The Anchor
You own a bookstore. One day, Luke comes in.
2.1k, gn!reader. Pure fluff.
You wake up early on Monday morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. The light is streaming in through your window, your cat blinking sleepily at you when you rise. You give her a gentle kiss on her head, smiling when she starts to purr.
"Morning, sweetie," you greet. She stays there as you get dressed. Today, you pick one of your go to outfits, knowing you'll be comfortable and confident in it. Your friends have accused you of being a cartoon character before, saying that you only wear the same couple of outfits. That's okay, though.
By eight, you're in front of your store. It's your pride and joy, a product of working long hours at an odd assortment of jobs until you could afford to rent this space. Ever since you were little, you'd dreamt of owning a bookstore, picturing yourself sipping coffee in there while you and the love of your life watch people browse the shelves.
You don't have a significant other, but you do have the store and a mug of coffee. Two out of three isn't bad, you tell yourself, even if it's hard not to notice that your bed is cold.
Soon after you get inside, you flip the lights on and unlock the doors. You had a couple employees that would come in sometimes, but you always handled Mondays on your own. They were both college students, so the idea of making their Mondays even worse had made you feel bad. Besides, sometimes it was nice to be the only one. Mornings were generally pretty quiet, so it gave you time to relax and read a little bit. That's what you decide to this morning, grabbing a book off your stack of advanced copies and taking it with you to the front desk.
An hour in, the only customer you've seen is a regular, a wonderfully sweet old woman named Ms. Thomas. She's always trying to set you up with her grandchildren in the hopes that it'll give her a family discount. You adore her.
Not long after she leaves, a man rushes in, looking frazzled. You've never seen him before, but holy hell, is he attractive. He's somehow pulling off the tight t-shirt look without looking like a complete asshole, black curly hair windblown in a way that suggests he ran here.
"Hey!" You chirp, putting your book down. "Can I help you with anything?"
He glances over at you like he hadn't seen you there. Figures. He was attractive enough that you probably weren't even noticeable to him. "Yes. God, yes. It's my co-worker's birthday, and I totally blanked on getting him a gift. He loves books."
"Do you know what he likes to read?" You ask, looking over at the shelves behind him like the perfect title was just going to fall on the floor. After a beat of silence, you turn your attention back onto him. He's just staring at you. "Hello? Sir?"
There's a subtle blush coloring his cheeks. "Sorry. Just- he likes pretty much everything? I've seen him read things from children books to an entire textbook on astrophysics."
You frown. "You work with a guy that reads astrophysics textbooks for fun?"
"Sure do," he replies, laughing. "I'm afraid that I'll get him something he already owns, even though he'll probably be too polite to tell me."
"Hm," you say, drumming your desk as you think. "Well, in my opinion, you really can't go wrong with Russian literature."
"I think he likes Russian literature?" The poor man looks so confused.
"Do you want me to just pick something?"
"Oh, please."
You laugh, standing up and going over to your favorite bookcase. After a few seconds, you pull a couple paperbacks and bring them back over to the man. "I'd reccomend any of these. If your friend likes Russian literature, he's definitely read all the classics, but these guys are pretty uncommon. Honestly, it's probably dumb to have them in my inventory, I just love them so much. My all time favorite Russian book is The Idiot, I-" you cut yourself off, embarasment sweeping through you. "Sorry. Just rambled a little bit at you."
He smiles warmly at you. "No, it's okay. I didn't mind."
The blush doesn't leave your face. God, did he have to be nice, too? It isn't enough that he's hot? You cough a little in an attempt to calm yourself down. "So, what are you interested in purchasing?"
"Oh, I'll just take all of them," he says, still smiling.
"Really?"
He nods.
You start scanning the books, telling him his total as you slide them into a paper bag. Once you're done and he's paid, you hand it over.
"Thanks so much for your help…"
"Y/N," you tell him.
"Y/N," he repeats, smiling seemingly softening. "Nice to meet you. I'm Luke."
"Well, Luke, I hope your coworker doesn't already have these books."
As he leaves, you watch him.
--
A week later, Luke comes into the shop again. He looks pretty lost, eyes wandering over until they settle on you from where you're shelving some new releases. One of your employees, Andi, is at the desk where you were last time Luke was in.
"Hey!" You greet him. "Did your coworker like the books?"
"He did, actually!" Luke says, once again smiling at you. Maybe he was just one of those golden retriever guys or something. "He was surprised you had some reccomendations he hadn't already read."
You nod. "Well, that is part of my job."
He laughs like you said something funny. Neither of you says anything for a moment. "Do you need help finding anything?"
"No, I uh- I just wanted to thank you for your help last time."
Huh. You've never had someone come back just to thank you. It's kind of cute. "Of course."
After he leaves, Andi comes over to you, a devilish grin on their face. "He was cuuuuuute," they sing, throwing an arm around you.
"Andi!" You laugh, lightly shoving them off with your hip. "Settle down there, buddy."
"He's totally into you! Who comes back just to thank the person who sold them books?"
You shrug. "Luke, apparently."
"Or he likes you!"
"Aren't you supposed to be working?"
