Christmas was finally here again. Not literally but December was here and that meant that Starbucks had their annual festive drinks and Chanyeol couldn’t wait to get his hands on the Christmas Cookie Latte. It was on the Starbucks secret menu throughout the year but most of the times Chanyeol had to tell the baristas the recipe instead of just saying the name. Sometimes they would tell him that they didn’t have the ingredients. The few times that Chanyeol could order the drink by its name were precious. But since that it was now officially on the menu, Chanyeol could just walk right up to the barista and say...

“One venti Christmas Cookie latte, iced, to-go.” Chanyeol had a wide grin on his face as he recited his order while looking at the chalkboard with the names of the Christmas drinks and colourful drawings all over. This was such a lovely holiday.

The barista was saying something, probably the price but Chanyeol wasn’t listening. He didn’t need to anyway because he already knew how much it cost. Pulling his wallet out from his jeans pocket, Chanyeol finally looked away from the chalkboard to count the exact change. As he handed the money over to the barista, his breath caught in his throat.

Because standing behind the cashier was the most adorable barista ever. He was a head and a half...maybe two heads shorter than Chanyeol and he had the cutest droopy eyes ever. His skin was as white as milk and flawless without a single blemish on it. And his lips were pulled up at the corners forming a small smile. His hair was a pretty shade of hazelnut and it looked slightly tousled like it was deliberate.

Eyes quickly glancing at the barista’s name tag, Chanyeol noted that his name was ‘Baekhyun :)’. Minus the smiley face, but it was on his name tag.

“Can I get your name?”

Putting on his widest cool smirk, Chanyeol said, “it’s Chanyeol” in a low voice. “Baekhyun,” he added for good measure.

The barista laughed, the sound melodious to Chanyeol’s ears, and took a plastic cup to scribble Chanyeol’s order and his name on it. He was writing something else too judging by how long he was holding the cup and Chanyeol couldn’t wait to read what else the cute barista had written on it.

Starbucks baristas usually left him nice messages telling him to have a good day or praising his looks, especially to compliment how nice his smile was. Maybe Baekhyun found him cute too.

“Please wait at the side,” Baekhyun instructed, the cute smile still on his face before it shifted into a playful grin. “Chanyeol.”

“Sure,” Chanyeol agreed happily. “Baekhyun.”

A spark of amusement flashed in Baekhyun’s eyes before he was back to being all twinkly eye-smile. “Please wait at the side,” Baekhyun repeated, gesturing with his hand to where people waited for their drinks.

Red coloured Chanyeol’s face in embarrassment as he turned around and saw a line, the man wearing a business suit right behind him frowning deeply. He turned back to Baekhyun with a sheepish smile and a small “heh” before he moved away from the cashier.

While waiting for his coffee (Starbucks is coffee, okay), Chanyeol drummed his fingers against the wooden counter, softly humming to himself. There was some jazz Christmas music playing in the store and he found himself tapping along to the rhythm of the music as he stopped humming entirely. Chatter filled the shop as friends gathered at round tables and others spoke on their phones. Chanyeol could also hear Baekhyun’s velvety voice greeting the next customer and asking for his order in the same chirpy voice he had addressed Chanyeol with. It was nice listening to Baekhyun talk.

“One venti Christmas Cookie Latte for Chanyeol!” the barista opposite Chanyeol announced.

Grinning at the barista, Chanyeol waved his receipt. “That’d be me.”

He took the drink and smiled appreciatively at the barista once more before dumping his receipt in the bin and getting a straw for himself. Grabbing a few serviettes, Chanyeol picked up his drink and walked towards the door. As he pushed the door open, he threw one last glance at Baekhyun and smiled to himself before exiting the shop.

Standing next to the door so that he wouldn’t obstruct the way, Chanyeol poked the straw into his drink and took his first sip, delighting in the taste of cookie filling his mouth. Sweetness lingered on his tongue after he released the straw from his mouth.

The December wind was harsh and cruel, prickling at Chanyeol’s skin despite the warm scarf wrapped around his neck and the iced drink just made his insides even colder. Maybe a hot drink would have been better. But the damage was done.

As Chanyeol was about to start walking away, he suddenly remembered to check his cup for a message. Turning the plastic cup in his hand, he found his order and name written on it. On the other side, he saw some other words and smiled.

