Work Text:
Ava sighed, her fingers digging harshly into her temples in a desperate attempt to relieve the tension headache that had been slowly creeping up on her for the last several hours. She tore her eyes away from the reports she was pouring over, her gaze lingering on the dull grey clouds outside her window, her mind beginning to wander aimlessly in an attempt to alleviate her boredom. A knock on her office door pulled her away from her brief moment of peace and she had to make a conscious effort not to snap at whoever was knocking.
“Yes?” The door cracked open and her secretary (and roommate), Gary, stuck his head in just enough for her to see his eyes but not much else.
“Hey, boss. You told me to make sure to remind you to go take your break right now so I’m doing it so I don’t get fired,” Gary rushed out.
“Thank you. That’ll be all,” she waved him into the room. “I’m going to go find some coffee, have any suggestions for where to go since Juan’s just closed?”
“Well… there’s this place a block down Main Street I go to at least once a week that’s pretty good, they have a conference room in the back they let my D&D group use Friday evenings so we don’t have to try to cram ourselves into Terry’s basement.”
“As long as I can get a semi-decent cup of coffee that’s all I need to know,” Ava stood up, grabbing her blazer off the coat rack behind her desk and shrugging it on with a hum. “You want anything?”
“Oh! A strawberry banana smoothie with no bananas… I’m allergic. Makes my throat swell up so I can’t breathe.”
“Got it, make sure there aren’t bananas,” Ava pulled a light tan trench coat on over her suit. “While I’m out can you try to get that tape from the prosecutor again? If they refuse to cooperate again go to the judge and get a warrant for a copy of the tapes from the city bank, I have a feeling those might end up being important.”
“Sure thing, also that’s a really cool coat when did you get it?” Gary reached out and started messing with the collar as she finished buttoning it up.
“Personal space, Gary. And I got it at Goodwill,” Ava stepped around him and made her way out the door.
“Right, I’ll get those tapes!”
~*~
She realized almost immediately that she probably should have been paying better attention when Gary was telling her about the place (or she should have let him finish telling her about it). She was a little outside her comfort zone as she stepped inside, the entire shop looked like it was taken out of a sci-fi novel. Everything was either stainless steel or black and white and gave off a general air of futuristicness. Even the fireplace and couches looked like something from at least the late twenty-second century.
“Hey, welcome to The Jumpship. I can take your order whenever you’re done gawking at the decor,” Ava’s attention was redirected to the front counter where a shorter blonde was smirking over at her. “I know it can be a bit much for first timers but it’ll grow on you.”
“You serve coffee, right? That’s all I need right now…”
“Yep, if you can find it at Starbucks you can probably find it here, only better. And cheaper. Cause, unlike some companies we understand that economy is terrible and not everyone can afford a six dollar cup of coffee every morning. You need a moment to look at the menu or…”
“No, I’ll take a strawberry smoothie with absolutely no bananas in it whatsoever and a caramel latte with a shot of mocha,” Ava glanced at the display case next to her. “And half a dozen white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.”
“That’ll be $11.50. Cash or card?”
“Card.”
“Okay, go ahead and swipe it and follow the instructions on the screen,” Ava absentmindedly started to pay for the food, tacking on a two and a half dollar tip because she wasn’t a total monster. “And can I get a name for the order?”
“Ava, spelled how it sounds.” The barista hummed in acknowledgment, writing her name on both of the cups.
“So, Ava, absolutely no bananas, huh? What’d they ever do to you?” She asked as she placed the cups on a conveyor belt behind her before turning around to focus her attention on Ava.
“Me? Nothing. My secretary, on the other hand, is deathly allergic so…”
“Your secretary? Are they the ones who normally go get coffee? Not the boss?” The blonde raised an eyebrow at her.
“I find that it’s a good excuse to take a break, eye strain is a real thing.”
“Sounds like you must have a boring job,” there was a beep from the conveyor belt counter and both women’s attention were pulled to it. “And here’s your order,” she grabbed it, writing something along the side as Ava grabbed a couple straws out of the dispenser. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, have a good day,” Ava grabbed the drinks off the counter with a small smile directed at the barista.
“You too.”
~*~
Ava didn’t notice the little note next to her name on her cup until she went to throw her empty cup away nearly an hour later.
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'! So don’t give up!
~*~
“Good afternoon. Wasn’t expecting to see you back so soon.”
