Monday:
I went to work around five in the morning. People like coffee when they wake up, and their tips are paying my bills, so waking up at five is a small sacrifice. Granted, it gets pretty chilly in the morning around this time of year, so I have to do a little extra dressing. But, that said, people are more partial to warm beverages when it's chilly, which means more tips for me.
I pulled my jacket over my sweater, shoving my hands into the pockets as I walked out the door. It was pretty windy out, and I could feel the morning frost biting harshly at my cheeks. I shivered, reminding myself that a coat would probably be necessary from now on. But my pride wouldn't let me go back into my apartment to retrieve one today, cold be damned. I could take it! I was a Finnish man, after all! I had thicker skin than the average joe! (Or so I liked to tell myself, as I shivered pathetically.)
The cafe was only two and a half blocks from my house, lucky me, so I was there rather quickly. I unlocked the door with my key. The bell rang as I came in, and I glared at it, the sound rather annoying after hearing it so often. Elizabeta poked her head around the door to the kitchen in the back, smiling when she saw me.
"Morning Tino! You're just in time to frost the mini cakes!" She called, disappearing again. I groaned a bit, loud enough for her to hear.
"Aren't I always?"
"I guess so. Put an apron on, hurry! We open in twenty minutes." I pulled my jacket off, hanging it on the little rack near the counter, and put my apron on.
"Eli, I've worked here for how long? Don't you think I know when we open?" I demanded, walking into the little kitchen. My nose was greeted by the sweet smell of pure sugar, and the dull stickiness of fresh dough. I could practically feel my teeth rotting.
"I'm sorry Tino, you know how I am. Get frosting."
"Yeah yeah. What's left after the mini cakes?" I asked, taking the bag of blue frosting and decorating one of the little squares. Nothing fancy, just a floral pattern around the edge, and a larger one in the middle. Sounds gay, I know, but you'd be surprised how fast they sell.
"I've got the cookies done, and the danishes are baking. You'll need to add the cheese when they finish. I'm going to slice the cheesecake when I finish with these muffins, and I can glaze the cake balls. Can you frost the cupcakes?"
"You got it, boss. Do you want me to brew the coffee too?"
"Could you? I need to call Roderich before we open. He has a meeting today, and he always manages to sleep in on days that he has meetings. He's so anal about punctuality, but somehow he always manages to sleep in if he has a meeting. I have yet to figure it out." She explained, picking up her tray of muffins and taking them out to the display box.
"Not a problem. Being married is stressful, hmm?" I asked, keeping the conversation going.
"You don't know the half of it..."
"You're loving it, aren't you."
"You bet'cha." She agreed, giggling as she came back to slice up the large cheesecake. I smiled, piling all of the cake squares onto a tray and adding them to the display case. This was a daily thing with Elizabeta and I. I was her only employee, so we were pretty chummy. We were friends long before coworkers, so it was hard for me to take her seriously. I mean, hell, I had been her bridesmaid in her wedding! Luckily, I never got in trouble with my "boss," so it was rarely necessary for me be serious with her.
We finished the baking quickly, and she went to call Roderich while I made the first batch of coffee. We always had a pot of normal coffee ready, as it was our most popular "product." There were plenty of other things to order, but we generally made those on the spot when they were ordered. We'd be wasting a lot of stuff if we had everything premade.
The coffee machine started humming, and I left it to its own devices, opting to set tables while the coffee brewed. I usually fixed the tables at the end of the day, but it was always good to double check, and I somehow always managed to make a mistake. Like today, there was a table missing forks. I grabbed a couple, and placed them down, inspecting the rest of the tables. Nothing else was amiss, so I returned to the counter. Now to play the waiting game.
It was silent in the shop aside from the coffee machine. This was always the best part of the day. Knowing that I was fully prepared to receive customers, and knowing that they would be coming, very soon, to eat all of the sweets I had just finished preparing. So much excitement was in store, yet it was so perfectly serene. That was what made getting up early worth it. The only thing better was Sundays and Thursdays, when I got the day off to do whatever I pleased. (Roderich would come and help out on those days.)
