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The first thing he notices when he walks up to the counter is the unusually copious amount of bandaids that cover the boy's slender fingers on a near daily basis. He tries not to stare at the variously colored bandages for too long, but it piques his curiosity - much like the boy's soft scent. He glances up when the boy habitually twitches and fidgets with the worn buttons on his shirt, watching Craig pretend to think over his order options. Of course he already knows what's on the menu and what he's going to get - he gets the same thing almost every single day, but he never truly gets the proper chance of just being alone with the other boy in the small coffee shop. His gaze falls back on the way bandaged fingers tug on the messy collared uniform shirt. He decides to try something different this time.
"What do you suggest?"
"Ah- ngh-" The boy looks pained for a moment before glancing around the empty shop. He looks like he's ready to run at any moment and truthfully, Craig wouldn't blame him. He'd been told on more than one occasion that he could appear quite terrifying for an alpha, not that he really ever intended to look that way. In fact, scaring the omega behind the counter was the last thing he'd ever want to do.
"Nghh - the - the cappuccino is pretty good?" The boy states through gritted teeth, though there's no trace of anger in his words as he tugs on his shirt again. Wide green eyes stare back at him and he nods thoughtfully.
"I'll take that then."
He doesn't even like coffee. The boy gives him a strange look because they both know he doesn't usually get coffee. It's clear his choice makes the other mildly uncomfortable, but the omega seems to hold back his blatant disagreement with Craig's choice.
"T-Two-fifty."
Craig dares a glance at the boy's name tag, even if he's already long since memorized his name. He refuses to admit that he's thought of that name everyday for a nearly a month now. He pulls out a twenty-dollar bill and hands it to the boy, watching colored fingers hesitantly take the worn bill from him. He wishes he could reach forward just a little to finally answer the lasting question of what it would be like to hold Tweek Tweak's hand. Was it soft like other omegas', even with the endless invasion of bandaids covering his small fingers?
Instead, Tweek twitches and pulls back, pressing faded buttons on an older cash register before beginning to pull out change. Craig holds a hand out and shakes his head.
"Keep it."
That really does it for the boy. Tweek looks mortified, gripping the cash with such fear that his hands start shaking.
"Ngh - but this - this is your change?"
"I owe you far more in tips." Craig feels like he should smile, but that would just make things awkward. Instead, he just watches Tweek blink furiously at him.
"B-But - gah - this?" Tweek shakes his head.
"I just like the way you make my drinks." Craig shrugs as if his feelings were completely obvious. Well, it really should be at this point, at least if his own scent hadn't given him away already. "You always do a good job."
"I-I can't accept this, though! Th-This is - gah! - too much!" Tweek looks like he's about to shove the money back at him, but Craig just shakes his head politely and walks to the end of the counter.
He's spent so much at this damned coffee shop that his parents were beginning to grow frustrated with his free-willed spending. It's not his fault that this was the only way he could get close to the omega behind the counter. Besides, it wasn't even their money he was spending, so why did it even matter to them? Truthfully, he couldn't care less what they thought - not when getting a chance to see Tweek on a daily basis was the true end-goal here.
Tweek squeaks behind the counter before getting to work. Craig doesn't miss the way the boy glances at him every few moments, between grabbing the white porcelain cups and starting the far-too raucously loud machine. He just sits down, awaiting for the usual delivery of the boy trying desperately not to spill a far too-full cup as he places it in front of him. He glanced around the shop, praying no one walks in. He doubts anyone will with how late it already was, but, then again, he's here.
Really, he shouldn't even be drinking coffee this late when he had to get up early in the morning.
Tweek walks over to him with the cup. Craig can see the way his hands shake and tremble, forcing the coffee to ripple in his grip. The mixture of Tweek's soft scent and the coffee makes Craig's heart patter in his chest. Tweek hesitantly places the cup in front of Craig and he expects the boy to immediately slip back behind the counter like he's always done.
This time, however, Tweek stands there and stares at him. Craig just stares back at him, ignoring the soft warmth in his gut as Tweek bites into already gnawed on lips. Craig wonders briefly what it would feel like to kiss him. Would he taste the way he smells? Craig's sure he'd never be able to look at another omega if that were true.
After several long moments, Tweek scoots the chair across him out and plops down. It's clear this is a huge feat for Tweek as he clutches the bottom of the chair with a white-knuckles grip - probably to prevent himself from running away. His jaw is set and he refuses to look Craig in the eye. The alpha doesn't mind, though.
In fact, it makes him even more infatuated with the adorably twitchy boy.
"Y-You go to my school d-ngh-don't you?"
Craig nods. They shared a class together, too, but he guesses Tweek's never noticed him. He doesn't know why that makes him feel so down suddenly.
Tweek takes to rubbing his arm furiously. Craig wishes he could reach across and stop him, especially when his arm already looks fairly raw, but he doesn't want to overstep any boundaries. He's not Tweek's alpha - not yet, but he'd surely love to be.
"Astronomy, right?" Tweek asks him again.
The question catches him off guard. So he did notice him after all. Craig feels his lips pull up in a small, unfamiliar smirk before he nods again.
