I.
The silver-haired man first arrives on a snowy December morning. His dark coat is littered with large snowflakes, making it seem like his hair bled stardust over it.
Yuuri is not staring; no matter what Phichit tells him after.
"I'll have a trenta peppermint mocha frappucino to go please," the man orders, not even looking at the board. His gaze is focused on his phone until Yuuri asks what name to put on the cup, and when their eyes meet Yuuri can feel his heart stop for a moment. It means he doesn't hear the gasp the other man lets out, but Yuuri does notice a hesitation and a dazed look before the silver man gives a name.
"Storm," is the name Yuuri gets, and he can barely stop himself from lifting an eyebrow, wondering if the man meant that as in the weather, or as in that's what Yuuri will have Phichit write on the cup. It feels wrong to ask him to repeat it, so Yuuri asks him if he wants anything else - he doesn't - and then tells him the cost.
The man pays too much, insists Yuuri keep the change, gets his drink once it's done and then leaves, still looking dazed.
"Are you sure he's not Ororo?" Phichit asks Yuuri once that man's left.
"What?" Yuuri sounds like he can't believe what just happened.
"Look at the facts, Yuuri; he said 'Storm' when you asked which name to write on the cup, he is got silver hair that somehow looks perfect despite the weather, and he ordered the biggest iced coffee we sell, despite it being cold as shit outside. Who even does that?!"
"Yeah." The word escapes Yuuri like a dreamy sigh, and it does not go unnoticed by Phichit.
The coffee shop is thankfully empty, as Phichit starts jumping up and down, almost knocking over several things in the narrow space between the counters, not even stopping when a gaggle of teenage girls comes inside to order gingerbread lattes. Instead, Phichit continues his dance, putting on a little show for them as he writes their names in fancy lettering.
After that, the shop fills up as people stop by on their way home from school and work, and so Phichit and Yuuri can't find the time to talk until they get home to their flat.
"So," Phichit starts as soon as they're inside the door. "Were you trying to imprint his features onto your glasses to look at later on?"
"Phichit!" Yuuri spluttered in indignation, the colour on his cheeks having nothing to do with the cold December air. Phichit just grins at him knowingly, and Yuuri is reminded of just how dangerous his best friend can be when he sets his mind to something.
"You should give him your number next time."
"You say that like it'll even be a next time! He is never been by before, so he probably doesn't even live in this area." Besides, Yuuri adds to himself, he'll never notice me back.
II.
"One venti eggnog frappuccino blended creme to go please."
"What name should I put on the cup?" Yuuri asks, full well remembering what he said last time, but asking again as it's required. Not that Yuuri actually remembers anyone's name normally, but this man is an exception.
"Supergirl," he says when asked for a name, completely deadpan.
He's told the cost, pays too much, then leaves. Yuuri wonders if this is how it's going to be; the two of them exchanging the barest amount of words, the stranger giving only names of superheroes before tipping Yuuri a ridiculous amount and then leaving.
Still, maybe it'll be their thing, despite the fact that this is only the second time the stranger's come by and they're no closer to exchanging neither proper names nor numbers.
Yuuri scoffs and shakes his head at the idea;it's just too absurd that there'll ever be a thing between him and the handsome stranger. After all, Yuuri is a chubby barista who wear dorky glasses and blends into crowds, while the other man is a shining beacon who talks animatedly on the phone when waiting for his beverage and can't be overlooked in any way by anyone.
That night Yuuri is the one who decides to stop by a bar on their way home from work. He knows he should be careful with his drinking (acting like his own dad when he gets drunk is not funny Phichit!), but once again he is managed to talk himself down during the day, and he figures a little liquid courage can't hurt.
Of course, when liquid courage gets paired with his anxiety as well as Phichit, things tend to spiral out of control. Yuuri drinks more than he wanted to - a lot more - as a group of women have a bachelorette party and find Phichit and Yuuri "so fucking adoooorable!" (especially when Yuuri blushes) that they can't help but buy them drinks. Phichit repays them with stories of (drunken) shenanigans as well as his hamsters. Yuuri goes on and on about the handsome stranger that only ever gives superhero names as he orders, and the women coo over him and offers him more drinks so he can forget all about that "silver-haired angel with eyes like the sky on a clear winter day".
-
Yuuri wakes up with a raging headache, and a bright pink sash across his torso that says "honorary bridesmaid" in Phichit's (drunken, scrawled) handwriting. At least still remembers the night before the next day. Well, parts of it anyways, and Phichit assures him he didn't do - or say - anything embarrassing.
III.
