Warnings: no beta, OOCness, English is not my first language, inconsistent tenses, i am very bad at prepositions, some curse words, mentions of / allusions to sex
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: This fic was very loosely inspired by "LMLY" by Jackson Wang. Fic title is from "The View from Here" by We The Kings.
The bell hanging above the coffee shop's door chimed, and Leon looked up from the register to see who had just walked in.
His heart skipped a beat and he felt the corners of lips tug upwards as the customer who had just entered deposited her bag on an empty table and proceed towards the counter.
Leon felt someone's elbow jab his side.
"She's here," his co-worker Claire whispered. She spared Leon's favourite customer a glance before going back to fix another customer's drink.
"I can see that," he said under his breath.
His favourite customer approached the counter, and he pasted on his most charming smile. That one never failed to make babies and old ladies swoon, although Claire told him that he didn't need a good boy smile—he needed a come-hither smile.
"Hi, good evening. What can I get for you?" Leon asked that of his favourite customer every time she came in, but he knew that one thing would always be the same in her order—a medium black tea and whatever meal she fancied for the day.
Predictably, the customer said, "A cup of medium black tea, pulled pork sandwich, and salad."
"And your name, please?" he asked, even though he already knew what her name was. She had been coming to the coffee shop at around six in the evening—the start of Leon's shift—for the last five months, and always left an hour before his shift ended at eleven. Claire always gave him grief for not making a move, but this customer was way too gorgeous and way out of Leon's league. How could he even think of asking her out?
"Ada," the customer said without looking at him.
Leon already knew her name by heart. He grabbed a medium cup, wrote Ada on it, followed by a small smiley face. It was standard protocol for them to write cute images or messages on cups, and it was only through Leon's impeccable sense of self-preservation that he hadn't written a heart or his number on Ada's cup yet. Claire always encouraged him to just go for it, but Ada probably thought of Leon as nothing but that cashier at the coffee shop she frequented. She probably forgot all about Leon's existence by the time she returned to her table. He was an NPC crushing on a playable character.
Ada took some bills our of her wallet, and Leon handed her the change and a wireless buzzer. He told her to go to the claiming area once her buzzer buzzes, and then she returned to her table before taking books, notebooks, and papers out her bag. And just like that, she was gone again, and the next interaction she would have with Leon would be when she came in the next day.
He had surmised that she must be a university student like he was. Judging from the books she had out on the table, she must be in law or pre-law. She was always studying in the coffee shop, giving Leon the impression that she was an honours student, possibly on a prestigious scholarship. She looked intelligent, and always looked immaculate in her black coats, red dresses, and dark heels. Sometimes, she would get this steely look in her eyes as if she was watching out for danger, or she would look around the coffee shop in search of something Leon couldn't see.
"New customer incoming," Claire said as she passed by him, "so stop staring at her and get back to work."
Leon tore his eyes away from Ada. "What kind of people do you think she likes?"
Claire glanced at him. "She'll probably like you if you ask her out."
He grimaced. "You're just saying that because I'm your friend."
"Exactly. I'm your friend and I want you to be happy." She began preparing Ada's order. "What if she stops coming here? You'll regret not talking to her."
A new wave of customers lined up behind the register, and soon, Leon's mind was filled with work that he barely had the time to think of Ada until one hour before his shift ended.
He saw her packing her things away, and then she was out of the door, and Leon would only see her again the next day. He had classes from eight to five, and then he worked at the coffee shop on Mondays to Thursdays, from six until eleven at night. Claire had told him that Ada came to the coffee shop during Fridays too, but apparently didn't come during the weekends. He had plenty of chance over the last five months to ask her out, but if he was being honest with himself, she looked unapproachable and intimidating—but in a way that made Leon feel Things. She looked like a woman who spoke her mind and knew what she wanted, and Leon was scared that she might reject him bluntly. He would rather not confess to her to see her four times a week rather than rock the boat and not see her ever again.
"No dice today too, huh?" Claire said as she watched Ada leave. "If you need a wingwoman…"
He shook his head. "I-I don't know….I…"
It was ten in the evening, and there was a lull in the business. Claire could afford to lean against the counters, cross her arms, and say, "How long has it been, Leon?"
"Do you really think someone like her could want someone like me?" It wasn't like women fell at his feet, but Leon knew that he didn't look bad. He never left a bar without someone's number, even if he never called that number because…something just didn't click. He couldn't remember wanting to get to know someone this bad, and Leon wanted to know Ada as if his life depended on it.
"You're a catch, you know?" She smiled at him. "And I'm not just saying that because we're friends—I'm saying that objectively." She stood up straight when they heard the bell on the door ring. "I've been watching you pine for five months, Leon, and I'm sick of it."
"What do you want me to do, ask her out?" he said as he took his place behind the register. "That's ridiculous. She's—"
"Too beautiful, way out of your league, and probably wouldn't like someone like you. We've had this conversation many times before."
"Then why do you still keep asking me?"
