Chapter Text
Frankly, the new town was bigger than he’d like. Not a bustling city by any means, but noisier than where he came from. Jonas liked the quiet, and had started a hunt for the calmest coffee shop where he could sit in a corner and work. As he walks into what must be the fourth coffee shop in as many days, his eye immediately falls on the barista behind the counter. The guy’s short mousy hair is sticking out all over the place, as if he had just rolled out of bed – why is he thinking about what this stranger looks like when he wakes up?
Jonas lingers at the door for some minutes, grateful for the queue taking the attention of the employee behind the counter. The barista was animatedly chatting with some of the customers as he prepared their orders, his energy seemingly boundless. Finally joining the queue, Jonas scans the board for his usual order and mentally prepares himself to interact with the clearly extroverted guy behind the counter – Tadej, he could now read on his nametag.
For Tadej, the morning had been uneventful. He chatted with the regulars and prepared their orders almost on autopilot. Someone comments on his hair and he laughs, there was no use in trying to tame it. When the door jingles, he looks up to see a slight, blond guy enter, looking somewhat like a deer in the headlights. Tadej was good at remembering faces, and he had never seen this guy before, but immediately, unexplainably, took a liking to him.
And then, he orders the most boring coffee imaginable in Tadej’s eyes.
“For here or to go?” he asks as he enters the order into the system.
“For here, please.”
“And your name?” Tadej looks up into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Despite his sleep inducing coffee order, the guy still intrigued him.
“Jonas.”
Jonas. Jonas. The name rolls around in his head as he watches the blond take a seat in the quietest corner of the shop and pull out his laptop and a notepad. For some reason, Tadej is more careful making Jonas’ coffee order, creating a leafy pattern with the milk on top.
“Order for Jonas!” He calls out as he puts the mug on the counter for him.
Jonas walks over to pick up his coffee, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ before making his way back to his table. When he takes his first sip, the coffee tastes slightly different than what he’s used to, and he is not sure if he likes it.
Tadej watches the blond guy’s face as he takes is first sip and … oh no, he clearly doesn’t like it. How dare he, with his boring order. He is one of the best baristas in town. The barista is too busy to question why this stranger’s opinion – because that is really what Jonas still is – of his coffee making skills bothers him so much. When he returns, if he returns, what if he does not return, Tadej will show him that this is where you get the best coffee in town.
The next day he does not show. Nor the next day. Nor the day after that. Tadej is too busy to notice the blond guy quickly walking past the shop, or dawdling across the street. What he doesn’t know is that Jonas as made his way to the coffee shop multiple times, only to chicken out at the last second. He’s well aware that his initial dislike of the coffee showed on his face and is worried the – admittedly cute – barista will comment on it. Eventually, after four days, Jonas gathers enough confidence and almost trips into the shop with the amount of force he used to open the door; he does not want to change his mind in the last moment again.
Tadej looks up at the sound of someone falling into the shop and meets those blue eyes again.
“Come to try a different coffee this time?” He teases, making sure to keep his tone light to not scare the guy away again. He is surprised to see no obvious response to his teasing on Jonas’ face.
“It eh… it was just different than what I’m used to. That’s all.” Jonas responds as he scans the board again, as if he did not already decide that he was going to order the exact same thing two blocks away.
The barista has to suppress an eyeroll when he orders the same coffee, but Jonas shrugs it off and takes a seat at the same quiet table in the corner. He disappears into his work for a while, grateful for the distraction from the tufts of hair peeking out from behind the coffee machines.
If possible, Tadej is even more careful making Jonas’ coffee this time around. He clearly didn’t hate it, if he ordered it again. He draws a little panda bear on top with the milk, and, since it isn’t busy, brings the coffee over to his table.
“Enjoy.” He catches Jonas’ eye and bows sarcastically, his arms spread wide. To his frustration, the guy does not rise to his taunts, simply says ‘thanks’ and returns his attention to his laptop screen. Damn, he is unshakable.
Jonas returns to the coffee shop most weekdays. He feels a pang of disappointment when Tadej is not there, convinces himself it is because the coffee Tadej makes is better than that of the other baristas. Tadej comes to look forward to the quiet presence of the blond guy in the corner of the shop, his table becoming increasingly more filled with hand drawn diagrams, scribbled out calculations and coffee cups as the hours tick by. The teasing continues too, the barista trying everything to get a rise out of Jonas, who in turn quietly endures – and secretly enjoys – the attention.
Jonas’ seeming indifference frustrates Tadej. He is so good with most of the other customers, he does not understand why he cannot seem to have a normal conversation with him. About three weeks into their strange ritual, he snaps.
Engrossed in his work, Jonas barely hears the scrape of the chair opposite of him being pulled from the table, nor the rustle of Tadej’s apron as he sits down. One leg on each side, arms on the back of the chair that he turned around. Jonas only notices the barista when he finally speaks up.
“What is wrong with you?” Tadej starts.