--
The third time you see Luke, it isn't even at the bookstore, but rather the coffee place you frequent across the street. As you wait in line, you see him slumped over one of the tables. Once you grab your coffee, you head over.
"Luke?"
His head whips up so fast that you worry about his neck. "Y/N! Hi! Do you want to sit down?"
You nod, taking the seat across from him. Technically, you're on your lunch, and Andi knows to text you if they're getting too overwhelmed. "You look kind of tired."
He winces. "Do I look that bad?"
"No! Sorry," you groan, covering your mouth with your hand. "I should just shut up."
"It's okay, seriously." He takes a sip of his coffee. "Work is keeping me busy."
"What do you do?"
"I'm an agent with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit," he says.
You whistle. "Sounds dangerous. Hope you get paid a lot."
You're starting to figure out that Luke laughs with his whole body. It's terribly endearing. "It's very dangerous," he agrees. "But I love being able to help people, and my team is great. How long have you been at the bookstore?"
"Oh, I own it. Opened up last year."
"That's awesome!" He says, and it sounds like he means it.
Andi texts you soon after, so you and Luke say your goodbyes.
--
"You missed him!" Andi says, rushing over to you. Bo, your other employee, is standing behind them and shaking his head. "Your man was here."
"I don't have a man?"
Andi stomps their foot on the ground like you're the ridiculous one in this situation. "Luke!"
You look over to Bo for a better explanation. "Luke came in this morning and bought a book."
"Ah," you say. "What did he get?"
"The Idiot."
It's hard not to melt into the floor.
--
The next time, it isn't Luke, but two of his coworkers. A man and a woman come into the store, asking for you by name. When Bo fetches you, they both have wide grins on their faces.
"Can I help you guys with anything?"
"Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about," the woman says. "We work with Luke."
The man nods. "I've never actually seen Luke willingly read anything before he came here. I'm Spencer, by the way. But I don't shake hands."
"I'm Penelope!"
You've done research on the BAU since Luke told you his occupation and learned that his job deals mostly with hunting down serial killers. You cannot imagine these two people doing that. It's hard to imagine Luke doing it, too. "I'm Y/N."
Penelope smirks. "Oh, we know."
"Are you the one he bought books for?" You ask Spencer.
He perks up like he's been waiting for you to bring it up. For the next twenty minutes, you discuss Russian literature as Penelope wanders aimlessly around the store.
As they're leaving, you hear Penelope whisper. "Y/N would be good for him."
--
Ms. Thomas gets to meet him not long after. You're chatting with her about her family as he comes in. You feel your heart rate pick up a little bit when your gaze locks on his.
"Who is that?" Ms. Thomas whispers, nudging you gently. "He's awfully handsome."
You shush her as Luke walks over. "You're just as bad as Andi."
Once he arrives, he introduces himself to Ms. Thomas before focusing his attention on you. "Heard some of my coworkers came by to bother you."
"They were nice! Spencer and I talked for a while. Didn't realize you'd talked to them about the store."
Luke shifts around on his feet. "Well, I mostly just talked to them about you."
"Ooooooo," Ms. Thomas butts in, causing you and Luke's cheeks to both flush.
You turn to her. "Oh my god!"
"Fine, fine, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," she says, beelining to Andi presumably to talk about you and Luke.
"Sorry about her."
Luke laughs. "She seems fun."
"Trust me, she is," you shake your head. "But, uh, you've been talking about me?"
"Yeah," Luke says, holding his hand out. After a second, you realize that it's a silent request for his hand, that he hadn't just wanted to grab it with no warning. You give it to him. "I like you a lot, Y/N. I started reading The Idiot the other day. That book is like 600 pages!"
You giggle, making his smile grow even wider.
"Can I take you out on a date?"
"Yeah. Yeah, you can."
--
When Luke isn't on a case, he visits you at the bookstore every day. It's been months since the first initial date, but your heart still flutters every time you see him, every time you see his face soften when he looks at you.
You've never been in love before. You think it feels an awful lot like this, though.
"Hey, babe," he greets, coming over to give you a quick kiss. "We just landed, figured I'd come say hi before I go crash at my apartment."
"Did it go well?" You're already pretty sure it did, since someone would have updated you otherwise. But it's always good to check and see if you need to hold Luke as tight as you can. So far, it's the best way to comfort him after a bad case.
"It did," he tells you, shrugging. "It was a tough one, but we got the guy at the end. And I got to punch him in the face."
That makes you roll your eyes, even as you grab his hands to check for bruising. There is a little bit, so you press a kiss to his knuckles.
"Can you come by later?" He asks, looking oddly nervous.
You smile. "Yeah, of course."
"I can handle the store if you want to go now!" Andi calls.
You and Luke roll your eyes. "Andi, you are way too invested in my relationship."
They narrow their eyes. "So?"
Luke hugs you before he leaves, burying his face against the crook of your shoulder. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Mm, okay. Love you, Y/N."
You tense up and he pulls back. It's the first time he's said it. "I-"
"Did you mean it?"
He flushes. "I mean. Yeah. Of course. You're pretty impossible not to love."
"I love you too, Luke."