Chapter Text
It’s a Sunday afternoon at Tweek Bros., the sole coffee shop in town. Today, Tweek is working alongside Bebe, his favorite and only coworker. Although his parents own the shop, they usually only work when Tweek is in school. Working at his parents’ coffee shop wasn’t fun. He didn’t get paid, and unless he had a major exam coming up, he nearly never got a day off. Still, his parents had promised him that every time he worked, half of the profits of that day would go towards his college tuition. As a result, he worked every day after school.
Tweek and his parents had moved to South Park during his freshman year of high school. Although it was nerve-wracking at first, he made some great friends who were accepting of his quirks and sexuality. This is Tweek's last year of high school, and so far, he hasn't been able to hang out with his friends at all. But this isn't unusual. He often missed most dances, parties, and school events because of work. But this year is different; he just got accepted into his dream school, NYU, and based on the tuition, he needs to put extra effort into work if he wants to cover the tuition.
This means he can't hang out with friends, he can't do extracurriculars, and he can't have a social life. He needs to work every day and upsell to leave South Park for good.
Sadly, he is not able to enjoy his senior year. He also wasn't able to audition for the annual school play like he does every year. He loves acting, and the theater has been his safe space since the third grade. But he keeps telling himself that it would all be worth it once he goes to college and can finally take it easy. For now, he'll have to deal with the endless rushes and troublesome customers.
Thankfully, today was slow with just a few customers coming through. Tweek was casually resting behind the counter, playing games on his phone, while Bebe was in the back working on her homework. Suddenly, the front door dings loudly. Tweek looks up from his phone and sees a really tall guy towering over 6'2”, with bright blue eyes and dark hair. The guy steps inside the coffee shop and glances at the menu before landing his eyes on Tweek. He can’t deny that his heart skips a beat or two when he sees him. Craig Tucker, the high school quarterback and Tweek's long-term crush. Tweek saw him for the first time last year in Spanish class. He often gave sarcastic responses to the teacher and snarky remarks to classmates. Not only that, he would often shrug off any judgment from the class. Craig wasn't the best in Spanish; thus, his pronunciation was off. Most classmates laughed every time he read out loud. But Craig was always unbothered by this. In contrast, Tweek often felt the pressure of judgment from just about anyone.
Even bugs.
That's why he began developing a crush on Craig. He was always acting nonchalant about everything, but if you even slightly provoke him, without a doubt, he will flip you off. Tweek really admires that. Not to mention he's probably the most attractive guy in school.
Tweek wishes he could be a little like Craig, unapologetic himself, without a care about what others think.
But now, to be on the receiving end of his attitude, it's honestly more intimidating than attractive. Craig is just giving him a bored expression before quickly looking back at the menu. Craig must think he's a loser.
Despite having the same Spanish class last year, Tweek has never spoken to Craig before. They sat on opposite sides of the classroom and could only speak Spanish. Tweek was awful in that class; he struggled with his twitching, and as a result, his pronunciation was off. He's lucky Craig was mostly absent or asleep during that class. So there is a great chance that he might not remember him. It's his chance to make a good first impression.
“Hi!” Tweek blurts out, because apparently, around Craig, he has no idea how to use his inside voice. Unsurprisingly, Craig is taken aback by the sudden greeting.
“Nngh, Welcome to Tweek Bros,” he says with a better inside voice tone, but with an involuntary tick. Tweek often struggles with involuntary tics every time he gets anxious; unfortunately for him, just looking at Craig is making him anxious.
“Ca-can I help you with anything?” he asks, cursing himself. He fucking stuttered. Great, as if his tics weren't bad enough.
“Uuum,” he gives Tweek a sheepish look before looking around the menu again. “Yeah, actually. I was sent to grab an iced caramel latte, but I don't see it on your menu,” he finally says.
