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Stan the Man ([info]stanbyme) wrote in [info]snapthread,
@ 2019-12-15 16:30:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:beverly marsh, stanley uris

Who: Stan Uris and Bev Marsh
What: One more Hallmark movie coming up
Where: Tiny Town USA
When: Now


Maybe it was a bit much to go back through the doors again so soon after the last time, especially after Eddie had to practically drag him through the door, but after it had gone so well he thought maybe he was brave enough to try it again. The last time had been strange and awkward but it had been kind of nice too, in a weird sort of way. So why not try again and see how it went?

And when Bev was looking for a partner to go through Stan volunteered himself, linking his arm through hers as they went through the door together.

This time of year was not Stan's favorite, but it was also the best time of year for the shop so it was hard to let himself get too down about it. But what did he expect? Moving away from the city and to a small town years ago to start over again didn't really lend itself to the large community he'd come from. But he'd needed to get away, and a small town outside the reach of his family had felt right. Just like starting his own business had felt right too, sure it was a far cry from the corporate job he'd left behind but there was something really comforting about the familiarity of coffee and tea day in and day out.

Of course as the days grew shorter and the weather colder he was busier than ever, not that he minded really, it was good to be so busy, it kept him from worrying too much about what he'd left behind and what he was missing out on.

He was surprised that day as the evening was drawing to an end when the bell over the door chimed letting him know another customer had come in, only to be surprised to see someone he'd never laid eyes on before. Tall and beautiful in a way that demanded his attention and he had to take a beat before he let a smile pull its way across his mouth and greeted her.

"Hi welcome to Early Bird Coffee, can I get you something started?"


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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-16 12:17 am UTC (link)
The answer to the question of why Beverly had been sent to this itty bitty postage stamp-sized place, can barely locate it on a map' type of town, well, she didn't quite have it yet. But here she was - work beckoned, and she answered. They wanted a piece on the intricacies of small town life - because people who schlepped to work each day in their long black trench coats, carrying umbrellas, faces buried in their phones really didn't understand such things. No, they only understood the subway, the scent of piss, and ten different kinds of garbage (extra tall stacks of garbage, hot garbage, etc).

She was going to bridge the gap. Yay.

In fact, she'd already passed a Christmas market - festive stalls illuminated with blinking lights, brightly colored signs, greeting cards crafted by hand - and treats that were bad for her waistline. Freshly roasted, golden brown chestnuts in paper cones and creamy hot chocolate poured into mugs, with generous layers of whipped cream. Keep it away, Satan.

It was just all quaint, and if she wasn't going to eat her weight in chestnuts she would give in to one of her vices. Coffee, a comforting aroma - she noticed it as soon as she opened the door to the shop; it was strong, the air was thick with it. Not unpleasantly, however. Still, the place seemed fancier (white china cups and the milky foam - leaf designs, some of them, in pale brown) than your average Starbucks, which was great, because Starbucks was only for the sake of convenience and not because anyone actually liked their burnt urine roast.

"Yeah, hi - " She slid off her sunglasses, pushing back a few messy red curls that had fallen astray. "Nitro brew. Don't be a pussy about it either, I want the biggest size."

He was cute. Looked like a model for the magazine Beverly wrote for. Maybe by choosing to live in a nowhere small town, he lost a bet. Or was still residing at home with mom. Ew.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-16 12:35 am UTC (link)
"Oh ah-" Stan started and stopped, it was obvious she wasn't from town, far from it in fact by the looks of her, so her order was something that was a little bit outside the realm of his abilities in a place like this. And if he was being entirely honest he didn't actually know what that was.

"Can I interest you in an espresso?" He suggested instead, hoping maybe he wasn't too off the mark, as for sizes well - they didn't really do sizes here, they had mugs and so everything was mug sized, the way coffee was supposed to be in his estimation. "Maybe a christmas cookie too?" He offered, "They're made locally." Not by him of course, but that wasn't important, he stuck to what he knew, and well that was mostly beverages.

But they were very good cookies and he hoped they'd smooth over any sort of annoyances that he didn't have whatever it was she was after.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-16 01:18 am UTC (link)
A what? Did they not have nitro brew here? So you meant to tell her that she couldn't potentially give herself a heart attack with the caffeine intake? No.

