Archive of Our Own ^beta

"I'm unionising," Simon proclaims as the last stragglers from the lunch rush trickle out the door.

Judas sighs.

"Aside from the fact that you're literally my only employee, not being allowed to stab customers because you don't like their order is hardly grounds for unionising," he says.

Simon continues to grumble about extra shots of espresso under his breath until Judas sends him on his break.

It's a warm day for late spring so Judas rolls up his shirt sleeves.

He's adjusting the pastry display when the bell above the door dings, announcing a new customer.

He looks up to see an attractive man saunter up to the counter. He's got a well-groomed beard and his long black hair is tied up in a bun.

"Hey," he says, flashing a bright smile before languidly looking Judas up and down.

Judas' heart does a couple of somersaults. His mouth suddenly feels dry.

"Uh," he says.

The stranger is still smiling at him. Judas licks his lips and tries again.

"Hello, welcome to 30 Beans. What can I get for you?"

"Surprise me," the man says.

"Oh. Okay, sure," Judas says. "Do you like sweet?"

"The sweeter the better," the guy says with a wink, somehow managing to make it charming instead of cheesy.

"Great. You can sit wherever you like."

The man sits at a corner table near the window. As Judas starts making the espresso base for a drink, he can feel the guy's eyes on his back. It's making his neck prickle.

He considers his options for a moment when his gaze lands on the orange syrup.

Yes, an orange mocha will be perfect. The syrup was a bit of a late-night experiment and there's just enough left for one drink. Judas tops the mocha off with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

"One orange mocha made from homemade syrup," he says as he sets the cup down on the table.

"Homemade?" the guy asks, and Judas thinks he sounds a little impressed.

Judas fidgets nervously as the guy takes a couple of pictures of his drink.

"For my Instagram," he says by way of explanation.

Now Judas is very glad he didn't make a latte because Simon is far better at the latte art than he is.

Finally, the man raises the cup to his lips and takes a careful sip. He closes his eyes and hums appreciatively. Judas wipes his suddenly sweaty palms on his apron.

"You like it?" he asks.

"I love it, thank you," the guy says. "Just the right level of sweet. Can I tag you on Instagram?"

"Um," Judas says.

"Absolutely," Simon says from behind the counter, making Judas jump. "We're @thirtybeanscoffee, all letters."

He must have returned from his break while Judas was distracted.

"Great," the guy says, still looking at Judas.

His gaze is kind of intense.

"I'm Jesus, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Yes," Judas says. "I mean, it's nice to meet you, too."

Jesus laughs quietly.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Judas asks.

"Your name," Jesus says.

"What? Oh! It's Judas," Judas says, only feeling a little stupid.

"Nice to meet you, Judas," Jesus says.

Judas returns to the counter in a bit of a trance as more customers come in. He takes their orders and Simon gets to making the coffees while Judas handles the register.

He's watching Jesus who is taking selfies, making pouty faces at the camera. Judas should find it annoying, but instead he's finding it hard to tear his eyes away.

"Who's that?" Simon asks.

"I don't know, some guy," Judas says distractedly.

"I hope he has more than twelve followers. We could really use the publicity," Simon says.

"Huh?"

"On Instagram. I hope he has a lot of Instagram followers."

"Oh, sure," Judas says, watching Jesus lick some whipped cream off his lip.

He wouldn't mind doing that for him.

"Stop making bedroom eyes at the customers," Simon says, slapping Judas' thigh with a tea towel. "There's beans to be ground."

"I'm not," Judas splutters, and then adds, "and I'm pretty sure that's your job, anyway."

"I really should unionise," Simon mutters as he gets to work.

Judas is still looking at Jesus when Jesus raises his eyes and catches him at it. He smiles at Judas, who blushes and quickly looks away.

He studiously avoids looking at Jesus again, but he's pretty sure Jesus is watching him. He's almost relieved when Jesus finally leaves.

"Thank you, come again," Simon calls.

Jesus turns around in the doorway and catches Judas' eye.

"I will," he says, and the way he's looking at him makes Judas' skin tingle.

Jesus raises his hand in a little wave and Judas finds himself waving back.

***

The next day, Judas is in the back taking stock before they open. He really likes this quiet time by himself in the morning.

Which is why he's not thrilled when Simon bursts in through the delivery entrance.

"Judas," he wails, "what did you doooo?"

Judas looks up from what he's doing and frowns at Simon.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"There's a line of people outside, and they're all saying they're here for the orange mocha. We don't have an orange mocha!"

Judas is immediately filled with a sense of foreboding.

"A line? But we're not even open yet!" Judas says.

He hurriedly finishes what he is doing and follows Simon to the front, tying his apron as he goes.

Simon is right. There is a long fucking line outside. He braces himself before he goes to unlock the door.

People immediately start streaming past him to the counter.

"Hold on, hold on," he says. "What's going on?"

"We're here for the orange mocha," someone says.

"The what?" Judas asks, dumbfounded.

"The orange mocha," the person says. "The coffee disciple posted about it yesterday?"

Judas continues to stare at them in confusion, so they hold up their phone for him to look at. It's displaying an Instagram post from @coffeedisciple. The profile picture shows Jesus, and the post is a beautiful shot of the drink Judas made for him.

The caption reads:

Highly recommend this orange mocha with homemade syrup from @thirtybeanscoffee

Absolutely charming little coffee shop… and the owner is cute as well ;)

Fuck. Judas swallows his panic and joins Simon behind the counter, who is being inundated with orders for the orange mocha.

Judas takes over the register and addresses the customers.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm so sorry but the orange mocha was a one-off."

He hears dissatisfied grumbles.

"Feel free to order our normal or vanilla mocha. They're really good. Or…"

He falters a little at everyone's stony looks.

"Or any of our other menu items. Please take a look. Extra sprinkles on the house."

As the news makes it down the line, the waiting crowd thins out a bit, but not to an easily manageable level. And of course…

"Everyone is ordering vanilla mochas," Simon complains as the orders keep coming. "You know I hate making mochas!"

"You hate making every drink on the menu," Judas says.

"Yes, but my hatred for vanilla mochas is justified. Two different types of syrup and whipped cream? It's too much."

Judas knows he's right, but there's nothing he can do about it. At least everyone is asking for their drinks to go.

Suddenly there's a bit of a kerfuffle at the door.

Judas hears someone yell, "Hey, you can't just skip the line!"

"Yes, I can," comes the response. "I know the owner."

Judas is so relieved to see a familiar face.

"Thad," he says with a tired smile. "The usual?"

"Please," Thad says, grabbing one of the bar stools along the counter. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Apparently Judas made an extra special fancy drink for an insta celebrity and now I'm having to bear the consequences," Simon says woefully.

"If you have time to chat, it can't be that bad," Judas says.

"Thad, will you support my union-sanctioned strike?" Simon asks Thad.

"What union is that?" Thad asks.

"The union of Mocha Hating Simons," Simon says, but he slinks back off to the coffee machine upon seeing Judas' face.

When Judas sets down Thad's coffee in front of him, Thad asks, "So who's this insta celebrity?"

"The coffee apostle or something."

Thad chokes on his coffee.

"The coffee disciple?"

"You know him?" Judas asks.

"I follow him. He's got pretty good recommendations if you're into specialty drinks. He was here? And he posted about it?"

"Apparently so," Judas says. "But I still don't understand why there's so many people here."

"Dude," Thad says. "He's got like, 3 million followers."

"Okay?" Judas says.

Thad rolls his eyes.

"You really don't know anything about social media, do you? Let me check out his post… Aw, he called you cute!"

Judas blushes.

"Aw, you think he's cute too!" Thad crows.

"Hello," someone calls from up at the register. "I'd like to order today if possible."

"Better scurry, cutie pie," Thad says, and Judas goes back to taking order after order.

It's not long before the next problem crops up.

"We're out of vegan whip," Simon says.

"What?" Judas says. "It's not even noon!"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we've had sort of an unusual number of customers today, and they've mostly been in the Fridays for Future age bracket."

Judas sighs. Simon has a point.

"Alright, I'm going to run to the shop and see if I can scrounge up some vegan whip," he says.

"Oh God, no!" Simon cries. "Don't leave me alone with them!"

"Then you'll have to run to the shop," Judas says.

"Anything!" Simon says, slipping out of his apron, leaving Judas to man both the register and the coffee machine.

He's doing his best to placate everyone who wants vegan whip with their mocha and suggesting alternative menu items, but most people still want the vanilla mocha. The line quickly grows to an unmanageable level again, with people shooting Judas dirty looks over their phones.

Judas can't wait for this day to be over.

***

Before the day ends, it gets worse.

By late afternoon, they end up running out of beans and having to turn away some very disgruntled customers.

Unfortunately, beans are something they can't just go to the supermarket for, and the next scheduled delivery is a day away. With a heavy heart, Judas decides to keep the shop closed the following day.

Even Simon's mood is subdued, in spite of the unexpected day off.

"Don't look at Instagram," Simon says sternly, for the fifth time, before going home.

Judas locks up behind him, sits down at the counter, and, being a glutton for punishment, he opens up Instagram.

Their tagged posts are a disaster. People are complaining about the orange mocha not being available and their drinks not being worth the wait. After scrolling for a while, Judas switches over to Google.

The reviews on their Google entry are possibly even worse.

After reading through a few of them, Judas puts his head on the counter, his forehead resting on the cool material.

It hurts seeing people talk like he doesn't care when he cares so much. He hates that people are getting the wrong impression of him and this business that he has worked so hard to build.

Judas doesn't like to admit it, but he's scared. Scared that this could be the end for 30 Beans. He doesn't think it's likely, but he has heard the horror stories of independent businesses closing over social media backlash.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Judas looks up to see Jesus peering through the blinds.

He gets up and opens the door, forcefully enough that it shakes on its hinges for a moment.

"You," he snarls, grabbing the front of Jesus' shirt and dragging him inside before slamming the door shut behind him. "Do you know what you did?"

Jesus is staring at him with wide eyes.

"What I did?" he asks. "Get you lots of business, I assume?"

"Is that what you call getting dozens of people to come here for a drink we don't serve so they can leave scathing reviews all over the internet?"

"What do you mean?" Jesus asks, frowning.

"The orange mocha? Really?! We don't serve that! I made it off the menu for you! Using the last of that syrup!"

Jesus' mouth forms a silent O, but then he shakes his head and raises a hand in protest.

"Now hold on," he says. "How am I supposed to know it's a drink you don't serve when you literally served it to me?"

He has a point, but Judas is viciously happy to have a target for his anger.

"I don't know, read the menu or something?" he fires back.

"Classy," Jesus says, nostrils flaring. "It's not always easy reading new things when you're dyslexic, you know. That's why I asked you to surprise me."

"You're… what?" Judas asks, deflating. "Oh my god. I'm sorry."

Jesus waves him off.

"It's not the first time someone makes fun of me for it."

"I'm really sorry," Judas says again. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Whatever," Jesus says. "If you feel that bad about it, you should put your menu online. Make things easier for people."

Judas doesn't have the first idea how to do that, but before he can say that, Jesus continues.

"I still don't understand why you're so mad," he says. "You must have made a huge profit after all."

Judas laughs bitterly.

"I'm running low on basically everything. I'm out of beans!" he says.

"Buy some, then?" Jesus says.

"My wholesaler doesn't deliver until tomorrow night."

"Can't you get them somewhere else?" Jesus asks.

Judas sighs.

"Sure, at retail price. There's a reason businesses buy wholesale, you know. We have to stay closed tomorrow because we would make a loss if we purchased at retail price."

"Sounds stressful," Jesus says.

Judas rubs a hand over his face.

"Yeah," he says.

He's so tired.

"Maybe," Jesus says, "I can help you with that."

He steps in close, resting one hand on Judas' chest.

And then Jesus is kissing him. Against his better judgement, Judas kisses him back. Jesus presses in closer, slotting his body in against Judas's. He brings his hands up to bury them in Judas' hair. Judas bites down on Jesus' lower lip and Jesus gasps into his mouth.

