SNARRY SWAP: ART & FIC: A Bit of Holiday Cheer Title: A Bit of Holiday Cheer Artist/Author:swtalmnd Gift Recipient:deirdre_aithne Rating: G for art, PG for fic Media: Pen & Ink, Copic Markers Word Count: 1,397 Warning(s): (highlight for spoilers) *AU* Summary: Snape the barista brings a favourite customer a bit of holiday cheer. A/N: Thanks to the girls for helping encourage me to get this finished & betaing, you-know-who for making me write the whole ficlet, and the lovely mods for all their help. Mod Note: Please click on the art to make it bigger.
A Bit of Holiday Cheer
"But I didn't order..." began Harry, looking up from his laptop.
"You couldn't have," said the surly barista. "I made it, they're not for sale." There was a smile playing around the thin lips now instead of the habitual frown, and Harry thought it made him look younger, and a lot more attractive.
"Then why-?"
"You looked like you needed some holiday cheer," said the barista. "Not to mention some feeding up."
Harry laughed. "You should talk, you're thin as a rail," he countered, though he tugged self-consciously at his jumper sleeves. He'd filled out a bit since moving out on his own, though if he couldn't make these numbers align he might have to go back to beans and rice and homemade bread with only the hope of butter for a while.
Fortunately the man took it well. "I drink nothing but coffee all day, it's a wonder I haven't vibrated down to skin and bones by now," he replied dryly.
Harry grinned. "Fair enough... I'm Harry. Thanks for the biscuit."
"Severus," he said, with only a slight hesitation. "You know, I could use an assistant for the busy days. But I won't be any more pleasant to an employee."
Harry lit up, then chuckled. "I remember the last one, you made her cry, you know. But I'm made of sterner stuff, and I can cook."
"Tomorrow, 5am, I'll give you a trial by fire," said Severus, who was apparently the owner of Magic Potions as well as its infamously bad-tempered barista, who just also pulled the best espresso in town.
Harry picked up the biscuit with a grin and dunked it in his tea. "I'll take it, and I hope you don't sack me as fast as you hired me." He took a bite and made a soft noise of pure pleasure.
Severus smirked at him. "Only if you deserve it," he said.
Harry laughed. "If it gets me more biscuits, I'll be well-motivated to survive the fire somehow. Unless you're hiding a dragon back there?" He peered around Severus at the counter.
"Only me," said Severus.
Harry enjoyed not only his exit line but watching him exit; he had a lovely arse for a man that thin, and Harry let himself hope for a moment that working here would have perks besides a more regular paycheque and free espresso.
Five in the morning came earlier than Harry remembered, but he dragged himself into the shower in the dark predawn hours and made his way back to Magic Potions. He leaned sleepily against the glass doors and thought about knocking, but it was dark and still inside the shop.
"You look like you could use a cup of coffee," said a wry voice at Harry's elbow, snapping him out of his doze. "Fortunately for you, you're about to learn to make it."
Harry laughed and followed Severus into the dark store. "What's your last name, anyway? I'm Harry Potter, by the way."
"Snape, Severus Snape," came the tetchy reply. "Lock it after you."
"Oh! Yes, sorry," said Harry, turning to lock the front door. "What time do you, I mean, do we open?"
"I open at six, you will only open with me if you prove useful," said Severus, sounding much more like the cranky barista Harry knew and, well, liked to order drinks from, when he was leeching off the coffee shop's wifi.
"One hour to prove useful, got it," said Harry, dredging up a grin. "Apron?"
Severus took one off the stack and handed it to Harry, then put on one of his own. "You go look and see if you can figure out where everything is up front while I get the till, it's what I do first in case I get busy and don't have time later."
"Makes sense," said Harry, peering around.
It got a lot easier when the lights came up and the place became familiar, and he could see a place for everything and everything in its place, absolutely nothing at all like Harry's messy kitchen at home. It was a bit like Aunt Petunia's kitchen, which made Harry wonder what on earth he was doing here, until Severus walked back in and handed him a slice of fresh-baked bread dripping with butter and honey.
"I leave the machine on a timer overnight, you may eat as much as you like from the employee kitchenette, so long as you help restock it when asked."
Harry took a bite and moaned at the heavenly taste. "Wif mah owm momeh?" he asked, mouth still full.
Severus made a face. "No, with your hands. You said you could cook, I provide the flour and other ingredients, and keep baked goods in stock. I can't be bothered to run a full bakery, so I just share when I feel like it."
"Oh! That's brilliant, then," said Harry, after swallowing his delectable mouthful. "Coffee?" he asked plaintively.
Severus chuckled, setting his own slice on a napkin. "For both of us, yes," he said.
Severus showed Harry the exact method for preparing a double shot without saying a word, and then did it again after decanting the first one into a steel travel mug that said, "This is me with my coffee," over a not-so-smiley face.
Harry felt weirdly fond, thinking of Severus drinking from it while berating his customers for ordering half-caf organic vegan soy lattes. "And where's mine?" asked Harry impishly, watching Snape pull the second pair of shots exactly like the first.
"I take four in the morning, you will pull your own," said Severus, dumping the two fresh shots into his cup and taking a slug of the result.
Harry swallowed, then nodded, stepping up to the machine while Severus found him another steel mug, this one emblazoned with "Baristas Do It Extra Hot."
"So, just like you did?"
"Just like I did," confirmed Severus dryly, not fooled for a moment by Harry's stalling.
Harry took a deep breath, then did exactly what he'd seen Severus do, as best he could remember. He poured his two shots into the cup and then, before he could drink it, found Severus' cup thrust into his hand instead.
"First, taste the right way," said Severus.
Harry got a sinking feeling, but he tasted anyway, finding the shots smooth and strong with remarkably little bitterness. "Oh, that's good, I always forget how good it is when I haven't had any in a while."
Severus chuckled. "Do you, now? And has it been long?"
Harry blushed and shrugged. "Long enough," he shot back, picking up his own cup to try. One sip and he was sorely disappointed, it was weaker and more bitter than Severus' espresso, but still drinkable. "What'd I do wrong?"
"Everything, of course," said Severus. But then he demonstrated again, and this time explained, having evidently felt that Harry's first attempt wasn't so bad as all that.
After they each had turned their four-shot espressos into lattes, Severus showed him how to clean, where to restock supplies, and how to run the till. "This is what I'd prefer you do, but if you slow me down instead of speeding me up, it won't work," said Severus, his tone annoyed, though Harry wasn't quite sure with whom.
"I'm good with computers, just give me a minute alone with it to fix in my mind where it all is," said Harry, just as annoyed with Severus' constant intervention.
"Fine, I'll be in back," said Severus. "Five minutes."
"Five minutes is all I need," said Harry. He took a deep breath, and then went about exploring the Magic Potions point of sale system his own way, first slapdash and then more methodical. By the time Severus opened the door and let in the first of the flood, Harry felt like this was something he could do.
Three hours later, when the morning rush finally died down, Severus turned to Harry and handed him a cup of chamomile mint tea with a wicked grin. "You're hired," he said.
Harry sipped the tea and mmmed to taste more of that lovely honey in it. "So," he said with an impish grin, "what's the policy on inter-office dating?"
Severus looked surprised, then rather possessive as his eyes wandered over Harry's body. "Oh," he said, stepping close despite the rather harried-looking woman heading for the counter, "it's highly encouraged."