Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Suisei had never liked winter. Whether it was because of the frigid weather, the lack of sunlight, or the shorter days, she did not know. If she was being perfectly honest, she wasn’t even sure why she had decided to work during the coldest season of the year. That wasn’t meant to say that she hated winter, but she definitely preferred being somewhere else over this freezing hell-hole. 

It just didn’t suit her, that was all.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anything to eat. She was supposed to have some sort of breakfast today, but she had forgotten to stock up on groceries. As such, she had nothing to nibble on, and no way of getting more than a few bites of something else from the bakery. A shame really, for she was really craving ramen. Sure, it was an unusual food to start the day with, but it definitely filled her stomach up. 

‘What time did my shift star—’ Her train of thought was interrupted when her phone vibrated in her pocket, promptly answering the question of when her shift would start.  She quickly slid it out, turning off the alarm hastily. 

"Guess I should start preparing for when we open I guess…" She muttered to herself. She walked over to the counter to retrieve her apron, but before she could even touch it, someone grabbed onto her shoulders from behind. 

"Don’t forget your apron!" a voice boomed from behind her. The words made her jump slightly. Spinning around, she glared at the culprit.

"Oh. It’s you. How did you get in? I didn’t hear you enter," she questioned, shooting Miko a questioning stare, almost as if she was accusing her of something.

Miko chose to ignore the question, instead grinning widely, waggling her index finger at Suisei. "You wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice, would you? I would hate for anyone to think you couldn’t serve drinks properly." 

Suisei groaned inwardly, though outwardly she just rolled her eyes. It’s going to be another one of those days, isn’t it? "Fine. Just don’t go doing anything stupid now, okay? Ina will have both our heads if you break something again." She turned to put on her apron, grumbling to herself about idiots and their dumb ideas. 

It wasn’t until a sharp tug drew Suisei away from her thoughts that she realised that Miko hadn’t let go of her arm. Staring up at Miko questioningly, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Grinning, Miko responded,"Now isn’t it obvious? We have things to do. Now come on, hurry up and get to making our drinks!" she exclaimed. Her grip on Suisei’s arm loosened ever so slightly. "We can do it together, right?"

"Yeah, I’m going to have to pass on that one, you and I both know what happened the last time you suggested that."

Miko snorted in amusement. "Come on, I didn’t exactly suggest we do it together, I was more suggesting that I should help you. Come on, there’s no reason to be such a stick in the mud about this." 

She leaned forward so that her face was directly in front of Suisei’s. "I mean, we’re friends, right? Best buds? Can we trust each other and coexist without getting into fights every single day, hmm?"

"I wouldn’t exactly call us friends… more like… business partners. Also, you’re the one who starts the fights every time with your shenanigans," Suisei retorted, crossing her arms.

"You wound me with your words, Suisei." Feigning hurt, Miko got down on her knees, clutching her stomach.

"As if. Shut up, idiot." As she spoke, Suisei finished putting on her apron. When it was finally on, she quickly fixed her hair. "Now stop yammering and order something before I kick you out."

"Hey! Are you really gonna give me that kind of talk to my face, huh?" Miko said, sticking out her tongue childishly. Suisei rolled her eyes again.

"Well, yes. What else am I supposed to say?"

"Oh I don’t know, maybe a thank you or something for all the trouble I go through for you?" Suisei’s heart fluttered ever so slightly when she heard Miko’s response.

"Fine, whatever." Taking a deep breath, Suisei started setting up all the equipment. She took out some of the different blends from their fridge, along with two cups and a carton of whipped cream.

Miko stood near where Suisei was standing, watching intently as the blue-haired girlplaced everything they needed on the counter.

When the bluenette noticed that Miko was still hovering around her, she blushed lightly. "Can you just order something already?"

With a grin, Miko stepped closer. Reaching out, she gently pinched one of Suisei’s cheeks. 

"Are you blushing~? Is it because I’m cute? Is it because I’m pretty?" Miko cheekily probed. Suisei’s following blush only added fuel to the fire, causing Miko to giggle gleefully. 

She pulled Suisei’s cheeks between her fingers, earning a small shriek of protest from Suisei.

"Is this better?" Miko teased.

"Stop touching my face! I swear you’ll regret it later!"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say, Suisei~. You might not realise it, but I see through you~." 

With those final words, Miko pulled away from Suisei, directing her attention towards the signs showing the menu. Groaning, Suisei buried her face in her hands.

Why am I letting myself fall victim to this lunatic? she thought to herself, shaking her head. There was no point thinking about it any further than that. She would only be digging her grave even deeper.

"Oi, Suisei! I’ll have uhhh…"

Suisei turned her attention towards the person currently calling her over, ignoring the slight twinge of guilt in her chest at how easily her name escaped Miko’s lips. "A vanilla latte with extra whip cream please. Oh, and don’t forget to throw in an espresso shot, some milk, and… " she trailed on, looking at the cupboard full of ingredients, trying to find the perfect amount of ingredients for the latte.

