Jason twirled the dial on the radio, thumping the side of it as it spat static back at him.
"Come on, you piece of shit," he muttered.
"What are you doing?" Sasha asked, taking a sip from her milkshake.
"Fixing the radio," Jason grunted.
"You are so old. Nobody listens to the radio." Sasha slurped the last vestiges of her drink, sucking on the straw. She poked at it, scraping the straw along the bottom of the cup looking for a final trace of chocolate.
"Shut up, I'm not old. You're lucky I let you get that for breakfast."
"You know who says things like that, boss?" Sasha raised her eyebrows. "Old people."
Jason chose not to dignify that with a response, spinning the dial back the other way. A burst of noise sprung from the radio and he leaned back, satisfied, turning to Sasha with a grin. She rolled her eyes and poked the paper bag sitting on the counter, to see if he'd left any of his cinnamon scroll behind.
"And now, breaking news," the radio intoned. "We're first with the details on the old Gotham cinema fire last night. The notorious criminal known as the Red Hood was seen fleeing the scene. It is believed he is responsible, though early reports indicate-"
"What?!" Jason yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "I didn't fucking have anything to do with it!"
"Are you going to eat this?" Sasha asked, opening the paper bag and eyeing off the cinnamon scroll.
"I was trying to stop those scumbags, I didn't fucking plant a bomb in the cinema!"
"You're getting really worked up about this," Sasha said, chewing slowly. "You should try breathing exercises, boss."
Jason went to fire off a retort when the bell above the door jingled.
"Get off the counter," Jason said, shooing Sasha away. "Go. Go to the storeroom, make yourself useful. Last thing I need is people asking why you're not in school."
Sasha rolled her eyes, retreating out the back with her claimed cinnamon scroll.
"And don't get food on the books!" Jason called after her retreating back. She threw up a middle finger in return.
He turned back to face his bookstore, to see a familiar face walking through the shelves. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose braid, her lips shiny with gloss, and her blue eyes were red-rimmed, like she'd been crying.
"Hi, Steph," he said, his face lighting up.
"Hi," she managed, and then visibly winced. "Hi," she tried again, and this time, this time it was said with authority. Jason almost believed she meant it.
"You're back soon. What can I help you with today?" The smile faded on his face as her own expression almost crumpled. She took in a deep breath, and held out the book she had clutched to her chest. Jason recognised it immediately - he'd only sold it to her yesterday.
"It's the wrong one," she said by way of explanation. "It's the wrong one, and class starts in just over an hour, and I got no sleep last night, and you probably don't even have the right one and-"
"Woah, hey," Jason straightened, taking the book out of her hands and turning it over. "It's okay, Steph. We'll work this out."
Steph took a deep breath. She managed to get her face back into some semblance of composure.
"What book do you need?" Jason asked.
"Same book, sixth edition," Steph replied. "It's dumb to even ask you because it's the latest edition and I don't even think anyone would've sold their copy from last semester but I thought, you know, maybe it's worth a-"
Jason bellowed, "SASHA!"
There was a string of Russian curses from out the back before Sasha poked her head around the corner with an arched eyebrow. Steph looked taken aback for a moment, and Jason supposed he could see why; Sasha, with her shock of shoulder-length red hair, one side buzzed short, and black spikes through her earlobes, with her facial scarring and mean case of resting bitch face, was quite a sight when you first met her.
"What," Sasha said flatly.
"This," Jason held up the book. "This book, sixth edition. Go find it."
Sasha rolled her eyes and disappeared into the depths of the store, making her way to the storeroom. Jason returned his attention to Steph, who had, he'd noticed, started to hyperventilate a little bit.
"Hey, it's okay," Jason said. "Sasha's on the case. She knows that storeroom like the back of her hand. She'll find it."
"Okay," Steph said, with about as much conviction as she could muster. "I'm sorry, I'm just - I'm not having a good day."
"Take a seat," Jason said, stepping out from behind the counter and gesturing to the stool. "I'll be back in just a second. How do you take your tea?"
"Depends on the tea," Steph said weakly, but there was a hint of humour to her tone. "Plenty of sugar no matter what, though."
"Coming right up," Jason replied.
He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Steph sitting behind the counter, trying to steady her breathing. He returned just minutes later with a steaming mug, handing it off to her. Her hands curled around the mug, her fingers brushing his, and she looked up at him with her deep blue eyes.
He swallowed, and stepped back.
"Thank you," she managed, taking a sip. She closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath, and set the cup down on the counter, her hands shaking. Jason felt at a loss, unsure of what to do.
"Sasha!" He yelled, turning to the hall.
"I'm looking!" Came the reply.
Jason turned back to Steph with a weak smile. "Sorry," he said. "She's looking."
"It's fine," Steph said. She took another sip of the tea. After a moment, she said, "I didn't know anyone else worked here."
