Constantly hating the status quo.

Dale Cooper had been in Twin Peaks for five days, and on exactly five of those days he had been into the Double R Diner for his morning coffee.

Four of those days he’d also been in for a slice of pie that very same evening.

The pie was damn fine, undoubtedly. As was the coffee. But he’d be lying if he said that the real reason he was so eager to return was anything but the fact it was you he had the pleasure of being served by.

It was no coincidence that the one day so far he’d not spent his evening in the diner was the day he’d overheard you thanking Norma for giving you the evening off.

And now, on day 6, he’d been sceptical about whether or not he should avoid the diner today… Because heaven forbid you found it odd that he was in there so often.

But no, he thought, it’s just a great place for a morning coffee — and with so many regulars there, he was just doing his bit to fit in while he’s in town.

Yes, that would satiate the worry in the pit of his stomach.

When he entered, he felt a small pang of disappointment as he noticed that you were nowhere to be seen.

Still, he smiled at Norma and ordered his usual coffee, taking a seat in a quiet booth as he pondered over the day’s investigative plans (and certainly not about where you might be).

Dale Cooper never wanted to let himself get distracted from a case.

He was there to get the job done — not to think about the pretty smile of a woman he hardly knew when he was supposed to be solving a murder.

But he already savoured his mornings in the Double R for his brief escape from the reality of his job, and you were every bit to thank for that.

His head hung low, idly watching the steam rise from his coffee as he remained contemplative.

As a result, he was surprised when he heard your voice, the click of your shoes nearing his table.

“Oh hi Agent Cooper, sorry I didn’t see you come in,” you hummed, coffee pot in hand as he looked up to meet your gaze, “Been out back sorting some things out — it’s good to see you! Norma says you weren’t in for a slice’a pie yesterday…”

Cooper was sure his cheeks warmed at that. Had he been caught out?

“Oh, I, uh,” he forced a chuckle, “Had a busy day. I just needed some rest, is all. Lovely—Lovely to see you too. I trust you had a good evening?”

You found it so endearing how tirelessly formal he seemed to be, almost as though he was scared to bring down his wall enough to relax around you.

“Oh absolutely, a friend of mine who went away for college came to visit for the night,” you smiled, topping up his coffee as he watched you intently, “We went for dinner. I hope you had a good night too and didn’t suffer too much without pie!”

He chuckled at that — his smile enlarging at your small joke.

He took a small sip of his coffee, “How wonderful. Where, might I ask, did you go? That sounds odd, please forgive me— I’d just like to try somewhere new whilst I’m here.”

You giggled, “Already fed up of my food, Agent Cooper?”

His eyes widened, and you couldn’t help but find it adorable how flustered you seemed to make him.

“Oh no, never,” he flushed crimson, “Just trying to acclimatise to Twin Peaks life. And please, call me Dale.”

You fought back the panic at those words and the implication that his investigation was far from over.

You were, however, slightly ashamed to admit that you were delighted to know this meant he’d be sticking around a little while longer.

“Well, Dale,” you hummed, tongue in cheek, “It’s a little restaurant about thirty minutes out of town, but it’s a favourite of mine.”

You paused for a moment, unsure whether the bold suggestion you were about to make was a stupid one.

Sure, it was pretty clear (from what Harry had told you, if not just from his behaviour) that Dale was very much romantically interested in you.

However, given the circumstances of his presence in Twin Peaks, you worried his professionalism would lead to an embarrassing rejection.

Oh, fuck it.

“I could— we could go one evening, maybe?” you smiled shyly, “Could show you the best things on the menu, or—something?”

His face lit up, then dropped for a moment, then lit up with a smile once more.

He seemed to be internally battling with himself about whether or not it was a good idea to say yes, but given the beaming smile on his face by the end of it, you could assume which side had won.

“I’d love that,” Dale’s eyes twinkled as he looked up at your from his seat, pausing to take a sip of coffee, “May I be so rude as to ask if I could call it a… date? Because I had been hoping to ask you for one myself.”

At these words, you were sure your smile couldn’t possibly get any wider.

“If you’d like it to be one, then I’d very much like that too,” you hummed, smoothing down your dress with your palms, “When would you like to go?”

He narrowed his eyes for a moment in thought, “What’re you doing tonight?”

