Blake often found himself in the cafe by the academy, accompanied not only by a choice of new blend of coffee beans, but also his beloved best friend, always following, like a shadow of his own being.
They were inseparable since the first meeting. Classes, student accommodation, free time, it was all shared. So he wasn't surprised when they told him they would go with him, wanting a break from the campus. Their presence was always, more than welcome for him.
"I have an idea." they hummed, taking out the lollipop with a loud "pop", cherry flavouring left on their lips, glistening in the sunlight from the window they were sitting by. The chair they were occupying, opposite him so he could stare at them shamelessly, creaked a little when they shifted around, twirling the candy between their fingers.
He stopped for a moment, packet of cinammon in his hand, tear to open it halfway done. The coffee he ordered had a strong, hazelntu smell, one that they frowned upon, nose turning around. He swore by a simple order, just a black one, one packet of cinammon, and that was it. No milk, no sugar, much to their disgust.
Barbaric, they said, while ordering their own, latte art done in the shape of an intricate swirl. The barista certainly had a vision while making it, even if it left them unamused, eyes only on Blake.
"What is it?" his voice may have not sound like it, but he was interested. He always was, he just tried his best to do two things at the same time, the packet's content dropped with precision not to spill it on the table. He stirred the coffee, taking a sip as he looked them straight in the eyes.
"You're going to drink it like that?"
"What's wrong with my coffee?"
"It's...bitter. There's nothing good in it."
"That's the whole thing. Tell me about the idea and insult my choices later." Turning the conversation back on the track, he wrapped his hands around the mug, warming them a little. It wasn't a cold day, but they always did so, no matter the weather. And they looked adorable while doing so.
"We're both single, am I right? No one in sight, no one is looking for anything right now." The right track made him cough a little, being taken more than by surprise. What was initially started as he thought to be a simple conversation suddenly turned serious.
He blinked, setting the mug down, eyes a little bleary as he tried to clear his throat. Muttering "too hot" as an excuse to save his face, he nodded at them to go on.
"We can make a pact." they weren't making it any easier on him with every word that spilled from their mouth, the lollipop once again, taken in, bulging their cheek a little.
"A pact?" he asked confused when his voice finally returned to him.
"If we are still single by 34, we're getting married."
"What?" this had to be a joke of some sorts.
"Fine. If we're 34... or maybe 30, we're ending up together. We buy a house or an apartment, we get a cat and other stuff. Relationship stuff. You catch my drift?" The amount of confidence they spoke with made him dizzy.
No, he didn't catch their drift. He thought he misheard, his head a mess of their voice and his sight trying to come out and jump into the future to see if that would come to be.
The coffee was laced with something for sure. It had to be.
"Mhm" was all he could muster in his shell shock. So what if he agreed, it's not like it was a bad deal anyway. Just, surprising, to say the least, blurted so calmly they might as well told him their favourite colour.
It's not like he didn't know it anyway. Of course he did. He listened.
"Good. It's settled then." they reached for his coffee and took a sip, their mouth twisting in a grimace at how poorly it tasted, immediately trying to mask it up with the cherry of the lollipop.
"So don't look too hard, 'kay?"
