Work Text:
Swish!
“Five minutes, Felix!” Annette chirps from the other side of the curtain.
Clip! Clip!
“Did you bring your gloves?”
Snap!
Felix looks at herself in the mirror. She adjusts her collar and flips a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Felix, hurry, the doors are opening!’
Felix slides the curtain open and steps out. Annette bounces up and down in relief.
“You look awesome!” She bubbles. “Ready to serve?”
Felix grimaces. She knows she looks perfect but it’s still incredibly annoying that she’s doing all this to begin with. It’s a good thing that she really likes Mercedes and Annette and an even better thing that this job pays well.
She grabs onto a sterling silver platter and stands straight. The platter’s covered in freshly baked sweet buns and sugary icing cakes and at the center sits a tiny teapot covered in cartoon black cats.
Friday night is always the busiest at Mercedes’ Maid Cafe. University students and a few older high schoolers take up various pink patterned tables. The tiled floor is a minefield of backpacks and messenger bags and yet Felix deftly walks all around them as she nods to the assorted customers.
The girls all giggle and blush. Felix doesn’t get their adulation but she’s not complaining. She pours tea and asks how their classes went and smiles confidently and pretends to care about their problems. She isn’t sure if most of them know, but Felix doesn’t care either. Money is money and it’s not like she’s looking to make friends.
And then Felix stops and stumbles over a white backpack.
She's here. She's sitting by the store window at a little square table as primly as any princess. She’s wearing a dark blue skirt and a loose black jacket from some prestigious school on the other side of the city. Her hair is up in a blue ribbon and she looks irritatingly perfect.
And she turns her head and notices Felix.
Felix scowls. She’ll make her way to that table eventually, but no blonde beauty is going to deter her from being the best damn butler in the cafe. Even if Felix finds the whole operation absurd and self-indulgent, she’s going to do it right.
Mercedes passes by on her way to the kitchen. She smiles demurely and waves to a couple by the wall. “You look nice, Felix.” Mercedes says as she steps close to Felix.
Felix knows she does. That’s the point. “Is everyone behaving themselves?”
“Oh yes. We have a good crowd today.” Mercedes continues smiling sweetly. It’s an unspoken thing between them because Felix can and will kick people out the second they get too handsy with the staff. “By the way, Dimitri requested you.”
Dimitri? Who the hell names a princess Dimitri? It’s stupid. “Fine.”
“Good luck.” Mercedes picks up an empty plate and the two girls sitting at the table stare at her in awe. “I’ll be back shortly!”
Felix does one more round and returns to the kitchen to collect a small personalized tray. She doesn’t normally do one on ones because Felix finds most long conversations dull and fake. No one shares Felix’s intense love of weaponry or her dislike of sweet things.
But Mercedes’ Maid Cafe has a reputation of fantastic customer service and Felix respects her coworkers too much to say no. She lifts up the tray and ventures out.
Dimitri’s looking out the window when Felix approaches. It’s unfair just how the afternoon sun makes her hair shine. There’s a little bit of a wave to the long locks and Felix wonders if she secretly uses a straightener.
“Your tea, madame.” Felix intones as she sets the tray down on the center of the table.
Dimitri looks up and her eyes are pools of blue. Felix grips the tea kettle a little too tightly and pours them both cups of chamomile.
“Thank you.” Dimitri says pleasantly. She gestures to the empty chair. “Do you want to sit down?”
It’s not like Felix really has a choice. So long as she’s in uniform, her time belongs to her customer. “Thank you, madame.”
Something becomes painfully apparent as Felix settles into her seat. She’s not surprised she didn’t notice before because it’s not something Felix normally cares about. She only ever notices muscles and hands.
But Dimitri’s tits are huge. They’re sinfully hidden behind her black jacket and even still, Felix can see the outline of them through her button-up school shirt.
“Who names a girl Dimitri?” Felix asks out loud because it’s better than How are you real?
Dimitri smiles again and shyly glances downward at her teacup. It's so practiced, Felix wonders if she's some sort of actress.
“My parents promised my grandfather they would use his name. You can use Dima, if it's more to your liking.” Dimitri fidgets against her teacup.
“Dima.” Felix repeats. It sounds dainty. “My name is Felix.”
“Oh, that’s quite a heroic name.” Dimitri says thoughtfully. “And you’re dressed as a butler?”
Felix shrugs. The truth is that she’s as flat as a board and she would be dead by poison before she would wear a frilly skirt. Felix never cares whether people mistook her gender because Felix knows exactly who Felix is. It's 'Dima; that she needs to observe. “Is that a problem?”
“Not at all!” Dimitri says hurriedly. “I’m impressed. You wear it quite well.”
Felix raises an eyebrow. It sounds like flirting but Dimitri, surely, isn’t capable of flirting. She’s just so… so… shiny. Shiny people don’t flirt.
