Three Means Coffee

37

When Makary went to bed at two o'clock the day before Christmas Eve, because this year they had an unusually large number of orders, he did not think that only three hours later he would be woken up by a phone call, which he answered sleepy and furious at the same time. He wanted to sleep another hour, or an hour and a half before the next busy hours.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up, but could you open the door for a moment," said a voice on the other side, which Makary didn't recognize yet.

Hazel-eyed confirmed that he would do so, reluctantly getting out of bed. Nemo squawked angrily as he turned on the light to walk through the living room without bruising himself. But he woke up as soon as he realized who was waiting at the door. Błażej could not look him in the eye, fearing that he had unnecessarily made him angry by waking up so early. Makary invited him inside, but he refused, saying he had to hurry to get to work. The first year merely crossed the threshold and closed the door to keep the cold out. He stretched out his hands in front of him with a bag in which he had a prepared gift.

"I realized there wouldn't be time to see each other after that, and I didn't want to give you this after Christmas. I was also dropping off gifts for Tymek, so I went just for that. I'm sorry again that I woke you up, I know you were working late yesterday," Błażej spit out the words quickly, not allowing Makary even to thank him. "You don't have to open it now, I hope you like it and..."

Makary accepted the gift and knew he couldn't just let the guest go. He wasn't sure what made him decide to do that. Was it the festive atmosphere, or was it the fact of this unexpected visit that reminded him of their first chance encounters? Or maybe a combination of all of that and feeling like he needs to seize the opportunity. He pulled Błażej to him, taking him completely by surprise, and, interrupting his monologue, closed him in a hug. He felt that for the first few seconds, the first year was in shock and couldn't even move. Makary understood that he could not exaggerate and that Błażej did not feel comfortable in his arms after all.

"Thank you for the gift," he just whispered and let him go. "Sorry, I got carried away. I have something for you too," he added, hoping it wasn't a bad decision.

"Thank you," replied Błażej, trying to hide his burning cheeks with a scarf, he did not know how to comment on what had just happened a moment ago. "There was no need..." he whispered, accepting a rather large package from Makary.

They stood for a moment in silence, although Błażej had the impression that the frantic beating of his heart was spreading loudly around the room. He was still in shock that Makary had hugged him tightly, although he didn't mind. It just happened too suddenly, and no one outside the family had hugged him for a long time. But he couldn't bring himself to return the gesture, to raise his hands and snuggle even closer, trying to remember his scent. He realized he didn't know when the opportunity to do so would show up again. Błażej was furious with himself again, that he would like it to happen again as soon as possible, that he was starting to fall in love at all. He felt it too clear to ignore it, but he hoped it wouldn't be so soon.

Makary began humming under his breath as he prepared coffee and smiled. He knew that despite being tired, he would not fall asleep, remembering only those few seconds. He stared at Błażej, who was fighting with himself, avoiding his gaze. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, lest it embarrasses him even more. Reluctantly, however, he reminded him that he had also mentioned something about having to hurry to work. This snapped the first year out of his stupor, he quickly said goodbye and thanked him again for the gift. Their eyes met for a moment when they wished each other a Merry Christmas, but Makary was worried that Błażej looked overworked, and there were visible shadows under his eyes.