Work Text:
꧁ The Realm’s Delight ꧂
“Maybe a little more to the right?”
꧁ The Realm’s Delight ꧂
“Like this?”
“Yes! Thank you Aly.”
After securing all the screws one more time, Alysanne jumped down from the ladder in two large steps, and joined Jace on the sidewalk. She wiped some sweat from her brow and looked up to admire her work.
The wooden sign fit really well atop the entrance. Before, the only suggestion of the shop’s name were the letters Rhaena had carefully painted onto the glass pane. Now, there was no mistaking the Velaryon brothers’ praised café.
“Couldn’t they have sent someone to install it?” Aly asked.
Jace scrunched his nose. “The service was extra and too expensive. Though, I suppose now I should pay you for it.”
“I’ll let it slide this time,” Aly dismissed it with a wave. She had arrived from her morning shift to find Jace tiptoeing on the ladder, struggling to put up the sign. “You can buy me a pizza tonight, if you feel that bad.”
They opened the shop together, setting the tables and warming up the machines by making an espresso for each. In a couple months, it had become a comfortable routine.
Yet, as the day approached noon, the shop filled up. Jace joined Aly behind the counter, but even together, they struggled to keep up with orders.
This had been happening for the past few weeks, and only getting worse. Or better? Word about the little coffee shop was spreading, as more and more people stopped by for a good, affordable drink before work or school. It was everything Jace had hoped for, but it was getting a bit out of hand.
“I think it’s time to hire another helping hand,” Jace announced in the late afternoon, from the edge of the counter where he sat with his computer, a dozen different spreadsheets open on the screen.
“You do?” Aly rolled her eyes. All month, she had been telling him exactly that, but Jace insisted on waiting to see if the customers would keep coming.
He nodded, ignoring the sarcasm. “I’ll ask Rhaena to make a flier and put a hiring announcement on Instagram, we should get a couple interviews next week.”
Aly bit her lip in thought. The only customers in the shop were finishing their drinks in a back corner, so she leaned next to Jace. “Could I ask for a favor?”
“Sure thing.”
“I have this friend, he’s new in town, and has been struggling to find a stable job. He’s a good guy, and he’s available full time.”
“You want me to hire him?”
“At least meet with him, if you can.” Aly asked, “Before you send out the application. I swear he’s worth it.”
Jace took a deep breath. That wasn’t what he was taught to do in school, but Aly had been such a huge help since day one, when he hired her as his first employee. If she vouched for someone, he could trust it.
“Okay. Tell him to come tomorrow.”
- ☕︎ -
Cregan straightened his shoulders, fixed his hair and collar and walked into the shop.
It was a cozy place. Lots of different tones of wood, paired with dark green walls and leafy decorations. Soft jazz music was playing in the background, and the air smelled of coffee, vanilla and… something nutty.
He stood at the door, unsure what to do.
After a moment, a young man seemed to notice him. He got up from the table where he was sitting next to a stunning girl with dark skin and short, wild silver curls.
The boy was stunning too. Sharp, but delicate features, and with the prettiest brown doe eyes. “You must be Cregan,” he greeted, offering his hand. “I’m Jacaerys Velaryon, but you can call me Jace.”
“Cregan Stark.” He shook Jace’s hand.
The surname rang a bell for Jace, but he couldn’t remember where he knew it from. Either way, it was probably a coincidence.
“You can sit over there,” he pointed at a table towards the back. “I’ll be back soon.”
Cregan finally saw Aly, and gave her a little wave.
“So,” Jace said, coming back with his laptop in hand. “Do you have any experience in food service or hospitality in general?”
“Yes?” Cregan answered. “I used to work at my dad’s office. I mean, at the office of the company he also worked at.” He scratched his neck.
“Oh, like, at the cafeteria?”
“Yes, that.”
”Great! So you do know your way around a coffee machine.” Jace was relieved.
“Of course,” Cregan lied. He did order his father some coffee from the cafeteria downstairs a few times, when he was thirteen. And he made his filter coffee every morning. How different could this be?
“Alysanne says you are available for any day of the week?” Jace continued, “We do, of course, insist you take at least two days off, but we can decide that around Aly’s days and when the shop is less busy.”
Cregan struggled to keep up with Jace, while very nervous about flunking the interview. He forced himself to breathe.
“I can’t come in on the second Wednesday of every month,” he answered. “At least not in the morning.”
“Oh.” Jace couldn’t contain his curiosity, though he knew it was rude to ask. “Why is that?”
“My sister has a stand at the Flea Bottom fair. She’s a studio photographer,” Cregan said. “So she can’t watch over my son on those days.”
Cregan knew then it had been the right move. Jace’s face softened immediately, lighting up with empathy and a little bit of pity.