"…and add a dash of peppermint."

Suisei raised an eyebrow. How many things does she want? Sure, she was used to Miko’s antics, but this was definitely new territory for her.

However, before she could begin taking down all the flavours on a notepad, a familiar voice cut across the air, "Coming right up! And don’t worry about paying for those~!"

Looking up, Suisei saw a familiar purple-haired bespectacled woman walking towards the counter. "Eh? What are you doing here so early boss Ina?" Suisei asked.

Ina smiled sweetly. "Just thought I'd pay a little visit to my favourite employee~. Well, maybe not exactly my favourite, but I'm sure I would if they were here~. Anyways, how is my favourite employee doing?" Suisei held herself from rolling her eyes, but not the same could be said about the sigh she directed at her boss' silly words.

Ina simply waved her hand dismissively. "Please I don't even need to ask if it's true." Ina said. She then glanced at the two and grinned. "But anyway, do you want me to give you two some time alone?"

Suisei flushed red instantly, and she looked over towards Miko, hoping to get a clue as to how she was going to react. She expected many things, ranging from a smug grin to a teasing look. What she didn’t expect, however, was for Miko to look completely mortified from Ina’s light teasing.

"WaiT WHAT!? Eww, NO!" she shouted loudly.

"No," Suisei grimaced.

There was silence for a few moments until Miko gasped, cheekily grinning at Ina. "Ah, right! I totally forgot about something, Ina! How much would you charge per shot?" Miko asked, grabbing Suisei’s shoulders in excitement, causing her to squirm uncomfortably.

“Like I said, don’t worry about paying for those. They’re on the house, as always.”

Miko shook her head. "That's not possible. You're too kind Ina~" she said, smiling brightly.

Rolling her eyes, Ina replied, "Just take it. You'll only need about... half of your savings to cover the cost of all the drinks you've consumed thus far.Not to mention you’ve never paid for them before, so why start now? Besides..."

The corner of Ina’s lip curled upwards slightly. "It seems like you two are enjoying this.

Before Miko could respond, Suisei cleared her throat and interrupted her, "Anyways, you should probably go find a seat. You already know how popular this cafe is."

"Right, right." With a chuckle, Miko turned around, and headed towards one of the tables to grab a seat. When she reached it, she plopped her butt onto the chair and leaned against the table, her head tilted upwards as if in thought.

"Hey Suisei…" She broke the silence, glancing at Suisei. "Do you want to go somewhere after your shift or…? Like Karaoke or something!"

Suisei’s eyes lit up, her cheeks flushing red. "Ummm…"

"I mean, we could go somewhere quiet, like…my room or something," Miko added, looking down, slightly embarrassed. She felt like her ears would start turning red.

After a moment of silence, however, Suisei’s response came. "Y-Yeah! Definitely." she managed to get out before turning away. Honestly, she didn't know how to deal with situations like these anymore. They were just… so embarrassing!

"I’ll be waiting for you then!" 

Why couldn’t she just say no when someone asked her to do something? Or better yet, why couldn't she turn down the offer and not agree?

"Okay then," Miko said, slowly getting off the chair. She walked over to Suisei, who was still turned away from her. "What about right now? We can go somewhere."

"Uhh, well, I guess…" Suisei replied, turning around and giving Miko a puzzled expression.

"Come on, what happened to 'no', right? It's a big change of pace, right? A little excitement wouldn’t hurt~"

"Yeah, but…I need to ask the boss and everything…" she said, almost at a loss for words.

"You can take a break for the rest of the day! I can hold down the fort while you two go on your little date!" Ina cried from the other side of the cafe, not letting up on her teasing. 

Upon hearing that, Suisei’s face flushed yet again, feeling even more conflicted about the whole situation. On one hand, she wanted nothing more than to go out with Miko. On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly a date. It was more like a friendly hangout. But it had to be at least something close to a date…right?

As she pondered about the pros and cons, her gaze quickly landed back on Ina, whom she realised was looking intently at her.

She stopped short when Ina gave her an encouraging nod before returning her attention to the counter.

Suisei sighed quietly, her back faced towards Ina. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she responded,"Well…if you really think it's okay Miko." As a final word, she added, "And thanks again, Ina."

"Of course!" Ina grinned, "Just be sure to give me all the details once you're done with that~!" 

Without even waiting for Suisei’s response, she started ushering the both of them out of the quaint little coffee shop.

As they left, Suisei spared one last glance backwards at the coffee shop. The door closing caused her to sigh softly. 

"Alright Miko. Where are we headed?” 

Miko paused momentarily, before grinning widely. "I was thinking…why don’t we head back to my place for some… ice cream? Either that or we head to karaoke.”

