Chapter Text
It was a Monday morning, and it was cold outside. Alice knew that much. Granted, she had been inside the coffee shop steaming milk for the last couple of hours, but the snow falling was a dead giveaway. Still, when Frank walked in ten minutes late for his shift in more layers than pages in a book, Alice couldn’t help but laugh.
“You right there?” Frank asked, only a little bit exasperated.
“Perfectly. This,” Alice gestured to his whole ensemble and kept laughing, “has been the best part of my day.”
“I’m glad I could amuse you.” Frank hung up his last jumper and tied his apron. “Speaking of entertainment, has Two-Sugar Cappuccino Girl made an appearance today?”
“Shut up, Frank.”
“I missed you staring at the door with heart-eyes.”
Alice attempted to cover his mouth with her hands.
“Shush, you dumb idiot!”
“Are you two okay there?” A new voice interrupted them. Their heads snapped to where the voice came from. But it was only Mary, Lily trailing behind her.
“Oh yeah, just teasing Alice about this customer she’s liked for ages.”
“Do tell,” Lily exclaimed.
“Do not tell. I swear to god, Frank…” Alice warned.
“Oh, leave the poor thing alone. We’re all allowed to have crushes.” Mary awkwardly looked at the drinks board behind Frank and Alice and Lily looked at the floor. Frank and Alice exchanged a look.
“Anyway, what can I getcha?” Alice asked.
“A mocha, a hot chocolate, and two lemon cake slices, please.”
“Okie dokie, that’s 12 dollars,” Alice said as she placed the two paper bags of cake on the bench. “Your drinks will be out in a moment.”
“Oh, your customer service voice is top-notch.” Mary remarked as she and Lily walked over to the other end of the bench.
“Thanks, lovely.”
~~~
Alice worked at Cappuccino Cups and Mocha Mugs Café every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 o’clock until 2 o’clock. Frank usually came in at about 8 o’clock and worked until 3 o’clock, but he always ended up coming in late because he sucked at time management. Knowing Frank for most of her life, Alice conceded that he’d gotten a lot better than he used to be, but she wished he would come in on time. She hated working alone.
She thought was just a generally sociable person, but most of her friends would say she was allergic to solitude. She thought that she just like talking to people – a trait she had learned from her mother. After all, it led her to Frank, and he was the best friend she’d ever had. They met on a playground when they were six and had been almost inseparable ever since.
Alice and Frank had worked at the café since they were 15 years old, and they both very much enjoyed it. The owner, a Professor McGonagall (a professor of what still eluded them) seemed to enjoy their company as much as they enjoyed hers, which was plenty. They got along with her wife, Poppy, too.
However long Alice had worked at the café, it wasn’t until she was 19 that Two-Sugar Cappuccino Girl had made an appearance. And the first time Alice had seen her, Frank would say she was a goner. In reality, Alice thought she was a bit snobbish and rude at first, but it had almost grown on her in a sort of comforting way. Why, Alice couldn’t say, but it was a point of consistency that Alice had grown really fond of. And she now looked forward to every interacting that she would have with Two-Sugar Cappuccino Girl.
~~~
As her shift was coming to a close, Alice couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. Her coffee-themed one-sided crush had yet to make an appearance and she a Frank were almost off. Just as she was about to clock out, she saw a flash of white hair out of the corner of her eye and all but dived to the till.
Almost tripping over, she fixed the star-shaped bobby pin in her short brown hair before turning to face the long-awaited customer.
“Hey, two-sugar cappuccino girl, right?”
“I have a name, thank you. And today I want a flat white,” She responded. “Please.”
“Sorry, but switching it up, I see! I’m an English Breakfast kinda girl myself. Anything else?”
“Two-”
“Two sugars. I know,” Alice grinned. “Speaking of, what is your name?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“You’re in here all the time, and you know mine. It just boils down to raw curiosity, frankly.”
“Narcissa.”
“Like the flower, huh? That’s so pretty.”
“Thanks.”
“Okie dokie, it’ll be just a minute or two down the end.”
“I haven’t paid yet.”
“Oh, no worries. Consider it a gift,” Alice smiled at Narcissa. Watching her face morph into one of surprise, Alice couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you sure?”
“The most. I promise.”
Narcissa kind of nodded in thanks and moved to the end of the counter to collect her drink. Alice turned around, immediately shoving Frank as he winked at her.
“Watching you flirt with someone who doesn’t like you back is my favourite form of entertainment; did you know that?”
“Shut up, Frank.”
~~~
When Frank walked out after his shift, Alice was waiting for him, like always.