He had found Cregan very handsome, tall and broad and in all, the kind of man that intimidated him. But now Jace knew that this man, for sure not much older than himself, was a single parent to a little kid. He wondered if the boy had his father’s gray eyes and dirty blond hair.
“Well.” He interrupted his own thoughts. “Wednesdays are usually slow, so you can have them be one of your weekly days off.”
“That sounds good,” Cregan answered with a really nice smile.
“Can you come tomorrow around this same time, for your first shift?” Jace asked. “We’ll see how you fit into the team and then we can discuss contract details.”
“Would be my pleasure.”
When they both got up and Cregan took his hand again, Jace was half convinced he was going to give it an old-fashioned hand kiss. But he just shook it.
“See you tomorrow, Jace.”
“See you tomorrow.” Jace said softly, as the man disappeared through the door.
- ☕︎ -
Fortunately for Cregan, the next day provided his boss with plenty of distractions.
When he arrived, around 9 in the morning, Jace was talking to a group of four blondes, all eerily similar and very loud.
The only girl was the most quiet, laughing prettily at the boys, who Cregan assumed were her brothers. She was wearing a butterfly-pattern hoodie and the biggest (and only) spider earrings he had ever seen.
One of the others looked in Cregan’s direction, and he jumped in shock at the realization that the long-haired man had only one real eye. His left socket had a blue, gleaming gemstone.
“Cregan!” Jace called him. “Come meet my cousins.”
“Your uncles,” the shorter one said, but was ignored. His silver hair was messy, and he looked back at Cregan with a very unfriendly face.
“This is Aegon,” Jace said. “And these are Helaena, Daeron and Aemond.”
Helaena and Daeron were the only ones to return his greeting.
Cregan knew about the Targaryens, of course. Old Money, as old as it could get, one of the few surviving families from Valyria before the Doom. Not as powerful as they once were, now that Westeros had no nobility. But still filthy rich.
He also knew Jacaerys was one of them, even though he didn’t look the part. The man was also a Velaryon, a less fancy, but arguably more influential family.
Before, Cregan wouldn’t be phased by any of that. He was from a line just as ancient and powerful. But now, it made him nervous to be outnumbered by those designer-wearing, creepily beautiful platinum blondes.
He told himself there was no way they could recognize him.
All morning, Jace was kept busy by Aegon’s taunts and Helaena’s stories. It left Aly with plenty of time and space to figure what Cregan could do to help around.
“Oh Gods.” She said for the fiftieth time, when Cregan tried to cut a piece of lemon cake, just for it to crumble into a pile of mush.
Eventually, she stuck him in cashier duty. He could, at least, take the customers’ orders, put them in the system and yell them back to Aly. It did help his confidence that half of the women, and a good part of the men, would smile wider at seeing him, checking him out either discretely or shamelessly.
Once, while Aly took a smoke break, he stopped in front of the coffee machine, determined to figure out how to make a simple cup of coffee. He couldn’t. There was no button for “coffee”. Actually, there were no words in the buttons at all, and no interactive screen or anything. So he gave up.
Aemond and Aegon left before lunchtime, but Helaena and Daeron stayed through. They ordered a smoked salmon and egg toast for each.
Jace seemed to quite enjoy their company. He would talk moving his hands a lot, and doing the tiniest little jumps of excitement. His laugh was very cute.
Cregan had to admit he was a bit bummed to not have spoken to him much that day.
At three o’clock, Jace dismissed him. Aly told him the shift had gone very well, so he got Cregan’s number for them to text about the contract.
“Oh, also, what’s your size?” Jace asked.
“Sorry?”
“For the apron? If I order it now, it should be here by Monday,” he clarified. Cregan gave his shirt size.
“Welcome to the team!” Aly gave Cregan a bear hug and tapped his back.
After, at home, Jace opened the contact the man had typed into his phone. It read: Cregan the cute guy :)
- ☕︎ -
By the end of the following week, Cregan was looking less cute by the minute.
He was a mess. Constantly messing up orders, and he definitely didn’t know how to use the espresso machine.
Jace had lost count of how many shattered cups and plates he would have to replace. Cregan seemed unaware of his own big body, constantly knocking down stuff and bumping into people.
For every other order, Jace or Aly had to intervene and explain to him exactly how to make the drink. “Yes, an Americano is just a shot of espresso and hot water. No, that’s not the same as a regular coffee.”
Most often then not, Jace felt like their workload had gotten worse, now that they had to babysit the new barista.
On Friday, Aly’s day off, it was just him and Cregan behind the counter. By then, he was mostly able to make the orders by himself. Jace assumed he had been out of practice, or maybe too nervous before.
It was actually kind of endearing. Like when Joffrey came into the shop on his lunch break, asking for a caramel Frappuccino. His brother had yet to accept that he just didn’t like coffee at all, always asking for new drinks that he would still declare “too bitter.”
