A few days ago, AO3 posted this week's article was on coffee shop AU's. So to celebrate... I plotted some coffee shop AU's! 8D So here, have a short little thing. Maybe eventually I'll get back to my chaptered stories.

Buck-A-Brews

He came into the small corner coffee shop every day. Some days, alone. Other days, like today, with the kid in tow. They were nice, enough. The owner enjoyed them. They were his favorite customers, actually. And today, he was actually relieved they came in. It was a rather slow day, and they were a welcome distraction. They came in and went right to their normal table along the front window. The kid liked to sit and watch the people walk by. The man stood back a moment, watching as his son pulled himself up on the chair and balanced his crutches against the wall beside him. Then the man turned slightly. He looked up and smiled. He lifted his hand and waved. And the owner smiled. He leaned on the counter a moment, watching. He always watched when they came in. There was just something about them, something about the man. And so yes, maybe he had a crush on his customer. He wouldn't do anything about it. Because he didn't want to chase the man off.

"Evan?"

Because sometimes, that smile was the light of his day.

"Evan!"

Something he looked forward to, everyday.

"Damnit, Buck! You having a stroke?"

He heard her voice that time. And also felt the kick. Really hard. To his knee. He turned quickly and bent down to rub at the back of his knee. "Shit, Mads. What the hell was that for?"

She smiled at him sweetly and batted her eyelashes. "Trying to get your attention."

"Ever heard of using a name?" He grumbled out, straightening back up.

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "I literally said your name like five times."

"Oh." Buck shrugged his shoulders. "Must have been whispering. Didn't hear you."

She rolled her eyes. "I was practically yelling."

Buck shrugged as he leaned back against the counter. He breathed out. "What do you want, Maddie?"

She smiled and inclined her head. She shifted her gaze to the pair, at the table in the corner, and then back to Buck. "I see your stalker is back."

Buck crossed his arms and frowned. "Stalker?"

Maddie nodded. "He's here like every day."

Buck rolled his eyes and shook his head. "A lot of customers come in here every day."

"Do they flirt with you?" She asked bluntly.

"Yes." Buck answered, nodding his head without really processing her words.

"Hey."

Buck turned and smiled as the man approached the counter. "Hey, Eddie. Welcome back to to Buck-A-Brews!" He said, clapping his hands together.

Eddie smiled and glanced at Maddie, who had turned and was pretending to check the cappuccino machine. He leaned over the counter slightly, closer to Buck. "Did your sister just call you Evan?"

Buck titled his head for a moment. Then he nodded his head. "Yeah, she did." He smiled. "Evan's my name." Eddie frowned and lifted his hand. He glanced down as he poked Buck's nametag. Buck let out a laugh. "Evan's my first name." He corrected with a smile. "Buck's a nickname. Our last name's Buckley."

"So... Evan..." Eddie said slowly.

Buck nodded.

Eddie smiled again. "I like Evan better."

Buck let out a laugh. "Yeah, but then the name doesn't make sense."

Eddie shrugged. "Does it make sense anyways?"

Buck's eyes widened. "Come on! Buck-A-Brews! It's an awesome name!"

Eddie smiled and shrugged. "Fine. It's an okay name."

Buck smiled. "So what can I get for you? Your usual?"

Eddie nodded. "Sure."

Buck nodded and turned. He made the drinks quickly, putting an extra dollop of whipped cream on the kid's hot chocolate. He set them on the counter for Eddie and quickly grabbed the kid's favorite cookies. He piled a few on a plate and headed back to the counter. Eddie smiled again, paid, and balanced the items perfectly as he headed for his table. Buck leaned a bit on the counter, watching as the man walked.

Maddie was beside him again. She leaned on the counter beside him. She was smiling and she poked Buck in the side. "See?"

Buck glanced sideways at her. "What?"

"I told you." She said softly.

Buck frowned. He wasn't following. "Told me what?"

Maddie tilted her head a bit and raised her eyebrows. She stared at him blankly and didn't answer.

It slowly dawned on Buck, Maddie's question before Eddie came over to order. Buck's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Oh, no. No way." He lowered his voice and leaned closer to her. "There is no way he's flirting with me."

"Why not?" She asked.

"He's got a kid, Mads." Buck stated firmly, like it was an obvious answer.

"So?"

Buck glanced at Eddie, who was laughing with his kid and not paying them any attention. Buck grabbed Maddie's arm and gently tugged her, towards the back. "So that means he's straight."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Gay guys can have kids, too. Or bisexual or however he defines himself."

"Then he probably has a husband or something." Buck argued lowly. "Or you're just completely wrong. He's not flirting with me. He's just... overly friendly."

"Overly friendly?" She repeated in a mocking tone.

Buck sighed and shook his head. "I know when someone's flirting with me." He insisted.

Maddie wrinkled her nose. "Clearly, little brother, you do not."

Buck was silent for a moment, thinking back. Was there a possibility Eddie had been flirting with him? At some point over the last year they'd vaguely known each other? Buck only knew him as a regular customer. He'd never seen Eddie outside of work. There was no way. Buck was certain. He shook his head as he turned and looked out across the shop at Eddie. "I'm going to ask him!"

"You're going to ask him." Maddie repeated.

Buck nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you really?"

"No!" Buck said quickly. "I'm not! But I'm gonna go talk to them!" He didn't give his sister time to reply. He walked around the counter and headed towards the small table.

The kid saw him first. He turned and smiled. "Bucky!"

He smiled down at the kid. "Hey, Christopher." He said fondly. He really liked when the kid was there. He was a tough little guy and never let anything get him down. "Hanging out with your dad today?"

Christopher nodded his head. "We're going... to the zoo." He answered slowly with a smile.

"The zoo?" Buck smiled. "I love the zoo. What's your favorite animal there?"

"The flamingos." The kid answered.

Buck nodded. "The flamingos are awesome. I like the hippos."

Christopher smiled widely. "Those are dad's favorites."

Buck tilted his head. "Really?"

"Yep." Eddie smiled and leaned back in his chair. "We went to the special hippo show last time."

Christopher nodded. "It was fun." He said. "Their names are Mara and... uh..."

"Rosie." Buck answered.

"You seen it?" Eddie asked.

Buck shook his head. "No, but I've seen the commercials. Wish I could go." He said. "But I'm stuck here at work with my dumb sister." He said it a bit louder than he needed.

"I heard that!" She shouted from the counter.

"You were supposed to." He called back.

"You should come with us." Christopher said.

Buck looked back at him, his eyes wide. "Uh..." He glanced sideways at Eddie.

Eddie was smiling widely at him. "Yeah, you should come with us."

Buck blinked at him blankly for a moment. He wasn't completely sure if they were being serious. "Are you... uh... sure?"

Eddie nodded his head. "Yeah, we're going straight there from here."

Buck still wasn't completely sure what the hell was actually going on. "Uh... okay... I guess."

"Good." Eddie smiled, standing up. "It's a date."

Buck watched the other man for a moment. And he wondered, if maybe he was really flirting. He turned. "Maddie..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She waved her arm at him dismissively. "Go, go. I'm good here. Chim'll be in soon anyways."

"Okay..."

Christopher slid off his chair and grabbed his crutches. "Let's go!" He said excitedly.

"Have fun on your date!" Maddie yelled loudly. "Told you he was flirting with you."

Eddie let out a laugh as they headed for the door. Buck spun around and flipped her off. "Shut up!" He hissed loudly. Eddie grabbed Buck's hand and pulled him out the door.