Pondering for a while, she soon came to a conclusion, “Karaoke it is!"

Chapter Text

Kronii didn't recall when she first noticed the girl with the beautifully done up green hair and soft yellow eyes. She supposed it couldn't have been that long after she started working nights, given that the girl was one of the few patrons the coffee shop seemed to get at five in the morning.

She was a constant presence at the shop, always already there rain or shine when Kronii entered, sitting in a big comfy chair by the window, a flower in her hair and a cup of tea in her hand. Eventually, like all constants, the flower girl became a part of the background of her daily life, a serene presence as much a part of her trip to Violet on the way home as the hot chocolate she always got.

Or rather, she normally was. On this particular Monday morning her normal spot by the window was vacant.

"Why do you keep looking over that way?" Mumei asked, placing Kronii's regular order down on the counter in front of her, before the customer had even said a word.

"Huh?" Kronii blinked, a little shocked by the question.

"You keep looking over towards the window, is there something going on outside?" The barista said, craning her neck to look past the taller girl.

"What? No, there's nothing going on outside." Kronii sighed, shifting out of the way of the other girl.

"Then what's— Ohhhh!" Mumei smiled mischievously. "I see."

"S-see what?" Kronii stammered indignantly.

"It's Fauna right? She's not here."

"That's her name?" Kronii said, her tone and reaction speed giving away her interest.

"SO IT IS FAUNA!" Mumei exclaimed to the mostly empty coffee shop, her expression that of wide-eyed curiosity.

"I…" Kronii sighed. "Yeah, but like, it's not like I even know her or anything, it's just… kinda weird she's not here, I guess " 

"Isn't it?" The other barista on duty, Bae, remarked.  "She's normally here like clockwork, has been since the store opened. I hope she's okay."

"Maybe something horrible happened to her!" Mumei pondered, maintaining her (now completely inappropriate) tone and expression.

"Riiiight," Kronii said, placing exact change on the counter for her purchase and stepping away with it in hand, "Well, enjoy your rampant speculation."

"We will!" Mumei called out cheerfully.

Kronii walked away but could only get halfway through dramatically and one-handedly wiping her eyes in exaggerated exasperation when the door slammed directly into her face.

Immediately two things happened.

1. She began to fall backwards.
2. She lost grip on her drink.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Kronii as she observed the cup of boiling hot liquid flying directly up out of her hand, decelerating and falling right on top of her. The flimsy travel top offered no protection, buckling immediately and spilling scalding hot chocolate all over her.

“FUCK.” Kronii yelled, batting the cup off her before it could do any more damage.

"Oh my goodness!" An angelically soft voice said from above her. 

"Watch where y—" Kronii grumbled, picking herself up to a sitting position and coming face to face with the flower girl.

"Sorry! That's my bad, I was in a rush and wasn't watching where I was going," Fauna apologised, offering a hand, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, nothing hurt, just my pride." Kronii took the proffered hand and pulled herself up to her feet and checked herself. "...And my suit."

Indeed, a dark stain now covered Kronii's plain white popped collar shirt and the somewhat ostentatious indigo jacket and pants that accompanied it.

"I'm sorry! I'll pay for it to be dry cleaned."

"It's fine, it's not that expensive, it's machine washable," Kronii said, waving off the offer.

"Then at least let me do that! I live just across the street and I'll make you a replacement drink while you wait!" Fauna said bowing.

"Really it's fine" Kronii scratched her face in embarrassment.

"Please?" Fauna gave her best puppy dog eyes.

"Alright, fine." Kronii relented, not having the heart to refuse the offer a third time.

"Great!" Fauna smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. "This way before it seeps into the fabric more!"

Kronii stumbled behind, the shorter girl having surprising upper body strength despite her demure feminine figure.

"So where are we going?" Kronii asked as she regained her footing.

"Oh we're here already." Fauna laughed, pushing open the door to the flower shop on the other side of the narrow pedestrian street to the coffee shop.

The interior of the flower shop was a beautiful bouquet for the senses. A beautiful bouquet Kronii did not have time to experience as Fauna dragged her into the back, up a flight of stairs and into a small apartment with a washer-dryer right there in the entry hall.

"Right, here we are!" Fauna said with a smile.

"Alright then." Kronii nodded, grabbing at her shirt at the bottom and pulling it, and her jacket up off her body in a single swift motion.

"W-wait!" Fauna reacted, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry? Were we not in a rush?" Kronii said with a cocky smile, being confident in her toned, tattooed, busty body.

"I— I was going to get you a change of clothes…" Fauna stammered, her cheeks flushed and eyes trying not to look at her.

"It's fine, we're all girls here right?" Kronii smiled, unbuckling her belt and removing her pants.

"I...uh… I suppose." Fauna nodded, clearly uncertain.