“What’s in a Frappuccino?” Cregan asked.
“Two parts crushed ice to one part milk, two spoons of sugar. For him, you can do two pumps of caramel.” Jace answered mindlessly.
The drink came out looking pretty good. Cregan even gave it the little drizzles of caramel sauce on the sides of the cup.
Joffrey loved it. Really, Jace had never had him compliment a drink before, but the boy took one sip and smiled, “Now that’s a good Frappuccino. None of that bitter stuff Jace puts in it.”
“Not bitter?”
“Nada. Just icy and sweet and delicious! I really like your new employee. Cregan, is it? Keep doing your thing.”
Joffrey left, humming happily. Without paying, of course.
Jace turned to Cregan, giggling a bit, “Did you even put any coffee in that?”
“Coffee?” The man asked, surprised. “You didn’t say anything about coffee.”
Jace’s giggle turned into a full on laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me,” Cregan asked in a fake offended tone, but he was smiling wide. “I don’t know ‘them fancy southern drinks.”
“Oh I’m sorry, forgot you were just a northern viking brute,” Jace taunted back, turning pink from laughing.
Jace’s good mood ended, however, when a customer came to complain that their cappuccino tasted like “piss water”
He was shocked. They had never gotten a complaint like that before. Sometimes customers found the coffee too strong, like Joffrey, but never weak. He told Cregan to make another one, and the woman took a sip of it just to say “same thing.”
An older man sitting by a close table heard the commotion and added, “mine tastes really bad, too.”
Jace excused himself and tried the woman’s new drink. It really did taste horrible, no trace of good coffee aside from a bitter, burnt aftertaste.
“Cregan, are you even replacing the coffee grounds for each drink?” He asked.
“Of course. I’m doing everything you told me.”
“Show me.”
Cregan got a new cup, and grinded a portion of coffee beans. Then he turned to the machine and took out the filter, pouring the new coffee grounds in it. Without throwing out the old, used grounds. Just, on top of them. Pressing the powder down, and putting the filter back to start brewing the shot.
Jace had no words.
Actually, he had three words, “What the fuck.”
- ☕︎ -
“Aly, there is no way this guy has any experience in this. He’s a disaster.”
Aly was silent on the other side.
“Hellooo! Are you listening to me? Cregan lied to me, I’m sure of that.”
“Look,” Aly said. “He really needs this. You’re right, he probably doesn’t have any work experience, but he’s learning! And he has a young kid, Jace, you need to give him a chance.”
“I can’t believe this.” Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not running a charity, Aly. This man lied to my face. And I gave him a dozen chances! He keeps messing up and the shop can’t afford that!”
He took a shaky breath. “I called to tell you I’m firing him.”
“Please, Jace, just one more week,” she begged. “Do it for me.”
“No. No Aly. This all started because I wanted to do you a favor,” he was controlling himself not to yell. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you were covering for him all week. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Jac-” He hung up.
Coming into the café, he braced himself for the talk. It was almost six, so if Jace could dismiss Cregan quickly and start cleaning up, he could close the shop by seven and still make it to the movies with the twins.
Cregan was finishing an order. He smiled when he saw Jace, and gave a wave, “Sara!” Sara?
Behind Jace, a tall redhead woman was coming into the shop, holding hands with the most adorable little boy. He was nervously biting the sleeve of his jacket, his gray eyes just slighting peeking through a curtain of light brown hair. Gray eyes, like the woman beside him. Like Cregan.
The boy ran to him, attaching himself to Cregan’s hip, who ruffled the kid’s hair affectionately.
“Jace, this is my sister, Sara, and my son Rickon. Say hi, Rickon.”
“Hi.” The kid said, almost inaudibly.
“He’s four.” Cregan declared proudly.
As angry as Jace was with his father, little Rickon had no fault in it. He knelt next to the boy, “Nice to meet you, Rickon Stark. You have beautiful eyes.”
“Thanks.” He murmured back.
Jace shook hands with Sara too. She had to be a few years older than them, in her early thirties or so. Even in the middle of fall, she dressed like it was summer, with a long flowery skirt and a tank top. Benefits of being northern, Jace guessed. He wondered how Cregan dressed like, outside of work hours.
He guided the guests to a table, offering the menu to Sara and to Rickon, some coloring crayons and paper that he had stored for when his little siblings visited.
Visenya, Viserys and Aegon never sat quietly, but Rickon did, concentrating on his drawing. When it started taking shape, Jace saw it was a dragon.
“You did this on purpose.” He told Cregan back at the counter.
The man looked at Jace like he was crazy. “Sara was shopping with him nearby and wanted to drop by for Rickon to see where his dad works.”