“So, Dima, how can I provide service?” It’s easier to stick to the well-worn script of the cafe. Especially because Felix still doesn’t know what to think of Dima.
“Mercedes said you practice fencing?” Dimitri’s eyes widen and her enthusiasm is obvious.
Felix is, for a moment, blanking out. What does Dimitri know about fencing?”
“Was that too forward?” Dimitri asks and glances down at her tea. “Let’s see. Should I ask about cats instead? I’m still new to maid cafes.”
“It’s fine.” Felix likes cats fine. It’s just that she likes fencing more. “I do.”
“I’d love to hear about it.” Dimitri leans forward and Felix notices the top of her blouse is undone. “How long have you been studying the blade?”
Felix decides she’ll need more tea.
Dimitri always arrives on Friday, some time around 5pm. She's usually wearing her university outfit but Felix catches her one time in a light blue sweater and a tennis skirt and fixates too much on her bare legs.
They talk about fencing and history and adventure stories. Dimitri smiles and nibbles politely on the edge of her toffee cake and Felix wonders who taught her to be annoyingly perfect.
She’s a puzzle, Felix decides. Dimitri’s one of those multicolored cubes that you can twist and turn and still not solve. She’s so painfully earnest but her eyes always seem clouded.
What’s worse is that Felix looks forward to her visits. She tips well and no one else shares Felix’s adoration of weaponry.
Felix should probably tell her.
This Friday is unsettlingly quiet. It’s getting towards the end of the school year and most of their usual customers are busy studying for finals. Even Annette, somehow able to sit without crushing her huge skirt, is face deep in a thick textbook. Ingrid’s nibbling on one of the slightly dried cupcakes near the front bar.
Felix pours a round of coffee for some of her regulars. She knows she’s looking at the door but that’s not anyone else’s business.
Twenty-three minutes later, just when Felix begins getting irritated, Dimitri skitters inside. Her hair is a windblown mess and her jacket has leaves all over the shoulders.
Felix tightens her hold on the handle of her coffee pot. Dimitri could be a messy eater, but she was normally, preternaturally, put together.
Still. Felix has a job to do. She loads up two plates with fruits and bitter sponge cake. She adjusts her collar.
She strides to Dimitri's table and sets the tray down. “Good afternoon.”
Dimitri smiles like she's genuinely happy to see Felix. Felix will be professional about it. “I'm sorry for being late.”
Felix should really tell her.
“You don’t need to apologize to the staff.” Felix answers as she pours two cups of tea. “Did you fight nature itself?”
Dimitri runs her hand through her silky locks. (Felix assumes they’re silky. Sometimes she fantasizes about touching those strands.) “You’re being too kind.”
How does she always make things sound flirty? It's stupid.
“Sylvain offered to drive me over. I forgot his car doesn’t have a top.” Dimitri admits.
A deep, hot well of horror washes over Felix. “Sylvain?”
“Yes. He can be a bit much at times but he is a dear friend.” Dimitri says. She innocently lifts her cup to her shiny lips.
“Red hair?” Felix doesn’t think much about killing people but she’s starting to imagine Sylvain stabbed with every utensil in the cafe. “Annoying mouth?”
“Oh.” Dimitri hesitates. “Yes, that does describe him. Are you also his friend?”
“Sometimes.” Felix lifts a fork to stab at her cake. So that was it. Sylvain’s playing Dimitri. Or Felix. He’s dangling an interesting person right in front of Felix’s face, daring Felix to do something stupid and embarrassing. Or Sylvain’s leading Dimitri along all to break her heart. “Are you dating?”
Dimitri turns pink. “Not at all.”
“Do you want to date him?” Felix stops herself. She’s broken one of the major rules of the cafe and she’s damn lucky Mercedes isn’t in earshot.”
“He isn’t,” Dimitri lucks her lips and fidgets with her teacup, “Sylvain isn’t my type.”
“Good.” Felix covers her scowl with her bite of cake. Dimitri probably likes responsible college guys, the kind with cadillacs and rich fathers.
“I like girls.” Dimitri blushes. "I don't think I've ever admitted that. I've been trying to work on my confidence by talking to you."
Felix bites down on her fork so loud she can hear her molars crack.
“In fact,” Dimitri taps her teacup. “That is, you see, I like one girl.”
Felix rages. “I’m not interested in giving relationship advice. If you want to act on something, act on something. Otherwise, don’t waste anyone’s time..” Talking about dates and crushes was so… trite. All of that was so melodramatic and childish. She really should have known better.
“I see.” Dimitri looked downwards, like a kicked puppy. “That is good advice.”
Why couldn’t they be talking about swords again? Felix liked talking about swords.
“Would you like to see a movie on Friday?” Dimitri asks.
Felix kisses her.
Dimitri tastes like strawberry lip gloss and Felix does not mind.