"So, how do you turn it on?" Kronii asked.

"Uhhhh…" Fauna's brain was blank.

"The washing machine, I mean." Kronii winked.

"Right, yeah…" Fauna was bright red as she turned the machine on.

"Make sure it's set to handle delicates," Kronii said softly.

Fauna wasn't even sure how it was possible for her to make that instruction sound that seductive. "It's set, let me go grab you a robe."

"Thanks!" Kronii said as Fauna hurried out into the side room, returning a moment later with a white bathrobe, which Kronii dutifully donned, despite how much fun unnerving the girl by being in her underwear had been.

"So…" Fauna regained some of her composure. "Breakfast?"

"Sure." Kronii nodded, following the girl into a room off to the side, a small but homely kitchen, with planters full of herbs on the windowsill.

"You know, I've just realised I never asked your name." Fauna chuckled, turning on her kettle and sitting down at the table. "I'm Ceres Fauna."

"Ouro Kronii." Kronii replied, taking the seat opposite her.

"Ouro?" Fauna tilted her head to the side, "Then that tattoo on your back of the white serpent..."

"The Ouroboros, yeah." Kronii nodded.

"It's a cool tattoo," Fauna smiled. "I'd be too nervous to get one living in Japan, knowing the connotations they have here and all."

"Yeah I get that." Kronii smiled. "So you're a florist?"

"Yeah!" Fauna nodded eagerly. "It's always been my dream to brighten people's day with flowers. Have to get up pretty early in the morning though."

"Which explains why you're always in there at five I guess."

"You noticed me?"

"With how quiet it is at that time it's hard not to…" Kronii laughed a little bashfully.

"Well, what do you do that gets you into Violet that early in the morning?"

Kronii gave a confused look. "Uh… I thought you knew."

"Huh?” Fauna blinked. “How would I have known?"

"It's just that you were immediately so respectful and offered to pay for the dry cleaning and all that. You even commented on my back tattoo and its connotations."

"Wait, the suit, the scars, the abs…" Fauna's eyes were wide. "You're yakuza?"

Kronii chuckled. "Oh wow, you really didn’t know, I thought you were just bold."

"I…" Fauna scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry!"

"Hey relax!" Kronii laughed. "It's fine, I'm just Kronii, don't treat me any differently."

"Well, okay." Fauna pouted, a little unsure.

The kettle began to boil, and Fauna set about making tea for them with just the sound of the awakening city out of the window for ambience.

“Nice apartment you have here.” Kronii said, taking the room and atmosphere in more fully.

“Isn’t it?” Fauna smiled, carrying over the tea and some toast and jam. “Sometimes I do wish I was out of the city but…”

“But?”

“It’s nothing.” Fauna waved it off and began pouring the tea, that same familiar floral aroma Kronii recognised from Violet filling her nostrils.

“Oh! This is what you always drink at Violet!” Kronii smiled, leaning in to appreciate the smell. “I always wondered what it was you were drinking.”

“It’s just Chamomile tea, nothing too special. I actually grow my own.” Fauna pointed to a planter of what Kronii had assumed to be just big daisies on a windowsill, “Have a taste!”

Kronii compiled, bringing the teacup to her mouth and sipping it.

“It’s… sweet?” Kronii said with surprise, “I was expecting it to be bitter.”

“I’m guessing you don’t drink a lot of tea?” Fauna chuckled. “Coffee more your speed?”

“Not really.” Kronii shrugged. “My regular order from Violet is actually just hot chocolate…”

“Wait…” Fauna held out a hand. “All this time you’ve been going in to order a hot chocolate every morning?”

“Yeah?” Kronii tilted her head to the side slightly. “I don’t need caffeine since I’m on my way home from work and it’s been cold this spring.” 

Fauna blinked. “That’s kinda cute.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Kronii chuckled. “I think you’ll find I’m plenty cute.”

Fauna smiled. “I think I’m starting to get that, yeah.

Chapter Text

“Ohhhhhh, shiitake…” IRyS groaned as she bounced on her feet, waiting for the light to change so she could go.

She whipped out her phone and clicked on the screen, six twenty eight, two minutes until her shift started.

“Who starts work this early… this is ridiculous…” She pulled her hands onto the side of her face, stretching out her skin.

She had decided to stay up the previous night until around three A.M., binge watching anime, something that she had become accustomed to in her unemployed life.

Now she was running on three hours of sleep, and it was not going well. She was barely functional enough to stumble out the door, but she forced herself to do it, she couldn’t mess up her first day at Violet.

The signal changed and she burst into as much of a sprint as she could manage in her underslept state. She ran the entire way until she burst into the little coffee shop, which had yet to open, empty of the impending morning rush of customers when they eventually opened for the day.

Since the store was empty, IRyS concluded that her trainer must be in the back. She hurried behind the counter and into the backroom, which served as both storage and breakroom for the little shop.