Jace didn’t believe him. He crossed his arms.
Cregan continued, “Look, I know you’re disappointed at me-”
“Evening, gentlemen!” They were interrupted by Baela, who burst in with Rhaena just behind.
“Hey Bae, Rhae,” he greeted them. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it to the movies today.”
“That’s okay.” Said Rhaena, and the exact same time that Baela leaned in to ask, pointing at Sara and Rickon’s table, “who’s that?”
“My family,” Cregan said, which didn’t answer anything.
Jace introduced him to his cousins, and then Cregan introduced the girls to Rickon and Sara.
“That’s a magnificent dragon you have there!” Baela told the boy. “Think you can make her fly?”
“I can’t do that.” Rickon frowned.
“Oh, you absolutely can.” She made the kid scoot over to sit next to him, pulling Rhaena along.
Jace tried to come back to his and Cregan’s talk, but his heart was heavy like a stone. Rickon was such a sweet little boy, Cregan had played that card perfectly.
“I know you lied about having work experience.” Cregan didn’t contest it. “You are not qualified for this job and you are not listening to Aly and I when we teach you.”
The big man looked like a kicked dog. Good.
“One last chance.” Jace decided. “I’m giving you one last chance to prove I wasn’t wrong in hiring you.”
Cregan looked back up, eyes gleaming. “Thank you! Thank you so much, I will do my very best.”
“You better,” Jace answered, and they kept looking at each other for a few moments.
A paper plane hit the back of Cregan’s head, and he heard Rickon and Sara giggle.
“Sorry!” Baela yelled, “I’m just studying for a test. Aerodynamics.”
“Aerodynamics?” Cregan asked.
“She’s a physics major,” Jace explained. “She’s also, lying, because she’s not taking Dynamics this semester.”
“Don’t forget to tell him I’m taking my pilot license! Gotta get a lot of practice in, before I try to fly the real thing.” Baela threw another plane towards the counter. Rickon was laughing and clapping.
Cregan dove at him and picked the kid up in his arms, tickling his belly. “You naughty boy, laughing at your dad!” Rickon chucked even louder.
“We need to go, it’s dinner time for him,” his dad said. “Is that okay, boss?”
Jace nodded. Rickon said a shy goodbye to Baela and Rhaena.
Cregan turned to Jace again, his apron crooked and his hair so messy that he fought against the urge to reach out to fix it. “Thank you, seriously,” he said. “It means so much to us.”
Gods, Jace was fucked.
- ☕︎ -
“Look what just arrived!” Jace announced, a big box in his hands. He settled it on the counter.
“The new cake samples?” Aly asked, trying to peer into the box as Jace opened it.
“Yes ma’am!”
Cregan remained back by the espresso machines. He was strangely quiet that morning, Aly had noticed, but Jace beckoned him closer and he followed.
“Ok, so Desmond sent us ten flavors and we can choose three,” Jace continued. “This one is… pecan and cinnamon.”
He held a slice up to Aly’s face and she took a bite with a satisfied hum. Then, without thinking, he held it up to Cregan. The man hesitated for a second before diving in and pulling the piece from his hand. His teeth scraped lightly on Jace’s fingers.
Cregan smiled and gave a thumbs up.
“Huh…” Jace stuttered as he grabbed the next cake. “This one is carrot with chocolate chips.”
This time, Aly grabbed her own slice from the box, but Cregan leaned closer to Jace and waited, with his mouth open.
He could feel the blush creeping in, but held the cake up again.
From this up close, Jace could see the warm daylight reflected on Cregan’s gray eyes in a very pretty way. He looked away before it got weird.
Cregan swallowed the bite and said, “Pecan one is better. Matches the season.”
Jace agreed, though he hadn’t tried it yet. He held another slice, completely forgetting to announce the flavor or offer it to Aly. Cregan took it too, biting closer to Jace’s hand this time.
They went through the samples that way, Cregan making small comments in between.
On the last cake, apple or something, he took a small bite, but grabbed Jace’s hand when he went to pull away. He hummed.
“This is the best,” he said, before taking another piece, and another. When the cake was gone, Cregan licked the leftover icing on the top of Jace’s finger.
He jumped back, snapping his hand out of Cregan’s hold. His face and neck were entirely red.
A snicker made Jace notice Aly leaning on the counter, staring at them. He glared at her.
Sabitha was by her side, also giggling. She must have been back in the storage room when Jace arrived.
The girl had her auburn hair in the usual long braid, ripped jeans and a plaid jacket completing the “farmgirl lesbian” look. Jace was really lucky to have found her family business, who sold the very best coffee beans in town. Plus, Sabitha was very nice, having quickly become a close friend. Especially to Aly.
Cregan still looked really smug about embarrassing him in public. It almost made him revert back to hating the stupid Northman.