"Then why do you keep stalling?" Her eyes bore into his. "Fortune favours the bold, Kennedy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Leon turned to their new customer and took the order. He had been crushing on Ada for five months, and he had heard stories about people's crushes disappearing once they got to know the objects of their affection. Maybe the real Ada wasn't the same as the version of Ada that his brain had created.
But Claire was right. If he didn't take a risk, twenty years later, he would probably end up wondering about this woman who used to frequent a coffee shop that he worked at. He would probably wonder about what happened to her, or what would have happened if he wasn't so damn scared of rejection.
It was time to take a risk.
Leon had always seen Ada looking like a business executive, but the next day when she came to the coffee shop, her black coat was slung over her arm, and her red tank top a revealed a pair of toned arms. It was safe to assume that she had toned legs as well, and the possibility of her having toned abs made his mouth go dry.
"So she hits the gym regularly," Claire commented. "Not surprising."
Leon swallowed. "I…I don't think I can ask her out today. Look at her, she's…she's perfect."
Claire gave him a look that seemed to say disappointed, but not surprised. He didn't have time to respond to his friend, because Ada was already at the register.
"Hey." He pasted on yet another winning smile, this time the one that made sure he wouldn't leave a pub without a lady's number. He stared at her beautiful brown eyes, trying very hard not look at those lean arms. Don't make a fool out of yourself, Leon. "What can I get for you today?"
She looked at him with a curious glance, which was surprising because Leon always saw her wearing an impassive expression. "Medium black tea and a chicken sandwich."
"Do you want some mushroom soup to go with that?" he said as he pressed buttons on the register.
"Sure," she replied, taking bills out of her wallet.
That was the extent of their conversation for the night. Leon handed her the change and a wireless buzzer, and, once again, chickened out of his conviction to ask her out. Maybe he should write his number on her cup. Maybe he should talk to her about something that wasn't her order. Maybe he should ask her out.
Ha. As if.
"Not today?" Claire asked as she heated Ada's chicken sandwich in the oven.
Leon shook his head. Then, he took a deep breath and told his friend, "I need a game plan, Claire."
"Okay, here's what you need to do," she said, Leon hanging on to every word. "First, you will get a Sharpie, and then you will write your number on her cup."
"Nu-uh."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Then wait until the end of your shift. Go to her table. Ask her out."
He groaned. "I don't think that's a good plan."
"And what about all the other plans you've cooked up over the last five months?" She took the sandwich out of the oven and placed it on a tray along with Ada's tea and soup. "You don't think any of those are good either."
She went to the claiming counter and pressed a button on a buzzer, and a few seconds later, Ada took her meal, and all Leon could do was stare.
Claire clapped him on the shoulder. "Someone told me this—the first step is to make your crush notice you. The second step is to make them want you. The third and final step is to make them want you more."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"Jill. How do you think she and my brother got together? Chris is dense as fuck." Claire's brother Chris used to be in the Air Force, but now worked as a cop. "You're already failing the first step spectacularly, and you need mini-steps to achieve the first major step."
"Why is it so hard?" he groaned. "I never had this much trouble approaching a girl before."
Leon attended to another customer, and when he was free, Claire told him, "You like her. A lot. And you've created this illusion of her being unapproachable, that's why."
"She—"
"If you tell me, 'I mean, just look at her! She's so pretty!' one more time, I swear, Leon, I am going to ask her out just to spite you."
He clamped his mouth shut. There was a new wave of customers, and once Leon was done taking their orders, he said, "Maybe you're right. I put her on a pedestal right at the very beginning."
Claire put the finished drink she had just made on the claiming counter and pressed a buzzer. "So you're gonna try again tomorrow?"
He remembered what Claire had said last night—fortune favoured the bold. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He needed to get over his fear.
He took a deep breath and nodded. "I got this."
As misfortune would have it, Leon suffered from a slight fever the next day and had to miss all his classes and call in sick from work. He received a cryptic message from Claire that said, You're not gonna believe what happened while you were gone, and she didn't reply when Leon pressed her for details.
But the fever was gone as quick as it came, and he returned to the coffee shop for his Thursday shift.
"So?" he said as he tied his apron around his back. "What happened?"
Claire washed her hands after cleaning the counter, and then gave him a shit-eating grin. "I manned the register yesterday. Ada came in, stared at me for a second, and then said, 'Where's Leon?'"
Leon's hands stilled before falling to his sides. He narrowed his brows and asked her, "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
She gave him a look. "Would I lie to you about something like this?"
Claire sometimes would pull benign pranks on him, but she would never joke about something Leon cared about. A grin threatened to break his face in half, but he managed to control his expression and asked, "What did you tell her?"
"I told her that you were sick, but it wasn't serious and that you'd most likely be back tomorrow. Which is today. Wipe that stupid smile off your face."
"I can't. I think it's stuck," he said through a smile. "I can't stop smiling. She's paying attention to me, Claire. I'm not just some faceless cashier in a coffee shop."
She pressed her palms into his cheeks, smushing them together and making him look like a puffer fish. "You got this, Leon."
He nodded. "I got thish," he said through smushed cheeks.
Claire let him go. She went to the kitchen to get the newest batch of their baked goods, and Leon went behind the register, anticipating the arrival of his favourite customer.
