A short (1075 words) drabble based off a writing prompt I got in class. The prompt challenged me to write a story where one of the characters, for some reason, could not talk. This is what I came up with! Anyway, please enjoy!

Jackson couldn’t help the way he was staring, watching as Mark picked at his bagel, eyes glued to the book in front of him. He looked so peaceful, and Jackson didn’t want to disturb him, but when he pulled back a chair to sit down, Mark’s eyes came up to meet his. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat and gave him a smile, sitting down as gracefully as was possible for him.

“Good morning. Sorry, I interrupted your reading.” Mark’s lips turned up at the sides and he shook his head, one of his hands coming up to wave off Jackson’s concern. This type of meeting was something they’d both become accustomed to. They’d meet in the little café to start out their mornings, Jackson would chatter aimlessly, and Mark would nod along until they had to go to their separate classes. It was nice to be able to have someone to eat breakfast with, even if Mark never spoke.

This had become their habit since they met through their friends Jinyoung and Jaebum, and Jackson said something about liking to get food and coffee before going to school. Mark written that he liked having somewhere nice to go before class too, and Jackson had excitedly told him about the café right off campus that he frequented all the time. He’d invited Mark to come with him sometime, and Mark had beamed at him and accepted. Jackson had actually been a little terrified that Mark wouldn’t show up, because people often told Jackson yes just to shut him up, but when he walked into the little café early the next morning, Mark was already there, eyes roaming over the menu as he half leaned against one of the tables, backpack hanging almost carelessly off his shoulder. Jackson had been smitten right then and there, but he played it cool, ordering for Mark while he pointed out what he wanted and following him to the table he’d picked out while he was waiting for Jackson to show up.

Now, Jackson was just as in love with him, if not even more so, and he found it hard not to stare at Mark’s angelic features as the other man looked up at him, eyes twinkling with a silent laughter. Jackson was unsure of whether it was at his new hair cut (he was never trusting Kunpimook with scissors again) or at the fact that Jackson had just managed to make more noise attempting to sit down quietly. Either way, Mark was obviously amused with him, and Jackson couldn’t bring himself to give a because that meant all of his attention was on him and him only. Instead of kissing him senseless, like he wanted to do, he settled for whining and slouching down in his seat, because that wouldn’t cause them to get kicked out of the café. He could always kiss him later. Mark would probably punch him if he tried anything here.

“I had so much homework last night. I would have never thought a music class would be the most stressful class here.” Mark closed his book and finally picked off a piece of his bagel to eat, looking at Jackson with wide eyes. “Do you want to see some of the they gave us to do?” Mark nodded and smiled, seemingly happy that Jackson was beginning to understand his looks, and Jackson reached into his handbag to pull out his music binder. It was stuffed to the brim with papers, and he handed it to Mark with a sigh. Then, as Mark took it from him, his eyes flitted over the table in front of him. “No coffee today?” Mark shook his head and looked over at the counter, so Jackson followed his gaze. Right away, he noticed their usual barista had been replaced with someone new. “Oh, I see. Do you want me to go order you a cup?” Mark nodded and looked down at the table, and Jackson knew his friend sometimes would get embarrassed or shy about the fact that he didn’t talk. “The usual?”

After getting Mark’s approval for his order, Jackson stood and walked over to the counter. The girl smiled at him and welcomed him back playfully, and he was pretty sure Mark didn’t need to worry about the girl being rude because he preferred using sticky-notes or sign language. She seemed friendly and ready to help with anything, and he gave her a smile back.

“Hello, could I get a tall white chocolate mocha?”

“Was your other coffee not good?” He laughed softly, shaking his head.

“This one is for my friend. But, I do have a question for you. Are you going to be working a lot around this time?” She nodded, looking at him curiously as she keyed his order into the register and pulled a cup from the stack next to her.

“I’m new around here, but they’ve decided that I’m going to be working this hour most of the time. Why so?”

“Well, my friend, his name is Mark, by the way. Anyways, he can’t talk, so he orders using a sticky note or piece of paper. He was too shy to order something off the menu today, but he will order a coffee in the future. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of everything.” He shrugged, acting nonchalant, and she smiled at him like she couldn’t believe people like him still existed in the world.

“Tell him I’m completely okay with him ordering in whatever way makes him comfortable. He’s lucky to have a friend like you.” Jackson smiled at her and thanked her for the kind words. But when he got back to the table and Mark positively glowed as he took the coffee gracefully, entangling their fingers as a thank you after Jackson sat down, he couldn’t help thinking that he was the one who got lucky. Mark was this angel who’d accidentally fallen from heaven and landed right in Jackson’s lap, and although he’d gone through a lot of to get where he was now, Jackson wouldn’t change anything at all. All of the music theory homework in the world couldn’t get his spirits down, not when Mark was holding his hand over the binder on the table and sipping happily at his coffee as he read, making him feel all these things inside. He wouldn’t trade his café mornings for the world.