“Free as a bird,” you sing-songed, perhaps too eagerly, “I—I’ve got the night off again, always do on a Thursday. So tonight would be great.”

Satisfied, he took another slurp of coffee — the shit-eating grin on his face sending your heart racing, “Perfect. If you’d just write down your address for me, I’ll come and pick you up.”

You nodded, pulling your pen from your pocket and scrawling down your address, pushing the paper towards him.

His hand lingered on yours for a moment as you leaned forward to place it in front of him, and you could’ve sworn you’d never felt goosebumps quite like you did right now.

For a moment after taking the paper, Dale just looked at you — admiring your features as you leaned in closer than usual.

He was grateful for the close proximity, and immensely hopeful for more.

“I must admit, I’ve been thinking of asking you for dinner since the very night I got here,” Dale cleared his throat, “Though I didn’t want to be unprofessional. I hope you understand.”

You chuckled, “Of course, Dale,” oh boy could he get used to the lilt of his name on your tongue, “I hope… Well, let’s just say I’ve been thinking about it too and I’m very glad it’s happening.”

You could practically feel Norma’s eyes on you as you spoke, acutely aware of both the visible intensity of your conversation and how long you’d been at Dale’s table.

“I’d best get back to work before Norma keeps me late and I miss out on my hot date,” you joked, blushing crimson at your own words, “I’ll see you later. I hope you have a lovely day, Agent Cooper.”

He shot you one last smile, “I’ll see you later, beautiful.”

Now you could get used to that.

———

The day Dale showed up at the diner you had been quite frightened with the talk of murder going around town. When the tall man in a fancy suit told you he was an FBI agent and he was here to catch the killer you immediately felt a lot safer. You both introduced yourselves and started to chat while Dale enjoyed his cup of coffee. Your first impression of Dale was that he was very intelligent, extremely handsome, and his jokes were a little bit silly. There weren't a lot of guys like him in Twin Peaks.

It soon became Dale's morning ritual to wake up early and head to the diner before he had to go to the station. He heavily enjoyed your company while he drank his coffee. Being with you allowed Dale to escape the scary reality which the Laura Palmer case brought. Your conversations with Dale made you forget of the boring monotonous days the diner gave, each day fading into the next. Dale visiting you every morning gave you something to look forward to. If you got lucky, he would visit another time later in the day with the Sheriff and Deputies Hawk and Brennan.

Norma soon noticed that when you arrived at work in the mornings you were much happier and bubbly than you had been for a while. She also noticed when Dale Cooper walked through those doors, the other tables were not being tended to. Norma understood what was happening between you and the FBI agent. She didn't mind taking a few more orders and cleaning a couple more tables while you flirted away with Cooper.

One morning you had arrived at work earlier than you usually do. You had woken up extra early because you were looking forward to seeing Dale today. You knew your hair looked especially good today too because you kept checking your reflection on the side of the coffee pots.

You made a special pot of strong coffee just for Dale and continued to take customers orders. Even after serving their food and cleaning their tables, there was no sign of the agent. You began to feel disappointed. You had put so much effort into how you look this morning all for Dale to be a no show.

"Where's your FBI agent boyfriend?" Shelly teased while pouring a cup of coffee for a customer.

"I'm wondering the same thing! and he's not my boyfriend." You smirked at Shelly. Everyone could tell that the conversations between you and Dale meant a lot to each other. Dale Cooper had even gotten a handful of teasing from Sheriff Truman. The tension between you two couldn't go unnoticed by anyone.

Almost as if he was summoned, Dale Cooper walked through the diner doors. He immediately caught your attention, and you two smiled at each other. On instinct, you grabbed a mug from under the counter and poured the agent a cup of his coffee as he sat down in his usual stool.

"Good morning y/n! I'm sorry that I'm later than usual." Dale said with a smile on his face. You could tell his apology was sincere.

"That's okay Dale. You don't have to apologize." You said while putting the coffee pot back on the warmer, checking your reflection one last time.

When you turned back around to him, Dale was looking at you intently like he had something important to say. He made eye contact with you and didn't break it. Silence ensued.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me! How is your morning going?" Dale said after a second of awkward silence. He is such a gentleman you thought to yourself. No man in Twin Peaks has ever been so considerate of your feelings. Dale knew how to make you feel seen and heard.