His heart wanted to leap out of his mouth and that stupid grin was still on his face, but how could he not? He was so afraid of approaching this seemingly unapproachable woman that for five months, Leon tortured himself by just looking at her from afar, but it turned out that she did, in fact, knew of his existence. He wasn't an NPC anymore.
Claire said that the first step was to make her notice him. Well, she already did, and Leon didn't even do anything.
The smug smile on his face wasn't going away anytime soon.
Some minutes later, the bell chimed, and in walked Ada looking like the goddess that she was in her high heels and black coat. She looked more dolled up today, making her even more beautiful than usual.
When Ada saw him again, there was a small smile on her face as she said, "Hey. You're back."
Leon's grin got wider. "Yeah, I got sick for a bit. But I'm all right now. No more germs. I'm not gonna infect you." Stop babbling, Leon! "What's it going to be for you today?" Fortune favoured the bold. "A medium black tea and…?" he as coolly as he could, and was surprised when he didn't stammer.
He could see Claire not-so-subtly staring at them from his peripheral vision.
The small smile on Ada's face transformed into a tiny smirk. "A roast beef sandwich, please."
"And your name, please?"
Ada raised an eyebrow. "You already know, don't you, Leon?"
He chuckled. "That would be 6.38. Ada." It was the first time he said her name out loud to her face, and it felt liberating. He rung up her order more quickly than usual; he had a lot of energy thrumming under his skin.
Ada handed him a ten-dollar-bill, and when he handed her her change, their fingers briefly touched. Leon wondered if he was the only one who felt a sudden surge of electricity.
He wrote Ada's name and a smiley face on a cup and handed it to Claire.
"I see it's going well," Claire said as she prepared the black tea.
"It's too early to tell. But yeah, it is." His face hurt from too much smiling.
After a few minutes, Ada's roast beef sandwich was done heating, so Claire plated it and placed it beside the black tea on a tray. She was about to grab a buzzer, but Leon gently took the tray from her.
"Let me handle this," he said in response to Claire's questioning look.
He took a flower cookie from the display rack, the one with a red camellia drawn on it using icing. He put it on a small plate before placing it on the tray.
Leon looked up to see Claire nodding in approval.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he said.
Claire sent him off with a, "Go forth, young grasshopper."
And Leon, with the tray of Ada's order in his hands, approached the table of the woman he previously thought was unapproachable.
Ada saw him coming towards her with her food, which must have confused her because customers usually claimed their food at the counter. She gathered her books and notes to one side of the table to make space.
Leon transferred Ada's meal from the tray to the table, and when he set down the plate of flower cookie, he said, "On the house."
Ada smiled at him—almost a smirk, really. "Thank you, Leon."
He dared glanced at her, and it just dawned on him how well and truly fucked he was because holy shit she's much more beautiful up close. "H-How'd you know my name, by the way?"
Her eyes met his, and Leon realised that he had been openly staring at her. So he stood up straight and took a step back while Ada gave him a curious glance.
"I've been ordering my dinner from you four times a week for the last five months. I've seen your nametag," she said as she took her cup black tea.
"…You never once addressed me by my name," he said, almost pouting.
She smiled over the rim of her cup. "And you asked for my name every single time."
His cheeks flushed and he felt like a high school student all over again. "Claire told me you were looking for me yesterday."
"Oh. Yeah." She looked around, as if in search of something, and when she turned back to Leon, the small smile was still on her face. "It was strange not having the cute cashier take my order on a Wednesday."
"I…That's…" He felt short of breath, like he couldn't handle the proceedings anymore, so he glanced around for a change of topic and saw the books and papers scattered on her table. "You're a law student?"
"Yes." Ah. That explained all the coats and dresses. "I'm a 3L. I've got a shitton of coursework and I'm preparing for the bar exam."
It caught him off guard. If she was a 3L, then that meant that she was at least three years older than he was. He hadn't entertained the thought that Ada might be older than he was, but now that he knew, he wasn't surprised. She always seemed more mature than he was, and she looked like a woman who knew what she wanted in life.
"Why?" she asked when Leon suddenly got quiet, her eyelashes fluttering. "Is there any problem with that?"
"No, I..." Do not mess this up, Leon! "I just assumed we were of the same age."
She laughed lightly as she placed her cup back on the table. "You look young. You saying that I'm young too?"
"I—That's..." He rubbed his nape and he noticed the sparkle in Ada's eyes. She was torturing him and she was enjoying it, and that thought shouldn't have done Things to him, but it did.
She seemed to have taken a pity on him. "I'm twenty-four."
"Oh. Okay." That was…manageable, he thought. Not much of an age difference. "I just turned twenty-one. I'm studying at the Academy."
"I gathered as much."
"How?"
She cocked her head to the side. "I saw you wearing an Academy jumper."
"You did?"
"I like paying attention to things."
And I like paying attention to you, he almost said, but thankfully didn't. He wasn't going to put his foot in his mouth this early in their acquaintanceship.
