#chowderfarmer

He had tried, she supposed. He invited her to the game in the first place, although she wasn’t quite sure he remembered that she liked the Sharks; he was, after all, decked out in full Aces merch and memorabilia. Before the game, he bought them some nachos with salsa and queso to share and then both of them their own sodas; although, when she offhandedly wondered if they had ginger ale, he shrugged her off and bought her a Sprite instead. He had done it under the reasoning that it was the same as, or at least just as good as, ginger ale. Which, was absolutely wrong, but she was not about to get in a fight over carbonated drinks in the concession line when plenty of others were in line and wanted to get food as well.

Minus the Aces fan bit, and the thing about Sprite vs Ginger Ale, and the constant ignoring her for his phone, her date had been running pretty well. (Obviously, there wasn’t much else for her to go off of.) Things really soured when the Kiss Cam rolled around, though.

After two older couples, Caitlin and Chad happened to be the third couple to appear on the Sharks Kiss Cam. Catching a view of herself and her date on the big screen, Cait of course eagerly tried to get Chad’s attention.

“Chad! Chad, look!” Swatting his arm a few times playfully, Caitlin grinned in excitement as she hoped for her date notice their big screen debut. He easily brushed her off by giving her that ‘one-second’ hand signal, so she herself easily brushed that off. He’d set his phone down soon enough, they’d have their once-in-a-lifetime moment on the Kiss Cam, and everything about the date would be a-okay.

The Sharks crowd camera team passed through three more couples before Caitlin and Chad made a reappearance. Cait obviously tried again to get his attention, still wearing that eager and optimistic smile that she had had the first time around.

“Chad, it’ll take just one second! Just look up!”

“Hold on,” Chad scolded her lightly through gritted teeth, gesturing to her and then his phone with that ‘ one-second’ sign again before returning to his incessant chattering.

Fed up but not wanting to make a huge scene, she looked away and laughed it off. What was this date to him, a joke? An excuse to jabber incessantly beside her, as an amazing game between Las Vegas and San Jose went down below unbeknownst to him? What a prick, an absolute douche canoe, the biggest bag of dicks.

Five more couples got their chance. Then the embarrassing hockey date-gone-awry popped up once more. But this time around, Caitlin was not happy about her date’s oblivion to their appearance and was definitely unafraid to show the fact.

“Chad,” Caitlin repeated once more irritably, roughly jostling the jock to try and get his attention one last time for the Kiss Cam.

“What?!” He immediately and finally snapped, head moving away from his smartphone more than two inches for the first time in the entire game. “Good grief, Katy. It’s a damn important call, what could be so great or fantastic that you have to bother me three times!?”

Cait held her tongue on both explaining how strangely beautiful hockey could be and correcting him on her name. She could somehow sense the fact he even spelled it with a ‘K’ and a ‘y’ over a ‘C’ and an ‘ie’, which quite honestly ticked her off even more. This date had been absolutely horrendous, and she really wanted to cry, but she resisted. She was absolutely not, under zero circumstances, crying on the Kiss Cam. Instead, she just angrily huffed and fell back into her seat, trying hard not to crush the stupid Sprite that Chad thought would be the same as, or at least just as good as, ginger ale in her hand.

All of a sudden, though, SJ Sharkie stood beside their seats, and he quickly leaned over Cait in order to promptly smack Chad over the head. He then gently pulled Cait up from her seat, and sort of gestured toward her Sprite in order to take it from her to pour it over Chad’s head. She shook her head and pushed his gloved hand away, though, and then completely just upended the soda over his head before throwing the cup down to the ground.

Since his soda plan had fallen through, Sharkie instead took the remaining nachos with queso and salsa and threw them into Chad’s face with just as much as fire and force in it as Caitlin had had with her Sprite. Then, wanting to get the poor girl out of the situation as much as she did herself, Sharkie picked up a one singular Caitlin Farmer in a bridal-style carry and booked it up the stairs. Chad was thus left in the dust, still on screen for a moment, to assess damage to both his pride and his reputation.

Sharkie didn’t stop running with Cait in his arms until they were far enough from the scene of the crime to be safe, to which then he finally set the poor bewildered Sharks fan down.

“Are you okay?” The costumer finally spoke, huffing and puffing to himself slightly in overexertion.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Caitlin smiled. “Thanks for getting me out of there, that dude’s honestly a huge prick. I have no clue why I let him take me on a date.”

“More like he took his phone on a date and you just third-wheeled. Plus, it’s fine! I’m glad to have been your savior from an Aces’ fan.” Sharkie faux shuddered beneath the costume, clearly still sticking with the Las Vegas hating that the players carried.

“Well then, can I see my savior’s face? Gotta be able to put a face to the shark for my friends.“ Caitlin smirked, half amused by just talking to the wide-mouthed shark head of SJ Sharkie.

“Nuh-uh,” Sharkie shook his head, the mouth slightly bopping up and down with the movement, “Not while the game’s still on and I’m on SAP Arena grounds.”

