Work Text:
The buzz of Rose Apothecary had spread through town rather quickly once Christmas World dropped out. David had barely unlocked the store’s front door when he was flooded with suggestions about the vendors he should use. It’s not that he didn’t appreciate the suggestions, but most of them were not the brand he was looking for. He had started to feel the pressure of undertaking his own business, and it was not something he was ready to start panicking about yet.
Before long, not only was the store coming together, but he had a new business partner. David quickly found that working alongside Patrick was effortless. They had mutual respect and developed a language of their own as their partnership progressed. Patrick soothed his anxiety as if he minored in how to keep David Rose from going off the rails in business school. David realized that Patrick wanted the store to succeed as much as he did and that he had something to lose if it didn’t. This was something he couldn’t say about any of his business partners in the past.
David often joked about being a hot mess with the business side of things. Patrick soon learned, however, that he had a lot of insecurities but was in no way incompetent. David seemed to parrot back what people had said to him in the past whether it was true or not. David’s own mother tried to block him from opening the store and confessed that his previous business experience had been a sham. It all made Patrick’s heart hurt and he wished he could right every wrong for him. He spent a lot of time thinking about the things he wanted to do for and with David, actually.
The longer Patrick worked with him, the more he saw how beautiful he was inside and out. He had feelings budding inside him that he had never felt about anyone and he didn’t know what to do about them. He didn’t know if David felt the same way or if he would ever muster up the courage to tell him how he felt. But he wanted to. God, did he want to.
After six weeks, the store was nearly ready to open and they were preparing to sign on their vendors. The first they had agreed on was Mr. Hockley. Twyla had told David about the many benefits of his tea and thought it could be a bestseller. Patrick called him to pitch the store and they worked out a verbal contract. Mr. Hockley invited them to his farm so they could sample his product and review the official vendor contract.
//
The gravel crunched under Patrick’s tires as he pulled into the motel parking lot. It was going to be a long day, but he was excited to spend it with David.
He was about to text David when his motel room door flung open. He stepped out but continued to glare inside. “I’m warning you, Alexis! If you even…” He paused then held his finger out in a nonverbal don’t.
Patrick covered his mouth to hide his grin as he watched the scene unfold before him. David was now yelling as his hands flailed in the air, but Patrick could no longer hear him.
“Ugh! Drink acetone!” David shouted as he slammed the door. David leaned his head back as he put on his white sunglasses and strutted toward Patrick’s car with purpose.
Patrick raked his eyes over him as he took in how beautiful David was. His hair was in a perfect swoop. He was more dressed up than usual. There were no holes in the knees of his pants, unfortunately, but they were form-fitting in all the right places. He was wearing loafers that exposed his ankles, and Patrick had to remind himself to breathe.
He pulled himself out of his daze when David dropped into the passenger seat.
“Hi,” David greeted as he let out a huff.
“Good morning, David!” Patrick gave him a side glance and tried not to show his amusement.
“Mhm, is it though?” he responded and started to dig through his bag.
“Is uh everything okay?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?” David shook his head in confusion.
“Well I didn’t mean to overhear but your voice carries so beautifully.” Patrick nodded toward the direction of David’s room.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” David waved his hand in the air. “Except for being up at this ungodly hour.”
Patrick smiled because it was 10 am. “I got you a coffee,” he singsonged while holding it out. “Caramel macchiato, skim, two sweeteners, and a sprinkle of cocoa.”
“Thanks,” he sounded surprised but took the coffee.
“And this,” Patrick handed him a paper bag.”
David opened it and peered inside where he found two cinnamon rolls. The side of his mouth quirked up and he removed his sunglasses to look at Patrick. “Thanks,” he said again this time with a whisper of shyness.
“You’re welcome. Are we ready to do this?”
David held his coffee up in a cheers motion as his mouth was currently stuffed with food.
//
Mr. Hockley’s farm was in Kingston, which was a two hour drive from Schitt’s Creek. It was further out than they wanted to go, but they made a commitment to consider all vendors within the Greater Elms area.
It was a small farm and slightly underwhelming upon arrival. Patrick was concerned that Mr. Hockley may not be able to produce the quantity of tea they had discussed. His concerns dissipated, however, when they saw the size of his greenhouse that was located further back.
They sampled his tea and were both in agreement that it would be a great product for their store. They reviewed the contract with him and Mr. Hockley officially signed on as their first vendor. He gave them each a sample to enjoy at home and they gratefully accepted it. They began the long journey home, which David had curated a specific playlist for. Because of course he had.
//
Patrick dropped David off at the motel and returned home to Ray’s. He had just spent the past 6 hours with David and even though it was work related he’d never had so much fun. His face hurt from smiling so much and he didn’t think he’d ever come down from the figurative high coursing through his body. He decided to make Mr. Hockley’s tea sample to unwind and continue to process the day.
