Chapter Text
There was an empty apartment above the little bakery/coffeehouse where RJ ‘Mac’ MacCready worked, and if he had the means and it had been big enough for his whole family, he would have moved in there himself.
It was a beautiful two-bedroom, very spacious with more natural light than you could ever ask for, and it was surprisingly cheap, especially for this side of town.
He wanted that stupid apartment, but it just wasn’t meant to be. And besides, he had a pretty good arrangement with his folks that he wouldn’t trade for the world.
Still, part of him held out hope that it would just stay empty. The others could have residents, but he wanted one to be free, if only for his daydreaming purposes.
It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon in late April when his dream was finally crushed. Some Imperator Furiosa wannabe and her massive German Shepherd moved into his apartment, already sticking out like a sore thumb in this community, effectively bursting the bubble of his fantasies. Sounded like the dog had a dumb name, too, if he’d heard it right.
An hour and a half after he had seen her disappear upstairs with the final box, she popped down to the café.
Mac tried his best not to glower at her and internally call her inappropriate names that would earn him such a talking-to from his four-year-old.
“Hi,” he said, sounding a lot more grouchy than he intended. He shook his head, cleared his throat and tried again. “Uh, hi, what can I get for you?”
“D’you mind if I use the bathroom first?”
“Oh. Sure. Just down the hall to your right.”
She was back surprisingly fast, but judging by the massive Shepherd hamming it up under a table out back, she had taken Meathead — or whatever his freaking name was — for a walk before stopping by.
He was startled when she announced her return, having been watching the dog. Though Mac didn’t want to admit it, because she was his sworn enemy now, her pup was pretty cute.
“Uh. Ahem. D-do you know what you want yet?”
“You’re gonna hate me for this,” she replied with a sheepish little laugh, “but what would you recommend to beat the heat that also has caffeine?”
He blinked in surprise. “Oh. Well, that depends on how much caffeine you want. Or need.”
“I pulled an all-nighter for work last night and am now paying the price for it, but I have to stay up late again tonight.”
“I’m gonna recommend a large quad shot frappe.”
“Sounds great.”
“Caramel, white chocolate or mocha?”
“Let’s go with caramel. And can I get a cup of water for my dog?”
“Sure, sure. Anything else?”
“That oughta do it.”
“Lemme whip all that up real quick.”
When the drink was finished, she thanked him, went out back and sat with her dog. She stayed for a good half hour, scrolling through something on her phone and petting her dog.
Mac hated that she didn’t actually seem all that awful.