"Yeah."
Tweek swallows and glances at the door. There's no one coming - to Craig's relief. They sit in silence for a moment and Craig wonders if the boy will say something else. Tweek reaches up and scratches the back of his neck before making a quiet, pained noise between clenched teeth.
"Are you doing anything later tonight?"
Tweek looks at him in shock and Craig's stunned by his own question. He doesn't have any plans and there's nothing going on that he could invite the boy to, but the words stumbled out of his mouth before he even had the chance to think about stopping them.
Tweek's mouth is agape for a moment before it's immediately shut. He looks uncomfortable then, giving Craig a very good idea of the answer he'd be receiving. He silently curses himself for already spoiling their moment and tries to hurriedly make up an excuse to cover his tracks.
What he doesn't expect is the shake of his head that Tweek directs toward him.
"N-Not really..." Tweek fidgets with his fingers, pulling on them slightly. "Uhm...what do - do you have in...ah...mind?"
Craig didn't have anything in mind. He didn't even think he'd make it this far. He clears his throat before leaning forward, resting his hand on the lukewarm coffee cup. Had it already been that long since Tweek gave it to him? He hadn't realized how much time had passed - then again, he never did when Tweek was near him. The omega had a knack for making him lose track of time.
He rubs the side of his face before quickly racking his brain for date ideas. This wasn't really a date, was it? He wasn't going to push it if it wasn't. He doesn't like the way his heart flutters the longer he can't come up with something.
"The...park." Craig's voice is stupidly shaky. He hates that he's acting so nervous suddenly - especially wth Tweek. Tweek, the boy he'd been seeing in this coffee shop every single day. Tweek, the omega he'd gotten so accustomed to seeing that a part of him even tried to approach him at school - well, he hadn't, but he wanted to.
Then again, that's what made it so exciting, right?
"That s-sounds - ngh - nice?" Tweek bites into his lower lip before forcing himself to stand. The chair scrapes against the floor and the boy visibly cringes at the sound before looking at Craig with a grimace. "Ahm...I get off a-at uh...in ten minutes."
"I'll be here." Craig sees the ghost of a smile on the boy's lips before he quickly turns around and marches behind the counter and into the backroom.
Craig blinks and turns down to the cappuccino in his hands. There's a mushy design of a leaf in its foam, probably messy from having sat for so long.
He smiles despite himself.
--
Craig stands in the cold, watching his breath dissipate into the cold night air as the lights of the shop shut off behind him. His hands are tucked comfortably inside his heavy jacket as Tweek walks out and locks the door behind them. Craig can see hands fidget far worse, even leading to Tweek dropping the set of keys before he finally succeeds in locking up the shop.
Tweek has a light jacket on and Craig worries he'll get sick. He doesn't look uncomfortable, but Craig unzips his jacket and watches Tweek look at him in curiosity.
"Do you want my jacket?"
Tweek blinks and twitches before shaking his head rapidly.
"N-No - ah - that's - that's yours!"
Craig nods and zips his jacket back up properly. He has a feeling he wouldn't be able to push the issue, not now, anyway. It was probably a big step for Tweek - having an alpha's scent all over him like that. He should have thought of that. Craig grits his teeth slightly as he internally berates himself for his thoughtlessness. It's one of those moments when he really wishes he had more experience in this kind of thing.
They stand in silence, with Craig unsure of if he should start walking or wait for some sort of cue. Tweek is looking more and more panicked the longer they wait, leading Craig to just take a daring step away from the shop.
When he takes a few more and doesn't miss the lack of crunching snow behind him, he turns to see Tweek looking around in a panicked grimace. Craig raises an eyebrow as the boy meets his gaze once more.
"Y-You're not gonna - gonna kill me or something are you?" Tweek tugged on his jacket. "Has that been your plan this whole time? Gah! You're going to kill me, aren't you? Is that why you've been watching me this whole time?"
Craig stared at Tweek in shock as the boy slowly fell into a breakdown, his voice slowly rising as he came up with newer ideas of Craig's true intentions. It got to a point where Tweek was actively pulling on his hair. Craig didn't know what to do, so he immediately walked back to close the distance. He could see Tweek get more and more hysterical before he finally just blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm in love with you - that's why I finally asked you out."
Tweek froze then, and even Craig felt the chill of the air seep through his clothes. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything. The world stopped and internally he was truly beating himself up for coming up with quite possibly the worst solution to calm someone like Tweek.
"GAH!" Tweek suddenly screamed. "THAT'S - YOU CAN'T LOVE ME! THAT'S - THAT'S SO MUCH PRESSURE!"
And Craig just watched the boy tremble and shake in front of him. He didn't know whether to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation or genuinely take it to heart, so he just stood in silence. A part of him truly wished he knew how to handle a situation like this. It's not like he had any experience in this type of thing either - well, assuming Tweek didn't. He pulled his hat off and ran a hand through his hair before plopping it back on.
And finally, he just dropped to the ground.
Tweek stopped spasming then, staring down at him in horror as Craig slowly moved to lay down on the cold parking lot asphalt. It was uncharacteristic, but the way Tweek finally stopped pulling on his hair made him believe it was an unusual step in the right direction.