"Depends," Beverly drawled, tapping blood-red nails on the countertop. "Are you the espresso?" He caught her in a decent mood, you see. Had this truly been a caffeine emergency, she would rain fire from the walls and ceiling and nothing in this joint would survive that destruction.

Anyway, back to the heart of the matter. "But yeah, sure. That's fine," she added, and though the last thing she wanted was a Christmas cookie (maybe not the last thing - that might be a root canal without novocaine, or watching every episode of Big Brother in production order), she decided she'd try one anyway. "And a cookie. Is this your place?" Bev asked, glancing around. It was quaint, much like everything else. A much different vibe than her 'black coffee, collects murder podcasts' self.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-16 02:31 am UTC (link)
Stan wasn't really one to blush, and yet in the face of this kind of .... was this even innuendo? He didn't know, all he knew was that he was quite certain the tips of his ears were going red and he was probably going to have to go and hurl himself into traffic the next morning. It was too bad there wasn't really any traffic around these parts, now he was going to have to live with his embarrassment forever.

"Oh ah - it's Italian actually." He said like an idiot because if there was one thing that tripped Stan up more than anything it was a pretty lady, and an especially forward one was definitely going to be the end of him.

"Sure, sure one espresso coming up." He agreed, thankful at least that he could handle that much, and that he'd gotten a straight answer as he set to work getting things started. "Yeah, I opened about five years back. Can you believe they didn't even have a coffee shop out here at all before I came around?" He said shaking his head. "I mean the coffee in the diner down the street is passable, but well -" he trailed off shrugging, as someone who had asked for a nitro he had a feeling she'd understand that much at least. He poured her espresso and then plated up one of the festive Christmas cookies that filled the display case off to one side, picking one in the shape of a Christmas tree for her.

"But it's been good, hard work in the beginning convincing people there are better options than drip coffee, I think I've managed to win over the hearts and minds of the locals since those early days." More than that if he was being honest, Stan was down right a part of the community at this point, a staple as much as the diner.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-16 02:43 pm UTC (link)
Beverly wasn't used to men who blushed. No, the hardened, cynical city girl was used to city men who sent unsolicited dick pics and were shirtless and rock climbing in all of their match.com photos. As a divorcee, she had tried online dating for a hot second before swiftly shutting her laptop. Didn't even make it to the first date in a bar where she'd inevitably be stood up.

But, no, this - she found herself grinning a bit, at the thrill of causing such a reaction. It was wholesome, in a way, despite the innuendo. "Are there better options than drip coffee?" she teased, taking the plate with the Christmas cookie on it and giving it a lookover. Cute.

Everything was, in this town. She felt like a square peg in a round hole here, for some reason.

"I don't have a heart to win over, I'll warn you in advance," narrator: she did in fact have a heart to win over, and he was going to win it, Bev said, "But I think it's great that you provide the gift of coffee. For a price, of course." She slid over the right amount of cash, and decided to eat her cookie and drink her coffee up at the counter here - it was quiet in the shop, so it was fine, right? "I'm Beverly. Just visiting for work."

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-17 02:21 am UTC (link)
Stan would be the first to admit he had been out of the game for a while, and he'd been pretty okay with that for the most part, he had other things to focus on after all. The shop, and starting a new life and figuring things out all over again. So it was fine, and maybe the older ladies in town tried to pawn their daughters off on him now and again, particularly around the holidays, but that didn't have to mean anything. So okay a gorgeous woman comes into the shop and starts making innuendos he can handle that. At least that was what he told himself, the truth was probably obvious in the redness on his face.

"Oh come on," He scoffed when she teased about drip coffee. "If there is one person in this town at this particular moment in time who I should be able to trust to agree with me on this it's you." He told her.

And maybe trust was a bit much, but well - Stan could always tell with people early on, and maybe that didn't mean he was ready to hand over his social security card or his bank account, but in matters of coffee? He thought she'd earned a measure of trust.