“Oh, gotcha.” Caitlin hummed in understanding, despite a vague feeling of disappointment eating at her. “His name’s Chad. He played lacrosse for my college,” She explains without Sharkie even asking her, somehow sensing his curiosity even beneath the Sharkie exterior, “I played volleyball. Sports hookup, y'know?”

Sharkie barked out in laughter, immediately reminded of some two very close friends of his. “Yeah, I definitely know.” He grinned beneath the mascot head even though Cait couldn’t see it. “Hey, I have to go, but… can I give you my number? Maybe I can rescue you from more bad dates some other day.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Now it was Cait’s turn to laugh. “Hey, since you’re giving me your number, can I get your name? Feels weird just calling you, y'know. Sharkie.”

Whoever it was had knocked her over, and she was about to be indignant that it was a hit and run situation, when she looked up to a hand in her face. She blinked at it a few times, before looking at the face attached, catching her breath. The man staring down at her was simply gorgeous, right down to his nervous smile. A nice looking man in a nice looking suit and a nice, warm looking jacket was standing over her, and Caitlin was finding it hard to breathe a little.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and then suddenly there was a person there--a person who was you-- and I definitely couldn’t stop in time but oh man are you alright?” He rambled, and she finally managed to remember to both breathe and take his hand. He helped her to her feet, and Caitlin almost forgot to answer him, she was too busy staring at his face.

“Oh-- no worries. I was the one not paying attention. I’ll be honest, I’m a little lost, and had just made the decision to move… right into you. So I’m the one who should be sorry!” Caitlin rambled a bit, but she couldn’t help it, she didn’t want to make this man just disappear from her life like that without even knowing his name.

“Oh, where are you trying to go? I’m not too well versed in New York, but maybe we’re going in the same direction and I can help you at least somewhat!” He smiled wide, and it made Caitlin’s heart flutter. She hoped that they were going in the same direction, because being near him made her warm.

“I’m trying to get back to my hotel… it’s on 35th street? Um, I couldn’t decide where to turn to go there.” Caitlin pointed at the street sign that said 31st street, and she chewed on her lip again, deciding that she definitely was about to turn the wrong way.

“Oh yeah, my hotel is over there too! Maybe we’re at the same one.” Hot Guy checked his watch, glancing at Caitlin briefly, then over his shoulder at Penn Station. “You know, I’ve got some time to kill, I could walk you over?”

“Oh you don’t have to, if you have somewhere else to be?” Caitlin was disappointed in herself for saying no, but she knew that she couldn’t force someone to hold her hand and walk her through the streets (though she sure would like to hold his hand).

“No no, don’t worry, it’s the least that I can do!” He held out his hand again, and Caitlin looked down at it, still thinking about holding his hand, before she realized that it must be for a handshake. “I’m Chris by the way.”

“Caitlin,” she smiled as she shook his hand, and he smiled back wider. Caitlin could feel the heart eyes just oozing out of her, but she quickly took her hand back, thanking the gust of wind for the excuse to let go no matter how much she wanted to hold on. She shivered again, despite how warm she felt standing next to Chris.

Chris noticed the shiver. And he looked absolutely mortified, either in her choice of coat or his own manners, Caitlin couldn’t be sure. “Oh you must be freezing in that coat! You’re definitely not from around here, I’m guessing?”

Caitlin’s teeth were chattering, so she only shook her head. Chris started to take his jacket off, and Caitlin shook her head harder. “I-I c-couldn’t t-take y-your j-jacket. Y-you n-need i-it t-too.”

Chris only shook his head, draping his jacket on her shoulders. The warmth the jacket gave was in part from it’s own makeup but also in part to Chris’s body heat, and Caitlin pulled it in tight, breathing in his scent sneakily as she did so. He smelled like home. Not that she was imagining him as home, but that he smelled a bit like California.

“Come on Caitlin, let’s get you to your hotel. I definitely can’t let you go off alone if you are that cold.” He put a hand on her elbow, a light touch, simply used as a guiding hand, and Caitlin didn’t pull away. They walked in silence until they were on the other side of Penn station, and Chris looked at the building with an almost guilty look.

“If you need to be somewhere else, Chris, I shouldn’t be keeping you.” Caitlin chewed on her lip, reaching up to pull the jacket off to give back, but Chris stopped her hand.

“No, the guys will understand. I can’t leave you alone.” They walked past Penn station, and Chris breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief to Caitlin.

A few more steps of silence, and it seemed like Chris couldn’t take it anymore, clearing his throat a couple of times, with a glance in Caitlin’s direction. “So, Caitlin? Where are you from? If not New York or the East coast where winter coats are the norm.”

“I’m actually from California. I’m here on a business trip until Friday,” Caitlin said.

“You were going to be here for an entire week with that coat? It’s the middle of February!” Chris was incredulous, and Caitlin shot him a shameful look.

“I was going to buy a jacket tomorrow!”

Chris laughed, a clear, beautiful, joyful laugh, and Caitlin’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t believed in love at first sight until meeting Chris, and she knew that was irrevocably screwed.

