Guardian Grounds
“Mocha frap with extra whip!”
“Hey, Kira.” The exo waits until she turns before grimacing a smile at her. “I’m like an hour late for my lunch break. Do you think you can man the front while I take it?”
Blowing a stray bang out of her eyes, Kira pouts a bit at it when it just falls back down. She swipes it back with an impatient hand before giving her coworker a tired smile.
“Yeah, I think I can handle it for now.” Now that the mid-day rush was mostly over with just a few stragglers finishing their orders in the scattered seating. It’s hard to keep on top of things when half the shift gets hit with the flu, but them staying home is infinitely better then them infecting everyone else and the customers. “If I get a crowd I’ll call that baking fiend out of the back to help out, she should be finishing up around now.”
As if on cue, her fellow awoken steps out of the back with another refill on the seriously depleted pastries that lined their shelves. Finding herself being stared at by both Kira and Falcon-4, Rogue gives them a questioning look before stepping around them to get to the display case.
“Falcon’s going on break, so keep an ear out for me will you?” Kira’s question gets her a thumbs up before the other woman goes back to stocking the shelves.
“Thanks you guys.” Sounding relieved, Falcon-4 steps through the same door Rogue just walked out of, most likely headed for the cramped break room in the back.
“Four to one they’ll be asleep on the couch before you get back.”
No bet, comes the quickly signed response. Rogue gives Kira a flat look from where she’s crouched, tray balanced precariously on her knees.
Kira chuckles, easily reading ‘do you think I’m stupid’ from her friend’s expression alone.
A pointed cough has them both looking up and Kira already has her customer service smile on as she meets the well-dressed, if slightly rumpled, customer’s golden glare.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, what can we do for you?” She’s proud of her quick recovery in the face of that powerful sneer. There’s a moment where he just keeps looking at her and she barely stops herself from sharing a look with Rogue in favor of prompting him again. “Sir?”
He blinks, frown deepening with his brow furrowing sharply. Kira is beginning to resign herself to an uncalled for and unnecessary rant about professionalism from the suited man when he finally speaks.
“Double shot espresso Romano in whatever passes for medium in this place.” The order is sharp, but surprisingly doesn’t have any additional scathing remarks after it.
“Can I get a name for your order?”
“Uldren.”
Nodding, Kira notates the order on the appropriate cup, wondering why it sounded familiar, before handing it off to Rogue who just set down the empty tray on the back counter.
“Anything else for you?”
“No.” The man is chillier than the ice caps and just as verbose. Kira isn’t sure if she should be thankful for that as she rings up his order.
“It will be out in just a minute.” Polite smile still intact, if slightly strained, Kira turns to the next customer who’d queued up behind the man. “Hi, what can we do for you?”
She’s tapping in the next order onto the screen while pulling a cup when an annoyed voice drifted over from the other end of the counter.
“I said, ‘excuse me’.”
Glancing over as between cups, Kira feels her shoulders tensing. One of the men from the previous rush, a man who’d had trouble understanding the concept of ‘first come, first served’, is standing by the machines and trying to talk to Rogue. Rogue who can’t do more than smile apologetically when her hands are full of coffee cups.
“Is this how you treat all of your customers?”
Oh, no. Kira had thought they were safe from lectures when that Uldren guy reigned himself in, but now there’s this from a man who’d already caused enough trouble today.
A non-committal shake of her head is all Rogue can offer as she finishes up the order in her hands, but that doesn’t placate the man any.
“No? Yes? Speak up!” The man is now leaning over the counter as if that will help any of them. “Can’t even spare a word of acknowledgement for a loyal customer?”
Loyal customer? Kira can’t remember seeing him in the last year. She glances at the customer at the register who is waffling over the pastry display and humming. They could spare her for a moment, right?
“Sir?” Her call down the counter goes ignored by the man as Rogue puts a lid on the cup. After placing it on the counter next to Uldren with a small smile, she then turns to the man who’s looking no less offended.
Sorry. What do you need? Rogue mouths the words as she works her way through the hand motions, going slow in case the man doesn’t understand sign.
“And now with this hand waving thing.” He makes a dismissive gesture that Kira can see out of the corner of her eye and she feels her expression become fixed. Unaware of the doom that’s fast approaching, the detestable man continues, “I know you wouldn’t get hired if you can’t talk, girl.”
“I’m sorry, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.” Whatever expression Kira’s wearing must speak volumes as her current customer blanches and nods.
Turning sharply, Kira takes in the three at the other end of the counter as she steps closer. Rogue looks three thousand percent done with the man, the man in question is turning a little purple from impotent rage, and Uldren...
It’s beginning to look like Uldren might have a case of resting bitch face because Kira had thought he looked angry before, but right now he’s looking about as mad as she feels. Thankfully, it looks like he’s willing to let her take care of it for now, which is honestly really nice of him.
Because right now, she wants nothing more than to tear into this ableist piece of shit.
“Sir, Guardian Grounds prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive community as well as safe environment for all of our customers and employees.” Kira’s smile could probably be called many things right now, but polite wasn’t one of them. Sharp, sure; toothy, of course; terrifying, she sure hoped so, but polite? This man didn’t deserve polite at the moment.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything, but it’s clear to me that you don’t pride yourselves on a little thing called ‘customer service’!” He punctuated the last two words by banging his empty cup against the machine in front of him.