“Oh yeah, we got those," Tweek says with a smile. "It's a custom order, so it's 25 cents extra for the caramel,” he tells him. Craig, in turn, just stays silent as if he is pondering whether the extra charge is worth it. As a result, Tweek begins to fiddle with the register because he doesn't know what else to do. He wants to say more; he wants to actually strike up a conversation with Craig, but he’s far too awkward and shy. This guy is so far out of his league anyway, not to mention straight.
“Well, well,…well,” Bebe says, approaching the counter. "If it isn't Craig Tucker." Bebe says with a smirk on her face."Came to watch me work? I am off in an hour, y'know." Bebe said with a wink.
At first, Tweek didn't like Bebe; she was the typical blond, beautiful cheerleader everyone was after. But after getting hired to work at the coffee shop and getting to know her a little better, they have become each other's best friends. She was nice, funny, and a great coworker. She wasn't mean like he thought she was for a stereotypical cheerleader. Although she always knew how to put customers in their place when they were being difficult, which Tweek greatly appreciated.
"Fuck off, Bebe," Craig flatly said.
"You're no fun." Irritated, Bebe stuck her tongue out at Craig mockingly before heading back to do her homework.
Tweek chuckles at Bebe's reaction, clearly just trying to avoid her homework. Only to find Craig looking at him.
"Ack!" Hopefully, he didn't piss him off. But to his surprise, Craig quickly looks away.
"Can I have an iced caramel latte?" Craig says nonchalantly.
He quickly begins entering the order in the system. "Yep. No problem. That'll be $4.50."
As Craig paid, Tweek began making the drink and then handed it to him. Craig murmured a quiet thank you before he grabbed the drink and left.
Tweek let out a sigh of relief at finally having that interaction over with. So much for a good impression. But realistically, what did he expect? He has never talked to the guy before. As he was dwelling on everything he did wrong, Bebe interrupted ia teasing tone, "You think he's so cute, don't cha?"
“Agh. Leave me alone, Bebe,” he tells her.
“Aw, c'mon, I think he's cute, don't you?” giving Tweek a sly look. “Aren't you dating Clyde?” Tweek responds.
"That doesn't mean I don't have eyes."
Tweek blushes a little. “Okay, fine. Maybe I think he's cute,” he mutters. He then shrugs away like it isn't a big deal. He knew he was gay long before he moved to southpark, so he never bothered to hide it. “What's it to you?”
“So why don’t you…” she trails off and wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
“What don't I, what? ” Tweek asks, lost as to what Bebe is suggesting.
She rolls her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t even know how we're even best friends,” she says, and Tweek chuckles. “ You think he’s cute, so why don't you ask him out!” Bebe encourages him, and Tweek shushes her immediately.
"What?! Are you insane?” Tweek hisses.
It’s no secret that Bebe has been trying to help Tweek find someone lately, not that he’s protesting; he definitely would not mind having a boyfriend. But asking out Craig Tucker, the straightest and most popular guy in school, is honestly demented.
"I am just saying, I’m picking up a bit of a gay vibe from him. Plus, there is this thing where Craig says he won't date a Southpark girl because they're all ugly. So you tell me," She said with a snicker.
"Arck, you're just angry about the fact that he rejected you," he states and walks away from her. Only to return a few moments later and exclaim, "There is no way Craig is gay, he's so obviously straight."
"And, even if he was, I've never even talked to him before.”
With a mischievous smile, Bebe continued, “I am just saying, I saw you guys interact and picked up on that intense energy going on between you two. Plus, there aren't a lot of gay guys in South Park, so you got a fair sho-"
"Just clock out and leave," Tweek cuts in.
Bebe squealed with excitement. “If you insist, boo!” She planted a quick kiss on Tweek’s cheek, grabbed her things, and headed out."See you Monday Tweeeeek!"
Tweek waved at her goodbye. Bebe can really be a pain in the ass at times. Why would Bebe even think Tweek stood a chance with Craig? She was obviously just saying that to mess with him. Or annoy him enough to send her home early. Tweek let out a deep breath. Yeah, he finds Caig attractive, but he doesn't know him well enough to see if they're compatible. He could be a total asshole, like others had said. So, asking Craig out would probably just get him laughed at or worse, beaten.