“But still, you’re also from California! That’s crazy. What are the odds? We must be the only two true Californians in all of New York.” Chris smiled widely, and Caitlin definitely didn’t miss the implication.

“Oh, where in California are you from?” She was hoping it was northern California. She was tired of everyone talking about LA and assuming that was all that California was.

“I’m originally from San Francisco, but I live in San Jose now for work.” He winked, though she couldn’t fathom why.

“Oh, that’s awesome! I live and work in San Francisco, but I travel a lot.”

Chris laughed again, that beautiful laugh, though it was like he was laughing at inside joke with himself. “I travel a lot too. Half the time, I’m on the road.”

They chat mundanely about San Francisco, about things they might’ve done at the same before he moved down to San Jose. They reached 35th street, and Caitlin told him her hotel, and he turned right, walking her to the front of the building. Caitlin didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, but she knew that she was keeping him from something important.

“You know, it must suck to be in New York far from home on Valentine’s day,” Chris said.

“Oh, it’s not so bad, not like there was anything for me to do. I don’t even have any meetings that day.” Caitlin was hinting heavily, though Chris wasn’t taking the hint.

“In that case, you should definitely go see the hockey game! It’s the Sharks vs. the Rangers. It should be a real good one.” He winked again, and Caitlin definitely had no idea why.

“Maybe I will.” She moved to take off the jacket to give back, but Chris held up a hand and shook his head.

“Give it to me the next time. Plus, in the pocket is a bit of a gift.” He smiled widely, before turning to leave with a small wave. Caitlin waved to his back, watching him walk back the way they came. Watching until he turned the corner and was out of sight.

~~

She got up to her room, shaking her head at the odd interaction. Chris’s jacket stilled smelled like him, and she took a deep breath now that he could no longer see her. He didn’t ask her out, despite asking about Valentine’s day, but she didn’t think she would be that lucky, even if he had been the man of her dreams.

She opened her laptop and looked up the hockey game. It was on Valentine’s day, and it was a matinee game, starting at 1. She hadn’t had any plans that day, so a hockey game would at least be something. She checked the ticket prices, and decided that, maybe it wouldn’t be anything. Madison Square Garden is far too expensive.

Caitlin laid on her bed, still wearing Chris’s jacket, staring up at the ceiling. She put her hands in the pockets, and felt something in one of them. She remembered what Chris had said, that there was a bit of a gift in the pocket. She pulled it out now, bringing it up to her face, only to be face to face with a ticket to the Valentine’s day hockey game. Imagine that.

She thought that maybe this was his way of asking her out. Maybe he had a ticket in the seat next to hers, and he had an extra, and he gave it to her. Caitlin smiled widely. Maybe Chris was just shy! She would see him at the game if she went, and it’s a date that she agrees to and they both cheer on the Sharks from seats in New York!

But the horrible thought that crossed her mind was, what if he cheered for the Rangers, despite being from California and living in San Jose? She wracked her mind over and over again, before deciding that she would just go to the game in plain clothes, and hope that Chris would be there so she could give back the jacket. And she would cheer on the Sharks no matter what, because hometown loyalty is bigger than trying to suck up to the guy she likes. Even if she’s never watched a Sharks game in her life.

~~

On Valentine’s day each year, Caitlin usually wears red, white, pink, the usual, cliche colors of Valentine’s day. That day, she paired it with her brand new teal jacket, that she had bought for warmth and for the hockey game. She needed to have something to represent, right?

She walked the way to Madison Square Garden, hoping that Chris would be there. She looked at the ticket for the umpteenth time, amazed at how close the seats were. She had looked up where her seat was, and it was on the visiting side’s goalie net. An odd location, but for her first hockey game, Caitlin wasn’t about to complain.

The line was long to get into the building, and she didn’t see Chris anywhere. She was beginning to think that maybe he had the ticket but couldn’t go to the game so he gave it to her and she had fooled herself into thinking it was going to be date. She had styled her hair and her outfit for nothing. She shouldn’t have come to a game she knew nothing about.

She stayed in line. She already had the ticket, and she was holding on to the hope that maybe Chris would be there. She had his jacket folded over her arm. It had stopped smelling like him and more like her the longer she had worn it, so she had finally bought her own jacket to preserve what little of him was left. Yes, she knew that was a bit creepy. No one else except herself was going to know though.

She finally got into the building, and found her way to her seat. The people on either side of her were already there, and she tried to hide her disappointment. Chris wasn’t there after all. She shrugged, and turned her attention to the ice, as warmups got started. The Sharks came out to her side of the ice and began.

Caitlin had never watched hockey in her life. She knew nothing about the players. But, as the game progressed, it was the most fun she had ever had. The Sharks won, 3-0, and Caitlin felt like she had been the only Sharks fan in the audience, but she didn’t care. At times, she had noticed the goalie looking her way when he was at her end of the ice, and he seemed familiar, though she couldn’t pick why. When the game ended, she stood outside the arena, still buzzing from the excitement. She was looking up places to go for dinner, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Behind her stood Chris. He was a bit out of breath, his hair was wet with sweat, and he had hastily put on his suit, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

“Caitlin! You actually came! I was really worried you wouldn’t since I thought, maybe you wouldn’t see the ticket, or if you did, you wouldn’t want to go to the game, or maybe you didn’t like me as much as I liked you and so there was no point for you to go to the game and-- oops.” Chris covered his mouth, and Caitlin knew how gone she was.

