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Dr. Rodney McKay is not the easiest person to get along with, and he knows it. While he is very aware of many of his flaws, he has never quite understood how to change them. If he were not the smartest man in his chosen fields, he knows that he would have been fired long ago. As is, he has the highest turn over in his department, but that is not necessarily a -bad- thing. He is very choosy about who he hires, and those that make it long enough and impress him, go on to work in some very prestigious positions.
Unfortunately, it is hiring time again and he is -not- in the mood for it. His usual coffee place, Athos, has recently closed down for renovation and he is even more of a grumpy jerk without his coffee. He still doesn't know how Teyla has managed to put up with him for all these years. She was kind enough to suggest a new place to him, though he took the recommendation with a grain of salt. While she knows that he is very, -very- particular about his brew, he still doesn't fully trust her advice. Mostly because he simply isn't the type to adapt easily. He prefers to kick and scream.
So, because Athos is closed, he finds himself standing outside of a building that is .. weirdly modern. He has never been a big fan of modern buildings with odd angles and way too much metal and glass. Though he is strangely intrigued by the sign that says Sateda Brew. It looks .. almost singed around the edges. A little too artistic, but interesting. He's not sure if that's a point in favor or against. With a heavy, put upon sigh, he clutches his messenger bag close and heads through the front door.
He barely makes it three feet through the door when his foot snags on something and he goes sprawling across the floor. He lands on his back, messenger bag clutched to his chest, eyes slightly dazed from the impact. He is just managing to get his breath back when a tall man with dreadlocks leans over him, brows quirked.
"Hi." Without thinking, Rodney pries one hand loose of his bag and holds it out to the confused man. "Dr. Rodney McKay." The man looks utterly confused for about three seconds ... before he throws his head back and roars with laughter. In the next moment, he's managed to lift Rodney off the ground as if it's nothing, and he feels a little dizzy, but not as angry as he normally would.
"You're McKay. 'course you are. Teyla told me 'bout you." The moment that Rodney's steady, the other man turns and heads toward the counter. Where the outside of the building was disgustingly modern, the inside is ... warm. It's the only way Rodney can explain it. Warm. Medium, soothing colors and comfortable seats. A bar along half the counter, while everything else is single or group tables. There's even three desks through out, for people who want to work. The scent of coffee, tea, and pastries is almost overwhelming, in the best way. Rodney finds himself breathing deep, just taking it all in. "Welcome to Sateda Brew. Got a coffee menu, tea menu, pastry menu, and meal menu. Got hard copies, for those that don't wanna do digital." The way the man says digital has Rodney glancing at him. Despite his aptitude for technology, there are some things that Rodney prefers hard copy for. He turns and heads over to one of the couches, settling down with his bag next to him.
"Hard copy, please." It never occurred to him that he should've gone to the counter and gotten it himself. He's vaguely aware of the man rolling his eyes, but smirking goodnaturedly as he snags something and walks over. Rodney has just opened his bag when the man flashes a stack of menus in front of him. "Oh! Thank you." The words feel a little foreign in Rodney's mouth. He's not used to being -nice- or -thankful-. Maybe he hit his head when he fell? He snorts softly to himself, before he looks through the menus. He puts the tea and meal menu on the table, not bothering with them.
The day he willingly drinks tea, is the day the world is ending!
He glares angrily at his bag before he leans back on the couch and starts to read through the coffee menu. He is a bit of a purest in some senses. He will never choose a pastry until he knows what coffee he is having, in case they do not pair. Right off the bat, he finds himself laughing. There is not a single coffee on the menu that has a name he is familiar with, nor any kind of description. Why in the hell did Teyla think he would -like- this place!? On a whim, he snaps the pastry menu up, and scowls when he runs into the same problem.
He can feel a headache coming on.
"How in the hell is someone supposed to order? There's no descriptions .. for -anything-. And none of these drink names sound familiar." He's not used to curbing his anger, given the fact that everyone he works with sucks up to him, so he doesn't bother doing so here, either.
"What do you want to drink?" The man has come back from around the counter and Rodney grits his teeth so as not to shout at him as he would one of his employees.
"Did I not -just- tell you that I can't read this menu? How do I know what I want to drink??" The other man just grins, a little fierce, but mostly laid back. As if nothing gets on his nerves and Rodney is both intrigued and angered by that.
"Not what I meant, man. What kinda mood you in? Light, medium, bold, blond?"
"Oh." Rodney can feel his cheeks heating with a little bit of a blush, and he quickly starts rooting through his bag to give himself something to do so he doesn't have to look at the other man. "Right. I like a good medium roast." The other man nods, looks thoughtful for a moment.
