Chapter Text
The tale started when Brendon was at breakfast. It was a sunny December morning, still early, with the rays of the sunrise beaming over the snow that had fallen the night before, rending schools closed for the day. That’s probably why Brendon thought it was a good idea to go and get his morning meal fairly early, to beat the rush of schoolchildren celebrating the lack of lessons that day.
His favourite coffee shop was a small independent which was located around the back of a small shopping complex, with a large wooden deck that extended over a field, providing perfect views of the sunrise. He often enjoyed to sit out here in the morning, with a scarf wrapped around his neck to protect him from the early morning chills. He sat with his number on his table, his gloved hands wrapped around his warm mug of hot chocolate and his cheeks and nose rosy pink. It was moments like this that made Brendon appreciate winter all that much more.
Dallon, on the other hand, was not enjoying the freshly laid snow as much. Despite it looking like a beautiful, soft blanket as it laid across the field and the children’s play equipment, it was nowhere near as beautiful and soft when you woke up to it covering you after you’d fallen asleep on yet another park bench.
It was still a miracle how Dallon hadn’t caught hypothermia yet. He quickly leapt up and swept the ice off of him, blowing on his fingers to try and warm them up. This was by far one of the worst winter’s he’d experienced, and it was made worse by his terrible growth spurt, rendering his warm coats too small to be functional. Curse these long arms of his.
At least his local coffee shop took pity on him. They’d always let him sit by the heater in the mornings until he warmed up, or until someone needed the seat. He’d never refuse. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, right?
This morning however, thankfully, his seat was empty and the barista gave him a small smile and nod as he approached, gesturing to the seat. Dallon thanked her immensely before curling up as close to the electric heater as he could without touching it. Touching meant burns. He’d learnt that the hard way.
When it quietened down a bit, the barista walked over and placed a small cup of hot chocolate on the table beside Dallon. “Here. I figured you needed it. It got pretty cold last night.”
Dallon forced a smile onto his chapped lips and shrugged slightly. “I was asleep, so, I guess I don’t really notice…”
Her face turned to pity for a moment, but she shook it off and returned to the familiar chirpy smile. “How’s the job hunt going?”
Dallon just sighed softly. “I ran out of printer budget and the guy won’t do me any more favours and give me a couple of sheets so I have no more resumes, not that I have skills in the first place. Besides, who’s gonna hire a dude who lives on the streets?”
“Well… I’m sure lots of people would!”
Dallon shook his head and rubbed his eyes, contemplating his future. It was still hard to believe that it had been two whole years since his parents had stripped him of a place to live and a right to call them his parents. He should’ve known coming out of the closet was a bad idea. Especially to strictly religious parents. Since then it was from one shelter to the next, until he decided not to go anymore. There were more needy people than him. Children, parents, elders. He was 19 now, he could survive without a room for the night. Now that just backfired because whenever he did need a room, and others wanted one too, the lovely shelter staff asked him kindly to give his up. And stupidly, he did. Without fail, every time. And he looked like absolute crap because of it.
The barista frowned, and extended a hand to him. “Come with me. See that guy out there? His name’s Brendon, he’s a regular, and a real sweetheart. He’s jobhunting too. Maybe he can help you out with a few pointers. Plus we just invested in a new outdoor heater!”
She was so upbeat and lively that Dallon felt bad turning her down. He was only just warming up here, and how was he supposed to ask someone for help like that? That wasn’t Dallon, Dallon could cope on his own. That’s how he had survived for these 2 years.
A young couple had entered the cafe, and the barista formed a small apologetic smile before going back to serve them. Dallon stayed by the heater, taking slow sips of his hot chocolate, smiling slightly as the warmth entered his mouth. He was so, so grateful for all the help he’d recieved here. It was almost certain to him that if he hadn’t had this place, he probably would’ve ended up quite sick or even dead.
So when the barista smiled and cocked her head towards the man sitting out on the deck, he sighed and stood up, grabbed his mug and headed outside.
He was about to say hello and ask for a spare piece of paper, before Dallon froze.
He didn’t experience these moments very often, hardly ever during the winter when his thoughts were often preocupied. For the man sitting in front of him was absolutely gorgeous. Despite his face being covered by a scarf, he could see those eyes, and those snowflakes through his hair make Dallon’s little heart flutter.
Brendon glanced up from his phone and frowned slightly at the weird homeless dude who was staring at him. “Um… can I help you?”
“Is this love at first sight, or should I walk by again?” Dallon blurted out quickly. Dammit, that pick up line sounded so good in his head.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“You’re photogenically dressed!” Dallon scolded himself again as the conversation began to this rocky start. “Oh god, now what did I say!? Let me start over again…”
‘Alright…” Brendon murmured uncertainly.
“Could this be love at first sight? Oh wait, I said that before!” Dallon burried his face in his hands in embarrassment.
“It’s okay, take your time…” Brendon took a sip of his drink uncertainly and glanced up at the tall man in front of him. “I don’t wanna upset you, man.”
Dallon just turned and ran out of the restaurant in embarrassment.
What a strange encounter.