“Chris? I didn’t see you at all! Why are you all out of breath and sweaty?”

“I-- Caitlin, have you ever watched hockey before?”

“No, this was my first game.” Caitlin gave a sheepish smile. “I thought, that maybe, this was going to be a date? But you weren’t there where I was sitting… but you were here?”

Chris laughed, harder than he had laughed before, so full of joy and happiness. He stopped suddenly, hitting himself in the forehead with his hand. “Oh man no wonder you looked so confused yesterday when I was talking to you. You didn’t know who I was at all! I thought you were starstruck but clearly you weren’t!”

Caitlin was offended, but before she could say anything Chris stopped her. “No, listen! It’s a really funny story. You see, my whole name is Chris Chow. I am the goalie for the San Jose Sharks.”

And Caitlin understood, in that moment, what all the winking was about, and just about everything else that had made no sense to her.

“That… explains so much.” Caitlin shook her head, but she was smiling all the same.

“I do have just one question… why did you seem so starstruck when we first met? It was the first time I’d met someone in another state who really seemed to like me, but since you didn’t know about hockey?”

“Oh, well...” Caitlin blushed, looking down at her hands, still holding onto his jacket. “I thought that you were the most beautiful man I had ever seen and I kind of fell in love with you?”

“Oh.” It was Chris’s turn to blush. “Well… in that case… do you want to get dinner tonight?”

“What, like a date?” Caitlin didn’t think she heard right, but she hoped to god that she had.

“Yeah, like a date.” Chris smiled shyly, and Caitlin matched it.

“Yeah, dinner sounds great.”

She finally finished her hair, pulling it back into a bouncy ponytail, giving herself a once over in the bathroom mirror. She had no reason to try to look so presentable, but she always liked dressing up on special days, even without special plans. She sighed, thinking of the lack of special plans.

She opened the bedroom door, only to hear a tiny gasp at the end of the hall, as a tiny head popped its way around the corner and the sound of tiny feet pitter pattering on the hardwood floor floated back to Caitlin. She chuckled at what had to be her son, though she was a bit confused by his actions, and a little hurt. Today of all days and he had to run away from her.

She was about to follow him when her daughter rounded the corner with a too bright smile on her face.

“Mom! You’re awake! How’s it going, what’s good?”

Caitlin narrowed her eyes, instantly suspicious. “Avery, what’s going on? Why are you and Lucas being so strange?”

Avery shifted her eyes back in the direction of the kitchen, nervously shifting her feet. Lucas peaked back around the corner at the two of them, quickly ducking away again when Caitlin looked in his direction. Caitlin put on her best Mom pose, raising an eyebrow, cocking her hip, crossing her arms, and Avery gulped.

“Young lady, you will tell me right now what is going on or--” Caitlin didn’t like punishing her kids for mundane things, but it also wasn’t like her children to lie to her. “Or you won’t be allowed to have dessert after dinner today.” It was the most mundane thing she could have come up with, to fit the mundane crime.

Avery looked stricken, and, seemingly before she could stop herself, exclaimed: “But daddy said--” She clapped her hand over her own mouth before staring wide-eyed at her mom, probably hoping Caitlin had not heard the slight outburst. But she had.

“Oh? And what did your father say?” She narrowed her eyes, suspecting something. But Avery wasn’t talking anymore, and Caitlin wasn’t going to push it. She sighed deeply, and went around her daughter, towards the kitchen. That got Avery moving again.

“No! Wait mom… ummm…” Avery was frantically pulling on Caitlin’s arm, but Caitlin was of course bigger and stronger than her nine year old daughter, so all she ended up doing was dragging her daughter down the hall.

Lucas was frantically running ahead of them, toddling along, but he couldn’t move very fast, only being three. Caitlin caught up and scooped Lucas up into her arms, and he giggled despite himself. And that’s how she entered the kitchen, three year old in her arms while her nine year old futilely tried to hold her back.

What greeted Caitlin in the kitchen was her husband sheepishly looking at her from the island, covered in flour, a nice vanilla scent permeating the space.

“Ummm…” Chris was just as intelligible as their children. “Good morning Cait.”

“Are you… baking?” Caitlin stared at him incredulously. He could cook, sure, but baking had never been his strong suit.

“Ah… yeah, sort of? Bitty sent me this recipe for your-- for me to try, and he said it should be so easy that even I couldn’t mess it up.” Chris scratched behind his ear, like he did when he was trying to placate her when she was angry. She wasn’t angry right then, but she was confused.

“And you just decided today of all days to try it?” Caitlin watched his reaction carefully, but all he did was stare at the oven. “And what are the kids doing?”

