*The world needs more Taoris fics*

Aggressive ships them!

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“Your boyfriend’s here again” Baekhyun nudges Tao in the ribs, running off before Tao can retaliate. Tao’s glare follows Baekhyun as the young waiter delivers an overloaded breakfast tray to a group of customers.

Tao tries not to fidget when his instincts kick in that someone is watching him. He can practically sense the customer’s shadow when the man finally leans into the counter. Summoning up every ounce of professionalism Tao turns to him with a grin, almost gripping the countertop brutally as he tries not to swoon from the intense appeal that the other man was. It’s been almost a week and still the mere sight of this customer was just as breathtaking as it always was.

The man is dressed in his usual office attire, a long brooding grey jacket shielding him against the cold windy weather, and as always his high tech phone is clenched in his left hand, his blonde hair styled perfectly and a pleasant but small smile on his face as he greets Tao with a nod.

Before the man can breathe a word, Tao is already moving to arrange his drink. It’s always the same blend, a Green Tea Frappuccino Blended Crème and Tao has memorized it to a t. It gets irritating calling the stranger ‘the man’ all the time, so Tao has just adapted to calling him Hotas in his head. It is not the most creative name but Tao thinks it’s the only nickname that does the customer justice.

“You know it’s scary how you do that” Hotas states and his low gravelly voice startles Tao so badly he burns himself a little from the hot liquid.

 Hotas seemed to have noticed and his voice when he speaks again is tainted with concern, “Are you okay?”

Tao tries not to die of embarrassment.

Quickly he straightens up with a reassuring smile, holding his injured hand behind his back, “Ha ha, I’m okay. I have skin like iron, happens all the time” he ducks back down to finish the drink. He places the lid on, ignoring the sting of the burn. Pushing the cup toward the other man, Tao moves to grab a strawberry cheese Danish from the small display case and tucks it into a paper bag with a tissue and settles it besides Hotas’s drink.

“No but seriously, it is really weird how you still remember my order. I’ve only been in here like four times” The man eyes him funnily with an amused smile.

The words, ‘I remember everything about you’ are on the tip of his tongue but he swallows them down in favor of saying,

“It’s weird that you always order the same thing” It’s true. The first two times hotas had visited the café he had ordered the same thing and by the third day Tao had surprised him by remembering the order.

“Touché. Maybe I should change it up huh?” Tao has to step on his own foot in order to answer because he’s still a little awestruck that Hotas is striking up a conversation with him. This is by far the most words they have ever shared and by this point Tao thinks he knows enough about hotas for them to get married.

Mr. and Mr. Hotas does sound appealing.

“Let me, hm, my friend likes your chocolate chip muffins, so I think I’ll try one today” Hotas nods at the muffin display case as he digs into his pocket for change. Tao moves to the bag the muffin, his heart thundering in his chest.

Hotas opens the baggie and takes a long inhale of the muffin, “Mmm” he hums approvingly. Tao is wondering about the noises hotas makes in bed when the man asks,

“Do you bake these yourself?”

“Uh, no, but- but I bake the danishes and other light stuff” it’s not a lie. He likes to bake and the owner is more than happy to have Tao contribute his own creations to the shop.

“Really? I- I love the strawberry cheese danishes here”

Tao cannot help the giggle that escapes him, “I can tell. You order one every time you visit”

Kris shrugs, a few dots of red on his cheeks, “Smartass. You could just thank me for buying them”

“My thanks to you and your stomach” Tao teases with a mocking bow. “Uh- Uh, since you like them so much, I-“ he moves toward the danish setting and lifts the cover, placing one into a paper bag. “Here, on the house” he ducks his eyes as he hands it to hotas.

When he looks back up Hotas is looking around the café cautiously, “Are you allowed to that?”

Tao shrugs, “It’s my pastry. I do what I want” he says bravely, puffing out his chest.

Hotas laughs beautifully as he takes the bag, finally placing his phone into his pocket as he takes up the rest of his order.

“Thank you…” he bends to read Tao’s nametag, “Thank you Tao. Have a nice day” he gives an awkward little wave and leaves.

Tao is trying to see his bum under the long coat when someone clears their throat beside him. He deflates so hard when he catches the stink eye Suho is giving him.

“I  am not selling your pastries so you can give them away to every Tom--and-y who winks at you”

Tao pretends to swoon, “Did he wink at me? Be still my heart”

Suho rolls his eyes, “And don’t think I don’t know you undercharge him for his order”

Tao has the audacity to look sheepish as he averts his eyes. Suho caught him there. He’s been giving hotas a very low discount price for his order since the first day and he just can’t find it in himself to actually charge him the full price (even though  it’s not much). To be honest if it were up to him,  hotas would be getting a free order every day.

