|| I’ve recently gotten a job working with @primaserere (Mercy roleplayer) in Starbucks and when talking today with @t0talmayhem (Junkrat roleplayer) they gave the idea of what it would be like if Junkrat came in to where Mei and Mercy worked for his fill of caffeine before being dragged off by Roadhog, which is what conjured the below!
Idea credit goes straight to t0talmayhem, this was so much fun to write. ~
“Macchiato for Jesse?” the tall blonde barista called from the end of the counter as she held a to-go cup with ‘Jesse’ written across the side. She gave a soft smile as she handed over the drink to the gentleman waiting patiently and wished him a good day, the usual routine for any customer walking through the door. The café was warmly lit as the morning light began to illuminate the streets, the windows seasonably picturesque from the winter frost and street lights beginning to dim to make way for the day ahead. Behind the bar were two baristas with name tags reading ‘Angela’ and ‘Mei’, both regular members of staff who worked the mornings and were in a spritely mood as ever.
“Morning Jack, Latte to go?” the blonde named Angela asked with a bright smile at the gentleman walking through the door rubbing his hands together to warm them from the cold. Even as he began to respond she had the cup ready in hand and was filling in the order from heart.
“Morning, yes please. Oh, and can I get a-”
“Bacon roll? Already in the oven, it’ll be ready in a moment.” Mei chimed in with a bright smile at the man who seemed less than surprised by the pair knowing his order.
“Perfect, thank you, girls.” Jack nodded and smiled in return as he paid and walked to the end of the bar to await his order.
It was almost like clockwork how the baristas worked with regulars, of course they would get a curve ball now and again of a new order, but the friendly familiar faces were what made working the mornings so much nicer.
Within minutes the order was done and ready at the end of the bar as always instructed, Mei and Angela getting a moment to tidy after themselves as they awaited the next customer.
“You know what time it is, right?” Angela questioned with a small grin knowing how much the soon to rise occasion would irritate the small brunette named Mei who stood at the coffee grinder preparing for future orders.
“Hm?” the smaller barista questioned before looking at the clock. Her face dropped instantly and caused her to groan in response, shaking her head. “I’m not serving him today, that’s your job. You stick to the till and I’ll keep myself busy…”
Every morning there would be one regular who seemed to have quite the crush on Mei. Every morning he would ask for two espressos’ (on the odd occasion three) and then try his luck in asking Mei on a date. Even after weeks of trying and her repeatedly turning him down he was incredibly persistent which irritated the poor girl to no end.
As the time turned to quarter to nine, as if he had his own alarm set, there came staggering through the door was the fascinated regular to make his order. The man was blonde with oddly coloured amber eyes that shone with the light of the day, blonde hair that seemed singed at the ends from his occupation as a demolitionist he liked to boast about on occasion and the usual attire of a dark hoody and torn orange shorts that hung from his thin frame.
“Mornin’ ladies!” he chimed happily as he hobbled over to the bar on boot and peg leg, a curious expression as he seemed to look for something or someone.
“Good morning Jamie, two espressos to have in?” the less bothered Angela questioned as she began writing the order, but the youth seemed far too distracted in looking around to answer.
Instead he simply hummed in response until his expression suddenly lit up at the sight of the woman at the coffee grinder, him leaning over the counter with a mischievous grin on his lips.
“A’right Sheila, lookin’ good as always. Ya know what else would look good today? You, me-"
“No.” Mei interrupted after visibly sighing and looking toward the regular with a less than amused expression.
“Oh, c’mon, hear me out!”
“Jamie, your order will be at the end of the bar when you’re done.” she spoke, having the final word as she took the remaining used mugs to be washed in the small room out of customer eye-sight.
The young male looked crestfallen and groaned loudly into his hands as they covered his face to try and hide the expression. He knew this was how his attempt was going to go, she was never going to say yes to dating him no matter how hard he tried.
“… Two espressos?”
“Make that four, Sheila, I’m gonna need it.”
Jamie grumbled quietly to himself as he paid and walked to the end of the bar to wait for his order. The young woman he was endlessly after refused to emerge from the wash room until his order had been done and he was out of sight upstairs to life his spirits with the rush of caffeine.
“You really won’t give him a chance, will you? He’s not that bad looking you know…” Angela spoke in hushed tone as other customers took their drinks and sat in the front of the café, Mei looking up to the woman with a frown. She shook her head and finally walked from the isolated room in sight from the bar, cleaning up after the orders were done and giving a heavy sigh.
“Because he’s just not… He’s chaotic and odd and I’m not interested.”
“You won’t even give him a chance, Mei, he’s clearly not going to give up any time soon.”
And as their conversation came to a halt with the entrance of another customer, Mei’s frowned suddenly turned to one of a bright grin. Mr Rutledge was another regular for the business but for the fact that he was the one coming in to keep Jamie in line. They were room mates and he knew every morning if Jamie wasn’t home exactly where he would be and that would be having a ridiculous intake of caffeine he didn’t need.
“Morning! Here for a drink? And to collect Jamie by any chance?
Mei was all too eager to serve the tall large man who towered over the bar so much so he could likely touch the light fixtures above them with minimal effort. He was much better dressed than Jamie in the way of smart jeans, a fresh t-shirt, black denim jacket and white hair smoothly tied back. Mr Rutledge was much better in keeping an appearance than the scrawnier of the two but not as good when it came to conversation.
“Mmm… Usual.” he grumbled to Angela who had already begun writing the order before turning his attention to Mei, shrugging a shoulder. “He has a crush on you… What do you expect?”
“He told you?”
“He doesn’t shut up…”
It was true that Jamie didn’t shut up, he would talk for hours on end with other baristas if it was possible and on many an occasion the topic of conversation was Mei. What she was going to be up to that day, when she finished, what flowers she liked, various questions that she personally would never give him the answer to.
Mr Rutledge, known to very few as Mako and only recently to the girls after so many visits, slowly walked up the stairs as he waited for his drink to go and all too easily found the caffeine filled blonde in the corner buzzing away playing games on his phone.
Suddenly, not to the surprise of Mei or Angela but only to the customers who weren’t regulars, there was a loud ruckus upstairs. A loud bang, scraping of chairs, yelling, a few swear words and soon enough a young blonde being dragged down the stairs by his larger roommate. The drink for Mako was being held out by Angela who offered a smile as he passed, taking the drink and grunting in thanks as he dragged the youth out of the café.
“Wait, wait! I didn’t even finish talking to Mei!” were the last words heard before the door finally closed behind the pair, leaving Mei with a smirk on her lips as she watched them walking away from the building.
“You know, Angela, this is my favourite part of the morning.”
“When it starts to get busy?” Angela asked as she raised a brow and began taking a new order for the next customer.
“No, when Jamie leaves.”