“Oh… that. Well, Avery was helping me? With the baking. And Lucas was on the lookout for… well… you…” Chris looked down at his feet. Caitlin would’ve thrown her hands up in exasperation if she didn’t still have a toddler in her arms.

“Why were the kids on lookout for me, Christopher Chow?” She put down Lucas, and Avery finally let go of her arm, instead grabbing on to her little brother. Caitlin stepped around the island, and Chris followed her movements, until they were standing face to face in front of the oven.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you in that dress?”

“Only five times each time I wear it from the day you bought me it. You can’t escape the question.”

Unfortunately, one thing could save Chris, and it was the oven timer going off. He quickly shoved on an oven mitt, and pulled whatever was inside of the oven out, setting the pan on the stove. Caitlin looked over at it, before placing her hand over her mouth.

“Is that--” She didn’t finish, but Chris nodded at her sheepishly.

“I wanted to get you something you loved, but you always lamented how the only person who you could find who made it right outside of your family was Bitty. And so I asked him for his recipe…”

They both looked at the pan on the stove, staring at the cake. It was a bit lopsided, but it was definitely a cake. There wasn’t a name for it, at least, not that Caitlin knew, and the only reason why Eric had a recipe is because she had asked him to make it once for her. It seemed like an ordinary chocolate cake, and it might have been if not for the very particular ingredients that Caitlin liked.

If it could be called anything, it could be called Caitlin’s Birthday Cake.

It had been awhile since she had had the cake on her actual birthday. Her parents rarely had the time to come visit around it, usually coming closer to a month later with a cake. If Eric was in town, he’d come by as close to the time as possibly and bake the cake, but he only traveled on Jack’s schedule sometimes, and his own schedule rarely.

Chris’s adventures in the baking department meant he had never made it, or tried to make it, and Caitlin had been glad, no matter how much she loved him. His cooking skills were great, he made dinner most nights that he could. But anything he had baked just ended up… well, lopsided in both appearance and taste.

Caitlin hadn’t realized she was crying until Chris had wiped a tear off her cheek, leaving a bit of flour behind, which he softly apologized for. Or maybe he apologized for some other reason, she couldn’t be sure.

“Umm… so you woke up earlier than we intended and we can’t eat it yet and probably won’t be able to eat it until after we get back from dinner but um… Happy Birthday Caitlin.” He smiled softly at her, and she laughed, before pulling him close and kissing him.

+

Chris is finishing a drink for the last in a long line of customers, relieved to finally be getting a break, when he hears the jangle of the door opening once again and inwardly groans. However, when he glances up and sees Her again, this time surrounded by a few other people -all, including Her, wearing Samwell Volleyball sweatshirts- his annoyance transforms into butterflies in his stomach.

Instead of looking up at the menu, they are all looking straight at him.

“You’re right, Farmer, he is cu-” one of Her companions says in a loud whisper, cut off by Her elbow and dissolving into giggles.

She - Farmer - rolls her eyes and shoves her friends toward a table before striding up to the counter and placing her order: the same as before, hazelnut latte.

She clearly remembers him (??!!) but he doesn’t want her to forget or think he isn’t interested, so he tries the latte art again, this time just the fern-leaf pattern he’s seen on so many cups on the internet (simpler is better, right?).

It comes out looking like a tipping-over Christmas tree, but he smiles as he slides it over to her anyway. She grins big, knowing, when she sees it, but still only says, “Thank you”, and joins her friends at the table.

“What was that all about?” comes a voice from behind him, and Chris turns to see Dex, Frogs’ delivery guy leaning against the counter next to a box of espresso beans.

“Seriously,” adds Nursey as he wanders down and throws his arm around Dex’s shoulders and leans against him. (Chris doesn’t miss the way Dex slides his hand into the back pocket of Nursey’s jeans.)

Chris explains, which elicits awws from Nursey, romantic (“but, like, a chill one, Chowder”), and eye rolls from Dex, who asks, “Why don’t you just write your number on the cup?”

Before he can answer, Nursey shoves his phone into Chris’ face. Chris pulls back enough to focus on the screen, which shows YouTube videos on how to do fancy latte art.

Chris glances over at Farmer, only to find her looking back. They both smile. Chris turns back to Nursey.

“Text me those links, will you?”

+

He practices during every shift, when it’s not busy, and he thinks he’s getting better, but it’s slow going. Farmer comes in a couple times a week and every time, he serves her the best he can do- flowers, faces, suns, bunnies.

+

“Hey, Chowder, man, come check this out,” Dex says one day. “I found it through a Buzzfeed article.”

He shows Chris his phone. It’s an Instagram account called cutebaristafails. The bio reads, “He’s cute and he’s trying”. The pictures, when Chris scrolls through them, are all undoubtedly his lattes, specifically the ones he’s made for Farmer.

His first thought is to be hurt, or embarrassed, but Nursey points out that Farmer doesn’t seem to be making of fun of him- she clearly thinks his tries at latte art are adorable and is charmed by the fact that he tries to make these creations for her. Her pictures never show him, his name, or the name of the shop, and are always zoomed in so that the shop can’t be identified by the background.

