oh yes!! cheesby aus, here we go!
first one you’ll get is closer to fluff, but if you’re willing to recieve angst, lemme kno <3
there’s a place in philadelphia that sid visited since he first discovered it: it’s a small coffee shop, not far away from the hotel where they tend to stay, one with well-worn brick walls plastered with everything from flyers decor (sid hates it), to old coffee posters, to what seems to be a fishing magazine collection from the 90s. it has dim, flickering lights and while it certainly has the kind of industrial coffee shop feel, it has old armchairs, mixed cups and the best coffee sid’s ever tasted.
he remembers going there, tired, with tanger the evening after the loss at a flyers game and it was the only place that was open: even though it is covered with flyers things, and the dude with the snapback and greasy hair at the counter definitely gave them the ugly eye, while a guy with an unruly ginger beard (jake) from behind the dude stares them down. they get into a squabble, and like, the ginger beard guy doesn’t even ask what they want and just hands them a cup of coffee, and sid is first afraid its poison or smtg but then like, tanger takes a sip of it and he’s like,, ”holy this is so good” and sid takes it, and he can feels his mind calm down, he can feel the coffee run through his body, he can feel the aroma slowly surround him like a warm blanket, and it’s like someone telling him it’s okay that they lost, that it happened like this even if it is not really. jake raises a brow, and sid can’t help but feel slightly embarrased when apparantly.. they knew exactly what he wanted.
the next time he is in philadelphia, he returns and behind the counter this time it’s the same greasy guy (tk) but another sort-of ginger dude (coots) goes a bit wide-eyed and grins when sid comes in with geno this time around. sid like, comes to the counter, and is like- ”i want what i had last time” and coots narrows his eyes, and shakes his head, ”no that’s not what you need” (this time it’s the morning before a game) and coots begins to prepare a drink for him and geno, and when sid tastes it he can feel- energized, he can feel ready, prepared, somewhat confident, the tiredness fading away slowly. it’s the same kind of sensation of the past cup but hte feelings are completely different. geno experiences the same kind of ’wtf is this coffee’ and they leave, but just before they leave, sid spots a ginger man coming out with the kitchen with a messy apron and messy half-long hair (this is like.. current g but with flow because i cAN) pulled in a tiny bun and sid.. goes weak in the knees to say the least and like, he makes eyes with the ginger man through the window who promptly drops his drink. huh. geno most definitely bullies sid for this reaction.
next time, sid returns after a win with brandon tanev and he’s high on euphoria, and when he comes in this time around, it’s the greasy guy and another slightly taller greasy dude with spaced out eyes (joel) and they sort,, of stare him down annoyed. sid doesn’t think a lot when they prepare his and brandon’s cup, but when he tastes it.. it just tastes ugly, like it’s pulling out the joy of victory out of him, and he spits it out, and is like.. wtf and brandon between him is like ”you said this was the best coffee you had ever tasted” and the greasy guy just,, grins at him being like ”well, you won against the flyers.” and sid is about to like, walk out of the coffee shop, fuck these guys, when through the kitchen with sleeves rolled up and an apron, hair this time beneath a snapback, curling behind his neck, the ginger guy he saw through the window holding a bag of coffee beans, ”we got the new beans from the x roasters, i think it’ll work well with ou-” and then he turns around, and drops the bag of beans on the floor as he spots sid.
”sidney crosby” sid can’t help but blush, but also be a bit nervous, since he entered a flyers.. coffee shop apparantly and this man merely blinks at him, and brandon is like ”please make them stop giving us terrible coffee” and the man cant help but stare at them, and then laugh, while he tenderly ruffles tk’s and joel’s hair.