Cyclops is the name the third time, which is fitting seeing as the man wears an eyepatch over one eye. It doesn't seem like he is otherwise dressed up, so Yuuri assumes he must've hurt his eye somehow, and hopes he's doing okay and that his eye will be fine. Despite that, the intensity of his stare doesn't lessen; in fact it seems all the more intense now, as if it's all gathered into the one eye that's not damaged.
This time he orders a salted caramel mocha frappuccino, and Yuuri wonders if the man simply doesn't know what kind of beverage he likes, seeing as he orders a different one each time he comes by; the only common thing being that he only orders frappuccinos.
If Yuuri were brave, he'd ask what happened to his eye, but the question gets stuck in his throat and then the stranger's left again.
"What do you think happened to his eye?" Yuuri asks Phichit once the door closes. "I hope it's nothing serious."
"Heaven forbid something would happen to those 'divine blue eyes that looks like you can drown in them', eh, Yuuri?" Phichit asks in a mock-serious tone.
"Phichit!" Yuuri blushes, looking scandalized as he looks through the coffee shop, hoping no one overheard his best friend. The traitor. "You promised!"
In return, Phichit gives him a 'who, me?' look. Okay, fine, maaaaaaybe he had promised not to bring up Yuuri's drunken, lovelorn ramblings about the guy's hair and eyes and smile, or how he always tipped too much, or how Yuuri worried he'd stop coming and so he'd never learn the handsome stranger's real name. And so on and so forth.
"Yuuuuriiiii, this is how I show affection! You know this!" Yuuri just glares back at him until Phichit decides it's best to not bring it up again.
Yuuri spends the rest of his day trying his best to ignore his best friend's attempts to cheer him up, to not worry about the stranger, and to - finally - talk to Phichit again and promise he is not mad he brought up his (drunken) ramblings (again).
IV.
"Batman," the stranger says as he orders a cappuccino., voice dark and low, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth,threatening to turn into a grin. This time he stays, pulling out a laptop and typing away for what seems like minutes but turns out to be over two could stare at him forever; the way his tongue darts out to catch the foam on his upper lip, the way his long fingers flies effortlessly across the keyboard. By the time he leaves, his table is littered with four cups of cappuccino; three in addition to the one he ordered when he arrived, and two empty plates that had previously held a sandwich and brownie square.
It's barely spring, but the day is uncharacteristically warm, so it figures this should be the day he goes for a warm beverage.
What Phichit notices but Yuuri doesn't, is that while the man's typing away, he steals looks at Yuuri every chance he gets. Phichit also notices that the man doesn't notice Phichit notice him in return. Phichit also realises he should expand his vocabulary.
He buys a dictionary on their way home from work.
-
Phichit spends their days off looking up words in the dictionary, hamsters perched on his shoulders and around him, trying his best to keep them from stealing pages to turn into nesting materials.
Yuuri is so used to Phichit and his various ideas that he doesn't even question why he is reading a dictionary as if it were an ordinary - and exciting - book; he just leaves him be except when he needs to remind his friend that he needs to eat, sleep and stretch his legs.
"As you say mom," Phichit replies, and Yuuri just rolls his eyes and smiles at him affectionately.
V.
Black Widow is the fifth name, and like the last time he stays there for hours - more than three this time. Again, he spends the whole time typing, stealing looks at Yuuri as often as he can. By the time he leaves, Yuuri clears his table of no less than six cups of coffee - cappuccino again - and four plates that once held a scone, a panini, a coffee cake and a fox cookie.
Now, the thing is that he shows up at random intervals; there seems to be no pattern as to how long it takes for him to show up again. It's been two weeks, then four and a half weeks, followed by three weeks, and now he's shown up again after just two days. Not that Yuuri's counting the days or anything.
To Yuuri, it feels like things are changing. The past two visits have been too similar, too close to one another compared to the first three times. He's not only ordered the same type of coffee twice in a row, as well as something to eat, but the stranger's staying for hours, not leaving as soon as he is got his beverage.
"I'm not sure you've been comprehending this," Phichit tells him once the man's left and Yuuri's cleared the table. "But I've been discerning that a certain someone keeps looking at you as often as possible."
"Phichit, have you been drinking?" Yuuri looks at his best friend with concern. "You're not taking too much of that cough medicine are you? I told you not to take more than the bottle says!"
"What? No! I do know how to listen, you know. And to observe and learn from my findings. And what I've discovered, is that the guy you're head over heels for looks at you whenever you can't see it, and then he types away even faster than before."
Yuuri blushes.
"You don't know that!"