Yeah, there’s no way he is even entertaining that idea.
* * *
The next day, Craig appeared again. Only this time it was during a rush. This time, his dad was managing the register and taking the orders, while he and Bebe were making the drinks.
“Hey, cutey at 6 o'clock,” Bebe says to him, and Tweek rolls his eyes at her. Ever since Tweek told Bebe he was gay, they do this game where they point out the cutest guy, and if the other agrees. Bebe called it 'building workplace culture,' but Tweek thinks it's weird. But he is curious to see if this guy is indeed cute. When Tweek turns around, he doesn't see anybody that really stands out until he spots Craig in line.
He almost drops the drink he is making, but luckily, he only spills a little. At least he won't make a fool out of himself today. When he composes himself, he hears Bebe snickering next to him. He knows he is blushing; his whole face feels hot.
"This is your chance, Tweek, talk to him!"
Tweek groans a little. “Ngghh, shut up,” he mumbles.
“C’mon, Tweek, you never know unless you try,” Bebe tells him. “What have you got to lose?”
“Okay, so hypothetically speaking,” Tweek starts to whisper. “Even if I do manage to start talking to him, nothing would even come of it. He’s straight.”
“I swear to you, Tweek, my gaydar is never wrong,” Bebe points out, and Tweek rolls his eyes again at her; she can't be seriously betting on that.
“Tell you what,” Bebe says. “You go up to him and show him your charm, steal his heart, and when you do, I’ll pay for your lunch today.”
Tweek chuckles a little. "You do realize we are in the middle of a rush?"
“Tweek, I'll literally carry this whole rush by myself for you to shoot your shot” she exclaims with a determination in her eyes.
"Fine," Tweek exclaims.
Tweek grabs Craig's order and starts making it. When he's done, he takes a deep breath before walking over to Craig to hand him his drink. When he shouts the order, he sees Craig approaching, and as he reaches for his drink, Tweek musters up enough courage and says. “Hi, I’m Tweek.”
Craig looks up at him in surprise, as if he didn't expect it, because honestly, who would from their barista? They stare in silence for a moment. Tweek immediately begins regretting this whole thing. He should probably run away to his room and stay there for the rest of his life, where he would die of shame.
“Craig,” he simply says.
The immediate relief washed all over Tweek.“So,” Tweek pleads with himself not to be such an awkward little shit. “Guess you liked my caramel latte?” his eyes widen a bit; did he really just say that? “Agh! I-I mean, do you prefer lattes over any other coffee drinks and..stuff?
Craig chuckles a little. “Actually, I don't like coffee at all,” he says. “It's actually for a friend, well, technically girlfriend now," he explains, and Tweek’s face drops. Luckily, Craig doesn’t seem to notice.
“I haven't seen you around before. Do you go to South Park High?” Craig asks.
"Yeah, I moved to SouthPark during my freshman year." Tweek smiles, but deep inside, he feels his heart stab. Of course, Craig has never noticed him. But this can be a good thing. He did make a fool out of himself during that class. "But, I'm usually always working, so I leave early during my free period."
Craig raises an eyebrow. “Oh, that makes sense, guess we also just haven't had a class together,” he says.
Ouch! Yep, that hurt. But Tweek shakes it off; this is his chance to make a good impression. "I do know you're the quarterback who has taken the team into the playoffs two years in a row. That's quite impressive."
“Oh, yeah. Thanks,” is all Craig says for a minute as he looks at the ground. Tweek worries that he’s probably turned him off. He probably sounds like a stalker. Nice going, Tweek. This was a terrible idea; I should have never listened to Bebe.
"I think.....I actually saw you once in the school play?"
This shocked Tweek; he always auditioned for the play and either got the main role or a secondary character with a major part. He didn't know anybody from school who came to see those plays, other than parents. Much less the school's star quarterback. "Ack! You have?" he said bewilder.