What big eyes you have!

Stunned for a second, Chanyeol shook his head before reading the message again. No, his eyes hadn’t failed him the first time. The same words remained on the cup. Frowning, Chanyeol turned the cup around a few times to check if that was all there was to the message only to realise that it was all.

Well, Baekhyun was praising his eyes, right? At least Baekhyun noticed one of his prime features that were his big, round, and adorable eyes. Given that Baekhyun had only written ‘big’ but Chanyeol guessed that the barista hadn’t had much time to write a longer and more descriptive message as he looked back into the shop and saw the crowd bustling inside. That must be it.

Filled with pride, Chanyeol decided that he would be visiting this particular Starbucks shop again the next day and maybe the next. It may or may not have something to do with the cute barista named Baekhyun.

 

The next day, Chanyeol merrily made his way to the same Starbucks while blasting Christmas songs in his mind. ‘Tis the season of joy after all.

His friends would have one or two things to say about his addiction to the sweet coffee but one could never have too many cups of Starbucks honestly. And one could definitely not have too many Christmas Cookie Lattes, especially since it was only available for a limited period of time.

When Chanyeol entered the shop, he realised that it was emptier than the previous day had been. It could have something to do with him being at the place earlier that day. This was better for him anyway because it meant that he could spend a longer time talking to Baekhyun.

As Chanyeol approached the counter, his heart sank when he didn’t see Baekhyun there. Someone else was at the cashier. He looked about Baekhyun’s age but he only looked half as friendly as the other despite the smile on his face.

Where Baekhyun had been all smiles and crinkly eyes, this man’s smile was a simple one.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol read the other’s name in his heart.

“What can I get you?” Kyungsoo asked and Chanyeol wondered if all the employees at that Starbucks had a nice voice.

“A tall Christmas Cookie Latte. Hot. To-go,” Chanyeol ordered and Kyungsoo nodded, keying the drink into the system. The total amount took a while before it appeared on the screen but Chanyeol was already prepared with his phone to scan for payment.

The paper cup was out of Kyungsoo’s hand before Chanyeol even realised that he had been writing his order down. Thanking Kyungsoo, Chanyeol waited at the side while fiddling with his phone.

It was still early and he was one of the few people in the shop. The other customers already had drinks on their tables or in their hands so when he felt the bottom of a paper brush against his fingers, he knew that it was his drink. Not looking up from his phone, Chanyeol took the hot drink from its holder and left the shop.

Stopping outside like the previous day, Chanyeol pocketed his phone and took a sip of the steamy coffee. It felt better to have warm liquid flowing down his throat on a winter day than an iced drink. Hot was definitely the better choice.

He was about to start walking away when a familiar scrawl on the cup caught his eye. Curious, he turned the cup to read what had been written on it.

What big ears you have!

Eyes widening, Chanyeol looked back into the shop through its glass panels and found Baekhyun making coffee next to the register. So Baekhyun was there, just that he wasn’t on cashier duty. Suddenly, Chanyeol felt his heart fluttering but it stopped as soon as it had begun when he realised what Baekhyun had written.

Feeling self-conscious, Chanyeol touched his ear at the same time he made eye contact with Baekhyun. When the other saw what Chanyeol was doing, he laughed and Chanyeol scowled before letting go of his ear. He walked away feeling offended and told himself never to go back to that shop ever again.

Yet he still found himself at the same place at the same time the next day. And that day, Baekhyun was at the cashier.

“Good morning, Chanyeol!” he greeted jovially as if they were long-time friends and that he hadn’t called Chanyeol ‘Dumbo’ just the day before.

Okay, so he hadn’t really said ‘Dumbo’ but Chanyeol had felt affronted nonetheless.

“Tall Christmas Cookie Latte. Hot. To-”

“Go?” Baekhyun completed Chanyeol’s sentence. He was already writing down Chanyeol’s order on a paper cup. When he finished, he handed it over to Kyungsoo who was behind the coffee machine.

Chanyeol laughed dryly and paid with his phone again before going to the side to wait. As he pulled out his phone, someone started singing. Loudly. But he sounded nice, like real nice. Looking up, Chanyeol saw that Baekhyun was the one singing and he felt himself falling in love with the other’s voice. It was smooth and velvety like chocolate. Hearing Baekhyun sing was like -

“Tall Christmas Cookie Latte!”

