Word count: 1717

Pairing: Luna/Ginny

Coffee Shop AU/ College AU (Luna is an art major and Ginny does journalism)

Secret Santa gift for: DooodleBerry (Zoë)

Caramel Coffee and Nervous Mistakes

The weather was starting to chill and Ginny pulled her coat closer to her body. It was zipped up all the way but that didn't stop the cold from seeping in. A knitted scarf was as tightly wrapped around her neck as she could get it without strangling herself. A cute gray beanie with one of the little fluff balls sat neatly on her hair. It took Ginny ten minutes to get the hat to cooperate with her.

She had a messenger bag slung over her right shoulder which she regretted because the heavy books strained the muscle. But she always thought that she looked weird with a normal backpack and would never make the switch. The messenger bag also upped her street cred about 3 points and she desperately needed it since her nose was turning the same color as her hair.

If she hadn't been kicked out of her room by her roommate then she wouldn't even half to worry about how she looked. Ginny could have been working on her assignments in the comfort of her own room. But, Ginny would rather walk to the library then witness whatever was going on between her roommate, Pansy, and her boyfriend. So technically, Ginny kicked herself out since the other two promised they weren't going to do anything over a G rating, but she would rather be safe than sorry.

Since the library had the suckiest coffee in the entire universe she walked off campus to a nearby coffee shop to get her caffeine fix. Ginny had been a few times to this particular café but that was always when she was in the area. She never went out of her way for it. But she waited until last second to start her work and would need the energy. And because she had been outside for so long she would need the hot drink to warm herself up.

It was a cozy looking place that had no set décor style. The furniture had been bought at multiple stores at different times because nothing fit together not even the tables. Or at least that's what Ginny assumed since it looked like the outcome of thrift store buying and not catalog shopping.

She liked the atmosphere of the café. Soft music played through the speakers and the smell of the coffee and pastries was accompanied by some scented candles. Ginny guessed the scent was just plain vanilla since an overwhelming burst of it hit her face when she walked in. Either that or something with vanilla had just been made.

The line hadn't been too long but it had been long enough for Ginny to get lost in her surroundings. When she finally got to the front of the line she was surprised to see a pretty blonde girl at the register instead of the boy who was usually there.

Ron, Ginny's older brother had introduced her to the coffee shop since she was a freshman and he already knew the campus. Ron's friend, Neville was usually the one who took the orders. Out of all the times Ginny had been there she hadn't seen anyone at the register other than the shy boy. Of course, there were a few other workers who made the coffee but she never paid them much attention. The shock kept Ginny from ordering her coffee until the worker in a soft airy voice asked her again what she wanted.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Ginny felt her cheeks heat up, "One large caramel macchiato please."

"Hot or Iced?" Luna asked back. Ginny had looked at her name tag and thought the name fit the blonde well.

Ginny meant to say hot but for some reason, it came out as, "Hoced."

She watched as Luna stifled a tiny giggle. The blonde girl grabbed a cup for hot drinks and lifted it as if asking Ginny if that's what she meant. Ginny nodded and mumbled "thanks" under her breath aware that the other girl probably didn't hear.

"That'll be 3.50."

Ginny fished her card out of her wallet and inserted it into the reader. She hated putting such mundane charges on her debit card. But in her nervous state, she knew she didn't want to deal with physical money. She could just imagine spilling all her change onto the floor and she was already embarrassed enough.

Luna handed her the receipt, asked for Ginny's name, and then asked her to wait for her coffee. Ginny decided to sit in one of the comfy armchairs as she awaited her order. Since Ginny was the last person in the line Luna turned to help the other worker with the coffee. Ginny recognized the other worker as being Padma, a girl she went to high school with. Padma's twin sister was now dating Ron's ex-girlfriend. Ginny wasn't that close with any of the girls in the situation but Lavender had been nice to her while she was dating Ron. The girl had been weird but Ginny had now chopped it up to the girl being confused with her sexuality.

When her name was called it startled Ginny from her thoughts and she bounded up to the counter. She grabbed her drink and walked back to the chair to get her things. The walk to the library would hopefully let her drink cool down enough for her to drink.

