#luke the barista and michael the librarian | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pixiegrl · 3 years

Text

I’ve Got The Recipe

Michael keeps going back to the same coffee shop and no, it has nothing to do with the cute barista.

Or 3 times Michael went to Luke's coffee shop to see him and 1 time Luke visited Michael at his job

This is for @redrattlers! Happy birthday darling! You're a sweetheart and lovely, fellow Luke fan and Muke lover. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and getting to hang out with you in The Club. I wish you the happiest of birthdays and the happiest of years! Enjoy your day you deserve it!

On ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29146482/

It starts on a Wednesday. Michael’s bored, scrolling through his phone at the front desk, trying to avoid doing work. He knows he should go shelve some books, or do a lap around the library to check on things, but he can’t focus on anything. He’s trying to kill time until it’s acceptable for him to go on his lunch break and grab something to eat or drink.

“Oh god, I found the perfect drink for you,” Calum whispers next to him, tugging lightly on Michael’s sleeve. Michael frowns, glancing over at Calum, getting a phone shoved into his face in response. Michael pulls his head back, grabbing onto Calum’s wrist and trying to adjust it so he can see the screen better. It’s an instagram post on Calum’s feed, advertising a coffee from the local coffee shop. The caption claims that it’s a vanilla rose latte. Michael hates that Calum knows him well enough to know that Michael will 100% drink anything with floral flavors in it.

“Don’t act so disgusted,” Michael mumbles, shoving Calum’s phone back to him. Calum laughs.

“It’s just weird that you want to put florals in your coffee. It tastes like soap.”

“It does not. Stop insulting my taste,” Michael says, voice rising a little bit at the end of the sentence. He ducks his head when one of the reference librarians looks over at them. Calum raises his hand in apology, turning to face Michael.

“You like weird coffee. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just thought you might be interested. It’s that new place too. Down the road.”

“Is this your way of trying to bribe me into getting us sandwiches from the Vietnamese place for lunch?”

“Pretty please?” Calum says. Michael sighs, pretending to be put out.

“Fine. Text me your order. I’ll swing by. You owe me dinner though,” Michael says, standing up. Calum brightens up, smiling. Michael heads into the back, clocking out for his break and telling his supervisor he’s going to grab lunch. They nod, waving him out when Michael grabs his bag from his little station and heads out to his car. Michael calls in their lunch order from his car and decides to stop and grab coffee first on his way there.

Luckily, the coffee shop is a quick drive. Their town is small enough that everything sits within a ten minute drive of each other. It makes it easier to pop out and grab lunch on the days he’s too lazy to make it. Michael knows where the coffee shop is, even if he hasn’t been yet. It’s only been open for a few weeks and everytime he and Calum mean to go, they get distracted and go somewhere else or forget. Today though, Michael is determined to get his rose coffee from this place.

Michael parks in the lot, grabbing his wallet from his backpack and leaving his car, locking it behind him. He pushes open the coffee shop door, relieved to see it’s still empty and quiet inside, little bell over the door jingling.

A tall blonde man, pops his head out from behind the back area, grinning widely when he sees Michael.

“Hi! What can I get you today?” he asks, coming up to the counter, beaming. Michael’s offended that the barista is pretty and therefore, Michael has completely forgotten his order. It’s not his fault the guy is tall and blonde, with blue eyes and dimples, curls pulled back into a messy bun. His name tag reads Luke. Michael doesn’t stand a chance.

“Um, I saw your post. About the vanilla rose latte. Do you still have it? I know it’s been a few days.”

“Yes! You’re the first person to order it. I got these little sample bottles of different flavors, but so far no one has asked for it,” Luke says, beaming widely as he grabs the bottle and holds it up. Michael blushes.

“Well, I’m your guy. My friend teases me endlessly about the fact that I like adding weird flavors into my coffee.”

“You’re just the kind of guy I need then,” Luke says, winking. Michael blushes. He’s never going to be able to come back here.

“Can I get a small?”

“Sure. Regular milk fine?”

“Yeah,” Michael says. Luke rings him up, rattling off the price. Michael swipes his card, signing on the screen as Luke starts to make his drink.