Out of breath and exhausted, IRyS barely had time to take in the shape of the person she assumed to be her superior, both because of the exhaustion, and as a sign of respect, she bowed her head and began to apologise, “I’m … sorry I’m late … it … won’t happen … again …”

She continued panting, looking at the floor, her lungs on fire.

There was a pause, IRyS could see the shoes of the person in front of her, but they hadn’t responded. She raised her head to look at them.

“IRyS!?” the person exclaimed in complete bewilderment.

IRyS finally realized who this person was, and a mirrored look of shock crossed her face. Her vision filled with a bright nest of red hair sprouting two oversized rat ears. It belonged to Bae, Hakos Baelz, IRyS’ high-school ex-girlfriend.

“Bae?” was all IRyS could say in response.

The rat-girl’s shock quickly turned into a dark grimace. “What is this, some kind of sick prank?”

“What, no? Do you work here or something?”

Bae frowned and nodded. “Yeah, and I’m supposed to be training a newbie today, so you better get lost so I can get to work.” She turned toward the wall and pulled one of the purple uniform aprons off the wall and began to put it on.

IRyS shuffled in place. “Uh… I’m, uh… I’m the new hire… Today’s my first day.”

Bae turned toward her. “No. There’s no way I’m training my ex.” Bae pushed past IRyS toward the door. “I’m gonna call Ina and get her to hire someone else… Ridiculous…”

IRyS blocked Bae’s escape with her arm. “Bae, please, I need this job. Just… teach me how to do the work and then we won’t even have to talk to each other… please…” She did her best to look helpless, batting her eyelashes and pleading with her eyes just as much as her words.

For a moment, Bae’s stern expression held, leading IRyS to believe that her argument failed and that the old Bae she used to know really was gone. But then she cracked, rolling her eyes with a sigh.

“Fine.”

“Really?”

“Don’t make me change my mind, and speaking of changing, you need to change, let’s go see if we can find you a uniform.”

…

“How is it?” Bae asked.

“It’s, uh… It’s a bit… tight…” She had difficulty breathing properly as the tight uniform struggled to compress down her chest.

“Well, that’s one of Ina’s old uniforms, and you know how she is…”

“It’s just, I can’t really breathe… Maybe if I…” IRyS reached up and undid the top two buttons of the uniform shirt, acutely aware of how the rat’s eyes paid careful attention to her fingers' actions.

IRyS smirked to herself. “Ahh~, that’s better, let these puppies breathe.”

Bae blushed lightly. “That’s… against the uniform policy…”

“It’ll be covered by the apron, so it’s fine right?”

“I… I guess so. Whatever! Hurry up, we gotta get prepped for the morning rush!”

…

“Teabag in, let it sit, stir, give to the customer.”

“Mhm.” IRyS nodded, not at all listening to what Bae had to teach her. 

Her eyes followed the adorably active thin red tail that swished behind the rat girl, she noticed all the ways it counterbalanced her sway, or tightened as she enthusiasticly emphasised her explanations.

“Then you’re gonna wanna use this spoon in the ice water here…”

“Yeah.” IRyS’ eyes naturally trailed up the tail to its logical conclusion; she couldn’t help but admire the tight fit of Bae’s skinny jeans. The smaller girl did look good in them.

“And whack yourself over the head with it.”

“Mhm.”

Bae glared at the nephilim, prompting IRyS to snap back to her senses.

“Oh, uh, you can continue.” IRyS gestured.

“Okay, smarty pants, what’s the spoon for?”

“Um, stirring?”

Bae rolled her eyes.

“Right answer, but not what I said, you would know that if you were listening.”

“I was listening, it’s just… got a bit distracted…”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, just listen, alight?”

“Okaaaaaaay~”

… … …

“You’ve still got a nice ass by the way.”

Bae put the spoon back in the ice water and turned to face IRyS. “Workplace sexual harassment. You’re fired,” she spoke flatly.

“Pffffffft— As if you weren’t ogling me in the breakroom.”

“B— I wasn— Ugh, I can’t take it with you. This is exactly why we broke up!”

“Um, no? If I remember correctly, we broke up because you accused me of cheating on you with Reine,” IRyS denied the accusation pointedly, firing back with her own.

Bae forcefully put the lid onto the cup of coffee in front of herself. “Well maybe I wouldn’t get that idea if you didn’t spend so much time with her instead of your own girlfriend!”

“I spent time with you plenty, you were just jealous!”

“What’s wrong with that!? I wanted to spend even more time with you!”

“I—”

“I loved you, IRyS!”

“Bae…”

“Just… nevermind, forget it. Look, we’re opening in a couple minutes, first customer in will be Kronii, she always orders a hot chocolate, can you get that ready?”