Jesus pushes Judas onto one of the barstools, not breaking their kiss. He licks into Judas mouth while deftly undoing his belt and fly. Judas moans when one of Jesus' hands wraps around the base of his cock.

Jesus pulls back from their kiss. He's looking at Judas with dark eyes and he keeps eye contact as he sinks to his knees. Judas watches as Jesus takes him in his mouth, still looking at him. Then Jesus hollows out his cheeks and starts sucking, and Judas lets his eyes slide shut.

Jesus pulls back and Judas whimpers a little, but then Jesus is licking up his shaft before teasingly circling the crown of Judas' cock with his tongue. When his mouth closes around Judas again, Judas' hips stutter.

"Sorry," he groans, but Jesus only chuckles around his cock, which is pretty hot.

Judas opens his eyes again, just in time to see Jesus try and swallow him down. Judas moans, both at the sight and the sensation.

Jesus starts rhythmically bobbing his head while working the base of Judas' cock with his hand. Judas is so close, and when Jesus takes him in deep again, it pushes him over the edge, spilling into Jesus' mouth. Jesus keeps sucking him through his orgasm, swallowing every bit of come.

He gets up and tucks Judas back into his trousers before leaning over him and giving him a filthy open-mouthed kiss. Judas can taste himself on his tongue.

Then he pulls back, grins at Judas, and says, "See you soon," before strutting out the door.

"See you," Judas says to the empty room, slumped bonelessly on the barstool.

***

The day they're closed passes slowly, and Judas has never been more relieved to open in the morning than he is the day after. Never has he been happier to see customers walk through the door.

Most of them are clearly unaware of the orange mocha debacle, and Judas is grateful to settle back into his routine, losing himself in the mundane tasks that keep the shop running.

Then Jesus walks through the door and Judas' heart skips a beat.

He comes up to the counter and leans against it, smiling at Judas coquettishly.

"Hey, you," he says.

"Hello," Judas replies stiffly. "What can I get you?"

"Can I get a vanilla mocha? I won't post about it, I promise," Jesus says.

"Haha, very funny," Judas says.

He can't wait for Jesus to slink off to a corner table so he can ignore him.

Instead, Jesus sits on the barstool closest to the register, spinning around on it like a child. Judas rolls his eyes at him behind his back.

He puts Jesus' cup down in front of him a little too forcefully, spilling some of his drink.

Jesus looks up at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asks.

"Am I still—why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, I thought I gave you a pretty thorough… apology," Jesus says with a suggestive grin.

"You've got to be kidding me," Judas says, trying to keep his voice low. "You think you can just waltz in here, suck my dick, and all is forgiven?"

"Uhhhhh," Jesus says slowly, "...nnnno?"

"Bingo," Judas says, pointedly turning away.

They're low on coffee grounds so Judas decides to grind some beans. He hopes Jesus wasn't planning to enjoy his mocha in quietude. He smiles to himself as he hits the button on the coffee grinder.

When he looks up he sees Simon watching him with obvious curiosity. Judas raises an eyebrow at him and Simon hurriedly goes back to work.

Judas does his best to ignore Jesus, but it's hard with him sitting right there in his field of vision. Every time his gaze flicks over to Jesus, Jesus is already looking at him. It's unnerving.

Jesus finishes his mocha and leaves, but not before giving Judas another thoughtful look.

As soon as the café is empty of customers a little while later, Simon turns to him and grabs his arm.

"I'm sorry," he says, "but did I hear you say that he sucked your dick?"

Of course that's the exact moment Thad walks in.

"Someone sucked Judas' dick?" Thad asks.

"Someone sucked Judas' dick!" Simon repeats gleefully.

He tries to raise Judas' arm in a victory pose, but Judas shakes him off.

"It was Jesus," Simon stage whispers to Thad.

Thad pretends to wipe tears from his eyes.

"I never thought I'd see the day," he says. "I was sure you were going to die an old maid."

"I've had sex," Judas protests.

"A very, very long time ago," Simon states gravely.

"So you really like this guy, huh?" Thad asks.

Judas crosses his arms.

"No, I don't," he says shortly.

Thad and Simon shoot each other a meaningful look.

Judas bristles.

"I really don't! He's an immature arrogant asshole, and he hasn't even had the decency to apologise for the debacle he caused!"

"Then why'd you let him suck your dick?" Thad asks.

"I didn't let him suck my dick," Judas protests. "Or, I mean… yes, I did, but like—it all happened very fast, okay!"

"Aw, Judas," Simon says pityingly. "It's okay you didn't last long, it was your first time in years."

Thad snickers.

Judas throws up his hands.

"I hate both of you," he says. "Simon, make Thad's coffee. You're not being paid to stand around and discuss my sex life."

"Or sad lack thereof," Thad says under his breath, and the two of them break out into giggles.

"I'm going on break," Judas declares, and leaves them to it.

***

Unfortunately, Jesus comes back the next day.

"Your boyfriend is here," Simon says, elbowing Judas in the side.

"He's not my boyfriend," Judas hisses, but Simon just grins at him obnoxiously.

Judas rolls his eyes and taps Jesus' order on the register. When he looks up, Jesus is pulling a bouquet out from behind his back and holding it out to Judas.

"What's this?" Judas asks.

"An apology," Jesus says. "For all the problems I've caused. Please forgive me?"

He makes puppy eyes at Judas and it's infuriatingly cute.

"You're supposed to take the flowers," Jesus says.

"What? Oh! Thank you," Judas says, as Jesus hands the bouquet to him.

Simon appears at his side with a large to-go cup filled with water to put the flowers into. Judas puts them on the counter next to the register.

"Do you like them?" Jesus asks.

"They're beautiful," Judas says, and Jesus beams at him.

It makes Judas' stomach flip.

"Do you want your mocha?" Simon asks.

"Yes, please," Jesus says, "but make it to-go, I can't stay."

Judas doesn't know why, but he feels a wave of disappointment at those words.

"He brought you flowers," Simon says in a singsong voice when Jesus is gone. "That's so sweet! I think he likes youuuu."

"They're apology flowers, it doesn't mean anything," Judas says.

But he does find himself smiling every time he looks at the flowers.

In the evening, Judas takes the to-go cup filled with flowers up to the flat. He puts it down on the sofa table and curls up on the sofa with his phone.

He opens Instagram and searches for Jesus' account—purely out of professional curiosity.

A lot of it is pictures of drinks, but there are some pictures of Jesus as well. In fact, the latest one is of him at what looks like some kind of event. The post is from this afternoon so that must have been why he left in a hurry. And he still took the time to stop by, Judas thinks with a smile.

A couple of posts down, there's a picture that shows Jesus kissing a laughing red-haired woman on the cheek. She is tagged as Mary Magdalene.

Judas continues to scroll through the posts and Mary keeps cropping up. Jesus usually has his arm around her waist or her shoulders, but in one of them, they're kissing.

Judas swallows down tears. This is ridiculous, he doesn't even like the guy. Why is he upset? Jesus can kiss whoever he wants.

Judas gets up from the sofa and throws the flowers in the trash.

~*~

"So, did he like the flowers?" Mary asks during their weekly check-in phone call.

"Yes! You're a genius, Mary," Jesus says.

"I'm really not. Contrary to you I just know how social interactions work. Which is ironic considering you're the social media star."

"I don't need to know how social interactions work, I know how sexual interactions work," Jesus replies.

Mary sighs and Jesus can practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"I worry about you, you know," she says.

"Why?" Jesus asks, frowning.

"All you do is work and sleep and occasionally fuck a stranger. You don't even have any friends."

"I have you," Jesus says.

Technically, Mary is his friend-with-occasional-benefits-turned-manager, but Jesus is pretty sure that still counts.

"That doesn't count," Mary says.

Or not.

"Maybe Judas can be my friend," Jesus says. "I'm on my way there right now."

"You've been going there a lot," Mary says. "I hope you haven't forgotten that your job entails regularly going to different coffee places."

"Don't worry, Starbucks is coming out with a novelty drink this weekend. I'll be there," Jesus says.

"I have to go, please don't forget to reply to that email I sent you earlier."

"Okay, thanks," Jesus says. "You're the best manager, love you!"

"Remember that next time you think a great sponsorship deal I negotiated for you is too much work," Mary says.

Jesus hangs up pretending not to have heard that.

When he gets to 30 Beans, he's happy to see that Judas is behind the counter, but when Judas spots him coming in he doesn't smile back at him. Instead, he exchanges a few quiet words with the other barista—Simon, Jesus thinks—and vanishes to the back.

"Hi," Jesus says. "It's Simon, right?"

Simon's face lights up.

"That's right!" he says. "Do you want a vanilla mocha?"

"Yes, please," Jesus says. "I need to get some work done so if you could bring it to my table when it's done…"

"Of course," Simon says. "The WiFi password is SIMONRULEZ, all caps with a Z at the end."

Something tells Jesus Judas isn't the one who set that password, and when he says so, Simon smiles mischievously.

"He doesn't know how to change it," Simon says, clearly pleased with himself.

Jesus sets up his laptop at a table near the window and opens his email inbox with a sigh. He always lets his emails pile up for way too long and that in turn makes him want to deal with them even less.

Simon brings by his coffee as he's in the middle of answering Mary's email about scheduling upcoming events. The caffeine helps put his brain in focus mode, and for a while he is shooting off emails in deep concentration until a sudden crash makes him jump.

He looks up to find that a couple of tables over, Judas has dropped a coffee cup, and it has shattered and spilled all over the floor.

As the guests move over to a different table, Judas goes to get a bucket and a mop. When he returns, he rolls up his sleeves and gets to work.

Jesus watches him wring out the mop, enjoying the play of muscles in his forearms.

Once the coffee has been mopped up, Judas starts sweeping the glass shards to one side. He steps back, his foot landing on a shard, and he slips, falling over backwards.

Jesus is immediately at his side, kneeling next to him on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asks, helping Judas up into a sitting position.

"Ouch," Judas says, looking a little dazed.

"Come on, let's get you up off the floor," Jesus says, supporting him.

He guides Judas to a chair and Judas sits down. Jesus squats down in front of him, his hand resting on Judas' arm.

"Did you hurt anything?" he asks, peering at Judas' face in concern.

Suddenly, Judas' gaze clears.

"Don't touch me," he says angrily, shaking off Jesus' touch.

Jesus backs away, stunned.

"I'm fine," Judas says decidedly and gets up. "Simon, can you finish cleaning this up?"

With that, he starts walking back to the counter, wincing with every step.

"Sure, sure, let Simon deal with the hazardous materials," Simon complains. "You know, you wouldn't be able to do this if I had unionised."

He cracks a smile at Jesus and after a second of hesitation, Jesus grins back.

***

Jesus is reading through some materials Mary has sent him on a potential brand deal when he is startled out of his concentration by Judas aggressively stacking the chairs onto the table next to him.

"We're closed," Judas says.

Jesus looks up to find that they're alone in the shop. Even Simon seems to be gone.

Judas whacks another chair onto a table and Jesus notices him flinching.

"Let me help," he says, getting up.

"No, thanks," Judas says curtly, grabbing the chair that Jesus had been sitting on and turning it over.

"You're hurt," Jesus says, trying to grab the chair from Judas, who stubbornly continues to hold onto it until Jesus lets go.

"What's it to you?" Judas asks.

"What is with you?" Jesus asks. "I thought we were good."

"We're good," Judas says, not very convincingly. "We're great."

"It sure doesn't feel that way," Jesus says.

"I don't know what you're looking for here," Judas says. "And shouldn't you be with Mary anyway?"

"Mary?" Jesus asks, genuinely puzzled.

"Yes, Mary. Your girlfriend?"

Jesus stares at him in confusion.

"The woman you were kissing on Instagram. The one with the red hair," Judas says impatiently.

"Oh, Mary! Wait, you were on my Instagram?" Jesus asks, feeling inordinately pleased for some reason.

"I mean, I glanced at it," Judas says.

