The orange scarf [TharnType Xmas AU]

1.

The snow sparkles with small broken beads, and Type, snorting and removing these snow fragments from his eyes, throws the long end of his orange scarf over his shoulder and sighs with relief: judging by the sign, he is finally at the necessary place.

He has long heard about this store of all sorts of retro stuff, where you can buy some gadget from the nineties, or even earlier, by a very nice price.

Yeah. What I need!..

Type's eyes light up at the sight of an audio cassette player. The fact is that his father is a big fan of such "antiques", so he decided to please him for Christmas. Type barely has time to reach for the player, as his palm is covered by someone else's, with elegant long fingers.

"Uh... what do you want?"

Type looks at one of the shop assistants with a slight contempt in his eyes, he reads "Tharn" on his badge.

"I'm sorry, for God's sake… But could you look for something else for yourself?.."

The voice of this Tharn sounds quiet and anxious. He looks the same age as Type, but his stoop and dull look give him some kind of "senile" appearance.

"Why would I?" Type is not going to give in at all, "moreover, I am not doing this for myself, but for a person dear to me."

"I have, so to speak, a similar situation. You see, there is only one such player. And I wanted to buy it at the end of the shift. I couldn't do it before, but I really hoped that no one would like it, mine broke... and then you and…"

"And?" Type shifts his thick eyebrows to the bridge of his nose, "I'm, like, sorry that you wanted this as a gift or something else, but I took this player first and I'm going to buy it. Well, as you advised me, look for something else for yourself."

With a victorious grin, Type grabs the player and goes with it to the checkout, as he hears:

"I beg you... I won't find one in the city right now, ordering on the Internet — these days it will come after the new year… And I really need it for Christmas."

"I don't care about your whims."

"This is not a whim, believe me..." Type will not be mistaken if he says that the last Tharn utters through tears. "I'm ready to give double price... if you want — triple. Just take something else, any thing in this store!.."

"Have a nice day."

Type quickly pays for the purchase and leaves the store, trying not to listen to the tearful lamentations of this smudge.

What kind of man are you? Shedding tears because of the trinket!

Shivering, Type wraps himself in his orange scarf and hurriedly walks away. But he does not find comfort at home either. The sad look of that guy is in front of his eyes, and he can hear his sobs in the ears.

That's... Aw, fuck you!

It's only twenty minutes until closing time. Out of breath, Type approaches the counter and puts a player in front of the completely drooping Tharn :

"Here you are. Just pull yourself together, please. And don't whine. We're probably the same age, and you're like a three-year-old who didn't get a car on his Birthday."

Tharn stands with his mouth open, and then chatters:

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much you have done for me! I... I... well, can you wait a bit, we're closing soon? My wallet is in the staff room, I can't pay you before, so…"

"Okay. I'll wait. But I don't need money…"

"How is that?!"

"I'll finish, can I?" receiving a nod from Tharn, Type continues, "Well, like, Christmas, a time of kindness and all that… Anyway, you're finishing up soon, right?"