Craig pauses for a moment. “Yeah, you were really good. You're a great actor,” he says casually.
Tweek is awestruck. He can't believe Craig came to watch the play. “Thanks, man. I appreciated." Tweek says as calmly as possible, but can feel himself blushing. But he can't help it; it's not every day a cute guy like Craig compliments him on his acting skills.
Craig gives him a small smile as he looks at him. “Well, I'd better head back. See you later, Tweek.”
Tweek feels happy; having Craig smile at him feels amazing. Even though Craig is gone, he remains happy for the rest of his shift.
After the rush is over, Bebe excitedly bounces on her feet to him and asks him how it went. "O.M.G. He looked totally into you! I don't think I've even seen him smile like that.”
“He has a girlfriend.” Tweek stops her before mid-sentence.
Bebe frowns. “What the hell! Since when? He hasn't said anything of his insta." She takes a deep breath before looking over at Tweek."I’m sorry, Tweek. You were right, I don't have a good gaydar,” she tells him, before wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t you worry, though; one day, you’ll find someone who’ll sweep you off your feet and be all over you.”
Tweek just shrugs. “Yeah,” is all he says. He then grabs the broom behind the register and goes to sweep the floor in an attempt to look busy. It will also distract him from thinking about how lucky that girl must be to have Craig’s undivided attention.
* * *
Even though Tweek didn’t steal Craig’s heart like Bebe had prompted him to, she still offers to pay for his lunch. When his dad dismisses them for their lunch break, she lets Tweek pick where they should eat, most likely because she feels bad for him. Tweek chooses a small sandwich shop not far from the shop. After ordering and receiving both of their meals, they go to take a seat outside.
Tweek looks down at his sandwich, and when he sees it’s wrapped in blue tissue paper, he thinks of Craig again and his blue eyes. Then he finds himself thinking of Craig’s smile, that smile that could cheer anyone up after a gloomy day. He finds himself wondering what kind of sandwiches Craig likes and if he’s ever been to this shop in particular, and..
“Earth to Tweek!” Bebe says loudly, waving her hand in front of Tweek’s face.
Tweek jumps a little. “Ack! What?” he asks.
“Have you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?” she asks him, knowing very well that he hasn’t.
Tweek scoffs, trying to come across as offended by her accusation. “Of course I have been!” he says. Bebe raises her eyebrows at him, giving him a look that clearly says, ‘don’t bullshit me,’ and Tweek admits, “Okay, fine. I wasn’t listening, I’m sorry.”
“Why are you so distracted?” Bebe asks him, then jokingly says, “Worried, the gnomes took your underwear again?”
Tweek smiles a little. He shouldn't have ever told Bebe about that nightmare. “No,” he says.
“What is it, then?” Bebe asks again.
Tweek considers lying, but then decides against it since she can read him like a book. Plus, Bebe would not rest until she got the truth out of him. Reluctantly, Tweek says, “I was thinking about Craig.”
“Oh yeah, what about him?"
He sighs, "I don't know, I just can't stop thinking about him. It's honestly so dumb."
Bebe chuckles, "Yeah, crushes would do that to you. But forget him. He is so mean and moody all the time. You'll find someone way better than him."
Tweek wonders if that's true. He hopes for the sake of his love life.
"Hey, I forgot to ask you. What's her girlfriend's name? Last I heard, he wasn't dating anyone in school.” Bebe asked.
“I didn’t really ask,” Tweek tells her.
Bebe ponders that for a second before returning to her food. “In any case, I’ll just ask Clyde, they're like bffs or something like that."
They both shrug it off and continue talking about random school gossip.
* * *
The next day, Tweek has thought about Craig a lot less, but he’d be lying if he said his heart didn’t skip a beat or two when the front door opens, and Craig walks in.
Tweek nearly drops the muffin he’s holding. He fumbles with it a bit, basically throwing it around in his hands before he gets it set on the counter. Unfortunately for Tweek, Craig saw the entire thing. Fantastic.
“Hey, Tweek,” Craig greets him with a smile and rests his elbows on the countertop.