Ginny had almost forgotten about the incident at the coffee shop but when she went back with Hermione about two weeks later the blonde girl, Luna was there. Causing the memory of her embarrassment to come back. Shortly after it had happened she messaged Hermione and the older girl said that it hadn't been that bad and convinced Ginny it would be okay to return to the café.

"We're leaving," Ginny tried to pull Hermione out the door when she spotted the blonde.

"You can't avoid this place because of a simple interaction."

"Yes, I very well can," Ginny huffed. "She probably thinks I'm an idiot."

"She most likely doesn't remember you."

"Can you order for me?" Ginny pulled her best puppy dog eyes which would have worked on any of her brothers but unfortunately did not work with Hermione.

"You are capable of ordering for yourself. I'm going up and if you don't follow I guess you aren't getting any coffee."

So, begrudgingly, Ginny shuffled behind Hermione and prayed she wouldn't make a fool of herself this time. Of course, nothing went according to plan. While Ginny didn't stumble over her words this time she did insert her card the wrong way. Which may have been worse because she was holding the side with the chip and looked absolutely stupid.

"Oh, you have your card the wrong way," It was Luna who pointed it out to her.

"Thanks," Ginny quickly flipped the card and jammed it into the machine, trying to speed up the process. Her cheeks burned the longer she stood there reminding her of her embarrassment.

The plan was to sit for a little while after getting their drinks but Ginny pulled Hermione out the door the moment their names were said.

"Oi, Ginny!" She turned around and noticed Ron barreling towards her. "I've got news."

"On what?"

"The girl at the coffee shop, Luna."

Ginny's eyes widen with shock and confusion. She tried to splutter out a sentence but the words didn't form.

"Hermione told me," Ron shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal. "But Neville told me that Luna keeps talking about you."

"Oh god," Ginny could feel another blush on her cheeks. She usually wasn't one to be embarrassed but these last few weeks just seemed to prove her wrong. She continued walking in the direction of her dorm and her brother followed.

"Actually, it isn't bad," Ron teased, "apparently she thinks you're cute."

"She can think I'm cute that doesn't change the fact that I looked stupid in front of her."

"I'm going to tell Neville it's okay to give Luna your number."

"Hold up," Ginny stopped walking again. "What if I don't want that?"

"I know you told Hermione that you think Luna is cute."

"But I don't know this girl."

"Then getting her number makes sense. That way you can get to know her."

"Let me talk to Neville."

"Why?"

"So, I can quiz him about what Luna is like."

That's how Ginny ended up sitting in Ron and Harry's apartment as Neville nervously sat across from her. She had talked to the older boy a few times and couldn't understand why he was so anxious.

"I'm sorry for talking about you," Neville apologized making Ginny even more confused. He must have seen the look on her face because he kept talking. "With Luna."

"Oh, I don't really care." Ginny laughed reaching to take a sip of her water. "If Ron had talked to her I'd be nervous but you can't know anything too embarrassing about me."

After that, they had a brief talk about Luna. Neville told her all the information he knew about the blonde. Like the fact that she was an art major who specialized in ceramics, she liked weird mythical creatures, often talked to herself, and possibly wore the weirdest outfits on the planet.

With that Ginny allowed Neville to give Luna her number. Shortly after the two girls started chatting.

"I can't believe you said Hoced," Luna laughed happily as she teased her girlfriend. They were cuddling in Ginny's bed. A movie long forgotten playing on Ginny's laptop. It had prompted the conversation as the main character had split coffee on the love interest.

"I can't believe that you won't let this go," Ginny whined hiding in Luna's neck.

"I thought it was cute," Luna giggled again.

"It was embarrassing."

"Yeah, but if it hadn't happened would we be here right now?"

Ginny scoffed and lightly hit Luna, "I sure hope you still find me cute even if I didn't embarrass myself."

"Of course, Love."

And to make sure that Luna didn't bring it up again Ginny shifted so she could press her lips against the other girl. Not that she needed a reason to kiss her girlfriend. She probably would have done it regardless of the conversation.