Work Text:
To the Man in Red at the Coffee Shop:
How could I not notice you? I go to the same coffee shop every morning, the best in the entire tri-city area, for my morning cold brew. I’d never seen you there before, but you were impossible to miss. You had on a bright red hoodie, and your hair was tied back into an effortless looking ponytail. You had a mug in front of you, as opposed to the typical to-go cups most people use, so you had intentions of staying put for quite some time. That was all that caught my attention in the first place, but what kept me looking back was the book you had your eyes glued to: The Iliad. Truly, one of the greatest pieces of literature in existence. I so badly wanted to sit down across from you and discuss and debate the epic works of Homer. But, I couldn’t do it. I told myself I couldn’t be late to class, even though I knew I had time to spare. So, I left. I left and wandered around campus until I had to start class. After, I went back to the coffee shop, having mustered up the courage to sit down, only to find you had left. This happened two weeks ago, and I kick myself every day for not taking the chance. I still go back to that same coffee shop every morning, and I’ve never seen you again. I keep hoping that you’ll show up again, perhaps this time with the Odyssey. Maybe next time.
Signed,
The Man in Blue
“Hey, Nigel,” his roommate Baxter says, disbelief clear in his voice.
“Yes?” he asks, looking up from his index cards as he tries to study for his classics exam the following day.
“I think this is about you.”
“What’s about me?”
“You know how the school puts out a weekly newspaper?”
“You mean the one in your hands that you’re reading right now? Yes, of course I know about it.”
“Well, I like to read the missed connections part of the paper, I think they’re rather sweet.” When Nigel cocks a brow at him, Baxter gets to the point. “I think someone wrote this about you.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” Nigel drops his index cards, exam forgotten as Baxter reads the article to him. “Holy shit, that is about me.” He turns his head, looking at the book in question opened up on his desk. He turns back to Baxter. “What should I do now?”
“I guess it depends. Are you interested in seeing this guy, or do you want to let him wallow in regret for the rest of his life? He seems rather smitten, after all.”
“Well, when you put it like that… I suppose I can write a rebuttal to the paper?”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
To the Man in Blue:
Hello. I was rather surprised to see I was the subject of someone’s missed connection. I can’t say anything like that’s ever happened to me before. After reading your letter, however, I am rather sad knowing I missed the chance to meet a fellow Homer fan. I think I would quite like to discuss his works with someone outside of the classics major. I’ll return to the coffee shop, perhaps this time with the Odyssey. I do hope to see you soon.
Signed,
The Man in Red
“Isaac! Isaac, look!” His best friend Hetty is waving something around so wildly he can’t even distinguish what it is she’s holding.
“I can’t look if you don’t stop moving.”
“Right, sorry,” she says, instead whipping open the paper to the missed connection page. She points right to the letter in question. “Look!”
“Holy shit, he wrote back.” A grin spreads over his face as he locks eyes with Hetty. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, aren’t you going to read it?!”
“Yes!” He reads the letter, then reads it again, to let it all sink in. “He wants to meet up. Oh, god, he wants to meet up. What if he hates me? What if he’s not gay? I gushed all about him in my letter, never thinking he’d actually see it, much less respond!”
“Isaac, he’s not going to hate you,” she reassures him. “You’re starting off on the right foot, you know you have things in common. Even if he’s not gay, at the very least you’ll end up with a friend who’s just as nerdy as you are. But, I think the fact that he replied at all means he’s interested in seeing where this goes.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, I think so. Now, what are you waiting for, go to the coffee shop!”
~~~
Isaac walks through the front door of the coffee shop and his eyes turn to the spot he saw the Man in Red last time. He stops for a moment when he sees him there. For the first time in three weeks. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.” Nigel looks the Man in Blue up and down quickly, grinning as he sees he lives up to the name. “Take a seat. My name’s Nigel.”
“I’m Isaac.” He sets his backpack down on the floor before pulling out a chair to sit across from Nigel. “I, um, I wasn’t expecting you to have an accent.”
“Yeah, I’m from England originally. I got my classics degree back home and decided to finish out my PhD program over here. It’s given me the chance to see some great museums here in the states, too.”
“Well, that explains the Homer. Are you a fan, or were you just reading it for class?” Isaac asks.
“Oh, I’m a fan. But you’re not a classics major, are you?”
“No, I’m an education major with a focus on US history, but I took Latin in high school, and I just fell in love with all the classic writing. Umm,” he scratches the back of his head, looking down at the table, “how much longer do you have left until you finish your degree?”
“I’ve got a while yet. I’m just beginning research on my dissertation. It just so happens The Odyssey, Iliad and Anead are all references for said dissertation.”
“Oh, that’s interesting.” He reaches down into his backpack and pulls out the Odyssey. “Did you want to discuss?”
A smile spreads over Nigel's face. He reaches into his own bag and pulls out his own copy. “I’d love to.”
~~~
“You’ll never believe what I just found,” Isaac announces as he walks into the kitchen, weaving around the boxes and boxes of things they have packed up in preparation for their move to England, where Nigel had just accepted a position as curator of the Ancient Greek and Roman wing of the British Museum.
Nigel glances up from the bowl of cereal he’s eating, while hunched over the kitchen counter. “What did you find?”
Isaac slides two small newspaper clippings over to him, watching as realization hits Nigel. “Just a little reminder of the day we first met.”
“Where on earth were these?!” Nigel asks, picking up the paper, letting his spoon clank against the ceramic bowl.
“They had fallen down the back of my nightstand. I hadn’t forgotten about them, but I certainly wondered where they ended up. I found them yesterday when I was sorting through everything.”
“I still can’t believe you wrote about me in the school paper,” Nigel says with a little grin.
“I still can’t believe you saw it and wrote back.”
“Well, if it hadn’t been for my roommate, I never would have.”
“I guess we owe him a huge thank you, don’t we? Maybe he can be your best man, or something.”
“Wait, what?” Nigel snaps his head up, and sees Isaac is no longer eye level with him, that he’s down on one knee on their empty kitchen floor.
“Dr. Nigel Chessum, The Man in Red, will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course!” Nigel answers, pulling Isaac in close once he stands back up. He kisses his neck, his cheek, then his lips. “I would love nothing more than to marry you, Isaac Higgentoot, The Man in Blue.”