“Well… my normal coffee shop closed down so I need to get my caffeine from somewhere near th… in case there’s an emergency at work,” Ava coughed to hide her stumble as she made her way up to the counter.
“Glad to be of service. Same as yesterday or are you the adventurous type?” The woman, Ava glanced down at her nametag, realizing she should probably figure out her name, Sara, smirked up at her.
“Probably shouldn’t risk changing it up in the middle of a case, maybe after,” Ava gave a little shrug as Sara turned away from her to start making her drinks
“So, you a cop or something?” Sara took a few moments writing something on Ava’s cup before putting both glasses on the conveyor belt.
“Defence attorney.”
“That’s where I recognize you from, I saw you on tv the other night. You’re representing that kid they’re saying attacked the mayor in January.”
“I’m not at liberty to confirm or deny that,” Ava found the words tumbling out of her mouth automatically.
“Figured, my sister’s an attorney and while I might have pretended that I wasn’t paying attention when she asked me to help her study, I might have picked up a couple of things,” Sara looked slightly smug at the admission.
“Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. I try to take cases that seemed doomed and actually give some of these kids a fighting chance in court but I swear the jury walks in there already having decided that they’re guilty. I’ve had them completely ignore evidence I’ve presented proving my client is innocent and still find them guilty.”
“Laurel said something pretty similar when she was an still an intern. Though I think she might have added a couple of choice curse words. And been a little drunk.”
“It’s definitely a job that’ll make you want to drink,” Ava commented as her drinks arrived on the conveyor belt.
“Well when I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got a couple of those with your name on them,” Sara pointed cheekily to where Ava’s name was written on the cups. “Get it? Cause I put your name on them?”
“Contrary to popular belief, lawyers do have a sense of humor, or at least some of us do” Ava gave Sara a small smirk. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
“I’m probably looking forward to it,” she replied with a cheeky grin.
Ava got halfway down the block before remembering to check her cup.
The hardest path often has the best results. That’s why it’s worth it. :)
~*~
“Every day for the last two weeks, I’m going to have to give you a devoted customer discount pretty soon,” Ava hadn’t finished stepping inside before she was greeted by Sara, who was already busy scribbling something on a couple of cups at the counter.
“Are you even allowed to do that?” Ava quickly adjusted her tie, still feeling self-conscious about it staying on straight.
“Sure I am, I’m the Cap- Owner. I’m the owner,” Ava missed the slip as she made her way to the counter, digging through her pockets for her wallet.
“You own this place?” Ava looked around, slightly shocked. “This doesn’t really seem… I mean…”
“I don’t seem like a science nerd who’d open up a sci-fi themed coffee shop?” Ava nodded, blushing slightly. “It wasn’t my idea, I opened this place up with some of my friends and they liked the idea and I didn’t see any reason to crush their dreams.”
“How nice of you…” Ava raised an eyebrow at her.
“For the record, this place is actually packed in the evening, most of our customers hold events and stuff here. That’s when we make most of our money.”
“Well, that explains why it’s always so empty in here when I come in,” Ava’s phone let out a soft trill and she sighed, knowing who in her contacts had that particular ringtone. “Yes, Gary?”
“Hey, just wanted to let you know that the bank delivered the tapes to the office. They’re ready for analysis whenever you are...”
“Thanks, Gary. I’ll start looking them over before heading home tonight. Think you can cook dinner? I might be running a little late.”
“Sure thing, boss. Any requests?”
“Something edible that doesn’t cause you to burn the entire apartment complex down.”
“I’ll get take out.”
“Sounds like a plan, see you in a bit.” Ava hung up with a sigh.
“So, who’s Gary? Your boyfriend?” Sara smirked up at her. “Doesn’t sound all that bright if you ask me.” Ava blanched.
“Oh, god no. Gary’s my secretary… and my roommate. He’s definitely not my type.”
“Oh? So who exactly is your ideal boyfriend then?” Sara raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’m not really the boyfriend type,” Ava hoped she wouldn’t need to elaborate. “And besides I don’t really have the time to go out and find a partner, work keeps me fairly busy.”
“Hmm,” Sara gave her a small, curious smirk. “Good to know… and here’s your order.”
“Thanks, see you tomorrow, Sara”
“That you will.”
Ava checked the side of her cup the second she passed the side of the building, looking for the little message that had quickly started to become the most unexpected, yet welcome part of her day. (Even if they were always weirdly tied into the conversation that they hadn’t had yet when Sara wrote them).
