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Eddie isn’t sure what he expects when he enters the small coffee shop, but he is pleasantly surprised by the cozy atmosphere. He notices the comfortable sitting area with bookshelves, individual tables, and an appetizing smell of baked goods. The alpha can’t predict the future, but he suspects he'll be spending a lot of time at Harrington's in the future.
It feels much more personable than Starbucks and the unique decor and calming music create an intimate environment. He isn’t quite sold on this small town yet, but if it’s all like this, he may see the appeal.
“Hello, welcome to Harrington's! I don't think we've met before? My name is Robin, I'm one of the co-owners.” Eddie turns to the woman standing at the counter. She’s a little younger than Eddie and is beautiful in an effortless way. He can smell the neutral scent of a beta waftering from her.
He turns on the charm quickly and gives her a blinding smile. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Robin. I just moved here, my name is Eddie.”
Robin's eyes light up in recognition. “You’re renovating that cabin down the street! Oh, that place is lovely, I was wondering when someone would see its charm and snatch it up.” Eddie acknowledges her statement with a nod. “We don't get a lot of new blood around here, what brings you to our humble town?”
“Ah. Well, you see... I needed a new start. I lost someone dear to me recently and I knew I needed a change of scenery.” Robin smiles sympathetically. Eddie knows he is misleading her with his wording, but his uncle was important to him. He doesn’t believe in soulmates and better she assumes he lost his than knows he’s a cynic.
“I think I speak for the whole town in welcoming you to Hawkins, Eddie. I hope you find what you're looking for here... Now, what would you like to drink?” Eddie can tell Robin is attempting to be overly happy in order to change the somber mood they'd fallen into. He is grateful for the subject change.
“What's your most popular coffee?” Eddie inquires.
“Our house special is a homemade cinnamon bun medium roast.”
“Sounds perfect, I love cinnamon. Can I get a large please, Robin?” Eddie starts to get his wallet out when Robin interrupts.
“This one's on the house! Once you've been here a few times, you'll keep coming back. We have the best coffee in town.” Eddie is fairly sure it’s the only coffee in town, but he nods with a smile just the same.
While Robin gets to work making his drink, he waits at the counter and sneaks a twenty-dollar bill in her tip jar. When she’s done, he takes the coffee from her and tries a small sip. Eddie is aware that he’s a snob and really isn’t used to anything that wasn't imported from Europe or purchased from Starbucks.
So he is pleasantly surprised by the flavor and makes a noise that reflects such. Robin gives him a pleased smile. “I told you it was good. The other owner, Steve, is a genius when it comes to making new flavors. The kid is a baking wiz, but his secret gift is inventing new drinks for the shop.”
“Give my compliments to the chef, then.”
Robin laughs, “Well, feel free to hang out for a while, unless you have more loose ends to tie up with your move?” Eddie is grateful for the out since he is still rather fatigued from unpacking.
“I actually do have some things to attend to, but perhaps another day I'll stay for a while. I get the feeling I'll end up back here sooner rather than later.”
“Understandable. Have a good rest of your day, Eddie.” The alpha smiles and nods in reply. As he leaves, he notices that he’s in a better mood than he has been in a while. He made his first friend in this new town and found a good place to feed his caffeine addiction. Things are starting to look up for him already.
Eddie goes back to the coffee shop several more times that week. He finds that the late morning espresso runs and early afternoon work sessions in Harrington's are a staple for his new routine. Eddie quite enjoys Robin's company and learns more about her life.
She explained that she'd lost her soulmate a year ago and how her friend had ended up opening the coffee shop with her before that. Robin is truly a good person and the longer they speak, the more guilt he feels for lying about his soulmate being gone.
After a week of this, he begins to question whether Harrington's has any other employees because Robin is the only one he ever sees behind the counter.
This impression is proven to be incorrect on the day Eddie is texting frantically on his way through the door. He knows he needs some caffeine to attend to the mistake his business colleague made. In fact, he is so distracted that he doesn’t notice the lack of the usual friendly female voice greeting him.
Eddie does notice, however, when a sharp pain stings his right wrist and he drops his phone in reaction. Time seems to slow down as he processes several things at once. In addition to Eddie's panic from his phone hitting the ground, he hears the distinct sound of glass breaking and a soft cry of pain. The overwhelming scent of cinnamon and cardamom permeates through his senses.
Eddie's brain goes into overdrive as his body freezes. He slowly turns his sore wrist over, praying to a god he doesn’t believe in to spare him. Eddie lets out all the air he is holding as he reads the name written in elegant script on his wrist, 'Steven Harrington.'
Steve is overwhelmed. And not in the way where you've just won the lottery and your happiness can't keep up with all the excitement. Or how you might open a letter to find some very unexpected, but wonderful news. No, Steve's brain can’t process all of the information being presented to it at once, but most of it is not pleasant.
He is working an early afternoon Saturday shift for Robin today. She wants a day off and Steve is happy to oblige. One minute, he’s pouring a cup of coffee and hears the bell at the door announcing the arrival of a customer. Not an unusual occurrence for the only decent place to get coffee in town.
The next moment, his left wrist feels a sharp stinging sensation and the corresponding fingers holding the coffee pot handle release in response. Steve hears the pot shatter on the counter and the hot liquid splashes against his skin painfully.
He vaguely notices himself making a noise of distress as he processes the feeling of pain, but struggles to keep up with what is happening. Steve stands still in front of the mess. He knows he should move away from the broken glass. And he should get his burning hand under cool water. But Steve does none of the above. Instead, he closes his eyes and breathes in the calming scent that invades his senses.