IRyS felt a little dazed by Bae’s outburst, she had only intended to tease her ex a little bit, not reignite an old argument. Nevertheless, she pressed on past it, if Bae wanted to drop it, she would acquiesce. “Uh, yeah, sure, I can do that.” She nodded.

“Good, I’m gonna quickly make sure all the tables are clean because I doubt Ina bothered to clean those before she closed last night.”

…

IRyS gripped the sides of the register as she stared back at the tall cream-colour-haired girl smiling brightly down at her. “You wanted a… large… vanill-uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

“—chia decaf latte with almond milk, topped with low-fat whip cream, dusted with cinnamon, three pumps of caramel, and add shot of espresso for funsies!”

“Um. Okay… Latte… Large… add… stuff… I think your total comes to five… thirty?”

“It’s usually six fifty.”

“Oh, that’s what I meant!”

IRyS took the girl’s money and started to get to work on preparing the drink.

Unfortunately for her, she was woefully underprepared. She held a cup in her hand and looked at all of the different machines and containers of ingredients.

She approached the pot of coffee, and flicked her eyes back to the customer, who stood looking at her phone.

“This… I probably use coffee… Was it… decaf…? No… she wanted an espresso shot, nobody would order that with a decaf… But, I thought she said…” IRyS flicked her eyes back and forth between the two pots, her mind was running wild and she was starting to panic. This was her job now, she was supposed to know what to do, but it was all so much. Her hands trembled holding the cup and her eyes started to water.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, now.” Bae ran over and put her hand’s onto IRyS’. “It’s alright. IRyS, look at me. Don’t panic, okay?”

IRyS started back with a torrent under her mismatched eyes.

“It’s okay. You’re new, I don’t expect you to understand everything, lean on me for help, okay?”

“O-okay…”

“Now… Do you remember what the order was?”

“A… a latte, large, decaf I think… but with an espresso shot? That doesn’t make sense.”

Bae rolled her eyes. “Sana. Yeap, I know her order, she insists that decaf tastes better, but she has no idea what she’s talking about. We put up with it because we charge more for the decaf.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yeah, anyway, let’s walk you through the steps, first the coffee…”

…

“Thank you! Come again!” IRyS waved to the customer as they accepted their order. “Next!” 

“Hold on a second,” Bae interjected herself. “Just a minute,” she told the customer.

“What’s up, Bae?”

“Your shift’s over.”

“Huh?”

“You were scheduled to work six hours today, you’ve worked your six hours, you didn’t even take a break.”

“Eh?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, so, I’m done for the day? But I thought I was just getting the hang of this!” IRyS pouted.

Bae smiled back. “You’re doing really well, but we’re done for the day, Suisei showed up and is ready to swap in.”

“Can I just do this last customer?” IRyS pleaded, she had finally found her groove after a hard day of work and wasn’t quite willing to give it up yet.

“Sure, but that’s the last one!”

…

IRyS stepped out of the store into the warm afternoon sun, she raised her hand to shield her eyes and looked around as they adjusted to the light. Eventually her vision focused and she realized that Bae was standing outside waiting for her.

“Oh, hey,” IRyS greeted her.

“Hey.” The rat girl sipped a cup of coffee. “You did good today.”

“Thanks.”

“Um, listen, IRyS… about this morning…”

“It’s alright, Bae, really it’s fine.”

Bae took a step forward. “No, really it isn’t. That was, unprofessional, and honestly downright rude, the way I treated you when you came in this morning. I guess I just… seeing you again tore open a lot of old wounds.”

IRyS remained silent, staring back at the smaller girl.

“I… I shouldn’t have brought all that old drama back up, it’s been years, we’ve both changed a lot since then, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“So, um, I was just… I was thinking… You know… Because of that… we could…” Bae shuffled her feet and stared at the ground, her tail tucked between her legs.

“Yes,” IRyS affirmed.

“Eh? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“I know, but when you look all sad like that I couldn’t possibly say no.”

“B-but…”

“It’s a date then? Any ideas?”

“W-what? A date!? That wasn’t what I was gonna say, I… I… I…”

“Oh, you don’t wanna go on a date?” IRyS tilted her head, eyes gleaming devilishly.

“W-well, not exactly, I, um, I… yes… a date would be nice…” Bae replied quietly.

IRyS smiled back brightly. “Let’s go then!”

“Right now!?”

“Yeah!” IRyS grabbed Bae’s hand and started to pull her along.

“H-hey! Let me go! I can walk on my own!”

But IRyS just hummed and continued pulling her along, hands firmly clasped together once more.

Chapter Text

Autumn.
Sometimes it is cold and rainy…
Hot and humid from time to time…
But always pretty, full of dry red leaves and a smell that fills the nose; petrichor.
She loves autumn. Autumn loves her.
That was reason enough to open her small coffee shop this time of the year.

"Our first anniversary"...