“So, do you work around here?”

“Yeah, I work down the block at the local library at the front desk. Wanted to stop in on my lunch break.”

“Well, I’m glad you stopped in. I can finally tell Ashton someone likes my drink, ” Luke says, moving around behind the counter.

“Ashton?”

“My partner. Business partner. I am very single,” Luke rushes out, blushing red and turning his attention to the coffee. Michael blushes too, worried he’s been caught out staring at Luke. Just because he's a pretty guy and Michael never gets the chance to see anyone under the age of 60 who isn’t a child doesn’t give him the right to stare at Luke.

“Well, it’s a good thing you have him,” Michael piped up, blushing harder when Luke glances at him over the espresso machine, smiling.

“Yeah. He’s a wonderful friend. Terrible coworker,” Luke says. Michael laughs, earning him a wide grin from Luke.

“Well, here you go! One vanilla rose latte! You’ll have to let me know how it is,” Luke says, sliding the drink across the counter. Michael takes it, sipping from it.

“Good. The rose isn’t too overpowering. Just the right blend,” Michael says. Luke beams and it fills Michael’s chest with a flare of something. He checks his phone, swearing when he sees the time.

“I gotta go, break’s gonna be up before I know it. Thanks for the drink Luke,” he says, turning to the door. Luke calls out a goodbye behind him as Michael rushes out so he can get their sandwiches on time and make it back to work.

Michael manages to make it back to work on time with enough time to finish his sandwich. The coffee sits with him the rest of the afternoon, keeping him warm and reminding him of Luke’s smile. Maybe Michael will have to go back more often for coffee from the shop.

***

Michael lasts about three days before he goes back. It’s late Saturday morning and Michael’s finally dragged himself from his bed and his apartment to run errands on his day off. Well, run errands once he gets some coffee, which has nothing to do with wanting to see cute barista Luke again. Even if Michael’s foregoing Starbucks and Dunkin’ just to go out of his way for Luke’s little coffee shop.

Calum has teased him endlessly for the last few days about it. All it had taken was Michael mentioning that maybe the barista was cute and Calum had lost it. He keeps teasing Michael about going back just to see Luke or making dumb coffee puns for flirting. Michael’s relieved that Calum’s working today, so he can go to the coffee shop without being teased for it.

The shop is empty when Michael shows up. Granted, it's mid-morning but it’s still a Saturday. Michael was expecting a least a bit of a crowd. Not that he’s complaining. More personal time with Luke. Which, maybe Michael shouldn’t be thinking like that about the barista.

Luke’s behind the counter already this time, head popping up when he hears the bell ring. He beams widely when he sees Michael, bouncing on his heels.

“Hi! Vanilla rose guy!” He says brightly, waving as he does so. Michael blushes.

“Michael. It’s Michael. Only fair since I know yours,” Michael says, embarrassed immediately. Luke smiles, dimples popping on his cheeks.

“Nice name. Now I don’t have to call you vanilla rose guy. Ashton was starting to think I made you up just to prove my drink idea was good.”

“All real. Just back for more coffee,” Michael says. Luke’s got his hair down today, curled around the base of his neck as he grins. He has butterfly wing eyeshadow on today, orange and blacks swirled together and drawn on. It’s so enchanting, Michael can’t take his eyes off of Luke. It’s distracted him completely from placing his order, going red when he realizes he’s been standing here for a few minutes in silence, staring at Luke. Luke giggles, tucking a curl behind his ear.

“So, coffee?”

“Yes. Coffee. The thing I am here for. What flavors do you have today?”

“Vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, raspberry, caramel, and the rose one. A few other floral flavors. Nothing too exciting.”

“Will you combine something?”

“Oh?”

“The mocha and the raspberry. In a small iced coffee.”

“Oh! Yes! That sounds really good actually. Why didn’t I think of that?” Luke says, grabbing a cup and spinning around to start making it.

“I just like weird flavors is all.”

“Not that weird. Sounds pretty good. Maybe you should work in the coffee shop, not me.”

