Bottom of the Cup had come to Morgan free, but he was beginning to suspect it was still going to cost him money. He’d hoped that it would be a turnkey kind of business, but the whole place looked like someone had read Edgar Allen Poe too many times and forgotten how to use a duster. He’d spent the past five days scrubbing it from head to toe when he wasn’t going through the contacts list trying to arrange for new tea delivery and wherever it was you bought magic supplies from. He’d always collected his own but suspected that wouldn’t be enough.
The door creaked and Hortense, the crow he’d nursed back to health which insisted on hanging around him despite his efforts to return it to the wild, croaked back at it in an almost sarcastic tone. In the middle of digging through a drawer that contained what he really hoped were eye of newt, Morgan grimaced. “Uh, we’re currently only giving out fortune tellings. Tea will … be available at a later date.”
Thalia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she stepped into the shop. Maybe the internet wasn’t trustworthy anymore, as it didn’t look as if it offered tea – and she wasn’t entirely sure whether it was open at all. Glancing up at the crow with a worried look in her eyes, she took a few steps further into the place as a voice caught her attention. “No tea?”, she echoed, unable to hold back an amused laugh. “Well, damn. Lucky me. Here I was thinking I could get some special tea around here. Do you have any clue when it will be available?”
Was it bad that she was relieved that the girl wasn’t there seeking some sort of medical treatment? Probably. Or probably not. Either way, her eyes stopped scanning Thalia for something wrong and her body seemed to relax. “Timing is everything, I guess, ‘cuz I’m off in… ten minutes give or take. I am never too tired for a drink or a cup of coffee and a friend. Or a drink in a cup of coffee.”
“Ten minutes? They can just let you off ten minutes early, can’t they? You got a visitor after all,” Thalia smirked, resting her hands on her hips as she looked around. “A drink in a cup of coffee? Fancy. Sounds like something we should be able to get around this town.”
Valentine giggled softly and helped the other girl to her feet. “Oh it’s no problem. Really.” she smiled, looking the girl over again. “I get lost in my phone all the time, so it’s no problem.” The girl hummed, her eyes widening slightly as she looked down at herself. Brushing some dirt off of her jeans she nodded quickly. “Yes, yes. I’m fine. Are you busy? Can I get you a quick cup of coffee?”
“Thank you,” Thalia sighed once she was back up on her feet, wiping her hands clean on her jeans. “At least I’m not the only one. I’m sure if I ran into someone who hates their phone, they’d be yelling at me right now.” Glancing up at the other, she arched her brow. The offer of coffee was hardly one she could say no to – she loved caffeine, and anything that was free. “Sure. I would love that, thank you so much.”
Lusa was convinced that there should be a prize for making it through ridiculously long shifts. Not necessarily long in length, but long in grumpy patients and bizarre cases. She deserved a cup of coffee, or maybe a millennium’s worth of sleep. Unfortunately, her shift wasn’t done until she was out of her scrubs and far, far into the parking lot, running for her truck. Fifteen more minutes… But as tired as she was, as much as she wanted to go home, a familiar face in the ER waiting room always perked her up.
“Please tell me you’re here to say hi to someone or use the bathroom or something, and you’re not here for yourself…”
Thalia hated hospitals. Then again she hated pretty much every public place, so it wasn’t very surprising. But she came there for familiar faces and when she desperately needed company, as was the case today. A smile bloomed on her lips at the sight of a familiar face, and a laugh escaped her lips. “I’m not here for myself. I’m here to say hi to you. And to ask if you’re too tired for a cup of coffee or a drink.”
Everything felt weird. She had only been gone a few months but in that time disaster had struck. Cutting her much needed vacation shorter than she had expected. Slowly getting out of the car her chocolate eyes searching the familiar streets for anything that seemed amiss. People still walked and talked, unaware of all the dangers around them. Sighing softly to herself she decided to take a walk before making her way back home.
So captivated by the seemingly unchanged world around her she almost didn’t notice as she ran full force into someone. Valentine’s small frame falling backwards. She swore softly to herself before looking at who she ran into. “Shit…I’m so sorry.” She apologized, getting up to offer them a hand.
For someone who was so keen on ignoring most people, and not getting herself into more social interaction ( that could always possibly end in death in this stupid little town ) than necessary, Thalia bumped into strangers way too often. The reason for that might be that she was often lost in her phone when she walked, an awful habit she seriously needed to get rid off. Quickly putting her phone away, looking down at the other woman with guilt written all over her features. “No, I’m sorry. I was only looking at my stupid phone,” she sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. “Are you okay?”, she added as she accepted the other’s hand.