After thinking about basically nothing else for 24 hours, Chris decides that what he actually feels is excited- his crush thinks he’s cute and he’s impressed her enough that she made an instagram account!

This feeling increases when, one day, he sees that Dex has commented on cutebaristafails’ latest post. The picture is a wonky dog’s face that could also be the state of Texas, depending on how you look at it. The caption reads, “Don’t know exactly what it’s supposed to be, but #hearteyesemoji”.

Dex’s comment reads, “I think it’s supposed to be a way for the barista to get your attention because he likes you.” (Chris will shove Dex hard for that later.)

Best of all, cutebaristafails has replied, “haha if that’s true then it’s working!!”

+

Chris does worry, though. He needs to be seriously impressive, not just goofily impressive, or else when he does ask her out (which he will, he totally will), she might think it’s a joke.

So he picks up extra shifts so he can practice more. He takes a class at a coffee shop the next town over. Gradually, he’s able to do intricate designs- swans, human faces, dragons, classic works of art, and memorably, on Dex’s birthday, a penis.

(Nursey had laughed so hard that he’d knocked over a whole tray of danishes.)

He’s gratified to see that his hard work is paying off when cutebaristafails posts a picture of his latest creation for her, a fierce tiger, with the caption, “I don’t know if I can call these fails anymore, he’s getting really good!”

Dex comments, “just change the account to cutebaristaflirts because that’s what he’s doing,” and when Chris sees it, he throws a measuring cup at him.

(But the name of the account does change.)

+

When Chris realizes that Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday, one of the days Farmer regularly comes in, he starts working on his most intricate project yet.

When he slides the drink across the counter that day, there, swirled in milk and espresso, is his phone number. Farmer’s eyes light up and she grins bigger than she ever has before. This time, she doesn’t just say thank you and leave.

+

Later that night, a new post appears on cutebaristaflirts’ feed:

He turned in surprise, that quickly turned to horror, when he saw the flag flying from the topmast. Skull and crossbones. The figurehead drained the color from Chris. The fearsome shark that adorned the front of the ship meant this pirate ship was Los Tiburones. There was no way Chris was staying where he was.

Shouts of ‘get him!’ came from the deck, and Chris shook into gear, pushing off the plank and trying to escape into the water. The shipwreck swirled around him, taking out almost all lines of exit. Panicking, Chris tried to swim from one end of the shipwreck to the other, trying to find a way out. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t escape, scraping himself against the planks and jutting pieces of the ship he'd once thought harmless.

Swimming near the surface, he stared up at the boat, hoping they wouldn’t bother going after him if he was underwater. To his horror, they’d lowered a boat, going to where Chris had last been. Some of the pirates looked ready to dive into the water. The only escape Chris could see was by remaining at the surface, and if he did that he would be rediscovered.

The pirates reached where he’d been, stopping their boat near the plank. Chris watched as two of them prepared to dive. As far as he could tell, no one was looking over to where he was. It was now or never. He only had one shot at this. He spun away from the ship, breaching the surface.

“There he is! He’s over there! Capture that merman!” A voice called from the main ship, and Chris knew, just knew he wasn’t going to escape in time. A rope looped around his waist, and as they tightened it, Chris stopped fighting. The rumors about pirates and mermaids were about to become his life. Killed or sold to the highest bidder, his hopes of ever being human again were ruined.

Chris crossed his arms as they pulled him onto the deck, trying not to give them the satisfaction of seeing how scared he was. Once they’d pulled him all the way up, he lay on his back staring at no one, a determined look (he hoped) on his face. A shadow passed over him, and he angled his eyes back to see a pirate peering down at him.

She was beautiful. Teal eyes that shone like the sea framed by auburn hair falling over her shoulders. Better dressed than the rest of them, she seemed to be held in respect by the crew, who gave her space on all ends. Chris’s eyes traveled down to the ornate sword at her hip, and he could see why they gave her space. He wanted to give her space. But on land (or deck), he was useless.

“Hello, Mr. Merman,” she said softly, only for him to hear, wonder in her voice. “You’re gonna fetch me a pretty sum, somewhere.”

She straightened up, eyeing Chris up and down. If he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid everything about his situation, he would have squirmed under her scrutiny.

“Alright men. Take him to my cabin. Put him in the pool.” She turned her back on him, and Chris was hoisted by his arms by two of the men. He didn’t have time to question how there was a pool on a pirate ship, as he was dragged along the deck.

He stared after the girl, who might’ve been the captain. he'd heard of Captain Farmer, of how feared she was—never that she was a woman. She sailed the seven seas, sinking ships but never murdering the crew. No one ever saw her ship until it was too late.

 Chris had fallen right into her trap.

Or rather, he'd accidentally placed himself in her scheme, by being curious about the shipwreck. Now he was a captive of the Pirate Captain Farmer, sold to the highest bidder at her earliest convenience. At least he wasn’t lonely anymore.