Suho waves a finger in front of his face as he says, “Don’t make me put you to do the dishes”

The younger man pretends to try and bite Suho’s finger.

Baekhyun smacks Tao on the with a tray once Suho’s back is turned. Tao tenses up in shock, rubbing the sore area as he kicks at Baekhyun’s thigh.

“You should just slip him your number on a napkin or something” Baekhyun advises as he operates the espresso machine.

Tao frowns at his coworker, “Wouldn’t that be a little, I dunno, 90s movie cliché”

Baekhyun pauses his movements on the machine and gives Tao a deadpanned look, “Hey, you wanna get in his pants or not. As far as I can see making googley eyes at him for 5 minutes ain’t working, so step your game up, bro”

Lifting an eyebrow, Tao eyes Baekhyun doubtfully, “Seriously did you just say ‘bro’?”

“Take my foolish advice. The worst he can say is no” Baekhyun finishes filling two cups and is striding toward his customers when Tao yells,

“He can hit me too”

“I bet you’d like that” Baekhyun shouts back even as his customers give him a dissatisfied look.

~~

Like clockwork hotas enters the café at an exact seven o clock hour on Friday morning. Tao has been on his shift since 6:30 and quickly hides a yawn when he sees the other man.

“Good morning. The usual?” Tao greets with a wide grin. He’s been working on that little greeting since last night. Even practicing his facial expressions in the mirror.  He hopes he doesn’t come off looking like a tired panda (a nickname that Baekhyun refused to stop calling him)

Hotas, as usual, looks wide awake and fresh faced and Tao envies the other man natural glow that stems from smooth pale skin, bright almond shaped eyes, thin flushed lips and all the fine facial bone structure of a greek god descendant. Tao assumes hotas rolls out of bed pretty. The man probably never had a bad case of bed hair.

How could he when his golden strands looked like fine threads of silk.

He was so perfect Tao wanted to punch him.

“Hm. I was going to say no, but one look at those danishes and I want one” Hotas rubs the back of his neck as he gives an embarrassed laugh. Predictably, his expensive looking phone has occupied it’s place in his left hand once more.

“So a strawberry cheese Danish and a green tea frap, huh?” Tao asks just as a happy high pitched ping goes off.

Hotas gives a small smile and nods, ducking his head to check his phone.

Tao gets the drink ready first, then bags the Danish and then his eyes meet the batch of fresh lemon scones that he had made that morning. He doesn’t hesitate before adding two of them in a separate bag.

“The scones are free. I figured you might as well try to eat something other than danishes. T-they’re really good” he doesn’t add ‘I baked them myself’ because his momma raised him to be modest.

Hotas eyes the bags, looking a bit confused at first before he grins at Tao. “Wow really? More free food? Am I like the 100^th customer or something?” the man glances behind him as if to check and make sure there wasn’t some giant banner behind him.

Tao has to try his hardest to come with something casual to say without blurt out ‘I love that you love my food and therefore I love you. Love me back!’

Thankfully, what he says is “Ah just shut up and take it” which is just as painful because and holes and lube came to mind. “I’m trying to wean you off of the danishes. Try something new”

Fortunately, Hotas doesn’t answer and instead pushes a ten dollar bill at Tao.

Tao is giving him back way too much change for his order when Hotas stops him with a smile.

“Keep it. You can add it to your tip jar” he nods toward the medium sized empty Nutella jar that now has a label entitled “TIPS!” that is sitting on the counter next to the register.

“And thank you again. I’m sure I will love these” with a wink, a goddamn y wink, Hotas strides toward the door, this time his tight trousers visible and Tao takes in the view as the material clutches to his round buttocks.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been standing there until Baekhyun loudly pushes himself into the café with a happy grin, “Do not fear peasants, for I am here”

Immediately following Baekhyun is the breakfast rush and they both get to work.

~~

It’s Monday when Tao finally readies himself to at least ask Hotas for his name. They’ve both become sort of familiar with each other (in a server-customer sort of way) so it was high time he got a name from the other man. Not everyone wore nametags, so it was unfair that hotas got to know his name and didn’t even offer his own.

“You should’ve asked you buttfish” Baekhyun had been unhelpful as usual as Tao complained about the unfairness.

Therefore over the weekend Tao had worked himself into a frenzy (and by ‘worked’ he means he ed furiously over what he should do next) and had sworn to himself that he would not another morning pass without asking Hotas for his name.

When 7 o clock arrived, Tao glanced at the doorway, his nerves shot as he readied himself for the last time.

At 7:10, Tao figured the man must be running late. At 7:30 Tao began to worry that Hotas had gotten sick over the weekend.

A dry cough seemed to be going around, even his mom had gotten it.

What if hotas wasn’t immune to illness!?