"That picture of me and Mary kissing has to be from like… two years ago," Jesus says. "How far back did you glance?"

Judas goes beet red.

"Forget it," he says.

He starts to turn away, but Jesus catches his hand before he can.

"Mary isn't my girlfriend. She's my manager."

"Then why were you kissing her?" Judas asks with a frown.

"We used to be on kissing terms," Jesus says. "Kind of friends with benefits stuff. But we have a strictly professional relationship now. Well, professionally friendly. No more benefits."

"Oh," Judas says.

He's chewing on his lower lip, looking down at his hand in Jesus' grip.

Jesus is mesmerised by his mouth, the way his teeth are digging into the skin. He wants to sink his own teeth into Judas' lip.

Judas raises his eyes, noticing Jesus looking, and he smiles slowly.

"So, uh," Judas begins, "are you currently looking for anyone to provide you with benefits?"

"A friend would be nice," Jesus says, looking up at Judas through his lashes.

Judas steps forward and kisses him, his lips firm and demanding on Jesus'. He's cradling Jesus' face possessively with both hands.

Jesus opens his mouth, letting Judas thrust his tongue into it, letting him claim his mouth. They kiss like this for what feels like an eternity, only occasionally breaking apart to take a breath.

Finally, Jesus moves his hand from where it's resting on Judas' hip down to his crotch, palming Judas' hardening cock. Judas gasps into his mouth and they break apart, breathing heavily.

"Let's take this upstairs," Judas says.

He leads Jesus up the backstairs to his flat.

They both quickly shed their clothes before getting into bed. For a while, they just continue kissing and exploring each other's bodies with their hands. Judas' body is all smooth skin and firm muscle.

Jesus pulls back from their kiss and raises himself up on his arms, pushing Judas down into the mattress as he straddles him. He leans down to suck on Judas' nipple and their cocks rub against each other. They let out simultaneous moans.

Judas grinds his hips up against Jesus, but then he makes a strangled noise of pain and stills underneath Jesus.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Jesus asks, raising his head to look at Judas.

"My back," Judas says, "I kind of twisted it when I fell."

"You got any oil?" Jesus asks.

"Top drawer," Judas says, gesturing to the bedside table.

"Okay, turn on over," Jesus says, grabbing the bottle of oil.

It smells a little cheap, but it'll do.

Judas turns onto his stomach with a groan. Jesus pumps some oil into his hand and spreads it over Judas' back. Then he starts gently but firmly massaging him.

"What are you doing?" Judas asks, voice muffled by the pillow his face is buried in.

"Helping you feel better."

"You don't have to do that," Judas says.

"I know," Jesus says. "Shh, relax."

Jesus massages Judas' back until he starts melting under his hands, moaning into the pillow. Then he starts moving his hands lower, kneading Judas' ass, encouraged to take things further by the noises Judas is making.

He pauses to pour more oil onto his hands. Rubbing circles on Judas' lower back with one hand, he strokes over Judas' hole with a finger.

"Okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, yes," Judas says, pushing back against his touch.

Jesus smiles and slowly pushes in the first finger. He pumps it in and out of Judas' hole until it goes in comfortably, and then he crooks it, brushing against Judas' prostate. Judas lets out a whimpering moan.

"More?" Jesus asks.

"Please," Judas pants.

Jesus adds a second finger, then a third. He leans down to kiss Judas' back as he continues to work him open.

Finally, he pulls out his fingers and grabs a condom.

"Judas," he says, "I'm going to fuck you. Is that okay?"

"Mmm, god, yes," Judas replies.

He changes position slightly, pulling his legs underneath him to raise up his ass.

"Are you sure?" Jesus asks. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Jesus, I swear to god if you don't fuck me right now—"

Jesus laughs. He rolls on a condom and liberally spreads lube on his cock before lining himself up.

Judas lets out a moan as Jesus enters him, sliding in all the way. Jesus gives him a moment to adjust before he starts moving. He pulls out almost all the way before thrusting back in, fucking Judas slowly. He changes his angle a little to hit Judas' prostate, and Judas cries out, fisting his hands in the bedsheet.

Judas is pushing back against him, urging him to go faster, so Jesus does. He reaches around to close his hand around Judas' cock, working it as he continues to fuck him.

"I've been wanting to do this ever since I first saw you," Jesus says.

Judas makes an acquiescing noise, hips bucking as Jesus gives his cock a firm stroke.

Jesus pauses for a second, readjusting, before he finds his rhythm again.

"You feel so good," he tells Judas, "so good and tight."

Suddenly, he feels hot come on his hand, and Judas is clenching around him. Jesus thrusts a couple more times before he comes too.

He pulls out carefully and grabs some tissues from the nightstand to clean both of them up.

Judas turns around and sinks back into the pillows.

Jesus notices that he flinches a little and gives him a questioning look.

"Stop looking at me like that," Judas says. "It was completely fine."

"Damned with faint praise," Jesus says, pretending to be offended.

"That's not what I meant," Judas says, spluttering. "That was—I'm—that was better than fine."

"Mhm, that's what I thought," Jesus says.

He gets up and starts to get dressed.

"What are you doing?" Judas asks.

"Leaving?"

"Why? It's late," Judas says. "You can stay."

"Oh," Jesus says, surprised.

That's never been part of this kind of arrangement before.

"Unless you'd rather not—" Judas begins.

"No, I do," Jesus says, discarding his shirt again.

He climbs back into bed and settles in against Judas, who feels warm and solid and nice. He falls asleep unusually fast.

~*~

The next morning, Judas wakes up to his alarm with a mouthful of hair. It takes him a second to shake off his sleepy confusion and register that the hair belongs to Jesus, whose head is nestled in the crook of Judas' neck.

Jesus' arms are around his torso, and one of his legs is slung over Judas's.

Judas fumbles for his phone and shuts off the alarm. Miraculously, it hasn't woken Jesus up, but he does stir when Judas tries to extricate himself from Jesus' grip. He makes a noise of protest and holds on tighter.

"Jesus," Judas whispers, "I need to get up."

"Why," Jesus mumbles drowsily.

"I have to open the shop."

Jesus makes a whiny noise, but then he releases Judas.

"Come down for coffee and breakfast when you're ready," Judas says.

In response, Jesus puts a pillow over his face. Judas makes a mental note that he's very much not a morning person.

Judas whistles as he goes through his opening routine. As he's stocking the pastry display, he puts aside one of their popular almond pastries for Jesus.

It's Simon's half-day, so he comes in a couple of hours later. As he's tying his apron, he's looking at Judas apprehensively. Judas abruptly realises he's humming.

"What's got you feeling so chipper?" Simon asks, which is when the door to the backstairs opens to reveal Jesus.

"Aha!" Simon exclaims excitedly. "I see now."

He shoots Judas a suggestive look and wiggles his eyebrows.

"You're not seeing anything," Judas says, before turning to address Jesus. "Morning. Coffee?"

"Mhm," Jesus replies, rubbing his face. "Black. Lots of sugar though, please."

Jesus sits at a table, resting his head on his propped up hands. He's clearly still sleepy, and Judas is decisively not finding it cute. He brings Jesus his coffee and the pastry.

"On the house," he says as he sets the breakfast down in front of Jesus.

That earns him a bleary smile.

"It's a good thing you don't take many lovers," Simon says as Judas returns behind the counter. "You would drive this business into the ground."

"I could cut costs by lowering the number of employees," Judas says, looking meaningfully at Simon.

"I'm a union employee!" he protests immediately.

Judas snorts.

"Oh my god," Simon says, wide-eyed. "That's the first time you've ever laughed at one of these."

"Generous of you to call that a laugh," Judas says.

"I take what I can get," Simon says. "Damn, you need to get laid more often."

"Okay, that's enough," Judas says. "Union employee or not, the dishes aren't gonna wash themselves."

"Yes, boss," Simon says, still grinning.

Judas rolls his eyes, but when his gaze lands on Jesus reverently sipping his coffee, his smile returns.

***

"Friends with benefits?" Thad repeats. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Judas asks.

"Oh, Judas," Thad says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You and I both know that you're incapable of having casual sex."

"I can do casual," Judas protests.

"You've told several one-night-stands that you loved them," Thad says.

"That was years ago," Judas says.

"Did he talk you into this?" Thad asks.

"What? No!" Judas says. "It was my idea."

Thad sighs and takes a deep draught of his beer.

Thad insists on taking Judas out for drinks once a month so he can "get a glimpse of the outside world." Judas thinks that's a bit dramatic. It's not like he's a recluse, it's just that running the café takes a lot of work. But he does enjoy spending time with Thad.

"I just worry about you," Thad says finally. "When you catch feelings—"

"I won't," Judas says stubbornly.

Thad looks at him searchingly.

"You're really determined to do this, aren't you?" he asks.

"Yes," Judas says. "Besides, I'm a grown-up. I don't need your approval."

He had really been hoping for it though.

"I really hope you know what you're doing," Thad says. "I still remember the last time you got your heart broken."

So does Judas, and he very much doesn't want to talk about that right now. He gulps down the rest of his drink and gets up from their table.

"I'm going to dance," he says.

On the dancefloor, he grinds against a stranger so very casually and kisses another guy without even asking his name.

Judas can do casual. Thad will see.

***

Judas can't just do casual—he's great at it.

It's been several weeks now and things couldn't be going better. The sex is amazing. Jesus is amazing.

Today is Judas' day off. He doesn't really get to sleep in because his body is used to waking up early. Being a morning person, he doesn't usually mind too much.

Now, he luxuriates in getting to stay in bed and hold a sleeping Jesus a little longer.

Jesus likes to wrap all of his limbs around Judas and bury his face against his chest, and Judas loves feeling the warm puffs of Jesus' breath against his skin.

At some point, he inevitably gets antsy and has to get out of bed and do something. He kisses the top of Jesus' head and peels his limbs off of him, smiling at the sleepy noises he makes.

Judas takes a quick shower and brushes his teeth, then makes his way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He butters some toast and spreads jam on it, more liberally on Jesus's than his own to account for Jesus' sweet tooth. He also unearths some oranges and decides to press some fresh orange juice.

Finally, he makes the coffee. As he's pouring it into cups, he hears the padding of Jesus' bare feet coming into the kitchen.

He feels a bit disappointed because he was hoping to wake Jesus up with coffee in bed, but then he looks up and sees Jesus is wearing one of Judas' own shirts, only haphazardly buttoned. It's a bit big on him, and Judas has to swallow hard at the sight.

Jesus flashes him a sleepy smile.

"I smelled coffee," he says.

Judas hands him his cup in a bit of a daze and watches as Jesus greedily takes a few sips.

Jesus looks up and meets Judas' gaze. He lowers the coffee cup and steps in close, placing a gentle kiss on Judas' lips.

"Morning," he says.

Judas takes the coffee cup from him and places it on the counter, a bit of coffee sloshing over the top. Then he grabs Jesus and pulls him close, kissing him open-mouthed.

Jesus immediately kisses him back, placing his hands on Judas' chest. Their kiss is deep and Judas cannot get enough of the feeling of Jesus' tongue against his, wet and hot and demanding.

His own hands are wandering over Jesus' back until they get to his ass. He squeezes and Jesus gasps into their kiss.

He has to break their kiss for a moment in order to lift Jesus onto the kitchen counter, and he moves back in for a kiss so quickly that they bump foreheads.

They half laugh, half hiss in pain, but then their mouths meet again and Jesus' hands are in his hair, holding him close.

Judas palms Jesus' hardening cock, drawing a moan from him.

Jesus' hands go to unbutton the shirt he's wearing, and Judas grabs for them to stop him.

"No," he says, his own voice sounding raspy and undone to him.

"Oh," Jesus says with a laugh. "I see."

Instead, his hands go for Judas' sweats, pulling them down just enough to free his cock. It takes just a few strokes to bring Judas to full hardness, and his hips stutter as Jesus expertly works him with his hand.

He pulls Jesus' cock from his underwear and they find a matching rhythm, jerking each other off.

Judas is mouthing at Jesus' throat, kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin, drawing beautiful little moans from Jesus.

