Chapter Text
As per usual you were stuck with working late. You were cleaning up after your last customers when you heard a bell ring. You sighed and walked to the front of the diner. It amazes you that anyone would be walking in right now seeing as it was already almost 11:30.
An awkward looking blonde guy walked in. He was wearing round glasses and casual clothes. He had a little notebook tucked under his arm. He looked very skittish, his eyes darting around the diner rapidly as if he was figuring out all the escape roots or something. He sat at the counter and you walked up to him. As you approached he looked to you and looked away quickly.
"Hi hun what can I get for you?" You asked for what felt like the millionth time today.
He looked to you with a shy look on his face. "Uh can I get a coffee with extra creamer please." He uttered the words so you could just barely hear him.
You went to the back to prepare his coffee and could feel his stare on your back as you bumbled around getting his coffee ready to taste. You didn't really mind you were used to all kinds of people looking at you in all kinds of ways.
After a few minutes you brought him his coffee and set it down in front of him. He had papers splayed out in front of him that were fully covered in writing. When he noticed that you were looking he quickly shuffled to hide them. Getting the hint you went to the back of the diner again to get started on the dishes.
Everything was quite aside from the clinking dishes and the occasional scribble of his pen.
After 10 long almost never-ending minutes of washing dishes you decided to check up on him to see if he needed a refill. This time when you walked over his scribbled pages were gone and now he was working on a Sudoku puzzle. By the looks of it he had just started it.
He hadn't seemed to notice you approach so you decided to clear your throat and say, "How's it going over here, need a refill?"
He looked up a little startled at your sudden approach. "Oh uh, yes p-please" his cheeks lit up after he stuttered. You gave him a smile and took his cup.
"I'll be right back with this." You went to fix him another cup of coffee. When you brought it back you noticed that he was watching you. He quickly looked down and tried to make it look like he wasn't looking at you, his face even redder then before.
You set his cup of coffee down and pointed at his Sudoku. "I don't see people doing that very often."
He let's out a little mumbled "oh" and keeps his eyes down. Damn. Talking to a brick wall would be easier than talking to this guy.
You decide not to give up talking to him just yet. "So what's your favorite kinda puzzle?"
It's almost as if a switch flipped inside of this mystery person. He immediately perked up at your mention of puzzles. "Oh well, I really like riddles." He smiles lightly. You take this as an opportunity to get him to keep talking. You put your elbows on the counter and rest your head on the heels of your palms.
"Do you have any riddles for me?" You ask tilting your head a little bit. He looks away from you and seems to think about it for a couple of seconds.
"What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?" He asks with a faint smile on his lips. He seems a little more comfortable talking to you now that you've roped him in. You thought about the riddle for a little bit, racking your brain for answers. You even repeat the riddle under your breath in hopes that you might be able to click something in place by hearing it over again. Nothing is seeming to come to your head so you decide to just end your misery.
"I have no clue if I'm being completely honest." You say slumping your shoulders with a sigh of defeat.
He frowns a little bit at your response almost as if hes disappointed. "A promise." He says while sighing. With that you facepalm.
"Well geez now that I've heard the answer it seems obvious." You say with a defeated smile making its way across your face. "Ok ok my turn," You say with a smirk. He nods and leans closer as if he was mentally preparing himself for the riddle you were about to ask. "What can be different and the same and be called by everyone?" It doesn't take long after you say that for the mystery person to give you the answer your looking for.
He grins as if he won the lottery "A name."
You nod. "You're much better at this than I am." He lets out a little chuckle.
"I don't think it takes a lot of thinking to figure out that your asking for my name." The mystery man says. You nod your head eagerly wanting to know who this man is. "My name is Edward."
You put your hand out for him to shake it, "Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance Edward." He grabs your hand gently and shakes it once before letting it go.
He seems to have reverted back to being more shy again now that the topic isn't riddles. "Would it be too cliche if I said the pleasures all mine?" He asks tracing the rim of his coffee cup with his pointer finger.