"Tino? Everything ready?" Elizabeta called, coming back from her phone call.
"Joo. Want me to unlock the door?" I asked.
"Yes, please. I'm sure Ludwig is waiting for his morning cup."
"Right." I called, going to the door and turning the latch. Sure enough, our tall, blonde, German regular was waiting, looking just as tired as he did every day.
"Morning Ludwig." I greeted cheerfully, earning a small nod of acknowledgment. Ludwig was, to be perfectly honest, totally my type. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, quiet, a bit standoffish and outwardly cold, but sweet deep down inside, with sharp, manly features... But maybe a he is a little too uptight, not to mention taken. In fact, his boyfriend, Feliciano, is a friend of mine. Despite being my type, I didn't really feel any attraction to the man... Perhaps that has something to do with Feliciano.
He paid for his coffee, and I poured him a large cup, though he payed for the medium. I did this every day. It was just a given. He came EVERY DAY after all.
"How's Feli doing?" I asked as I handed the cup to him, making sure he had a grip on the saucer before letting go.
"He's... Noisy, as usual. Still not tired of pasta, and still intent on making my life hell. Lucky for me he didn't wake up before I could leave this morning." He replied. I smiled, and I knew he could tell that I sympathized. It was an unspoken sympathy, but sympathy none the less. But it was hard to take his complaining seriously. I knew that, beneath all of that complaining, he truly loves Feliciano.
"That is lucky. Well, enjoy your coffee. Let me know if you need a refill." I said, smiling. This was mechanical now. I would serve customers, get tips, bake a bit, then go home around two. We kept pretty early hours, as Elizabeta liked to have the afternoon to herself. And who was I to complain? We still made plenty of money, seeing as we were the only coffee shop on this side of the city. And it left all of my afternoons free.
-.-.-+-.-.-
We finally wished our last customer goodbye, and began our cleanup. It didn't take long, as all we really had to do was wipe down tables and wash all the dishes. She thanked me, and I pulled my jacket back on, ready to go. She, of course, gave me a stern talking to when she saw this, demanding that I wear a coat from now on. After I assured her that I would, she let me go with a dainty farewell, and I was on my way home. It was too cold and I was too scantily clad for me to do anything else, and it seemed like a good stay-at-home day. Alright, so maybe I was excited to talk to Berwald. Really excited.
I had, though I fought it, thought about him all day. I imagined what he would look like, what he would sound like, what he would say to me. I had to snap myself out of it several times when a customer would wave a hand in my face or snap at me. That probably wasn't good, but I was a good employee, so I could get away with it every once in a while.
I got to my apartment, and climbed the stairs, fumbling with the key in my haste to escape the cold. I sighed in relief when I got in, the heat feeling wonderful to my chilled body. I pulled off my shoes, then my jacket, hanging it on my coat rack before venturing into the kitchen to find something to eat. Working around so much food is a hungry job.
I peered into my fridge with senseless hope that the food fairy had visited while I was gone. Alas, I am not that fortunate. I sighed, closing the fridge and opening the freezer, pulling out a frozen pizza. I preheated the oven to the appropriate temperature, then went into the living room to boot up my laptop. This is a rather slow process, as I have a tendency to download things as if they would be gone forever if I didn't. I had been told on more than one occasion that I needed to stop and clear out what I didn't need, or my computer would die all together, but that hadn't happened yet, and I relish in tempting fate. Besides, it works fine after it starts up, turning it on was just the worst part.
The oven beeped, alerting me to it's readiness. I returned to the kitchen, shoving the pizza in and setting the timer before venturing again into the living room. This sort of back and forth is normal for me. I have trouble sitting still, my patience is thin, and I'm easily bored. I can't bring myself to just wait for the computer to load, or the pizza to cook. I have to be doing something with that time. I'm surprised I haven't walked a hole into my downstairs neighbor's apartment with all the pacing.
