Chapter Text
Wrong about myself
Barista AU
Price had formed the 141 coffee shop five years ago, Soap had been working there for about three years. Gaz, Laswell, and Rudy also worked there . The whole staff was like a big family , actually the baristas called Laswell and Price, mom and dad.
One day when Gaz (Soaps bestfriend) heard that the other was searching for a job he didnt hesitate to talk about it to Price who, of course, accepted .
The coffee shop was very small, in a tiny back street, in Stokholm. The only people that ever went there were the usuals , who were there since the place opened really. So much that one of the baristas got married to a regular. So there was never anyone new, it had never happened .
So you can imagine the suprise of everyone when one day, a very stressed looking young man opened the door and walked up to the counter. He was wearing a black mask, a cap, big round glasses and a dark hoodie. He was quite tall, taller than Soap and had large and broad shoulders. He also had headphones in , a sophisticated plaid trousers and a cream white tote bag who, you could tell was filled with books.
Soaps felt a slight blush spread across his cheeks, its not that he had a crush on him but it slightly flustred him. The other had definitly peaked his interest.
“hej sir, vad kan jag få dig? “ announced Johnny , rearagging his apron.
“Oh um can I please get an earl grey tea ? Thanks “ responded the tall man , who had an underligning english accent , which was quite pleasent . He spoke in english, which was quite unusual since it was in sweden but it had been rather long since Johnny had practiced his english, so he wasnt complaining .
“Ok im on it” after a few seconds of silence soap spoke again” quite a nice weather am I right ?” lord he hated small talk, it always felt so awkward.
“Yea , its quite cold tho”
“There you go. Have a nice day”
“Thanks you too”
Soap could feel the other analysing him, his eyes travelling quickly across his body. The man took the tea and walked away. Once he finally left Soap was just standing there , flabbergasted. Who was that man?
“You ok bro?” asked Gaz looking over to his friend . “Ohhhhh does someone have a crush” he teased, like a middle school boy.
“I- who was he ? “
“No idea“
As Simon was sitting on the bus he could only think about the cute barista he saw, he had just moved and was starting to settle in. He had had a quite shitty day so this definitely cheered him up.
Ghost sat in the middle of his studio, infront of a blank canvas, an old song playing in the background coming from a shitty radio he had found in the trash. Light flooded throught the big windows of the studio. The air was quite warm and heavy so he was wearing a beige pants and a tanktop. He usually wore this when he painted, he didnt want to get his proper city clothes dirty.
He starred blindly at the canvas . It was the start of november, his final project for christmas was to work on a painting of a person ,antique style . He had no idea where to start, well he had to find a model but that was easier said then done. He just couldnt fine the right person.
Well one person but … he had only seen him once .
He bit his nails, which were already kept short anyways, drapping a blanket over his shoulders. It wasnt the first time he had heard this song, Dreams by fleetwood Mac, it had a nice tune . He opened his phone , scrolling mindlessly, he quickly threw his phone on the bed, laying down besides it. The only thing he could think about was that barista. Thousands of questions flooding his mind about the other .
Soap wipped down the counter while whistling but he, too could not stop thinking about the other. Wondering... Why did he cover his face? Who was he? Why was he here ? Was he new to sweden? He had so many questions , hoping to see the other again .
“You seem in a good mood hermano “ commented Alejandro , one of the regulars as he walked up to the counter .
“Oh hey , Ale , what can I get ya? Im pretty sure Rudy isnt here today tho .” responded the shorter man, brushing off the question.
“thanks, Ill just have a macchiato please. “
That night Simon didnt get any sleep, the only image was the other. His mohawk was an intresting choice but it actually really worked for him, intrestingly enough. He had nice eyes and looked fairly well built . He just had a friendly face. Something about him was just quite comforting. He had something intresting about him.
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Ding
“Hello what can I get y-” Soap stood there, behind the counter stunned looking at the man infront of him. It was him, that man.
“Oh hey, again , could I have an earl grey?”
“Of course” smiled Johnny . “Are you new to Sweden? “he spoke, trying to start a conversation.
“Yea I just moved here, what about you ? “
“ I moved here to study but I didnt like what I was doing so I dropped out .” he explained .
“ What were you studying ? “usually Simon wouldnt want to start a conversation but something about the man was alluring...
Soap gave him the tea , “ oh just hairdressing. There ya go.Have a good day”
“Thanks you too” replied Simon ,who went to sit in a corner of the coffee . Soap could only blush while watching his back.
“How did it go?” asked Gaz, poking fun at the other.
“Did you hear his voice ???? Lord hes beautiful I really wonder what he looks like whitout the mask tho….”
“Well if it doesnt distract you from work Im sure Price wont mind. “ joked kyle.
Simon sat at a table, sketching in a book, the reference being Soap. It was raining again , but it was nice, wasnt quite that cold yet. The whole coffee place was quite nice, very cozy and welcoming . The coffee was filled with little candles and plants . Ghost glanced everynow and then at the barista . First at the shape of his face, it was a little squarre but his chin stuck out , nicely. Then his eyes and finally his nose and lips. He made sure to get all of the others facial hair in the drawing. A small scar on the right side of his mouth, and Simon couldnt help but wonder what had caused that. A fight ? No he didnt particularly look like the type to get into fights.
He made shadows by gently tracing his pen back and forth on the paper , and rubbing it out with an eraser for the highlights . Johnny’s hair was harder, it was actually the first time Simon had to draw a mohawk and it was easier than he thought. He had a harder time with the shaved sides tho. But when it came to drawing his body, thats when he realised how strong the other was. He had actually quite broad shoulders for his short frame . He could only imagined what he would look like shirtless. Was he actually ripped ? Or was he just lean? He wanted to study the other, all his shapes, curves and scars. Simon did know a lot about scars, he himself had served in the army, fighting in afghanistan so he did have quite a few scars. Loads on his chest but he had a long one across his nose and one across his right eye, which was blind. He also had a few on his hands . Soap had never actually seen it since he always wore a cap and a mask, hiding his whole face, he always pointed in face slightly to the ground to make sure no one could see his scars. He wasnt self concious about it but he wasnt especially proud of the time he fought .
Soap was washing dishes, glancing everynow at the other , curious. Gaz obviously teased the shit out of him for it . Johnny watched in suprise as simon turned his head towards the street, taking off his mask to sip on his tea . Soap tried desperately to see his face but he only caught a glimpse .
After about an hour Simon walked towards the counter , soap pushing gaz out of the way so he could be the barista to speak to him.
“Oh hi ...Johnny right?” asked Simon, reading the small name tag that was pinned on his apron.
“Yea Johnny... was the tea any good ?” answered the flushed barista , the way Simons accent made it sound. It rolled off of his tounge in such an halluring way. He wanted to hear it more .
“It was delicious ,thanks . “ responded simon, slightly pulling his cap up to look at the other in the eye. Lord what was happening to him today, was this a new trait of personality, the nice simon ?
“Oh-um –I uhhh sureee no problem man “ the scott was flush , he stuttered , blushed, smiled, scartched the back of his neck , giggling nervously , sweating lightly . Thats it, he was going to dig a hole inside of the earth and never be seen again.
Simon left a tip on the bar and walked away, humming .
“Omg dude , that was painful” snorted gaz .
“I know … You have to teach me your ways “ joked soap.
“I will young padawan”chuckled Kyle ,jabbing the other in the ribs .
And that went on for days, Simon coming in, working, glancing everynow and then at the other while Soap did the exact same . Everyday Soap though about how he could strike up a conversation, maybe even ask the other for his number but it never actually happened ….