“Back to work, all of you!” He demanded, and pulled back the box before Aly could reach for another cake slice. “And no more cake.”
Later, after Sab and Cregan left, Aly cornered him. “So,” she started. “That was unprofessional.”
“I agree.”
She gave him a playful push. “You know what I mean. You guys clearly like each other.”
“He likes taunting me.”
“That’s what he does. Look,” Aly raised both her hands. “I’m just saying you could give it a shot. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
“I’m gonna fire the messenger,” he mumbled, but her words kept ringing in his ear for way longer than they should.
- ☕︎ -
Cregan was doing very well since Jace’s ultimatum. Only two cups had been broken, and the customers really seemed to like him. The man had a way with people, an effortless charm that bordered on flirting.
That was why, despite Aly’s insistence, Jace had decided none of it meant anything. Not when he caught Cregan staring at him when Jace wasn’t looking, or when he greeted him with “Morning, beautiful.”
The closing shift was Cregan’s, so they were alone after all the customers left. Cregan noticed Jace was absent-minded, and tried to cheer him up with stories of Rickon. When it didn’t work, he went silent.
Jace couldn’t stand it anymore. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, of course.” Cregan was surprised.
Jace bit his lip. He told himself the worst that could happen to him was being rejected, told by Cregan that he was hallucinating these signs, but that wasn’t quite true. If Cregan told him it was true, that he liked him, and then the decision on what to do became Jace’s…
“What is it?” Cregan insisted.
Jace blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Why did you move South?”
“Oh.” Cregan had really, really hoped no one would ask that question. He hadn’t made up a story yet. But Jace was nice, he seemed trustworthy. “Family problems, mostly.”
“I know those,” Jace chuckled. “Divorced parents?”
“No… My mother died when I was little, my father when I was fourteen.”
Jace’s smile dropped immediately. “Gods, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Cregan said, and he was being honest. It had been a long time ago, but it still felt good to talk about it instead of keeping the feelings bottled up. “My dad owned a logging company, you know, so I was supposed to inherit it when he passed.”
“Wait!” A memory that had been nagging Jace’s brain for a while finally resurfaced. “You are one of those Starks! I knew your name was familiar.”
Cregan flinched. “Yeah.”
“Then why are you here?” Jace was not just curious anymore, he felt something was wrong. “What happened, Cregan?”
“My father’s will said I had to graduate college before I could take over the company. But…”
“Rickon.”
Cregan nodded. “I met his mother freshman year, and she was pregnant not even two months later.”
“Where is she now?” Jace asked.
“Dead.” Holy shit. “Birth was hard, she lost a lot of blood. And when we thought she could make it, she caught an infection.”
Cregan’s eyes were glossed over, and he was staring right at the cup he had been washing.
“I’m sorry for asking, you don’t have to tell me any of this,” Jace tried telling him.
“No, it’s ok. I want to. Feels better.” He answered. “It was hard to do school after that, with Rickon being so young too, but I really tried. Really, really hard.”
He felt a hesitant hand touch his shoulder. Jace’s warm brown eyes met his and he moved his head in an encouraging gesture.
“I got to the graduation ceremony and they even gave me one of those fake diploma tube things,” Cregan continued. “Then they kicked me out.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They said I had plagiarized my senior thesis. I didn’t, I promise I didn’t.” He scrunched his eyes in an effort not to let a tear fall. “Doesn’t matter, they took away my diploma and my seat at the company board. My uncle is the president now. He blocked all my accounts and told me to leave or else.”
Jace took a while to process that. “He was the one who got you expelled.”
“Yes. I’m sure of that.”
Jace’s face changed from one of shock to determination. “I can do something about it. My mom’s lawyer, she’s really good, we can get your diploma ba-”
Cregan’s hand fell on his and shut him up. “There is no need for that now, Jace. I’m happy here. And Rickon is safe.”
“You can’t let your uncle get away with that!” Jace exclaimed.
“He won’t. But I’m not ready to face him just yet. I need to be sure Rickon and Sara will be taken care of and protected when I do.”
“I can do that too!” Jace swore.
“I’m sure you can, but it is my battle to fight.”
“At least say you’ll take my help when it comes to it. There’s no reason you shouldn’t.”
“Of course.” Cregan gave a wicked little grin. “Why not let my mean, grumpy boss help me with my problems, absolutely no strings attached?”
Jace huffed, “I’m being serious.”
“Me too.”
Jace took their hands up next to their faces and interlocked their pinky fingers. “It can be our little pact, then.”
“It can.” Cregan’s smile made Jace’s face go red and warm, but he held his gaze and smiled too.
- ☕︎ -
As autumn passed by and with Sevenmas approaching, it was time to set up some decorations around the shop.