Ina'nis has seen too many faces, all of them with gentle looks on their eyes and kind words on their mouths.
She has seen people come and go, all of them asking for something unique and unrepeatable.
The truth is that the variety in the Violet is really wide and it was all because Ina's favorite coffee shop stopped selling the cookies she used to eat everyday after dinner.

"All thanks to the chocolate chip cookies"...

She is in front of the cash register, with both hands she touches its sides as if it were a fragile object.
A girl with serious eyes and an authentic smile decides to ask a question.

"Have you ever thought about giving up?
I remember when it was barely enough to fill the supplies"...

Hoshimachi Suisei.
Ina remembers why she decided to hire her.

"'Your friend broke two irish coffee glasses and has no money to pay for them'"-

"'You don't mind working here to pay for what your friend did, right?'
Honestly I was really angry at that time but now I can say that I'm glad that Miko broke that glassware, hahahahaha!"

Suisei followed the memory they both share, with an unrepeatable laugh she leaves her serious aura for a minute.

"OI!"

Ina gently hits Hoshimachi's head with a karate chop.

"You have all always been of great help…
You were the first person I hired and although almost all your salary was to pay Mikocchi's debt it is true that there were many doubts and even uncertainty, I will not deny it. However I never thought about giving up!
I learned many things both related to the coffee shop and the social areas".

Ina is not simply the owner but also the leader. Everything they learned was taught by Ninomae; from how to serve coffee to proper eye contact, body language and non-verbal communication.

"Chocolate chip cookies, you said. Right?
Your cookies are the best in the Universe and that's why…
Today I decided to follow your recipe for the first time! I baked them at home so…
I hope you like them".

Suisei carefully hands over a transparent plastic bag with a pretty red bow to Ina.
A sleepy girl enters through the back door without making a sound.

"Oh…
Cookies?
Give me".

Carefully putting on the apron so as not to ruin her precious hair, Mumei yawns softly and stretches out her left fist.

"It is okay if I share them, right?
They are enough and takodachis are not allowed to enter" ~

Ina undoes the bow that closed the small plastic bag, the soft smell of butter cookies accompanied by the essence of chocolate floods her nose.

"Let's see, let's see…
Mumei?
Say: ahhh"...

"Ahhhhhhhh-
Uh!"

Ina inserts a cookie into Mumei's mouth. She puts one in her mouth as well.

"Theh ah deniniou!"

Mooms says with her mouth full; without opening it.

"Haha, thank you".

Suisei still hasn't gotten used to Mumei. It's really unusual when they both cover a shift together so they have almost no time to get to know each other.

"Oh!
They are truly delicious ~
Maybe even better than mine"...

Ina is gladly surprised and even somewhat jealous.

It's thirty minutes past twelve, the girls who covered the morning shift returned home.
IRyS and Bae had a peaceful time together, although the glass tip jar says otherwise.

"WAH!
There had never been so much money in the jar!"

Mumei looks sideways at the front of the counter.

"You are right. Probably they bet with the customers to see who took off more clothes.
Just kidding, hahaha".

Mumei always speaks her thoughts out loud, this is how she is.

"And this is why I don't really get used to you…
They're dating again, they were probably doing a moe act in front of the customers or something".

Hoshimachi is a serious person, maybe too serious.

"This will be enough to buy good candies for children who come to ask for trick or treat".

Ninomae doesn't seem to care about the attitude of any of the girls, quite the opposite. Their ways of being complement each other.

"Today is reading night so there will be quite a few customers willing to listen to good music and enjoy a rich cup of coffee.
If you decide to stay extra time, I may bake something special for you" ~

Today is one of those days when after half past six the coffee shop will remain open.

"I will stay!"

It can be honestly said that Mumei is the most suitable to serve shy customers.

"It is always a pleasure to serve people who appreciate our coffee".

Suisei on the other hand has a seriousness that fits perfectly with the atmosphere that is created in the 'Violet nights'.

"Perfect!
I'll go buy apples to make a strudel just for us, do you agree?"

"The small oven will be glad to know that you will use it once again. Don't worry!
Mumei and I make a strange pair but we will be fine!"

Suisei smiles softly.

"Well, good luck!"

Outside the large shopping district there is a gigantic truck, full of gorgeous golden apples.

"They are beautiful, just as I expected.
Humu-humu"...

Quickly and without attracting much attention she buys enough apples to make a big-sized strudel, perhaps contemplating her other co-workers.

Autumn's soft heat and its light humidity causes Ina to involuntarily approach a vending machine.

"I want a cold Doctor Oopsie, let"-

'Oh no. There is someone in front of the machine, and to top it off she is a really cute woman', Ina's thoughts make her want to leave.

"Exhale"…

She quietly says to herself, the thirst for something refreshing won over her shyness.

She cautiously approaches, without making sudden movements.

"Don't buy that coffee, it just tastes like sugar water".