By this time, my computer was ready for computing, so I logged on, typing in my password quickly, then waiting for the desktop to load. This took considerably less time in comparison to the startup, and soon I was opening the internet. E-mails came first, then facebook, deviantart, then finally I was free to open my usual chat browser. I looked through my friends list, and a few were on, but I was disappointed to find that Berwald was not one of them. A little too disappointed... I mean, we had agreed on the same time, which was later in the evening, so what was I expecting?
I sighed, getting up to check on my pizza, knowing full well that it was no where near ready. I opened the oven anyway, the blurry, watery effect of the heat catching my attention as rather pretty before the temperature could get to my face and make me cringe. Sure enough, when enough heat had escaped for me to look in, I found the pizza undone, the cheese not even completely unfrozen yet. I shut it again, glaring at the oven as if that would make it cook faster. Not that it mattered. Eating would only be a temporary distraction.
I suppose I could chat with another of my online friends... But I had nothing I particularly wanted to tell any of them. Or maybe I was just totally dead set on Berwald. ...I truly am a pathetic human being. I mean, really, I was blowing this out of proportion. I looked forward to talking with someone I had just met, all day long. Not only that, but had fantasized, and fabricated a could-be relationship in my mind that probably was a would-never-be dream. And what was I thinking? I had only talked to him one time, and he hadn't really shown any interest, other than the request to talk again. Why did I have this insufferable habit of getting obsessed with silly things?
I went back to the computer, staring blankly at the screen, looking, but not seeing. This is another habit. If I don't get what I want, I stare at whatever is denying me until I get it. A rather tedious, and often futile practise, considering most things on the receiving end are, just that, things, as opposed to people. But living alone tends to make one more aware of the alive nature of household items. The vacuum, for instance, has feelings, and doesn't like being rammed into walls. Alright, so I was probably on the far side of homesick, being past the crying every night stage and not quite at the visiting my parents unexpectedly stage. No, I was currently wrapped up in the talk to inanimate objects and make online friends stage.
My eyes focused suddenly when a green dot appeared, and, to my astonishment, it was next to the name I was waiting for. I opened the chat box, and started typing quickly, and almost hit send, but then stopped. It would seem pretty desperate if I sent him a message only thirty seconds after he logged on. I was going for the "cute Finn" image, not the stalker. Perhaps I should let him start it this time. Yes, that was safer. I erased the message and waited. About two minutes later, there was a ding, and a message.
Berwald: Hej, you're on early.
I giggled girlishly, typing my response with glee, happy that my wish had been granted. Perhaps there was something to this glaring at things.
Tino: Oh, hei! You too!
Berwald: Ja, I was actually hoping you'd be on early. I finished work, and had some spare time. I didn't expect you to actually be on though.
Tino: Yeah, I wasn't expecting you either! But it's a nice surprise.
I purposely failed to mention that I had been hoping the same thing. He didn't need to know.
Berwald: So, did you go to work today?
Tino: Yep. I get off around two everyday. Most people prefer to have their coffee in the morning, after all.
Berwald: Ah, well, how was it?
Tino: The same as always. I was a bit more distracted today though.
Berwald: Why's that?
Shit, bad thinking Tino! I can't exactly say "I was thinking of you all day."
Tino: I was thinking about the puppies I get to see tomorrow! I always get so excited!
Berwald: You like dogs that much?
Tino: I do! I wish I could have one, but they aren't allowed in my apartment.
Berwald: That's too bad...
Tino: Oh, please don't tell me you're a cat person!
Berwald: Definitely not. You could even say I hate them.
Tino: Oh, good, me too. They're always mean to me. But puppies always love me! Actually, I can't get them to leave me alone. But that's alright with me. Ugh, alright, I officially need to move. Now I want one even more...
Berwald: Sorry for making you want one more.
Tino: Haha, no need to apologize. I need to move out of this tiny apartment anyway. I've been saving for a while. I guess I should start looking around for houses.
Berwald: I guess so. I'll keep my eye out too.