"Better now that you've arrived," You smiled, "I thought you were a no show for a minute." Dale's nerves settled when he heard this. Knowing that you were happy to see him made what he was about to ask much easier.

"y/n. I wouldn't miss your coffee for the world." He said while lifting his coffee in the air then taking a sip. You giggled, your coffee couldn't have been that revolutionary. He smiled and then put his cup down. The look that Dale's eyes had before came back. He looked into your eyes and suddenly seemed nervous. "Can I tell you something?" He said while not once breaking eye contact. You however did break eye contact. It was nerve racking to know that as an FBI agent, Dale has to know how to read people. He was probably taking in all of your micro expressions and analyzing them every time that you spoke to each other. Hell! He probably knew that you had a crush on him!

"You can tell me anything Dale." It was true. You both learned to trust each other throughout the short time that Dale has been in town. Every conversation with him felt easy, you felt like you could tell Dale anything as well.

"I've really enjoyed getting to know you throughout my stay at Twin Peaks. Visiting you every morning has been a highlight of my day." His words made your cheeks blush. You didn't think that Dale's feelings were similar towards your own. "I was wondering y/n, if you'd enlighten me with the pleasure of having dinner together tonight. That is if you don't have any prior commitments."

Your world stopped spinning. It felt like you and Dale were the only two souls in the diner. That was until you heard a giggle coming from Shelly who was close by helping another customer.

"Of course. I'd love to Dale! That sounds great." You flashed him a smile. It felt like the diner got 30 degrees hotter, but that was just the effect that Dale had on you. You were oblivious but you had the same effect on Dale too.

"Great! I can pick you up at your place at 5:30." Dale had a lovesick smile on his face. He could stare at you all day if was able to. Dale took one last gulp from his coffee and stood up from his seat. "I'll see you tonight."

"Goodbye Dale! I'm looking forward to it." You smiled and waved to Dale while he walked out of the diner while somehow keeping his eyes on you. He was about to walk out of the diner door when he stopped himself. He peered his head back through the door.

"One last thing!" You looked back at the agent. "Your hair looks beautiful y/n." Then he walked out and let the door shut behind him.

Shelly and Norma could've sworn that they've never seen a smile that big on your face ever.

"Well he sure does seem like your boyfriend now!" Shelly said. You and Shelly giggled and squealed together like schoolgirls. Norma watched the happy expression on your face from the cash register. She was glad that you found someone that made you that happy.

Dale walked outside to his car while pulling out his tape recorder.

When Agent Cooper had agreed to come for one drink at The Roadhouse, it had been almost entirely with the intent to get you off his mind.

Of course, the Laura Palmer case was draining and tiring and left him in need of some relaxation when he could get it too, but today it had been you plaguing his mind all day, ever since his run in with you at the diner this morning.

It wasn’t unusual to bump into you as he ordered his morning coffee, nor was it unusual to find himself conceding and letting you have the last slice of pie of an evening when you gave him your best puppy dog eyes.

In fact, he always looked forward to the extra-wide smile you seemed to reserve only for him — routinely basking in your honey sweet voice and eagerness to converse with him more than anyone else in a room.

At first he’d not known how to react to your keenness, his usual air of professionalism extending to make awkward formulaic small talk with you as you tried to get to know him.

But now he revelled in his conversations with you, and he’d been as enthusiastic as ever when he saw you skip into the Double R with a grin on your face.

That was, until Sheriff Truman trailed in right behind you with an equally large smile and waving your scarf in his hands.

“Two coffees please, Shelly,” you singsonged, snatching the scarf from Harry’s hand with a laugh, “Sorry, I’m terrible with leaving things in the wrong places.”

He shook his head with a chuckle, his eyes catching Dale’s as you began gossiping with Shelly across the counter, “I’ll just be over there with Agent Cooper.”

Cooper nodded back at him in acknowledgment as he wandered over, but something in his expression told Harry he wasn’t happy to see him this morning.

“You got some bad news on the case?”

“No. But I have got something I have to—ah yes, I left something back at my hotel room,” Cooper was doing an uncharacteristically terrible job at lying, “I’d best be off. Please excuse me.”

