The Heart and the Hero

Chapter Eleven - A Lovely Day for Arson

(AN: Here's Chapter eleven! Finally figured out what I'm doing with the next couple of chapters, so got a brief spur of motivation and got this done a lot sooner than I expected! Still probably gonna be another month or so until I finish the next one, but after that it'll be easy because the plot approaches. Also, thanks to my friend Marcy, AKA bestie boo boo bear, for giving me the arson idea. Love ya! Enjoy the coffee shop gossip and arson. Thank you guys for reading :)

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"Seriously, who in their right mind orders a cappuccino with no foam?"

Sorin was leaning back against the counter, gesticulating wildly as Desiree giggled at their furious ranting. Spurred on by her enjoyment, they continued, "And then, he had the audacity to get mad at me when I said, "So a latte?" It was ridiculous!"

Desiree tucked one of her synthetic braids back behind her ear, letting out a big sigh, before responding, "They just never understand, do they? Anyway, I'm at least glad I missed it."

Sorin had arrived at their opening shift only a couple of hours earlier, but the day was already starting to drag on in a way that felt like forever. Luckily, Des had shown up at noon, significantly lightening their workload, so now they were finally starting to calm down a bit.

After the typical midday rush, the shop was starting to settle down again, allowing the employees to talk and rest a while while they cleaned up a bit in preparation for the next day. The only customers left were a couple of stray college kids and business folks using the tables to study or work, so there wasn't much more than the occasional Americano to refill.

As Sorin looked around, they took a deep breath, taking in their surroundings as a way to distract their mind from their waning energy.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly, causing warm golden rays to spill in at an angle and shimmer across the surfaces of the tables against the window. The plants were all vibrant shades of green, and Sorin liked to think they were enjoying the sunlight too. Behind the bar, the floor was already pre-swept, and the register was free of any clutter, so they really didn't have too much to do for the next few minutes until they left.

However, they could already feel the energy catching up to them while they waited, so they figured they might as well help Desiree out by starting on the closing tasks until some new customers showed up. Opening up the cabinets, they began restocking cups, refilling syrups, and just doing whatever busywork they could, occasionally calling back over their shoulder to ask questions or just to chat.

"So, what's new with you? Anything exciting going on in your life?" they asked her, as they sidled up to the register to absentmindedly reorganize the pens they used to write down orders.

Desiree just shrugged and moved over to one of the espresso machines, starting to grind some beans to make herself a drink. "Nah", she replied. "Just school and work, as always. Although, I did have a nice chat with a pretty girl the other day!"

Sorin smiled and nudged her, just as a new customer entered and approached the register. Taking a few moments, they took her order before heading over to the other espresso machine to start making the drink before responding. "Oh? Well, I'd say that counts as exciting."

Desiree just let out a little sigh and a huff, sticking out her bottom lip a bit in a pout. "Yeah, but I didn't manage to get her number or any contact information. If I'm lucky though, maybe she'll come back into the shop sometime!"

As they poured the milk for the customer's latte, Sorin listened absentmindedly. "When was she in? Was I here?"

Turning away from the coffee machine with her newly poured mocha, Desiree just smirked and looked at Sorin as they started to steam the milk, a little more teasing in her voice as she replied, "Oh, you were here alright. Although... I'd say you were more than a little distracted yourself."