Part I

Poe Dameron was never one to stick to schedules. In fact, he hated them. He hated the strict regime, he hated order – he hated things always being the same. He hated having to rush in the mornings to make sure he got to where he needed on time. If it were even the smallest thing that would delay him, Poe would cuss silently under his breath.

Shooting a downward glance at the gilded watch on his wrist, Poe’s dark eyebrows knitted together in agitation. He was still a good block or so away from where he needed – and only a few minutes left to get there. Tugging his burnt orange scarf over his mouth, Poe bent forward against the icy winter breeze and quickened his pace, weaving his way this way and that in an attempt to navigate through a vast sea of people.

His speed quickened still, evolving into a jog, and before Poe knew it, he had stopped just short of where he needed to go - hunched over and panting - to catch his breath.

Another quick glance at his wristwatch told Poe that he did not have time to calm his heart rate before heading inside – not like it would stay calm for long anyway. Straightening himself up, Poe adjusted the scarf around his neck and tried his best to brush his tousled locks out of his face. Shooting a sideways glance, Poe caught sight of his reflection in the shopfront window he had stopped in front of and, with a small nod to himself, he closed in on his final destination.

Pushing the wooden door open, a familiar scent enveloped him like an inviting fog. It was warm scent, inviting and friendly - the perfect combination of freshly roasted coffee beans and baked pastries that lingered in the air

The corners of Poe’s lips tugged upwards into a small grin as he looked upon the familiar setting. A single sweeping gaze of the coffee shop told him that not only his usual spot was available, but his barista was working as well.

Crossing the small coffee shop in a few strides, Poe took up his usual seat at the table tucked furthest into the corner; it was here that he could see everything that his barista did happened in the coffee shop.

Almost robotically, Poe’s eyes trained themselves to the counter, and behind it the clock. Ten thirty-four. He had arrived exactly when he was supposed to.

Okay, so if there was one schedule Poe didn’t actually mind, it was his daily trip to StarHux; his guilty pleasure. Sure, he could do without the brooding, long haired cashier, and certainly without the coffee shop’s manager, a successful entrepreneur (and oh did he know it) by the name of Hux, who, when on the topic of business, could not be stopped.

But if there was one thing Poe could not get enough of, it was Finn, the barista and his future boyfriend.

A flurry of excitement would wash over Finn each and every morning, the minute the clock struck ten. He would scramble around the coffee shop making sure everything was in order – not a single napkin went without being skilfully folded, nor did a chair go without being pushed in.

However, it was the far corner of the shop, tucked almost completely away from view that he paid attention to most. The mirror on the exposed brick wall was polished to perfection and whenever he would look into it, he would imagine Poe standing by his side and his heart would skip a beat.

At ten thirty, Finn could feel his stomach fill with butterflies as he would steal glances towards the door, waiting.

At exactly ten thirty-four each and every morning, Poe would sidle into his favourite seat, and wait with baited breath for Finn to make his way over to where the other sat to take his order. Today was no different from every other day and Poe’s grin widened as he watched Finn cross the coffee shop floor, weaving his way between tables towards him.

“Morning,” Finn smiled politely, his voice gentle, welcoming; alluring.

“Good morning,” Poe winked, watching with satisfaction as the Barista scrambled to retrieve his notebook from the pocket of his apron in a desperate attempt to hide his face.

A long silence fell between them as Finn waited awkwardly for his customer to speak, with each passing moment, his cheeks growing redder and redder. Poe, on the other hand, was simply happy to be in Finn’s presence and was more than content to not rush the meeting.

“Would you like your usual today?” Finn asked, peeking over the top of the notebook, a pencil at the ready. Of course, to him, noting down Poe’s order was just a formality; he had it memorised:

One large soy chai latte – no sugar - and a teaspoon of honey.

One cinnamon roll, warm, with a small dish of butter on the side. 

After the latte had been finished, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice usually followed.

Lifting his gaze from the menu, Poe met Finn’s eyes, his bottom lip catching in his teeth, a wicked smirk twisting the corners of his lips upwards.