Tino: Thanks! I appreciate the help!
I could smell the pizza. It smelled a little funny though... A little burnt... But that wasn't right... It hadn't been in there for very long... And the timer would have gone off... Right? Still, it couldn't hurt to check. I got up, walking into the kitchen. My eyes watered, and my throat clenched a bit, the air harshly thick with a smoky smell. I looked at the timer, and realised, with much dismay, that it had gotten stuck. This definitely wasn't the first time, though I was usually careful enough to pull things out on time anyway. I guess Berwald distracted me thoroughly. I groaned, shoving my hands into potholeders and opening the oven. I coughed and waved the air around a bit in a bid to dissipate the smoke that came out. After I dubbed it safe, I pulled the pizza pan out, setting it on the burners. Sure enough, it was practically blackened, only the very middle relatively unburnt. I sighed, turning the oven off, leaving the door open to let the smoke out, then went to the windows and opened those as well. It just goes to show how cheap this apartment is, considering the alarm never went off... The air that swooshed in was chilly, but the heat from the oven would counter balance it. I returned to my pizza, looking at it pitifully. I was too low on food to waste it, and part of it was still edible. So I got out my pizza cutter and cut out the part that wasn't charred, plopping it onto a plate. I threw the rest into the garbage can, and went back into the living room, plate in hand. I sat it down on my desk, then lowered myself into my chair. Upon returning to my screen, I was a bit surprised to find several messages from Berwald.
Berwald: No problem.
Berwald: Tino? Are you still there?
Berwald: Tino? Hello?
Berwald: ...If this is a joke, it isn't funny...
Berwald: If you don't want to talk to me anymore, just say so.
Berwald: Tino, come on, at least tell me you're okej.
Berwald: If you don't respond I'm going to call Elizabeta and tell her to check on you! I can find her number in the phonebook!
I frowned as I read the increasingly worried messages. I had apparently failed to mention that I was checking on my pizza.
Tino: Berwald, sorry!
Tino: I was making a pizza, and I completely forgot about it! I smelled smoke, so I went to check on it, and it was totally burnt, so I had to take it out, and turn the oven off, and open the windows, and I'm so sorry!
It was a few moments before he responded.
Berwald: ...You scared me to death. You got lucky with your timing too. I was on the phone waiting for Elizabeta to pick up.
Tino: Sorry! I've got to be more careful when I cook!
Berwald: Ja, I think so. Are you okej?
Tino: Yes, fine. My pizza is a little worse for ware, but the very middle was okei, so I still got dinner!
Berwald: Wait, you're going to eat it?
Tino: Yeah? It's a perfectly good pizza, burntness aside. I mean, it might have a smoky flavor, but I don't really have anything else to eat, so I'll make do.
Berwald: ...That might be the saddest thing I have ever heard. If I was there, I would rip that pizza from your hands and throw it straight in the trash. There are just so many things wrong with that.
Tino: ^.^' Haha, sorry. Not much choice right now though.
Berwald: …
Berwald: …
Berwald: …
Tino: Stop ...ing at me! What else am I supposed to do? Not everyone can cook!
Berwald: I didn't think it was actually possible.
Tino: Haha, you're so funny. Let me eat my burnt pizza in peace.
Berwald: Ja, ja. Let me know if you ever want to learn how to cook a decent meal.
I ate my pizza, and let him inform me on the proper way to cook a meal, and the necessary ingredients I would be required to purchase. I let him down easy, telling him that if I ever attempted to cook something like what he was explaining, I would likely burn down the entire apartment complex. He went on about how unhealthy frozen food was, to which I countered by pointing out how unhealthy large amounts of smoke in the lungs was. He gave up after that, and we fell into talking about work, then our favorite places in town, then our taste in music, then our parents, and our hopes, dreams, our past loves, what we were attracted to...