“I usually get take out. Saving your tax dollars, and just spending my own.” The coffee machine stopped whirring, and Henrik poured two freshly brewed cups of coffee out of the pot. “Here.” He hands one to the woman before sipping his own, “Ahhh, that’s the good stuff. Coffee beans from Nicaragua. I can’t live without it.” Satisfied, he smiles. Henrik gets out two plates and knives from their respective cupboards and shifts the croissants and various assortments of jams and honey onto the kitchen island. He places cream cheese on the table from the fridge. He grabs two bar stools from one end of the island and brings them over for them to sit down. “We sit down and dig in, I’m fucking starving.” Hernik sits down and cuts open a croissant and butters the soft insides before stuffing it with cream cheese.“So, what’s your deal?“
“That’s something I can relate to. Take out is the only way I don’t starve.” Even if she hardly ever had enough money for the good take out and instead only ordered the cheap one. Taking one of the cups from him, she brought it up to her lips to take a careful sip. “Holy shit, this tastes amazing,” she said, honestly surprised by the taste explosion in her mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such good coffee.” Definitely not from her rundown coffee machine, at least. Bringing her cup over to the kitchen island, she lifted herself up onto one of the bar stools, immediately reaching out for one of the croissants to put some jam on it. Taking a bite, she looked over at Henrik in surprise. “My deal? What do you mean exactly?”
“I should warn you. I’ve got the equipment to make a good meal, but not the skill set. ” Henrik walks through the hallway, the living room, the dining room, past another hallway, and alas into the kitchen. “In short, I’ve set the fire alarm off a couple times.” But one thing Henrik knew how to work inside out was the coffee machine, a small buzz of happiness radiates through his face as he flicks the switch on. His lifeline, his sustenance. “What are you in the mood for, we’ve got –” Henrik opens up his pantry and pulls out jams, honey, croissants, butter, cereal, and muffins, all in neat packaging with the label ‘Harding’s Homemade’ proudly lettered onto it. It wasn’t just a local East End brand that had found it’s way into every home, it was the brand that made the Hardings all they are today. He opens up the fridge, almost empty, “– and in addition to all of that we have, bread, eggs, milk. I need to go grocery shopping don’t judge me.”
“Lucky for you, I got the skill set. If you got the equipment, I think we can make it work.” Pulling on her sweater, she followed him through the place, eyes constantly scanning her surroundings. For someone who had lived off the bare minimum most of her life and still turned every dollar twice now, it was quite the impressive sight. “So the firefighters already know not to bother coming here?”, she teased him, before moving up behind him to glance past his figure into the pantry. “Holy shit,” she mumbled, stomach growling as if to underline just how hungry she got at the sight of all this food. “Not judging. If I can stuff my stomach with these croissants, I’ll already be happy. They look amazing.”
“Sorry.” He says in a hushed whisper. A look of embarrassment washed across Henrik’s face, his intentions have been caught out. “Would you forgive me if I told you it was an old habit?” Henrik says, his pitch of voice heightening towards the end as he tries to get away with his behavior. In truth, Henrik had never had anything longlasting when it came to love so he compensated in other ways, and he compensated heavily. “Anyways,” He clears this throat, “– do you fancy some breakfast?”
“Maybe. I know old habits are hard to shake off.” A smirk started to tug at the corners of Thalia’s lips, and she stretched her arms high up into the air in an attempt to make her body feel less rusty. “Oh yeah, I’d love some breakfast. I’m starving. And I wouldn’t say no to some coffee either if you got any.” Thalia couldn’t function right after getting up if she didn’t get her daily dose of caffeine.
“I think with that voice, I’d let you tell the entire world all my dirty secrets. Oh, most certainly; here you are, my little secret keeper.”
“Really? I wasn’t aware my voice can do that,” she chuckled, waving the other off with a grin. “It’s fine, no need to tell me all your secrets as long as you get me drunk.
He woke with a start but fell back into his bed once a hangover headache hit. Henrik deemed this years founder’s day to be a bore, just like the rest, but the murder of Blackwell turned it into a spectacle. Nevertheless, he drank for one reason or another. “Fucks sake.” He groans to himself, before sitting upright to find a woman asleep on the other side of the bed. “Uh, hi.” Henrik jumps out of bed, half-naked, to fetch some water “Morning?”
Thalia set up at the sudden movement next to her, a groan leaving her lips. “Do you have to be so loud?”, she questioned, fingertips brushing her hair behind her ears as a yawn left her lips. “When you told me I could crash here I figured you wouldn’t basically throw me out of bed when you get up.”