”you did win against the flyers, what you’d expect” and um, sid and g gets into this kind of flirty conversation back and forth, and g is basically like, it’s late but if you come back tomorrow, i will make you a good cup of coffee and tk, joel and brandon is just there being like.. oh god, they’re flirting.
sid comes to the coffee shop the next morning, and there’s a lot more people there this time around and not the empty shop that’s in the evenings (like it was when the second time they visited) and he’s alone this time, and he like, spots the guy who like, seems to be busy, and maybe sid should walk out, maybe he doesnt want him here, but then like, someone touches at his shoulder and he’s face to face with nolan patrick who he last saw in the game yesterday and nolan is like, what are you doing here, and they start to bicker, and then like, claude comes to them and is like ”sid’s here with me” and nolan makes a grimace at claude, who clearly knows him.
claude’s like, sorry about that, grabs at sid’s shoulder and sid cant help but feel the warmth through it and lean into it, claude goes behind the counter and is like- wait here- i’ll make you coffee, and sid waits as claude dissapears into the kitchen and like, when he comes back sid tries claude’s coffee and.. it’s like, heavenly, settles deep into his chest, feels light and happy and bright and like home, but there’s also a sense.. of something lost and forgotten in there. it is a wonderful experience. anyways, then sid has to go.
so you get this slow burn kind of coffee pining throughout two seasons between them, where like, sid keeps shoiwng up at claude’s shop and he keeps making him coffee that feels different every time, and it brings them closer, and they start talking, and he starts discovering how much claude loves coffee and how important this coffee shop is and how it has become a part of philadelphia and with each cup he tastes, sid can feel himself closer with the coffee shop and claude and philadelphia itself. it just sort of.. warms him, becomes a home. at this point, sid’s basically in love with claude and they flirt and they never do anything and there’s a lot of unresolved sexual tension.
anyways, sid decides to visit just until before he leaves for nova scotia during the off season and like.. comes in just before closing, when it’s empty, and can spot the crew laughing and he’s about to say hi, when suddendly, he sees jake levitating cups and coffee in the air.. and he’s like, what the fuck???!! they all stare at him, and is like, oh no, and apparantly claude isn’t there, but jake tries to explain sort of.. by giving him a cup of coffee, and he can feel his mind go sort of foggy, and he sort of starts forgetting it. they all look sorry as he drinks it.
throughout the summer, the coffee shop slowly starts to fade away from him and when he returns to the first game in philly, he doesn’t go to the coffee shop for the first time in like two or three years, and tanger and geno is like... why aren’t you going there to flirt with your g and like, sid is like.. huh, i mean, i don’t really feel like it?? and then like, after the game nolan comes up to him and is like, ”why haven’t you visited the coffee shop, g misses you” and sid vaugely remembers the encounter with nolan, but is like, ”i just haven’t felt like it” and nolan looks.. mad at him, and he’s like ”you know that guy is pining for you” and sid like.. feels sad, like something is missing within him, but he doesn’t really know what to do about it.
anyways, that kind of sticks with him until the next flyers game and he feels something irking at him, like there’s something missing from him, so he goes back to the coffee shop because something is clearly amiss and like, claude is there and so is the other guys (jake, tk and joel + g) and the three of them looks very.. guilty while g just. looks cold at sid. and like, sid asks about it and he sounds.. very careless without indenting it and claude shuts off even more against sid and slowly starts to be rude against him, and sid kind of fights back and claude hands him a cup of coffee and it just. tastes empty. so empty. without flavour. hollow. it feels wrong. he leaves.
that night, him and a couple of pens go out to a bar where... he encounters tk who is like, ”i am sorry u need to come with us” and sid is like, no, and tk is like, please, we messed up.. so sid lets himself be drawn away by tk and joel, and they end up at the coffee shop where jake currently is, and jake is like, what are you doing here and sid can feel a memory poking at his head, and tk and joel is like ”we fucked up so much” and jake is like.. bitter but ”he can’t know” and joel and tk is like, we can’t keep lying to g and that’s when the door to the kitchen opens and g comes out with a pot of coffee... that seems to be bubbling and sparkling and moving around, while he’s mumbling with words, and he’s like ”lying about what” and his eyes go wide as he spots sid.