When he can feel that he's getting close, he rests his forehead against Jesus' neck, giving himself over to the sensation of Jesus' hand on his cock and Jesus' cock in his hand. His hips buck as he comes with a groan, continuing to stroke Jesus until he feels him spilling hot over his hand.

Jesus puts a hand under Judas' chin to tilt up his face enough so he can kiss him again, slowly now, without their previous urgency.

Judas tucks both of them away before he steps back, but Jesus doesn't let him go far, intertwining his legs behind Judas to keep him close.

He brings his fingers, covered in Judas' come, to his mouth, and starts slowly sucking them clean.

His eyes are half-lidded and Judas can't tear his own eyes away from the sight.

"I was hoping for breakfast, but this is even better," Jesus says with a grin when he's done, grabbing for Judas' own come-covered hand.

"Well, there's toast, so don't spoil your breakf—"

Judas falters as Jesus' mouth closes over his finger, sucking his own come off of it without breaking eye contact. If Judas hadn't literally just come, he would be hard right now. In fact, he feels his cock give a valiant twitch in spite of his recent orgasm.

"All done," Jesus says finally. "Now get me down from here, I need more coffee."

Judas smiles as he lifts Jesus off the kitchen counter, holding him for a moment longer than necessary before setting him down on the ground.

~*~

Jesus loves coming to the café after closing. There's a thrilling intimacy to being in this dim quiet place that's usually bustling with activity. Not to mention the thrill in knowing Judas is waiting for him there.

Jesus knocks on the door and can almost immediately hear the key being turned. The door swings open and Judas steps back to let him in, but he raises a finger to his lips and gestures to the phone he's holding to his ear.

Jesus sits down on a barstool and swivels from left to right and left again, waiting for Judas to finish his phone call. He seems to be listening intensely, having come to a standstill near the door after locking up.

"I understand," Judas says finally, and after a short pause, "Thank you, Caiaphas. Have a good night."

He hangs up and just stands there staring at his phone in desolation.

"Bad news?" Jesus asks.

Judas starts like he'd forgotten Jesus was there. Jesus tries not to feel offended by that.

"Yeah, it's bad news," he says. "My accountant went over the numbers for the last quarter and we're barely staying in the black. It seems we're losing customers."

"Shit," Jesus says.

"It started with the orange mocha. That's when things started going downhill."

Jesus feels a prickle of guilt.

Judas runs his hands through his hair and sighs.

"Caiaphas thinks we should raise our prices, but we have to keep in step with the competition," Judas says. "I don't know what to do."

"I do," Jesus says, with a sudden spark of inspiration.

He gets up and starts pacing.

"We could do a promotional event, introducing a new signature drink," he thinks out loud. "Could be anything, but the orange mocha deserves redemption. It's perfect as a seasonal drink since we're coming up on autumn."

"Hmm," Judas says thoughtfully.

"And I'll promote the event on Instagram," Jesus continues. "I could do a meet-and-greet to get more people in the door!"

He stops in front of Judas and grasps both of his hands.

"What do you think?" he asks.

"I don't know," Judas says slowly. "Instagram started this whole thing, after all."

"This time, it'll be different," Jesus says. "We'll be working together."

He smiles up at Judas, swinging their linked hands.

"Come on, Judas," he says, "take a leap of faith."

Judas is looking at him with a thoughtful expression on his face, but then he smiles back.

"Okay, let's give it a try," he says.

"Yes!" Jesus jubilates.

"And now, no more business talk," Judas says as he pulls Jesus close to kiss him.

Jesus has no objections.

***

Later that night, they're lying in bed and Jesus is idly playing with Judas' hair by the dim light of the lamp on the nightstand.

"Jesus?" Judas says suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"You know what you said about online menus?" Judas asks. "How they make things easier? I don't think I understand."

Jesus gathers his thoughts for a moment.

"It's about accessibility, really," he says. "People like to look at their choices beforehand."

"Isn't it nice to be surprised?" Judas asks.

"It depends on the surprise, I guess. Imagine you've got food restrictions and you want to make sure you can eat somewhere. Or you get anxious about having to make choices on the spot. Or you're like me and reading is really hard, especially when it's cursive handwriting on a blackboard. It can make going somewhere new rather nerve-wracking. That's why I don't really go anywhere without an online menu."

"You don't?" Judas asks. "What made you decide to come here, then?"

"I liked the way your shop looked," Jesus says. "And I like supporting small independent businesses, even when they don't have an online menu. Though if you have an internet presence, there's no excuse for not having your menu up. But mostly—"

He pauses, hesitating.

"But mostly?" Judas prompts.

"Mostly, I was feeling brave that day."

They're both silent for a while before Judas speaks again.

"Would you help me put our menu online?" he asks.

"Really?" Jesus asks eagerly. "I would love to!"

Judas squeezes him in his arms and kisses him on the head.

"I'm glad you were feeling brave," he mumbles into Jesus' hair.

Jesus smiles.

"Me too," he says, sinking more deeply into Judas' embrace. "Me too."

~*~

The following week, they're meeting after closing to further discuss Jesus' idea.

Judas is finishing up his closing tasks in the back and when he comes back out front, Jesus is waiting for him behind the counter where he very much doesn't belong.

"Jesus," Judas scolds. "We've talked about hygiene regulations."

"Okay, now don't get mad," Jesus says with an urgency that doesn't really match his infraction.

That is, until he steps aside and Judas catches a glimpse of a red shock of hair. Mary is sitting at a corner table, typing on a tablet.

"What is she doing here?" Judas hisses.

"We need her," Jesus says. "Trust me. She has a very good business head on her shoulders."

"So do I," Judas huffs. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I happen to run this business."

"Yes, yes, and you look very handsome doing it," Jesus says. "But Mary has a strong background in marketing. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not really your forte, is it?"

Jesus is right, but Judas hates to admit it. He stubbornly crosses his arms.

"What's this gonna cost me?" Judas asks. "Caiaphas is already not a fan of this idea. He won't be happy about additional expenses."

"I'm paying for her time," Jesus says. "You won't be out any money if it doesn't work out."

Judas looks at Mary and feels a bitter twisting feeling in his stomach. He doesn't want to do this with her, but maybe Jesus is right.

"Come on, give her a chance," Jesus says, "for me."

"Ugh, fine" Judas says finally, turning away for a second to hide the effect Jesus' puppy eyes have on him.

Judas tries to be scrupulously polite to Mary, but the shrewd look she gives him lets him know that he's not fooling her even for a second.

Mary is very professional. She walks them through the product launch, making Jesus' harebrained idea sound actually feasible. Judas finds himself starting to feel excited about it.

"Of course," Mary says, "special offers like this only have an effect on the bottom line if you're willing to put in the work to heavily promote them. Luckily for you, Jesus is bringing his considerable clout and following to the table for free, which to be clear I don't approve of, but I can't talk him out of it."

"Mary," Jesus says in a placating tone. "We've talked about this. I need to make things right."

Mary scoffs, but then her features soften as she reaches out and pats Jesus' hand before continuing.

"We need to set up a press event before the launch proper. Invite local influencers, get the word out on social media."

"Influencers… Is that really going to work?" Judas asks.

Mary gives him a disapproving look.

"In this day and age, influencers can make and break a small business like this," she says. "But we do want to involve your community directly as well. I'm going to reach out to the local newspaper so they can do a little write-up on you."

"Me?" Judas asks. "I don't really like to be in the—"

"Look," Mary says, looking him squarely in the eye, making him squirm. "For some reason, Jesus has taken a liking to you. I don't like you, but I know how these things work. We're doing this my way or not at all. Understood?"

Jesus looks at him pleadingly and mouths "For me?"

Judas takes a deep breath.

"Okay," he says. "Understood."

~*~

Judas gets to work perfecting the orange mocha.

This means working after opening hours so he can make syrup and try different ratios of orange syrup to chocolate syrup to coffee.

Jesus can tell the late hours are wearing on Judas. He knows he has trouble feeding himself when he gets caught up in a project so he decides to pick up some takeaway before coming to the café.

Judas is tinkering with something when Jesus gets there.

"I want you to try something," Judas says as Jesus sets the takeaway bag on the counter.

Judas hands him a big mug topped off with whipped cream.

"This isn't the orange mocha," Jesus observes as he sniffs the drink.

"I was in the mood to try something else," Judas says, wiping down his workspace before walking around the counter. "Go on, try it."

Jesus takes a sip and moans.

"Fuck, this is so good," he says. "What is it?"

"Lavender hot white chocolate," Judas says with a pleased smile.

"This would make for an amazing Valentine's Day special, you know," Jesus says before taking another sip.

"Mhm," Judas says.

He's leaning in close enough to kiss, but instead he darts out his tongue to lick the whipped cream off Jesus' upper lip.

When Judas draws back, Jesus chases his mouth with his own until he manages to give him a peck on the lips.

"Can I take this upstairs?" Jesus asks, lifting his mug.

"Sure," Judas says.

"I got some takeaway." Jesus says by way of explanation when he grabs the bag from the counter. "I thought it might be nice, since you've been working so hard."

"Oh," Judas says, looking a little stunned. "Yeah, it's nice."

Jesus grins at him.

Judas gets plates from the kitchen while Jesus sits down on the sofa and chooses a penguin documentary to watch on Netflix.

They eat in companionable silence, shoulders touching, and they stay like that even after they've finished eating.

At some point, Judas lays his head on Jesus' shoulder, and Jesus feels warm tingles spread throughout his entire body.

He's playing with Judas' hand in his lap when he notices that Judas is snoring.

He slowly, slowly gets up from the sofa, easing Judas down into a lying position.

He carries their empty plates into the kitchen as quietly as he can. When he comes back, he just stands there looking at Judas sleeping peacefully. He must have been so tired.

Jesus decides to leave so as not to disturb Judas.

Before he goes, he pulls a blanket over Judas, carefully tucking him in. After a last look at Judas, he turns off the TV and shuts off the light.

~*~

"Thank god you're here," Simon says when Thad comes in the next afternoon. "This one here has been in a terrible mood all day."

"What's the crisis?" Thad asks as he sits down at the counter.

"I fell asleep on Jesus on the sofa last night," Judas groans. "It's so embarrassing."

"Calm down, people fall asleep all the time," Thad says.

"I probably drooled on his shirt. He must be pissed. Why else would he just leave like that?" Judas says.

"It's true, you're nothing if not absolutely disgusting," Thad says.

"We're supposed to be friends with benefits and I'm not even providing the benefits!" Judas continues. "After he brought me food and everything."

"He brought you food?" Thad asks.

"Because I've been working so much," Judas says.

"That's so sweet," Thad says.

"And after all that, I didn't even give him what he came here for," Judas says miserably.

"Okay, first of all it was one time," Thad says. "Second of all, 'what he came here for?' Do you really think that's all he comes here for?"

"What else would he be coming here for?"

Simon and Thad look at each other meaningfully and shake their heads.

"Stop looking at each other like that," Judas says grumpily.

"So let me get this straight," Thad says. "He brought you food because you work so hard. Every time you have sex he stays over and you get him breakfast in the morning, or so Simon tells me."

"Simon!" Judas growls. "That's none of your business."

"Do you want me to work with my eyes closed?" Simon asks.

"My point," Thad says, raising his voice a little to get their attention back, "is that you and Jesus are dating."

"No, we're not," Judas scoffs.

"Does he have his own toothbrush here?" Thad asks.

"Oral hygiene is important," Judas says.

"That's a yes," Thad says. "And what about a change of clothes?"

"He's got his own drawer," Judas mumbles.

"What's that?" Thad says.

"He's got his own drawer, okay?!" Judas says, throwing up his hands.

"You're dating," Thad says, with finality.

"Maybe you can tell him that," Judas says. "I'd be surprised if he even wanted to see me again."

"I hate to contradict you, boss, but I can see him coming down the sidewalk," Simon says.

"Shit," Judas says and ducks behind the counter.

He hears Thad sigh.

