Spencer Reid Oneshots~ by writing-in-april

9 o'clock ~ Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Barista Reader (FLUFF)

Summary: Reader owns a coffee shop that Spencer is a late night regular to. Reader finally learns Spencer's name and why he likes so much sugar in his coffee.
A/N: Here's a little fic with two painfully shy people! I've had this idea written halfway for a while and I'm glad to share it with y'all!
Warnings: Non this is a super fluffy meet cute
Word Count: 1.1k

The quiet customer that had been coming in at 9 o'clock on the dot made my mind swirl with constant possibilities on who he was. He only ever spoke to me to tell his order then maybe a quiet thank you if I was lucky. The only reason I had a deep urge to start a conversation with him was that every time I repeated my loosely scripted prompts to attain his order he always looked as if he wanted to say more. Plus, his appearance left an air of mystery as to who he was, awakening curiosity in my usually shy soul. And, the fact that he would come in exactly at 9 o'clock everyday only to disappear for days at a time. So really, there were a lot of reasons why I wanted to get to know the stranger.
Maybe he was just as shy as I was. Despite dealing with people every day and having a myriad of conversations with people my heart raced, my face blushed, and my hands got clammy every time a customer decided to veer off topic from coffee or books into something else. I guess coffee and books were my safe space, I could talk about them for hours non stop.
The mysterious stranger however, made me nervous about just simply asking if I could take his order, despite it being almost exactly the same every time. A large black coffee with no room.
The first time he came in I thought he was one of the types to love his coffee completely black with no additives. That was until right after I gave him his brew he went over to where the sugar was kept out and nearly dumped all of it into the large cup.
This time when he came in I had forgotten to set out the extra sugar container I had taken to setting out right before 9 pm since he had become a punctual regular.
His dejected face from seeing the empty sugar container made me sad, his little smiles I saw always made my day. He was probably assuming I wouldn't refill it this close to closing time. Luckily, I was able to immediately remedy the situation as I had filled it up but had only forgotten to set it out. A fresh glass cylinder shaker full to the brim just for him sat behind the counter waiting especially for him ready to cure his frown.
A little smirk hidden behind the espresso machine as I put a lid and sleeve on his fresh cup of dark roast. I placed the steaming cup of joe on the counter along with the fresh shaker. My smile threatened to break into a broad grin at the sight of his own expression lighting up at the sight of the white little crystals. The familiar comforting silence was blissful but, I found myself wanting to break it as I saw him tip the shaker over and fill his cup with a steady stream of sweetness.
"Can I ask you a question?" He gave out a little squeak and almost spilled over the coffee that he was drowning in sugar obviously not expecting me to say anything. I quietly cursed myself for breaking the delicate balance of silent conversation I had enjoyed throughout the weeks.
"Y-yeah, sure." He stuttered out with a curious gaze. Now it was my turn to be caught off guard, a handsome stranger talking to me and sounding slightly interested in conversation? Unheard of. I almost forgot what my question was in the first place, finally my own stuttered response came out after he blinked a few times in question at you.
"H-how do you stand that much sugar in your coffee? I mean I like a lot of sugar but, I usually pair it with cream and I don't see you do that-" Oh god, I was rambling now and along with the stuttering I probably looked like a skittish fool to him. Face flushing further I looked down to try and avoid the eyes of the only person in your cafe silently wishing a customer would walk in to free you from your embarrassment. But, who gets coffee at 9pm right?
" Well- I really need caffeine for when I work since I work a lot of hours and it really helps but I really don't like the taste of coffee so hence the sugar. Creamer just dilutes the amount of caffeine I would end up intaking. And- I could drink tea instead but that doesn't wake me up as good compared to the coffee." I just blinked up at him with mild surprise, I was not expecting someone to ramble even more than I did. Courage to speak again bubbled up within me so I stuttered out a quiet remark to his little ramble.
"Ah- Ssso that's why you're my only customer here after 5." There was an awkward pause, almost like he suddenly forgot how to speak. Instead of waiting for him to fill the permeating silence in the shop I figured I might as well ask for his name. It's not like it couldn't get any more awkward then it already was and I was dying to put a name to the face I had been looking at the same time every night. "What's your name?"
"S-spencer. Spencer Reid."
"Nice to meet you... M-my name's Y/N."
Unfortunately our meeting was cut short when his phone rang calling him back to whatever busy job he had that kept him up all hours of the night. He quickly and quietly departed with a promise to come in the next time he was around at 9.
I took a sip of my own coffee that was similarly overly sweet with a smile on my face. I couldn't wait to see the handsome stranger I know had a name for. Spencer... It fit him well and I couldn't wait for his next visit at 9 o'clock.
The smile never left my face as I cleaned up for closing time, never before had I felt so giddy to be deep cleaning the espresso machine. As I finished up behind the bar I swept around to clean up the hand off counter when I noticed a still clean napkin sitting carefully at the edge right where Spencer had been standing.
The little squeal I let out at the sight of a phone number written on the pristine white napkin echoed off the walls of the shop.
I wouldn't even have to wait for 9 o'clock tomorrow.