Work Text:
Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz.
Max let out a long groan as she tossed in her bed, trying to will her alarm clock out of existence. If she just wished hard enough that it would go away, maybe it would vanish and she could get at least ten more minutes of sleep. But, unfortunately, superpowers did not exist and she was utterly powerless to the relentless alarm clock.
With a sigh, she sat up, raking her fingers through her fluffy hair before she pressed the off button on her clock. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the warmth of her bed to go out into the cold embrace of a winter morning in Seattle. Still, this new job was an incredible opportunity and she wasn’t going to ruin it by being late. Even if her only assignment for the morning was to fetch her boss’ coffee.
Picking up the coffee of a well-known art gallerist in Seattle was much preferred over teaching intro to photography lessons to middle-aged mothers with too much free time on their hands in a small town of about 3,000 people. Max could deal with the early call times if it meant an opening into her photography career.
So she hoisted herself out of her bed and padded over to her wardrobe. It was when she opened the doors that she got that cold, stabbing reminder that she had not found her soulmate.
Every article of clothing in front of her was some varying shade of grey. And until she met her soulmate, the world around her would continue to be colorless. She tried to remind herself that she was only 22, she had plenty of time to find her other half and spend her life with them. But sometimes, logic didn’t cure that longing feeling in her chest.
Still, she did her best to shove those thoughts from her head and pulled out a sweater and one of her nicer pairs of jeans. She’d only had the job for a week and she was still getting used to the uncertainty of what she should be showing up to work in. In that moment, though, she was certain that her boss was going to be more upset with her if she didn’t show up on time with his coffee, so she went through the rest of her morning routine with a bit more vigor.
~
Somehow, Max managed to make it out the door on time and started her trek to the coffee shop that her boss’s real assistant had recommended to her. She even double checked that the little slip of paper - yes, she had her boss’s order written down, she didn’t want to mess it up, thank you very much - was still in her pocket. Within a few minutes, she was walking through the front door of the quaint little cafe, happy to see that there were still coffee shops that weren’t Starbucks functioning in Seattle. It was fairly empty inside, with only a handful of customers milling about, and the two baristas that were working were stocking the display cases, since there wasn’t anyone in line.
One of the baristas, a lighter-haired girl with a dark flannel and a single feather earring, glanced up from the coffee roaster that she was refilling and locked eyes with Max. She gave her a polite smile before turning her head to the side. “Hey, Chloe, take care of the customer, alright? I’m going to go bring in that box of cups.” She said to the figure ducked behind the counter before heading towards the back of the store.
“Yeah, sure.” Another voice came out, and a moment later, a woman stood up straight and walked over to where Max was waiting. She adjusted her apron and raised her head, and just like that, their eyes met.
Instantly, Max felt like she’d been punch in the gut, all of the air being knocked out of her, and causing her to stumble backwards. There was something like a flash in her vision and she shut her eyes tight for a few moments until the slight pain in her head faded. When she opened her eyes again, it took a moment for them to adjust, but it took another few seconds for Max to realize how… different her surroundings were. There was color. Color, everywhere. At least, what Max could only assume was color. Either way, there was no more grey, and when she lifted her head, she spotted the girl across from her that seemingly caused this, and she looked just as shocked.
So this was her soulmate, and she was drop dead gorgeous. She had stunning eyes, and cheekbones that looked like they could cut Max’s hand if she were to touch them, and god did she want to touch them. Everything about her was so captivating, so intriguing, and although the logical part of Max’s brain had connected the dots that this was her soulmate, the rest of her was in complete disbelief, and hopelessly speechless.
Inevitably, the other girl was the first to speak. It had taken her a good few moments to collect herself, and Max watched as her expression transformed from confusion to disbelief to something like… satisfaction? A smirk started to grow on her face, and if Max could’ve found her any more attractive, she would’ve. “Well…” She spoke, a soft chuckle underlining her tone as she held out her hand. “Chloe Price.”
It took a second or two, but eventually Max’s brain kicked into gear and she found herself smiling shyly as she reached out and shook the other girl, Chloe’s, hand. “Max Caulfield.” She replied, almost breathless.
Chloe huffed a small laugh, finishing their little handshake and moving to instead card her fingers through her hair. Her hair was somehow just as incredible as the rest of her. Max knew the names of all the colors, but obviously, she had no way of knowing exactly what color described Chloe’s hair, but she had a feeling that no word would really be capable of capturing how intense it was. “Damn..” The girl’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Never thought I’d meet my soulmate while working in some boring coffee shop.” She laughed, glancing down at the floor, and Max couldn’t help but notice the blush on her cheeks.
Max let out a soft giggle and shrugged, now realizing that while everyone talks about what happens the moment you meet your soulmate, no one ever mentions what you’re supposed to do after that. There’s such tension, knowing that this person is your literal other half and that you’re meant to love them and spend the rest of your life with them, while also wanting to be respectful and get to know them properly. Frankly, Max wasn’t sure what to do with normal social interactions in her life, let alone how to handle meeting her soulmate for the first time.
Luckily, someone else interjected. “Ooookay, that was fucking intense.” Max glanced up and saw the other barista from before, approaching the two of them and letting out a laugh. “Alright, Chlo, just this once, I’m giving you the day off. Go be with your soulmate.”
It was then that Max realized that they were being stared at by everyone in the cafe, and while that wasn’t many people, it was easily enough to embarrass her. All these people had just witnessed one of the most important moments in her life, and it was obviously very clear that they knew what had happened.
She looked back at her soulmate when she heard her huff, watching her wave her hand dismissively at her coworker. “Yeah, yeah, don’t get all sincere on me, Rach. Call Frank to cover my shift or something.” She said, obviously trying to appear cool and collected, but it was pretty easy for Max to tell that it was a front, and not a great one at that. “What about you, Max?” Chloe asked, turning her head back to her as she raised up the counter flap and walked out from behind it. “You have a job that you can ditch?”
Max’s brows rose and she stammered for a moment before answering. “Uh, yeah, I just.. I should probably text my boss and let him know what happened…” And if she wasn’t flustered already, the goddamn Windows XP error sound might as well have been blaring in her head when Chloe approached her and threw her arm over her shoulders.
“Of course, text the man and tell him that you’re going to be all mine for a while.” The taller girl suggested, seeming so casual and relaxed. Max was jealous of how quickly she was adapting to this, but she had to admit, having Chloe’s body beside hers felt pretty nice. “That’s something that should be in job contracts, you know? Should you run into your soulmate while on the clock, you are immediately excused from all duties to go be gross and mushy with your other half.”
Max couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh, nodding. “You’ve got a point.” She agreed, starting to realize that the presence of her soulmate was easing her nerves quite a bit. She was beginning to care less and less about the people watching them, but she still really wanted to get out of there, if only to have some alone time with the girl that she was literally destined to be with.
“Alright, that’s enough of that.” The other barista, presumably Rachel, spoke up once more. “I’m really not looking to watch my best friend get all disgusting in front of me, so shoo.” She instructed, waving her hands to dismiss them. “Really, out, out.”
Chloe laughed brightly and used her free hand to flip her friend off. “I’ll remember this when you find your soulmate, asshole.” Shaking her head, she squeezed Max’s shoulders gently and grinned down at her. “Let’s get out of here, these people don’t understand true love.” She teased, acquiring a fake pretentious accent.
Yeah, Max was starting to see how this girl was her soulmate. And she was pretty damn happy about it.