"Not even a tiny one that could grow three sizes?" He suggested with a small hint of a smirk, sure he wasn't big on Christmas, but even Stan knew about the Grinch. "Happy to be giving that gift to those who need it." Coffee was important as far as he was concerned so sharing it was also important, particularly in moments like this. "Nice to meet you Beverly, I'm Stanley," He said and then winced, "Well Stan really, everyone calls me Stan, only my mother calls me Stanley." And he'd rather not hear it from her either. "Yeah? What kind of work brings you to the middle of no where?"

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-17 02:44 am UTC (link)
"Stan," she repeated, toasting him with her caffeinated beverage. "It's nice to meet you. And I guess you're right, it's hard to pick drip coffee over espresso." The latter was potent, it was luxurious, and with that kiss of foamy cream, you had quite the indulgent experience.

Add a cookie and, well, this probably counted as her dinner. Beverly hadn't eaten since lunch - time flew by, when you were toiling away in Nowheresville. But it looked to be getting better by the second. "Do you have a tiny one that could grow three sizes?" she volleyed back, elegant ginger brows poking upward over the edge of her mug when she sipped. Surely not. Surely there was nothing tiny about him.

But what were they talking about again? Oh, right, hearts. And soul-sucking jobs. "I'm a journalist. I write for a travel magazine. They sent me here to capture the essence of small town holidays and write about it. So far I'm kind of lost, to be honest."

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-17 03:08 am UTC (link)
Stan grinned and gave her a nod of approval as she raised her mug to him when she did finally agree. "Thank you, I can't tell you how difficult it's been trying to convince people of that around here. In the beginning I was convinced I wouldn't even be able to last a month." But even when the town folks hadn't completely understood what he was bringing to them they still stopped in and helped keep the little dream alive.

Of course Stan found himself suddenly having what was practically a coughing fit as she quirked an eyebrow at him. He was most certainly going to die if this kept up, but on the other hand it had been a long time since there had been anyone in town who actually knew how to taunt and tease like that, he'd probably been out of the game too long to be any good at it anymore, but he certainly didn't mind the attention now. "I don't think tiny is the word I'd choose."

Whistling Stan's eyebrows rose a little when she admitted she was a journalist, and out here to write about small town holidays. "Well I think you probably picked the right town for it." He told her. "They take Christmas pretty seriously around here. You saw the whole set up when you came into town right?" He asked, the town got decked out in holly and lights and all things Christmas even before Thanksgiving. And of course there was the nightly markets with stalls for little treats and crafts and hot chocolate and Santa's village.

"It's not really my thing, but I could show you around a little, if you wanted a guide?" He offered, okay that wasn't exactly subtle, but subtle didn't really seem to be the sort of thing that Beverly was interested in.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-17 03:05 pm UTC (link)
Subtle could take a flying leap off a cliff somewhere - or into New York City traffic, so no, Bev wasn't interested in that. She was interested in having the tour guide though - or, uh, having a tour.

While it was true that very few things interested her these days, she didn't dwell too much on worries involving, say, boredom or loneliness. In her own little black hole of a space, she operated and thrived alone. People, they sucked. Most of the time she was fine with sticking her earbuds in and enjoying her murder podcasts as a way to ignore chatter directed her way.

Though she was still willing to give this a go. For some reason. "Sure," she grinned a bit, dusting her hands off to rid herself of any cookie crumbs. There may have been a twinkle in pale, glacial eyes. "I'd like that. I can wait 'til you're done? I don't know what time you close up or anything, but we can probably get some sight-seeing in before the town shuts down."

Like, 9:30, somewhere around there? Pleasantville, USA probably went to bed early.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-18 05:04 am UTC (link)
Stan had a feeling Bev would likely blow him off, she seemed like she was way too cool for someone like him. Even if he was more than a little bit interested and at the same time also more than a little bit terrified of her, but she'd gone and surprised him once again when she agreed that she'd like him to help show her around a little bit. So that was - well that was great.

"Oh I can close up now, that's one of the benefits of owning your own shop, you can set your own hours." He confessed with an easy grin, and considering the late hour he was pretty sure she was the only person in one hundred miles that would have come in at all. So he was more than happy to close up shop and take in the night with her a bit instead.

"There's still plenty going on tonight," He promised, "We might be a quiet town, but it's not too dead around here." Well at least from his perspective, she might have to agree to disagree on that fact, but he'd show her around a bit first before he let her have that.