"She's got to earn her keep somehow," Jason chuckled. Steph raised an eyebrow, but didn't pursue the matter further, focused on the tea.
"AHA!" An audible cry came from the store room. Sasha stumbled out moments later, holding the textbook - the right textbook - above her head like a hunting trophy.
"She's good," Jason said down to Steph, looking back at his protege. "You found it?"
"Of course I found it," Sasha rolled her eyes, thrusting the book out towards him. "I spend more time in that storeroom than you, boss."
"You really found it?" Steph asked, her voice quiet as a mouse. She looked between Sasha and Jason, and then leapt up, going to pull Sasha in for a hug.
Sasha took an exaggerated step backwards. "Do not touch me."
"Right," Steph said, a little breathless. "Right, sorry. Um," she turned to Jason, brushing a blonde strand from her face. "How much for the new book?"
"Nothing," Jason replied, holding it out to her. "You paid for the last one. Consider it a trade."
"I - I can't let you do that. This is the new edition, it's worth more, I can't believe you had it. I can't let you accept this as an exchange, honestly Jason-"
"Steph!" Jason exclaimed, pushing the book into her hands. "It's yours. Take it. Please."
Steph swallowed, clutching the book to her chest for a moment, and then reached out and gave Jason a hug. She pulled him close, clutching him like she couldn't bear to let him go, and breathed a soft "thank you" into his chest.
He patted her back awkwardly, looking at Sasha with wide eyes. The teenager smirked, mouthed "that's a you problem," and disappeared back into the maze of bookshelves.
The two of them broke apart, Steph furiously wiping her eyes. She wasn't crying. Shit was just very fucking hard right now, alright? And the tiniest crumb of kindness was liable to send her into a full spiral.
"When do you start class?" Jason asked, looking down at his phone. "Maybe we could grab a coffee and talk. You seem like you need it."
Steph winced.
"I - I would love to get coffee with you," she said. "I'm not, like, brushing you off. But class starts in a half hour, and it's a ten minute walk to the campus at least. I've still got to find the lecture hall, and I'm supposed to check in with one of the TAs-"
Jason held up his hand. "Say no more," he said. "Go on, get going. I'll see you next time you come in, yeah?"
Steph offered him a weak smile. "I hope so."
Jason tapped the textbook with one finger. "Go learn the fundamentals of psychology, and get back to me with your insights."
Steph laughed, possibly the first time he'd heard it, and his heart squeezed at the bright peal that sounded from her perfect lips. Her laugh seemed to light up the store. For a moment, the cracked spines vanished, the crumpled pages straightened, the lights stopped flickering, the shelves weren't bowing under the weight of the texts sitting atop them.
For a moment, his bookstore was perfect.
For a moment, the perfect woman was in front of him.
And just like that, the laugh died, and her eyes grew sad and serious and heavy once more.
"I have to go," she said, clutching the Fundamentals Of Psychology, Sixth Edition, to her chest. "But I will see you later."
He gave her one of his charmingly crooked grins. "Catch you later, Steph."
"Jason," she said, inclining her head.
"Hey, just remember," Jason said. "All human wisdom is contained in two words."
The ghost of a smile flickered across Steph's face. "Wait, and hope."
"Remember that last one," Jason said with a wink.
With that, she turned to leave, the corners of her mouth upturned. Jason took it as a positive that he'd gotten her to smile, when clearly the stress of college was getting to her. He hoped, whatever it was, that someday they could get a coffee and talk about it.
He'd like that.
Steph disappeared to the streets outside, and the door swung shut with a solid thud. Sasha appeared from behind the fantasy shelves, her eyebrows raised.
"What?" Jason asked, when he saw the look on her face. She tilted her head, twisting her mouth to the side, and said nothing. "What, Sasha?"
"You have it bad," she said. "That was the worst flirting I've ever seen."
"I wasn't flirting! I was trying to make her feel better."
"Whatever you say, boss," Sasha punched him on the shoulder. After a moment, she said, "I want a pay rise for finding that textbook."
"You'll get a doughnut next time I head down to Cool Beans."
"With nutella?" Sasha asked, deadly serious, a dangerous gleam in her eye. Jason sighed.
"Yes, Sasha," he replied. "With nutella."
"Cool," Sasha hopped up onto the counter, swinging her legs back and forth. "Can I get a tongue piercing?"
"Absolutely not," Jason replied. "It'll crack your teeth."
Sasha rolled her eyes, dropping down off the counter and grabbing the mugs Jason and Stephanie had left there. As she made her way back to the kitchenette, she called over her shoulder, "You have it bad, boss. Just ask her out already."
"Shut up," Jason groaned, rubbing his forehead. The last thing he needed was his little red-haired menace getting on the case of his love life. He had enough to deal with as it was.
Still, he thought, his mind lingering on Steph, he could stand to deal with a little more.
