The Steam Lounge

Disc 1 - Track 5

Blood Hands - Royal Blood
"But I'll kiss the ground where you kneel till I grow my hair to my heels."
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Mercy sipped her coffee, about to sit down when she heard noises. They came from Andy's bedroom and she set to work, making him a coffee. She had to work out what kind of drink he would want. Mercy had a useless talent when it came to guessing people's coffee orders. He had slight ginger stubble and she found gingerbread coffee syrup in the cupboard so she assumed it was something along the lines of a latte. 

Amount of sugar was always the difficult one. It was a gamble really. If you've already put syrup in then you can eliminate one of the sugars they would have in a normal coffee. Andy seemed like a sweet guy, so Mercy guess that he would normally have three sugars. It was surprising how much sugar some people would put in their coffee. 

When she went to get the sugar she saw sweetener. Anyone who gets up this early either can't sleep or is an active person. She knew that from early shifts at The Steam Lounge. Active also equalled healthy. She pulled out the sweetener instead and put two in the coffee. She then went to get milk. Next to the normal milk was a carton of soy milk. Mercy knew that this was probably Andy's too because it was healthier.

She mixed up the coffee and added a little extra foam from the machine. As Andy stepped out from his bedroom she turned to look at him. He jumped slightly, seeing her up and about. "How come you're up?" He asked, feeling a little more polite than Joe's method of asking. 

"Couldn't sleep. What about you?" She responded, shrugging her shoulders. Andy pointed to his trainers.

"I go for a run every morning." Mercy picked up the coffee as Andy was about to reach for the mugs. 

"I already made you a coffee. I heard you getting up so I thought I would save you the trouble." She replied. His smiled slightly, shaking his head. 

"Thank you but I don't have milk in my coffee. I'm vegan, I have-" He began to speak but she handed him the coffee.

"Soy milk, I know. I figured since you were up early and you seem like a kinda active person that you would be healthy as well. That's a gingerbread latte with soy milk, two sweeteners and extra foam." Mercy explained. 

Andy looked at the coffee and then at her. "How the hell did you do that?" He asked urgently. A smiled spread across her face. 

"Did I get it right?" She asked, excitedly. He sipped the coffee and nodded, looking at her in bemusement. 

"Yep, that's perfect. It tastes a thousand times better than when I make it." He commented, drinking more. 

She grabbed herself a glass of water, examining the contents of the fridge while she was stood up. "I love it when that happens." She said.

When she sat down again Andy looked at her, still smiling. "Can you do that for everyone?" He asked as her glance trailed over to the corridor. 

Mercy sent him a coy smile. "I think Joe is a normal latte or cappuccino kind of guy but in October, I bet he drinks pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks." She said, searching Andy's face for his reaction.

He nodded. "Joe is a sucker for seasonal drinks. What about Patrick?" Andy questioned. 

Mercy sat thinking for a moment before she answered. "I think he is similar to Joe... but if he passes a Starbucks he gets a flavoured hot chocolate instead of a coffee." She said,  pausing halfway through the sentence and biting her lip. Andy's mouth went wide open.

"How is this even possible?" He asked, putting his now empty cup in the sink. She shrugged, crossing her legs and smirking. 

Andy looked at her for a minute. "And Pete?" He asked knowingly. She scrunched up her nose thinking before she remembered something.