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Jayce is alone and he starts to panic. This stupid coffee machine won’t work for him, and he should be serving his first customers any minute now. Vi didn’t say anything about the broken machine, and she’s probably still sleeping, so he can’t just call her and admit he can’t figure the stupid thing out, he’s starting his engineering classes later today, for gods’ sake. He can’t lose his first job outside the family business on the very first day. His mother would send him back to be a blacksmith instead of a scientist. He can’t let that happen. He can’t…
“It’s the sensor again?” asks a voice suddenly from the counter behind him. Jayce turns on his heels and looks at the customer in front of the counter, stunned, his spiraling thoughts stopped.
“The… what?” he asks back, sounding quite dumb even for himself.
“The sensor,” repeats the customer patiently, with a hint of humor but without any malice. “If you take out the milk container and put your hand inside, you’ll feel the sensor on the right side. If you can move it a little outward, it will detect the container again and the machine will make you all the coffee that contains milk.” Jayce does as he is told, grateful for the clear instructions, and the caffee machine error blinks out the second he closes the door back with the milk container back inside.
“How did you know this?” he asks as he turns back toward the… man? Boy? He can’t even decide, his angular face makes his features timeless, his age hardly guessable. Then he smiles, which is handsome, but not helping in any way.
“I worked here last year in my first two semesters,” he answers. So he’s probably just a year older than Jayce. Maybe two. “I told Vi we need a proper container for this model, but she’s far too busy to order one. Tell her I said hi,” he adds.
“And whose regards should I give her?” Jayce asks, very proud of himself for asking the stranger’s name without being too obvious.
“Ah, sorry, I should have told my name too. It’s Viktor.”
“Nice to meet you, Viktor,” Jayce says with a smile. “Do you have more tips for me? I’m a beginner.”
“Only if you make me a vanilla latte with hazelnut syrup and cinnamon,” Viktor answers with a small smile, and Jayce’s blood sugar spikes just from the thought of that much sweetness.
“Oh, yeah, of course! Sorry, I should’ve asked what you wanted.”
At least this works as it did before, and while the overly sensitive machine is running, Viktor puts his bag on the counter to fish out some coins for his order. Jayce wants to say he should keep them for the help, but he glances toward the pins on the bag and temporarily forgets the idea. There are a couple of little axolotl pins with different stripes of color on them, one of them is the rainbow pride flag, but the other two are a mystery to him. As a half-out bisexual, Jayce didn’t get the memo of every single micro label and flag, he knows he should do his research on the topic. Now he can only hope that none of them mean he’d be excluded from Viktor’s interest from the start. The other round pins are even more unfamiliar to him, except for one. The Academy’s Science Department’s logo. He mentally pats himself on the shoulder for noticing, and carries the conversation with, “Are you attending science classes?”
Viktor’s golden eyes light up as he nods.
“Mechatronics as my major, robotics as my minor starting this year. You?”
“I’m just starting my mechatronics classes!” he says excitedly. “I haven’t decided what my minor will be, though.”
“I can suggest a few classes for the second term, if you want. They’re helpful if you can’t decide,” Viktor offers.
“Would you really? Thank you! You’re a lifesaver! Twice already!”
Viktor smiles back as he takes his takeaway cup and two more sugar sachets. He’s beautiful in a way Jayce has never seen in a man before. Maybe only celebrities. He has to bite his tongue before asking Viktor for a date. That would be inappropriate, right? Right. This is his workplace, after all. And he’s only known Viktor for like five minutes.
“Be my guest, really,” he says when Viktor pushes the coin from his bag pockets toward him. Viktor raises one of his brows and puts the money in the tip jar instead. Jayce grins at him for it.
“Tell me, Jayce, when do you have two hours for me in your schedule?”
“I… uhm, Friday afternoon, why?” His mind is racing with the possibilities. Yeah, it could be an afternoon when Viktor shares his experiences with his classes so Jayce can decide more easily. Or it could be them nerding out about future projects the Science Department is planning. There could be more coffee, more tea, and that small smile of his, which is already making Jayce’s heart stutter.
“Meet me at the library’s café, will you?” Viktor asks, slightly tilting his head to the side.
“Is this a date?” he blurts out.
“Do you want it to be one?”
“Yes,” he says way more quietly.
“Good.” Viktor sips in his latte, satisfied. “Four o’clock is okay?”
“Yes,” he repeats himself, a little breathless.
“See you there, Jayce,” says Viktor, rather innocent for someone who asks guys on dates the first time he meets them, with his promised advice and his sweet latte. He leaves, with every step leaning on a cane, and Jayce watches him go, absolutely smitten. His future suddenly looks bright and promising as he hums to himself behind the counter, his earlier panic long gone. He even forgets to change the sign on the door from Closed to Open.