Chapter Text
To put it frankly, Devin was drunk.
"What time is it? Where's the sun?" Devin mumbled, his words slurring together.
"Above you," someone on the subway giggled.
Who am I with? Devin thought hard about it, but every thought seemed to slide away before he could catch it.
"Time," he grumbled.
"10:46," the stranger replied.
Devin slumped against him, too tired to hold up his own weight. The subway rattled over uneven tracks, the fluorescent lights overhead flickering every so often. His head felt lighter with every passing minute. At least he knew he was safe with this stranger. No, not a stranger. Where did he know him from? Why was he safe with him? The stranger's shoulder was warm beneath his cheek. Who cares? The thought drifted away as quickly as it came.
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Three Weeks Earlier
"Sadie, I swear to fucking God, if you don't give me that waffle I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna be late for-"
Before Nathan could finish, Sadie took an exaggerated bite of the waffle. A textbook immediately went flying across the room and slammed into the wall with a loud thud.
"My exam is in three hours! I'm trying to cram!" Sydney yelled from across the kitchen table, surrounded by flashcards, highlighters, and at least three empty energy drink cans.
"Well, I'm late for work, so quit whining," Nathan shot back.
Sydney flipped him off without looking up from her notes. With that, Nathan grabbed his backpack and shoved his feet into his shoes. The apartment door slammed shut behind him. The walk to work usually took twenty minutes. If he ran, he might only be five minutes late. The morning air was crisp as he sprinted toward the station, nearly tripping over a crack in the sidewalk. He barely caught the train, slipping through the doors just before they closed. Usually he walked the extra block to Queen Street Station. That station didn't smell like rodent piss. Today, however, he wasn't picky. To his luck, he only ended up a few minutes late. His boss didn't seem to care. Speaking of Ryan, he was a pretty decent guy. The morning rush came and went in a blur of coffee orders, impatient commuters, and milk steamers screeching like dying seagulls. By noon, Nathan informed Ryan he was taking his thirty-minute unpaid break. After returning from lunch, he was surprised to see Sydney standing in line.
"How was your exam?" Nathan asked smugly as he wiped down the counter.
"Rot in hell," Sydney groaned. "The correct answer was apparently B."
She dug around in her pocket.
"Correct answer was, let me buy your coffee since you're so tired."
Nathan laughed. Sydney grabbed the latte and hopped onto one of the stools near the window. She spent so much time hanging around the café that some regulars probably assumed she worked there. Not that she'd admit she enjoyed Nathan's company. There was also the possibility that Sadie had Conrad over.
"What do you think of Sadie's new boy-toy?" Sydney asked from the bar.
"Speak of the devil."
Sydney blinked.
"What?"
Nathan nodded toward the front door. Conrad had just walked in.
"Oh."
"He's nice, I suppose," Nathan sighed.
A breeze drifted through the open window, sending a loose strand of dark hair into his face. He tucked it behind his ear before it escaped again.
"Sadie is insane for blond men with blue eyes."
Sydney snorted into her drink.
Nathan finally gave up and tightened his ponytail. Man, he really needed a haircut. At that exact moment, the worst thing he'd seen all day walked through the door. To be fair, he'd been having a pretty pleasant day.
"Usual?" Nathan called from behind the counter.
"You know me so well," the man replied with a grin.
Nathan immediately regretted speaking. The man always smiled like that. Nathan hated it. Probably. Trying very hard not to think about it, he prepared the drink. Earl Grey tea base, two sugars, steamed milk. He'd made it enough times to do it blindfolded. When he handed over the cup, the man dropped a toonie into the tip jar with a loud clink. Nathan sighed dramatically and wandered back over to Sydney.
"I hate that blond twink," he whined quietly.
Sydney nearly choked on her latte.
"I don't know," she grinned. "I think you'd be cute together."
Nathan groaned.
"I like girls too, you know."
"Happy Pride Month."
Nathan buried his face in his hands. Sydney laughed and stood from her stool.
"I'm gonna head home and start dinner."
She waved as she left the café. Nathan watched her disappear down the sidewalk. Two hours left on his shift. Two hours. And unfortunately, the blond menace was still sitting by the window. He couldn’t help but notice the guy kept glancing over at him. He sprinted to the back of the store to find Ryan. Probably doing administrative stuff.
“That guy gonna kill me,” Nathan sighed breathlessly to Ryan, bracing his hands on the edge of the desk.
Ryan looked up from his computer and raised his eyebrows slowly. “The last thing he’s gonna do is kill you, Nate.”
“I bet that’s why he comes around! The more shifts I work the more he comes,” Nathan sneered, glancing back toward the front like the guy might appear out of nowhere.