Without a further word to either Harry or you, he fled the diner with such urgency you’d have thought the building was about to collapse in on itself.

You watched him leave with furrowed brows, his usual warmth nowhere to be seen as he dared not even look at you while he left.

You were utterly perplexed — entirely unaware of the impact that turning up with the Sheriff, all smiles and evidently having driven there together, would have on the man.

Your car hadn’t started this morning and, in a frantic panic, you’d called Harry — with whom you’d been good friends since you were in diapers, for goodness sake — and asked him for a lift to the diner where you could meet a colleague.

He’d obliged, of course, and you’d been looking forward to another morning of idle chatter with your very favourite FBI agent.

Unfortunately, even as Dale Cooper now sat contemplatively beside his friends and swirled his drink around his glass, a friendly ride to the diner wasn’t how he pictured the encounter.

His mind was abuzz at all hours anyway with all of the stress of the case, but it seemed that it was when it came to you that all sense of reason and rationality flew entirely out of the window.

After all, if you had just been in need of a ride, could you not have called him?

He liked to think you were close enough for that now. Perhaps not.

Perhaps he’d been wrong to assume the sheriff was romantically attached to Josie. Hell, perhaps he’d gotten a lot of things wrong in his time in Twin Peaks.

And then as if on cue, into The Roadhouse you waltzed.

You, all bright eyed and smiling. You, looking somehow more radiant than he’d ever seen you. You, waving in his direction as Harry stood up to hug you and pull out a chair for you to join them.

“Y/N. I didn’t know you were joining us?”

He hadn’t intended for his tone to sound so disappointed. Of course not. But watching you lean in to hug Harry left a bitterness on his tongue.

“Oh, sorry,” you looked down at your feet for a moment, now reluctant to take the seat, “Harry said it would be alright. I can—,”

Dale shook his head, “It’s perfectly okay.”

You swallowed thickly, nodding with a shy smile as you sat down and shimmied your jacket from your shoulders, “Oh, uh, thank you.”

Harry took your coat from you, hooking it over the back of your chair as you placed your purse down on the table and tried to make eye contact with Dale.

Everyone was watching him with bemused expressions, confused by what on earth could be bothering him so much.

He normally lit up when you entered a room, but today your entrance seemed to dim his mood even further.

The agent said nothing for a moment, instead opting to take a large swig of his drink, before standing abruptly.

“Well I’m dry and off to get another drink,” he said, tight-lipped, “Does anybody need another?”

The others just looked between each other, baffled by his unusual behaviour. Even for a man so often talking of crazy dreams and visions, this behaviour was curious.

You bit your lip, taking this as your chance to talk to him about whatever was on his mind, “Not another, but I need my first. I’ll—I’ll join you at the bar.”

“Alrighty then,” he led the way, his coat swishing behind him, because for some reason he’d still not relaxed enough to remove it, “What will it be?”

“Oh I can get my own drink, Dale,” you smiled, elbows propping up against the bar as he waved the bartender over, “But thanks. That’s kind of you.”

You both ordered your drinks, and you were acutely aware of how hard he seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact.

“Dale… Have I done something to offend you? I can go home if you’d prefer.”

He shook his head fervently, “No, not at all.”

He finally seemed to look at you now, his eyes dead set as he pondered his next words.

“If I did, you can tell me. I didn’t mean to intrude, it’s just that earlier, Harry—,”

“Are you and Sheriff Truman dating?”

His words almost winded you — what on earth made him think that?

You giggled, “Absolutely not! He’s just a friend. And anyway, he’s dating Josie and I’m not interested. Hold on, is this because he drove me to the Double R this morning?”

He gulped, and you were sure a blush began to tinge his cheeks, “It was the first time you’d arrived together and you seemed closer than I’ve seen you previously. Forgive my intrusion.”

At this you chuckled again, one hand curling around your glass and the other resting atop his forearm comfortingly.

“My car wouldn’t start and I was meeting someone I work with, so I needed a ride quickly,” you explained, eyes crinkling as you smiled across at him, “Would it bother you if we were? Dating, that is.”

Despite the inevitability of the question, he still felt taken aback by it.

“No, I suppose it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s not the question I asked,” your voice softened only further, and you felt him tense as the hand you’d rested on his arm moved atop his hand instead, “Would you be bothered if we were dating?”

