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Lumine, by any means, was not a coffee drinker.
Even on slow, lethargic mornings after a long sleepless night of tossing and turning, she will still pick sweet fruits and teas over bitter caffeine. How her co-workers down cup after cup of ground up and watered down beans, she will never understand.
“Just wait until you get a sip of that perfect brew,” Hu Tao had retorted, “then you’ll appreciate the taste of salvation .”
Ah, yes, salvation, Lumine thought, as she turned to look at the entire office of poor, sleep-deprived souls behind her.
“Really works wonders, huh,” she responded dryly.
“I know, right??”
And thus began the whole circus highlighting the lighthearted struggle (war) between Lumine, the stubborn tea-drinker, and her coffee addict friends. Today’s episode takes place at a neighborhood coffee shop, one that had recently become the talk of the town after the release of their newest drinks for the autumn season.
Being caught in the midst of all the buzz and excitement, but not really having a place in the conversations around her, Lumine couldn’t help but feel a little… left out.
So, she at least decides to give it a try. Just to see what all the talk was about.
…By herself, obviously, because to admit that she was even a little curious about coffee would only lead to a slippery slope of defeat after defeat. Her prideful self would never live it down.
Staring up at the menu, she sees a bunch of unfamiliar names. More specifically, names that she has heard of in conversations, but finds that she knows little to nothing about.
Americano, cappuccino, ristretto… flat white??
None of the options particularly appealed to her, so Lumine decides that her best bet was probably with the ones marked with a star -- their best sellers, most likely. But even among that list, she couldn’t quite decide on a single drink.
And she was next in line. Oh no.
In a panic, Lumine was contemplating forfeiting her spot to the person behind her when suddenly, the cashier makes eye contact with her, as if expecting her to step forward --
Bah.
Fuck it, we ball.
“Hello, how can I help you today?” The cashier greets her with a small smile. Lumine, in her nervousness, can only summon an awkward grin in response.
“Uhm… May I order something from the autumn menu?”
“Sure. Which would you like?”
Lumine opens her mouth to speak, but finds that her mind has gone blank.
Shoot, which one was the drink Ganyu talked about again…? Chai something… Ah!
“...A chai latte, please?”
“What size?”
“A small cup is fine,” she says. “Just to try.”
“You’ll like it, hehe,” the cashier responds cheekily. “Our baristas make it quite well.”
“Really?” Lumine smiled, feeling a little less tense upon striking up a friendly conversation. “I guess I’ll really have to see for myself.”
“Let us know by dropping a review on our app,” the cashier added with a playful lilt in their voice. “And lastly, a name for the order, please?”
“Lumine,” she replied, and the cashier diligently types it into their system with a nod before directing her to the side counter to wait for her order.
In the meantime, Lumine decides to take a quick look around, surveying her surroundings.
The coffee shop itself was small, just a quaint little shop conveniently wedged in between two large clothing stores. Though it appeared unassuming from the outside, it had its charm; the warm, cozy atmosphere within, along with their relatively quick service was more than sufficient to attract a loyal crowd of its own. That, along with its location, made it the perfect place for customers to either unwind after a long day at work, or to grab a quick cup before going on their way.
Not to mention, their drinks had to be decent to a degree if customers kept coming back for more, right?
As she admired the place, Lumine’s eyes eventually landed on the sole barista busying in the kitchen positioned not too far behind the counter. He was a guy looking to be around her age, and seemed to be the only worker keeping up with orders at the time, dark hair tipped with teal slightly disheveled as he hurried to and from each station.
For someone working with coffee, Lumine felt it was a little ironic that he appeared so tired -- but noticing that he was the unfortunate soul tasked with carrying the weight of the severely understaffed business on his own two shoulders, she extended her sympathies to him.
Fighting, dude. You deserve a raise.
Not only for doing a job meant for five all alone, but also for being damn good at it.
Despite the growing pile of orders, he seemed to have no trouble completing them, juggling multiple at once. His expert hands were always busy, occupied with no less than two mugs at a time, while his eyes were fixated on the order following, foot nudging open the bottom cabinet with the intention of gathering the ingredients for the next drink.
It was such a natural, seemingly effortless process for him, every step seeming to be an afterthought -- and though he worked quickly, the drinks he put out did not appear haphazardly put together in the slightest. In fact, each and every beverage appeared comparable, if not identical to the example images displayed on the menu.
Truly, a master at his craft. Lumine became more and more impressed the longer she watched him.
But whether the taste was up to standards… Well, that is still yet to be tested.
Even in the midst of everything he was preoccupied with, the barista is still aware of his surroundings and, appearing to have sensed her gaze, momentarily lifts his eyes to catch the curious ones of Lumine.
“Need something?” He inquired, snapping the wonder-struck customer from her little trance.
“N-No!” She immediately replied, feeling a little flustered. “Just, uh, waiting. No rush. Don’t pay attention to me!”
The barista scoffed, doing as she said and averting his eyes back to the task at hand. Lumine exhales discreetly, almost in relief -- she didn’t expect to be caught so off guard, so suddenly.
By such an attractive guy, too.
Wow.
So, when he came back again, this time with the cup of coffee she had ordered, Lumine made sure to be ready.
“Order for Lumine?” He called, and Lumine was in front of him in a flash.
“That’s me,” Lumine grinned as she gratefully accepted the drink, taking care to sweep her eyes over his name tag. “Thank you… Xiao.”
He returns a curt nod, before striding away to return to the rest of his orders -- leaving Lumine to stare at his back as he leaves, wanting to say more to him but having no words to say.
The way he’d uttered her name just now…
She wonders if the drink he made her was just as sweet.