Simon never really liked where he had worked. His job was at a dumb coffee shop, on a dumb corner of the busiest street in the city. Leading to the inevitable constant stream of people in and out.

It had been a particularly long day, filled with Simon pining for probably straight men, when his shift finally ended. He was supposed to close that night, so just add that to the list of reasons why he hated his job.

Well, it was more like hated the DAY. First he woke up too late to partake in his daily ritual of iced coffee from ANYWHERE else than Shady Creek Coffee Co. meaning Simon had to choose between going un-caffeinated for the day, or drinking the liquid shit called an "espresso".

Then he messed up the ONE responsibility he had, and forgot his apron. MEANING his name tag. So he didn't have his name tag, OR correct apron for today, resulting in his wearing the oversized, coffee stained blue-green apron provided by the storeroom, with the wrong name tag on it.

Then the day was filled the the BRIM with commotion, people being SNOTS, and not understanding how physics works. Honestly the man that wanted the ice cubes to stay at the bottom of his tea, really surprised Simon.

So all in all, Simon was having a shit day.

That is, until, he was counting his tip jar. They don't make that much money, of course, in tips, because everyone only uses credit cards nowadays. Nevertheless, it was still pretty full. He found mostly singles and quarters, and a few fives, which surprised him. But nothing surprised him more than the note.

"Hi Jacques"

It read.

"You're BREW-tiful. Words cannot EXPRESSO how adorable you are"

Oh my god. Simon immediately blushed. There was only one other person on staff the whole day, and they were wearing a red apron. And they weren't even here half the time. And they were wearing a name tag, so this would have been addressed by their name. Martin or whatever it was.

Simon looked down at his apron, seeing "Jacques" in a neat, bold font.

That explains the pen name.

But Simon didn't want to get his hopes up too high. If this wasn't a dude, they were going to have some serious problems either way.

"And I saw you wearing that pride pin, and making googley heart eyes at another dude, so if you're not gay, and I drastically misinterpreted the situation, this is going to be hella awkward"

Guess who's day just got turned around for the better.

*****

The next day, Simon was giddy with excitement for his god awful job. Of course, it wasn't the JOB he was excited for, it was the alleged secret admirer he had, at the job.

The whole day's shitstorm was all a blur, as Simon was thinking about his secret admirer.

His note had been tagged with what he assumed was like, the pseudonym.

"Forever yours, Blue"

Simon didn't wear his correct name tag again, partly figuring it'd be best to keep their identities secret for now, and also because nobody could complain to the manager about "SIMON" slacking off, it'd just be "Jacques" aka "the employee that was fired a month ago". 

Before he even knew it, he was serving an adorable boy named Bram. Simon, of course, would spell it "Braham" on the cup, thinking it was hilarious how closely it fit to "Abraham"

"Cash or credit?" He asked as he started prepping the cup.

"Credit" he nodded and let Bram swipe his card, while he turned away to get the cappuccino machine started.

He finished up Bram's order, and as he was turning back around, he noticed something odd, but his brain didn't register it enough to stop and ponder.

Bram was leaving a tip, after he paid with a card.

He continued making the coffee, until he realized there was a line forming at the register.

"Hey Martin can you get that for me?" Simon called, hoping his coworker could attain to peoples needs long enough for him to finish making the coffee.

Surprisingly, Martin provided, and he had given Bran the cappuccino without Addison screwing up.

"Thanks cutie" Bram casually said, walking towards the door while sipping his coffee. Simon just stared dumbfounded at the entrance, before jumping into action towards the register.

Instead of helping the next customer, he dug in the tip jar, against the people's cries of disgust.

"Wash your HANDS"

"That's illegal you know"

"God what a broke slob"

Simon came up empty handed, not finding any note from Blue.

Braham wasn't Blue. This really put a damper on Simons cheerful day, but not enough as to where it greatly affected the buyers.

That's a perk from being an actor in high school.

But, by the end of the day, when he was closing up again, and no note made its way into the tip jar, his mood really WAS outwardly affected.

"Yo Spier, can I talk to your for a sec when you're done?" Martin asked, coming up into Simons personal space.

"Yeah... sure I guess" Simon said wearily. It's not that he didn't TRUST Martin, it's just that a deep feeling in the pit of his gut was screaming at Simon to turn around and never look back, because this kid was going to do something AWFUL.

