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#maru is lovely but my heart belongs to sebastian
grahoriasfancave · 2 years
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me: *enters*
Maru: hey, come do science with us! *leaves to get stuff*
Demetrius: If you get between my special girl and her bright future, you will mysteriously disappear without a trace
me, sweating buckets: sir, i’m just here to say happy birthday to my boyfriend
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petalbrooke · 4 years
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Merry KRISmas!!!
So when I realized there were no coffeeshop aus, I knew that Gus would be up to shenanigans. Then I remembered that Harvey loves coffee. And then I remembered that Kris loves Harvey. One thing led to another annnnd here we are!
Summary: Gus and Emily take to playing matchmaker over coffee! Short and fluffy. Word count: 1331 (nice) Pairing: Harvey/Kris who belongs to the ANGEL @gaba-kawa!!!
When Gus had announced that the saloon would become a coffeehouse by day, he hadn’t expected business to boom the way it had. He figured Harvey might stop by occasionally, perhaps Sebastian’s crew, if they needed to get away from their respective homes. He’s just set out a pot of dark roast and call it a day.
What ended up happening – to both Gus’s surprise and delight – was that everybody, including the employees at Joja, came for not only his latte art but the atmosphere. It had taken on a life of its own, bright and vibrant. (And with a lot less vomiting compared to the bar.)
The best part of being both a bartender and a barista was getting to watch the people. Behind the counter, Gus was invisible; people would say things to each other around him that they never would have if he was sitting right next to them. Even just the subtle exchanges of eyes over glasses – none of them could escape his notice.
For example – Kris, the farmer. She’d first caught his eye on opening night when everyone else had ordered lattes, tea, cold brews. Kris had ordered a chocolate milk.
The request had surprised Gus. Chocolate milk? Jas was the only person in town who drank chocolate milk – Vincent preferred strawberry – and she’d drank his last carton a week ago. Still, Gus was never one to deny a customer, so he grabbed a bottle delivered fresh by Marnie that morning, some chocolate syrup, and began to mix. Like his early days of latte art, this would be an experiment – he couldn’t begin to guess what the ratio of syrup to milk would be.
Her eyes a pretty shade of light blue, widened. “The works. Nice.” He glass, frothing and dark, towards Kris. She sipped, and her eyes practically rolled back into her head with pleasure. “Oh, that’s the stuff.”
As Gus had mixed the chocolate milk, Harvey had been busy seating himself at the end of the bar. Gus didn’t even need to ask to know he wanted a steaming pour over, no cream or sugar.
“Long night?” Gus whispered. Harvey nodded, bleary eyes. There’d been a lot more activity in the mines lately, and while that was great for business, it also meant there’d been a lot more injuries. He’d taken to staying up most of the night, making sure all miners were accounted for before he began to rest. “Have you done anything for yourself lately?” Gus asked. To this, Harvey shook his head no, sipping the steaming cup in big gulps.
Gus glanced from Harvey to Kris and back again. He’d noticed the lingering look Harvey had given her as he sat down. Mischievous thoughts raced through his head, knowing that Harvey was too shy and nervous and tired to make the first move. How to make it happen?
Before he got the chance to suggest anything, Harvey was gone, his tip – always generous – laying under the ceramic mug. Kris’s eyes followed Harvey as he took his leave, and Gus’s suspicions were confirmed. It was time to hatch a plan.
~~~
“You’re saying you want to set Kris and Harvey up?” Emily asked. She was trying, for the fifth time that night, to perfect a latte art. For the fifth time, she filled it to overflowing and had to mop up the extra milk. “That didn’t work out great for you last time.”
Gus slid Emily a larger mug, taking a sip of the messy milk and espresso – why let good coffee go to waste? It still tasted delicious – rich, full-bodied, a little earthy. “It’s not my fault that Lewis is a coward. I wouldn’t have set them up if I’d known he was going to make their relationship a poorly-kept secret.” He cast Lewis, lingering by the jukebox, a fruitive glance. “I set Robin and Demetrius, you know. I’m pretty good at it.”
“That’s about a half and half success rate,” Emily laughed. “How do you know they even like each other?”
Gus thought of the way Harvey looked at Kris when he thought that nobody was looking. It hadn’t just been that morning. Whenever they were in the same room they’d cast these looks at each other, always missing each other’s eyes. He couldn’t name it, exactly, but there was a spark there. A curiosity. A desire.
“I just know. Now, are you going to help me, or not?”
~~~
Gus and Emily had gone through several ideas, including a few that would almost certainly result in the bodily injury of Kris, all of which Emily had vetoed.
“Just because he spends all his time at the clinic doesn’t mean we have to hurt her,” Emily pointed out. “Honestly, you’d think we were trying to kill her, not set her up.”
“Well I don’t see you giving me any better ideas,” Gus hissed, hastily shoving their papers under the counter as Kris appeared. In her basket was a variety of crops he had ordered, corn and blueberries and hot peppers. He poured the glass of chocolate milk he knew she would ask for as Emily counted out her payment.
“Thank you kindly,” Gus drawled, popping one of the sweet, juicy blueberries in his mouth. “You know, my cobblers have never tasted better. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was magic.”
Something flashed in Kris’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly that Gus figured he must have imagined it. “I just grow what the people ask for,” Kris said, polishing off the glass. “Sorry, can’t stay. I’ve got to hurry if I want to get the rest of these out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As the door swung shut behind her, Gus realized all at once what he had to do.
~~~
The twinkling of the bell over the clinic door announced Kris’s presence. Besides that, there was little sound – just the hum of fluorescent lights and the click of her shoes against the tile as she made her way to the counter. A small bell sat next to the register, and she rang it once, twice, three times. Before she heard Harvey call out from the back, his voice muffled.
When he appeared, he was pulling thin plastic gloves off his hands, smiling apologetically. She could have imagined it, but his green eyes seemed to brighten a bit when he saw who it was. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting anybody else today. Are you hurt? Come to pick up an energy tonic?”
“Ah, no,” Kris said, placing a basket filled to the brim with spice berries on the counter. They were massive, and bright red, shiny. “Just answering your request on the bulletin board. You would not believe how long it took me to find enough.”
Harvey’s brow furrowed in confusion as he took a step back, eyeing the basket as if It were full of poison. “That… that can’t be right. I’m highly allergic to spice berries.” He racked his brain, trying to remember if he’d asked Maru to place an order for him. Spice berries had some medicinal uses, but they were so minute that they weren’t really worth collecting.
“But you asked for them. A whole basket.” Kris dug around the pocket of her overalls, searching for the note that had been posted on the community board. “I didn’t even know people could be allergic to spice berries.”
“And salmonberries,” Harvey sighed. He’d learned that one the hard way. He examined the posting and noted the prim handwriting didn’t match his or Maru’s. “I’m sorry, Kris, but I just can’t afford all this right now.” His heart lurched when he saw her face fall. She must have gone through a lot to get me all of this, he thought. “How about I take you out for a cup of coffee to make up for it?”
Kris shot him a sly smile, taking the basket back. “Make it chocolate milk, and I’ll be there.”
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