“Nah. They need me too much at the library. Who else is going to help stressed parents find the last copy of Frozen or show someone’s grandma how to use the computer?” Michael says. Luke laughs, pouring coffee from a pitcher into the cup.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve saved many a tired parent whose daughter wants to hear Let It Go for the 100th time. Are you on break today?”

“Day off. Wanted to run some errands while I’m alone, but figured coffee would be a good place to start. Library can survive without me for two days.”

“What if someone needs the last copy of Frozen?”

“Calum can help them for a day,” Michael says. Michael likes working and living with Calum, but he likes the misalignment of their off days. Michael usually gets Friday and Saturdays off and Calum usually gets Sundays and Mondays. It gives them a few days to breathe without each other and it means that for a couple days, they get to alternate who cooks instead of them rushing to finish cooking one meal together. Michael has to go to the grocery store after this to get the ingredients for cheese quesadillas, his promised meal for the night.

“Calum?”

“Co-worker. Roommate. Pain in my ass.”

Luke giggles, shaking his head and sliding the coffee across the bar, “Well, I’m glad you get the day off, so you can come visit me and get coffee. You certainly keep my day interesting and exciting.”

“You’ve met me twice,” Michael says, taking the coffee and biting at the straw.

“Yeah, but you have the most interesting coffee orders. Who else would think to combine chocolate and raspberry? I didn’t.”

“I’m just a librarian with terrible taste.”

“Hey, no mean talking about yourself. You have interesting and exciting taste. How’s the coffee?” Luke asks. Michael takes a sip. It’s good, rich without being overpowering, the raspberry a subtle aftertaste in it.

“It’s good,” Michael says. Luke beams, smile lighting up his whole face with cheer.

“Good! I’m going to put it on my February drink list. It’ll be a good drink for Valentine's Day.”

Michael checks the time on his watch, frowning when he realizes how late it is, how much time he’s spent here with Luke chatting. He really needs to get to the store so he can buy food and start cooking. He was supposed to clean the apartment too today. Calum’s gonna chew him out if he doesn’t at least get something done because he’ll certainly realize Michael went to get coffee and he’ll mention Luke again.

“Do you have to go?” Luke asks, voice sad.

“Yeah. Gotta go buy dinner and then cook it. My turn to cook for the evening. Perks of having the day off.”

“Well, thanks for coming in again. You should come back when you have more time.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I’m co-owner. I can take a break to talk to my favorite customer,” Luke says, resting his elbows on the counter and grinning, leaning forward just a bit. It gives Michael a good view of his collarbones where the collar of his shirt dips low. Michael swallows, mouth dry.

“I have Fridays off. Maybe I’ll come in next week.”

“Please. I’ll try to come up with a drink for you to try,” Luke says. He smiles, biting the corner of his lip as Michael walks towards the door. He walks into a table nearby, stumbling when he’s distracted by Luke and blushes as he darts out the door. God, maybe one day Michael will stop making a fool of himself in front of the cute barista.

***

It’s been almost a week since Michael went to the coffee shop on his day off and he’s been psyching himself up to go back. He’d gone a couple other days during the week on his lunch break again, but Luke hadn’t been there. Instead, Michael met Ashton who had raised his eyebrows and gone “Oh you’re Michael,” causing Michael to blush and avoid the coffee shop for a few days to get over his embarrassment.

It’s Friday though and Michael can’t deny that he wants coffee. He wants coffee and he misses Luke and he wants to go in anyway. So, Michael sucks it up, puts on his best jeans and nice t-shirt and brushes his hair before going on his mission for coffee. He brings a book with him this time, promising himself that he’ll sit around and actually spend time at the store.

He gets lucky today, pushing the door open and seeing Luke behind the counter, humming along to the pop song on the radio as he dances around behind the counter. He brightens up when he sees Michael, grinning and waving, curls falling into his eyes.

“Hi Michael! It’s been a few days. Ashton mentioned you came in a couple times.”

“Yeah, I needed my coffee fix. Kept missing you though.”

“Yeah, it was a weird week for me, but I’m here now. I know it’s your day off and I couldn’t risk missing you,” Luke says, earnest. Michael blushes.