The men holding him shoved open a door, and he looked over his shoulder, curious to see what this pool was. But, when he looked through the door, there didn’t seem to be any pool at all. Just a normal ship’s cabin.

“She musta turned it off, then,” one of the pirates grunted. He let go of Chris, who watched as the pirate moved to a mirror in the corner. He pawed at the back of it, muttering to himself, before giving a satisfied huff, as the mirror began to glow. He placed it on the ground, and Chris watched in awe as it expanded into a sizeable pool. The pirate walked over and grabbed Chris again, and they dragged him over to the pool.

Chris moved his tail in order to make it easier for them, and slid into the water. He didn’t think it'd be wise to fight back. There wasn’t anything he could do in the center of the ship. he'd resigned himself to his fate. Five minutes ago, and five years ago.

~

It took another hour before Captain Farmer entered her cabin, slamming the door shut and sitting at her desk with a huff, waking Chris from a nap. He lazily looked at her, wanting her to make the first move.

She finally looked at him. Chris had seen the sea too much over the last five years, yet he loved her sea colored eyes. Ironic, considering the glare she fixed on him.

“So, Mr. Merman, are there more of you?” She couldn’t hide the curiosity from creeping into her voice, but her question only amused him for a moment, before he remembered his predicament.

“Not as far as I know. I haven’t seen any,” he said. Thinking for a moment, he added, “My name’s Chris.”

“I guess Mr. Merman isn’t a name.” She shook her head, moving on. “I wonder if you’ve heard about me. I’m Captain Caitlin Farmer, and you are my prisoner aboard my ship, Los Tiburones.”

“I’ve heard of the captain of Los Tiburones. No one ever said it'd be someone like you,” Chris said, laying his head down on his folded arms. This probably wasn’t the time to flirt, but if this was to be one of his last chances, he might as well take it.

“What, a woman?”

“No, a beauty.” He smirked up at her, catching the flush of her face before she turned away with a huff. He smiled wider. This might be fun.

“Well, Chris, you’re going to earn me more money than I could get selling trinkets.” She turned back to him, the blush gone and her manner all business. Chris flicked his tail in agitation. The first time he got to talk to a human in five years, and it had to be a pirate.

“Rest up, because this will be quite the journey for you.”

~

The next morning, Chris awoke to Caitlin sitting at her desk, huddled over a map of the area. He was content to watch, but she noticed him staring.

“Chris, what's that shell you’ve tied around your waist?” She pointed to the water, and Chris resisted the urge to look down. he'd kept the shell that'd made him a merman, hoping it'd turn him back someday.

“What, no ‘good morning’?” He joked, but before she reacted he sighed, pulling the shell out to show her. She reached out as if to touch it, and Chris pulled it a back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“What do you mean?” Caitlin pulled her hand back anyways.

“I wasn’t always like this, you know.” He flicked his tail out of the water. “A merman, I mean.” He told her what had happened to him, and she looked at him in sympathy.

“You haven’t talked to anyone in five years? Yet you talk to me so easily. If I were you, I’d be more apprehensive,” she responded when he finished.

“I couldn’t escape the shipwreck. The moment you caught me, I decided not to fight it. If I was going to be sold and probably killed for whatever magic they thought I had, I might as well have the first actual conversation I’ve had in five years, you know?” He sighed, remembering his fate. It was easy to forget when talking to Caitlin.

“You think when I sell you, they’ll kill you?” She asked. Her voice seemed impossibly small, like she hadn’t considered that possibility.

“Haven’t you heard? Mermaid scales have magical properties—to heal, to make someone fall in love with you, anything anyone could want. I haven’t found mine to be any more magical than this dumb shell is now.” He glared at the shell in his hand, but even if he knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere, he held on to it. It was his last bit of hope.

Caitlin looked at him with sad eyes. He didn’t want the pity of a pirate who was going to sell him away. He dove into the pool as deep as he could go. He’ll just stay there until the end.

~

 For a week, Chris stayed at the bottom of the pool. Someone would toss food in, and was grateful, but he missed talking to Caitlin. The first time he'd talked to anyone and the only chance he would get, and he was avoiding it. He decided, rather than stay down there for the rest of his life, he’d let it go. It wasn’t Caitlin’s fault, he figured.

He swam to the surface, breaching the water, and connecting hard with something solid. Rubbing at his head, he looked over to see what it was, only to find Caitlin doing the same.

“Chris! I thought—you were—sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t know.” She looked apologetic, but she didn’t say she wouldn’t do it.

“Why were you leaning over the pool, Cait?”

“Oh, that… I didn’t know how to apologize with you down there. I don’t know… I was trying to figure out how to talk to you. I considered jumping into the pool, but it isn’t really big enough for two people,” she answered. She was sincere. Chris didn’t know how to deal with that.

“I’m glad you didn’t. It’s not even big enough for me. My tail was getting cramped.” As if to prove this, he flicked his tail, spraying her with droplets that made her laugh. Chris thought he liked her laugh. He smiled at her, accepting her apology.

