Chapter Text
Marcin walked into his store through the back entrance. The blonde Pole hadn’t done too well in culinary school for his passion was all things sweet and learning about how to peel potatoes into fancy shapes was frankly a waste of his time. Not to mention a recipe for achy hands. That hadn’t stopped him from opening up his own shop after he was done with school. His shop was focussed on sweets, specifically frozen yogurt.
Back in school his classmates had teased him for his love of ice-cream and pudding; some joking that he would end up fatter than an American if he wasn’t careful. While it was true that he loved sugar more than he should, that was why he decided to open up a frozen yogurt shop. It was healthier than ice-cream and he felt less guilty sampling the product to make sure it was up to his standards. Which he did every day, multiple times a day. A businessman had to make sure he was running a good business after all.
Switching on the lights in the main part of the shop was his favorite part of the day. He loved looking out at the carefully assembled plastic chairs and tables in bright colors. Not to mention the mural on the far wall showing off a beautiful flower filled meadow with small animals dispersed throughout. Overall the shop was a riot of color and it never failed to bring a smile to his face. It was small with just enough space to seat ten or so people but it was his.
Marcin went into the small closet that served as his office and put down his bag. Papers were strewn about his desk which caused him to sigh in annoyance. Keeping everything tidy was so much work and he hated the endless grind of putting papers into the correct binder. It took him a few moments to tidy things up then he turned on his computer, and old model someone had given him for free. With the old hard drive it took almost a whole minute to boot up. Unfortunately balancing his expenses was so much easier in excel than by hand so he had to deal with the ancient thing.
The past few months hadn’t been good for business but the cold of winter was never kind to those that sold cold treats. Running in the red was slightly concerning and he had had to slash his food budget multiple times this winter to try and save money. By now he was living off of instant noodles and simple meals mainly consisting of rice and beans. He was making less than minimum wage but the government did not care about that since he owned his own business. That was how life was as a small business owner, lots more hours of work for much less pay. It was worth it to be his own boss and besides this summer should more than make up for the lean winter months.
It took him about an hour to get everything ready for the shop to open. He had to lay out all the toppings people could put on their frozen yogurt (the cheesecake bites were his favorite), make sure the till had some change in it in case anyone paid with cash, and of course take a sample of every flavor to make sure nothing had happened to his yogurt overnight. He felt a bit stressed as the clock moved closer to noon but the small strip mall of stores his shop was located in didn’t seem too busy yet. The spring day was a bit blustery so people were not out and about if they didn’t have to be. It would be yet another long nine hour day with only the customers to talk to. In a month once things got busy he would have a part time employee to help out. The employee would probably be a teenager but still the company would be nice to have.
The day had been pretty slow so far with about as many customers as hours open when he heard the bell ring. The tinny sound broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up from the ipad he used as a register to greet the customers. With a subtle flick of his finger he switched from the game he was playing, solitaire which meant he was bored out of his mind, to the register. Four young men walked in, joking and laughing among themselves.
“Hello,” Marcin called out to them making sure to not pitch his voice too loud, “welcome to The Rainbow Spoon. Have you been here before?”
He felt their attention shift to him. Barely more than two seconds had lapsed before he got a reply from one of the shorter guys. “No we have not.” His brunette hair was cropped close to his skull and the air of confidence he had around him marked him as their leader.
“Well you’re in for a treat!” He normally winked here, he loved seeing how kids reacted to it. “We have the best frozen yogurt in Berlin. With ten different flavors to choose from and over thirty different toppings there is something for everyone. It’s all self serve so get as much or as little as you want. Enjoy!” He tried to make the last word as cheery as possible.
There wasn’t much to do other than watch the young men decide how to build their dessert but not too closely. Staring at them the whole time would just be awkward for everyone. He took a rag from underneath the counter and wiped at an invisible spot. That was his go-to thing when he couldn’t decide what to do.
The first young man to come up to his counter with his creation was the only one with glasses. His hickory brown hair was swept off to one side and he had an adorable divet in his chin. With a smaller serving of chocolate frozen yogurt and drizzle of chocolate sauce on the top Marcin knew this man was a picky eater. He smiled as he rang up the young man’s purchase and found out his name was Mihael. The shorter guy with close cropped hair came by next.
