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“Kiri! We have to go inside!” Minami insisted as she tried to tug on the other girl's arm into the cafe.
Kirisame had to be strong, not just for her but for Nikki who stood petrified behind her. This entire group had gotten her in front of a weird cafe, and no matter what Kirisame wasn’t going to bow down to peer pressure.
“It wouldn’t kill you!” Kohaku insisted, leaning over Kirisame’s shoulder.
Kohaku pushed her body forward while Minami held her arm and pulled. The peer pressure videos had said nothing about physical restraint.
“It's a butler cafe! Are we even allowed to do this?” Kirisame asks as she looks over the poster of hot men in costumes.
“WELCOME HOME MISTRESS”
How was none of this embarrassing to any of them other than Nikki?
“Its not like a host club, they don't serve alcohol here.” Minami said in annoyance. “I’ll treat you okay!”
Kirisame wasn’t one to fold over her virtues, and it may look as though she folded for a piece of cake. Rather it was the persistence of her friends that got her through the door, that and a promise of a soda to go along with the cake.
The entrance was standard, it was cute and frilly with the host stand ready to seat them. Kohaku and Minami took charge of the situation by requesting the Fire Ice Prince special. Kirisame didn’t know why they got a butler that wasn’t that chatty since she thought the purpose of cafes like this was to talk to cute men. Maybe they would take the chance to take cute pictures and embarrass her later on for going to a place like this.
Kirisame got seated with Nikki and they shared the menu. Hoping that they could be each other's rock in this situation. Though it was difficult for Kirisame to admit this to herself, everything on the menu was a delightful indulgence. Even if it all was butler themed.
“I need to get a picture with this!” Nikki said to her as she pointed out the parfait she wanted.
It was themed after the butler they had selected, the Fire Ice Prince Butler, which gave everything on his page of the menu a ridiculously long name. Though the dessert looked really good with a mix of red and blue berries.
“Yes, very Instagram worthy.” Kirisame said.
Though their indulgences were short, the butler of the same name came around to speak with them. Minami and Kohaku had their phones out as they allowed him a second to take out his notepad from his apron. It was the only courtesy they allowed him before taking videos.
“May I help you princesses?” The butler asked, and Kirisame was the one who got the brunt of the princess treatment.
He bowed so deeply and his eyes sparkled red. His hair was pink and smelled fine like a forest clearing with a bright sunny patch of flowers in its center. The Fire Ice Prince had eyes like a fox and a will beyond anything Kirisame had ever felt before. He also had the softest poutest lips she had ever seen. Her eyes locked onto those lips, then shortly towards his shorter stature.
Kirisame was mesmerized by this person’s looks, and then his movements were out of this world. He poured them all water before even glancing away from Kirisame. It was like a real prince was talking to only her.
“Homura!” Kohaku rejoiced. She roughly patted the butler on his back, which really pushed him around.
It was like magic how Kirisame could finally see her friend behind all the makeup and the presence that made Homura into a man. It shocked Kirisame so much her heart pounded within her chest as she kept looking at Homura. Everything was finally clicking together on why Minami and Kohaku wanted everyone to come. It was to see Homura right at her new job. Homura mentioned it once and never again, to which Kirisame respected her privacy. So it came out of left field to see her in such a flashy job. This almost reminded her of the times she's seen Homura do her gymnastics, how she was so cool and competitive but yet the most private person Kirisame had the pleasure of knowing.
“You look great girl!” Minami said and she held up her phone to take a picture of Homura. “Smile for me, Princey!!”
Homura frowned at the request, and the magic was gone. She was back to being who Kirisame usually saw in the school hallways.
“Do your job!” Kohaku teased her, putting on pouty lips and baby doll eyes. Though nothing could stop that smile that was always present on her face, something so light that nobody could turn away.
Except maybe Homura, who had to turn away.
Nikki’s face was as red as a slice of red velvet cake, so the prince act must have worked on her as well. Kirisame could relate, she felt the same way sitting here with everyone as they hounded Homura at her job.
Homura took a glance over at Nikki and with such professionalism that Kirisame loved to see, Homura bent down to Nikki’s level. She gave her a charming prince smile, and it was like instantly the table’s attitude changed. Nikki covered her face to stop that lovely smile from having more of an effect on her. It didn’t even matter since that smile of the Ice Fire Prince Butler was invigorating, like Kirisame’s heart was set on fire. Though Homura’s attitude was so cold.
Well the whole idea of her character was making sense now. To Kirisame the concept really worked.
“Could I take your order, madam?” Homura asked.
