An Unexpected Find by Kris

Summary: At Northwestern, Grace Manning is in her sophomore year, and fall finals are approaching as she steps out for a coffee. Out of nowhere, she sees someone she thought she would never see again and her life is suddenly turned upside down. Grace/August.

Disclaimer: All characters are from the television show, "Once and Again", and do not belong to me. They appear in this story solely for writing and entertainment purposes, and no profit whatsoever is being made from this story

Rating: PG-13 for a majority of the time, but MA in some select chapters.

Note: Story in first-person narrative with Grace.

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Winter break was only a week away, but I was too busy with finals to really recognize it and share the same anticipation about it that my roommate had. I had a Math final and Acting final on Tuesday, an English final on Wednesday, and a Sociology final on Thursday. Luckily, I had stocked up on food so I could barely leave the room and still maintain a regular diet. Well, as much of a regular diet as one can try for on a college campus. Nevertheless, I was closed off from the greater society, and I actually sort of liked it. I got more sleep during that four day weekend than I think I have ever gotten over a four day period of time. I did not forget to brush my teeth in the morning once, I did all of my laundry, and I cleaned the room from top to bottom, even Caroline's things as well. So, when I finally did step out of my room and my dorm on Monday night for a cup of overpriced coffee at the Starbucks across the street, I felt confident and worry free. It was an odd feeling, I must admit, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It was about six when I entered the coffee shop; the thick winter air and the darkness that came with turned back clocks made it seem later though. I took off my hat as I got in line, running a hand over my hair immediately afterwards to make sure it was alright and nothing was sticking up. I waited patiently in line, distracted by the man in front of me. His hair was long and a reddish shade which instantly seemed to remind me of Mr. Dimitri. It had been a while since my thoughts had been lent to Mr. Dimitri; even though, it was at least three years ago, it still hurt to think about him, to think about what we had and what we lost. So, I did not think about him; I would not allow myself to fixate on him any longer.

As the line continued to shift upwards toward the counter further at twenty second intervals, I moved along with it, naturally. "Just a large black coffee, please.", I heard him say. His voice hit me like a thousand stinging chords; it hit me in my chest. My curiosity was now heightened, and despite telling myself that it could not possibly be him, that I was being delusional, I could not resist speaking up. "Mr. Dimitri." I meant to say it casually, but instead, it came out of me in a whisper and almost as a plea as well, almost as if I suddenly needed it to be him. The woman behind me in line looked at me impatiently as the man who I believed to be Mr. Dimitri had simply moved aside, and the woman at the register was waiting to take my order. I stepped forward with my head held low, only looking up for a second to order a small café mocha and feeling like a fool as I did so. The man beside me was looking at me then; I could feel his eyes on me. I looked up to give him a sheepish smile in hopes of extinguishing his burning gaze. When I did, I could not believe my eyes. It was him.

In really seeing my face, his eyes went wide for a moment before he just smiled a bit in his mild confusion. I was instantly reminded of how attractive a calm man could be to me above all other things. My jaw dropped and I could not really think beyond that though. A mess of noise came from the woman at the register, I assume to inform me to pay for my drink, I could not respond though. He, surprisingly, just stepped forward once again and paid for me with his credit card. Even though I loved his calm, I did not know how he was not fazed by my sudden appearance in his life once again; I feared, for a moment, that it was because he did not remember me completely or he did not care for me as deeply as I had thought. He took my coffee and his in one hand though, and my hand in his other. I moved along with him to a table in both choice and necessity, before the woman behind me in line pushed me over.

"Mr. Dimitri. I…I'm so sorry. You didn't have to…I…" My eyes welled up suddenly and my chest started to ache. I felt like I was just going to break down. God, this was all happening so quick. He kept his hand on mine across the table; his thumb soothingly ran over my palm. "Grace. Grace, it's ok." His voice made me feel like nothing had changed, like no time had passed from that night in his kitchen; his voice was still so warm and undemanding. "And it's August." I looked to his hand on mine on the table before my eyes met his once again. A tear fell from my eye and he leaned forward to kiss me. I was surprised by it, and for a moment I thought it had to be a dream, but I kissed him back softly regardless. "Don't cry." he said softly against my lips before pulling back. I didn't know whether to just embrace the moment or pinch myself to wake up.

"How is this…? It's been almost three years." I asked carefully. He had to have somebody else by now, a real girlfriend. He was attractive, smart, and charming. Even with three years past, he still looked the same, maybe even better than I remembered. "Three years of nonstop writing thanks to you." he replied. A moment later he spoke up again. "Was that not the right thing to do? You know, the kiss." I was not with anyone else, nor did I want to be with anyone else with him suddenly in my life again. Of course, that was assuming that by the kiss, he wanted to be in my life again, and he could be in my life again. "No. It was the right thing. I just wasn't expecting it. Uh…what are you even doing here?"

"Buying a cup of coffee, so I can keep writing." he said with a wide grin. He could tease. I knew he always tried to watch himself around me in the past, but there were still a few moments that slipped through his guard, moments where he teased me. He continued a moment later. "I moved out here a couple months after everything. I'm in an apartment a few blocks away. I'm guessing you're here for college?" I could not believe it; I had already wasted a whole year at college with him no more than 'a few blocks away'. I responded simply, "Yeah."

I did not know what else to say. To be honest, I just wanted to kiss him again. I did not feel like the three years had changed him; I knew they had changed me a fair deal, but I was sure that nothing could ever change the way I felt about him. I looked into his eyes again, feeling as if I could just tell him everything that way. We stared into each other's eyes and it seemed like time had stopped. He finally kissed me again a moment later. It was a longer kiss than the first but still as sweet and gentle. His free hand came up to cup my cheek. His skin was a bit rough, but his hand still felt amazing, even if it was just on my cheek. God, it felt so good to do that and to know that no one could tell us we were wrong for it, or stop us. I know it all sounds so corny, but it felt so good to be free with him. "Did I miss much?" He asked, finally pulling back once again. "No." I responded quickly. "We can't just pick up where we left off." He said, sort of questionably. "Can't we?" I asked with a bit of a grin before wiping my eyes with a napkin. I could only hope my mascara was not running.