"I'll let you get back to work," she said, taking her fork and slicing her sandwich with it. "Thank you for the cookie, Leon. See you around."
He wanted to stay and talk to her more, but he had a job to do and he didn't want to overstay his welcome. "Yeah, see you around."
When Leon got back behind the counter, he gave Claire the most lovesick grin he was capable of doing. "She knows I exist, Claire. She said she'll me around. That's the first step of what you told me—make her notice me."
"Great," Claire replied. "Now on to steps two and three."
"Make her want me." He nodded to himself. "All right, I got it."
Today was a big leap for him. He already took it slow for the last five months—way too slow, if he asked Claire—but the train was now running and he needed to get on it.
The next week, Ada was, as usual, studying at the coffee shop. But she seemed to be much more focused on her notes, which wasn't surprising because it was currently exams hell. What was surprising, though, was when Leon's shift ended and she was still there, showing no signs of leaving. So after Leon clocked out, he steeled himself to approach her and say, "Busy night, huh?" It was Monday, and they've only formally made each other's acquaintance last Thursday. But he could talk to her now. Yep. He totally can. They knew each other's names and even had a conversation four days ago. They were, he thought, at the pre-friendship stage.
Ada looked up from her notes. "You know how exams week are."
He noticed the empty cup of coffee on her table. That was another aberration that night—she drank coffee instead of black tea. "Do you want me to refill that for you?"
She followed his gaze, then looked back at him. "You look like you're not on the clock anymore."
"I don't mind," he said as he placed his bag on the empty table beside hers. Ooh, bold move, Kennedy. "It's exams week. I'm gonna drink some coffee and study here for a while. Might as well get your refill."
She contemplated for a bit before nodding. "All right."
"Great," he said, smiling. "Please wait for a while."
There was a spring in his steps when he returned behind the counter to get her refill, and because he was already there, he made himself a cup of coffee and grabbed two sandwiches.
Claire, who had just clocked out, saw him arranging the food on two separate trays.
She raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Leon looked up from the tray. "Making her want me."
Claire grinned. "Go get her, lover boy. But don't go slacking on reviewing."
"I could say the same to you." He grabbed another flower cookie, still the one with the red camellia drawn on it. "See you tomorrow."
Claire hoisted her bag up her shoulders. It looked like it was ready to burst from all the paper inside it. "See you tomorrow. Good luck on your exams."
When his friend left, he returned to Ada's table and refilled her cup of coffee. He then placed the sandwich and cookie on it, saying, "On the house."
She looked at the free food, and then at him. "I couldn't possibly—"
"You look like you're gonna be staying here a long time," he said as he placed his food on his table. "And so am I. I could use the company. Consider that my bribe." He couldn't believe he actually said that, but he had been scared for the last five months and it was now time to face his fears. Unlike the Ada that he had created in his mind, the real Ada wasn't as intimidating as he thought—although he knew that she would eat him alive if he ever crossed her.
(He found that he didn't mind.)
She stared at him for a while before smiling. "All right. Thank you."
He sat down and took a sip of his coffee before taking his notes out of his bag. He was suddenly hyperaware of Ada's every movement—when she drank her coffee, when she flipped her notes, when she scribbled something on a paper, when she looked around the coffee shop with narrowed eyes. Maybe this wasn't the best place to study for his exams, but Leon wasn't going let go of a chance like this.
When Leon's mind wandered, he would look up from his notes and discreetly stare at Ada's profile. But she would feel his eyes on her and she would look up from her notes, meet Leon's eyes, and give him a small smile. And Leon would smile back and try to hide his red cheeks by getting back to his notes, desperately trying not to think of her perfect hair and perfect eyes and perfect face.
A few minutes before the coffee shop closed at two in the morning, one of Leon's co-workers approached them, saying that it was closing time and that they should pack up their things.
Distractions notwithstanding, Leon felt good about his exam scheduled at eight in the morning. He put his notes inside his bag and cleaned up his table, and proceeded to do the same for Ada's.
"You don't have to do that," she said when Leon placed her empty cup of coffee on a tray.
"I do," he replied. "I work here.
"You're not on the clock anymore. In fact, I should be the one doing that."
Leon shook his head. And because he was feeling extra bold, he said, "Wait for me?"
There was that sparkle in her eyes again, and she nodded.
A few minutes later, they exited the coffee shop together, walking side by side on the street.
"I didn't notice that it was already this late," Leon said. The chill of the early February morning air seeped deep into his bones, but his proximity to her made everything warm.
"We better get a good rest if we want to do well on our exams," she said, rubbing her gloved hands together.
Leon noticed that she wasn't wearing a scarf, and before he could think about it, he untied the blue scarf he was wearing and placed it around Ada's neck.
She looked at him questioningly, and his answer was, "You might get cold."
"But what are you going to use?" she said as she motioned to untie the scarf, but Leon placed his gloved hands over hers to stop her.
"Just give it back to me tomorrow," he said, daring to let his hands stay over hers far longer than necessary.
She gave him a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"I…Yeah, see you tomorrow," he said, and she was walking away from him before he could even offer to walk her back to her place.
