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Your evening shift at the cafe takes a pleasant turn as your best friend, and childhood crush, makes an appearance at your place of work ahead of schedule.
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SFW, fluff, friends-to-lovers, Modern!AU
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This poor coconut boy needs some love too, he gets cast aside too much :/
Request for the lovely @Littlee_Einsteins
"Damn, I just wanna go home already...."
Y/N sighed.
Though she loved her job as a barista at the local coffee shop in her small town, sometimes the six to eight hours of work drained her to the point of crashing on the spot as soon as her apartment key entered her room's lock and she set her bag down on the small couch in her living room.
The pay was decent, the customers were usually polite, and she got the weekends off. But sometimes, a girl just needs a BREAK.
As the last hour of her shift approached, Y/N found herself propped up on her elbows staring out the cafè's windows as the sun began to sink lower and lower across the horizon. She daydreamed about how she would spend the rest of her afternoon, after she closed up the shop for the evening. Since she'd made no plans for herself due to her being so mentally and physically exhausted lately, she suddenly found herself dreading her lonely night.
"Perhaps a nice warm bath...or a movie? Maybe I should start back up on my skincare routine...."
Before her daydream of lonely relaxation could continue, the soft chime of a bell from the shop's front door shook her of her thoughts. Stifling a groan, she quickly went to the counter where customers would order the their goods and prepared her little notepad for orders.
Only, she wasn't expecting to see a familiar face waiting for her on the other side of the island counter.
There stood a blonde man with soft blue eyes, peering happily at Y/N's surprised face.
Armin, who wasn't supposed to be off his own shift until eight in the evening, stood before her with a shy grin poking out from behind stray blonde hairs that fell across his forehead.
"Hey, Y/N!" he greeted nervously.
Armin had been a close friend of hers for years now, introduced to Y/N through her childhood friend, Mikasa. The moment the two met, it was as if a spark had ignited within the both of their hearts. Yet neither of them had said a thing, being too shy to confront the other, nor picking up on the other's feelings.
Even still, the two of them went way back.
Despite not acting on her emotions, Y/N considered Armin to be one of her closest friends. She would confide to him many a night about her many troubles; wether they would be big or small, and he would stay up with her for hours to talk through it all.
And whenever he needed a shoulder to lean on, or words of advice for something he was going through, he could always call her number or come see her at work for help.
Today, Y/N assumed, must be one of those moments he needed someone to talk to.
"Armin!" Y/N exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you here today. Aren't you usually released from the office around eight?"
"Well..." Armin rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I called in a favor, for tonight."
"Tonight? Is there something going on?" Y/N tilted her head slightly in concern as she set her notebook down.
"No! No, nothing's wrong!" Armin was quick to reassure with a wave of his hand.
"I just....Wanted to be elsewhere for the night."
"I fully understand that," Y/N chuckled humorlessly.
"Which, uh, brings me to why I'm uh....here."
Armin stuttered with his words, yet still managed to keep eye contact with her.
Fully expecting him to need some form of comfort or advice, as that's why he would usually visit her during work hours, Y/N was quick to round the counter and take a seat beside him on a barstool. She patted the seat next to her, motioning for Armin to sit. He was slightly taken aback, but with a nervous smile, he sat.
Adjusting his shirt collar, he swallowed thickly before continuing.
"I was wondering if, ahh....You'd like to maybe...Join me tonight, since I have time off? After your shift, of course." he quickly added at the end.
Y/N's brows shot up in surprise. It wasn't like the two of them haven't hung out alone before. They had many times, and each time presented Y/N with a newfound treasured memory.
But calling off work early, to spend the evening with her?
Butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she did her best to remain calm on the outside.
"Of course Armin! My shift ends in an hour, but then I'll be all yours!"
Y/N blushed at her rash choice of words, and she didn't miss the color that rose to Armin's face, too.
"Ah, sweet!" he replied with that cute laugh Y/N loved so much.
A moment of silence engulfed them as Y/N took in this information. Finally looking back up at him, only to find him quickly averting his gaze away from where he had been staring at her face, she chuckled softly.
"So, we should we go?" she asked.
"Well...Actually, I had this evening planned out already, if that's okay with you?" he quickly asked back.
"Oh! Well...Of course, Armin. What are we gonna be doing?"
"That's, ahh, that's a surprise." Suddenly Armin grew nervous once more, and found it difficult to meet her eye.
Before Y/N could formulate a response, the tiny bell rang once again as new customers came in from the slight chill outside. Quickly standing back up, she shot Armin an apologetic look over her shoulder. Back behind the counter, she put on her best customer service front and continued her work.