"Just let me grab my coat from the back and we can take in some of the sights." It had been a long while since he'd done anything like this, made an offer like that to anyone, or put the shop second to something right in front of him. Maybe it was because she was just so different from everyone around here, maybe it was because she made something twist inside of him, whatever it was Stan wanted some more time with Beverly if he could get it.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-18 01:23 pm UTC (link)
"No problem, take your time," Beverly waved him off, so he could do what he needed to do - in the meantime, she'd just finish up her espresso (and drinking this meant no sleep, but really, sleep was for the weak). She waited for Stan up front and when he was ready to go, so was she.

Her arm looped around his - you know, just for the sake of keeping him near where he could easily point out the exciting sights of Sleepyville without worrying about her wandering off. Not that she planned to. Plus, body heat - you couldn't go wrong with that. "So what did you do before you came here and decided to be this town's coffee savior?" she asked, tucking her hand into his elbow. Inquiring minds wanted to know.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-19 04:26 am UTC (link)
This was not at all how he'd expected his night to go, arm in arm with a gorgeous woman intent on a walk around town to show off what was his home these days. But he could hardly say he was going to complain about that, far from it in fact. Stan hadn't had something to enjoy like this in a long time now.

"Oh I ah - well I was in banking actually." He admitted with a shrug, "I was in New York and thought I'd figured everything out." He said focusing more on the job side of things than his personal life that had sent him running. "It turns out that wasn't quite the case, and I felt like I wanted a change of scenery, a change of pace. So I just got in my car and started driving." It was kind of ridiculous that things had turned out like this, looking back on it now he could admit that much. "I ended up here after driving for - well for what felt like ages, and I stopped for the night and the next day I saw the empty shop front and I just thought... why not?"

Yeah completely ridiculous. That he'd managed to actually make something of it was even more ridiculous. But this town had a way of supporting one another, so it had all worked out and he thought he was probably better for it.

"This time of year the big draw of course is Santa's village." He told her, "I'm sure you saw it on your way in, it's all very themed and over the top, but people have a great time."

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-19 01:45 pm UTC (link)
"A banker? I guess I can see how that could inspire change," Beverly mused. The same thing, day in and day out? She dreaded it. At least with her job, she was always working on different stories - and those stories tended to take her to interesting locales. Like this one.

It was cold, but not in a frigid way - more cozy, actually. That kind of way where snow looked like sugar sprinkled over cake or something. As the evening sky faded off, the pink and orange hues of the sunset were replaced with dark shades of blue, and the light of the street lamps spilled out onto the streets paved in stone. That's when those stalls best revealed their holiday wonders - that whole village thing.

"And you're obviously happy here, so the random driving must have worked out - maybe Fate made you stop here for a reason. Or you were running low on gas," she grinned up at Stan. "Alright, sure - let's go see that village in more detail."

As a general rule, she couldn't remember Christmases where she, as a kid, eagerly waited for the sunrise to kiss the windowpanes - it was just another day, nothing too special. It was nice to be in a town where generosity seemed to fold outwards, and the Christmas spirit was some kind of embodiment of altruistic love, whatever that meant.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-27 07:22 pm UTC (link)
Stan had always been good with numbers, it had felt like a good fit when he'd started out, but the reality of it had turned out to be much different. And despite the urging of his family and the expectation of those who had pushed him in that direction, Stan had decided to try something new - drastically new in point of fact, and now there he was running his own little coffee shop in the middle of no where starting over with a new life and a new plan, or maybe it was a lack of a plan, it felt that way sometimes.

But sometimes that was good - like tonight, without a plan and suddenly he found himself with the kind of company he never would have fooled himself into thinking he could have showing off what had become his new home to Beverly. He chuckled when she suggested that maybe fate had played a hand in getting him here, or maybe his gas tank. "Whatever the reason I can't say that I mind having ended up here." He told her honestly, it was a more interesting life than the one he'd left behind.

Though he might not be big on Christmas himself he could appreciate the charm of the whole Santa's Village thing that the town did every year, it was a wholesome kind of nice that you didn't see much anymore.