“He-hey, what brings you here?... wait, crap, that's dumb, you're here for a coffee... obviously,” Tweek laughs weakly, a pink flush already gathering across his face in embarrassment.
“I am indeed here for coffee, well, not me, but Maddy's coffee,” Craig tells him.
"Sounds good." As Tweek began making his drink, he got an idea.
"So, you said you don't like coffee. Is there a reason for that?"
"Just not my cup of tea. It tastes quite bitter to me." Craig shrugged off in response.
"What if I make you one, on the house, that I am 96% sure you'll like," Tweek exclaims excitedly.
Craig chuckles, "why 96%?"
"You can never be too sure, man," Tweek simply explains.
Craig chuckles at that, but agrees to Tweek's proposal. Tweek begins making the drink, knowing exactly the type of drink Craig will like. After all, he has been drinking coffee since he was ten years old.
"Don't feel like you have to like it if you don't, okay," he explains to Craig as he hands him the drink. He talked such big game; now he isn't so sure.
Craig ponders for a moment and takes another sip of the drink. “Huh? It's sweet but not too sweet, it's good," He says as he takes another drink. "You really are amazing, Tweek."
Tweek’s heart stops when Craig says that so casually. How dare he be so cute and nice. How dare he make Tweek’s stomach fill with butterflies.
But despite all of that, Tweek remembers that Craig is taken and is not interested in him whatsoever. He is just being friendly. They both get on talking about how Tweek's been working in his parents' shop since he was a child, and how he likes to experiment with the syrups and coffee types. At some point, the conversation shifts to school, and they start talking about the horrible classes and teachers they had to deal with. Plus, nonsense that happened at school, like when Cartman and Wendy were battling over a private restroom. Or when Stan got so drunk he puked at the school assembly. As they both talked, every time Craig laughed, Tweek felt warm and happy.
When Tweek began to talk to Craig about his love for theater, he felt kinda silly; only theater kids really care about that stuff. But surprisingly, he saw Craig actively listening to him, like nothing else in the world matters.
“Yeah, I know it's kind of dorky.” Tweek nervously laughs as he finishes his explanation.
“No, it’s cool!” Craig insists, and Tweek tries his best not to blush. Crap. He can’t blush every single time Craig says something nice to him.
“What’s dorky is your hair situation.”
Tweek begins to panic in embarrassment. As a child, he was always so anxious and lost in his own thoughts. If he was really having a stressful day, his anxiety manifested in physical symptoms like twitches and shaking. As a result, he was able to comb his hair or button his shirt properly. Back in elementary and middle school, his peers would tease him relentlessly about how messy his hair looked. He has better management nowadays, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have off days. On those days, he usually wears a headband. But today, he was in a rush and forgot. And now that Craig has mentioned it, Tweek is starting to feel quite self-conscious.
“Gah! Sorry, I was just in a rush this morning and just wasn't able to manage my hair today,” Tweek replies rapidly in a panic, trying to find something to hide his hair with.
Craig watches him for a moment and quickly speaks up, in the softest tone he has ever heard. "I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I was just…" He trails off, his words catching awkwardly in his throat. There's a brief silence between them. "I was just trying to joke around," Craig adds after. "It looks fine. I'm sorry...I suck at this whole making friends thing, huh?" He looks down, rubbing the back of his neck.
Tweek glances up, and the tension in his shoulders begins to ease as he realizes Craig hadn’t meant any harm by his comment. A quiet laugh escapes Tweek. Craig blinks, then chuckles too, still a little nervous, but clearly relieved. The awkwardness between them begins to dissolve. Before long, they’ve slipped into easy conversation, with the earlier tension forgotten. They discover, to their mutual surprise, things about each other, like their favorite childhood show: Red Racer. Their eyes light up as they tell each others favorite episodes and characters.
As they talk, Tweek realizes how easy it is to talk to Craig. It’s almost as if they’ve known each other for their entire lives, like they’re best friends and not strangers who just met a couple of days ago. Tweek loses track of time, but it must of been a long time since he sees Bebe come in for her shift.