"Any allergies?"
"Citrus." Rodney snaps that out on instinct. When he first told Teyla that, she had not truly believed him. Not until he had an allergic reaction right in front of her. This man doesn't seem the least bit unbelieving, just nods.
"Hmm. Dr. Rodney McKay ..." The man seems to be .. tasting the words, almost, and Rodney blushes deeper, finally managing to snag his files and pull them out. The man glances at them, a brow quirked, before nodding at them. "Lot of work to do?" Rodney merely nods, not even wanting to think about it. "Okay. I got the perfect thing. Be back." The man turns and waltzes back behind the counter to begin working.
Rodney takes a deep breath and opens the first file, already sighing heavily. He knows that he is going to end the day frustrated and annoyed, unable to relax. He hates hiring!
It's been nearly thirty minutes and Rodney has already trashed three files. Just tore them up and tossed them in the bin! He is just getting ready to holler at the man behind the counter when he has suddenly appeared beside the couch. Rodney jumps in surprise, because he hadn't heard the man approach. He's rather large and leanly muscled to be so ... quiet.
"Sorry 'bout the wait, but trust me .. it's worth it." Before Rodney can say anything, a tray has been deposited on the table in front of him. There's a clay plate with a fresh turnover, steam still curling from it, and a large, clay cup. The steam is fragrant and robust, and Rodney finds his eyes closing as he breathes it in. He can smell faint aromas of peach and chocolate .. also something .. floral? He frowns and is about to ask questions, when he realizes that there's a card settled on the tray.
The card states that the drink is called Astria Porta, and describes it as a medium roast with honey-butter, peach, jasmine, and cacao. Rodney's eyes widen to the size of saucers ... who on earth would put -butter- in coffee?? Having spent most of his life being picked on from everyone .. family, peers, those that pretended to be his friends, even teachers and colleagues, his first assumption is that he's being tricked. But then he gets another sniff and it smells so damn good.
He waits a few minutes and then picks the cup up. He blows a few steady breaths across the surface of the brew before he takes a sip.
........ it is the most delicious thing he has ever tasted. His eyes widen and then snap closed. His hands tighten on the cup, and he might actually tremble a little bit. He begrudgingly admits, only to himself, that he might owe Teyla a thank you. He takes another healthy drink, before setting the cup down.
He stares at the pastry on the plate, hard pressed to see how such a simple, pedestrian pastry is going to add up to the manna he's just tasted. He takes a deep breath and braces himself.
..... and it is just as delicious as the coffee. It's peach, with the same honey-butter and jasmine taste. He nearly swallows his tongue in his eagerness to swallow the bite and take another. He's so deeply enjoying the treat, that he doesn't even feel angry or self conscious when he hears the larger man laughing behind the counter.
"Like I said .. perfect thing." Rodney wants to be able to complain, to snipe or sass, but he can't. Honestly, he just can't! Because the man ain't wrong. This is perfect. In every way. He takes another bite before wiping his hands.
"You're not wrong. This is perfect. The best coffee and pastry I've ever had, and don't ever tell Teyla I said that. She's a sweet woman, but quick to kick my backside." This makes the man laugh even deeper as he makes his way around the counter, a cup in hand. He plops onto the couch next to Rodney, almost sending his papers flying, but the cantankerous doctor cannot be bothered to care. He's feeling warm and relaxed in a way he hasn't in so long.
"Right there with you, McKay. She scares me too, man." Rodney laughs at that, assumes the larger man is joking, but sees that it's the truth. After a moment, he just nods. Because Teyla is wonderful, beautiful, and scary as hell! He leans back in his seat, and then suddenly turns to glare at the other man. Who just watches him coolly over the rim of his cup.
"You are rude." His eyes widen when the other man splutters into his cup a bit, and then openly glares at him. "Name, Mr. Man. I gave you mine after slipping on your floor. You owe me a name." The other man wipes his mouth, his glare turning into a playful grin as he leans back in his seat.
"I don't owe you anything. Sateda's my home turf, McKay." And yet, that easy smile remains, and after a few moments, he holds a hand out to him. "Names Ronon." McKay hesitates, even though he had been the first to offer his hand, but eventually takes it. Once they shake, he picks his cup back up.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ronon. I gotta say .. I think Sateda just became my favorite place." Ronon winks at him, causing Rodney to blush and drink more of his coffee.
"Well, if you like the coffee, wait until you try the tea, McKay."
"I look forward to it." He refrains from turning to look out the window. He's pretty sure the world isn't suddenly ending, but who knows? He's actually looking forward to trying Ronon's tea.
Fin