"Yuuri, I've watched him watch you. Trust me on this." Phichit places his hands on Yuuri's shoulders. "I know you're like the most oblivious guy around, but I can perceive things you don't."
"Did you memorize the vocabulary you bought yet?" Yuuri asks, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction.
Phichit looks at him knowingly, refusing to let his friend change the subject.
"Yuuri, you're my best friend and I love you, but you honestly need to believe in yourself. And believe in me, that I would never lie to you. The way he looks at you, it's clear he likes you. Think about it! He may be just as shy as you are, wondering how to ask you out!"
"You don't honestly believe that, do you Phichit?"
"Yuuri," Phichit sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I hoped I wouldn't have to tell you this, but I asked the others who work here if they've ever seen him before. A couple of them says he's been by but he's never ordered anything. Only does when you're here. That's no coincidence Yuuri. He is here because of you!"
Yuuri only shakes his head, his low self-confidence and lack of self-esteem refusing him any possibility of believing his best friend.
+I
"Victor."
"Huh?" Yuuri replies, cursing himself for appearing so unprofessional. The stranger with superhero names stands in front of him; Yuuri having been too lost in dreams to have noticed him come in.
"My name. It's Victor."
"Oh! What will it be today then, Victor?"
"You." Victor cocks his head to the side, a smirk on his lips as he intently studies the blush creeping up on Yuuri's face.
Yuuri's jaw almost hits the floor.
"I'm.. sorry, what?"
"I want to take you out on a date."
Yuuri knows he should reply, but he is sure his brain must have short-circuited, or maybe he fell; slipping on spilled coffee, or maybe he is dreaming again. Surely Phichit hadn't been right the day before?
"He'll be delighted to! Yuuri gets off in an hour, so if you want a coffee while you wait, I'll be happy to make you what you want!" Phichit chimes in, so close behind Yuuri that he manages to step on Phichit's foot as he jumps back in surprise.
"Great!" The man - Victor - exclaims, a heart shaped smile on his face, eyes sparkling like a lagoon in sunshine. "Then I'll have one…"
"Cappuccino?" Yuuri asks, voice shaky but professional. Victor's grin grows larger.
"You know me so well, Yuuri!"
Yuuri can only stare at Victor in return. 'He knows my name, he knows my name', the sentence rings through his head, over and over again as he does a mental dance, not unlike Phichit's after Victor's first visit. Then 'well, of course he knows my name; he just asked me out on a date!' Yuuri can barely stop himself from slapping his own forehead; he is such an idiot.
In fact, Yuuri is so far gone that Phichit's stepped in to ring up Victor's order, because Yuuri just stands there looking dumbfounded. Phichit ends up shaking him to wake him up from his daydreams about Victor saying his name, over and over and over again, in various (mostly dirty) situations.
"Yuuri! Are you still in there?" Phichit asks him, before Yuuri's eyes manage to focus on his best friend.
"Uhm, yeah?" It comes out sounding like a question, Yuuri's voice seemingly coming from a far-off place. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it can't possibly be because the man you've been thirsty as fuck for for the last few months finally managed to gather up his courage to ask you out, now can it?" Phichit raises one eyebrow at him.
When Yuuri still stares at him, looking lost, Phichit softens.
"Listen, Yuuri. If you don't want to go, I can let him know for you. Answering for you wasn't right, but I just want you to be happy, okay? Just…"Phichit sighs. " just know that he is just as nervous as you are. I saw the look on his face when he asked you, how clear it was he's had to muster his courage to ask you. And how his face fell when you didn't reply."
Yuuri takes a deep breath, gathers himself, straightens his back, and then nods at his friend before walking over to Victor with his coffee.
"I would love to go on a date with you Victor," Yuuri tells him, and if he'd thought Victor's previous smile had been big, or that his eyes could possibly glow more or look even more intense, well… He'd never been as mistaken before in his life.
When Victor directs all that at Yuuri, it's as if Yuuri's entire world lights up. His heart beats faster, his breath quickens, and sparks fly up his arm from where Victor's fingers grace his when he takes his coffee.
The world narrows until there's only him and Victor, and Yuuri feels like he could die. It's all too much and not enough at the same time, and how on earth is he supposed to survive a date with Victor?
All Yuuri wants to do at that moment is to lean in and kiss him, but the moment is broken by the chiming of the bell as the door opens, followed by the voices of a group of teenagers stopping by on their way home from school.
Drawing away from Victor, already missing the contact, the closeness, Yuuri smiles at him before returning to his work. 'Later', he thinks, counting down the minutes in his head until Victor will take him away from the confinement of the coffee shop and broaden their limited space of interaction.