As much as I wish they were, these characters aren't mine. This particular chapter is clean, the rating is just for parts of chapters that will come later. This is my first attempt at a chapter fic so I hope you guys enjoy it.

Monroe quickly made his way down the icy sidewalk, looking for a place to get away from the biting cold. He was absolutely fanatic about Christmas, but the month before when it's nothing but cold and snow and you can't even consider it to be Christmas time wasn't that great at all. He had been visiting his friend Rosalee at the old shop she owned, and he hadn't been expecting the snow storm until much later, but he was currently trying to walk through sheets of heavy snow, wishing that he had worn a coat as his sweater was doing nothing to keep the cold out. The uniquely shaped snowflakes were falling down hard, plenty of them finding their way into his curly brown hair. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to Rosalee's shop until the storm died out, he spotted a little coffee shop just a few buildings down.

A smile spread across his face as he continued pushing down the sidewalk through the snow, as this particular coffee shop was a place that he used to go to rather often, but between work and friends he just hadn't found the time for it in several months. The smell of multiple caffeinated drinks and brownies seeped through the glass to meet him while he was still a few yards away. At the thought of having a warm drink in a heated building, Monroe picked up his pace and entered the small building.

The warmth of the heated building washed over him as he walked towards the counter, brushing the snow from his shoulders as his eyes scanned over the list of coffees, espressos, cappuccinos, brownies, cookies, and all kinds of other things that were way off of the diet he had been trying to stick to.

"Wow, the snow is really coming down out there," the guy behind the counter observed as he walked up from the back room with a towel in his hands. At the sound of his voice Monroe's gaze trailed down from the menu to rest on the man in front of him. He had tousled black hair, misty blue eyes, and a crooked smile, the nametag that was pinned to his dark green apron spelling out 'Nick' in big black letters. "What can I get for you?"

"Yeah, we're in for one hell of a winter this year. The options have definitely changed since the last time I was in here, but…I'll just have a regular coffee." Monroe let a small smile spread across his face, suddenly unaware of the melted snow that was seeping through his sweater.

"Just a coffee? You don't want anything special on a horribly cold day like this? You sure?"

"Well…what would you suggest, you typical pushy salesmen?" Monroe asked, getting Nick to crack a smile.

"The double-fudge macchiato, it's really good and it sounds more masculine than a cappuccino, don't you think? Plus, it's only two dollars more than the coffee."

"Alright, I'll take one of those. But it better be good, because I'm going to hold that against you," Monroe promised as he handed the money for the drink over the counter.

"You can go ahead and find a seat, I'll bring it out to you when it's done." Nick smiled as he grabbed a glass from under the counter and watched Monroe walk away to take a seat in the corner.

Monroe sank into a comfortable arm chair in the corner where drywall met glass and looked out on the street as the snow made it nearly impossible to see car lights or people walking down the sidewalk. His body gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of having to go back out in that mess, as the numbness in his fingers was just starting to fade. Not only was his coat hanging in the closet at home, but his gloves were shoved into the pockets on it. He took a look around the shop at the pictures of coffee beans on the walls, tons of comfy chairs, and plenty of tables to eat at, making a mental note to never forget about this place again.

"Double-fudge macchiato for the freezing cold guy in the soaking wet sweater." Nick had walked over to where Monroe was sitting, smiling as he handed the hot drink to the other.

"I'm not freezing cold, it's nice and warm in here," Monroe assured Nick as he took a careful sip of his drink.

"No, but you were before you came in here. Would you like a brownie?" Nick offered, taking a seat next to Monroe as he held out a thick square of a white-chocolate covered brownie to the other.

"No thanks, this macchiato is already far enough off of my diet."

"Ah, come on, just break the rules this one time. I promise you that it's one hell of a brownie, and I'm giving it to you for free."

"Won't you get in trouble with your boss if you just give me a free brownie?"

"No, I own the place. I don't have anybody to answer to, if you take the brownie it simply means I have to make another one free of profit."

"You make them?" Monroe questioned, finally giving in and taking the brownie from Nick with an appreciative nod and a smile, his fingers brushing against the other's hand.

"Yeah, I make everything here. Not all of the sweets are exactly from scratch, but the brownies are. What do you think, is it worth breaking your diet?"

"Definitely," Monroe decided after taking a bite of the warm, rich brownie with the melt-in-your-mouth white-chocolate icing. He couldn't keep himself from smiling, his heartbeat speeding up every time he looked into Nick's eyes.

"I'm Nick by the way, but I'm sure you read my name tag already," Nick introduced himself with a smile.

"Yes I did, but it's nice to meet you anyway. I'm Monroe." Monroe offered Nick his hand, taking a long drink of his macchiato as his brownie rested on his leg.

"Nice to meet you Monroe," Nick said, firmly shaking Monroe's hand. "I didn't notice an extra car back in the parking lot, did you walk here in this storm?"

"Well earlier this morning I walked to go see a friend because it wasn't snowing then, and once I went to leave it was starting up but I thought I could make it home before it got really bad, but it was just getting worse so I came in here. I'm glad that I did, too, because this really is a good macchiato. And you're right, it does sound more masculine than cappuccino."

"Then I guess that means you're stuck here until the storm passes, huh?"

"Yeah, guess I am." Monroe wrapped his hands around his drink while the last bit of cold was tingling in his fingertips, finally disappearing from his body.

"Hey, so, that diet that you said you were breaking by getting anything here? What exactly does it consist of?"

"Well for one, definitely not this much sugar. It's not exactly a strict diet that only consists of certain things, I've just been trying to eat healthier. Eating more natural things, avoiding artificial flavors and all."

"Well, could I take you to dinner and you can show me what kind of stuff is on your diet?"

At first Monroe thought he had heard Nick wrong or that the other had just been joking with him, but when he looked into Nick's eyes, the anxious look there told him otherwise, and he couldn't help but smile.