“Well, I brought my book with me, so I can hang around for a bit today,” Michael says, holding the book up.

“Lovely. I’m here all day for coffee while reading needs. What can I get you?”

“Caramel vanilla iced coffee. The larger size,” he says. Luke nods, going about making the drink.

“You must know some good books, being a librarian. You get to see all the new releases.”

“Most of them are those cheesy romance novels. So if you like reading about running away with a duke, I’m not sure what I can recommend. Unless you like horror novels.”

“I like fantasy. And mystery novels.”

“You should read A Cosmology of Monsters. It’s mystery and fantasy with a dash of horror. A good twist. I read it in one night,” Michael says. Luke hums, snapping the lid onto the cup.

“I’ll have to give it a look. What are you reading now?”

“If We Were Villains. Murder mystery novel, very who done it. But they’re theater students, so it’s an interesting read. Even though it’s very predictable.”

“Well, don’t tell me! What if I decide to read it?”

“Hey, I’m just giving you the plot summary. I just think it’s a little predictable,” Michael says, taking his coffee. Luke rolls his eyes.

“Well, take your coffee and your spoilers and go read your book. Don’t give it all away.”

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Michael says, teasing. He takes his cup, finding a table in the corner and sitting down so he’s facing Luke. Usually, Michael wears headphones and listens to music while he’s reading, but this time he doesn’t, preferring to keep them in his bag, so he can talk to Luke. It works, Luke commenting on the music playing over the coffee shop speakers or asking Michael for his opinions on muffins. Eventually, he takes his break, coming to sit across from Michael with two muffins, blueberry and chocolate, and his own cup of coffee to share with Michael. They exchange stories about their families and their jobs, until Luke has to go back to work and Michael realizes he has to head back home to finish cleaning and start on dinner. Luke looks a little sad to see Michael go, but he waves him goodbye as always, sends him off with a couple of chocolate chip cookies he’s made for Michael to take back to his place. Michael tries not to read into it too much, that the cute barista is giving him baked goods and hanging out with him and that Michael has spent a whole afternoon with Luke. He knows Calum is going to tease him when he goes home with the cookies, that he spent the whole day with Luke, to the point he’s running behind on his chores, but Michael thinks it was worth it to get to spend some more time with Luke and his curls and his laugh and his dimples. It’s always worth it to spend time with Luke and getting to see his smile.

***

It’s Tuesday and it’s boring. Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday. Which, sometimes is nice at the library. Yesterday, Michael had to deal with telling someone who was watching porn to get off the computers and arguing with a mom that no they didn’t have a movie in stock and no, Michael can’t go to another library to get it for her. It had taken Michael’s supervisor to step in and take over before the woman finally got it and left. Michael likes his job but god, does he hate people sometimes.

Calum’s been put on shelving today, leaving Michael alone at the front desk. He’s resisting the urge to spend the chair around in circles to combat his boredom. He could probably read a book or do something else productive, but Michael can’t get away with reading at the front some days and if he pulls his phone out, someone will probably walk by and comment on it.

Michael’s in the middle of making faces at Calum across the way when the doors to the library slide open and it pulls Michael’s attention over. He’s startled to see that it’s Luke coming through the doors, cheeks pink from the wind, and carrying a cup of coffee in his hands. He looks nice today, now that Michael can see his whole outfit. He looks nicer than he should, wearing leather trousers, heeled boots, and a leather jacket over a plain black shirt. He has no right looking this nice at a public library. Michael can’t physically take it.

Luke spots Michael, eyes lighting up and face breaking into a grin when they make eye contact. He makes a beeline for Michael. Michael looks over at Calum, frantic. Calum raises his eyebrows, mouth forming an “o” as he watches it all unfold.

“Hi. So this is your natural habit,” Luke whispers when he gets to the front desk.

“Here it is. Me and all the grandparents and small children.”

“Should I leave and come back so I can watch your heroics in action?”

“Could be awhile. Slow day today it seems like.”

“Too bad. You sold me on you being the big librarian hero.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Never,” Luke says, grinning.

“Can I help you find something today?” Michael asks, figuring he should redirect them back to the fact that Luke’s at his place of work and eventually his boss will ask if he’s goofing off.