“I—,” he paused, analysing the way you were looking at him right now, “I suppose I would, yes.”

“And why might that be?”

At this point, you seemed to be on the same page.

It was evident you were goading him towards being honest with you — but quite clearly only because the feelings he so obviously was trying to conceal were reciprocated — and the weight of confession seemed to have lightened a little now.

“Jealousy, I’d say.”

There was very nearly a hint of a smirk on his lips now as he looked away for a moment, before lifting his drink to his lips with his eyes still fixed on yours.

“Jealousy? Why ever would the man I so clearly dote over at every opportunity have any reason to be jealous of someone else?” you teased, tongue in cheek as you leaned in a little closer.

It was his turn to chuckle lightly now, “Perhaps it has something to do with that someone else being the person you asked to drive you to work in a pinch, and the way you were practically glowing with joy when you walked into the diner together.”

You narrowed your eyes, shaking your head a little as your fingers interlaced with his now, “For an FBI agent, one might question your observation skills at times. The diner in the morning is, like, my happy place. And as one of the main reasons why that’s the case, I wouldn’t have expected you to come to such a wrong conclusion. I only asked Harry because he lives right by me!”

“I’ll ignore that first comment,” he tutted, placing down his drink for a moment to run his hand over his hair, “The first thing you did when you got here tonight was hug him, which as you can imagine didn’t do much to suggest I was wrong to believe your affection for him.”

“Friends hug, Coop,” you laughed, “He’s just been going through some stuff lately with Josie and I’ve been trying to be a good friend.”

He nodded, opting to say nothing for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

You licked your lips, sipping your drink quietly as his gaze continued to cascade over you.

“Someone as… attractive as you can hardly be surprised that I’d expect anyone to jump at the chance to be with you?”

You smirked now, “Would you then?”

He cleared his throat, his eyes dragging from your head to toe again not to aid him in constructing his answer, but just because he couldn’t help himself from admiring you.

“I’m in Twin Peaks, ahem, on important business. So it would be unprofessional of me to do so,” he swallowed as he watched you pout, “But that certainly does not mean that I wouldn’t want to.”

In the time you’d gotten to know each other, he’d for the most part dropped his positively professional demeanour around you — instead finding himself more relaxed, more comfortable.

But it was clear to you in this moment that this was unfamiliar territory for him; Being open and honest about romantic feelings wasn’t easy, even if he was comfortable around you.

“So what does that mean for us?“

Dale drew in a sharp breath, his thumb rubbing over the side of your hand where you were holding his.

“I don’t—Well, I certainly don’t want to keep pretending I don’t have feelings for you,” he seemed to be battling inwardly over what to do, “And I’ve been, forgive me for being so bashfully honest, but I’ve been feeling this way for long enough without it impeding my work to suggest that… Maybe it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Gee, so romantic,” you joked, watching his face briefly drop before registering that you were joking, “Honestly, I don’t want to cause any problems but… I mean… you surely can’t be expected to just never be happy with someone because of your job.”

He shook his head, “It’s not that. I’m here to keep you safe and a relationship might just compromise your safety instead.”

“The killer isn’t out to get you, are they?” there was panic in your eyes as you asked this, “Surely I’m no more at risk than I already was?”

Dale didn’t even like to for a moment think about you as the next victim — not when he still felt so far from finding the killer and preventing that.

You were, however, probably right.

“D’you know what, Y/N?”

Your lashes fluttered, a twinkle in your eye as a smile fully graced his face again now.

This was the Dale you were used to, smiling from ear-to-ear just looking at you.

“Mhm?”

“How would you feel about a late night slice of damn fine pie?”

You leaned in tentatively, your own smile matching his now too, “I’d love that, Coop.”

He pulled your intertwined hands closer to his chest now, aware of prying eyes but wanting to seize the moment.

“Perfect.”

He dipped his head to kiss you softly on the corner of your mouth, hesitating to do so initially until you nodded to indicate that you wanted him to.

You smiled, kissing him back briefly before pulling away to shoot him a cheeky smile.

“And, if you’re lucky, I might even share the last slice this time.”

———

thank you for reading!!! agonised over how poorly i felt i wrote coop for ages but thought i’d send it out into the world anyway … i hope you enjoy.