Chapter Text
He is late again and this time it’s not even his fault. His lecture ran over and he missed his bus by a few minutes despite running to the bus stop. Now he is running again, late again for the second time this week. He curses under his breath as he runs down the street, the straps of his heavy backpack cutting into his shoulders mercilessly. It’s snowing again and the unforgiving cold that has wrapped it’s hand around Oslo for the last few weeks makes it almost painful as the icy wind hits his face.
He is out of breath by the time he reaches the restaurant and heads straight into the kitchen. The restaurant is almost empty since it’s only four in the afternoon and the first dinner guests are set to arrive in an hour or so. Still there is an older couple sitting by one of the window tables and two men sitting at a small table in one of the corners.
“You are late,” Sasha comments as Isak enters the kitchen. “Again! Are you slacking off or what?”
Isak rolls his eyes at her as he passes and turns to where Dimitri, one of the chefs, is standing, preparing veggies for tonight’s service.
“Isak, my man,” Dimitri says and raises his hand. “Please save me from having to listen to her talking about her vacation. I’ve listened to it three days straight. She is starting to become unbearable”
Isak can’t help but laugh. He loves coming to work despite having had a long day at the university with lectures from eight in the morning. Even though it takes a lot of time and energy juggling his tough schedule as a med student with work several days a week he couldn’t have asked for a better job. The pay is okay and his co-workers are amazing. His boss is also nice and let’s Isak take as many shifts he needs and he is always flexible with Isak’s schedule. Still it’s kind of exhausting, hurrying from uni, working until the restaurant closes, running home and trying to catch up with his reading or laundry or whatever is waiting for him back home and fall asleep way past midnight only to wake up the next day at six or seven to repeat the same procedure again. It only works because it has to. Because Isak can’t afford not to. Today is Friday though which means that Isak only has work tomorrow and Sunday and even if Sunday is going to be a long day with a double shift Isak looks forward to being able to sleep in.
He gets dressed in the changing rooms, changing out of his comfortable hoodie and jeans, to his fitted black trousers and white shirt. His hair is a bit messy and his cheeks still rosy from being outside.
On his way back into the kitchen he walks past the small office where Reine sits typing away at the computer with a deep frown on his face. Reine is about sixty years old, or so Isak thinks. He has never really asked but since Reine has three kids and a grandchild on the way Isak has placed him in that age category. He has grey hair that he likes to pull whenever he is stressed or deep in thought. He looks up as soon as he hears Isak.
“Hi, Isak” he says, smiling slightly.
“Hi. Sorry I’m late. My lecturer ran over…” Isak starts but Reine raises his hand.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says calmly. “Your lecturer should be ashamed though. Letting a class run over on a Friday afternoon.”
Isak smiles.
“I guess, maybe you can call her?” he jokes.
Reine chuckles.
“I’ll definitely have to if she keeps stealing my best waiter.”
Even though it is a joke, one that Reine tells all his staff several times a week, Isak feels warm inside. Praise is not something he is used to so he is going to soak it up in any form he can.
“Now, let’s go into the kitchen, the paper work can wait,” Reine continues as he stands up from his chair.
Ten minutes later Isak out behind the bar, sorting out the glasses and making sure they have all they need for the evening. He’s been doing it so many times now that it is all sort of a routine but that gives him the opportunity to run through today’s lecture in his head. He had done is best to keep up but it had been difficult to focus during the last hour since he had been running on little sleep from the night before and he had found himself drifting of and losing concentration for a few minutes at the time. He would have to revisit his notes again tonight after work before he forgot about them all together. Maybe he could ask on of his classmates too.
Isak is so deep into thought that he almost doesn’t notice as a guest approaches the bar and leans slightly against the counter.
“Hi,” a dark voice says and Isak looks up.
“Uh, hi,” Isak says, feeling slightly flustered. “What can I get you?”
The man in front of him is tall but lean with broad shoulders and dark blond hair. He is wearing a dark button up shirt and dark jeans. His smile is possibly to most gorgeous smile Isak has seen. It is wide and reaches his eyes were they crinkle just slightly.
“Something to drink, I hope.” The man says politely.
“Of course,” Isak says, trying to keep his voice steady. “This is a bar after all.”
Instantly he can feel his cheek heat up. Who the fuck says something like that to a customer? Isak does apparently because he is an idiot. The man laughs out loud though and Isak relaxes a bit.
“Good, because I really want something to drink.” He nods towards the table to where he is sitting. There is another man sitting on a chair, busy scrolling through his phone.
Isak takes a breath to collect himself and puts on his best waiter’s smile.
“If you want to I can bring you the menu to the table,” he says. “If you both want to have a look?”
Reine would be proud of him if he saw him and Sasha would be rolling her eyes at him and comment on his ability to go from his “grumpy self” to being the most charming waiter.
The man looks at Isak intensely with the same smile still on his face,
“It’s okay actually. I was just thinking I would have a beer or something before we order something to eat but I don’t think he want’s anything. He kind of has girlfriend troubles.”
Isak nods quietly.
