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Post by zuyuri on Dec 13, 2022 17:21:39 GMT
Along with crazy holiday shoppers was the inevitable holiday flavors. Zuko handed his thirty third peppermint mocha to a customer and stared at the latte foam that was delivered to him. Well. Might as well have fun. He picked up the caramel -asked by the customer - and began doodling with the fine tip. Eventually, he had finished the wreath he crafted and dinged once, turning to the next customer.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 20, 2022 0:19:20 GMT
Bella was starting to rethink her plans of getting a latte. It seemed like everyone had had a similar idea and the place was pretty crowded. But the holidays were finally here and that always brought about fun flavors, like peppermint and sugar cookie. She'd been dying to try one before the season was over. So, she braved the line, figuring that Utena would call her a coward if she left just because the place was a little busy. She felt some relief though when she actually saw a friendly face behind the counter. "Zuko, hey!" she said, a smile instantly lighting up her face.
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Post by zuyuri on Dec 20, 2022 16:01:07 GMT
“Oh, hey Bella.” All he was worried about now was looking harried. Did he have resting grump face despite him sounding happy to see a friend at the school in line? Better get the business stuff out of the way. He hadn’t taken his break yet, so this could be a good opportunity. But first, job. “Uh what can I get you?”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 22, 2022 1:12:45 GMT
"Oh, um..." Crap. Bella hadn't thought that far ahead. She looked up at the menu above her head, trying to decide while her brain scolded her. For goodness's sake Bella, there's tons of people behind you and they're going to get pissed off in a second, just pick something! "Uh...sugarmint! I mean, uh...a sugar cookie latte," she replied, tripping over her words in her anxiety. Why did his always happen to her at the most inopportune times? She probably sounded like an idiot.
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Post by zuyuri on Dec 22, 2022 3:07:50 GMT
For a few seconds, Bella just stared with her blue eyes as big as saucers. Then she spat out the word sugar mint. What was that? A sugar cookie latte with peppermint syrup? Well, there was that big rush to get some, wasn't there? Then she corrected her order to a sugar cookie latte. Zuko dialed her order in and rather than point out she hadn't picked a size, he decided to charge her for a grande. Not too expensive but also enough to get something else when she was done. Students also got a discount, so he applied that. "Four eighty five," he said slightly rehearsed.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 23, 2022 22:18:07 GMT
"Oh, uh, yeah," Bella stammered, still trying to live down her embarrassment as she handed Zuko some cash. "Uh, surviving the rush?" she asked, trying to make a little conversation. He seemed pretty cool and collected at the moment. Bella tended to be frantic and panicky when dealing with high stress situations.
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Post by zuyuri on Dec 24, 2022 16:52:01 GMT
A huff that was an echo of a laugh escaped Zuko’s lips. “Surviving is a good word choice.” The receipt was printed out quickly and he ripped it off cleanly, handing it to Bella. “I get off in about two minutes. A few more drinks and I’ll be able to talk more.” The last thing he wanted was to get in trouble for socializing on the clock. Uncle, as everyone called the owner, was pretty relaxed when it came to brews. Except for specific timing orders.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 26, 2022 3:32:05 GMT
Zuko sounded a bit tired already, but at least he was hanging in there. Maybe he was used to stuff like this by now. He handed Bella her receipt, promising to chat more once he went on break. "Oh, of course," she said, glancing around for a second before moving to the side in case she was in someone's way. She didn't want to piss off anyone behind her or make Zuko's job more difficult.
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Post by zuyuri on Dec 26, 2022 22:09:44 GMT
As Bella excused herself, Zuko looked at the list of orders he had to get to work on. First, the tall French roast with several pumps of vanilla. The second order was Bella’s latte. He stood by the silver brewer, pulling down to let the tall drink fill with coffee before adding the pumps and creamer. Bella hadn’t specified a to go cup, so he figured it’d be fun for a friend to get a personalized artsy coffee. As Zuko started the sugar cookie base in the large cup, he contemplated what to draw on top. Finally, after frothing the milk, he had an idea. A fun nod to her powers. Most baristas put the feather and called it a day. Instead, he made five in the shape of a flower. Carefully balancing the cup, he called out the orders.
“Sugar cookie latte for…Belle?” He was teasing as he deliberately botched her name, smirking to himself.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 30, 2022 19:35:34 GMT
Bella peeked over at the counter. Was that drink hers? Zuko seemed to be working on the art on the cup with a steady hand. Sure enough it was, and she laughed a little at his joke about her name. "I'd almost rather have that name instead. Do you know how many Twilight jokes people have made once they've learned my name?" she said. Not that she'd turn her nose up at a vampire romance, but Twilight just didn't do it for her. She saw the flower design on her cup and gave a big smile. "Oh, it's so pretty!" she exclaimed. "I almost don't want to drink it."
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Post by zuyuri on Dec 30, 2022 23:40:17 GMT
“So long as no one is thinking of setting you up with a super that claims to be Edward in the flesh,” Zuko said with a visible shudder. What power would that be? Literal Diamond skin? Literal vampirism? Both? The less someone like a toxic boyfriend existed in real life. As Bella took the drink, he turned back to a co worker to say he was taking his break. Once given the go, he untied his apron and stepped from behind the counter to catch up. “Don’t worry about messing with it. It’ll settle after a while.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 2, 2023 21:37:38 GMT
"Bleh. No blood sucking boyfriends for me," Bella said, sticking out her tongue. Not that she'd met anyone whose superpower involved something like that, but you never knew. New ones were popping up all the time, and with a lot of students being able to sprout wings from their back or turn into wolves, they could easily pass for something supernatural or from a fairytale. She smiled at seeing that Zuko was on break for a while. It'd be nice to catch up. She took a sip of her drink and beamed. "This is good. You make these really well," she complimented.
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Post by zuyuri on Jan 3, 2023 4:26:16 GMT
“Tell me about it. I don’t want to date a girl who thinks I smell good in the sense that she wants my blood.” If that wasn’t a red flag, Zuko didn’t know what was. Then again, he had been blind to red flags before. He had been a kid, though, and how his thick skull finally gave him the snap he needed, was more than enough to get out. But that was the past. The present was sitting with Bella, who complimented his brewing. He let his pride show for a bit before responding, “When you make twenty lattes per hour, it becomes second nature.” Wait, that was arrogant. Take two. “Thank you.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 5, 2023 0:58:41 GMT
"What, 'my personal brand of heroin' isn't a good pick up line?" Bella joked, laughing. She actually found herself relaxing and being more comfortable than she usually was with people. But Zuko had turned out to be a pretty good guy, and a good friend. She smiled again. "Sounds like me with chapters in a book," she said. "Or if I find a new band I like and binge all their albums."
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Post by zuyuri on Jan 5, 2023 4:41:46 GMT
Zuko laughed along with her. This time, the rattle that was his sarcastic huff wasn’t coming out. This laugh he felt come from the gut. The last time he laughed like that was when he was a kid. Jokes about unhealthy fictional relationships turned to Bella’s favorite topics, books and music. “What’s your latest music craze?”
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