No, I'm not oblivious to the change in the content of our conversation. I might be getting a little cocky, but I think he was interested in me too. I was getting bolder, dropping hints every now and then, and he was returning the favor with compliments. Perhaps I'm shallow, but I was loving the attention, and it felt like I hadn't had any in ages. Luckily, Berwald was a fountain of it, so I was getting my fill. But I wanted more. I was a social person, I need one on one, face to face contact.
Tino: Well... I really don't know how to say this without it sounding weird... Um... I'd like to meet you, sometime. If that's alright with you...
There was a very long pause, and I feared that I had moved to fast, and completely scared him off.
Berwald: Tino...
Berwald: Tino, I like you, I really do. You're really sweet, and fun to talk to. Under normal circumstances, I would be elated to meet you. But I... I'm not quite normal, Tino.
Not normal? What could that mean? Was he talking about his accent, his apparently scary face? Was he obese, or did he have a horrendous scar? Did he really think I would care?
Tino: What do you mean? If it's something silly like a scar or your weight or something, then I should punch you for being so dumb!
Berwald: No, it isn't that... Well, the scar is pretty close. It's... It's not something I really want to talk about. I... I'm sorry Tino. Maybe some other time... I'm just scared of losing you as a friend.
I frowned, looking at the screen with dismay. Was he being serious? He didn't want to meet me because of something-like-a-scar? Or was he just making up an excuse to avoid me? But he seemed sincere. Really, I was the one who should worry! I'm the overweight one! But... He seemed really uncomfortable with the idea, so I decided it would be best to let it go.
Tino: Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you too fast. I don't understand, but I'll respect that you don't want to. But let me know if you change your mind.
Berwald: You didn't push me too fast. I wish I could see you, wish I was brave enough to. But... I'm a coward, Tino. Please, give me some more time.
Tino: Take all the time you need. Just know that I don't care what you look like, or anything like that. You'll be Berwald, regardless.
Berwald: Thank you, Tino. I've got to go for tonight, so goodnight. Will you be online tomorrow?
Tino: Of course! But it'll be a bit later, around six. Tomorrow is humane society day!
Berwald: Okej, I'll remember that. Say hello to the dogs for me.
Tino: Will do. Goodnight Berwald.
Berwald: Goodnight.
And he was gone. I sighed, wishing that had gone better. I had done my best to sound cheerful and normal at the end, so he wouldn't feel bad. I hadn't expected to be rejected so bluntly and so quickly. I guess I had it coming. We had only spoken for two days so far, though it had been hours today. And it felt like I knew Berwald better than I knew anyone, even Eli. But, obviously, there were things that he hadn't told me. Pretty big things, it seems. I frowned as I shut the computer off and closed the lid. I continued to think on it as I showered, and as I got into my boxers, and brushed my teeth and hair, and even after I crawled into my bed. What could possibly be so awful that he wouldn't see me? Something like a scar, but not exactly a scar? What did that even mean?
My head started hurting, and I gave in, clearing my mind of thoughts of Berwald by promising myself that I would investigate this the next day. I let my mind fall to black, and eventually, my consciousness did as well.
A/N: Right, I never said it was a happy surprise. Well, I couldn't resist posting another chapter. (This seems to be my ongoing problem when I have advance chapters...) Anyway, here's chapter two for your reading enjoyment. I haven't gotten a ton of reviews, but 8 for just the first chapter, and it only being up for three days is a pretty big achievement! So I'm pleased!
Just wanted to say thanks to my reviewers. I unfortunately don't have time to respond to every one of them, but I read them all, and they always brighten up my day, so please, keep them coming if you don't mind!
Oh, another side note: This story is relatively fast paced. It's to be assumed that both Tino and Berwald have some experience in life, some hardships and heartbreak, so they are mature enough to know what they're doing. (Read: I'm making excuses as to why their relationship develops so fast.) I want this story to be relatively short, with a clear ending. (Unlike NSTAC, which is practically a Picaresque at this point.) But I promise that the chapters will get a little longer, starting around chapter five.
Hope you'll stick with me, and thank you again for your reviews, support, and patience!
KuroRiya