The most important part of communication is hearing what the other person isn’t saying.
~*~
“You look exhausted.”
“Thanks, just what every girl wants to hear,” Ava groaned, taking a seat at the counter. “We’re going to court tomorrow and I might be a little stressed out.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, you just have the face of a woman who really needs a nap.”
“No comment.”
“Here, on the house,” Sara placed her coffee in front of her, raising an eyebrow in concern as Ava drank the entire thing at once. “I’ll make another one.”
“Thanks,” Ava buried her face in her arms, trying to take a moment to rest.
There were a couple minutes of silence as Sara made Ava her second coffee, broken only by the barista humming along to the radio playing from the back wall. She finished up and went back to the counter only to find Ava had fell asleep at the counter. She smiled slightly.
“Gideon, turn off the lights please and set an alarm for thirty minutes, I’ll give her a little time to sleep.”
“Yes, Captain.”
~*~
“I saw the news this afternoon, it seems congratulations are in order.”
Ava was about four hours late to the coffee shop, late enough that for the first time there were actually other customers sitting at the tables in the front lobby. Ava smiled, exhausted but happy nonetheless.
“I’ve known I’d win ever since I got ahold of the tape at the beginning of last week,” Ava looked around making sure no one was listening before gesturing for Sara to lean in closer. “You know my client was black right?” Sara nodded, she hadn’t been paying super close attention to what was on the news but that hadn’t taken a lot of brain power to notice. “The dude who attacked the mayor was white… so definitely not my client.”
“That’s… a pretty big mistake to make,” Sara pulled away, motioning for Ava to follow her as she led them off to one of the tables near the front of the shop.
“More like the cop that picked him up just assumed it was him because he happened to be running down the street when he was looking for the perp. Managed to get him to admit it under oath too so between that and the video they couldn’t even try to put him away.”
“Please tell me you guys are suing someone,” Sara said as she settled down in their seats, an expression flashing across her face that Ava couldn’t quite make out.
“I have definitely advised him to, but we haven’t actually filed anything yet. She really just wanted to go home and spend some time with his mom. And I don't really blame him,” Ava shrugged. “You’ll probably see something on the news about it eventually though.”
“Hopefully he does. It’s a pain to deal with all the court stuff but it’s better than just laying down and taking it.”
“That’s basically what I told him. But enough about my job, what about yours, shouldn’t you be working? Not mingling with the customers?”
“I’m off tonight but you said you were going to come in and I wanted to be there to either congratulate or console you… depending on how things went,” one of the other employees brought over a couple cups of coffee.
“I’m sure you have better things to do on a Friday night.”
“Spend the evening moping around in my room reading A Tale Of Two Cities for the twentieth time or hanging out with a cute girl drinking semi-decent whiskey. Really tough choice.”
“You think I’m cute?” Ava didn’t bother trying to hide the blush that quickly overtook her face, pointedly looking anywhere but at the other woman.
“Well, yeah, It’s not like I’ve only been flirting with you for the last month,” Sara smirked slightly.
“You have?”
“Yep, you free tomorrow? Since your case is over it seems like as good a time as any to ask you out on a date,” Sara drank the rest of her glass and went to pour herself some more, her gaze resting on the other woman as she did so.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I like you and if you’re interested I’d like to go out on a date with you.”
“I am. Interested, I mean.”
“Well that’s good, this’d be pretty awkward if you weren’t,” Sara pulled out a slip of paper and quickly wrote something on it before handing it over to Ava. “Since I wasn’t able to put it on your cup tonight.”
Ava looked at the piece of paper. There was a phone number scrawled across the top and a little note at the bottom.
I like you, please use this.
Ava smiled slightly.
“I like you too.”
Bonus:
“So when are you going to tell blondie that the notes you were leaving her were knock off versions of Ray’s ‘Daily Inspirational Quotes’ he kept sending in the group chat.”
“Mick, I swear if you tell her I will murder you.”
“Also did you ever tell her that we don’t open until four and that you would just open up long enough to get her her coffee cause you thought she was cute and didn’t have the heart to tell her we were closed the first time she came in.”
“Zari…”
“And are you ever going to tell her the truth about us being from the future? That’s a pretty big thing to be keeping from your girlfriend.”
“That sounds like a good way to get sent to the mental health ward at the hospital, Amaya.”
“So when’s the wedding.”
“RAY!”