Tao tried to imagine that flawless human being sick and all he could picture was a well primed man with stylish hair wearing an expensive furcoat sipping Earl grey tea to soothe his dry cough.

When the bell chimes over the door at 7:58, Tao is expecting to see Baekhyun or even a customer, what he is not expecting is to see Hotas stroll in casually with a young man. As they approached Tao could see that the ‘young man’ was clearly a woman with a pixie cut wearing a large grey t-shirt and blue slacks. She looked like a street urchin when she stood next to hotas’s business suit and tie attire.

“Good morning Tao” Hotas greets, his phone absent from his hand.

Tao gathers his composure quickly, “Running late?” he asks, moving to hurriedly gather the man’s order. He had made a few large white chocolate chip cookies that morning and he hesitated as to whether he should add a few to a bag.

“Yes, unfortunately” Hotas sends a well timed glare to his female companion, the woman smirking knowingly up at him.

Tao immediately hates her.

She catches Tao’s eye, then her gaze strays to his name tag and she smiles gummily at him, “Ah, this is Tao”

Yes this is Tao. So she can read, at least hotas goes for people with some form of education.

Oh yes, he’s being nasty to her without really knowing her but can you blame him for being irrational.

Hotas’s glare turns into an embarrassed pinched look as he eyes Tao and tries to push Amber away from the counter.

“Nice to finally meet the person who has been ruining Kris’ girlish figure”

It’s a shame Tao has to learn his name through the mouth of this woman.

‘Kris’ pinches the bridge of his nose and Tao frowns at the woman.

Has Hotas, Kris, has Kris been talking about him?

“He especially loved your lemon scones, didn’t even share them” she pouts.

“God Amber, shut up” Kris groans out like a son being humiliated by his mother.

The woman just smiles happily at Tao, who is expressionless because- seriously what the ?

“Are you seeing anyone?” Amber boldly asks, leaning into the counter and Tao has to take a step back so that their foreheads do not bump.

Kris wraps an arm around her should and pulls her away. “Jesus Amber”

“God, Jesus, I mean if you keep giving me all these holy titles my ego’s going to swell to the size of a pumpkin”

“As if it wasn’t already” Kris grumbles on his breath.

“What was that?” Amber snaps suddenly, looking rather offended.

Kris smirks and averts his eyes mockingly, “Nothing your highness”

Tao cannot help but smile a little too widely at their playfulness.

He hates Amber even more now because she’s cheeky and generally seems like a fun, likeable person.

God he wanted to impale her on a nail.

“Hi” this time it’s Kris who has spoken and he looks nervous now that Amber is not crowding the counter next to him.

Tao looks around for her and catches her sitting at a table nearby.

“Just ask him already!” Amber shouts even though her back is facing them.

Anxiety builds up in Tao’s stomach. He’s not naïve and…okay, he’s a little naïve but still it would take a ton of obliviousness not to piece this situation together.

Obviously Kris liked free food.

He wanted his girlfriend Amber to get free food too.

Typical.

Kris wasn’t interested in him personally, he just liked getting free food.

“Do, do, would you like to see a movie with…me?”

At first Tao so stunned and the first words out of his mouth are a shocked “A movie?”

Kris ducks his head into the palm of his hand. “Oh God, that was bad. I mean a movie? What are we kids? I- how about just coffee? I mean that would be more adult I guess, I mean if you want, I could get us-“

“You wanna go see a movie…with me?” Tao squeaks out, his heart thundering heavily as his body tries to overcome hellish excitement and overall surprise. He thinks he’s going to give himself a .

“. I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask if you were gay. Crap, how-“

“He’s gay you dumb and definitely interested” Amber barks.

The bell over the café door chimes and Baekhyun bounces inside, late as ever and uncaring. He stops when he sees Kris at the counter and immediately checks the clock.

‘What’s he doing here?’ Baekhyun mouths at Tao from behind Kris’ back.

The grin that has been building up inside him bursts free and Tao’s entire face lights up.

Baekhyun seems to take this as a good sign and gives him a thumbs up.

Kris’ normal straight laced and unworried composure is rattled by his nervousness as he awaits Tao’s answer.

“I would love to go to a movie with you actually. I would love to anywhere with you actually. Hell…I will follow you to hell, I-“ Tao pretends to yawn hoping to cut himself off before he embarrasses himself further.

Kris laughs openly at Tao’s cracked babble and it’s just an adorable sound that Tao is mesmerized by it briefly.

“So, wow, ten minutes ago I didn’t know your name and now I have a date. Best Monday ever!”

Baekhyun groans loudly, “I still hate Mondays”

~~

The End?

Lots of love. I just wanted to contribute to the Taoris fandom. Much love homies (lol Happy Holidays to All)