He feels a gentle, but firm, hand on his shoulder and Steve's brain is quiet for a moment. He revels in the distinctly alpha smell of smoke, vanilla, and leather that’s so strong now. He can breathe again!
Steve's eyes open and whoever he was subconsciously expecting is far exceeded by reality. The most handsome man he's ever seen is standing right in front of him. Steve instantly notices that the man is a little older, but is only a few inches taller than himself. His eyes move quickly over the man's curly, dark hair and kind face. Steve's pain is the only thing that stops him from drooling.
“Hey, baby, let's get your hand under some water, yeah?” The older man phrases it like a suggestion, but directs Steve to the sink with the hand that’s still on his back.
The stranger then turns on the water for Steve and gently holds his hand under the tap. Steve winces as the cool water hits his skin and the man's fingers stroke the untouched part of his hand soothingly. For several minutes, they stand in comfortable silence, save the sound of the running water.
“Does it feel any better?” Steve nods slowly, unable to find his voice. He turns off the water and gently dries the omega's hand with a soft towel.
Steve suddenly remembers the broken coffee pot and looks at the mess on the counter. The older man catches onto his worried look. “Don't worry about that right now, we can clean it up later. Does Robin keep a first aid kit back here?”
Steve's brain questions how this guy knows Robin, but he pushes it aside for the moment. He opens a drawer underneath the register and pulls out the tackle box of bandages and medicine.
The stranger opens the kit and pulls out a small tube of burn cream. He twists off the cap and holds out his other hand to take Steve's. Steve realizes for the first time how calloused the man's hands are as he gently spreads the cream onto Steve's burn.
“That's just about all we can do for a burn. It doesn't look too bad though, I'm guessing that coffee wasn't freshly brewed, sweetheart?” Steve just shakes his head. “Are you okay, Steven? I know this is a lot to take in.” The man gives him a kind smile.
Steve hesitates before asking the most pressing question, “How do you know my name?”
The man looks at him like he might be an idiot and Steve instantly regrets asking. The stranger pauses for a moment before pulling up his sleeve and holding out his right hand. Steve is thoroughly baffled for a brief moment, wondering what the man wants him to do.
And then he notices the fresh tattoo on the man's wrist. It looks red around the edges and the ink looks too fresh to be healed. But written there, undeniably, is his own name.
Steve then quickly turns over his left hand to look at his own wrist. In an elegant script, the name 'Edward Munson' is inked.
He looks up at the man, “Edward?”
Eddie nods in affirmation, but corrects him quietly, “Eddie,” and waits for a reaction from the beautiful young omega. The man has been remarkably quiet and calm throughout the ordeal and the alpha should've known better than to assume they were on the same page.
Because Eddie fully understands that he just found his soulmate and the only reason he is so composed is that he's had thirty years of life to practice staying collected.
Steve's eyes go wide suddenly and Eddie knows that his brain has caught up to the current situation. “Holy shit.”
Eddie eyebrows raise in surprise. He didn't expect this omega who looks like sunshine and kittens to swear. He thought that small town folks tended to be more conservative, but leave it to Eddie's omega to be the most interesting person he’s met so far. He smiles as his brain repeats the phrase 'Eddie's omega' again.
The kid seems to realize what he'd said and scrambles to correct himself. “Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't- I mean- dammit! Sorry.”
Eddie can’t hold his laughter in. Steve looks like he wants to melt into the ground. He is the cutest thing Eddie has ever seen. “How about we clean up this mess and then we can talk, honey?”
Steve looks grateful for the out and he nods frantically. He scurries to get a small broom and dustpan. Eddie takes them from him and starts cleaning up the glass. “You don't need to do that, I'm the one who broke it.” Steve argues meekly.
“Technically, it's my fault too.” Eddie adds teasingly. Steve's face flushes and he breaks their eye contact as he sits on a stool behind the counter. Eddie decides he likes how the boy looks when he blushes.
When Eddie is done wiping the coffee off the counter, he turns to Steve. “Now that the crime scene is clear... are you able to close early today considering the circumstances, sunshine?"
Steve looks around and realizes that the coffee shop is blessedly empty save for them. Robin won’t love that he’s closing early on a weekend, but he’s pretty sure she will understand. It's not everyday that an omega meets their alpha soulmate after all.
“Yeah, I think Robin will forgive me this once... Wait, you mentioned my friend earlier, how do you know her?” Steve questions.
“I just moved here a week ago. Your lovely friend is one of the only people I've met. I come to Harrington's everyday to work.” Eddie walks around the counter to grab the laptop bag he'd hastily thrown there.
“Oh. You bought the cabin down the street that’s being renovated?” Eddie nods with a smile. “Gotcha. Um, we could go there to talk? Robin is at home, so unless you're ready for that... let's just say she's overprotective.” Steve rambles, trying to convey to his soulmate that Robin probably won’t be excited if he brings home a man several years older than him without a proper introduction first.
Eddie seems to catch on and shudders. “My place is fine, babydoll.” The alpha waits outside while Steve locks up and switches the sign on the door to show it’s closed.
Steve then looks to Eddie with a shy smile. “Lead the way?”
Eddie glances down, seeming to debate something before he gently grasps the omega's hand in his own. Their soulmarks brush and Steve could swear his heart explodes with fireworks. He knows Eddie feels the same sensation because the alpha lets out a startled noise and they lock eyes.
Steve prays that Eddie won’t retract his hand. The omega never wants to let go and lose this feeling of warmth and completion. The universe seems to listen as Eddie begins walking to his house with Steve's hand still grasped firmly in his own.
It feels like the start of something perfect.