He flipped a few more chairs over, and powered off all the lights, before slowly walking outside the door to meet next to Martin.

" so what's up" Simon asked casually, trying to lighten the mood. Martin was definitely the source of the tensity.

"I know you're gay" he said so suddenly, that Simon had to do a double take.

"What are you talking about?" Simon asked, trying to cover his butt.

"Don't worry. I support you. My brother is gay, actually" I gave him an "ok? Sooooo?" Sort of look, and he backed off a bit, before regaining confidence.

"So I need your help taking to a customer"

"Why are you suddenly changing the topic? How did you know I'm gay?" I asked him. We were still waiting outside the shop.

"Oh I found a note, obviously addressed to you, Jacques, about how cute this guy thought you looked" Martin said.

"Damnit" Simon thought. He thought he hid it well enough.

"And this one today in the tip jar:" he started, before Simon ripped it from his grasp.

"I like you a Latte"

Holy shit that's the CHEESIEST thing ever.

"So like I was saying, you're going to help me win this girl over, or else you're secret is shared in the most homophobic state, like, ever. On the coffee shop bulletin board, maybe" he threatened.

Martin was BLACKMAILING him. Looks like Simon's gut was right.

"Fine. Who do you want?" Simon asked reluctantly. He didn't want this for him, OR blue.

"Abby, she comes in every day and she is SO pretty" Martin started rambling.

Simon rolled his eyes, stuck out his hand, and then agreed.

*****

All things considered, Simons life had been going pretty smoothly. Sure, he IS being blackmailed, but he is frequently receiving and sending letters to Blue, and he loves every one.

But, all good things must end, I suppose. Good things, like Abby and Martin's platonic relationship. He ended that by asking a lesbian out.

Ruining good things, like Simons day.

It was ESPECIALLY bad when people had been giving him odd looks, some supportive, some filled with hate, the entire day, and Simon didn't have a clue as to why.

On the OTHER hand, Simon had been studying a cute guy he saw named Cal. He was pretty sure this guy was Blue. I mean, he had BLUE GREEN eyes. Like what Blue wrote in one of his letters.

Simon didn't particularly like jumping to conclusions, but right now he was like Sherlock on that building.

Simon speedily walked around the shop, doing little mundane tasks, like sweeping, or cleaning down a table, until that cute guy arrived. Cute Bram.

He stopped what he was doing to go to the register. I mean, nobody else would have served him so Simon was just doing his job, with ulterior motives.

"Hi, what can I get you?" He asked politely, using his best acting skill to not literally burst right then and there.

"Uh I'll have a caramel macchiato" he said. Simon laughed and started filling out his cup, even though he already knew the name. Simon didnt want to seem STALKERish so he had to ask him.

"Your na-" Simon stopped dead in my tracks. He was leaving a tip. A white tip. A tip that was the exact same size and color as the notes Simon had been receiving.

"It's you?" he asked, trying to not give away his impending cry of delight.

Bram just stared blankly like a deer in headlights, before he gathered his bearings and nodded slowly.

"Cute Bram is the one leaving the notes!" Simon cried out, spinning in joy. Bram giggled a little

"CUTE Bram? And how do you know my name?" He asked. Simon laughed, thinking about what he just said. He was so excited.

"Oh you know, the famous "a barista never forgets a name" thing" Simon explained to him.

"That seems more than fake" He giggled at Bram's reply. "So what's with that?" He pointed at the Daily Bulletin Board. Simon turned, while explaining the special.

"Oh you know the Daily Special! Today it's- oh"

So that explains the weird looks.

The whole board was covered with Simons messages, that Martin got out of his hiding place.

That asshole.

"Oh" he repeated. Bram gave Simon a look of, not pity, but almost as if Bram knew what he was going through.

"It's ok" he said, now coming behind the counter. Virtually nobody was here, so they didn't receive any cross looks when he hugged Simon, and didn't let go.

*****

Bram and Simon went on their first date at a coffee shop. A coffee shop for "nostalgia" on Bram's part, and NOT Shady Creek because "that coffee tastes like shit" on Simon's part.

They ended up going to something called Bouncing Goats, maybe. They didn't really care, more focused on enjoying each other's company.