It was the most beautiful thing Kirisame had ever seen, and she too was under its influence. She used the menu as a shield and that still didn’t help much with her heart beating so proudly it hit her ribcage. It was like a drum and she even wanted to dance, as long as Homura held her hand that is.
That smile made Kohaku shut down for a second, only to figure out her words. “Wow you really do look like a prince! It’s almost crazy how much you changed in an instant!”
Minami had no words but the constant flash of her phone screen. It was a constant shutter until Homura dropped the smile when she wasn’t making eye contact with Nikki.
“Awww but that was so good!” Minami whined though she went looking through her camera roll.
“Just doing my job for those who participate.”
Homura quickly took their orders afterwards. Though the experience is worth living, it was eating up at Kirisame. She felt bad for getting in the way of Homura’s work to haggle her. It wasn’t nice, though she didn’t know if this is what having friends is all about. She still felt wrong, so when everyone was about to leave, Kiri stayed behind. She lingered around Homura as the other went out the door. Not even noticing that she wasn’t chatting with them.
“I am sorry for being here when you were working.” Kirisame said.
It wasn’t right to give Homura a hard time at her new job, even if she wasn’t showing that much resentment towards her now. At least the Homura she knew wouldn’t be so happy about it.
“It's fine,” She said as she went ahead and re-adjusted the menus like it really hadn’t bothered her. “I think you should tell more people.”
Kirisame didn’t think she heard her correctly. At least she wasn’t sure if Homura was being serious. “Tell other people?”
“Tell plenty of girls about this cafe. I get commission.”
That would do it. Kirisame didn’t know why she needed that money, but there was a conviction there that she would never truly understand. The fire in her eyes said it all and Kirisame wished that wasn’t her butler stare as well as her commitment stare. It made Kirisame’s heart pound loudly like she was at a concert.
“I’ll tell other girls all about your job.”
Yo knew that Homura was away just doing her own weird girl thing but he never expected her to get a job. As a butler was another idea he was trying to wrap his head around. The tables were packed with people so she was popular and her section was always full. Since he sat down he watched as three other people also sat by her.
It was kinda insane, and he wished he was as popular with girls like Homura. Though supporting her would be more worth it if she didn’t glare at the table.
“I thought I said I only want girls at my tables.” Homura said when she came to greet them.
“Look, we didn't know that!” Yo tried to defend himself.
“We’re here now and we’re hungry.” Moz said as he gave her his menu. “I’ll take the large pasta dish with a side of bread.”
“Whatever.” Homura said but still wrote it down in her notebook. “Hyoga isn’t here?”
Yo didn’t want to know what she would do to them when she finds out that he did try to get Hyoga here. Though he skipped out on them to go home. Though Yo must have dodged a bullet, since Homura was pretty pissed and bringing him along would make it worse.
“You can’t be that popular with such a sour face.” Moz commented.
Homura scoffed at him.
Yo just took a sip as he watched the master at work. Moz always knew how to get on her nerves, even though they’re friends? Yo in all honestly just nodded. It was easier than getting her pissed off at him. He wanted to think he learned his lesson from last time.
“My folks own a restaurant,” Yo tried to make some sort of chatter. “How do you do it? Like you still come to practice and school.”
“I’ve been getting into gatcha games.”
Homura wasn’t one for jokes, so Yo wasn’t sure if she was joking
She left their table soon after and Yo already finished his tiny little specialty drink. So it would take another five minutes to see her to get another.
That was until Yo could feel the presence of someone behind him. He's been pushed around enough to know to scoot into the booth and make any sort of room for Hyoga to sit with them.
“I thought you bailed on us.” Moz said.
“Yeah dude! We already told the waiter we wanted to split the bill two ways!”
Hyoga just shrugged and went ahead and looked over the dessert menu. “I had some time on my hands and wished to see what the fuss was about.”
Well it was everything Yo hoped it wouldn’t become, though it was better that it happened now. Even with Homura glaring at the table again.
Today’s shift was hard, and it was long as well. Homura felt like her body ached in a way that didn’t feel natural. Her feet hurt and she hoped nothing would swell since he had to be fitted soon for a new outfit. Practice should have given her extra stamina for a job but it felt like her body was being pushed to its limits. It was a lot to take on. She felt exhausted but it was so worth it for the nice paychecks.
It was almost worth it until she saw Hyoga at the end of her section. Looking over the dessert menu while Moz made conversation with him.
Homura didn’t think that she would get the chance to see him again. A prince cafe wasn’t his scene at all.