-a tall Christmas Cookie Latte. Wait. What?

Chanyeol saw his drink in front of him and realised that Baekhyun had stopped singing. The barista was grinning at him mischievously instead. Frowning, Chanyeol grabbed the paper cup and read what had been written on it.

What a big mouth you have!

While Baekhyun was cute, he was certainly insufferable too. And Chanyeol was starting to think that the first comment about his eyes wasn’t a compliment.

Walking over to the cashier again, Chanyeol shoved the cup into Baekhyun’s face, surprising the barista.

“My mouth isn’t big,” Chanyeol said, sounding annoyed.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and grabbed the cup from Chanyeol, making the taller let out a sound of protest. The barista grabbed a marker and started scribbling on the cup. He handed it over to Chanyeol without a word and a cute smile.

Looking at what Baekhyun had done, Chanyeol saw that he had crossed out the word ‘big’ and wrote ‘small’ above it.

“We always seek to make our customers happy,” Baekhyun explained and Chanyeol stared at him in disbelief.

 

So Chanyeol may be interested in the short and frustrating barista which was why he went back to the same Starbucks for the fourth day in a row.

It was Kyungsoo at the cashier that day and Chanyeol figured that their duty roster gave them cashier duty on alternate days. But when he looked to the coffee machine, he didn’t find Baekhyun there either. The shop seemed severely understaffed.

After ordering his usual drink and paying for it, Kyungsoo told him to wait a little before taking another customer’s order. The shop felt oddly peaceful when he Baekhyun wasn’t around. However, the peace was short lived and the illusion was soon broken when Baekhyun walked out of the storeroom with some coffee bags. He placed them in the cupboards before washing his hands and started to make Chanyeol’s coffee.

“What did you write today?” Chanyeol asked without thinking as Baekhyun poured the milk into his cup.

The barista laughed as he shook his head fondly. Finishing the drink, he covered it before handing it over to Chanyeol with a smile.

“Do you read fairy tales, Chanyeol?”

“What?”

Smile widening, Baekhyun started on another coffee and ignored Chanyeol.

Brows knitted in confusion, Chanyeol read the message of the day on his paper cup.

What a small face you have!

Brain racking through all the fairytales that he knew, Chanyeol grimaced when he landed on the correct one. Though he would really like to ask Baekhyun why was he the Big Bad Wolf when Baekhyun was clearly the more devilish one?

Looking at the barista busy with work, Chanyeol decided that he could leave the question for another day.

He didn’t have to wait long anyway because ‘another day’ actually meant the next day.

Stepping into the shop, Chanyeol walked straight to the cashier where Baekhyun was. And he looked so amazing that Chanyeol forgot how to breathe for a second.

The barista had dyed his hair into a bright red colour and he had a massive amount of eyeliner on his eyes that day.

Distracted, Chanyeol forgot to say his order but Baekhyun wasn’t asking for it either. Then Chanyeol frowned at the red hair when he thought about something.

Little Red Riding Hood.

He scowled. “What’s with the red hair?” he asked casually, trying to act as uninterested as possible and failing because Baekhyun looked good whatever reason he had for dyeing his hair.

“It’s a Christmas colour!” Baekhyun exclaimed excitedly.

Chanyeol frowned, having trouble believing the shorter man’s words because of the fairytale incident just the day before.

“Sure,” Chanyeol said dryly and Baekhyun pouted at him. He cursed his treacherous heart for fluttering at the sight of the barista’s pink lips jutting out.

“Christmas Cookie Latte, hot?” Baekhyun asked as he keyed the order into the register. “Venti?”

“No?” Chanyeol replied with a frown but the barista was already taking the largest paper cup and writing on it. “Grande,” he said, just to be annoying. He actually wanted a Venti.

“It’s on me,” Baekhyun told Chanyeol as he slid the cup to Kyungsoo before flashing a wide smile to Chanyeol.

“O-kay,” Chanyeol dragged the first syllable as he stared at Baekhyun suspiciously for a moment before moving to the side to wait.