“You have a nice shop,” he said to Marcin before looking at what was in Mihael’s cup. “Miky, you’re killing me!” he shouted in disappointment. “All these flavors and toppings and you go with that?”
“It’s what I like, okay?”
His short friend shook his head then sighed. “Sorry about him, he’s as picky as a five year old.”
Marcin couldn’t help but laugh at that. “It’s fine, I’m just glad he found something he likes. Let me ring you up.” Like almost every younger person he had a decent serving of cookies and cream with extra cookie bits on top. Plus caramel, fudge sauce and whipped cream to top it all off. Marcin couldn’t help but glance at the name on the credit card, Luka Perković. He had barely finished with that transaction before he was greeted with the next young man.
Tall, stocky, blond, with piercing blue eyes he was an intimidating figure. Surprisingly he had gone for what Marcin saw as a middle-aged woman’s type of bowl. Mango and strawberry frozen yogurt mixed together with fresh fruit on top dusted with toasted coconut flakes. He didn’t judge. Honestly, people liked what they liked and sometimes what they liked broke any preconceived notion one had. Marcin would almost call this man, Martin as his card said, broody if he didn't’ know any better. Nope, he was just quiet.
The other shorter guy took the longest to finish his bowl. Marcin could have sworn he tried every flavor, some twice. His caramel brown hair was slightly mused like he didn’t comb it after getting out of bed this morning. Most surprising was the wide smile on his face that although it looked incredibly goofy it was also incredibly endearing. His bowl was surprising, mainly in the fact that anyone would choose to make it. A mixture of fruity flavors, the classics, and the limited time flavor of avocado. It had almost every topping available too.
“I see we have an adventure here,” Marcin mused out loud.
“I like to keep things fresh.” If anything his grin was even wider now and Marcin couldn’t help but grin back.
“I like you. More people need to try new things.”
“I’m Rasmus by the way.”
“Marcin.” Unabashed about his unconventional dessert choices Rasmus cheerfully sauntered over to join his friends who were eating their sweets. Mihael looked like he was almost done. Their laughter and banter filled his shop for a short while but it was all too soon that they left and he was alone again.
Weeks passed and as the weather got warmer his shop got busier. Spring was in full force and flowers were blooming left and right. It would be really pretty if he wasn’t sneezing all the time from his allergies. The morning was bright, not a cloud in the sky, and Marcin smiled as he saw a nest with hatchlings in it on his walk to work. Today he was debuting a new flavor: strawberry and lemon tart. Not too sweet and not too sour it was the perfect flavor for a wonderful spring day. It made him so happy to show off a new flavor and he hoped everyone loved it as much as he did.
Work was fairly busy and the hours flew by. Strangely he found himself with a lull as time went into the strange minutes between late afternoon and early evening. Carefully wiping off spots that may not exist Marcin tried to keep busy when he heard the bell chime. He looked up from the table he was polishing and saw Rasmus walk in alone.
His first thought was surprise at the fact he remembered this guy’s name. The short man had only been to his shop once before and that had been almost a month ago. Second thought was that he would never tire of seeing that goofy smile.
“Hello Rasmus,” he called out with his own smile. “Welcome to The Rainbow Spoon.” Rasmus blinked in surprise at hearing his name.
“Hey,” he said a bit abashed. “I guess I really made an impression here last time. So...I’m here to try your new flavor. And maybe a few others.”
“Go right ahead.”
Like the last time Rasmus took his time in building his bowl of froyo. It was another mess of flavors and toppings and Marcin was happy to see a significant portion of it was his new flavor.
“Enjoy,” Marcin said after their transaction was finished. Rasmus didn’t move from the counter and Marcin saw him shift uncomfortably.
“Do you mind if I stay here and talk to you?” he asked, looking at his bowl of froyo.
“Sure?” The request was odd but Marcin was down to talk. In fact that was something he missed now that he worked alone for most of the year.
Rasmus immediately brightened at his hesitant sure. “Thanks. So, could you remind me of your name again?”
“It’s Marcin. Marcin Jankowski.”
“Marcin. That’s really similar to the name of one of my friends. I don’t know if you remember him but he’s the tall dude that looks like he’s two seconds away from punching someone. Well half the time that is.”
