quentin gets his coffee every morning from this coffee shop on campus
they just make the best goddamn coffee and he needs it so he spends all this money there
and he’s been going there for months now and suddenly one day there’s this really hot barista he’s never seen before??
he literally just stares for a few minutes and he’s so glad there’s a longass line because right now he couldn’t form a single word, he is quite literally starstruck
luckily, he catches himself until it’s his turn and the hot barista greets him with the widest, prettiest smile and quentin thinks he’s about to faint
he manages to order his usual order and once he’s been handed his coffee, he hands over a $5 bill and that’s where it gets tricky
the barista, who’s called eliot as his name tag reveals, squints his eyes at the bill and pulls out this weird light thing and examines the bill with it
and this has never happened before?? what the hell?? so quentin just stares in panic as eliot scans his bill and he knows that bill isn’t fake but what if
but apparently that’s not enough because he also pulls out a pen and scribbles all over it and he calls back to the other barista “hey margo, you’re supposed to see something if it’s fake, right?” to which a “yes!” gets shouted back at him
quentin cannot believe his eyes when a faint yellow appears on the bill, like he’s actually about to faint because he just took that money out and now it’s fake?
fuck fuck fuck he’s never had any troubles with the law and now he’s definitely gonna get arrested just for ordering a damn coffee
but eliot just puts the bill in the register and goes “sorry, just had to be safe but if it is a forgery, it’s a pretty damn good one. where did you get it?”
and quentin just stammers again because he’s so nervous for so many reasons but manages to get out “just outside the coffee shop”
eliot hands him his change, while never losing his smile, and nods, “duly noted”
quentin manages a smile while slightly blushing, and then just takes his change and his coffee and leaves asap because he seriously couldn’t have been around eliot any longer without exploding
the next day quentin comes back (obviously! who would miss out on coffee like that?) and eliot is also back and his face immediately lights up because he’s just so happy to see eliot again
he’s still nervous but it’s not as bad as yesterday and he places his usual order
eliot takes his money and again?? he’s checking if it’s fake?? and quentin is just so confused because he’s been coming here for months and this has never happened and honestly what is this dude’s deal?
eliot gives him his change and his coffee, notes that everything is good and wishes him a nice day
and then it just keeps happening over and over again
to the point where he even checks his coins and that?? just doesn’t make any sense??
it’s also lowkey weird that he has never seen eliot before and suddenly he’s there every morning, like what is up with that??
one morning quentin pays attention to every customer that is served by eliot and none, NONE of them get their bills/coins checked
but when it’s his turn, eliot pulls out that weird light that quentin cannot see anymore at this point and scans his bill again
and quentin just loses it because what the fuck is his deal, why does he have to suffer through this but every other customer gets away with it
so quentin calls him out and asks why he’s the only person who ever gets his bill checked for forgery and eliot just shrugs and says it’s company policy to check bills
and honestly quentin is so frustrated at this point that he just wants to yell at him but he quietly takes his coffee and leaves
the days of quentin looking forward to eliot are basically over because at this point it’s more frustrating to see him than anything else
however, he still catches himself staring at those lips and how he wants nothing more than to kiss them, albeit in his current state very angrily
but now quentin has another strategy: just pay with card. there’s nothing that can go wrong with that, right?
oh honey, he had such a big storm coming
when he pulls out his card, eliot looks a bit surprised and quentin already celebrates this victory but when eliot swipes his card, he presents him with the receipt and a pen, saying “you have to sign this”
quentin is completely taken by surprise because what, he’s had this card for several years now and no one has ever asked him to sign anything
“you’re messing with me right?” - “nope, it’s company policy”
and quentin wants nothing more than to shout fuck your company policy, it’s making my life hell but he restrains himself, signs the receipt and just takes his goddamn coffee
eliot shouts after him “goodbye quentin have a nice day”
and quentin has never noticed that eliot doesn’t know his name - well until now
he is dreading the next morning to say the least
but quentin doesn’t give up, he never does, and eliot can suck his dick because he comes up with another plan
a plan so well thought out it can’t go wrong that he walks into the coffee shop with a wide smile on his face and he can tell that eliot is put off by it because the past few weeks he’s always been greeted by a grumpy face
eliot yells his name so everyone in line can hear it cheerfully and asks why he’s in such a good mood
quentin tells him it’s nothing, just feels like a good day, and orders his usual
when it’s time to hand over the cash, quentin sighs quietly but gives eliot his cash
but before eliot can pull out all his tools which, at this point, just make him fume, quentin grabs for a piece of paper in his bag and throws it on the counter in front of him
“company policy my ass, I swear to god if you check this bill for forgery again, I will literally start screaming, I’ve had it up until hERE just give me my goddamn coffee, eliot”
eliot looks taken aback but doesn’t say anything, just nods, his lips spreading into a wide grin when he hands quentin his coffee and his change
before eliot wishes him a good day, quentin notices that he’s biting his lip and even though he’s still fuming, he can’t deny that it’s such a good fucking look
but dear lord quentin is so proud of the stunt he’s just pulled and for the first time in fucking weeks he didn’t get held up by eliot checking his bill and chatting away at him (yeah because he’s done that too)
while he’s pouring some milk and some sugar in his cup, he can hear one barista who he’s pretty sure is called margo say “wow he’s feisty, I didn’t know he had it in him” with eliot sighing and answering “it’s always the quiet ones, bambi” and who the fuck is bambi but there’s too much adrenaline pumping through his body for him to care
the next visits to the coffee shop are so satisfying because eliot gives him his coffee without a comment and he can enjoy his life and go on about his day without raging inside his head