“Oh, no thank you,” he said in a light drawl. “I think I would like to try something else this morning.”

Finn blinked, thrown off guard by the remark. Lifting his pencil to the notepad, he waited. “Certainly. What would you like?”

Poe’s smirk widened.  “I think I’ll have one … “ he paused, pretending to consult the menu. “Soy chai latte with a teaspoon of honey.”

The barista frowned. Poe just said he wanted to try something new. Had he misheard? Scribbling down the order, just as he had done countless times before, Finn watched his customer curiously. Was that a smirk he just saw?

“And to eat?” he asked kindly.

“I’ll have,” Poe began, first glancing over the menu before lifting his head and running his eyes over the barista who stood before him. “Finn, please.”

Finn’s eyes widened in shock. If he thought his cheeks had heated up before, it was nothing compared to what they were now. He was certain that Poe could feel the heat radiating from his face. Heck, he was certain that every person in the little coffee shop could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks.

“P-pardon?” he stammered, doing his best to calm his racing heart.

Poe grinned, satisfied with the barista’s reaction. “I said,” he replied smoothly, leaning forward to support his head in the palm of his hand. “I’ll have flan, please.”

“Flan?” Finn repeated, nodding his head quickly – far more times than necessary - in an attempt to conceal his disappointment. He knew he had heard wrong, and instead of simply taking the order, he had gone ahead and embarrassed himself.

“Flan, flan. Right. Okay. Yes, we have that. Er – “ he hesitated, taking one last glance at Poe, who sat, watching his every (very flustered) move before turning on his heel and scrambling off to the kitchen to pass on Poe’s order.

It took at least five minutes before Finn had managed to calm himself down. His cheeks and ears were still a deep shade of scarlet, but his heart rate had slowed and he managed to remember how to breathe.

Peering over the top of the coffee machine, Finn stole a quick peek at his favourite customer, a soft squeak echoing in his throat when he realised that Poe was still looking in his direction, one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face.

“Great,” Finn muttered, quickly disappearing behind the large coffee machine once more, adjusting the nozzles to prepare Poe’s coffee. “I still have to go back out there.”

Grumbling to himself, Finn carefully measured out a teaspoon of honey, adding that to the bottom of the mug. He had every mind to take as long as possible with preparing Poe’s breakfast, desperate to avoid any further embarrassment.

Finn’s lips twisted into a frown. But if he was to take too long preparing the chai latte, what if Poe didn’t want to come back? Finn shook his head immediately at the thought. No, he couldn’t allow that. It was small interactions like this on a daily basis was what he yearned for; interactions like this were what, before today, he had only dreamed of. He couldn’t risk Poe not wanting to come back to StarHux.

Taking extra care to ensure the chai latte was absolutely perfect, Finn balanced the mug atop a matching saucer and weaved his way between the cluster of tables towards Poe.

Placing the mug on the table, Finn was careful not to meet the customer’s eye. The last thing he wanted was for his heart to start racing again.

“Sorry about the wait,” he said, his fingers twisting at the hemming of his apron. “Your Finn will be here in just a moment – ”

He cut himself off, eyes widening with the realisation of what he had just said. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Did Poe hear that? Please let him have misheard.

Poe’s lips twisted into a grin. “Is that so?” he asked, leaning forward.  “I thought my Finn was already here.”

It took half a second before a deep scarlet washed across the whole of Finn’s face. If he thought Poe could feel the heat from his cheeks earlier, it was nothing compared to how hot they were now.

“F-flan,” he stammered quickly, his eyes darting around, desperate for a means of escape. “Your flan will be ready in just a moment. I -” he wheeled around quickly, almost knocking the latte off the table in a flurry of panic. “I’ll go check on it now.”

A soft chuckle escaped Poe’s lips as he leaned back in his chair. It was interactions like this that kept him coming back to the same coffee shop. Every. Single. Day.

“Alright,” he said, watching as the barista disappeared into the kitchen. “I guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer for my Finn to be ready.”