Chapter Text
It started off as a cold February day, in fact it was the first of the month with perfect little snowflakes gently falling on you and everything around you.
You stand in front of your coffee shop, proud and almost uncertain if all of this is reality or just a dream. You just passed the WCA trial, endured all of its challanges and various judges and began to reminisce and look back on all of it with a soft smile streaching across your face. Everyone you met so far, all the friends you made are starting to run across your mind as an unexpected, yet welcome warmth spread around your body.
There were of course Carl and Maisie who brightened up each and every day through your journey, Benji with his smart technologies, Teddy and Javo and most importantly - the judges. Each of them gave you some hard challanges and made you stronger as you went.
Judy helped you work your way through syrups and purees, Oscar... was mostly a pain in the arse, but sure he thaught you some things. But the most difficult of them all was Max. No, it wasn't his playful arrogance, nor the latte art itself, but just him.
At the sight of his face, of his auburn-ish hair and moustashe and of his small round eyes, your heart would skip a beat. There was always something about him. The way he pronounces your name, just the melody of his voice and his slight inability to pronounce the letter R when he stumbles over his words were enough for you to momentaraly lose your touch with the world.
When the realisation hits that you've been thinking about Max, you find yourself looking around to see if anyone noticed your sudden internal spiraling, but thankfully the streets were empty hence it was around 6:00 in the morning. You prefered getting to your coffee shop early, so you can take your time with daily preparations and peacefuly wake with the smell of fresly brewed coffee carefully entering your nose.
Again thankful and appreciative of everything that is going on in your life, you take a deep breath to ground yourself back to the Earth and gently jab the front door's lock with one of your keys. You're still sleepy, so it takes you a couple tries before the key is actually in, but as soon as you prepare yourself to unlock the door, you are met with a distant voice calling your name.
The sudden and unexpected shriek pierces through your ears and as you turn your head left and right in confusion you spot a familiar figure approaching from the other end of the street...
It can't be. A tall slim figure in a dark brown leather jacket and knit scarf, wearing a pair of worn in Dr. Martens with a maching hat which only let a few strands of the friendly auburn-ish hair be seen. He starts picking up pace.
Is it really Max? What is he doing here? He calls out your name once more, making sure you heard him, and oh God did you hear his sweet voice. Even when yelling from 100 feet away, his voice sounds so soft and caring. It fascinates and intrigues you, all of his passion and determination to reach out to you...
It's strange to a point also, why is he here in 6 o'clock in the morning? You are soon to find out since he is just a few steps away.
"Hey" he mutters out, catching his breath and waiting for your response.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" You realise you accidentaly sounded a bit surprised and unwelcoming, but hope he didn't noticed it.
"Can I come in?" he pants.
"Of course, what kind of person would I be if I didn't let my former mentor stop by, for some coffee!" You get a sense of intimacy from the start of this conversation, just you and him alone in a usually crowded street.
Turning the key, you unlock the door and let yourself in while Max is quick to follow behind. "It's been a hot moment since I've been here... " Max says as he looks around the cafe, taking in every single detail of the ever-changing and thriving coffee shop he is met with.
"Oh yeah, I spent a fortune decorating it to perfection and..." you're cut off by Max.
"I wouldn't call it perfect but sure" he adds with a soft smirk and looks at you playfully in the eye. Not expecting anything other than that response, you ask "So what brings you here? Looking for the best latte art in town?"
He looks almost stunned, as he didn't expect such a whitty response from you "Don't get too ahead of youself rookie" He throws at you as the last word echoes in your head... and your heart.
After this frisky exchange between him and you, he explains what brought him here. "I was supposed to trial some newbies and, you know they had to cancell because of some medical emergency, but I was told they cancelled just before I headed out of my apartment and I decided to visit some old friends..."
You find yourself almost melting while listening to his voice, but you have to keep contempt as you thoroughly clean your coffee machine. "So, can a man get a latte around here?"
Without hesitation, you grab a mug and begin the oh-so-familiar process of brewing coffee with some steamed milk and creating a perfect rosseta piece on top to impress your former mentor. He carfully takes the hot drink in his hands and slowly sipps it...
You can tell he's impressed and is fighting the urge to say something kind, but just the look of pure satisfaction on his face is enough for you. The rest of his brief stay in the café was spent enduring in leisure small talk over two hot cups of masterfuly brewed latte.
After he left, you went back to work, seemingly happier than ever, serving customer after customer and although you wished it was him instead of all of these sleepy soon-to-be caffeine-induced strangers, just the thought of him kept you peaceful and tireless for the rest of the day.