"And then?" Claire said. "What happened?"
"She just walked away," Leon replied. "I didn't get the chance to offer her to walk her back to her place."
Claire sighed. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "But that was a huge improvement." She patted his head. "I'm proud of you, Leon."
Leon swatted her hand away and said fondly, "Don't patronise me."
The bell chimed, and both looked up to the door to see Ada walking in wearing a black coat and Leon's blue scarf.
"I am going to get the waffles from the kitchen," said Claire as she stood up straight, "and you are going to get that girl."
He nodded.
When he came face-to-face with Ada, he saw that her cheeks were flushed, which Leon attributed to the cold outside.
"Hey," he greeted, smile evident on his voice. "How were your exams?"
She untied the scarf. "They were all right. I should give this back to you."
"How about you hold on to it for a little while longer? I'll get it after my shift ends."
She placed the scarf back around her neck. "Okay."
"So. What can I get for you today?"
When his shift ended, he occupied the empty table beside Ada's and proceeded to have dinner while studying. He gave her another free meal—a red camellia flower cookie included—and Ada protested, but Leon, feeling bolder, said, "How about you buy me dinner sometime later?" It was as if all his repressed flirtation skills were bubbling up the surface now that he was on talking terms with his crush.
She smirked. "I'll be looking forward to it."
He couldn't concentrate on his notes after that. It sounded like an empty promise and maybe Ada was just being polite, but the offer was already out there on the table.
At two in the morning, they left the coffee shop together, and Ada returned the scarf to Leon.
"Thanks for lending it to me," she said.
It was Leon's scarf, but it smelled like Ada and he wanted to keep smelling it until he fell asleep. "It's no big deal. But what are you gonna use now?"
Ada took a red scarf out of her coat pocket. "This one. Though yours is much softer."
"If you want, you can have it."
She shook her head. "You won't having anything to use." She stepped away from him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Leon."
And then she was gone, and Leon covered half of his face with his scarf that smelled like her.
They spent the next two days studying at the coffee shop until two in the morning, and on Friday when Leon didn't have to work, Ada was surprised when he took the empty table beside hers at six in the evening.
"Figured you'd be here," he said as he laid his notes out on the table. He was suddenly very glad that he had Saturday classes, because he got to spend some more time with Ada. "I hope you don't mind my company."
"Eight extra hours with you?" She took a sip of her coffee. "I would like very much that."
Leon mirrored the smile on Ada's face. He bit his lip so he wouldn't look a deranged lunatic. Some minutes later when he glanced at Ada's table, he saw her looking around, and he wondered why she surveyed the coffee shop so often.
Their eyes met, and the cold look on Ada's face was replaced with warmth and fondness.
"Last day of exams, huh?" she said.
"Yeah. What a relief," he replied, and because this was the Make Her Want You stage, he added, "Although I'm disappointed that I wouldn't have an excuse to spend this much time near you again."
"You can study next to me anytime," she answered, making Leon's heart soar. "You don't have to use the exams week as an excuse."
When they left the café at two in the morning, they were walking closer together, their hands almost touching. They reached the intersection where they always parted ways, and Ada turned to him.
"I'll see you next week, Leon," she said before kissing his cheek.
She disappeared from view before he even realised what had just happened.
He stood still and just stared at the distance for a good minute or two. He brought a hand to his cheek to ensure that he wasn't hallucinating, that the ghost of her lips on his cheek wasn't just imagination.
It was two in the morning, the air was cold, the streets were deserted, the moon was hidden by clouds, and Leon barely stopped himself from screaming.
Instead, he danced and jumped and pranced noiselessly, until a police cruiser on patrol drove by past him, the officer driving giving him odd looks.
He trotted back to his dorm.
Claire was so totally hearing about this.
The victory Leon had obtained last week got eclipsed by the sudden defeat he suffered this Monday.
Everything was going well—Claire ribbed him on the development of his and Ada's relationship, his hands almost touched Ada's (again!) when he hander her her change, and she gave him a smile before going back to her seat. Things were more or less normal, until a man Leon had never seen before entered the coffee shop.
The man wore a sharp suit and had slicked-back hair and a beard. Leon noticed a gaudy ring on the man's left thumb, and he looked every bit like a man who had all the money in the world. He looked around the coffee shop in search of something or someone, and his face lit up predatorily when his gaze landed on Ada.
"Hey," Claire whispered as she tugged his sleeve. "That man seems like bad news."
"He gives me the creeps," Leon replied.
The normally calm and collected expression Ada wore got replaced by barely restrained fury. The man reached out to touch her, but she slapped his hand away. Her features became emotionless, and she remained seated while the man, standing, adopted a pleading expression.
The man spoke. Leon couldn't hear their conversation over the din of the coffee shop, but he said something that made Ada all but shove her things inside her bag. She got up from her seat and marched towards the door, not even sparing him a glance. And then man followed her out, but not before looking murder at Leon.
He felt a chill race down his spine. He felt like maggots were squirming under his skin.
"What was that?" Claire asked. "It seemed bad."
"I don't know," he said. He kept staring at Ada and the man through the coffee shop's glass walls until they disappeared from sight.