Luke was the first one to note it. Although he did co-own the café with his brother, Luke’s last year of university kept him too busy to check in that often.
Still, whenever he did visit, he always had something to critique.
That time, he came in hand in hand with Rhaena, both wearing the ugliest matching sweaters known to man. The two lopsided reindeer joined their antlers to form a heart, which looked more like a liver.
And yet, Luke proudly declared the current café decor was “not it” and demanded that Jace put some Sevenmas-themed trinkets up.
“What do those look like?” Cregan asked.
“You don’t have Sevenmas in the North?” Jace realized it was a very dumb question, the moment he said it.
“No… we don’t follow the Faith of the Seven, at least not in Winterfell. But we do celebrate the Winter Solstice the same day, you know, the return of the sun, the coming of a new year and everything.”
“Oh.” Jace reacted, “of course. Well, Sevenmas is a lot like that, in theory. The circle of life, winter gives way to spring. The Crone becomes the Maiden again, and the Smith forges the dying Warrior into a Father.”
Jace stopped himself from rambling further, although Cregan didn’t look bored. He was staring and listening attentively.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach at you.”
“I don’t mind, I like hearing you talk.” Cregan reassured. “- about that” he added.
Jace blushed. Thank the gods Aly was too far away to hear that, serving the customers while they chatted.
“Either way, I don’t think we should have religious decorations. A few snowflakes, some lights, maybe a tree?”
Cregan perked up at that. “Wait,” he said, before getting up and going to the back, leaving a confused Jace by himself at the counter. He could see the man grab his phone and text someone.
He came back with that dashing smile that always made Jace feel funny inside.
“I thought I remembered my sister having this ‘Sevenmas’ stuff laying around,” he explained. “She said we can have it! It’s from an old project, but it’s all still good. Might be a nice start.”
Who was Jace to deny free things?
Aly ensured she could handle the shop, and receive Sabitha when she came in with the weekly drop. So, Cregan drove them to his and Sara’s apartment. It did feel weird to Jace, but he ignored it.
It really didn’t help that as soon as he opened the door, Cregan declared, “Mi casa es su casa.”
As they passed the living room, two people greeted them. Sara was watching a movie, curled up on the sofa with… Baela?
Baela didn’t seem surprised to see Jace. At his shocked face, she only gave him a grin and held tighter onto the older woman’s waist.
Sara was twirling her fingers on Baela’s curls, focused on the movie. They did look very cute.
Jace swallowed a comment and let Cregan guide him further inside the house.
He warned him to be quiet, because Rickon was sleeping.
Turned out, however, that the Sevenmas tree Sara had in her storage was huge, easily taller than Jace even while still in the box.
Worse, everything else was piled on it. While Cregan looked for a plug cord extender,
Jace tried to reach the toolbox that was on top of the tree box.
He managed to grab a handle, but had put too much weight on the box, and it toppled over. He screamed.
“Jace!” Baela screamed back from the living room. She and Sara came running.
But Cregan had managed to hold Jace by the waist, so he didn’t fall.
As soon as he recovered, Jace shied away from the man. Even so, the room was too small, and their chests were too close. Jace’s heart beat so fast he was probably still going to die.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“Don’t sweat it, boss,” Cregan smiled.
Sara checked him for bruises, but he was fine. The girls helped, and together the four managed to get all the items into the car.
The way back was a bit less awkward. Cregan asked Jace if he would celebrate Sevenmas with family, and he launched into an excited description of his family’s crazy traditions while Cregan watched from the corner of his eye.
Back in the café, they were surprised to find it empty. Aly was not behind the counter.
“I’m gonna grab some command hooks for the lights,” Jace announced.
He opened the door to the storage room. Aly was pinned to the shelves, held by a woman, Sabitha, while they kissed. Hard.
“Hey!” Aly yelled at him. He closed the door and covered his eyes with his hands, groaning.
Cregan had come to check the commotion.
“Ugh, what is it with the lesbians today?” Jace complained, “Pride month is still half a year away, you horny people.”
- ☕︎ -
Rickon had just agreed to change into his little pajamas and sit down for a bedtime story, when the bell rang. Sara was home, and Cregan wasn’t expecting any visits.
He opened the door to find an almost unrecognizable Jace.
His hair wasn't styled in pretty ringlets, but messy and brushed out. It was clear he had been ugly crying. Not in the cute way his eyes watered when watching a sad movie, but the kind with snot and wet coughs involved.
“Cregan.” Jace breathed out.
Then, he looked down and noticed Rickon, who had sneaked behind his dad and was peeking.
“I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry. It’s nothing.”
Cregan grabbed his arm before Jace could turn away. “Stop.”
“Rickon, sweetheart, go to your room so daddy can help uncle Jace, ok?” He told his son.
The boy nodded and waddled back into the apartment.
