Tristan smiles to himself, concealing the quirk of his smile with his coffee cup.

His stranger...

He needs to stop referring to her as that, especially when he knows her name. He's known it for a long time now.

Maddy, has somehow managed to spill her coffee, drop her bag and misplace her phone, all while her glasses sit skewed diagonally on her little button nose. She's a bit of a klutz, and completely adorable, and he wonders when he started thinking of her fondly.

He's always found the sight of her comforting, completely non-threatening, and her quiet calm seems to speak to him. Like she is his perfectly balanced counterpart.

The sight in front of him recalls vivid memories, so brightly coloured in his mind that he might have Thea sat beside him, saying the words out loud.

~

"I'm telling you, Trist, Maddy's perfect for you."

Tristan rolls his eyes, as he often does when he's with his best friend. She might be his cousin, but Thea and Tristan are more than just related. They are partners in crime, joined at the hip since they could walk and talk, and what is shared between them is far stronger than just blood. They know each other's secrets, deepest fears and dreams.

Thea is his person.

"Yeah, somehow I don't believe you." He says. She crosses her arms across her chest in the way that indicates attitude is about to come his way.

"Enough of that tone, mister. You don't even know what I'm about to say." She quips and he sighs, relenting.

He knows better than to argue, so he sits back, relaxing at the table that is theirs. She sits perched in her chair to his left, her favourite green cup pinched in her hands. It must be cold by now, but Thea doesn't care. You could strain her flat white through a sock and she'd probably still drink it.

"Fine, go on then. Why is she perfect for me?" He asks.

Thea smiles devilishly, leaning closer.

"One: she has, perhaps, the most hideous collection of jumpers I've ever seen. She's pipped you from the reining spot, and that, Trist, is a hard feat." She says, gesturing to his chest.

Tristan glances at his sweater, a bit put out already. 

"Two: she is a huge book dork. I've never seen her without a classic shoved under her arm, and one of her favourite authors is Charles Dickens."

Thea looks pleased with herself, but Tristan gives her a withering look.

"Lots of people read and and lots of people like Dickens. They're classics." He points out.

Thea sighs, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, but you can't argue with this one. Number three: her coffee order." Thea says triumphantly.

Tristan gazes at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"So, she drinks coffee?" He says, wondering what the hype about that is.

"She drinks coffee. The same coffee." Thea says, gesturing to Tristan's cup.

His eyebrows raise at that. No one has his order. It's not particularly interesting or out-there, but no one else orders it. Thea would know.

"And you think that these three facts make her the perfect woman for me?" He says, still not convinced in the slightest.

He'll admit, it's intriguing. Interesting. But has it sold him on going on a date with a perfect stranger? No.

Thea laughs, shaking her head.

"No, I think she's the perfect woman for you because I know her. And I know you." She says pointedly.

Tristan smiles fondly at his cousin. His stubborn, eccentric, full-of-life best friend. He loves that she knows him, and he loves that he knows her. He loves that they're going to move in together over the summer, and that they're finally going to give their dream a shot. He's going to quit the job he hates and they're going to open a coffee shop all of their own, a perfect blend of the two of them. Their heritage and their personalities all blended together in a perfect storm.

He loves that this is his life, his future, and he doesn't need anything else. He doesn't need anything getting in the way of that. His future is running at him, so fast that sometimes he's afraid, but he's excited too. So freaking excited. He can't wait, and he doesn't need anything else.

"I appreciate it, Thea, but I have everything I need." He says, and he means it. He can feel his earnest happiness shining in his voice and as she smiles, he knows she sees it too.

But she has another look in her eye, that looks a little like pity.

Like she knows something he doesn't.

She nods instead, glancing at her clasped hands. He places his on top of hers, squeezing them tightly.

~

He smiles faintly to himself, still feeling the painful jolt of grief his chest, but feeling an overwhelming sense of fond nostalgia too.

She had been right. Of course.

Maddy was perfect for him. Is perfect. She is everything he didn't know he wanted and needed. And she had turned up exactly when he needed her.

Jerome appears with a napkin and Tristan leans forward to help wipe the table.

Maddy grimaces somewhat, blushing as she succeeds in dunking the sleeve of her cardigan in coffee.

"Careful." Tristan murmurs, as he reaches out. He clasps her hand, wiping the edge of her sleeve. He bites the corner of his lip to stop himself from smiling at the look on her face. Her hand is clasping his own like she never wants to let go, and Tristan admits that he wouldn't mind that too much either.

Jerome, however, doesn't have so much tact.

"I'm glad you two finally broke the ice." He says, grinning. Tristan rolls his eyes as he reluctantly releases Maddy's hand.

"You're only saying that because Thea's not here to say I told you so." Tristan says.

Jerome laughs as Maddy freezes in place, her eyes widening.

"Your cousin was one of the only people to put you in your place. Someone has to pick up the torch." Jerome says, moving away as Tristan chuckles.

He glances at Maddy and realises she's still frozen, coffee cup suspended in mid-air, just moments from her lips.

"Your cousin?" She whispers.

Tristan smiles softly. About time she figured it out.

She glances at the third cup, sat in front of Thea's seat, going cold as it always does. For a moment, Tristan wonders if Maddy will be upset by this information. He worries that, perhaps, it changes things.

Instead, however, Maddy begins to laugh. At first it's a giggle, and a small shake of her head, until she can't stifle it any longer.

"She always did get her way, didn't she." Maddy says, biting her lip.

Tristan frowns.

"I don't know what you mean?" He asks.

Maddy taps the table.

"1pm, sharp."

Tristan's expression drops as he remembers that last day, the last few words he ever heard from her.

~

"I can't wait for this summer, for our lives to actually begin." He says and she grins suddenly.

"Me neither. Let's meet, this Saturday, to start brainstorming everything." She urges and he grins. Her voice is almost mad with energy, her eyes shining in a chaotic, sparkling way.

"Okay, let's do it." He says, nodding.

Thea watches him for a moment, smiling to herself as she nods.

"Great. Saturday, 1pm sharp. Let's meet right here, and we'll stay until the sun sets." She says, her finger tapping against the table lightly.

Tristan smiles, his palm brushing against the tabletop that decorated in their artwork. Decorated with a thousand memories of their time together.

"I'll be there."