It took Marcin a moment to think, “Oh him! Yes, the guy who loves fruity flavors.” He let out a laugh. “You never really know what flavors people are going to get. It’s a fun game to try and guess.”
“It is. That sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Well, maybe not too fun. I have to keep myself occupied somehow.”
“So Marcin, why did you open up this shop?”
“You see, it’s a long story.” Marcin loved talking about the story behind his shop and how his family and friends from school doubted that he could make it work. The long nights planning flavors and looking at furniture. The sheer elation when he got his business loan approved and shop rental agreement finalized. How on opening day his sister fell face first into the shop windows tripping over her own two feet. Just remembering her face squished against the glass was enough to send him into fits of laughter. Rasmus was a wonderful person to talk to as he ate. He was attentive and Marcin just couldn’t get over that smile of his.
They talked long after Rasmus was finished with his abomination of flavors. The ring of the shop’s bell broke their conversation mid-sentence. Whatever magic spell had connected the two broke as other customers walked in.
“I guess I should go,” Rasmus said then looked at the time. “I’m late for dinner. My friends are going to kill me.”
“I hope you enjoy your time with them,” Marcin said wishing he could stay.
Rasmus threw his bowl in the trash then turned around to look at him. “Do you, do you think I could come by after you close? I liked talking to you.”
“Sure, I’d love that.”
With that promise the evening hours stretched on and on. Marcin thought he had to be going near the speed of light for the minutes were so slow. Finally the clock ticked over to 10 pm and he flipped the sign on the front door. It was dark out making it hard to see through the glass but the walk in front of his shop was empty. He sighed and told himself that he didn’t really expect Rasmus to come. They hadn’t talked for too long and he probably was out having fun with his friends.
He moved back to the closet that served as his office to tally the total sales for the day and make sure the software agreed with what he had in the till. Crunching numbers with his handy phone calculator was his least favorite part of the day.
Swearing as he saw his tallies didn’t match up perfectly Marcin was ready to punch something. He had crunched the numbers three times by now and each time things were somehow more off. A knock on the front door startled him and interrupted his tirade. Could it be?
Marcin rushed to the front and saw Rasmus there looking a bit cold. He hastily unlocked the door and let him in. “I didn’t think you would come.”
Rasmus winced. “Sorry, I got caught up with my friends.” Marcin could tell that he was slightly drunk by the way his words barely slurred together.
“That’s alright. You made it.” He made Marcin’s whole week by just showing up. “I was just finishing my tallies for the day in the back. You can come with.”
Rasmus followed him to the back but couldn’t fit into his office so he stood just outside the door. The young man seemed to enjoy the silence as Marcin worked on his tallies and finally they matched. He made sure to pack his bag before turning off the ancient computer. Grabbing his keys in his hand. Marcin closed and locked the office then turned to face Rasmus. “You ready to lock up?” he asked.
“Of course.” Rasmus grinned and took the keys from Marcin. Together they turned off the lights and locked the back door. Walking down the alley behind the shops Marcin tried to think of something clever to say. Rasmus was slightly drunk and started to try to rap. Or something.
“Boots and cats, boots and cats,” Rasmus repeated quietly, slowly getting louder.
“What are you saying?” Marcin asked, grinning at the silly dude beside him.
“Boots and cats.” You could hear the carefree happiness in his voice. “It’s something my friends told me to say. They said to try saying it quickly. I don’t quite understand but it’s fun.”
“Huh,” was all Marcin got out before Rasmus was back to boots and cats-ing. Hearing those words was somewhat familiar though he could not place why. He mulled it over happy to just have Rasmus walking beside him.
“Rasmus,” he interrupted after fifteen or so seconds. “Did you know that was a song?”
“Wait, boots and cats is a song?”
“Yeah.” Marcin let the nostalgia wash over him. “My friends from school somehow found it on youtube and wouldn’t stop singing it for days. It had a few million views when we found it and I’m sure between all of us we added a couple hundred. If I remember correctly there was also something about bees in it."
“No way!” Rasmus excitedly got out his phone and opened youtube. Their walk to the train station was filled with both of them trying to outdo each other’s covers of this old meme song. Neither of them would have rather spent the time any other way. Both of them were sad to part but Rasmus promised to bring his friends back by Marcin’s shop sometime soon.