"Really, Judas? You're going to hide?" he asks.

"Yes," Judas hisses.

A moment later, he hears Jesus' voice.

"Hi Simon, hey Thad," he says. "Where's Judas?"

"Hiding behind the counter," Thad says.

Jesus peeks over the counter.

"What are you doing down there, Judas?" he asks.

"I—dropped something," Judas says, casually coming out of his crouch.

He shoots Thad a look that he hopes communicates how much of a traitor Judas thinks he is.

Thad only shrugs. What a bastard.

Jesus gets his mocha and sits down at his usual table with his laptop.

Judas stares after him.

"He's acting completely normal," he says, slack-jawed.

"Unlike some," Thad says.

"I think he means you, Judas," Simon says.

"Thanks, Simon," Judas says. "You know, I want to fire you more every day."

"I'm his most valued employee, really," Simon says to Thad.

"You should have an Employee of the Month plaque," Thad says.

"That's what I've been saying!" Simon says. "Please take it to my boss."

Judas lets their banter wash over him as he tries to watch Jesus surreptitiously. He doesn't know what to make of Jesus' behaviour.

He doesn't seem annoyed in the slightest, but maybe he's saving it for when they don't have an audience.

So Judas tries to avoid that for as long as possible.

When it's close to closing time, Judas wanders over to Jesus' table to collect his empty cup.

"Are you leaving?" he asks, trying to give Jesus an easy out so they don't have to go through an awkward rejection. "You've probably got things to do, I understand."

"Um, what?" Jesus says.

"I understand if you don't want to stay tonight," Judas says.

"Do you want me to go?" Jesus asks.

"I don't want to keep you," Judas says.

"I don't understand," Jesus says.

"Like, if you have plans."

"I don't," Jesus says, frowning.

"Okay, that's fine. But if you do, I don't mind," Judas says, before quickly walking away with Jesus' empty cup.

"That was painful to watch," Simon says.

"I don't need your running commentary," Judas says.

"But I've got such insight into your frankly very strange psyche," Simon says. "The hours I've spent psycho-analysing you…"

"Thank you, Simon Freud," Judas says, dropping the dirty cup into the sink where Simon is washing up. "How about less psycho-analysis and more dishwashing?"

"My talent is wasted here," Simon laments, but he does finish up the dishes.

After Simon leaves, Judas hesitates before locking the door.

"Last chance to leave," he tells Jesus.

"Why are you being so weird?" Jesus asks. "Do you not want me to stay over?"

Judas tries to say something, but his throat feels like it's closing up so all that comes out is a choking cough.

"Are you okay?" Jesus asks, getting up to thump Judas on the back.

"I'm so embarrassed," Judas finally manages to get out.

"What?" Jesus asks. "Why?"

"I can't believe I just fell asleep like that."

"Is that what this is all about?" Jesus says. "You were tired. Besides, it was cute."

"But you bought me dinner," Judas says. "And I didn't even put out!"

Jesus frowns.

"Put out? What is this, high school?"

"Well—no, but—isn't this whole thing about sex?" Judas says.

"Is it?" Jesus asks, stepping closer.

"I thought it was," Judas says.

"Maybe at first, but not anymore. Not to me, anyway," Jesus says. "I try to come here every day just to see you. I don't want to see anyone every day. Mary says it means I like you."

Judas' immediate reaction to that is "who cares what Mary thinks" but then he actually registers what Jesus just said.

"Oh," he says. "And…do you?"

"Yeah," Jesus says, "I really do."

He grabs the front of Judas' apron and pulls him close to kiss him.

Judas wraps his arms around Jesus and opens his mouth to his tongue. Jesus is kissing him languidly and tenderly and Judas' body is suffused with a gentle buzzing warmth.

When they finally break apart, they're both breathing hard.

"I like you, too," Judas whispers into the small space between them.

"I know," Jesus says with a grin.

"Don't be smug," Judas says. "It's very unattractive."

"Is it, now?" Jesus asks, still grinning.

He lifts his hand to brush a strand of hair out of Judas' face and his touch makes Judas' skin tingle.

"Mhmmm," he says.

"I guess I won't be coming upstairs then?" Jesus says. "Considering you find me so unattractive and all."

"Like hell you won't," Judas says and kisses him again.

They stumble up the stairs to Judas' flat, unable to stop touching each other. Jesus stops on the landing to untie the strings of Judas' apron and toss it to the side. Toeing off their shoes in the hallway takes several minutes because Jesus is kissing Judas' throat with singular focus.

Finally, Judas pushes Jesus down onto the bed and straddles his hips. He pulls off his shirt, then leans down to kiss Jesus again. Jesus' hands are roaming over his back, leaving a hot trail in their wake. Judas feels like he's slowly being set on fire by Jesus' touch.

Jesus makes a needy sound and grinds up against him. Judas pulls back and helps Jesus pull off his shirt. For a moment, he just sits there, looking down at Jesus and admiring him.

Jesus looks back at him and very deliberately licks his lips. Judas can't help but kiss him again before he makes quick work of both of their trousers.

He gets in between Jesus' legs and pushes them up for Jesus to hold onto. He kisses the inside of Jesus' thigh, slowly making his way to Jesus' crotch. He sucks on the sensitive skin right above Jesus' hole before going even lower, licking at the hole.

Jesus moans as Judas dips his tongue into his hole, then pulls back to lick at it again.

Judas starts fucking in and out of Jesus' hole with his tongue. He smoothes one hand across Jesus' stomach and it clenches under his touch as his other hand closes around Jesus' cock.

"Fuck, Judas," Jesus says with a quiver in his voice.

Judas runs his unoccupied hand up the outside of Jesus' thigh, pushing it even further against Jesus' chest.

It frees up one of Jesus' hands, which fists in Judas' hair as he repeatedly thrusts his tongue as deeply into Jesus as he can. Finally, he pulls out and swirls his tongue around Jesus' opening once more.

Then Judas licks from the perineum all the way up to the underside of Jesus' shaft, mouthing at his cock, before fully taking it into his mouth.

Jesus lets his legs fall onto the bed, both of his hands now buried in Judas' hair.

Judas begins to suck, with Jesus writhing underneath him.

Jesus moans his name and it's the most beautiful sound Judas has ever heard. He knows Jesus is close when he starts bucking his hips, and he redoubles his efforts until Jesus spills into his mouth with another moan.

Jesus pulls on Judas' hair to get him to crawl up the bed and Judas comes willingly, lying down next to him.

He is almost painfully hard and leaking furiously. He lets out a whimper when Jesus' lubed up hand closes around his erection.

As Jesus works his cock, he starts sucking on Judas' nipple. He rubs his thumb over the crown of Judas' cock and Judas groans.

"Jesus," he says, trying to form a coherent thought, but all that keeps coming out is, "Jesus, Jesus…"

Jesus licks across Judas' nipple, sucking on it some more. As he firmly fists Judas' cock, he suddenly bites down on his nipple, sending Judas over the edge.

For a few moments he just lies there in the afterglow, barely even registering that Jesus is cleaning him up with some tissues.

Jesus lies down next to him and positions Judas' arm so he can use it as a pillow. Judas cups Jesus' face with his hand, stroking along his cheekbone with his thumb.

"What?" Jesus asks, and Judas realises that he's looking at him with what is probably a very sappy smile.

"Nothing," he says, grinning even wider. "You're pretty."

He can't be sure because Jesus' cheeks are always pink, but he thinks he might be blushing. It's cuter than anything he has ever seen.

"Mmm," Jesus says, nestling his head in close against Judas' chest. "Can you grab the blanket, you emotional wreck?"

Judas pulls the blanket over them and that's how they fall asleep.

***

Thad laughs at Judas when he tells him they're dating, but then he hugs him tight.

"I want you to appreciate that I'm not going to say I told you so," he says before giving Judas a kiss on the cheek.

"I think that counts as you saying it," Judas says, but he finds he doesn't actually mind.

"I'm happy for you, bro," Thad says.

Judas is happy, too.

He gets to see Jesus even more than before. He usually comes in some time in the afternoon and works at the café until closing. On Judas' breaks, they sneak out to kiss in the hallway, although Simon tells him they're not being subtle about it at all.

After closing, they sometimes go out to grab a bite, but mostly they stay in, cuddling on the sofa and of course having lots of sex. Jesus stays over almost every night.

The weeks go by and it gets harder to let go of Jesus in the morning every day, especially when, instead of hiding against Judas or under a pillow, he starts turning up his sleepy face for a combined good morning and goodbye kiss.

Judas could kiss him forever.

***

Simon is collecting used cups from Jesus' table. They tend to accumulate because Jesus keeps letting the last of his coffee go cold and ordering a fresh cup instead of finishing it.

"Can I finish this?" Simon asks, raising one of the cups.

"If you want to," Jesus says.

Judas wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"You can make yourself a free coffee any time, you don't have to drink the customers' dregs," he says.

"Ah, but this is not just any customer," Simon says, closing his eyes as he takes a sip. "I get to touch with my own lips what Jesus has touched with his."

"What does it feel like?" Jesus asks.

"Heavenly," Simon declares, and Jesus gives him a wink.

Judas is grinding his teeth.

Simon dumps the cups in the sink and starts washing them.

"Hey, Jesus," he says casually. "I'm going on break soon, wanna go kiss?"

"Sure," Jesus says with a grin.

Judas sees red. He pushes his way into the storage area and slams the door behind himself so hard he can feel his teeth vibrate in his skull.

He leans against the wall and tries to breathe.

After a few moments, the door cracks open.

"Go away, Simon," Judas says.

"It's me," Jesus' voice comes from the door.

Judas lets his head fall back against the wall.

"You're not supposed to be back here," he says, trying to suppress his anger.

"I know," Jesus says as he steps inside the room, carefully closing the door behind himself. "You scared Simon."

"Good," Judas snarls.

"We were just joking, you know," Jesus says.

"Well, don't," Judas says. "It's not funny."

"Are you worried I'm going to kiss Simon?" Jesus teases.

Judas grabs him by the front of his shirt and shoves him up against a shelf so hard it shakes a little.

Their teeth click when their mouths meet, and Judas kisses Jesus, hard and unrelenting.

He notices that Jesus has gone pleasingly pliant under his hands as he grips his arms tightly. Jesus makes a noise in the back of his throat that Judas swallows down.

He moves his mouth to Jesus' throat, scraping at the skin with his teeth, searching for a spot that will make Jesus' breath hitch. When he finds it, he gives it a nip before he starts sucking, losing himself in the sound of Jesus breathing harshly.

He's so angry. Why does Jesus want to kiss other people when he's got Judas? Jesus is his, and Simon is going to see—

"You don't have to mark me," Jesus huffs, but there's a laugh in his voice. "Like, we're exclusive, right?"

Judas pulls back a little without softening his grip on Jesus' arms.

"We are?" he asks.

"I'm not seeing anybody else," Jesus says, "and I don't want to."

"You don't?" Judas asks.

He feels like he's coming out of a haze.

"Do you?" Jesus asks.

Judas only shakes his head.

"I believe that's the definition of being exclusive," Jesus says with a grin.

Jesus doesn't want to see anyone else. He doesn't want to kiss other people.

Judas pulls him close again and kisses him thoroughly but more gently this time.

When Jesus' hands go to his hips, trying to dip under his apron, Judas has to take a step back to stop himself.

"Not here," he says.

"Ugh, you and your hygiene regulations," Jesus complains.

"Would you want someone's come in your coffee?" Judas scolds.

"I wouldn't mind if it was yours," Jesus says.

"Later," Judas says.

"Is that a promise?" Jesus asks, voice low.

He steps in close and lets his hands settle on Judas' hips, looking up at him through his lashes, and Judas is almost moved to compromise his ethics.

"You can have me anytime, anywhere," he says instead. "Anywhere except behind the counter at this café."

Jesus gives him a speculative look and Judas is suddenly feeling very flustered.

"I need to go back to work," he says, feeling his cheeks go warm.

"And apologise to Simon," Jesus adds.

