Chapter Text
The new barista was terribly distracting and Bilbo finally set down his clippers with a sigh, knowing that he wouldn't get any more work done before he found out who that was.
Normally he didn't mind the large glass panels in the wall between his florist shop and the coffee shop next door and in fact they had been rather good for business. Ever since Cafe Erebor moved in, Bilbo's sales had skyrocketed because nothing seemed to remind people that they needed love or forgiveness like staring at a bouquet of roses with coffee in their hands.
However, from the moment that he came into Baggins' Bouquets that Monday morning, Bilbo had been able to see the new employee walking around out of the corner of his eye and it was driving him crazy.
Although no sound crossed the wall between the shops, the young man was visibly bright and cheerful even when wiping down tables and Bilbo had always been too curious for his own good. So when the morning coffee rush was over, he finally he gave in and turned his sign around before ducking next door to meet the new arrival.
The bell rang with a gentle chime as he entered the cafe and Thorin looked up, giving him a nod when he saw who it was. When the florist had first met his new neighbor, the older man had terrified him since he wasn't given much to talking or to smiles. However, Bilbo eventually learned that this massive exterior hid a gentle heart and now he considered Thorin something of a friend. A silent, glowering, strangely attractive friend, but a friend nonetheless.
So Bilbo correctly interpreted the man's raised eyebrow as a question and shrugged in response, “It's been a slow morning so I thought I would get my tea early and meet your new hire while I'm at it.”
He didn't bother to order since Thorin knew his usual, instead sitting at a small corner table by the window where he could watch the street flow by. Now that all the early morning commuters had gone on their way, the coffee shop was nice and quiet with only a few other customers sitting hunched over their laptops in the back.
Bilbo lost track of time as he watched the pedestrians scurry past outside and so he jumped slightly when a cheerful voice spoke by his elbow. “Your order, sir.”
When he turned to look, Thorin's new employee was standing there, smiling down at him with the warmest brown eyes that he had ever seen. He was tall, at least a few inches taller than the florist but probably a few years younger judging by the irrepressible grin on his face. The new barista was also far too attractive in the same irritatingly oblivious way as Thorin, and Bilbo blushed when he realized he was staring.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” the younger man apologized, setting a plate and cup down on the table. “Uncle always used to say that I walk like a fox.”
“Um, what?” the florist stammered, somewhat confused by this seeming non sequitur and distracted by the truly astounding dimples in the other's cheeks.
“Thorin over there is my uncle and he says I need to walk louder to avoid startling our customers, though considering how much I talk that's not usually a problem,” he explained, waving towards the older man behind the counter and giving Bilbo a wink. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“Um no, go ahead,” he replied in surprise, taking a sip of his tea while he regained his composure. “Though I hope you don't ask all your customers that.”
“Of course not,” the barista said, sliding into the chair across from Bilbo with a grin. “You're special.”
His voice was so sincere that the florist found himself blushing again and he hid his embarrassment behind another drink of tea. “Special?”
“Yup, you work next door right? Boggin's Bouquets? So obviously we should get to know each other since I'm sure I'll see a lot of you over the coming months.”
“Oh, um, yes that would be me. Though I need to get that sign repainted since it's actually Bilbo Baggins, at your service,” he replied, giving the other man a half bow from his seat and trying to ignore the way that Thorin was watching them from the corner of his eye.
“Killigan Prince at yours, but everyone calls me Kíli because Killigan is a stupid name and it takes too long to yell,” Thorin's nephew introduced himself with a bow of his own and Bilbo had to blink against the young man's blinding smile. “Although you might have me beaten there, even if it isn't Boggins, what were your parents thinking?”
The bluntness of the question caught the florist off guard and he faltered for a moment as he tried to think of a response. However, Kíli waited patiently for him to speak and eventually Bilbo managed to spit an answer out, snark overcoming his surprise. “Well, my father said they meant to name me Balbo after his grandfather, but the doctor couldn't read his handwriting. What's your excuse?”
“Oh I don't have one, my mother's just crazy like that. At least she married out so we weren't stuck with Durin like the rest. But she named my brother Fílipek so I count myself lucky that I got the Irish phase. Actually the whole family's like that if you haven’t noticed,” Kíli retorted with another laugh before leaning forward on the table and asking under his breath. “So tell me the truth, does uncle Thorin scare the crap out of you?”
“I, what? Why don't you ever ask any normal questions?” Bilbo asked in bemusement, the other's conspiratorial expression making him grin behind his hand.
However, the younger man just leaned back, his long limbs sprawling across his chair in a manner that the florist found disconcertingly attractive. “Where's the fun in that? I already know your name and where you work, and considering that Baggins is printed on the door, I'm pretty sure you run the place. Besides, this question made you smile didn't it?”
“Well I suppose it did,” the florist had to admit, “But that's not the normal way people get to know each other. I don't even know why you're here.”
“Because I work here,” Kíli teased and the older man huffed in annoyance when he blushed again, “Oh you know what I meant.”
“Of course I do but normal is boring and I have to leave some mystery to keep you coming back, don't I? However, if you really must know, I'm in the masters program up at UH and uncle was kind enough to give me a job while I'm in school.”
“A job you should be doing,” Thorin called over as another customer walked through the door and his nephew hopped up at his request.
“Sorry Bilbo, duty calls. But I'll see you around and I expect you to answer my question next time,” Kíli said cheerfully, giving a little wave as he walked back to the register.
The florist nodded absently, watching the younger man even as he tore his cranberry muffin in half and nibbled on the corner. He knew that he should get back to the shop soon but he wanted a moment to collect his thoughts first since no one had managed to fluster him that badly in years. Although, if Bilbo was honest with himself, it may have more to do with the warmth of Kíli's smiles than the teasing and next time he was resolved to hold his own.
He finished his muffin and left his payment on the table, nodding to Thorin and his nephew on his way out of the door. If the florist was slightly distracted for the rest of the day then no one called him on it and if they had, he could always have blamed it on the last minute order of six dozen gardenias that filled up his afternoon.