Hyoga was much more proper than she could ever be, he would maybe ask her about her job. Something offhanded to a more important event like a school project or working out with each other, but something like this wasn’t tactful. It was honestly kinda embarrassing.
Though it was her job to be his waiter, Homura had to hold her breath steady as she willed herself to the light of the cafe. She tapped off water at the table, took orders from the back of her section first since they’ve waited nicely for her. The afterschool rush was exactly what she needed but right now it was biting her in the butt. Though Homura kept at it, with her perfectly timed smiles and cool exterior that made plenty of girls fawn all over her male persona.
Being handsome did have its perks and Homura was swimming in golden points of the obligatory system that made her coworkers hate her guts. All for that coin as Yo would put it.
Homura finally made it to her most dreaded table, where everyone already ordered and another person was still getting more. It was Hyoga though, so she let it slide.
The table was packed now as they made room for Hyoga, who squished Yo right into the seat. Homura last time put down the prince act with this group, but her heart was beating so fast. Hyoga was here in the group now, which shifted the entire vibe, and things were slowing down. Homura didn’t want to get written up so she bent forward and placed a glass down for Hyoga.
“Do you need another moment,” Homura asked with the fake voice she had to put on.
Her eyes went upwards to a coworker who walked right past her, but it didn’t feel worth it when Moz and Yo were laughing at her.
“I’ll take the shortcake.” Hyoga said as he handed the menu back to Homura. She felt her face begin to warm.
He didn’t laugh at her which was nice of him, though being humiliated like this felt awful.
As Homura began to take the menu away, the corner of the laminated paper hit the glass she placed down, and suddenly Hyoga was covered in cold water.
“Gah!” Hyoga got out of the booth quickly and looked down at his school uniform.
Hyoga was drenched and now Yo and Moz could not stop laughing at the situation.
Homura was so embarrassed, as Hyoga picked up his bag and walked out of the cafe. She bowed, ashamed to have let that happen on her shift. The laughter died down and it looked as though Yo and Moz were cleaning it up for her.
“I didn’t think you could also make mistakes like that.” Moz said. He put her on the back like they were buddies after a great run.
The dread carried itself all the way towards the end of her shift where Homura could not sit still for the life of her. So she tried to keep busy, which made her feel worse. It was a never ending cycle and that deluxe 10-pull she had promised herself looked like a joke. She didn’t deserve it after the shift she just had. Really her mind was not up for it anymore.
Soon enough things began to die down, with the patrons whittling down to college students who just wanted a late night snack. Homura was about to get out of there, at least another half hour before her shift was over.
She couldn’t wait for this nightmare of a day to be over, since she didn’t even have the time to really process what had happened to her in the first place. Like it was still drowning her.
Maybe being a butler wasn’t that great of an idea. Even with all that charm she perfected.
The cafe bell rang again and Homura greeted from the place she was stationed.
Her greeting was caught in her throat as she saw a speckle of silver hair being sat at her station. Homura put down her side work and went right over to her section to see the new guest.
Hyoga came back, he wore casual clothing and his regular face mask. Though even with it on, Homura could tell it was him. She got nervous all over again.
Homura’s core shook as she thought about what had happened earlier today. She hoped that it would be a day before she would see Hyoga again. She messed up so badly, and though the water was mopped up a while ago, Homura still can’t think good. It's a block in her mind, and Homura wondered how Nikki and Kirisame dealt with something so embarrassing as the feeling of embarrassment.
“Can I take your order?” Homura asked Hyoga, in her normal voice.
“Shortcake, and I would like the full experience Ice Fire Prince Butler?”
It amused Homura to know that Hyoga tried, and maybe didn’t get her title. She told her manager that nobody would since it was complicated, but ‘being complicated fit her vibe’. It was an effort she didn’t think was really worthy of her, maybe not when she was in this form, not yet.
“Right away sir,” Homura bowed to Hyoga before going to the kitchen to place his order.
Like the rest of her shift, Homura did her best to bow like it didn’t bother her. To say what she rehearsed in that fake voice she practiced for hours on end. Give her guest a great time, the kind that wants him to bring his friends over.
“You know I am quite impressed with you,” Hyoga mentioned when Homura brought out his cake. “A job, and practice?”
“We happen to go to the same school as well.” Homura mentioned.
Everything that had been building within her gut was slowly falling down, she felt better. Hyoga had that sort of magic to just make her feel ecstatic. Sure she took on the job for some not so proper wants, but it didn’t matter to her right now. All she wanted to do was serve some coffee and shortcake.
“Would you like our newest special? It's based on me.” Homura offered a separate menu.
“Are you trying to upsell me?”
“A butler can try.”