He lowered his voice as a customer walked past the back hallway. Being pulled away by the steady stream of customers at the counter, he barely had time to finish his sentence. Thankfully though, the consistent flow of people meant they never stayed alone together for long. He only seemed to come around when Nathan worked, according to Ryan at least. That detail made it worse somehow. As he made his way up to the subway, the evening air hit colder than expected, biting at his face as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. He heard someone sprint up from behind him. Shit, Nathan thought, instinctively slowing for half a second before immediately squaring up like it might help. To nobody’s pleasure it was the blond twink from before.
“Hey!” a breathless voice called, slightly distorted by running.
Nathan picked up his pace immediately, shoulders tightening as he ducked into the subway entrance. I’m not being murdered by this chud man… I’m not being murdered by this chud man. The escalator hummed underfoot, and the station air shifted into that familiar mix of metal, dust, and old advertisements peeling at the corners of the walls. Nathan didn’t look back. Looking back was how people died in movies. Or at least how it felt like they died in movies.
“Wait hey!” the voice called again, closer now, echoing slightly down the tunnel.
Nathan muttered under his breath, “I swear to God if this is my villain origin story” He hit the platform just as the train lights appeared down the tunnel, the wind starting to build before it arrived. Perfect timing. He shoved into the crowd at the edge of the platform, letting himself get swallowed by commuters just as the train roared in, screeching against the tracks. Behind him, the blond guy slowed still calling something, but it was lost in the sound of metal and rushing air. Nathan didn’t stop to find out what it was. He stepped into the train the second the doors slid open, slipping inside as the crowd surged forward with him. The doors hissed shut behind him. Click. Only then did he lean back slightly, finally letting himself breathe again.
”Yeah,” he muttered to himself, staring at his reflection in the window. “Not today.”
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My cute barista is running. Is there something behind me? I better not look. Now I’m running. Wait, why am I running? As the brunette barista ducks into the subway, Devin’s mind suddenly clears, like someone had pulled him out of a fog. Ohhh… He’s trying to catch the subway. Devin slows down near the entrance, a little out of breath, watching the barista disappear through the closing train doors. The platform wind kicks up lightly, tugging at his hoodie as the train pulls away into the tunnel. He lets out a long sigh. Well… that went poorly. He glances down at the sticky note in his hand. The number is still there, neatly written, a little crumpled from how hard he’d been holding it. He hadn’t even managed to give it to him. Every time he’d worked up the courage, the barista had either been busy, stressed, or actively avoiding eye contact like Devin was about to commit a crime.
“I guess I’ll see if he’s working tomorrow,” Devin mumbles, voice quieter now. There’s a clear disappointment he doesn’t bother hiding.
He shoves the sticky note deeper into his pocket like it might stop existing if it’s out of sight. He didn’t live too far, so he decided to walk instead of waiting for another train. The night air is cool and calm, a strange contrast to how loud his thoughts feel. When he gets home, he unlocks the door and steps into the apartment. Katie is already on the couch. Minecraft SMP is playing on the TV at a volume that feels slightly too loud for how late it is. She’s in pajamas, hair messy, eating Cheerios straight from the box like it’s normal behavior.
“Move,” Devin grunts, dropping his bag beside the couch.
Without looking at him, Katie scoops a handful of Cheerios and keeps watching the screen. Devin takes a few from the box anyway. She immediately cups some milk in her hand and flicks it at him. He pauses.
“…What was that for?”
“How did your date go?” Katie asks flatly.
“It wasn’t a date,” Devin says, wiping his sleeve.
Katie finally glances at him. “You gave him your number.”
A beat. Devin blinks.
“…I didn’t.”
Katie frowns. “Then what were you doing sprinting after him like that?”
“I was trying to catch him before he got on the train,” Devin says. “He left.”
Katie stares at him for a moment, then goes back to eating Cheerios. “That’s your problem.”
Devin gives up on the conversation and walks to his room. The door clicks shut. He flops onto his bed, staring at the ceiling fan turning slowly above him. What a disaster. He thinks about the barista again. The way he looked behind the counter. The way he immediately looked like Devin was one bad decision away from becoming a true crime headline. At first, Devin thought he was a girl just from the back. He corrected himself pretty quickly but not quickly enough for his brain to stop noticing. And now it was kind of too late for that. He exhales into his pillow. He’s probably straight anyway, knowing his luck. Great. I guess I’m lucky I haven’t been harassed. The thought shouldn’t have been funny, but it makes him huff a quiet laugh anyway. He rolls over, pulling the blanket up slightly. This would probably end badly if he knew anything about what he was doing. But for some reason, he can’t really stop thinking about him. His pillow feels warm against his cheek as his eyes start to close. Tomorrow, maybe..