Ina prefers to start a quick dialogue to get a quick answer, buy something really fast and then return to the coffee shop.
That's what she thought at first.

"Right?
They removed the Orange Joe and put all those cans, ughhhhhh…
I hate coffee, I really hate coffee.
My uncle used to drink it all the time. Morning, afternoon, evening…
Honestly I don't know how people can drink that!"

'Oh Ancient Ones, what am I supposed to do now?!', Ina'nis thought.

"If he was happy, sad or angry".

The blonde woman doesn't take her eyes off the coffee cans inside the vending machine. She continues.

"With me, with his colleagues or on his own.
If the weather was hot or cold. Rainy or not, with or without sun.
He had the bad habit of buying 'select coffee beans'. They were expensive, like…
BOUGHT ME MY GOLD POCKET WATCH, OLD MAN!"

She just needs to talk to someone, to let it out…

"Why do you think he used to drink coffee?"

Ina has decided to sit on a neat wooden bench in front of the only vending machine in the place.

"Err…
It was his favourite, I don't know!
He drank it since he was a kid, with milk and sugar. Then only with sugar.
Then without it…
My grandma lived in a place where they harvested it or something. My mom also used to drink it when she was a little girl but then she obviously changed it for-
Tea.
Sorry".

She has barely realized that she probably got carried away for the time being.
She nervously breathes through her nose, making a funny sound in the process.

"The smell of coffee reminds me of my uncle. We moved to this part of the world and he…
I miss him, that's all. Sorry, I…
I'll just buy anything and leave".

Amelia introduces three coins to the vending machine quickly. Her right hand is trembling, two small coins fall to the ground but she decides to kick them.

"I'm really sorry about your uncle.
I'm pretty sure he loved you as much or more than coffee" ~

The straight purple-haired woman tries to cheer up the blonde woman. She can see how with her left arm wipes the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah!
He was the most correct man in the world, really brave and blameless…
Crazy as a damn goat but loving like a father".

She squeezes her eyes and quickly shakes her head.

"Oh!
Today I am going to bake an apple strudel, if you want you can go to the Violet after seven. It is quite close to here, it is small but you will recognize it right away".

She can see through the woman that hasn't yet turned around.

"Old man, are you serious?
Apple strudel and coffee…
I will be there, thank you".

The blonde woman presses the button with the logo of an umbrella.
There are eight different drinks inside the vending machine:
Kobo's sparkling water, Hope Soda,
Dr. Oopsie, Tokino Soda,
Motoaki frappuccino Coffee, Motoaki frappuccino Vanilla,
Motoaki frappuccino Caramel and Motoaki frappuccino Pumpkin Spice.

She turns around without seeing Ina and before leaving, she decides to say it once again.

"I will be there, thank you".

Ina'nis smiles and lowers her gaze.
The apples on her lap glow with the bright orange light of the autumn sun.

It's seven o'clock.
Five tables inside the Violet are occupied, they are all drinking coffee from the cute purple cups.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee makes the appetite of the three girls awaken. In less than five minutes the strudel will come out of the oven, Ina prefers when it has that perfect golden-brown color.

She has arrived.
The woman in the trench coat and red tie has entered the Violet.
Ina made eye contact with her at first instant. Mumei knows how to read situations better than anyone.

"Oh my God. Suisei, I think we should sit at the table at the bottom!"

Mumei grabs Sui's arm and takes her away from Ninomae and her companion.

'It is her first date', Mumei blushes just thinking her boss has a date.

All readers are immersed in their reading.
Soft jazz sounds and they haven't stopped looking at each other.
The little octopus-shaped clock makes a faint sound, five minutes have passed.

"Eh, ahhh…
Can you please help me?"

Ina'nis is not ready, she is much prettier than she expected.

"Yeah…
Yeah!"

The blonde woman approaches the oven behind the counter, she is nervous too.

"My name is Amelia Watson".

She also doesn't know what to do or say.

"Ame…
Would you help me get the strudel out of the oven?"

"I do".

Both forgot how to start a conversation, there is nothing else that requires their attention at this very moment.
Watson takes the strudel out of the oven, the smell of the sweet pastry and the coffee make an effective combination good enough for Ame to be willing to try it.

"I will sprinkle some sugar on top of it and I'll serve you a slice, okay?
My name is Ina, by the-
Ninomae Ina'nis but everybody call me just Ina so!"

Ina serves the strudel and the coffee as fast as possible, obviously she didn't expect that Amelia Watson would be that perfect. Her freckles, her white smile and those deep blue eyes.

Everything is ready, both walk to the only table available, next to the front door.
Ame is in front of Ina. Ina is in front of Ame.
They are sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a slice of strudel waiting. They are too busy looking into each other's eyes.

"Thank you".

"Thank you!
I hope you like it" ♪