They talked for awhile about in particular, avoiding the topic of his eventual sale. They found that they’d grown up not far from each other, though of course Chris’s reason for leaving and Caitlin’s reason for leaving were far different. They talked about the irony of his shark tail and her ship’s name.

They talked right up until one of her crew members called her away. She didn’t want to leave, but her duties as captain required her to go. Chris was sad to see her leave. He would be sad to leave her when it came time to do so. He swam to the bottom once again and began a tally counting down the days until he had to leave, but until then, he’d make the most of it.

~

For the next few weeks, he and Caitlin talked daily. He looked forward to their talks more than anything. He didn’t know if it was because he’d gone the five years without it, or if he really did like her.

After three weeks, he thought he loved her. She was easy to talk to, and the more they talked, the more they found they had in common. He flirted with her, and he thought she flirted back. But he knew it wasn’t going anywhere. They only had a week left together, before they reached his final destination.

Chris knew when they’d gotten to their destination when he heard the call for land. Caitlin had gone silent for a few moments, before turning back to Chris.

“That means I should go. Today is your last day here… but by the end of tomorrow you’ll be gone.” She looked so sad for a moment that Chris wanted to reach out and touch her face, wipe away the tears if they fell. But the moment ended, and she left her cabin.

Chris swam to the bottom. The four weeks’ worth of tallies stared back at him, and he drew the final tally. One more day, and then he would never see Caitlin again. One more day to live. He didn’t want any more regrets. He couldn’t see his family or go home ever again, but he didn’t want to leave with this last regret.

He went to wait for Caitlin. He thought he loved her, and he wasn’t going to die regretting never saying anything.

She came back a few hours later, but she didn’t look at him at all, instead going to her bed, where he couldn’t see her. He wanted to say something but couldn’t. It was only when he heard the stifled sobs that he said anything.

“Caitlin… I need to talk to you,” he said, and he heard her shift.

“There’s nothing you can do to save yourself,” she said, but she still moved to the pool. Her eyes were red, and Chris reached out to wipe away the lingering tears. She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes to the touch.

“I love you, Caitlin.”

She opened her eyes, and looked at him for what seemed like forever, searching for something, though he couldn’t figure out what. He stayed where he was until the tears began to stream down her face.

“No, please don’t say that. Please,” she whispered, and Chris pulled his hand away. She closed her eyes, and her tears dropped into the pool. This wasn’t the reaction he expected. He knew that she couldn’t do anything about it, with her crew expecting the money they'd get from his sale.

“It’s the truth, Cait. But it's ok. You don’t have to say the same.” He really wanted her to say the same. “I know that you have an obligation to your crew. I just didn’t want to leave with any regrets.”

She cried harder, sobbing softly. He moved to pull away, and her eyes snapped open, fear he didn’t expect painted over her face.

“No! Don’t go. Please. Chris… I love you too.” She put her face into her hands, and Chris stared in shock. He didn’t expect to hear it back. He reached over and pulled her hands away gently, holding them as best as he could while holding himself up.

She looked at him with such sadness, Chris decided he would leave without any regrets. He pushed until he was level with her face and kissed her.

The water swirled around him, like it had five years prior. But instead of growing a tail, he lost it. He was human again. He pulled himself out of the water, marveling at his legs.

“What happened?” Caitlin moved to where he sat, and Chris shook his head in amazement.

Her dress fit her perfectly and she’d pinned her hair up andand she’d done that smokey thing with her eyes that Chris didn’t understand at all and—

How did she look? She looked— Of course, she always looked—

“You look amazing,”he said, awed. Then he quickly added, “Not that you don’t look great everyday! You’re always really pretty! I meant—”

Caitlin laughed and walked down the steps to meet him,looping her arm through his. They were the same height, but Caitlin was half aninch taller than him in her heels.

“And it looks like you got dressed up too,” shesaid, nudging him with her elbow as they walked toward the road. “You looknice.”

Chris felt his face get hot. Caitlin always made himflustered. In a good way.

“Thanks!” He said. “Bitty helped.”

Caitlin laughed again, and Chris felt his heart swell.

“Is that for me?” She asked, pointing at his hands. He suddenly remembered the rose he’d been holding. He’d forgotten about it when she’d stepped outside, so Chris quickly handed it over. 

“Yes!” He said just as Caitlin said, “Thank you.”

They both paused, waiting for the other to continue. Then Caitlin smiled widely, and he couldn’t help but do the same. She tucked the rose behind her ear as they walked. 

“What time does the bus get here?” She asked. Theyhad made it to the corner. A cool breeze blew by, and for a moment Chowderwished he had brought his hoodie no matter what Bitty said so at least he couldoffer Caitlin a jacket if it got too cold. That was what his dad always did forhis mom.

Then again, Caitlin was already wearing a light sweater. Somaybe she was already thinking ahead. She was really smart like that.

“I think it should be here in the next tenminutes,” he told her.

They were the only ones at the bus stop, but Caitlin steppedcloser until her side was fully pressed against his. The night was cool, butthe air around them felt very warm. Chris couldn’t help smiling back at her.