"Do you want me to call my brother?" she asked. If there was anyone who could help them, it would probably be Chris.
"I have a feeling that Ada wouldn't like that." He had a vague epiphany of why he often saw her surveilling the coffee shop. "And we shouldn't involve Chris in this. We don't know anything yet. Maybe that was her ex and he needed to have a word. We shouldn't poke our noses into their business."
"Maybe you're right. But I'm telling you, Leon, that man is trouble, and I know you're feeling that way too."
"Look, Ada can handle herself." She told Leon in passing last week that she practised "self-defence," although the cryptic way that she said it made him certain that it wasn't just simple self-defence manoeuvres.
"Well, what are your cop-in-training instincts telling you?"
The bell chimed; new customers were here. "That I should go after her, do a little investigation of my own, but we don't know anything, so we're just gonna have to wait and see."
He would sit back and wait for things to unfold, but it didn't mean that the worry would stop gnawing at him from the inside.
The waiting game paid off when on Friday, Leon saw on the news the exact same man who came to the coffee shop being arrested for tax evasion. He was named Derek C. Simmons, and he was a high-ranking man in an international business conglomerate.
Leon wanted to check on Ada, ask her how she was doing, when he realised one horrible truth—he didn't have her number. They have spent last week being flirting-not-flirting with each other, but Leon didn't want to ruin his streak of good luck by asking for her number. So he didn't. Fortune favoured the bold, but it looked as if he wasn't bold enough.
Leon didn't see Ada until a week later. His nerves were frayed with worry, but he didn't have a way to contact her and he didn't know where she lived, which he realised was maybe a deliberate decision on her part. All could do was look forward to her return—if she ever returned.
When she came back on Monday, she looked exhausted.
"Hey," he said casually, "haven't seen you in a while. Everything all right?"
Despite looking fatigued, she gave him a small but genuine smile. "Everything's all right now."
"But what about you? Are you all right?"
She stared into his eyes. "I am now."
His face flushed. "Then that's all that matters." He had so many questions, but he would never violate her boundaries. He suspected that despite growing closer to her, she kept him at an arm's length, never once offering him her number or asking for Leon's, or letting him walk her home. Maybe she had trust issues. Maybe it was because of that Simmons guy.
"What can I get for you today?"
"A medium vanilla frappe—"
Leon raised an eyebrow. "That's the first time you've ordered a sugary drink."
She sighed. Leon had the idea that she didn't sigh very often, so maybe she was more tired than he initially thought.
"I just want something sweet," she said. "Can you add a Cobb salad to that?"
"Of course. Anything else?"
She shook her head and began taking bills out of her wallet, but Leon said, "No, it's on the house. Don't worry about it."
"Leon—"
"You can pay me back with a dinner." He smiled at her, and was pleased to see her smiling back at him. "Remember that?"
"I do," she said. "And I owe you an explanation."
"No, you don't owe me anything." Of course he was curious about what happened, but Ada wasn't obligated to tell him anything. "You don't have to explain anything to me."
"Actually, I have to." Her face took on a grave expression. "Can I talk to you after your shift?"
"Yes, of course," Leon said, and then Ada went back to her seat.
Leon wrote her name and a smiley face on a cup, which he handed to Claire.
"What happened?" Claire asked, taking the cup from him. "Is she all right?"
"She said she was. She wants to talk to me after my shift." He took red camellia flower cookie from the display rack and put it on the tray with Ada's frappe and salad.
He personally delivered her meal to her, and she thanked him with a smile that kept Leon going throughout the night.
At the end of his shift, Leon approached her. She cleared her table and made space for him, and for the first time ever, shared a table with her.
And then she told him everything.
"Law school isn't cheap," she began, "so I rely on sugar daddies to pay for my education."
She looked at him, as if assessing how he would take her revelation, but somehow, he wasn't surprised, and it never made him think any less of her. So he nodded, prompting her to go on.
"Have you been watching the news?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied, "and I saw the man who came here the other day. Simmons, right? Tax evasion?"
"Yes. Simmons. All of my sugar daddies were understanding and respectful, except for Simmons. He was possessive, and…obsessed with me, I guess." There was anger in her eyes, and Leon wondered just what kind of shit did Simmons do to her. He was so glad that he was in jail.
"He's a scumbag," Ada continued. "I called things off with him after four months and didn't look for a new sugar daddy; I have enough savings to pay for my last year at law school. But he didn't know when to quit. He followed me around and left gifts at my doorstep. I didn't bother opening the gifts; I just threw them away."
"And you didn't look for a new place? Called the cops?"
She shook her head. "He would know where I was. He was a powerful man with eyes and ears everywhere, and he had cops on his payroll."
"Is that why…Is that why you're always looking around, like you were looking out for danger? For him?"
She bit her lip. "You really paid attention to me, huh?"
He found himself smiling. "It's hard not to."