Judas sighs. He removes Jesus' hands from his hips and goes to hold open the door.

"Coming?" he asks.

"I plan to," Jesus says as he lets his body brush against Judas on his way out the door.

Judas takes a deep breath to collect himself before following him out to the front.

"Simon—" Judas begins.

"Oh no, please, I don't want to know what happened in there!" Simon cries out, covering his ears.

"In what world would I be telling you about that of my own volition?" Judas asks.

"Oh, right," Simon says.

"Yeah. Anyway, I wanted to apologise for—what I just did. That wasn't cool. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Wow," Simon says. "Did the union make you say that?"

Judas looks at him pointedly.

"I accept your apology," Simon says.

"Thank you," Judas says. "You can take your break."

Jesus gives him a thumbs-up from the side of the counter he actually belongs on.

Then he mouths "later" and Judas turns away to hide his blush.

***

On the weekend, they decide to go visit the fair in town.

The first thing Jesus does is get a huge cone of cotton candy.

"I don't understand how you can eat that," Judas says. "It's pure sugar."

"Exactly. That's what makes it so good," Jesus says, biting off another chunk. "Want some?"

"No, thanks, sugar monster," Judas says.

They're strolling through the crowds and Judas is holding Jesus close with a firm grasp on his hand. Jesus finds that he likes being securely anchored to Judas' side.

"What do you want to do?" Judas asks.

"Can we go on the ferris wheel?" Jesus asks excitedly.

"Okay," Judas says, far less excitedly.

"Are you sure? You're looking a little green."

"I'm scared of heights," Judas admits.

"That's okay, we don't have to," Jesus says.

"You love the ferris wheel, right?" Judas asks and Jesus nods. "Let's do it, then."

Jesus pulls Judas through the crowd by his hand until they reach the ticket booth. He bounces on his feet as they wait in line and Judas squeezes his hand with a weak smile.

"You really don't have to do this," Jesus says again, but then they're ushered into an empty gondola by the operator.

Judas closes his eyes as the gondola starts going up. He's got a death grip on Jesus' hand now.

When they reach the top, Jesus can see all the fair lights sparkle like fallen stars in the late summer night.

"Judas," he says. "You need to see this view."

Judas hesitantly opens one eye before immediately closing it again.

"It's nice," he says.

"You really are afraid, huh," Jesus says.

"Uh huh," Judas says.

Jesus leans in to kiss him. Judas responds, opening his mouth, and Jesus deepens the kiss.

He lets his free hand wander down Judas' torso, caressing his stomach before going even lower to palm at his cock.

Judas makes a questioning sound against Jesus' mouth as Jesus unzips his jeans.

He pushes against Jesus' chest with his hand, interrupting their kiss.

"What are you doing?" he hisses at Jesus.

"I'm distracting you," Jesus says with a grin, softly kissing Judas' jaw.

"We can't do this—here," Judas protests. "We're in public!"

"I remember you say," Jesus says in-between placing kisses along Judas' jawline. "That I could have you—anytime—anywhere."

He pulls Judas' cock out of his underwear and closes his hand around it, slowly stroking up and down.

"But there's—hngh—people nearby," Judas says.

"You'd better be quiet then," Jesus teases as he strokes Judas to full hardness. "Tell me when you're close."

Judas lets his head fall back with a suppressed moan, giving Jesus better access to his throat. He licks a stripe up to the spot right below Judas' ear, pulling back to blow on it.

Judas shivers and quietly moans his name.

Jesus continues to stroke Judas, slowly but firmly. He runs his thumb across the tip which is already leaking and spreads the wetness all over the crown of Judas' cock, making his hips twitch.

Jesus starts sucking on Judas' ear, knowing how sensitive a spot it is for Judas, and lets his fingers run up and down Judas' shaft, barely touching, just a whisper of skin against skin.

"Jesus," Judas says again, a strain in his voice. "Please—"

Suddenly the gondola starts moving again, beginning its descent.

Judas yelps a little as Jesus closes his hand around his cock again, working him hard and fast now.

"I'm going to—" Judas says after a moment, and Jesus immediately lowers his head to close his mouth around the tip of Judas' cock.

He gives Judas' cock a couple more pumps as he begins to suck, and Judas spills into his mouth with a quiet stuttering moan.

Jesus runs his tongue across the now overly sensitive crown of Judas' cock, just to hear him make another one of those noises, and then he tucks Judas away just in time before their gondola reaches the operator, who throws open the door.

Jesus notes with some satisfaction that it takes Judas a second to get his legs under him.

He grins at Judas as they fall into step again.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asks.

"Maybe we should go again," Judas says with a mischievous smile. "You barely even got to enjoy the view."

He pulls Jesus close and kisses him.

***

The weeks before the launch date for the orange mocha, Judas is making syrup every spare minute he has to create sufficient stock.

He's feeling a little jittery, especially thinking about the newspaper interview he's doing in a couple of days, but Jesus' presence is keeping him grounded.

During the day, Jesus is usually pretty busy himself with pumpkin spice season approaching, which is apparently a big time for brand deals.

He always shows up at some point so they can spend the evening together though.

Today he appears in the late afternoon, laden with shopping bags.

Judas rushes to hold the door for him.

"Thanks," Jesus says. "Can you let me into the flat?"

"What's going on?" Judas asks. "What is all this?"

"I'm cooking you dinner," Jesus says.

"Oh," Judas says, not sure how to react.

He helps Jesus carry his way too many bags upstairs and opens the door for him before going back to work.

"Are you swooning?" Simon asks when he returns. "You should be swooning. That's so romantic!"

"I'm not swooning. I'm at work," Judas says.

"We can swoonionise!" Simon declares.

"Please shut up," Judas says, but there's a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Jesus is in his flat, cooking dinner for him.

The last two hours of work go by way too slowly. After closing, Judas takes the backstairs two at a time.

As soon as he opens the door to the flat he is met with an amazing smell. He follows it to the kitchen and stops in his tracks.

The kitchen has turned into a disaster zone.

"Ah, there you are!" Jesus says, looking up for a second. "Perfect timing, dinner is almost ready!"

When Judas doesn't respond, he looks up again.

"Right," he says with a rueful grin. "I should have warned you. I get a bit messy in the kitchen. I'm sorry."

A bit?! Judas thinks internally, but out loud he says: "Don't worry about it. You cooked so I'll clean."

"Oh god, no," Jesus says. "That wouldn't be fair. I'll help with cleanup. Now come here and try this."

Jesus is holding out a spoon of sauce for Judas to sample. It tastes so good Judas can almost forget about the chaos.

"That's delicious," Judas says. "What are you making?"

"Seafood pasta," Jesus replies. "I made the pasta myself."

That explains why there's flour everywhere, then.

Jesus has laid the table with cloth napkins and lit a candle. He serves up the pasta and pours two glasses of wine before he sits down opposite Judas.

They clink glasses.

"To good food and better company. To us," Jesus says.

Judas is definitely swooning now.

The pasta is delicious, but Judas can barely even focus on the amazing food.

At some point, Jesus puts his hand on the table and Judas grasps it, holding it as he continues to eat.

Jesus' face is illuminated by candlelight, making his dark eyes sparkle as he smiles at Judas.

"This was lovely," Judas says when the pasta is finished. "Thank you so much."

"We're not done yet," Jesus says.

He takes their plates to the kitchen and returns with two dessert bowls of chocolate pudding.

Judas catches him by the waist as he's walking by, not able to hold himself back anymore, and pulls him into his lap.

Jesus laughs as Judas nuzzles into his neck, but then he turns his head for a kiss.

He sets down one of the bowls on the table and starts feeding Judas chocolate pudding from the other.

Before long, they're kissing again.

There's no intent behind it, no urgency to go further than what they are doing.

Judas feels ridiculously content, full of food and happiness. He could keep Jesus in his lap forever.

Then he remembers the state the kitchen is in.

"Jesus," he says in-between kisses. "We need to—clean up."

"Do we have to?" Jesus asks with a groan.

"Hey, who made that mess in the first place?" Judas teases.

"Alright. I wash, you dry?" Jesus suggests, getting up out of Judas' lap reluctantly.

As they're working in unison, Judas lets the sound of Jesus' chatter wash over him. He's got such a pleasant voice, deep and melodic. Judas loves listening to him.

When Jesus is done washing the last of the dishes, he moves to stand behind Judas, wrapping his arms around Judas' middle. His head is resting against Judas' back.

Jesus' touch is sending lazy tendrils of pleasure through Judas' body.

He feels so happy having Jesus here with him, doing something so mundane with him.

"This is nice," Jesus mumbles against Judas' back.

"Yeah," Judas agrees, smiling.

He puts down the plate he's just finished drying and grabs Jesus' arms to loosen his grip around him so he can turn around.

Jesus is looking at him with deep dark eyes.

Judas steps in close, backing him against the kitchen counter before gently capturing his face in his hands to kiss him.

Jesus' arms immediately close around him again, holding him close. He opens his mouth and Judas deepens their kiss.

Eventually Judas draws back to catch his breath.

He's mesmerised by Jesus' face and he keeps caressing it, overcome with fondness.

Jesus smiles at him, a little smugly.

"Enjoying the view?" he asks.

"So much," Judas says, placing a kiss at the corner of Jesus' mouth.

"My view isn't half bad either," Jesus says.

He raises a hand to brush the back of his fingers against Judas' cheek.

The moment feels so tender and meaningful.

"Be my boyfriend," Judas finds himself saying.

Jesus stills.

"What?" he says.

Judas catches Jesus' hand in his own and looks at him earnestly as he realises this is what he wants.

"I'm in love with you," he says. "I want to be with you. Be my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend…" Jesus says, clearly stunned.

He pushes Judas away from himself just slightly and walks across the kitchen. He places his hands on the countertop, facing away from Judas.

"Jesus," Judas says. "Are you okay?"

"Um," Jesus says.

He turns around and pushes his hair back with a frazzled movement.

"This is a bit much," Jesus says.

"Oh," Judas says, disappointment pooling in his gut.

He thought they were on the same page.

"Can I—I need to think about it," Jesus says.

"That's okay. I understand," Judas says, even though he doesn't.

"I'm sorry," Jesus says, as he rushes out of the kitchen.

Judas follows him to the hallway where he finds him putting on his shoes.

"You don't have to leave," he says, trying not to sound desperate.

"No, I do," Jesus says, and then, again, "I'm sorry."

Judas watches him leave. He hears the heavy door to the delivery entrance fall close, the noise echoing in his mind.

~*~

The cold night air on his face soothes Jesus' panic a little bit, but his thoughts are still spinning like a merry-go-round in his mind.

Jesus has never been anyone's boyfriend, not because he's never wanted to but because he doesn't fit the mould. People don't fall in love with him. He's not boyfriend material.

Jesus doesn't know how, but he must have tricked Judas into believing he is.

But that doesn't make sense. He's never been more himself with anyone than with Judas. Judas knows Jesus, really knows him, and he still wants him.

After wandering the dark streets for a while, Jesus makes his way to his flat.

When he opens the door, he is greeted by a quiet so complete it makes his ears ring. It doesn't feel like coming home. He suddenly realises that he hasn't spent the night here in weeks.

He flicks on the light and sits on the sofa, unsure what to do with himself.

He takes out his phone and dials Mary's number. She picks up after several rings.

"Jesus?" she says, her voice sounding a little drowsy. "Is this an emergency?"

"Yes," Jesus says, "I'm—"

"Are you in immediate danger, dying, or in jail?"

"No," Jesus says, confused.

"Then it's not an emergency," Mary says. "It's 2AM, what have I taught you about looking at the time before calling?"

"Oh," Jesus says, and then with sudden understanding: "Oh! Shit, Mary, I'm so sorry."

"Mhmm," Mary says. "We'll talk tomorrow."

She hangs up before Jesus can respond.

Not knowing what else to do, Jesus decides to go to bed. It feels strange to be alone in the dark.

The bed feels empty without Judas. Jesus has gotten used to falling asleep in his arms and… he misses him, he realises.

