— what was it?— a venti whole milk quarter-caf no foam latte with whip and… I dunno, a gazillion other additional things.” Taehyun sighed. “He’s so random. Every time I give him his coffee, he compliments my ‘barista skills’, spouting some weird nonsense about how I look ‘pretty’. I swear, he must be mocking me because I know that I look like shit at the end of the day.”

Hueningkai raised an eyebrow, amused, but let Taehyun continue his rant. It was interesting to hear all of this.

“Kinda want to just give him a tiny, simple espresso one day and tell him to go away. But…” Taehyun sighed. “You’ve seen Beomgyu, haven’t you? You said you took his orders a few times.”

“Oh yeah, a few times,” Hueningkai said.

“Well, then you know he’s actually quite adorable.” Taehyun stared blankly into the distance, fiddling with the bottle.

Hueningkai blinked at him, totally surprised by that statement. So first Taehyun was complaining about Beomgyu, and now he was complimenting him?

“With his fluffy hair and his cute red cheeks and big smile,” Taehyun said, still staring blankly, “God, it’s actually impossible to refuse him, no matter how stupid the order is, purely because of how adorable he looks.” Taehyun blinked, snapping himself back to the present. He looked at Hueningkai. “He’s still annoying as hell, though. With his ridiculous coffee orders and his incessant chatter and his weird compliments, and honestly it’s a little odd why he comes at night, during my shifts, to order—”

“Taehyun, Taehyun, wait,” Hueningkai said, laughing a little. “Hold on.”

Taehyun paused, looking at Hueningkai. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you ever considered,” Hueningkai started, putting away his water bottle, “Have you ever considered that Beomgyu is flirting with you?”

Taehyun blinked. “Say what?”

“When I served him, he’d just grin infuriatingly, watching silently as I worked. He grinned because he knew how annoying his order was and liked seeing me struggle.”

Taehyun shrugged. “So? That’s what he does with me.”

“No, no, you don’t get it,” Hueningkai waved his hand, chuckling. “He’s smiling because he likes you, Taehyun. He’s talking because he likes you. He’s complimenting you because he likes you. He’s flirting, not trying to be annoying.”

Taehyun paused, and then frowned. “But he’s also being annoying.”

“Okay, yeah, maybe he’s also trying to be annoying too,” Hueningkai conceded, “but really. Tell me that he doesn’t joke a little and maybe focus a lot on you while you talk, or even while you’re not doing anything.”

Taehyun thought about it for a moment, eyes widening. “So when Beomgyu commented on how tired I looked, that was him flirting?”

“That was Beomgyu showing he cared,” Hueningkai explained. “I bet the compliments were also a way of showing he cared, too.”

"So this whole time," Taehyun said slowly, "Beomgyu was… hitting on me?"

Hueningkai shrugged, grinning. "You could put it that way, yeah."

Taehyun looked down at the water bottle in his hands, and then looked up at Hueningkai. "Hueningkai," he said, "I think I might have accidentally rejected him."

Hueningkai raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"He asked me one day if I 'did' love, and I told him no," Taehyun explained. "I also told him that if someone confessed to me then I'd reject them."

At that moment, Yeonjun popped his head into the room. “Break ends in two,” he said. “We’re practically packed with customers right now, so prepare to be swamped.”

His head popped back out. Hueningkai and Taehyun still stayed in the staff-only room, silent.

“Well,” Hueningkai said after a long moment, carrying on as if Yeonjun hadn’t interrupted them. “Damn. Did you… want to reject him?”

“I don’t even know,” Taehyun said. “He’s adorable, like I said. I don’t really engage in lovey things, but maybe… maybe it’s okay if it’s Beomgyu.”

Yeonjun peered into the room once again. “Kai, Taehyun! Break is over and we need you urgently!”

Hueningkai waved a hand. “Alright, alright. We’re coming.” He stood up and looked back at Taehyun, amused by Taehyun’s situation. “Well, if that’s the case, then I think you’re going to have to unreject Beomgyu, don’t you think?”

Taehyun pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I think you’re right.” Taehyun gave a slight chuckle. “I can’t believe the annoying customer was actually flirting with me.”

“Taehyun! Hyuka! Now!” Yeonjun yelled, making the two of them jump.

“Okay, figure out how to unreject Beomgyu later,” Hueningkai said, ushering Taehyun onto his feet. “Come on. We should probably go before Yeonjun screams again.”

✧༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Taehyun spent the rest of Monday and the whole of Tuesday pondering what he was going to do. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that Beomgyu really had been flirting, and instead of feeling weirded out or annoyed, like Taehyun normally felt in those situations, he just chuckled and shook his head fondly. To think: the pretty boy with bright eyes and big smile was flirting with him.

And Taehyun quite liked it.

It made him laugh a little, to think that Beomgyu liked him, of all people. It was all he could think about, and when the bell tinkled and Beomgyu walked into the empty cafe, Taehyun couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

“Oh, you look all happy today,” Beomgyu noted teasingly, leaning against the counter. Taehyun found himself leaning against it too, putting less distance between them.

“Really? Well, I guess it’s because I’ve seen you.”