After a while, Kyungsoo pushed a cup towards Chanyeol while frowning at Baekhyun. Chanyeol looked between the two baristas before he took his cup. He almost dropped it as soon as he read what Baekhyun had written. His face turned ten shades redder and he choked on his own saliva. Placing the cup back on the counter with shaky hands, Chanyeol tried to calm himself down as Kyungsoo shot him a weird look. He smiled back sheepishly before glaring at Baekhyun who wasn’t even looking at him. But if Chanyeol was correct about Baekhyun’s personality, then the barista wasn’t entirely clueless about Chanyeol’s embarrassment at the moment and was probably laughing at him in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol picked up the cup again and walked over to the counter where a customer had just ordered a drink. There wasn’t anyone else in the queue thankfully.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Chanyeol demanded, turning the cup to Baekhyun.

“Fill in the blanks?” Baekhyun answered with his brows knitted together in confusion but his the corners of his lips were twitching upwards and Chanyeol scowled. “There’s a blank for a reason.”

Pointing to the words: What a ______ you have!, Chanyeol hissed, “this is ual harassment!”

“I’m sure you don’t feel harassed,” Baekhyun cooed as he fluttered his eyelashes prettily and Chanyeol groaned. “Besides, I don’t know your size yet.”

Chanyeol squeaked the same time Kyungsoo frowned at Baekhyun but the barista remained unbothered as he continued to smile sweetly at Chanyeol.

“Have my number,” Baekhyun said, taking the cup from Chanyeol’s hand and scribbling down his contact with the black marker in his hand. “You can text me the answer.”

Mortified but secretly pleased, Chanyeol took the cup back and was about to leave when Baekhyun stopped him by calling his name. The barista pushed a serviette towards him along with the black marker.

“Leave me yours in case you don’t contact me so I can contact you.”

“If he doesn’t contact you, I don’t think he’d want to be contacted by you,” Kyungsoo pointed out as he cleaned the coffee machine but Baekhyun simply ignored him while Chanyeol stifled back a chuckle.

Chanyeol was already planning to text Baekhyun when he got home. He wasn’t going to text Baekhyun the answer but he was planning on getting to know the other better. But he took the marker and wrote down his number anyway, happy that Baekhyun was as interested in him as he was in the barista.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun chirped as he took the serviette back, now with Chanyeol’s number on it, and folded it neatly before putting it into his jeans pocket. “Merry Christmas.” He smiled at Chanyeol.

“Merry Christmas,” Chanyeol replied dreamily, smiling back widely. “See you.” Waving, Chanyeol finally walked out of the shop.

His phone vibrated in his pocket when he was just a short distance away from the shop. Pulling out his phone, he saw a text message from an unknown number and frowned as he opened the notification because there wasn’t a preview.

From: unknown
To: Chanyeol

Is it a Venti?

Chanyeol spluttered and he almost dropped both his coffee cup and his phone as his face started to heat up. Baekhyun was going to be the death of him.

His phone vibrated again and it was a message from Baekhyun. Again.

From: unknown
To: Chanyeol

You can tell me the answer for my Christmas present! Merry Christmas, Chanyeol!! <3 (^_−)☆

From: Chanyeol
To: Baekhyun

Not telling you but Merry Christmas, Baekhyun.

From: Baekhyun
To: Chanyeol

Guess I’ll have to find out by myself then...

Grinning to himself and suddenly feeling emboldened, Chanyeol typed a reply that he would only usually think of when he was drunk or trying really hard to flirt with a cute guy. This fell into the second category.

From: Chanyeol
To: Baekhyun

I guess you do

There wasn’t a reply from Baekhyun but Chanyeol figured that the other had to go back to work. As he was about to pocket his phone, a new message came in.

From: Baekhyun
To: Chanyeol

My guess is a Venti just so you know

Chanyeol laughed as he read the message before he kept his phone. It felt like Christmas came early and Chanyeol already got his Christmas present from Santa in the form of Baekhyun’s number and getting to know the other. He loved Christmas, he always had.

But now he had another reason to love it besides the Christmas Cookie Latte from Starbucks. There was now a cute barista from Starbucks which made his Starbucks trips more interesting.

Also, he realised that Venti was probably the way to go when ordering a drink in Starbucks.

 

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Another part of my series on AO3!

 

Upvotes and comments are appreciated! If you want to be friends, say hi to @baekingneeds on Twitter :D