She looks back and forth between Craig and him, and a mischievous smirk begins to form on her face. “Hi, Tweek and…oh? Craig? Either our coffee is that good, or you must like the baristas.” Bebe states in a flirtatious tone.
Tweek begins to blush at Bebe's comment. Hoping he could run away rather than see Craig's reaction. Thankfully, at that moment, a customer walks in.
“I’ll see you around, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Tweek says with a smile, and Craig gives him a little wave as he leaves the store with his drinks.
“Wait! Let me remake the latte, the ice is probably melted by now.”
Craig turns around, confused, “Oh, I'm sure it's fine, she can't complain about a free drink.”
“Here! We can't afford a bad review.” Tweek says playfully and quickly handles a new one in just under a minute, thanks to his ten years of barista experience.
Craig takes the remade drink and gives Tweek one more smile. But this time, they both hold lingering smiles towards each other. They stay like this until they hear the doorbell ring again.
Tweek watches Craig as he departs, and Bebe swiftly appears next to him."Since when do you care about our store reviews?" A wide smirk spreads across her face.
“Don't you have an order to make, Bebe?” is all he says, but he knows she’s right.
* * *
Craig has been coming to the coffee shop every single day, and it drives Tweek mad. He hates how Craig makes him look forward to seeing him for the day.
They usually talk for a few minutes before Craig has to leave to probably meet his girlfriend. Tweek often wonders if they're friends now. They did find that they have a lot in common, but maybe it's too soon to put a label on it?
Tweek’s train of thought crashes completely when he’s startled by the sound of the bell ringing above the door, and he glances up to see Craig walking inside hand in hand with a girl Tweek’s never seen before. His heart drops a little, and it drops even more when Craig introduces her, “Hey, Tweek! This is Maddy.”
Tweek forces a smile. “Nice to meet you, Maddy, hope you liked the lattes,” he says, hoping it’s not too obvious that he’s absolutely gutted right now.
Craig nods. “She does. She always tells me to get her coffee order before we meet up,” he says. Tweek bites his lip. He hates this. Maddy is extremely pretty. She’s got brunette hair and light natural makeup, and for some reason, she makes Tweek think of fresh daisies.
“And Maddy, this is Tweek,” Craig smiles at him. “My favorite barista.”
Tweek kind of wants to punch Craig to the ground right now. He can’t just show up with his girlfriend and still be extremely cute to him.
"It's nice to meet you, Tweek. Craig has been raving about you. You must be the best if you got him to even drink an ounce of coffee." She says with a light giggle. "I was wondering if I could try it, if you don't mind."
Tweek chews on his bottom lip once more. He has to forget about his puppy love for Craig and act professionally. He began preparing both drinks. Upon handing it to her, she takes a big sip.
"Wow, this is amazing," She says in an elated tone. "Craig was right. You are amazing, Tweek! Do you mind if I post this to my followers? I just know they'll just love it."
Tweek didn't know what to say. This is too much pressure. Would this be good publicity? Would it be rude to say no? If so, would Craig hate him? There is so much to consider.
Almost as if Craig read his mind, he began to reel him back into reality. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Tweek. It's really up to you. Maddy just gets overly excited about sharing stuff with her followers. But trust me, she'll live."
"Oh, sorry, Craig's right, I do get overly excited about these things. But as Craig said, it's not pressure, I just think everyone would love your coffee."
Tweek felt relieved to hear that, but he knew deep inside that this would help him reach his goal faster. Heck, this might even give him the chance to take it easier in terms of work.
With newfound confidence, Tweek agrees to the shoutout post.
Upon his insistence, Craig paid for the drinks and said their goodbyes. But not before Maddy gave Tweek a ten-dollar tip for the trouble of getting Craig to enjoy the beauty of coffee like her. When they leave, Tweek mopes behind the counter because all he can think about is how he never really had a chance with Craig.
* * *