#i've been writing a lot of crankiplier wow

[justaloser-iguess]

Really though, who are you?

     Ethan liked his job. The pay was decent, his boss was nice, and the place really had a nice atmosphere. The highlight of his day, however, was his favorite regular. The man came in every day, and had been coming by for so long that Ethan had his order memorized. He came in after the morning rush, and was usually the only one there, giving him time to chat with the baristas. Or rather, one barista in particular. He and Ethan had been casually chatting to the point where they were on a first name basis- that is, if the man would ever give Ethan his name. Each day he’d have a different one to put on his cup: one day it’d be Michael, one day it’d be Richard, and one day it had even been Obi Wan.

     At first Ethan had found it endearing, funny even, but at this point he was infuriated. There was no denying that there was something there, between the two (his co workers often teased him about it), and he didn’t even know the man’s name, for gods sake! Why did he have to keep the joke going for so long? Couldn’t he just drop it at this point?

     Ethan was standing at the counter when his friend and coworker, Amy, approached him from behind.

     "Waiting for your boyfriend?“she grinned, pushing past him to wipe off the counter.

     "He’s not my boyfriend,” he mumbled, though he didn’t deny that that was exactly what he was doing.

     "He could be,“ the blonde said, throwing him a pointed glance.

     Ethan sighed. "He probably doesn’t even like me. He might have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend.” He looked glumly out towards the tables.

     "Dude. Have you noticed the flirting? Tell me you’ve noticed the flirting. There’s literally no way he isn’t interested in you.“ She scooped up the rag she’d been using to clean, disappearing into the back for a few moments.

     "He’s just joking around. He’s not serious or anything,” Ethan said, turning back to look at her.

     "Have you seen the way he looks at you? I guarantee that he’s not just joking. You should just ask him out already!“

     Ethan scoffed. "I can’t just ask him out, I don’t even know his name!”

     "Then ask!“

     "I ask every day!”

     Amy rolled her eyes. “Ask him for real this time.”

     The two were interrupted by the door bell chiming, signaling a customer. Both baristas knew the schedule, knew that there was only one person that came in at this time.

     "Ask him out!“ Amy hissed into her friend’s ear as she retreated into the back, leaving Ethan essentially alone with his favorite customer.

     "Morning!” The man said cheerily, stopping at the counter, smiling brightly at Ethan.

     The barista felt the faintest blush rise to his cheeks. “Morning. What’ll it be?” he asked, knowing full well what his order was.

     "I’ll take whatever you give me,“ the man said with a grin. "Maybe a little somethin’ sweet on the side.” He winked.

     Ethan nearly melted in his shoes. “N-name?” he asked, playing along with their running gag.

     The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hmmm…Jim.”

     "Coming right up, Jim.“ Ethan turned around and abruptly ran into Amy, who was standing directly behind him, holding a cup. She had apparently already prepared his coffee as the two were speaking.

     "Do it,” she murmured, shoving the cup into his hand before disappearing once more. Ethan, still a bit started, turned back to the man, handing him the cup.

     "Good service,“ he chuckled, reaching into his pocket with his free hand. "How much do I owe you?”

     Technically he wasn’t supposed to do this, but he’d made the exception a few times (always on the same person) to give them their order on the house. He hesitated, wanting to seem smooth and charming, saying something like, “only a date with me” and winking. Instead, he managed to choke out the word “DATE,” before his eyes grew wide, clamping his hands over his mouth.

     The man was silent for a moment, seemingly stunned, before he burst out laughing. “That’s ah, a little more aggressive that I would’ve expected,” he said, shaking his head lightly.

     Ethan could feel his cheeks burning. “I’m s-so sorry, I -I -I don’t know what came over me, that was inappropriate, I-”

     "I never said no,“ the man interrupted.

     Ethan’s head shot up to look at the man, surprised by his response. "Really?”

     "Yeah, absolutely. I was wondering when you were going to ask. I thought I was going to have to do it myself.“ The man took a swig of his coffee. He grimaced. "Hm. No offense to Amy, but you make it better.” He looked up when Ethan didn’t respond. He was staring at him, smiling, but looked as thought he was in his own world. The man waved a hand in front of his face. “Ethan?”

     That snapped him out of it. “Huh?” He sounded slightly dazed. The man chuckled. “Oh, sorry…” He cut himself off, his dazed look sharpening into a glare.

     The man held his hands up as if in surrender. “What?”

     "I don’t know your name.“

     The man broke out into a shit-eating grin. "You ask for it every day.”

     Ethan shook his head. “I hate you.”

     "That’s not a great thing to say before a first date.“

     Ethan hit the man on the arm playfully. "C'mon, man. Please?”

     The man sighed. “After all these months, now has come the time to reveal my greatest secret. My name…is….Mark.”

     Ethan was silent for a moment, reveling in the feeling of finally, finally getting to know what his name was. “It’s nice to meet you, Mark,” he said, smiling nearly from ear to ear.

     "Shall I give you my number as well? To plan our date?“

     Ethan nodded, still giddy.

     The moment Mark left the shop, Amy squealed from the back, making Ethan jump out of his skin. "You did it!” She was holding her phone, dropping it onto the counter as she wrapped her friend in a hug. “Aww, you have a boyfriend now!”

     Ethan blushed. “It’s just a date,” he mumbled, glancing down at her phone. “Hey,” he said, gently pushing her away. “Were you recording that?!”

     Amy snatched up her phone. “Maybe,” she grinned. “You’ve got to keep the memories. When you guys have been married for twenty years, you’ll want to look back at it. And laugh at how you screamed ‘DATE’ at him,” she giggled, slipping her phone into her pocket.

     Ethan dropped his head into his hands. “Did I really?”

     "You really did,“ Amy laughed. "He must really like you if he still wants to go on a date with you after that.”

     Ethan looked back up at his friend, unable to stifle his smile. “I have a date,” he said.

     "You have a date,“Amy confirmed.