"GAH! I KILLED HIM! OH GOD!"
Craig laughed then, a genuinely bubbly laugh that he hadn't heard himself make in ages. He watched Tweek run over to him before the boy furrowed his eyebrows when he leaned down to examine him better. Craig was smiling brightly then, looking up at Tweek with mirthful eyes. This boy was absolutely ridiculous, coming up with some terrifying conclusion before he even saw what was going on. But that's what Craig liked about him - that among the sudden moans and twitches, the subtle screams and paranoid narratives, Tweek Tweak was special. He was special to Craig because he was the first omega to make Craig actually feel something.
Tweek looked absolutely beautiful like this - against the star-filled sky in the empty lot. He looked so different in the night sky than in the bright lighting of the coffee shop or in the dimly fluorescent lights at school - somehow so much softer. Tweek growled quietly at him.
"Y-You're fine! Why did you do that? Do you know what could have happened by doing that? You could have hit your head! You could get hit by a car down there! Oh god, what if you get hit by a car and die and they think I did it? I can't go to jail! I'll never survive!"
"Tweek." Craig says calmly, watching the other boy groan and squat next to him. It's the first time he's ever said the other's name and he likes the way it feels on his tongue. "I'm fine."
Craig sits up and smiles at him. For a moment, Tweek looks at him in wonder. It's a strange moment because Tweek genuinely looks calm for just a moment. It makes Craig wish he could lean forward and kiss him - under the stars and in the cold where it was just them here. Tweek trembles before sitting down next to him. Craig watches him quietly, very aware that Tweek is looking around the lot continuously for some unknown danger. But he risks it anyway, just for Craig.
That makes Craig's gut warm.
"Y-You're really weird for an alpha." Tweek finally states. He glances at Craig, mouth in a tight line as he watches for any sortof downward reaction. It's clear he fears his words may upset Craig, but Craig just shrugs. He really was. He had outwardly admitted feelings for a boy he barely knew and had practically made excuses to see every day, was sitting in the freezing cold in a parking lot in the middle of the night with said omega, and he was perfectly happy doing it. In fact, the weirdest part of the whole thing really, was that he wished this moment would last forever.
"You're not here to kill me?" Tweek watches Craig just shake his head. "Then w-why have you been coming to see me everyday?"
"I already told you." Craig feels his face flush despite the cold, so he looks up to the sky to hide his embarrassment. For once, the sky wasn't the only thing that made him feel small.
"But - but that can't be right. No one can have feelings for someone like me."
"Why not?"
"Because -" Tweek stopped before digging blunt nails into his worn jeans. They had various coffee stains splattered all over the denim, contrasting the now dulled colors of his bandaids. Softer, "Because I'm a freak."
"Everyone's a freak in South Park." Craig stretches his legs out and tries not to think too hard about who made Tweek think that way about himself. "I mean, you've seen Eric Cartman, haven't you?"
Tweek snorts quietly.
"Sadly."
They sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments - well, between Tweek's spasms and soft murmurs of groans. Craig watches him warmly. He wishes Tweek didn't see himself as a freak - not when he was something so special. Not when he looked gorgeous in front of a starry night.
"You're not a freak to me." Craig whispers, a part of him hopeful Tweek wouldn't hear it. "I think you're amazing."
The omega turns and gives him a strange look - not strange as if he were angry or annoyed, but something full of hopefulness. It takes Craig's breath away as Tweek blinks and slowly turns to look up at the starry sky once more.
"No one's ever said that about me before."
The hurt in Tweek's voice dares Craig to carefully rest his hand over the omega's. Perhaps it's too much, because it's almost too much for Craig, but Tweek's just twitches slightly under his hand. It doesn't jerk away, it doesn't lead to Tweek scowling at him, it just leaves their hands warm between them.
"You're really weird for an alpha." Tweek repeats.
"Yeah." Craig agrees.
He likes the feeling of Tweek's hand. It's warm and despite the cool texture of bandages against his palm, the omega's hand is soft. Craig finds that he really likes the way Tweek's hand feels in his.
He wonders if this is what they meant when they told him there was an omega for every alpha.
When he looks at Tweek, he can see a blush lightly spreading over the omega's cheeks. His scent is sweeter, too, and it warms Craig's heart. He can almost hear a broken purr from Tweek beside him, which leaves him breathless. Tweek glances at him before turning to look at the ground bashfully.
"I-I uh - aren't we going to the - ngh - park?"
"Yeah." Craig nods. He doesn't move, though, too unwilling to let go of Tweek's hand. The omega must think the same, because he flips his hand under Craig's and intertwined their fingers together.
Craig's heart lurches in his chest and he's sure his pheromones have given him away. Perhaps that's what makes Tweek trust him, just enough. He and Tweek stand, with their hands held between them, as they make their way across town.
Tweek glances at Craig from his peripheral, smiling softly at the alpha that he'd harbored feelings over several years for. He bites the inside of his cheek as Craig glances at him.
For once, Tweek ignores the paranoia in his head long enough to let himself trust his heart.