“Actually, I wanted to bring you a treat. You keep coming by my place of work, so I wanted to come visit you. Return the favor.”

“I come to your place of work to buy coffee. My work is pretty boring.”

“All I do is make coffee. You get to help people all day and see all the kids. I’d call that exciting.”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Michael mumbles. Luke stands there, cocking his head to the side watching Michael. It reminds Michael of a puppy dog staring at him. Michael glances at the clock on his computer, figures it’s close enough now for him to take his break and talk to Luke outside.

“Let me punch out for lunch. We can sit outside on the bench and talk,” he whispers. Luke nods, heading off to the outside to wait for him. Michael darts to the back, letting his boss know so someone else can go sit at the front. Michael makes a point to avoid looking at Calum as he leaves.

Luke’s sitting on the bench by the door, ankles crossed and coffee sitting next to him. Michael crosses over, taking a seat next to Luke, who beams when he notices Michael.

“I was worried about coming to see you at work, but I thought it might be nice to bring you an afternoon pick me up. Mid week blues are always the worst.”

“Thanks. I need this. What’d you make me today?”

“Mocha with caramel sauce and coconut milk. I remember you ordered it last time. Thought you might like the sweet and warmth today.”

“I do. How do you know me so well?”

“Perks of being a barista. Good at reading people,” Luke teases. Michael huffs, closing his eyes as he takes a sip of the drink, humming his appreciation when he gets a taste of it.

“Good?”

“Just what I needed. The best yet.”

Luke claps in excitement, curls bouncing with him. Michael takes another sip, closing his eyes again to savor the taste.

“How much time do you have?”

“Can probably get away with 15 minutes before I should head in and actually eat my lunch.”

“Tell me how your day’s been going,” Luke says, turning to face Michael. His face is earnest and open. Michael blushes, launching into a story about trying to run the children’s reading group this morning. Michael would take any kid over their parents anyday. The parents are the kicker, always trying to one up each other to prove their kid is better. Michael gets so lost in the story, caught up in Luke’s laughter and snorting that he doesn’t realize how much time has passed until he catches sight of Calum waving at him through the door.

“Shit I gotta go. Breaks almost up,” Michael says, rushing to stand. Luke looks crestfallen and a little sad.

“Oh really? I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I’m sorry.”

“No, no it’s not your fault. I need to get better at time management. You always distract me,” Michael confesses, blushing a little at the admission. Luke blushes too, cheeks and nose a little red.

“Well good. I like being a distraction. I mean...hmmm...you know what I mean,” Luke says, blushing harder.

“I do. Thanks for the coffee. I’ll come by the shop tomorrow?”

“Yes! I’ll be there. Enjoy the coffee Michael,” Luke says, waving as Michael rushes back in.

“Have fun with Lukey?”

“Shut up. Which of us got free coffee?” Michael says, sticking his tongue out and holding out the cup for Calum to see. Calum squints, leaning in to look at the cup.

“Oh shit,” Calum whispers, pointing at the side of the cup. Michael turns it around, eyes going wide when he notices the handwriting on the side.

“You really grind my beans. Text me- Luke,” the handwriting says, a number written out next to it.

“You have to text him,” Calum hisses.

“I cannot.”

“Do it! The cute barista came to visit you at work and gave you his number! He wants you to visit,” Calum says urgently. Michael looks at the writing, brow furrowed. It’s impossible for Luke to like Michael, but this says otherwise. Maybe Michael should take his chances and text Luke. See what happens.

(It gets him a date on Friday with the prettiest blonde barista in town. It gets him breakfast on Saturday with the same boy. It gets him a cheeky grin from Calum when he goes home Saturday night, covered in hickies. It gets him a boyfriend, who brings him coffee on his lunch breaks with silly little coffee puns. It gets Michael happiness.)

#5 seconds of summer #muke #michael clifford #luke hemmings #coffee shop au #luke the barista and michael the librarian #just some fun fluffy coffee flirting #they are dorks dorks with crushes #cute and fluffy and soft #the best birthday present for the sweetest fellow em #my writing

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