The first time Alfred saw her it was like being hit by a semi-truck.
After high school, he had trouble with moving on and going into a school that taught what he was interested in and still didn't cost so much money that he would need to part with his kidney to pay for. So he was stuck. With only a high school diploma and a golden cross necklace to his name, Alfred had limited options. It was with determination and a stubborn mindset that he went out and got a job and working overtime, claiming the graveyard shifts and just doing anything he could to get as much money as he could. Soon Alfred was hired at the only place he could get a job, a trashy McDonald's that played minimum wage who's only business was road trippers with no other choice of grub and broke college students that lived out of the near by college town of Dusman. Knowing there was no room to be picky with a second 'rent due' warning sitting heavy in his pocket, he accepted his new role at the fast food joint and made it a goal of his to not get too comfortable with the semi-stable job.
It was on one of Alfred's graveyard shifts that he was working the second drive through window. After a long monotonous day of working and getting yelled at by the manager, he took the window shift to get some fresh air and question where he found himself in life.
The first time Chiara saw him it was like taking a shot of hard expresso.
As soon as she could leave the nest after high school, she did. Chiara sent out five applications to five different colleges all over the country and some even outside the continent, all in an attempt to do something with herself. Make something of herself. She got accepted by two and denied by three, the one she favored out the two that tolerated her lead her to Dusman. It wasn't too bad of a college and it was definitely a place where she can earn a degree in something that she was interested in. All of that was good, but so far it wasn't as spectacular as college was always made out to be. Chiara joined clubs, volunteered, even did internships but it all just wasn't she thought it would be. The workload was just as mind numbing, nights just as long, and people just as annoying. The only difference Chiara could clearly see is the fact that money actually mattered and of course she's just lucky enough to not have a fucking dime to her name.
It was late into her studies when she finally got fed up with staring at papers and no sleep that she launched out of her bed and marched out of the dorms and into her beat up car to drive and clear her head. At some point she left the city and crossed into some worn out part of the county that she was unfamiliar with. There was nothing but a long stretch of road, gas stations, and a rest stop or two.
Feeling a tad nostalgic, Chiara pulled into the drive through of a McDonald's. Feliciano would always take her to McDonald's once he found out that the guy he had a crush on worked there on the weekends. Now that she's all on her own with no time to contact her family, she wanted to sit in the passenger seat next to her brother and complain about shit food and long rides more than ever.
After getting ordering two cookies and some fancy drink she only got because the felt daring, Chiara lazily pulled up to the first window and handed over her two buck total to an annoyed looking valley girl with a glare for days. At the second window, she was handed her cookies and was greeted with a voice that stopped her cold.
"Do ya' want a receipt with that?"
Chiara slowly put down her bag before looking (actually looking this time instead of giving a polite glance) at the guy in the window. Brass colored shaggy hair, bright blue eyes partially hidden by a pair of thick frames, and a dumb McDonald uniform. "Alfred?"
Seeing her through that stupid sliding plastic window was the greatest shock Alfred's had in years. It was even more surprising than hearing that his brother was gay and going to study abroad in Canada.
Alfred blinked slowly, "Holy shit.." He leaned forward for a better look a found himself staring speechless. "Chiara? Is that you?"
She looked different. There was still bags under her eyes and her hair was still curled but other than that the weak light behind him didn't provide much insight to how Chiara looked after all these years. All he knew was that there was some kind of change about her.
Alfred saw her smirk and felt a shiver go down his spine. God, despite any changes and even after so long she was stunningly gorgeous. "Of course it's me, idiot. Damn, even after all these years you're still not used to staying up past twelve."
They were both silent for a moment, reminiscing about easier times.
"D-Do you," Alfred cleared his throat and tried not to look too desperate. "Do you wanna come inside? We're always open and I'll get in trouble for sure if I let you just hang out in front of the window."
Chiara weighed her options. She could go inside and talk with Alfred but would that be a good idea? It took a long time for her to get over him and just looking at him in the dimmed kitchen lighting made her heart pound. Would she really put herself through all that pain again? Would she be so selfish to take up Alfred's time just as she did when they were teenagers or will she make a bullshit excuse about needing to go to classes in the morning to avoid talking to him? She looked back at Alfred and felt her heart melt at the sight of him nervously fixing his glasses while looking at her pleadingly.
"Why the fuck not?" Chiara shrugged, hiding nerves of her own. "I got time."
I was thinking about a new story I could do and I had this idea of a soulmate au and meeting at McDonald's and the idea was so unappealing so I was thinking about it while boredly looking through my reviews and there was this one commenter that just loved Alfred and Chiara and desperately wanted to see them together. I thought about it and actually liked the idea so here is Chiara and Alfred years years later and still in love. I hope you enjoy, Lola! This is a little late but you inspired me so this is for you. I'm even making it longer than one chapter! Yay!