“Jace.” Cregan said softly, almost moving his hand to the man’s face before settling for the shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay. You can tell me anything.”
He tried to speak, but the tears came back immediately, blocking his vision and his throat. Cregan’s chest was right there, in front of him, and Jace couldn’t resist falling onto it. He buried his face on the soft nightshirt.
“Shhh,” Cregan cooed, petting his hair awkwardly. Gently, he guided Jace through the door. “Come in, I’ll make you some camomile tea, it helps to calm down.”
“I don’t need to calm down!” Jace snapped. Cregan hadn’t noticed the paper on his hands before, but now he did, as Jace waved it around in fury.
“I have every reason in the world to be mad right now! You have no idea what I just found out, Cregan, they lied to me. All. My. Life.”
He sat Jace down at the sofa and took the envelope he offered. It was from some kind of company called DNAandMe . “DNA test? You’re gonna have to explain, Jace. I actually don’t have any idea of what is happening.”
“I told you my parents had me and my brothers via a sperm donor, right?” Jace started, very loudly. If Sara was still awake, she was for sure hearing everything. “Well, they always said he was anonymous, and I didn’t really care to find him, but I had this crazy feeling… And I was right! I was fucking right!”
He broke down again.
Cregan thought of a hundred different ways to respond, try to calm him down or ask for the rest of the story, but he decided to keep quiet. A healthy baby, with silent support from the caretakers, will learn to regulate their own emotions. He had read something like that in a maternity book, someday.
He took Jace’s hand to draw little circles with his thumb. The boy snuffled.
“There was this family friend,” Jace finally continued. “I called him Uncle Harwin, he was always there from the first moment I remember. Like, truly, just always there. But then he died, seven years ago.”
Jace squeezed his hand back with a sob, like it had been painful.
“I- I can’t really explain what made me realize it just now, but I asked his sister to do the test with me. It was him.” He whimpered. “It was him the entire time, Cregan.”
“Your biological father?” He asked, just to finally say something.
“Yes.” Now Jace was almost whispering. “I really didn’t think it mattered. I have a father and I loved him, but… If Dad was planning to abandon us either way, he could’ve let me have this. Let me know this.”
It seemed to be over. Jace had stopped crying, and he sank into the couch with an exhausted sigh. Cregan sat next to him and pulled him into his chest. Any awkwardness seemed too unimportant, now.
“That’s fucked up.” Was what Cregan came up with. “It really does matter, and I’m sorry they hid this from you.”
Anything else would be empty words. Cregan did not understand this feeling, his dad had always been very honest and open with him, and when he left, it wasn’t by his own choice.
But he did understand loss. Grief. Jace was grieving for a man long dead, whether he realized or not.
So Cregan just held him. Feeling braver, he put both his hands on Jace’s face to look into his coffee eyes. The fight had gone out of them, Jace was staring back at Cregan like he was helpless, vulnerable, and would go along to anywhere if he was guided.
Cregan thought about kissing him on the lips, but it wouldn’t be right.
He settled for a long kiss on the forehead, petting the point behind Jace’s ears with his fingertips. Jace melted into it.
They stayed like this, tangled onto each other, for minutes, or maybe hours.
At some point, Rickon came to check on them, holding onto his aunt’s hand.
Sara didn’t ask any questions about Jace, and simply offered to put Cregan’s son to bed in his place. He accepted.
Jace struggled to keep his eyes open as Cregan carried him to his own bed. That was very scary. But he trusted his friend, so he let himself be set under the covers.
With one last kiss to Jace’s forehead, Cregan went to take the sofa for the night.
- ☕︎ -
He knew Jace was an early riser, so to make sure breakfast was ready for him, Cregan woke up at 6 am. Six o’clock, on a Sunday morning.
Gods, he was fucked.
Jace ended up waking at way past 9. Cregan called Aly to make sure she could open the shop by herself, then he made pancakes for Rickon and asked Sara to take him to the park.
Now, it was just him and Jace, sitting at the table with coffee and some biscuits between them. Jace looked much better, if a little red eyed.
“Ew, what coffee is this?” He exclaimed after taking a sip.
“Huh… The supermarket one.”
“You haven’t grabbed some of Sabitha’s coffee for yourself yet?”
“I’m allowed to?” Cregan asked.
Jace snickered. “Of course you are! I can’t let you keep drinking this excuse for a coffee like a peasant.” But he still took another sip from the mug, smiling behind it.
Cregan mimicked his smile. He reached across the table to cover Jace’s hand with his own. He watched that pretty blush cover the man’s face. “I really like you, Jacaerys. More than as a friend.”
Jace choked on the drink. Cregan got up in a second and made his way to pay him on the back, but Jace stopped him with a raised hand.