You let out a light chuckle. "Let me you in on a little secret." You say while leaning closer to Edward looking around dramatically to check to see if anyone's around. "I actually love cliche things like that." You back up again and theatrically wipe away nonexistent sweat on your forehead. "Whew, that is good to get off my chest." Your tone making it clear that you're joking. Edward just smiles and laughs clearly getting more comfortable around you. At this moment you realize that it's 5 minutes after you were supposed to close. Talking to Edward had made the time pass faster than expected.
You quickly turn towards Edward, "Hey just a heads up we were supposed to have closed like 5 minutes ago." You say sheepishly feeling bad about having to give Edward the boot. He immediately blushes red.
"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to get in the way of you closing up." He quickly stands up and takes out his wallet. You quickly put your hand over his just for a moment.
"It's no big deal, and I'll cover your coffee. It was nice to be able to genuinely talk to someone." You had removed your hand by now but Edward kept his eyes on where your skin had just made contact.
He still tries to get money out to pay you, "I insist that I pay you." He says scrambling to get money out of his wallet. Once again you gently push his hands away.
"How about this instead of paying me you keep your money and promise to come swing by again soon," You say with a sly grin. All he can do is nod and put his wallet away.
He starts to walk to the door and right as hes about to reach the handle he turns abruptly. "I didn't get your name yet," He calls to you.
You smile at him. "My name's (Y/N)." He nods his head and goes out the door.
You finally close up the diner after finishing up with the rest of the nightly chores you had to do and walk to your car. Once you're in it you sigh and just sit. Your job takes a lot out of you. Just then you take a glance in your rear view mirror and see a shadow figure move out of your sight. It was lurking in the shrubbery that was outside of the diner you work at. You feel a jolt of fear course through your body. This area of town wasn't the safest at night so you're always a little on edge when you leave work at night.
You quickly started your car and left the lot. Your whole body felt like it was buzzing from the fear you just experienced. It wouldn't be the first time you've seen something sketchy like that and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but it always managed to freak you out a lot when it happened. Once you got back to your apartment you still had that feeling that you were being watched but you just decided it was your nerves being frayed after a wayyy to long shift at the shitty diner. You hurried up the stairs and into your dinky apartment that was nestled away on the end of the 3rd floor hallway.
Once you got inside your apartment you still felt a little jittery, so you made yourself some sleepy time tea and leaned up against your counter. You had left the TV on before you had left for work in the morning so you could hear it dimly buzzing in your living room. A news reporter was going on about some murder of some rich and famous dude that you honestly couldn't give a flying fuck about. Most of the politicians in Gotham city just gave you bad vibes and it seemed you were right about the one on the TV. You decided that you didn't feel like being couped up in your dinky apartment so you went to sit out on your tiny deck that barley even fit one chair. The uneasy feeling you had was still there but you tried not to let it bother you. There's no way anyone would have been able to follow you all the way home without you noticing.
You looked out over Gotham city and felt a sense of calm. The hundreds of buildings making a beautiful skyline that you could honestly look at all night. The mix of light and dark windows captivating you. You sipped your tea and just sat outside. A good half an hour had passed by the time you decided that you should probably go to bed seeing as you had work early in the morning. You went inside and put your mug in the kitchen sink. There was a small pile of dishes piling up in your sink that you didn't have the energy to clean just quite yet.
You finally made it to your room and started changing. You took your time in changing not feeling any rush enjoying the feeling of the lack of clothes. You walked around your room only in your boxers for a moment enjoying the feeling of just lounging around half naked before deciding to look for clothes. You found a t-shirt and some old sweatpants and threw them on. You threw yourself onto the bed and thought about your day. It was just the same old shit as usual until Edward had walked in. He carried a different energy than a lot of people you see on a daily basis. Most of the people the came and went through the diner paid no attention to you and it honestly felt like sometimes they couldn't even comprehend that you were even a human. But Edward was one of the few people who made you feel seen and actually talked to you. It was nice. It also definitely helped that you thought that he was a little cute.
When you finally fell asleep thoughts of the man you had met today were still rolling around in your head.