Johnny is not usually one to make bargains in his business. But, he does have two customers who he makes exceptions for. He meets them both every Wednesday: one in the morning, one at night. 

His morningtime customer is a Morrisville State junior by the name of Dong Sicheng. Spindly, quiet, and soft spoken, he was the kind of guy that didn't like anyone, but everyone seemed to like him. He was the perfect fit for his job: y but slightly standoffish early morning barista at the Starbucks in the middle of campus. 

Here's how Sicheng and Johnny's deal worked: on Wednesday mornings he worked from 4:30 am to 10 am. After he finished work he would swing by with two grandes of whatever seasonal lattes he thought were the best, two trenta fancy cold brews for the afternoon, and a bag full of coffee beans. Johnny would take that and whatever cash tips Sicheng made over the week, and give him some weed in exchange. 

His eveningtime customer is a Morrisville State senior by the name of Nakamota Yuta. Silly, overly affectionate, and seemingly always , he was the kind of guy that liked everyone, and got a mixed response back. He was the perfect fit for his job: hot but slightly overenthusiastic cashier at MVP, the pizza place in the middle of campus (it stands for MorrisVille Pizza, in case you're wondering).

Here's how Yuta and Johnny's deal worked: on Wednesday evenings he worked from 2 pm to 10 pm. After he finished work he would swing by with two of the biggest pizzas the store carried, one pepperoni and whatever pizza special of the week he thought was the best, and one order of the infamous garlic breadsticks. Johnny would take that and whatever cash tips Yuta made over the week, and give him some weed in exchange. 

t was 10:30 Wednesday morning when Sicheng, Taeil, and Johnny were all sitting around Johnny's living room, testing out a bowl together. Sicheng had been Johnny's customer long enough that the three of them felt comfortable, hanging out just like normal friends. 

"I like this kind," Sicheng said slowly, leaning back on Johnny and Taeil's recliner. 

"You do?" Johnny asked as he took a sip of his oatmilk honey latte. 

"Yeah." 

"Better than your usual?" 

"Better than my usual. I think I'll have to switch." 

"Hell yeah," Johnny said with a grin. Sicheng dug the messy pile of cash out of his back pocket and tossed it to Johnny. 

Johnny snorted as Taeil gathered it all in his hands, standing up. 

"Should I grab him a bag?" 

"Yeah babe. Throw in an extra nug for good measure." 

Taeil grinned and went off to the back closet where they kept all of their goods, Johnny tried to give him a little surreptitious pinch on the as he left. But apparently it wasn't quite surreptitious enough, because Sicheng snorted. Nonetheless, Taeil still gave him a wink as he left. 

Johnny cleared his throat. "Anyways..."

"You know dude, this deal is so ing nice. Bless you for doing this for me." 

"Don't worry about it man. We love the coffee and your tips are definitely enough." 

"I don't know if I could afford to smoke otherwise. Starbucks won't give me more hours so my paychecks are . Thank god my parents help me a little or I'd be broke as ." 

"That ing man." 

"Starbucks . You know, they won't give any of us shifts longer than five hours and forty five minutes because they'd have to give us a break. Isn't that ed up?" 

"Yeah. That is so ed up. You should quit." 

Sicheng sighed. "I wish. I've been looking when I have the time, but nothing's turned up yet." 

"Do you have any other deals you could do to get things?" 

"Actually, me and my coworkers have a deal with MVP, since we're across the street from each other." 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah. During the closing shift, someone from MVP comes and drops off a large pizza for us, and we give them enough drinks for all the staff. The manager said we could get in a lot of trouble for it, but to be honest nobody gives a , not even the shift leads. It's always so nice to have when I work the closing shift." 

"I bet," Johnny answered. He briefly wondered if Sicheng knew Yuta; even though the two were pretty much complete opposites. 

"You know...can I tell you something?" Sicheng asked, voice dropping lower. 

"Of course. You can tell me anything." 

"Actually....low key...I kind of have a crush on one of the guys that works at MVP." 

"Seriously?" Johnny was genuinely surprised; this was the first time he'd heard Sicheng express an interest like that in anyone of any gender.