“I’m fine-” Cough. “It’s just-” Cough. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
“You don’t have to answer now. Or ever! But I needed to say it.” Cregan panicked.
“I definitely don’t not like you, but…” Jace always hated putting it in words. “I don’t do the dating thing.”
“You’re more of the one-night-stand type?”
“More like the ‘holding hands on the playground, last girlfriend was in preschool type’”
“Oh.” Cregan didn’t know what to say. He swallowed back a “but you’re really beautiful.” That was probably not the right answer.
“Also, I’m your boss,” Jace quickly added.
Cregan snickered. “I don’t think you’re the kind to abuse your position like that. You’re different.”
“You sound brainwashed.” Jace teased.
“Maybe I am.”
- ☕︎ -
Two months went by like a breeze. Cregan got up, went to work, made espressos and lattes, and went back home to Rickon.
He didn’t dislike the routine. What he missed was Jace.
The man was there, physically, next to him at the counter or sitting by a table on his computer, everyday.
Aside from the days he wasn’t. The days he came in late into the morning, his face puffy. The days he hid at the back by the storage when he saw a beautiful blonde lady - his mother - enter the shop.
Cregan was giving him space. They still teased each other and talked about the weather, shared stories about Rickon or Jace’s little brothers.
They just never mentioned it again. Whatever was threatening to blossom between them.
With time, the dark cloud looming over Jace started to fade away. He laughed again, a pretty sound that Cregan had really missed. He jumped up and down, genuinely ecstatic, when Aly and Sabitha announced they were dating.
The next time Rhaenyra showed up at the café, he hugged her and cried on his mother’s shoulder.
That night, Jace came to him after they closed. “I never thanked you properly.”
“For what?” He asked
“Everything,” he shrugged. “For being there that night, for understanding.”
“There’s no need to thank me for that.” Cregan reassured.
“I know.”
Jace slid into the barstool next to him. “I might have the answer I owed you.”
“Answer?”
“I know, when you said you… like me. I might… feel the same?” Jace blushed.
Cregan took Jace’s hand on his and raised it to his lips. “I’m honored.”
He laughed. “I take it back, you’re so stupid!”
Cregan grinned and lowered Jace’s hand to hold the boy’s cheek instead, moving slowly, asking for silent permission.
He admired his pretty face, tiny little freckles speckled throughout, big brown eyes staring back at him, still stunned and confused.
“Can I kiss you?” Cregan asked.
Jace took a deep breath. “Yes.”
He shifted so he could lean closer, pulling Jace’s face to meet his. He could feel the man’s breath on his lips, one second away from touching. His heart was almost bursting. “Stop!”
Cregan backed out, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I, I’ve never done this.” Jace confessed.
“Kissing a man?”
He shook his head.
“Kissing? Anyone?”
Jace hid his face in his hands. “No, I mean, I’ve-,” he mumbled, “kissed. Just not like this. You know.”
“No, Jace, I don’t know.” Cregan pulled his hands away, guiding Jace to look in his eyes. “Please explain.”
“It was never someone I actually liked. I just wanted to get it over with, you know? And it was bad. Really bad, every time. I’m bad at it.” He shifted his gaze away, looking at anything but Cregan.
“Jace.” Cregan interrupted him. “It’s ok.” He chuckled. “That’s adorable, actually.”
Jace glared at him, and pried his wrists off Cregan’s hand. “Don’t treat me like a child. This doesn’t make me a child.”
“No, of course not.”
“I won’t get with you if you are gonna make it into a joke, or some kind of weird kin-”
“Jace! I promise I won’t. It’s just a skill, like any other.” Cregan smiled. “Like how I didn’t know how to use the espresso machine. Or how to foam milk. If I can learn that, you can learn to kiss. I’ll teach you.”
He held Jace’s face again. “Can I?” Jace nodded.
Cregan pressed their lips quickly this time. Just a gentle, short caress, Jace feeling his softness, his warmth, and the slightest tingle of his stubble before Cregan was pulling back.
“That okay?”
More than okay. Jace didn’t even realize he had said that out loud.
Cregan kissed him again. And again. Each time a little longer, moving a little deeper.
When he let Jace go for the last time, he was breathing hard. It took him a while to understand Cregan had asked a question, “Will you let me take you on a date?”
“Uh?” Jace recomposed himself. “Yeah, yeah of course. But… I need this to go very slow.”
“That’s fine.”
“Even slower than you think. Like, mind boggling slow. So slow you’re probably gonna go insane.”
“There’s only one thing that could make me go insane,” he grinned, looking up and down at Jace. He got a playful slap for his naughtiness.
“I’m also still your boss,” Jace remembered.
“And I still don’t give a single fuck.” Cregan grabbed his neck and pulled him into another kiss.
- ☕︎ -