She laughed lightly, and then continued, "I told Simmons that if he didn't leave me alone, I will tell the authorities what I know of his dirty secrets, and I had the evidence to prove it. He loved babbling after sex, especially about how he and some people in their company would earn millions by adding or omitting a number in the ledgers. And so he left me alone. Until last week. He said he was a changed man, that he was going to be respectful of my boundaries this time, but of course I didn't believe him. He said that it didn't matter if I went to the authorities, because all he wanted was to have me back." She looked to the side, her face contorting in disgust. "But I had to placate him. Simmons doesn't take rejection well, and he's more trouble than he's worth when he's angry. His rage would leave a lot of collateral damage."
Leon thought about how exactly did Ada placate him, and his question must have been evident in his face because she said, "Don't worry, I didn't fuck him. I won't make that mistake again."
"I'm not—" He gave up masking his curiosity. "That's a relief to hear."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "I gathered all the evidence I have of his crimes, then got in touch with the IRS. They arrested him not long after."
"So he's gone for good?"
"I hope. Honestly, I didn't care about him, about what illegal business he was doing. It didn't concern me. But then he threatened you."
"Me?"
"Yes. I told you, he has eyes and ears everywhere, and even though I was very careful, he still thought that we were seeing each other. And he wanted to get you out of the picture by whatever means necessary. And trust me, Leon—Simmons is a cruel man. It won't be pretty if he got his hands on you."
"Oh…That's…I think I can handle myself, Ada."
"Better safe than sorry. And that was what finally made me call the IRS. Remember when I left the coffee shop last week and didn't say goodbye?"
He nodded.
"I didn't want you getting on his radar, but I was too late."
He didn't tell her about how Simmons glared at him. Maybe he would later, but he didn't want to upset her further. "Thank for protecting me from him."
"I'm sorry you got involved this mess," she said. "I would understand if you preferred to stop associating with me."
"What?" Before he could even think of it, he grabbed her hands and looked imploringly at her. "Ada, I would never…Do you really think that lowly of me?"
"The opposite, actually." She turned her hands over so that their palms rested against each other's. "I think too highly of you. You're a noble man, Leon."
"I…I wouldn't go that far. But I want to keep seeing you. I don't want to stop associating with you."
"Even if I've had multiple sugar daddies?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
She gave him a warm smile, her cheeks faintly reddening. "Even when one of them threatened you?"
"Hey, I'm a future cop. I know how to protect myself. And I can protect you too, even though I know you don't need me to do that."
She laced their fingers together, and he held her hands tightly. "I want to keep seeing you too."
The corners of his lips twitched, as if he was fighting a smile. But he couldn't help it, and his face broke out into a wide grin. "Then I guess we should start seeing each other, huh?"
She chuckled, and Leon realised that it was probably the first time he heard her laugh. "I'd love that."
He stood up and tugged her hand, leading her outside, never letting her go.
"Where are we going?" she asked when they rounded a corner.
"I wanna show you something."
"What?"
He looked at her. "Something nice to see. Because we're seeing each other now."
Leon led her to a building the next street over. It was a twelve-storey commercial building, with some floors still lit up. He greeted the security guard, who gave them a knowing grin and two thumbs up.
There were lifts but Leon opted for the stairwell. The lights were dim and moonlight barely penetrated the small windows, so Leon gripped Ada's hand tighter to guide her, scared that she might miss a step.
"You know the security guard?" Ada asked.
"Yeah, that was Carlos, my roommate. And classmate. He works here part-time."
They have just climbed up to the sixth floor, and there were six more to go. Leon was starting to sweat, so he let go of Ada's hand to untie his scarf and unbutton his coat.
Ada asked, "What are you doing, Leon?"
There was a teasing tone in her voice, and he had just realised what the situation must have looked like. "I-It's not what you think!" he said, thankful that the dark hid his furious blush.
"Oh. Pity."
He caught a shadow of her smirk, and he rested his hands on his knees, half laughing and half panting.
He looked over at Ada, who was breathing heavier than usual. She was untying her scarf and shedding her coat.
"I…I wanted to be with you longer a little bit longer," he said in between breaths, "so I took the stairs." When he caught his breath, Leon held out his hand to her. "Let's continue?"
Ada took his hand. "Lead the way."
Leon took her to the rooftop, which afforded them a view of the city nightscape. The cool March wind bit at their cheeks, but after climbing twelve flights of stairs, Leon was feeling hot.
He took a water bottle out of his bag and drank from it. He was about to offer Ada his bottle but she was already drinking from her own.
Oh. Pity.
"Nice view, right?" he said as he put away his water bottle. "What do you think? Nice enough for a celebration?"
Bright lights of all colours shone from skyscrapers. The moon was high up in the sky, and the cool spring air gently played with the strands of their hair. The blinking lights of vehicles moved along the roads, and the sounds of the city—horns honking, people chatting, phones ringing—played in the background.
"The view is much nicer at Simmons's penthouse," Ada said, looking at the horizon. Leon felt the smile slip from his face, but then she added, "Although I've realised that the beauty of a scenery is largely dependent one's company, so based on that…" She looked at him, eyes twinkling. "This is, in fact, the superior view."
"I think I know which view is superior," he said breathlessly, his eyes never straying from hers.