Sicheng chuckled at looked at his lap, breathing out some smoke. "Yeah. You probably know...I'm not normally the guy to be interested in anyone like that. But...there's something about him. He's really ing handsome, and he's got this really...pretty smile. It's inviting, somehow. He's always really friendly with all his coworkers...kinda affectionate...definitely not the person I'd usually think I'd be into, but I dunno. Sometimes I even go into MVP after work or on my days off so I can order from him. And I barely even like MVP pizza." 

Johnny's eyes were blown so wide; he was about 99% percent sure he knew exactly who Sicheng was talking about. "What's his name?" 

"His nametag says Yuta...." 

"Ooh...interesting name." 

Sicheng chuckled. "Yeah. Interesting guy." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly twelve hours later, Johnny and Taeil were pretty much in the exact same spot: except instead of Sicheng being in their living room, it was Yuta. 

Passing around a pipe and some pizza, the boys were chatting about Yuta's shift. 

"Ugh, work on Wednesdays ," Yuta complained. 

"Why?" 

Yuta sighed. "Well, on Wednesdays, MVP does a trade with the Starbucks nearby, right? We give them a pizza and they give us enough drinks for the whole staff. I'm the one that usually does the delivery, right? But on Wednesdays the cute barista doesn't work." 

Johnny perked up a little, remembering his conversation with Sicheng this morning. "Cute barista?" 

"Oh my god. There's this barista that works at that Starbucks. Have you seen him? Ugh...he's tall, and skinny, and kind of has a resting face but it's so hot, and also cute? I dunno. I'm kind of obsessed. Sometimes I even go into that Starbucks after work or on my day off so I can order from him. And I barely even like Starbucks coffee." 

"What's his name?" Johnny asked, praying it was who he hoped it would be. 

"Uh...his nametag says Sicheng on it." 

Johnny and Taeil shared a grin: it was time to formulate a plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a Friday night, and Johnny and Taeil were ready. 

After what happened on Wednesday the couple decided that it was their absolute duty to intervene and make sure their friends got together. So they texted both of them separately, saying there was a new strain they wanted both to try with another customer, it would kinda be like a party. Yuta and Sicheng had both immediately agreed, and Johnny and Taeil got to planning. 

So here they were, sitting in their living room, waiting for the doorbell to ring, and it suddenly did. 

Johnny rushed to the door to see Sicheng walk in first. 

"Welcome in!" 

"Thanks for having me." The barista looked around. "Why does it look so...romantic in here?" 

Taeil held back a snort. Maybe they had gone a bit too far making this a date: they'd set up candles everywhere, dimmed the lighting, set up beautiful hors d'oeuvres, and even scattered a few flower petals on the floor. 

"Oh..." Johnny answered. "No reason. Just...small party things." 

Just then the doorbell rung, and Johnny went to answer it again. 

"Oh hi Yuta! Come in!" 

"Thanks for having me," the pizza cashier answered, confidently stepping in until he laid his eyes on Sicheng. 

Honestly, it was a beautiful moment. Johnny and Taeil shared a smile watching the two make tense yet gentle eye contact. Immediately, they knew that this was the right decision. 

"Um...you two make yourselves comfortable! We're gonna go get the weed." 

Johnny and Taeil dashed to the back, giggling to each other as soon as they felt they were out of earshot. 

"This was such a good idea baby," Johnny whispered. 

"I know, right? They're, like, soulmates." 

"Let's check on them." Johnny and Taeil poked their heads out from the side of the wall to see Yuta and Sicheng already chatting animatedly, sitting on the same part of the couch, pretty close together. 

Johnny almost squealed with joy until Taeil slapped a hand over his mouth. "We don't want to be too obvious." 

"I mean, I'm sure they know we planned this on purpose." 

Taeil gave an admitting shrug, and the two leaned over to get another glimpse of the couple. 

"Honestly...I feel like we should leave." 

"I know, right? I feel like we are interrupting their date now," Taeil whispered back.

"Well, let's just stay back here as long as its not too weird," Johnny said. 

"Agreed."