James had a crush on a cute boy in kindergarten and hadn't seen him since or Coffee Shop AU with a twist.
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Just another day at his job.
James was a barista at the small local coffee shop not too far from home. In fact, he'd never actually left his hometown unless it was for a vacation. The most moving he did was move out of his parent's house to get his own apartment just a short 15-minute drive away.
Littleton was too close to his heart. Too many precious memories were made here. He was still close with friends who he had gone to school with and decided to stay in Littleton as well. They were regulars at the coffee shop.
James smiled behind the counter as his best friend Joe came in. "Hey," he greeted. He immediately started making Joe's regular, a hot French vanilla latte.
"Hey," Joe replied. "Not that busy today?" He asked noticing how the usually filled shop only had two occupied tables out of the seven they had.
"Nope," James answered coming around the bar to sit across Joe from a table. He set the drink down in front of him and nodded as Joe said his thanks. "It's alright, though, less work for me," he laughed. Joe joined in.
"So, I got a new job!" Joe beamed up at his friend.
James smiled, happy for him. "That's great! What're you doing?"
"I'm this guy's new editor for his videos on youtube," Joe said before taking a sip of his latte. "Mm, delicious as always."
"What kind of videos?" James asked.
"He plays games and uploads it to youtube." Another sip. "They're not bad. They're funny."
James smiled, remembering one of his fond memories. "Remember when I wanted to make a youtube channel?"
Joe laughed, reminiscing as well. "Yeah! You should've done it."
"Eh, whatever," James shrugged. "So what's this guy's channel?"
"ImmortalHD," Joe answered. "I invited him to come here. He's friendly." Joe informed him, adding a wink.
James rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to set me up with your boss?"
Joe shrugged and smiled. "Just looking out for you. He's definitely your type."
James rolled his eyes again and shook his head. "You're fucking impossible."
Before he could respond, Joe took his phone out of his pocket as he heard it buzz. He grinned as he read the message then directed the smile towards James. "Guess who's coming."
James huffed, but he couldn't help smiling at his friend's caring gestures. "Ask if he wants anything I'll have it ready."
Joe typed in the message and sent it, immediately getting a response. "He said 'caramel macchiato pls'"
"Alright." James stood from his seat and went to work behind the bar. From there he could see a man walking outside towards the cafe. No doubt the man Joe had invited.
When James finished making the drink, he heard the familiar sound of a bell ding when the door opened. He saw the man from outside the window greet Joe with a smile. Taking a closer look, the man seemed very familiar, but James couldn't figure out why.
James shook the thought away. Maybe he just saw one of his videos without noticing.
But I would notice that cute face anywhere.
He was so surprised by his subconscious thought, he didn't notice the youtuber staring at him.
"So that's James?" he asked Joe who nodded. "Cute."
His words brought James out of his stupor. He walked towards the table, macchiato in hand. "Cute?" He turned to Joe. "He knows you're trying to set us up?"
Joe nodded, more enthusiastically this time. "Yeah. Well, I'll leave you guys alone now." Quickly, Joe paid for his drink and waved goodbye to the two of them before leaving the cafe.
James sighed internally. Annoyed by how much his friend cared. How did Joe expect him to function properly with someone as cute as this guy?
"Hey," the man greeted.
"Hey," James replied. "Here's your caramel macchiato." He put the drink down in front of him and sat across from the man. He was so familiar...
"Thanks," He replied. "I'm Aleks."
Oh.
"Uhm..." James struggled to find words and he could feel his face burning up. "A-Aleks?"
Aleks laughed at how nervous he was. "Yeah. You're James, right?"
James nodded in response. "So... um... did you go to school around here?"
"Yeah, I moved after elementary school, but I came back."
Oh my God.
"You alright, James?" Aleks asked, a confused look appearing on his face.
"Um..." James shook his head. "Sorry, it's just you're really familiar."
Aleks smiled. "I know."
James' eyes widened. "What?"
"You know, you're even cuter than when I last saw you." Aleks winked.
James chuckled shyly turned his gaze to the floor. "Everyone's cute in kindergarten."
Aleks nodded. "Yeah, but you were the cutest." He reached out and laid his hand on James'. "And you still are."
James looked back up and into his eyes. "Do you really wanna go out with someone who you had a crush on in kindergarten?" He questioned.
Aleks just smiled flirtatiously and shrugged. "What can I say? I never got over you and your cookie monster lunchbox."
James laughed heartily. "I actually got that to impress you."
Aleks laughed with him. "I was impressed."
When their laughter died down, they stared at each other. They took in one another's features, taking notes on how they had changed over the years. Before, Aleks had been much taller than James. Now the tables had turned. They both had tattoos that reflected their personality, and James had a beard that made him look more hot than cute. Aleks couldn't grow a beard, but he didn't need one to look good anyway.
James broke the silence by quietly saying, "I never got over you either." He watched as Aleks' whole face lit up.
Reluctantly, James drew his hand away from Aleks' who pouted slightly. James grabbed a nearby napkin and a pen from his pocket then scrawled his number onto the napkin. He offered it to Aleks who accepted it. "I'd really like to go on an actual date with you."
Aleks smiled. "Me too."
James reached across the table and cupped Aleks' face. "Can I kiss you?"
"Please," Aleks grinned.
Slowly, their lips met in an innocent chaste kiss. None of the other customers seemed to notice, but the two men wouldn't care anyway. They were transported into their own world, where their childhood crush finally noticed them.
"So..." James started once they broke apart. "Youtube channel?" Aleks nodded. "You know, I always wanted to start too. Maybe a gaming channel like yours."
Aleks' eyes lit up. "What if we did one together?"
James scoffed. "You're serious?"
"Yeah! It'll be like a co-op channel and we could just fuck around and do stupid stuff."
James smiled fondly. "Yeah, why not? What are we gonna call it?"
"Cow Chop."