"Like I said it's a pretty big draw this time of year," He told her as they wandered into the village that had little stalls set up with roasted nuts, hot chocolate, and cookies, and of course little hand made gifts, it was like something out of a story. And of course as they made their way through the little set up you could see the path up ahead that invited children to come and meet Santa. "It's pretty charming if you're into all of this." He said with a little huff, feeling like all of it might just be a little bit too hokey for someone like Beverly.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-27 07:45 pm UTC (link)
Well, not even Beverly was immune to this kind of charm. It was kind of nice to see, kind of nice to be allured by the scent of freshly baked Christmas cake coming from one of the nearby bakeries amidst the bustling streets; there was even an enormous Christmas tree adorned with glistening ornaments and glowing fairy lights, she caught sight of it was they went into the village and wandered along.

"I used to not be into all of this, but who knows - maybe I've seen the light," she teased, swiping a cluster of red and green from one of the stalls (she plunked down the requisite five dollars too, don't worry) - apparently it was a fungus and the best way to get it down from trees was to shoot it down, how quaint.

An extension of her arm brought the grace of fingers to the back of Stan's hand, and she tugged him closer. And there was a drop of long lashes as she stretched to hold her recent purchase up over his head. "So, this mistletoe came out of nowhere," she said coyly.

Of course it didn't. But they could pretend.

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-28 01:48 am UTC (link)
It was hard to be unaffected by all of this, Stan had tried for a while - in the first couple of years he'd been here, but not even he could withstand the charm of this kind of Christmas wonder. So he stopped trying, he just let himself enjoy it all for what it was, a very nice time to come together with people he considered friends and spend a little time wishing one another well.

And maybe believing just a little bit in the magic of the season.

Like the kind on display right then, as Beverly teased him that maybe she'd seen the light and had been charmed as well by all of this, at least enough to have found some mistletoe and held it up over her head as she suggested it might have just appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh well," He said with a soft sort of bashful huff, "far be it from me to break tradition." Maybe it was bad luck, or maybe it wasn't, he could never be sure, but what he wasn't going to do was look for a way to back out of what was so clearly being offered.

So instead he came just a little bit closer, one hand lifting just enough to let his fingers catch just beneath her chin, lifting her face just a touch so that when he pressed his mouth to hers they met perfectly and he kissed her, slow and sweet, with all the small town charm he had absorbed over the years he'd lived there and really let himself bask in the feeling of Christmas magic that seemed to course all around them in that moment.

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[info]mollyringwald
2019-12-28 02:08 am UTC (link)
Beverly dropped her mistletoe.

Oh, she'd get it later, but she needed both hands now. To cling to Stan, fingers curling around the front of his coat and using the strength in her deceptively thin noodle arms to keep him juuuuuust where he was; her body collided with his, knocking the breath from her, the slam of a grand piano lid. Her lips met his and she arched her body toward him further, hopping up with a little sound in her throat.

It wasn't one of those face-sucking, devouring kisses - and yet she liked it anyway. It was perfect, equal parts sweet and passionate and yet enticing her for more. Her tongue scraped against his teeth and she had to get oxygen to her brain, inhale, sucking along his breath with hers. Hands that were soft as crushed velvet caressed down his chest, a fond sort of thing. And she kissed him again, deep and urgent and in a way that thawed the ice in her veins.

"Not bad, coffee shop guy," she purred at him. "For someone who doesn't know what a nitro cold brew is."

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[info]stanbyme
2019-12-28 02:30 am UTC (link)
What he hadn't quite counted on was the way she didn't just sort of lean into it, but instead practically be pounced upon by Beverly as she grasped at his coat and tugged at him to keep him close as her body met his while their lips pressed together. He couldn't help that sort of satisfied hum that seemed to rise up in the back of his throat as they traded the kiss back and forth between one another.

It wasn't what could have passed for an innocent sort of kiss beneath the mistletoe, but Stan wasn't about to start complaining about it as she kissed him again, more pressing than his had been, and he let a hand wrap around her, letting his fingers splay wide against the small of her back until they parted and he felt like he could catch his breath again.

His face was definitely red now, flushed with the heat if their shared kiss and then her sort of teasing compliment as they'd finished.

He huffed softly and lifted his shoulders a little bit, "Guess there's more to life than coffee," He teased.

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