“He’s a lightweight so he will just end up texting her a bunch of crappy texts if he drinks so I’m just taking him out for an early dinner to lighten his mood.” The man continues and Isak nods again and clears his throat.
“So what can I give you?” he asks.
“I’ll just have a Staropramen.”
“Sure,” Isak says and reaches for a glass from above his head.
“Or what do you recommend?” the man asks.
Isak is not sure what to say. He’s not exactly an expert when it comes to beer. He usually goes for the cheapest whenever he is out or the one that will make him drunk fastest. This man on the other hand is probably much more sophisticated. If you could call Staropramen sophisticated which it probably isn’t.
“I can’t say I’m the biggest expert,” Isak manages. “but the chili nuts are very nice. I can definitely recommend those.”
Again Isak feels like a complete idiot and he mentally kicks himself for being unable to keep is cool. The man smiles again and Isak feels butterflies in his stomach once more. It’s probably creepy that he finds this man so attractive when he is probably in his early to mid-thirties and way too old for Isak but the way he looks at Isak with those intense, blue eyes and that dazzling smile, it’s hard not to find him attractive.
“I’ll have a Staropramen and some nuts then.” the man concludes.
Isak fills the glass from the tap and scopes up some nuts in to another.
When the man grabs for his wallet, Isak gestures towards the table again.
“If you want to I can put it on the table and you can pay when you have had dinner,” he says.
The man shrugs slightly and puts the wallet back into the pocket.
“Actually that would be great.” he says.
Isak watches the man until he sits down at his table next to his friend who looks up when he sits down. He forces himself to turn his attention back to his task and continues his check over realizing he needs to go get more wine. He makes his way back towards the kitchen and can’t help casting a look towards the table where the man and his friend is sitting. The man looks up and when he notices Isak looking at him he smiles. Isak hurriedly walks back into the kitchen which is now considerably busier than when he left and there is now a buzz of activities going on. Marcus, José and Wilma three of the other waiters are all there and Thomas one of the other chefs has joined Dimitri.
The two of them are like a married couple, always bickering and arguing and today is no difference. Isak secretly likes it though. It makes him feel like he belongs. Even the others don’t think much of it Isak feels like they might be the best family he has ever had.
The storage room is quiet in comparison and Isak gets a moment to just breathe as he loads his little trolley with bottles of wine. His shoulders feel tense after today’s long lecture and too many hours by his computer and he can feel a headache building between his eyes. He’ll have to take something for it before the service starts for real. He rubs at his eyes tiredly just as the door opens and Sasha pokes her head inside.
“Oh, hi!” she says chipperly but frowns when she sees his tired expression. “Headache again?” she asks and he nods.
“I’m okay;” he says.
He doesn’t like to worry her or anyone else for that matter but he always seems to fail at that.
She nods and gives him an encouraging smile.
“I can get those out if you want to go find some painkillers or something,” she suggests.
“Thanks, Sash, I owe you one,” he says gratefully.
“You sure do,” she smirks. “And don’t ever call me Sash again.”
He always calls her Sash and she always pretends to hate it. It’s their thing and it’s one of the things Isak likes so much about her. In a way she is almost like his big sister.
Isak takes a deep breath and hurries out of the door before it closes and he gets locked inside. He goes back to the changing room and rumbles through his backpack in order to find his painkillers he knows are there. He finds them at the bottom of the bag, only one left and the other one laying loosely next to an old receipt and an old gum wrapper. He decides to throw it away before swallowing the other one and making a mental note to buy more next time he is doing grocery shopping. He looks at himself in the mirror above the sink and takes the time to try to sort out his messy hair.
20 minutes later his headache is all gone and Isak hurries between the tables, trying to make sure that all his customers are happy and satisfied. He recommends the salmon to a man in his fifties and offers some paper and crayons for a family with a restless five year old who refuses to sit still while they are waiting for their food. The mother gives him a thankful look and apologizes when her daughter accidently drops the fork she is playing with on the floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” Isak smiles. “It happens all the time.”
He fucking hates kids.
An hour later he is already tired and he’s not even half way through his shift. It’s going to be a long night.
“Isak could you take the dessert orders for table seven? I’ve already given them the menus so they should be ready soon.”
It’s Markus that is asking and Isak notices that he looks as tired as Isak feels like. It’s a busy night and Markus is one of the newest waiters and he sometimes struggles with the fast pace. He is way better than Isak was though so Isak has no doubts he will be a better waiter in a few weeks.
“Sure,” he says.
“Thank you, you are a life saver,” Markus says and the relief is evident in his voice.
“Don’t worry about it,” Isak comments as he heads out of the doors again.
Everyone in his section seem to be pleased for now and the little girl is now eating her ice cream happily. Thank god. When he looks over to table seven he realises it is the man from before and his friend still sitting there. Isak has no idea why it makes him feel slightly nervous. The friend has put down the menu which means he is probably ready to order but the man is still looking through it. Isak takes a deep breath and makes his way over to the table.
“Are you ready to order?” he asks carefully, looking back and forth between them.
The man looks up from the menu and looks at Isak with a wide smile on his face. Then he looks over to his friend.