”what. is he. doing here.”
sid is like, at this point, ”wtf what is going on” and claude scrubs at his face, ”you don’t deserve to know, jake, prepare the foggy brew-” and jake takes a long pause, but then tk is like, ”no. g. please don’t” and g is like, ”tk, what” and joel blurts out ”we already gave sid it” and g goes pale. ”what.” so, joel and tk explain what happened: sid came into the shop while jake was performing his magic, and so, they decided to give him the foggy brew which is like.. something that removes a memory but like, they messed it up so.. it kinda removed sid’s feelings towards the coffee shop and made him not be interested, and g at this point is furious at the three of them, and instead, grabs at sid’s sleeve and is like, come with me. at this point, sid is confused but also annoyed because he realized his mind got messed up with, and like, claude drags him up to the stairs into a place where claude lives, and it’s.. very enchanted, magic shit and sid is like ”oh god” and claude is like, sit down, and claude begins preparing an apparantly magic cup of coffee and explains like, simply, that oh, claude and jake and coots (not joel and tk, they’re just normal plebs) are coffee wtiches, and sid is like... ok, cool, sort of, while still baffled.
g hands sid a cup of coffee, and is like, ”please try it” and sid can feel the warmth returning, slowly growing through him, it feels.. close to home but his head is still foggy. claude is like, fuck it, damn it. tries again, and tries again, and tries again: sid touches at g’s shoulder being like, hey, it’s okay, and claude is like, ”no it’s not, you lost your memory, you forgot- you forgot- us” and sid is like.. ?? and like, claude closes his eyes, tiredly. ”i loved you.” and sid kind of just.. goes blank. ”oh”. ”
”they really fucked up, didn’t they”
”yes. magic is nothing to be messed with.. i- don’t blame them because- it’s- routine- but they hurt you. they hurt us.”
sid is like, it’ll be okay because he can notice himself caring about claude anyways, even if.. the feelings aren’t really there. sid is like, show me how to brew coffee, and claude begins to show sid his magic.
essentially, sid starts to visit philly more often: befriending claude again, understanding coffee, and learning how to brew it, falling into him, but not.. quite romantic yet, and sid can obviously see how it hurts claude, but.. he also knows he needs this. sid needs it, claude needs it. sid is still mad at the other three, esp jake, but they slowly work through it.
one night, sid makes a cup of coffee, and is like, hey claude, try it if it’s good, and he does it and claude’s eyes go wide because he can feel the love warmth and affection within it, he can feel the magic that only comes from someone who understands the passion and emotion and love from coffee, and, he feels sid’s love in it and can’t help but kiss him, and sid is like,, what, slowly pulls away. claude closes his eyes and- ”just try it” and sid tries his cup of coffee, and he can feel the fog dissapear- and oh- oh. he’s been in love all this time. he kisses claude back.
essentially, this is exploring coffee magic too where the brew sort of represents passion, love, emotion, and is very connected to how the drinker / brewer feels about it and thats kind of how it works and i do have an original comic / story about this.. so like, there’s a lot of detail about it.. but its essentially the culture and power of coffee through emotion magic and its sort of explorign sid and g through this. sorry for how long this is.
First of all, damn, I had no idea you can send asks this long now holy shit
Second of all, ugh, I would love a Flyers coffee shop to be a real thing. The closest thing I know of is this one shop down my street that has a small wall of vintage Philly sports memorabilia, like magazines and prints, and it includes some good ol' 70s Broad Street Bullies stuff...but it's not the main theme of the cafe, and it's not like I can go sit and chill there right now because......well....*gestures at the world*
But third, I just really love this!!! I love coffee, and I have very much specific memories in Philly tied to those moments where I'm picking up coffee before I go to the WFC for a matinee game or the Carnival or swinging by a shop I just happen to see while I'm walking and just....I really love the idea of Sid having these specific memories that keep him coming back again and again, beyond even just when he'd be there for games, that he's forming a bit of a home via coffee. It hurts that his memories got wiped away there, but there's also gotta be a little bit of conflict, a little bit of angst, or it would be too teeth rottingly fluffy....
pixelskylines
gamechangershow
ellievsbear