He stares at the ceiling, trying to untangle his confused feelings.

He's not sure he knows what it feels like to be in love. He only knows that the space next to Judas feels perfectly shaped for him, in more ways than just the physical.

Maybe he can be a boyfriend. Judas' boyfriend.

It feels like something he wants, but he doesn't know if he can be what Judas deserves.

He lies awake until it starts to get light outside, when tiredness finally overwhelms him.

***

He meets Mary for coffee in the afternoon.

"Shall we walk for a bit?" Mary suggests once they've both got their coffees.

She gestures to the nearby park and they wander around in silence for a while until Jesus feels ready to speak.

"Judas asked me to be his boyfriend," he says.

"And what did you say?"

"I told him I had to think about it," Jesus says, "and then I ran away."

Mary fixes him with a stern look.

"I know, I'm a coward," he says.

Mary's face softens.

"Jesus," she sighs.

She takes his hand and pulls him to a park bench, where they sit down.

"What's the matter?" Mary asks. "Are you scared of being hurt?"

"No," he says. "God, no, Mary. I'm scared of hurting him."

Mary scoots closer to him, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I don't know how to do this," he continues. "What if I do it all wrong? I've never been someone's boyfriend."

"From where I'm standing, you've actually been doing a pretty good job of it these past few months," Mary says.

"What?"

"You spend so much time together. You've basically been living with each other. You take care of him, not because you have to, but because you want to. You're there for him. You've been doing everything a boyfriend does. You just weren't putting that label on it."

"Oh," Jesus says. "Huh. You're right."

"I often am," Mary says. "You should appreciate me more."

Jesus looks up at her, wide-eyed.

"I appreciate you so much," he says. "You know that, right?"

Mary laughs and squeezes his shoulders.

"I know," she says.

Reassured, Jesus leans into her touch.

"I'm still scared," he admits.

"It's okay to be scared," Mary says. "Just as long as you don't let it stop you from being happy."

~*~

An entire day goes by without Judas hearing from Jesus.

Judas feels like he's moving about in a haze of unreality, unsure of whether he's supposed to mourn what they had or remain hopeful.

He wants to talk to Jesus so much but he also wants to give him time if that's what he needs.

The following day is the day of the newspaper interview. Jesus was supposed to be there originally and the idea of having to brave this alone leaves Judas feeling more nervous than he ever has.

When the journalist shows up, Judas leads her to a corner table. He realises with a pang that it's the very same corner table Jesus sat at on his first visit.

The journalist is a cheerful woman maybe a few years older than Judas. She introduces herself as Denise.

Judas thanks Simon as he serves them coffees, plain black for Judas and the orange mocha for Denise.

They start with some idle chit chat and Judas feels himself relax a little.

"So," Denise says finally. "Tell me about your business."

After stumbling over his words initially, Judas finds his stride. If there's something he loves to talk about it's coffee, and 30 Beans is an extension of that.

He tells Denise about starting out as a barista at a chain coffee shop.

"It felt right, like it was what I was always meant to do," Judas says. "But I saw so many things that I thought I could do better. And eventually, I decided to take the plunge and start my own business. It wasn't easy in the beginning, but it was the best decision I've ever made."

"Why '30 Beans'?" she asks.

"I don't know," Judas says. "The number 30 has always followed me throughout my life. It's silly, but I feel like it's my lucky number."

"Not silly at all," Denise says with a reassuring smile. "This is the kind of thing people eat up."

Judas shifts nervously at the reminder that hundreds of people will be reading this article about him.

"I'd love to hear more about the orange mocha," Denise prompts. "It's positively moreish. What inspired you to make it?"

"Originally, I made it as a special off-the-menu drink for—for Jesus—" Judas blushes but barrels on. "—because I thought he was cute."

"Quite the meet-cute," she says, her eyes flashing.

It makes Judas squirm in his seat.

"So from what I understand, Jesus, also known as the coffee disciple, is instrumental to this product launch, making you business partners. But what about your personal relationship?" she asks with a wink. "Anything I should know?"

"Um," Judas says, unsure how to answer, when a hand settles on his shoulder.

He looks up and sees Jesus, smiling his most self-assured smile.

"Mind if I join?" he asks, drawing up another chair.

"By all means," Denise says, gesturing invitingly.

Jesus sits down next to Judas and leans over to plant a kiss on Judas' mouth.

"So can I write down that the two of you are together, then?" Denise asks.

"Yes," Jesus says. "We're boyfriends."

"Oh, marvellous! A little bit of romance never fails to get the readers' interest."

Judas is stunned. His thoughts are buzzing.

Fortunately, the interview is almost over and Jesus easily manages to charm Denise until they wrap up.

She wishes them all the best for both the product launch and their relationship. Judas tries to muster up a smile as he shakes her hand goodbye.

He's relieved when she finally leaves.

"Simon, are you okay for another few minutes?" he asks. "I need to step out for a moment."

"Of course you do," Simon says, rolling his eyes, but he makes a shooing gesture at him.

~*~

Jesus follows Judas out the back door into the hallway.

"You came," Judas says.

"I said I would be here, didn't I?" Jesus says.

"Yes, but that was before—I wasn't sure if—"

"Of course," Jesus says.

He tries to grab for Judas' hand, but Judas steps away.

"What's wrong?" Jesus asks.

"What you did out there," Judas says. "What you said… Was that for publicity?"

"What?" Jesus asks, hurt. "Do you really think I would do that to you?"

"I don't know," Judas says, an uncertain tinge to his voice.

It's like a punch to the gut.

"Really?" Jesus says. "I know I may be an attention-seeker, but I can't believe you would think I'd make a spectacle out of—out of us."

"You're right," Judas says, hanging his head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You just caught me off guard with that."

"But that's what you want, right?" Jesus asks. "To be boyfriends? Unless you don't anymore—"

"No, of course I do," Judas says. "But is that what you want? You didn't seem into it when I first asked."

"I know, I panicked. But I do want to be with you," Jesus says, his heart beating into his throat. "You're amazing. You make me feel safe. I'm so in love with you. I've never felt this way, it's just—"

Jesus takes a deep breath, bracing himself.

"I'm so scared not to be good enough for you," he says.

"Oh," Judas says, letting out a breath. "Why wouldn't you be enough?"

"I never have been," Jesus says with a wry smile.

"Jesus," Judas says quietly, his voice breaking.

He opens his arms and Jesus readily steps into his embrace, his head coming to rest against Judas' chest.

It feels good, the way being with Judas always feels, and Jesus still doesn't understand how he deserves this.

"Of course you're enough," Judas whispers into Jesus' hair. "You're everything I want."

Jesus feels tears pricking his eyes.

"I missed you," Jesus says quietly, expecting to be teased since it's barely even been two days.

"I missed you, too," Judas says.

Jesus raises his head from where it's been resting on Judas' chest and finds Judas' mouth with his own.

Judas cups his face and kisses him back.

"Are you staying?" he asks and Jesus doesn't know if he's asking about tonight or something more, but it doesn't matter.

"I'm staying," Jesus says.

~*~

"Are you done making goo-goo eyes at each other?" Simon asks when they return.

"Never," Jesus says with a grin.

He gives Judas another peck on the lips before skipping to the counter and claiming a seat near the register.

He spins around on the stool and Judas smiles at how cute he is.

"One orange mocha for my boyfriend," Judas announces as he sets Jesus' cup down in front of him.

"Thanks, boyfriend," Jesus says, and it makes Judas feel all giddy.

"You're getting goo all over the floor," Simon says. "I'm suing for unsafe work conditions."

"We're boyfriends, Simon," Judas says, just to hear it again.

"Me and my considerable deductive skills had almost figured it out," Simon says.

"Aren't you happy for us?" Jesus pouts.

"I owe Thad twenty bucks so no, I'm not happy," Simon says. "But congrats and all that. Took you long enough."

"Wait," Judas says. "Why would you owe Thad twenty bucks?"

"We were just having a friendly little bet," Simon says off-handedly.

"About what?"

"Oh, you know," Simon says. "Just guessing when you would actually get together."

"What was your guess?" Judas asks.

"Around Christmastime. My thinking was that the general romantic vibes of the season would help you along."

"Can you believe this?" Judas asks exasperatedly, looking to Jesus for help.

Jesus is smiling.

"I think it's kind of funny," he says.

"They were betting on our relationship!" Judas says.

"To be fair, it was more about your overall levels of idiocy," Simon says.

"Excuse me?!" Judas says as Jesus snorts into his coffee.

"You should be happy I lost," Simon says. "Thad had a lot more confidence in you than I did."

"I cannot believe you," Judas fumes. "This is so inappropriate."

"Aw, come on," Simon says. "It was all in good fun! Though I regret betting that twenty. How about a raise, boss?"

"You're on thin fucking ice," Judas says.

"Huh, I wonder if the Ice Skating Union will let me join?"

Jesus breaks out into giggles and it makes Judas smile in spite of himself.

But he does point a finger at Simon and repeats: "Thin fucking ice."

"Yes, boss," Simon says and does a pirouette, crashing into the counter.

***

Judas feels like he's floating up the stairs when they go up to the flat that night.

He's holding Jesus' hand and tugging him along, but he notices Jesus hesitates slightly in the bedroom doorway.

"Everything okay?" Judas asks him.

"It's stupid," Jesus says.

"What is?"

"I'm… nervous?" Jesus says, an incredulous tone to his voice.

"How is that stupid?"

"I don't get nervous about sex," Jesus says. "But, um. This is my first time having sex as boyfriends. With anyone."

"We can take it slow," Judas says, even though Jesus' words are making his heart beat faster.

"I'd like that," Jesus says.

Judas uses his grip on Jesus' hand to spin him around gently, stepping in closely and slinging his arms around him from behind.

"I've got you, baby," he says, placing a kiss on Jesus' neck and revelling in the way it makes Jesus shiver.

He continues to kiss Jesus' neck without any hurry, until he feels Jesus relax against him.

"Better?" Judas asks.

"Yeah," Jesus says, but his voice wobbles a little.

"We can stop any time you want," Judas says, nuzzling against the side of Jesus' neck.

"I don't want to stop," Jesus says. "But—can you just hold me for a moment?"

He turns around in Judas' arms, putting his own arms around him.

Judas holds him tight and presses his nose against his hair, inhaling Jesus' scent.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," Jesus mumbles against his chest.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Judas says, rubbing reassuring circles across Jesus' back. "And there's nothing you need to apologise for. I get to hold you. What more could I want?"

Jesus' grip around him tightens and he sighs contentedly. Judas keeps holding him, happy to be close. He wasn't lying; he loves having Jesus in his arms, holding him close.

After a while, Jesus turns his head up and kisses Judas.

It feels like electricity when their lips meet and their tongues slide against each other. Judas cups Jesus' face with his hands, drawing him closer, kissing him deeper.

Jesus grinds against him, bringing their hardening cocks into contact, and Judas lets out a quiet moan.

He picks Jesus up and Jesus wraps his legs around him. Judas stumbles and they end up as a tumble of limbs on the bed, with Jesus rolling on top of him.

They're laughing breathlessly, and then they're kissing, the entire lengths of their bodies pressed up against each other.

Judas wants to melt into Jesus, to be inside him, to be one with him.

He starts rocking his hips to get some friction, and Jesus grinds down against him as they continue to kiss.

Finally, Judas breaks their kiss again.

"Lie down," he says, kneeling between Jesus' legs when he does.

He smooths his hands across Jesus' stomach before going to the lowest button of his shirt and pausing there.

"Can I?" he asks, looking up at Jesus.

"Yes," Jesus says, his Adam's apple visibly bobbing as he swallows.

As Judas unbuttons the first button, he feels like time slows down around them.

He lowers his face to kiss the newly uncovered skin, letting his lips linger as he unbuttons the next button.

He drags his mouth up Jesus' stomach, placing a kiss every time he opens another button, until the shirt falls open.

He keeps kissing his way upwards, finally reaching Jesus' mouth.