Beomgyu raised his eyebrow challengingly. “I think that’s going to change when you hear my order,” he grinned. “I think this is the hardest one yet.”

Right. Taehyun had almost forgotten about this part. With a long-suffering sigh that made Beomgyu laugh, he pulled himself away from the counter to grab a piece of paper. “Alright,” he said. “Hit me.”

Beomgyu clapped his hands together, eyes alight with mischief. “This evening, I’d like a ristretto, I think,” he said.

Taehyun tilted his head. “Is that it?”

“Nope!” Beomgyu was practically buzzing with glee. “I’d like a half-caf triple ristretto affogato venti, please.”

Taehyun now knew that couldn’t be end. “And…”

“And 2 pump mango, 1 pump classic, 3 scoops protein, 3 scoops berries, with added banana double blended.”

Taehyun whistled. “Okay, this is definitely complicated.” He clicked his pen, looking up. “Are you free for like, the next three hours? This might take a while.”

Beomgyu’s eyes sparkled, and though there was a distinct sheen of mischief in them, Taehyun couldn’t help but blink at how pretty they looked. “Oh, but I’m not done yet,” he said. Taehyun raised his eyebrows.

“More?”

“I’d like it double blended with whip, and caramel drizzle, a touch of vanilla syrup and 3 short sprinkles of cinnamon, please,” Beomgyu said, grinning at Taehyun’s look of horror. “Why? Is it too much?”

“Does this even taste nice?” Taehyun asked.

“Yup,” Beomgyu said brightly. “It’s not much of a winter drink, but it still tastes nice.”

Taehyun gave a small chuckle. "You know, if you wanted to spend time with me you could have just asked me out instead of ordering this… monstrosity," he commented dryly, going to the coffee machines. He bit back a grin at the way Beomgyu froze in place.

"Wait… wait what?"

Taehyun laughed. Beomgyu looked cute when he was confused. "Come on, you were being really obvious." He didn’t mention that it had taken a second party for him to realise what Beomgyu was doing.

Beomgyu moved around to lean against the counter, peering anxiously at Taehyun. “Wait… can we back up a moment? How did you know I wanted to ask you out?”

Taehyun shrugged. “The compliments were a dead giveaway.”

Beomgyu watched as Taehyun began to make his drink, fiddling with his fingers. "I… I didn't think you wanted to go out. You said you didn't do love."

"Well, yes," Taehyun said, pausing in order to smile at Beomgyu, "but I think, if it's you, I wouldn't mind."

Taehyun could hear Beomgyu stutter in surprise, and smiled wider, returning to Beomgyu’s order.

Beomgyu didn't say another word as Taehyun finished making his ridiculous drink. The barista struggled several times with some of the parts of his order, but Beomgyu didn't even comment on it, wordlessly staring at his coffee when Taehyun slid it over to him.

Beomgyu stared at him blankly, taking off the lid and taking a big gulp, not saying a word about how Taehyun had added far too much cinnamon curls and there were definitely more than 3 scoops of berries in it.

Taehyun chuckled, leaning against the counter. It was unusual to see Beomgyu so lost for words, and it was amusing to think that he’d done that to him. Beomgyu kept blinking, eyes round and wide, not sure what to say.

“So,” Taehyun said, breaking the silence, “is the drink nice?”

Beomgyu blinked, snapping his gaze back to Taehyun. “What? Oh, yeah, it’s—it’s nice. As always.” He looked down at the coffee cup and seemed to take a while to compose himself, before looking up.

Taehyun looked at him expectantly, as Beomgyu cleared his throat.

“So Taehyun… you said you wouldn’t mind love… if it was me?”

Taehyun grinned. “Nope, I wouldn’t mind it at all. I’d like it a lot, actually.”

Beomgyu smiled at that, his whole face lighting up as Taehyun’s words truly sank in. “Well, that’s good,” he said, “because I’d love it too.”

Taehyun smiled as Beomgyu pushed his coffee aside, leaning against the counter so he was closer to Taehyun.

“In that case…” Beomgyu began, eyes bright. “Would you like to go on a date?”

Taehyun grinned widely, leaning even closer. “I thought you’d never ask.” Beomgyu breathed in quietly at the close proximity, eyes flickering to Taehyun’s lips before looking him back in the eye.

“I don’t normally kiss before the first date,” he murmured as Taehyun’s nose brushed against his.

“I don’t normally agree to go out with customers who give me annoying-ass orders,” Taehyun replied. “And yet here we are.”

“Here we are,” Beomgyu agreed. “Well, I suppose it’s alright if it’s you that I’m breaking the rules for.”

“Good,” Taehyun smiled. “As long as it’s me.”

Beomgyu grinned, hands coming up to cup the sides of Taehyun’s face. “About the date… where do you want to go?”

“Any place is alright as long as I’m with you,” Taehyun said, still impossibly close to Beomgyu. “We can figure it out later. But right now, please just kiss me.”

Beomgyu chuckled, eyes crinkling. “As you wish.”

With that, Beomgyu tilted his head to the side and closed the gap between them, their lips colliding in a coffee-flavoured kiss.

#s'rb #q'd

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