All the while, Armin watched on from the barstool not far from her, watching her every move with an unconscious smile on his face.
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Roughly forty minutes later, when the last of the customers had left and the cleanup had been taken care of, Y/N removed her work apron and looked over to Armin, who's eyes were already on her. Attempting to hide his blush at being caught, Armin stood and turned his head away and cleared his throat.
"So uhh...Ready to go?" he asked shyly.
Y/N approached him and, deciding to be a little brave, embraced him loosely.
"Of course! Where are we going?"
Armin embraced her back, all the while trying to keep his cool. He couldn't mess this up...
"Oh, you'll see!" he grinned down to her.
But before she could get an answer out of him, Armin was making his way out of the shop towards his car parked by the curb, tugging her along by her hand.
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"Armin, c'mon I cant even tell where I'm stepping!" Y/N complained, thought the giggle in her voice betrayed her excitement.
"Almost there....Aaaandd....Here!"
Armin removed his hands from over her eyes so she could finally see. Ever since his car had come to a stop on a backroad a block back, he had insisted her eyes be covered for a 'surprise'.
And what she saw, was definitely a surprise.
There they both stood, in the center of the town's park where they had both met as children all those years ago. Y/N's eyes traveled over the familiar swing sets and tall trees that surrounded the park, memories flooding her mind.
Though the sun had begun it's descent, Armin could still see the light sparkle in her eyes when she turned back to face him.
"Oh Armin, the old park we met in! I'm surprised you even remembered!" Y/N laughed, standing closer to his side.
"How could I forget meeting my best friend, Y/N? And besides, that's not all...." Armin's voice failed him, so instead he simply pointed off their right towards a small slope. Y/N's eyes were quick to follow where he was pointing, and she gasped.
Atop the grass sat a large blue blanket, accompanied by a large wicker basket and a pair of glass cups, accompanied by a couple of candles waiting to be lit. In the very center of the blanket, a small vase of bluebells sat neatly.
Whipping her head back to stare up at Armin in shock, Y/N laughed, almost in disbelief.
"Armin, is that-"
Before she could even finish, Armin was leading her towards the hill with a grin. Once they reached the top, where they could easily view their surroundings uninterrupted, he finally turned back to her.
"Well, I remembered how, back when we were younger and talking about our futures, you had once said you'd always wanted to have a picnic date with someone special. And I thought, why not here? Somewhere special, with someone special...." Armin's voice suddenly failed him again as his cheeks lit up in color.
Feeling beyond touched that, not only had he remembered a childhood fantasy of hers, he had brought it to life before her eyes, Y/N reached her hand forward and caressed his face softly.
"Armin, this is perfect. It's what I had always dreamed it to be. Thank you," and with that, Y/N leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss onto his cheek.
Now that Armin was a complete stuttering mess, Y/N took a seat on the blanket and began rummaging through the basket Armin had prepared.
Inside were many treats and delicacies, as well as drinks and napkins. Smiling fondly at the treats, Y/N motioned for Armin to sit right next to her as she averted her gaze to the heavens.
Hesitantly, he sat. Only to admire her as she admired the heavens.
"You-you're really p-pretty, yknow," Armin stuttered.
y/N leaned into his side, and finally he relaxed beside her as well.
"Was leaving work early just an excuse for you to finally ask me out on a date, Armin?" Y/N grinned broadly up at the blond.
Armin cleared his throat loudly as his face darkened in color once more.
"I!...Well, no....Uhh....Maybe?"
With a blush of her own, Y/N slowly intertwined her hand with his, much to Armin's surprise.
"I love this, Armin. And...I love you, if it's not too early to say..." Y/N finally confessed, the love he had shown her tonight through his efforts encouraged her to finally be truthful with her best friend.
"I...I love you too, Y/N. Since...Well, forever!" Armin sputtered out, now gripping her hand back.
"So, can we consider this out first official date?" he suddenly asked.
Chuckling to herself, Y/N gave his hand a squeeze.
"Yes, I'd very much like that."
And so they sat for several more hours, hand in hand chatting away as the moon made its appearance in the sky and the stars grew brighter.
From discussing about their days, to reminiscing about their pasts together, to simply laying in silence munching on snacks together occasionally pointing out constellations to one another from their makeshift beds, they both finally felt content. With the other by their sides forevermore. Wrapped together in moonlight, a new life, and eternal love.
"What a way to end a shift."
Hope this was to your liking @Littlee_Einsteins !!
Took me a little longer than expected, but i tried to capture your vision :)
~Lynn