She stepped closer to him, making Leon's heart thud. "What exactly are we celebrating?"
"I've been staring at you from afar for the last five months. And now we're seeing each other."
"I know. I was kind of waiting for you to make a move."
"W-What?"
She shook her head. "But I'm glad you didn't. Simmons might have been watching. I wanted to make a move too, but I know he was there somehow. I really messed up when I started talking to you."
"Hey, hey." He cupped her cheeks with both hands. "Don't say that. That bastard is gone now."
She bit her lower lip. "Do you know how hard it was to pretend that I wasn't attracted to you? Because of some scumbag that might have been stalking me?" She looked away from him. "I'm not scared of him, but I was scared of involving you in whatever crap he was doing." She looked back at him. "But then you were gone for a day, and I asked your co-worker where you were before I could even think about it. That was probably what tipped Simmons off."
He felt her lean into his touch. "I'm glad I got sick that day."
She laughed lightly. "Don't say that."
"If that didn't happen, would we have started talking?" He let go of her face and held her hands. "In a way, you made the first move."
"I guess I did. And I'm going to do another first move."
That was all the warning he got before she leant forward. Leon felt her soft lips press against his, but the kiss was over before he could even blink.
"H-hey," he said, heart hammering and cheeks reddening. Did she just—? "I didn't quite process what just happened. Could you do that again?"
Ada sighed in fond exasperation, and then she obliged him.
Leon's arms wound around her waist as she kissed him—properly, this time. Her hands wove through his hair, tilting his head and giving her a better angle.
"I want more of that," he whispered when they pulled apart.
"I can show you more than that," she replied, placing her hands on his shoulders. The twinkle in her eyes was long since replaced by a mischievous gleam.
His grip on her waist tightened. He swallowed. "Yeah?"
"Wanna see?"
His breath hitched. "Yes, ma'am."
And then it was Ada's turn to take him by the hand and lead him to a breathtaking sight.
The next day, before their shift started, Claire cornered him when he exited the locker room.
"You're grinning like a loony and you're humming," she said. "What happened?"
He grinned. "I made her want me more."
Claire stared at him for a second before shaking her head. "You sure it's not the other way around?" She elbowed him. "Because it looks like she was the one who made you want her more. You look like a kid who just bought an entire candy store."
He gave a happy little sigh, and there was a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes. "I was right, Claire. She has toned abs. They're amazing—she's amazing. She does Pilates, and the way she could bend her body—"
Claire held a hand up to Leon's face. "I'm gonna stop you right there before you say anything I don't wanna hear." She put her hand down. "Now come on. We've got work to do."
They went back to the counter, and a few minutes later, Ada strode in.
"Hey," Leon said, stupid grin still on his face. "How are you?"
She smiled. "I'm doing great. A medium black tea, tuna sandwich, and your number, please."
He bit his lip in an attempt to curb his grin. "All right. Anything else?"
She shook her head.
After she paid, he grabbed a cup and wrote Ada on it along with a small heart and his number. After last night's events, somehow, he still didn't have her number.
To be fair, they were distracted.
Claire was usually the one who made the drinks, but this time, Leon did it, personally brewing Ada's tea and arranging her orders on a tray. And then, much to the bafflement of his friend, he pulled a small stem of red camellia out of his apron's pocket and put it on the tray.
"You ventured and you gained," Claire said. "I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of me too. Thank you for supporting me."
She bumped her hip against his. "What are friends for?"
Minutes later, Leon once again personally delivered Ada's food to her.
"Your order, ma'am," he said as he placed the flower and her food on her table.
She picked up the flower by its stem and turned it around, inspecting it. "I didn't know your orders came with flowers."
"Just for my favourite customer."
She put the flower down and took her tea, noting Leon's number written on it. "I'll see you later, yeah? I still owe you dinner. Although it'll be more of a late-night snack by then."
"Yeah," he said softly. "Let's have a late-night snack. Dinner can wait." He wanted to kiss her, but he was on the clock and his shift manager would scream at him if he did. But his manager was nowhere in sight, so he gave her a quick peck on the lips and said, "I'll see you later."
She smirked. "Look at you—so daring. Now go before you get into trouble."
"Yes, ma'am."
For some people, dating their crushes made them realise how terrible partners their crushes turned out to be, but for Leon, it was the opposite—officially dating Ada made his crush on her grow bigger. The version of Ada that Leon created in his head was severely inaccurate, because the real Ada was infinitely better.
Maybe Claire was right—maybe it was Ada who was making him want her more. But it didn't matter now. Leon suspected that it wouldn't be long before he fell completely in love with her, and with the way she smiled at him when their eyes met over the counter, it was going to happen sooner rather than later.
A/N: One of the meanings of red camellias in floriography is "you are the flame in my heart." And Ada will totally keep that flower and make it a bookmark.
So. About this fic. This is the fifth version of this coffee shop AU that I've attempted to write, and after so many struggles, I'm so glad that I've finally finished it. Phew.
Regarding that whole "first, make them notice you thing": This was something my editor from our university paper told me. That was a decade ago. God I'm old