One would think that four hours in a car with someone he was head over heels for would be awkward or tense, but it wasn’t. Their banter was easy. The way they teased each other bordered on what Patrick thought was flirting. He certainly hoped it was, anyway. There were times when they caught each other’s gaze that he swore he felt something more between them.
When he finished his tea he started his routine to prepare for the upcoming week. He did laundry, prepped lunches, and did a perfunctory cleaning of his bedroom. He had dinner with Ray, which was strangely brief. By the time he had showered and returned to his bedroom, he felt uncharacteristically mellow.
He tried to read a book, but his head was too hazy. Instead, he thought about how happy he was. How this little town had changed the course of his life in a way he never could have anticipated. And then there was David. The man whose name had become tied to each beat of his own heart. A monochrome unicorn that somehow made him see colors he never had before.
He felt outright euphoric as he continued to think about his feelings for David. A need to speak with him built until it could no longer be ignored.
He was always nervous to call David if it wasn’t business related, but that seemed so ridiculous now. He felt they had moved into friend territory so of course he could call him about other things. The problem was he didn’t have an actual reason other than he wanted to hear his voice. He could call just to say hi, but that seemed weird since they’d just been together all day. Maybe something work related would break the ice and he’d go from there. He picked up his phone and pressed David’s contact.
“Hi Patrick, it’s David. I'm just calling to tell you about my vendor trip plan in a little more detail so give me a call back and I’ll be happy to walk you through it. Adios!”
Patrick ended the call and cringed. fuck he muttered. He dialed again.
“Hi, David. Yea, it’s Patrick. Brewer. I think I called you Patrick, which…that’s not…that’s not your name. You can just delete that text, voicemail that I left you. Anyway, I just wanted to clarify who the message was from. Okay, bye.”
That went better, Patrick thought. Twenty minutes had gone by and David hadn’t called back so he decided to try again. What’s the harm?
“Hi David, it’s Patrick. I think it went well at Mr. Hockley’s today. I know what you mean by an immersive experience now. I really think you have something here, David and I’m happy to be here with you. To help, I mean. With the store. Okay, bye.”
David wasn’t going to answer tonight, he thought. Maybe he’d try one more time and leave it at that.
“Hi, it’s Patrick. I was just thinking about how glad I am that I decided to invest in your business. I guess it’s our business now? I think we’re really good for each other, David. For the store, I mean. Okay, bye.”
Patrick lay in bed with his hands clasped over his chest. He wished David would just answer because he felt so calm tonight.
“Hi, David. Being out in the country today was really great. Maybe it was the open air? You probably didn’t like the air though because of your hair. You always look so perfect. I mean, your hair does. Looks perfect. It’s Patrick. Okay, bye.”
“Hi, David. Um, I had a fun day and I know I’m just the numbers guy but it was nice to go out with you. To meet the vendor. I like spending time with you and I’d like to do it more often. If you’re interested. I mean, just us. No farmers. Okay, bye.”
//
Patrick woke up the next morning with a dull headache. He didn’t remember falling asleep. He picked up his phone to check the time and that’s when he saw it. Five outgoing calls to David that were all under a minute. Huh. He got up and headed to the bathroom. As he was brushing his teeth he started to remember tidbits from the night before. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What had he done?
It couldn’t be helped now so he got dressed and headed to the store. David glanced at Patrick with a smile when he heard the doorbell chime. David was on the phone. Patrick sighed in relief at having a moment to gather himself.
“I see. Yes, I did and it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it…right, well it’s just not something we can sell in the store. It didn’t? Oh, well that would be lovely! Yes, we can keep the existing contract since that particular ingredient hadn’t been part of it. Good. Good. Thanks, you too, Mr. Hockley.”
“Is everything okay, David?”
David rubbed his temple with one hand and waved the other in the air. “Well, it turns out that Mr. Hockley’s tea has cannabis in it. Apparently he gave us regular tea at the farm because he knew we’d be driving.”
Patrick huffed out a breath. “Well, that was considerate of him.” Suddenly things started to make sense.
David stepped closer to Patrick. “Mhm, yes it was. He agreed to supply us with what we sampled at the farm so everything should be fine.”
Patrick put his hands on his hips and nodded. “Good. Okay, good.”
“You look like hell. Did you drink the tea sample, too?” David asked with a wince.
“I…yes I did. Look, David about the voice-,” David put his finger against Patrick’s lips to stop him from talking. “I’m sorry,” Patrick mumbled against his finger.
“Did you mean it?” David asked quietly as he pulled his finger away.
“I,” Patrick ran his hand through his hair as he thought about what he wanted to say. “Yes, but-,”
“-then shut up.” David wrapped his hand around the back of Patrick’s neck and brought them together for a chaste kiss. David started to lean back when he felt Patrick tug him back by the hips.
“Shutting up,” Patrick whispered and pulled him in for another kiss.