Her smile drops off her face.
Perhaps he never deserves ‘polite’ with an attitude like this.
There is a sharp hiss from behind her as Rogue reacts to the abuse of their coffee makers and a sharp ‘tsk’ from a disgusted looking Uldren sounds from the other side of the man.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Kira stares at the man, unblinkingly as he turns a shocking shade of puce.
“You can’t do that!” He waves the cup around. “I’m a paying customer!”
“I can, and I will.” She might not be the manager or even a lead, but there was no way Sunshine will fault her for it. “Please leave.”
“Absolutely not! I came up here to ask for a refill only to be ignored and then asked to leave! I haven’t done anything wrong!” The hand holding the empty cup clangs down on the machinery again.
Kira’s hand shots out to stop Rogue’s slow advance, tray drooping in her grasp as she seethes silently. For a moment Kira imagines this happening while Falcon is there to see it and the thought summons the sharp-edged smile back to her face.
“Sir,” if the level of respect in the word could be measured it would rate somewhere deep in the negatives, “You are demanding refills when we don’t offer any, insulting our employees and company, bothering the other customers with this disturbance, and have abused our equipment multiple times now.”
“What?!” For some unfathomable reason the man tries to look baffled even as he let his hand hit the machine again.
“Please leave before I have to call the authorities, sir.” Sarcasm drips from the word even as Kira throws it over her shoulder, slightly preoccupied holding Rogue back as the other woman hisses angrily through clenched teeth.
“I’d like to see you try! I’m sure the cops will have something to say about you people taking money without providing a service!” He sneers nastily and shows the inside of his cup which looks to be unstained at first glance.
“They wouldn’t have to try,” came the chilling retort. It had the asshole blinking at Uldren in confusion even as the perpetually angry-looking man reached in to his coat with one hand to pull out a badge, flipping it open to show his CRO credentials. “Not only were you drinking your ordered beverage happily when you made me step over your bag to get in, but you were boasting about this little ‘scheme’ to your buddy, saying you could get a free drink easily.”
A member of the Crown Recon Operatives? Kira stumbles a little as Rogue stops struggling against her hold. She knows, without looking, that both of them have positively gleeful looks on their faces.
“As this would be the one of the stupidest reasons I’ve had to take anyone into custody and I dislike paperwork, I suggest the two of you leave as they have asked.” Not bothering to hide his sneer, Uldren pointedly looks at the door before taking a sip of his coffee.
Asshole number one, as now Kira knows there’s a second one out by the tables, gulps before giving a sharp nod.
“Of course, officer.” The title is bordering on disrespectful and Uldren must pick up on it as easily as Kira does.
“That’s Captain to you.”
Captain? As in Captain Sov? The Queen’s brother?
Asshole one and two are now visible because they both blanched.
“C-captain.” A little shaky, but much more respectful, the man nodded to Captain Sov before scampering back to collect his friend and his things, quick to obey one of the most dangerous men in the system.
Once they’re nothing but rapidly retreating shadows, both of the employees turn to Captain Sov.
“Thanks for the assist, captain.” Kira nods to him, still feeling tense even after the confrontation.
Thank you! Next round’s on us! Signs Rogue.
The you’re welcome sign is nearly lost in Captain Sov’s show of straightening his coat.
“I hate people like him,” he says instead, expression reverting to a more moderate annoyance which Kira almost sure is his default now. “People who think they can get whatever they want with a show of force.”
“Yeah, me too.” Kira agrees darkly, glaring out after them before offering Captain Sov a smile. “Let us know if we can get you anything else, captain.”
Without waiting for more than a nod of acknowledgement, Kira checks on Rogue with a glance before moving back to her post as her coworker starts making the next drinks.
They work their ways through the orders, a few of the customers who saw the freeloading assholes even expressing their sympathy with generous tips. Captain Sov stands quietly by the cork board at the other end of the counter as he sips his way through his coffee and Kira finds herself wondering about him as she rings up another customer.
He could have easily remained incognito the whole time, so why speak up? Why was he even here in the first place? Sure there was a small CRO branch office in town, but she didn’t think it was close.
Taking another glance as she passes another filled out up to Rogue, Kira’s breath catches just a little as she finds herself caught by that golden glare once more.
The moment stretches until she blinks.
He’s frowning again; then crumpling his cup before disposing of it on his way out the door.
Twenty minutes later, the cafe’s crowd has rotated out completely, the captain is long gone, and Kira finds herself wondering if he’ll ever want to come back after that wonderful first impression. Falcon-4 steps into the front just in time to hear her sigh.
“Why is Kira sighing like she’s waiting for her SO to come back from the war?” Their question earns them a glare and a fit of silent laughter.
Kira and Captain Sov, sitting in a tree, K-I- the rest of the childish rhyme is lost as Kira starts after Rogue who scampers into the back with her tray.
“Captain Sov?! What the hell did I miss?”
Stopping short of the door, Kira looks up at the ceiling and wonders how long she has before the rest of her coworkers ‘know’ about her ‘crush’. She doubts her ‘secret’ will even last the rest of her shift.
Some answers take longer than others, but Kira eventually learns that the CRO’s headquarters is moving to their city, that the Guardian rumor mill takes less than fifteen minutes even with half of it out sick, and that it takes far more than a bad first impression to keep Captain Sov away.