Like every other day of Ohio's winter, it was blisteringly cold outside. The wind whipped the trees side to side, threw snow about, and sent a sharp, cold wind into anyone brave enough to venture outside. Ice patches were thick on the sidewalk, causing anyone traveling on foot to slip and slide and, usually, fall down rather abruptly. Greg was one of those people trembling around on the ice this cold winter day.
"Son of a bitch, it's cold outside!", he muttered, curling his fingers tighter in his pockets, "All I want to do is get some goddamn coffee!" His short brown hair whipped around his face and blew in the strong wind. His scarf was doing a poor job of keeping him warm, but he still kept it wrapped securely around his face. He sighed and puffed as he stumbled down the sidewalk, regretting his choice to walk to the café. It was a true struggle, but the end result was worth it. Greg loved being able to sit down at his favorite little café and drink a warm, caramel-filled coffee to refresh him after a long day at work. It was his favorite part of his day, being able to wind down and melt into his seat with the sweet caramel goodness that was Margie's Coffee Café Special. He pressed his face closer into his scarf and continued his treacherous journey down the sidewalk with the renewed strength of his coffee-filled thoughts.
Pounding his feet loudly on the snow swept welcome mat, he pushed his way inside the small shop. The welcoming heat of the shop met him nicely, and encircled him in a loving embrace. He sighed and felt some of the tension in his shoulders drip away as his body regained some of its heat. He smiled as he padded up to the counter.
"Hello there! I'd like the Special," Greg hummed happily to himself. He was already reaching for his wallet when the reply came.
"Sorry, we're all out of that, sir," came the monotonous reply. The voice dripped with boredom as it slurred the words. Greg was caught off guard by this, and quickly looked up for the first time to the clerk.
"Excuse me?!" Greg looked up at the clerk abruptly. They have never, EVER, been out of stock of his precious coffee, his angelic drink that always welcomed him after a long day and gave him a mental, "It's alright, now". How can it be out of stock?! It was ridiculous to even THINK they could be out of stock! They haven't been out of stock ONCE in nearly two years!
About to ask as to why they were out of stock, he realized that the clerk isn't the same one he has had every day now for the past year and a half coming here, it was a different employee. His face began to heat up again- not because of the temperature inside the cozy little café, but because of the cute guy right in front of him. The exact same guy slouching in the stool behind the counter, thumb keeping place in a magazine he had been reading before Greg stomped into the café, who was now eyeing him with half-lidded eyes like he'd just woken up from a nap.
"So… you want something else, then, sir?" he slurred at him again. The clerk wore a messy green apron with a name tag that read "Marcus" on it, with a white button up shirt underneath. Along with black slacks that were being held up by a shiny black belt, the guy certainly looked like a worker here. How had Greg never seen him before then? All the days he had been here and he had never seen this Marcus once! What a shame that was, this guy was a sight worth lookin' at!
"…Is that a no?" Marcus asked slowly with a raised eyebrow, tearing Greg away from his thoughts.
"Oh, um! I-I've never really had anything else here, to be honest. I don't know what else I would get," Greg admitted slowly, returning to the problem of his coffee. He had asked for the special on a whim the first day he had come here and had loved it, so he had never tried any of the other options available. What else would he like? Something related to the special? Greg didn't really know.
Marcus slid a poorly laminated menu toward Greg across the counter, "Well, sir, these are the options we have". Marcus then flipped open the magazine, but continued to eye Greg.
Deciding to be a little bit daring in the hopes of impressing this cutie, Greg declined the menu and said, "Surprise me, then…", as he leaned against the counter coolly. Marcus's expression didn't change as he dropped his magazine carelessly onto the counter and stood from his slouched position on the stool.
"Whatever you want, I guess," Marcus called as he turned and began preparing a cup for his customer. While Marcus was working, Greg looked around and glanced a few times at the booty in front of him before guilt made him look down. He was sure his cheeks were pink, but he decided to blame it on just coming in from outside. The magazine that Marcus had tossed onto the counter caught his attention then, and he decided to read a little of it to see what this guy liked. The entire magazine seemed to be about computers and software, so that didn't help Greg. He wasn't exactly a pro with that kind of stuff. Looking up, Greg noticed that Marcus was heading back towards him with a steaming cup of coffee. There seemed to be quite a few more smudges on his apron, too. Setting the cup down on the counter, Marcus slouched back into his stool and stared at Greg again.
"I stirred a couple of things together and I think it'll be pretty good, but I don't know. I'm not really that fond of coffee," Marcus explained as Greg took the cup and brought it to his lips. With a hesitant sniff of the liquid, Greg took an experimental sip.
Oh god it was so horrible. It was like some idiot had thrown random items into a pot of hot ash and poured it in a cup. It was a disgrace to be called coffee. It was literal garbage. Right before he was about to spit it out, Greg noticed that Marcus had a hopeful look hidden in his eyes. Perhaps he secretly wanted to create something wonderful and delicious in coffee form? Barely subduing his reflex to gag it up, Greg swallowed the foul drink in one gulp and huffed out a breath, coughing a little.
Taking a second to recover, Greg looked to Marcus and gave a smile, "It was actually pretty good!"
The relief in Marcus's expression was raw and sudden, and it gave Greg butterflies.
"Really?," Marcus asked, pure hope pouring out of his features at Greg, "It's on the house, then!"
Greg was taken aback by the sudden character change. Oh god, he was so cute, getting all happy about his coffee. His half-lidded eyes were now wide and happy, he was sitting straighter, and he looked overall giddy. Greg tried to object, but Marcus insisted that he didn't need to pay.
"Well, you're the first person to ever say that my coffee was good, so I wanna thank you for it! I was gonna give up on my dreams of making coffee, but now I'm sure I'll be able to make it!", Marcus declared, paying for Greg's coffee himself, dropping the money in the register.
Greg sighed and smiled at the guy, "Well, thank you, Marcus… Will you be here tomorrow by any chance?", he asked, tightening his scarf around his face again.
"Oh, yeah, I'll be here. I'm taking this shift for the girl who used to work it. I'll be here every day from now on," Marcus explained, wiping his hands on his apron before untying it, "My shift isn't as long as hers was, so I'm done with work now, actually. So if you come in about the same time every day, I'll be the one working, though." Grabbing his bag, Marcus flung a red scarf around his neck and walked around the counter to the front. As he walked up to Greg, Greg turned a little pinker.
"Oh, really? I've always come here every day, so I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot now.", Greg hummed, grabbing his coffee off the counter again.
They exited the café together, and began walking side by side. They talked for a little bit while they could, but the cold chill of the weather made it difficult to maintain conversation. They both stumbled and slid on the ice, and Greg nearly fell down. Marcus laughed at him playfully and helped steady him. Marcus's hand eventually drifted from Greg's back to his hand, where he held it tightly. They walked together for as long as they could, hand in hand, until they had to part ways. They both left a little bit pinker than the cold could excuse, hearts hammering in their chests.
omg this was fun to write