sometimes eliot asks him about his day and they just chat away while eliot is preparing his order and it’s just nice and he doesn’t understand why it couldn’t have been like this from the beginning
because eliot is nice and sweet and kind and funny and he wants to get to know him better but he doesn’t know how so instead of dreading the coffee shop visits, he’s lowkey looking forward to them
especially to the big smile he’s greeted with when eliot sees him, the way he says “quentin!” that makes his heart melt every time and it’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago quentin wanted to strangle eliot with his bare hands whenever he saw him
sometimes their conversations turn flirty but quentin tells himself that eliot is just being nice and isn’t that kind of his job as a barista? he would constantly ask julie
they kinda dance around each other for a while and one day eliot jokingly says that he’ll have to check his bill again (it has turned into a joke for them, they can laugh about it now) and quentin rolls his eyes but smiles and just says “ffs eliot just give me my coffee”
and margo joins in with an eye-roll of her ownand goes “yeah stop messing around with that boy” and quentin has a feeling that margo knows something he doesn’t because her words sound softer than usual, don’t have the usual annoyance in them, but quentin ignores it and looks expectantly at eliot
although he is pretty sure he hears her mutter under her breath “and finally ask him out jesus christ” but he must have misheard that, so again he just ignores it
eliot leans forward on the counter and quentin notices that he tries to be confident but he’s biting his lips, his hands are fidgeting and he seems almost… coy? and quentin has no clue why because eliot is one of the most confident people he’s ever met so this makes no fucking sense whatsoever
eventually, eliot looks up at him, with a shy smile gracing his lips, and he says softly “only if you go on a date with me” and yeah maybe quentin didn’t mishear margo after all
quentin is so shocked because what??? this literal god wants to go on a date with him??? and he just stares at him for a moment, his mouth opening and closing again like a fish that’s trying to breathe on land
and eliot backtracks, shakes his head and says that he’ll still get his coffee even if he says no
“so one coffee means one date with you? I’ll take like 10″
eliot’s face LIGHTS up, he’s literally beaming and he smiles so wide
“please don’t actually make me 10 coffees, I’ll die”
and eliot just laughs because quentin is so adorable
eliot writes his phone number on quentin’s cup and tells him to call him or text him or whatever and quentin promises he will
their smiles are both so wide, like their faces hurt from it but they can’t stop and margo just goes “okay let’s continue, you two have been holding up this line for way too long anyway”
when quentin messages eliot later that day, he asks where he wants to go for the date and when and eliot just says he’d love to go anywhere with quentin except for a coffee
they end up going for a picnic in a park and eliot told quentin not to worry about anything because he’ll prepare it
and dear lord did he prepare it, eliot went full out and quentin is just speechless and eliot is worried that it might be too much and quentin just smiles and says it’s perfect
eliot pulls out a cup and hands it over to quentin with a big smile
“the usual, freshly prepared. enjoy”
and quentin‘s just like ??? thank you?? I do not deserve you?? and he’s just so happy because eliot is so goddamn sweet
quentin points out that he’ll save so much money by dating eliot because eliot can just prepare his coffee every morning
eliot looks so offended by this statement because is this the only reason you want to date me?
quentin just wiggles his eyebrows and laughs but eventually shakes his head and eliot joins in on his laughter soon too
they just sit there in silence for a while, eating and drinking away and enjoying the good weather
until quentin asks why the hell he would always check his bills but not anyone else’s and eliot grins at him mischievously
„I just wanted to get your attention. and maybe rile you up. you look so adorable when you’re frustrated. but mostly I just wanted an excuse to speak to you longer even though I could tell you wanted to strangle me“
quentin just looks at him apologetically, bites his lip and ends up hiding his face behind his hands but eliot pries his hands away, takes them in his own and tells him it’s okay and how he probably would have reacted the same way and wouldn’t have had that patience and that there’s a million ways he could have gone about this but he chose to be so extra
“all that matters is that we ended up here” and quentin agrees and smiles again and he doesn’t think he has smiled so much around another person in his entire life
but eliot has to go and ruin it by saying that he doubts quentin could have resisted him for long, considering the snack he is, and when he wiggles his eyebrows, quentin rolls his eyes again but soon breaks out into laughter
they spend the rest of the day together and it’s honestly one of the best days of quentin’s entire life because it’s filled with so much laughter and love and happiness and quentin truly believes this is the beginning of something good
one night quentin and eliot are lying in bed
they’ve been together for a few months now and going strong
but quentin is obviously brooding over something, he’s frowning and eliot decides it’s not a good look on his boyfriend so he asks what’s wrong
and quentin snaps out of whatever zone he’s in and blushes and shakes his head
but eliot insists he tells him what’s wrong because there’s something obviously bothering him
quentin makes eliot promise not to laugh and eliot swears he would never so quentin takes a deep breath and asks him why he was suddenly there every morning back then when before that quentin had never seen him around even though he went to that coffee shop religiously
eliot raises an eyebrow and goes “this is what keeps you up at night?” but can’t help but grin
quentin sighs exasperatedly and tells eliot to just tell him
now it’s eliot’s turn to take a deep breath and he goes all quiet and quentin knows this moment is going to be important
“someone asked me to cover their morning shift because I usually did afternoons then. after I spoke to you, I asked margo if you came around a lot and she told me you’re there every morning. so I asked to be put on the morning shift every day because I wanted to see you again so badly”
eliot shrugs shyly and they’re both blushing
quentin’s heart melts right then and there because how is he so goddamn lucky to have found a guy like eliot?
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