“I think we are ready,” he says and the friend nods and smiles politely.
“I’ll have the tiramisu and an espresso,” he says and Isak scribbles down the order on his note pad.
Then he turns towards the man.
“Actually what do you recommend?” the man asks. “You were right about the nuts. They were delicious.”
Isak looks at him not sure if the man is joking or not but the wide grin on the man’s face is hard not to return.
“The Crème Brule is amazing, my absolute favourite.” he says honestly. “But if you want something lighter the lemon sorbet is very good. It’s the best I’ve eaten.”
The man nods and looks as if he is taking every one of Isak’s words very seriously.
“I’m going to trust your words and try the Crème Brule then” he says.
“You won’t regret it,” Isak says with a small smile.
“I hope not, I’ve seriously high expectations now,” the man jokes.
Their hands touch for a millisecond as the man hands Isak the menu and when Isak reaches the kitchen again he has to stop and take a deep breath to try to stop his racing heart. He gives the orders to Thomas before he hurriedly makes his way to the bathroom. He sinks down on the toilet seat gratefully and takes another breath. He has no idea what is happening to him but everything about this man makes him feel nervous and flustered. His stylish hair, his intense eyes and especially that wide smile. It makes him feel stupid though because this is just a guest. Just like anybody else.
It’s a bit hard to concentrate after that and he is awfully aware of the man looking at him as he clears one of the tables. It almost makes him knock over an empty glass but he is able to save himself from the embarrassment. Thankfully Marcus is able to serve the dishes to the man and his friend and Isak can focus on his own tables trying hard not to get distracted by the man again.
Everything is going well until he is standing at the till trying to sort out the payment from one of his tables. He notices that someone is looking at him and when he looks up the man is standing in front of him again. He is wearing his coat now. A dark blue or black, Isak can’t really tell in the dimly lit room, pea coat.
“Hello,” he says slowly.
“Hi,” Isak replies. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes, the opposite actually. The Crème Brule was very nice. You didn’t let me down at all,” the man says.
Isak smiles.
“That’s good,” he replies. “I’ll let the chef know. He’ll be very glad.”
“I actually wanted to pay, is that okay? I mean I was going to pay for both of us but then Mikael insisted he wanted to split and then I thought it would be easier to pay here. Would that be a problem?”
“No, no problem at all.” Isak says. “Just one moment please.”
There is a moment of silence while Isak makes sure that the man is paying for the right things. He fumbles a little bit with the touch screen and almost manages to delete their entire order under the man’s intense watch but then he finally manages to get it right.
“That would be 486,” he says, clearing his throat slightly.
The man takes out his wallet to pay and Isak takes the opportunity to check the man out again. He is literally everything Isak likes in a guy and there is something so effortless about him. He seems like the most relaxed person in the world whereas Isak is left nervous and awkward. He is so busy staring that he doesn’t notice that the man has already payed and is left standing, waiting for Isak to give him his receipt.
“Sorry,” Isak mumbles.
“No worries,” the man smiles.
Isak hands him his receipt at puts the other one in the till. They both end up standing in silence as they wait for Mikael who apparently is in the bathroom. The man keeps looking at him the entire time and Isak pretends to look at the screen in front of him, too shy to keep eye contact. He has already made a fool out of himself in front of this man. Twice. Multiple times probably.
“I’ll definitely come back and try that lemon sorbet someday,” the man says, breaking the silence between them, just as Mikael walks up to them.
“You should,” Isak says, smiling slightly before he turns to Mikael who stands in front of him, coat and scarf in one arm and his wallet and phone in his other hand.
“I thought you were going to wait for me?” Mikael says and gives the man a questioning look.
The man just shrugs.
“I just figured it be easier to pay upfront since you refused to let me pay for everything. It will probably be easier for them,” he says. “I’ve already payed.”
Mikael nods and turns to Isak.
“I guess I’m paying for the rest then,” he says.
A minute later Isak watches the two of them leave. He follows the man with his gaze until they are out of the restaurant and disappears around the corner of the street outside. Then he forces himself to go back to his work. There is still a few hours more to go and he has to focus because the restaurant is nowhere near empty.
It isn’t until later, after they have closed that Sasha approaches him with a receipt in her hand.
“Look at this,” she exclaims excitedly. “Someone left us a huge tip. Like really huge.”
She hands him the receipt and he checks it over. It is from table 7 and the time matches when the man payed so that means it must be him or Mikael who left it. Curious, Isak makes his way over to the till and checks the recipes. It doesn’t take him long to figure out that the receipt with the high tip is from a few minutes before the other receipt which means that it was indeed the man who left it. Isak hadn’t noticed at the time. He had been too distracted by the handsome man in front of him and his intense looks to even consider to check if they left a tip but the tip is probably the highest they have ever gotten since he started at the restaurant.
As he walks home 20 minutes later it is still on his mind. When he gets home and takes a shower it is still on his mind. And it’s most definitely still on his mind when he tries to fall asleep after uselessly trying to revise today’s lecture notes.
And he doesn’t even know the man’s name.