“Enjoy you’re leaf juice and milk?” he asked. He thought her slight tea addiction was hilarious because he claimed it was just milky leaf-flavoured hot water.
Alice lightly shoved him in response, her bag thumping against her thighs.
“I don’t know about you, but cold bean soup with grain juice is highly overrated,” she responded, eyeing his iced oat milk latte.
He rolled his eyes with a smile and ignored her.
“So, how was Two-Sugar Cappuccino Girl?”
“Actually, she ordered a flat white today for a start. And she told me her name.”
“Wait, no. Hold up. You got her name? That’s progress!”
“Yes. Well, I asked for it.”
Frank shook his head.
“And how did that go down?” he asked.
“She seemed confused as to why, and she knows mine, so I told her it was out of curiosity? That seemed to do the trick,” Alice said.
“And what is the beautiful name of the love of your life?” Frank asked dramatically, taking far too much pleasure in teasing her.
“Narcissa. Like the flower,” Alice responded, somewhat dreamily.
“Of course you know what it means,” Frank chuckled.
“Shut up, Frank,” Alice laughed lightly and rolled her eyes.
As they walked back to their flat, it began to drizzle a little. Alice loved the rain. It was calming and nice and gave life to things. It also made a really good afternoon after work for reading a good book or watching a funny show with her best friend, either activity punctuated with a good cup of tea.
“This bloody rain, I swear,” Frank said, completely unimpressed.
“Calm down, Frank. Here,” Alice pulled an umbrella out of her bag. The only thing she was really worried about was wet socks. No one likes wet socks, least of all Alice in her favourite yellow canvas shoes.
They trudged the rest of the way home, discussing what movie they would watch when they got there. As they opened the door and hung up their coats and bags and took off their shoes, Alice walked into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on. Frank chuckled at her and shook his head.
“So, we’ve decided? We’re going to watch Tolkien?” Frank tried to clarify.
“Maybe, but I was thinking more like The Princess Bride,” Alice responded, her back turned as she reached for a mug and a teabag.
“Seriously? Again?”
Alice swung around, giving him her best pleading look.
“You okay there? Your face is doing that weird thing again,” Frank said.
“What?”
“It’s looking at me.”
“Shut up, Frank,” Alice smiled and rolled her eyes.
~~~
She was late. Like always. But more late than usual. Her class started 20 minutes ago, and Alice was running. She hated running.
She always forgot six things before leaving the house. She was just a little scatterbrained, you know? She was better than she used to be, but she’s consistently late to everything, so much so that Frank says she runs on AST. Alice Standard Time.
Bang.
She ran straight into something. More like someone. Papers went everywhere, and her tea went all over the person she had run into.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going because I was late. I am so so so sorry!” Alice immediately exclaimed in a hurry.
Narcissa looked up at her. Alice was mortified that she had just gotten her tea all over Narcissa’s white shirt.
“You got your drink all over my shirt,” Narcissa stated coldly.
“I am so sorry. It’s tea. Here, take this,” Alice took off her red and white striped jumper.
Narcissa took the jacket and held it slightly awkwardly. It was very obvious that it was not her style, but she seemed to decide it was better than walking around in a stained shirt all day.
“Really, I’m so sorry,” Alice went to pick up her papers and checked the time. It was 10:30 AM. “Damnit!” she exclaimed. Her professor had told the class at the beginning of the semester that if they were later than half an hour not to bother showing up.
Alice looked up, Narcissa picking up a cup that looked like it had previously held a coffee.
“I am so-”
“I know,” Narcissa snapped, “You’re sorry. I get it. Whatever.”
“Can I at least replace your coffee?”
Narcissa looked a little taken aback.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, I got it everywhere via running into you – quite hard, I am sorry about that – so I think the least I can do other than lending you my jumper to cover the stain that my tea is inevitably going to stain is replace your coffee,” Alice rambled.
Narcissa considered this for a moment.
“That sounds reasonable,” she eventually responded with, “Lead the way.”
“Okay. Here, let’s go to Cappuccino Cups and Mocha Mugs. It’s just around the corner.”
Narcissa stopped, suddenly realising who she was.
“You’re Alice.”
“That’s my name, tripping’s the game,” Alice responded automatically. She cringed. “Sorry.”
“So I had noticed.” Narcissa offered a wry sort of smile.
“Is that… no, it can’t be,” Alice grinned. “Are you smiling?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmhmm, I’m sure you don’t. Now, come on, Two-Sugar Cappuccino Girl.”
“My name is Narcissa.”
“I know. Like the flower.”
Alice smiled. Narcissa smiled back.
This could be good.