As they kiss, Jesus raises his torso so Judas can pull his shirt off all the way.

Judas lets his fingertips ghost over Jesus' ribcage, his touch leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Jesus tugs on Judas' shirt to untuck it from his trousers and Judas sits back to pull it off over his head.

"You're beautiful," Jesus says, his hands stroking across Judas' chest and stomach until they find their way to Judas' fly, opening it.

Judas shimmies out of his trousers and underwear, and then goes for Jesus' trousers, pulling them off as well.

He immediately moves back in, not being able to stand being separated even for a moment, and rests his forehead against Jesus's.

"I want you," Judas whispers against Jesus' lips. "All of you."

"You have me," Jesus whispers back, and then he says, "Fuck me."

Judas kisses him, hard.

He grabs the lube from the nightstand and coats his fingers in a generous amount.

"Ready?" he asks Jesus, and Jesus nods.

Judas brushes his fingertips over Jesus' hole and then carefully slides one finger into him, slowly fucking in and out. It doesn't take long before he can add a second finger.

Jesus is holding on to Judas' shoulders and placing sloppy kisses on Judas' chest, nipping at the skin occasionally. Judas crooks his fingers inside him and Jesus makes a strangled keening sound.

"All good?" Judas asks, stilling for a moment.

"Yes," Jesus says. "Keep going."

Judas has three fingers in now and he's spreading them, making sure Jesus is thoroughly stretched. He brushes his fingers against Jesus' prostate again, drawing another moan from him, before pulling out.

Jesus makes a needy noise as soon as he's empty, and it goes right to Judas' cock. He doesn't waste any time lubing himself up.

Supporting himself with one hand, he grabs his cock with the other to line himself up.

As he enters Jesus, Jesus immediately wraps his legs tightly around his waist, angling up his hips to take Judas in as deeply as he can.

They both groan when Judas bottoms out, and when Jesus clenches his muscles, Judas almost comes right then and there.

"Judas, please," Jesus says when Judas doesn't immediately start moving.

"Hold on," Judas says, breathing hard. "I just need—a second."

He takes a couple of deep breaths before he feels like he can safely move.

He pulls out a little bit and thrusts back in, repeating the motion until he finds a good angle and rhythm.

Jesus is soon gasping underneath him with every thrust. He closes his arms around Judas' back and Judas lets himself be pulled down, letting his elbows take his weight.

He feels completely enveloped by Jesus, his arms, his legs, his hole—everything around him is Jesus.

"You're all mine," he says. "You're the most amazing and you're all mine."

Their mouths find each other and they kiss as Judas continues to roll his hips into Jesus, angling his thrusts to hit Jesus' prostate.

Jesus' cock is rubbing against Judas' belly with every thrust, trapped between their bodies.

"Harder," Jesus moans, and Judas obliges, snapping his hips.

Jesus' hands are in his hair now, their faces only a breath's width from each other.

Jesus' moans are becoming more urgent and more vocal and Judas covers his mouth with his own to swallow the noises he's making.

Jesus' legs squeeze around his waist and Judas feels his come spill hot and slick on his belly. With one final thrust, he buries himself deep inside Jesus and comes as well.

Judas collapses onto Jesus, not caring about the sticky mess between them.

After a moment, he raises his head from Jesus' shoulder to look at him. His face is sweaty and his hair is curling in adorable little tendrils around it. He's avoiding Judas' gaze, so Judas places a finger against his jaw to tilt his face towards him.

"Jesus?" he asks. "What is it?"

Jesus looks at him then, almost timidly, and Judas smiles at him, stroking a finger over his cheek.

"I think I love you," Jesus says, and Judas' heart performs giddy somersaults in his chest.

"I love you, too," he says, quietly, and watches as the most beautiful smile spreads across Jesus' face.

They just lie there, gazing deep into each other's eyes, and Judas is sure that his own face mirrors the delight and wonder on Jesus' face.

"So…" Judas finally says with a grin. "I make you nervous?"

Judas has learnt to recognise the way Jesus' cheeks go a slightly deeper shade of pink when he's blushing. He notices with satisfaction that it's happening now.

"This all feels so new to me," Jesus admits. "I—I feel so much for you. It's scary. And you—you seem so sure about everything."

"Not everything," Judas says. "But I do feel sure about you."

He tenderly brushes Jesus' hair out of his face and gives him a peck on the lips.

"Come on, let's go shower," he says.

He rolls off Jesus and takes his hand to help him up.

Jesus pauses and runs his fingers through the slowly drying mess on Judas' stomach.

"I don't know," he says, teasing. "I like you covered in my come."

Now it's Judas' turn to blush.

Jesus goes to his knees and starts licking the come off Judas' belly, making Judas' breath hitch.

His cock rallies surprisingly quickly when Jesus takes him in his mouth.

It takes them a little longer than intended to get in the shower.

***

The day of the orange mocha launch is shortly before Halloween.

Judas is readying things behind the counter while Jesus and Simon are hanging up Halloween decorations. Simon is precariously balanced on a ladder which is definitely not safe considering the huge coffee cup costume he's wearing.

"Fake spiders are so boring," Simon complains. "You should have let me bring in Simone, Judas."

"No live tarantulas at the café," Judas says for what feels like the thousandth time.

"You have a tarantula?" Jesus asks Simon, his face lighting up.

"Her name is Simone," Simon says. "She's such a sweet girl, but Judas won't budge. Something about not wanting to scare the customers."

"He can be a bit of a buzzkill that way," Jesus sighs.

"I can hear you, you know," Judas says.

Jesus shoots him an apologetic smile and Judas immediately forgets to be angry.

Jesus is dressed in tight black trousers and a flowy white shirt. His vampire ensemble is completed by black lipstick and fake fangs. It's having quite an effect on Judas.

His own costume consists of black leather trousers, a mesh shirt, and a pointy wizard hat, all procured by Jesus. Jesus claims it's a "sexy wizard costume" but Judas suspects it's just the best he was able to scrounge up at the thrift store on short notice.

He didn't originally want to dress up, but Jesus insisted he should, for the sake of "aesthetic coherency."

Aesthetically coherent or not, the hat is making Judas feel ridiculous, so he shoves it onto a shelf underneath the counter.

There's a yelp and a crash and Judas looks up to see both Simon and the ladder lying on the floor.

"I'm fine," Simon yells, helplessly flailing his limbs trying to get up.

"I told you it wasn't safe to work in this costume!" Judas scolds as he rushes over to help Jesus pull Simon up by the arms.

"On the contrary!" Simon says once they've set him on his feet. "The padding in this cup broke my fall. It may have just saved my life."

"Either way you're not getting back on that ladder," Judas says. "You can take over behind the counter."

He watches Simon make his way over there, bumping into several chairs as he goes. It's a bit of a tight squeeze, but Simon just fits behind the counter. Judas doubts he'll be able to move at any kind of speed though. Filling orders is going to be a nightmare.

Still, Judas is excited for the customers to come in, which is a surprise after how much of an anxious wreck he was at last week's social media event.

He was so nauseous he could barely speak, but thanks to Jesus, the event went off without a hitch and there is a lot of buzz building about the 30 Beans Halloween launch on social media.

Judas finishes pinning up the jack-o'-lantern fairy lights Jesus is handing him and they go to stash the ladder in the back.

It's the last quiet moment they're going to have for hours, so Judas steals a few kisses.

"Hey," Jesus says suddenly. "Where's your hat?"

"I don't remember," Judas lies.

"Let's go find it," Jesus says. "It's an essential part of the costume!"

Judas leaves him to the search and goes to greet Denise who has just come in and is setting up to take pictures for her follow-up article on the event.

"The place looks great," Denise says.

"It's all thanks to Jesus," Judas says.

"Ah, the boyfriend," Denise says with that slightly suggestive tone that makes Judas uncomfortable. "Where is he?"

"I found your hat, Judas," Jesus exclaims, coming up behind him. "Oh, hi Denise! Good to see you."

"And what are you supposed to be?" Denise asks Judas as Jesus places the hat on his head at a jaunty angle.

"He's a sexy wizard," Jesus says. "Obviously."

"Obviously," Denise echoes, not very convincingly.

Soon, customers in a colourful array of costumes start trickling in.

Simon is handling the volume of orders surprisingly well in spite of barely fitting behind the counter in his costume. Judas is almost a little impressed.

People keep coming back to the counter just to let them know how much they're loving the drink, and it's making Judas' heart swell with pride and gratitude.

He can't believe how many people have come out to support his business, friends and strangers alike. Everyone seems to be having a great time mingling and taking pictures with their drinks in front of the decorations.

Judas spots Mary and Thad chatting in a corner and having what looks like a friendly conversation.

He swallows his jealousy. Thad is allowed to get along with Mary even though Judas still doesn't like her much.

"What were you talking to Mary about?" he asks Thad later.

"Nothing much," Thad says. "We were just threatening to kill each other's best friends. You know, if either of you should ever hurt the other."

Judas can't help but laugh.

"Sick sexy wizard costume by the way, dude," Thad says.

"How did you—" Judas begins.

"Jesus told me to say that," Thad says with a grin. "I don't really see it either. Except for the sexy part, of course."

"Shut up," Judas says, swatting Thad's shoulder.

"Watch out," Thad says. "You're going to dislodge my rats."

Judas had meant to ask why there are rats glued to the colourful coat Thad is wearing.

"I'm the pied piper," Thad explains. "I would have brought Agnes and Dolores, but I hear this is not a pet-friendly café."

"Did Simon complain to you?" Judas asks.

"Extensively," Thad says.

The hours go by fast and soon, the café is emptying out.

A few last stragglers are taking pictures with Jesus in the corner he has set up for his meet and greet, complete with ring light and all.

The bell dings one last time as Jesus politely ushers them outside.

They clean up, and when they're done Jesus and Judas help push Simon out through the doorway in his costume.

"Thank you, Simon," Judas says by way of goodbye. "You did great work today."

"Raises speak louder than words," Simon says, pointing finger guns at Judas.

"You're right," Judas says. "I'll have Caiaphas run the numbers."

"Wait, really?" Simon says. "That's a huge success for the union! I have to go home and tell Simone immediately."

Judas shakes his head as he locks up, but he's smiling.

They go up to the flat and Judas rushes off to get a gift box he's been hiding at the bottom of his wardrobe.

Jesus drapes himself onto the sofa and Judas sits down so they're facing each other.

"I want to thank you, too," he says. "I never would have been able to pull this off without you."

"Undoubtedly not," Jesus says, clearly pleased with himself.

"I've got something for you," Judas says, handing Jesus the box.

Jesus looks at it and turns it over in his hands, fidgeting with it.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you," he says, suddenly serious. "How would you feel about me moving in with you? Here?"

"I think you should open the box," Judas says.

"I mean, I don't have to. I understand if you prefer to have your own space," Jesus says. "It's just that we're already basically living together, and I'm never really at my place anyway, so we could make it official. I would like that, but only if you—"

"Jesus," Judas says, more insistently. "Open the box."

Jesus does.

"It's… keys," he says, stunned.

"One to the building and one to the flat," Judas says.

"Oh," Jesus says, understanding dawning on his face.

"Yeah," Judas says happily, cradling Jesus' face with his hands.

Jesus raises his own hands to Judas' face, stopping him from leaning in.

"There's just one thing," he says.

"What is it?" Judas asks, stroking his thumbs over Jesus' cheeks.

"I'm going to need more than one drawer for my clothes," Jesus says.

Judas laughs.

"You can have however many drawers you like," he says.

"And wardrobe space," Jesus adds.

"As much as you need," Judas says.

Jesus is grinning at him, and then he kisses him, biting down on Judas' lower lip with his fake fangs.

"Are you trying to drink my blood?" Judas asks.

"I might be," Jesus says, flashing his teeth.

"Careful, I'm a sexy yet very powerful wizard," Judas says.

"Luckily," Jesus says, "I'm incredibly brave."

They're so very lucky, Judas thinks.

Jesus lowers his head and bites Judas' throat.

Tonight is going to be fun.

~the end~