"Marco, it's like midnight, are you working late today?" Sasha adjusted her nametag on her dark apron, humming along with the overhead radio playing.

"I don't mind working late." the freckled male responded, cleaning the counter with an enthusiastic smile. "Why do you ask?"

The brunette grinned. "Oh, I dunno. I sorta thought Connie was coming in today but it's been raining so hard, right?" she gave a thoughtful sigh, then chuckled at what she was about to say. "His days and my days are totally off. It's weird. Like he works one shift, then I come in right after, and sometimes we bump into each other. But I hope he finds it funny because I think it's funny."

Marco gave a sincere look. "Oh, I know you and Connie will work something out. Has he talked to you recently?"

Sasha got ahold of a small pastry, wiping the crumbs from her collar as she took a nibble. "Mm, sort of." she gestured a phone with her hand, "He called me yesterday but there's nothin' going on today."

"I'm sure he'll come around. But that's great, I'm glad you got to talk."

Sasha clicked her tongue. "I'm his bestie." she gave a small grin. "Anyway, I said I was going to help you out after work so I will."

"Oh, I appreciate that, but it's getting late now. No stress, you can count on me to stay." Marco's face made a patient expression. "I bet Connie's waiting for you. And you don't wanna miss that next episode of Spongebob, am I right?"

The brunette smiled, taking off her dark cap. "Holy crap, you're right." she held up a white cup, humming. "Now, it won't take me long to make it but can I take a coffee for him?"

"Yes, of course." Marco's lips made a friendly curve as he nodded and set his cap over the counter, arriving at the storage area to get Sasha a new blend.

She made sure to evaluate that the door to the back room was closed so Marco wouldn't notice just how many madeleine packets Sasha had stuffed in her apron. She scrambled two more together that were by the register, and then, in her regret, was slighted by the voice of someone entering the shop.

"Nice try. Never thought I'd see a cashier robbing their own place." A police gentleman with a truffle brown undercut and brassy hair leaned against the counter. His eyes were quite the tool for condescending, and the undertones in his voice suggested that he was a high priority, of course. Jean's uniform sang all the confidence that turned Sasha a little pale, but they were no strangers.

"Hey, Jean." she laughed childishly, pointing to herself and nearly making him regret saying anything. "Are you gonna arrest me for theft?"

"Verbally, no. But I have no problem doing it as long as we both keep pretending you didn't steal those donuts." Jean spoke sarcastically.

Sasha gasped, her eyes widening with a misled shock as she took in a deep breath, whispering. "Sir... these are madeleines."

The man gave a dry chuckle. "Sure, Madaleine. How about we both forget about this conversation, you can take my order and we can go back to doing our jobs?"

"I would apologize, but I don't think that will make things better," Sasha muttered, clearing her throat and suddenly chirping up as she heard Marco come back from the storage unit. "Can I get you a free coffee and a scone?"

Jean froze immediately at Marco's pair of familiar dusty brown eyes and olive skin pacing past, and suddenly time and work had no relevance anymore; this was all he could think about. Marco made a comment to Sasha about a bag of coffee before he turned to Jean with a warm greeting; he had probably noticed Jean staring, to his remorse. Jean said hello, watching Marco's faint freckles when he smiled, and he wanted to hold onto that memory. In his own ruminations, Jean couldn't really own up to his obvious staring, but maybe it was time to take that free coffee.

Sasha wasn't new to the fact that Jean came in a few times a week just to "interact" with Marco. She thought it was pretty amusing how he could go from being too big for his boots to being head over heels for Marco (enough with the shoe metaphors). As soon as Jean had his exchange with his tall daydream, Sasha was already cackling at a solid plan in her head.

She didn't have to test any words for it to sound right; it was a sound idea. "When are you gonna ask Marco out, cowboy?"

"For Christ's sake, I'm not a sheriff, quit the cowboy names." Jean laughed a little then paused, faintly blushing at how casual her question was. "M-Marco's single? That's insane." he thought out loud, rubbing his neck.

Sasha smirked. "Come back tomorrow."

-

The evening was cool after the rain had drizzled on the streets, and the smell of fresh rain coated the sidewalk. It had gotten pretty windy ever since Marco began his shift the next day, and he was beginning to miss the rain. It had been a long time without weather like that—perfect for coffee and chitchat.

Each day was like the first day of spring, cold and moist with a soft shower of rain. Some cafes—like the crooked Starbucks across the street—even dared to close earlier than their usual time, but it was backfiring on them. Disappointed faces crossed the road to reach the glory of a warm beverage at Coffee Bean, where Marco put on his good-natured smile and Sasha got to work.

By the time Marco and Sasha breezed through the line of customers demanding coffee, the rain had tempered down. The sky became a youthful blue, and the air was brisk as it flowed through the city trees.

Sasha let out a long sigh, sitting on one of the tall chairs by the barista counter. "Today feels like a Monday, doesn't it?"

Marco finished washing their materials and disposing of compost at the sink, and he finally rinsed his hands and leaned against the counter with a wistful smile. "It's a shame the weekend goes by so fast. You'd think there would be more time to rest."

"Then make more time." Sasha chuckled mindlessly. "You're never gonna realize it's the weekend until you finally wind down from work. I mean, do you ever try sleeping? Sometimes you smile all day and it makes me worried that your brain short-circuited, so maybe sleep will cure it."

"I guess that's one way to think about sleep." Marco responded with a small laugh, "Thanks, Sasha."

The door jingled open with a familiar appearance. Just as Jean entered, Marco's eyes pulled up to give his usual affable welcome, but he was met with Jean's dense, honey orbs. "Oh, hi there," Marco wore a confident smile. "I'm seeing you around a lot. What can I get you today?"

Sasha snickered, giving a small wink. "What's up, doc?"

Jean gave Sasha a side glance, then turned to Marco with a coy smile. "Nice shirt."

The freckled male smiled kindly, thinking of the humor in wearing the same shirt as Sasha. "O-oh, well, I try to come casual." he joked, "People don't ask but us cashiers normally don't wear shoes, you know?"

"Yeah, most cashiers I meet don't make any noise when they walk. You can never tell when a cashier is wearing shoes or not." Jean quipped, beginning to wonder if Marco's hair was smooth to the touch like he had always imagined it. While his laugh and smile were infectious, he had almost no clue that Jean took up a serious case of flirting with him. "I'm Jean."

The taller male laughed softly, "I'm Marco."

"Marco." the male paused to give a simple smile as if he had never read his nametag before; he relished talking to Marco with intimate pauses, and he didn't care if that was cheesy. "Well, you guys never seem to close, so that's even more convenient for a full-blown caffeine diet." Jean thought sarcastically. "What do you recommend, shoeless barista?"

The freckled male's lips curved up at the curious nickname. "Since you're not in a hurry, I hope, would you like to try a tea or something light?"

Jean's face made this oddly charming look that perplexed Marco. "Well, since I'm in no hurry, then I'll bother to ask what you're up to this week. I can tell that you get busy pronto, but I don't mind buying you out of work."

Marco chuckled lightly at the bluntness, his eyes scaling across Jean's auburn-colored hair and the way their eyes persuaded each other to lock. He had this unwavering feeling with Jean, and maybe it was based purely on instinct, but they hadn't even known each other for five minutes and suddenly, his day was transformed. "That sounds..." Marco flushed a little. "Will tomorrow work for you?"

Jean had a warm smile as he enjoyed the look on Marco's face, taking in every little detail of those dreamy, content features. "Absolutely."