San Francisco

San Francisco was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities she had ever been to. It had such an impact on her that Mary Margaret was already thinking of moving there when she graduates. She can definitely see herself living there for the rest of her life. The internship she had in the city was a requirement she had in order to graduate, and she couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity.

That day, she had nothing to do, so she decided to march down to the nearest coffee shop with a good book and her laptop.

It was nearing the end of the afternoon when she got up to pack her things. She had ordered another coffee to go because she had yet to taste coffee better than what that store offered. Her phone was ringing when she was walking out the door, balancing the coffee on one hand as she searched for it inside her bag. She was so busy and flustered that she failed to notice someone heading straight towards her. Someone who was too busy fumbling with his iPod to realize what was about to happen.

BAM.

"Oh, my God."

Mary Margaret looked at his ruined sweater in horror. It didn't help that it was light colored, making the stain impossible to miss. He hissed as the hot liquid touched his skin and pulled the soaked material slightly in response. He was still looking down and inspecting the damage when she added, "I'm so sorry. Here. Let me." She dabbed a few napkins on it and cursed when she noticed it was just getting worse.

He chuckled at her attempts and told her reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. Could happen to anyone." They both looked up at the same time, and the smile on his face disappeared. She blinked at him for a moment, hand pausing on his shirt. "Wait. Aren't you the girl…?" he trailed off, trying to remember.

"Grocery store. In Boston," she finished, smiling in wonder. He grinned at her. They both forgot their predicament at that moment as she pulled back her hand. "Wow. Hi. That… that was a year ago?"

"More or less," he smiled, placing his hands inside his jean pockets.

She smiled shyly at him, fumbling with the napkins. "What are you doing here in San Francisco?"

"Oh, um," he said, pointing behind him with his thumb. Like she could see exactly where he had come from. "I was visiting my girlfriend. She's studying in USF."

"Oh." She tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone. "Well. That's nice of you to do."

He just smiled at her. "How about you? Do you live here?"

"I wish," she laughed. "I'm only staying for two months. I'm taking an internship here actually."

"Wow, that's amazing," he told her, impressed. After that, they both had nothing to say, making them both realize why they were standing awkwardly in front of the coffee house. He looked down at the stain on his shirt again, making her bite her lower lip. She looked behind her and remembered the washing machine in her apartment.

"Look," she immediately said without thinking it through. "My apartment's not far from here. I can throw your shirt in the wash and have it dried in no time."

"That's really nice of you," he said, looking torn. She noticed that he had a small wrinkle in the middle of his eyebrows when he thinks. "But it's not really necessary. I appreciate your offer, don't get me wrong, but I can go back to the hotel and change. It's no big deal."

"No, I insist." Mary Margaret quickly said. "It's the least I can do. You wouldn't want to walk around with that. Come on." He hesitated for a moment before complying, following her lead.

They were both quiet all the way up to her apartment. She couldn't help the rush of heat to her cheeks at the thought of having a handsome stranger alone in her house. Her father would throw a fit if he finds out.

"Um." She dropped her keys into the bowl by the door. "There's the TV. Knock yourself out." He grinned at her statement as she took off her coat and hung it by the door. "I'll take your shirt and throw it in the wash."

It took no time for him to pull his sweater and undershirt over his head, and Mary Margaret struggled to keep her expression neutral at the sight of his tone body. Suddenly, she didn't know what to do with her hands and went to fix some magazines that were slightly out of place.

He cleared his throat to get her attention before handing it over. She flashed him a small smile and prayed to every god there is that it didn't look as deranged as she felt it was. "I'll – um – go then. Throw this in the wash. Um. You can watch TV," she said, looking anywhere but him. "Can I get you anything? I can heat up some leftover pizza."

"That sounds great." She heard a smile in his voice and him plopping down on the couch. She quickly headed to the laundry room and closed the door behind her. Leaning on it heavily, she placed a cold hand on her warm forehead, telling herself to get a grip. After throwing the clothes into the machine, she got a bit of detergent in before pressing the buttons.

Mary Margaret slipped out of the room quietly and saw that he had made himself comfortable on her couch and was watching some history channel. She quickly changed in her room into more comfortable, yet flattering enough not to scare him away, clothes. After which, she went into the kitchen to heat up the aforementioned pizza.

As the microwave hummed, she stared at it blankly, slightly lost in her own world for a moment. She jumped when she heard a phone ring. He picked it up, and she couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Hey, babe," he greeted, a smile in his voice. She chided herself when a jolt of jealousy coursed through her veins. "I'm – uh – at a friend's house. I spilled some coffee over my shirt and needed some assistance." Pause. "No, I'm fine." Pause. "Yeah, I'll call you when I'm on my way back to the hotel. See you then? Okay. I love you, too. Bye."

The microwave beeped, making her jump again. She sighed at herself before pulling the hot plate out of the oven and heard footsteps coming in from the living room. "Something smells amazing," he said, grinning. She felt her heart flutter at a weird vision of him telling her that in the future. "I'm having my clothes washed, and I get offered pizza. I think this might be too good to be true."

She laughed at that. He ate in a typical boy fashion, but she still can't help but see him as a Disney prince. He looked more handsome than she remembered. And, no, it had nothing to do with him being half-naked in her apartment.

Light conversation and a few laughs happened in between him inhaling the pizza slices. For the both of them, it felt like time flew a bit too fast as Mary Margaret approached him later on with his dried clothes on hand. He had just finished placing the washed plate on the rack when she returned.

"Thanks for doing that," she smiled.

"It's the least I can do," he grinned, throwing her words back at her. After drying his hands, he pulled his undershirt on first before taking his sweater from her. "Thanks for washing this. Smells good."

"No problem," she replied, pushing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "So. What's your plan for the rest of your stay?"

After pulling his sweater over his head, he was fixing it while he answered her, "Well, I'm heading back to New York tomorrow. My dad's not particularly happy that I'm on the other side of the country."

She laughed. "I'm sure he isn't." She saw that he was taking his time with his sweater, stalling, and she can't help her smile. "I guess, this is goodbye then." She offered her hand. "Nice to see you again."

He grinned as he shook her hand. He really does have a beautiful smile. "I wouldn't call our first meeting ending in a goodbye. You literally walked out on me."

She laughed again, shaking her head and pulling away from him. He added, smiling, "And this isn't goodbye. I'm sure we'll bump into each other somewhere. I'll be prepared with a shield next time."

Mary Margaret doubted it but smiled nonetheless. "We'll see."