Coffee Shop Romance

Seven

Jamie's pov

They smiled as they took the glass. "Thank you and it's fine." Taking a small white tab from the tin they grasped, they droped it into the water. Watching as it fizzed, slowly settling down to the bottom, red steadily seeping from the tab and through the water.

It took a minute for the tab to completely dissolve Once it had, Jamie took a long sip, sighing in relief and grimincing from the taste all at once. Their ears stood mostly still, only giving slight twitches as the took another sip.

It was then that they turned to see Myth's horns. Instantly they are worried, they'd gotten a glimpse of them when they arrived, but they hadn't expected her to reveal them again. "A-are you ok?" She might have just been comfortable enough to reveal them, but what if she was too stressed to keep them up? Was she aware that they had slipped out or did it happen unconsciously? Jamie slowly come to stand In front of her, worry evident, hands clutching the glass in their hands and their ears down in destress. "Myth?"

Myth's pov

It was as if Myth's body had restarted, booting back up after a minute with a long, deep breath. Slowly, she pulled her eyes open and forced a few blinks. They appeared to be almost completely glazed over at first, with every blink their normal colors returned. She muttered a slur of words as she attempted to regain full function.

After a few moments of silence struggle, she finally seemed to be in control. She flexed her hands open and closed, then rubbed her eyes.

"Damn I'm sorry, that was unexpected. I wasn't out for too long was I?" Myth spoke quietly, her voice growling with a morning gravely effect. She was unaware that her horns were still visible, as she was still 'waking up'.

It took her a second to register that Jamie was in front of her with a worried aura to them. Unconsciously, she tilted her head slightly with a puzzled expression. Everything was still a bit foggy for her, so her comprehension was way off.

The thickened red liquid in the glass looked mesmerizing in the glass that Jamie gripped. "Oh whatcha end up making?" She asked sweetly, genuinely curious.

Jamie's pov

They were overjoyed when Myth came to. Their ears beat wildly, if they were any longer Jamie was sure they'd be thumping against their shoulders. Despite the joy they felt, worry still lingered, curiosity burning just under that, but they pushed that down it could wait.

"N-not long... a m-minute or two?" They watched as Myth continued to try and figure things out, her head tilted in clear confusion. She looked off, dazed, it made Jamie slightly uncomfortable, they felt like they were seeing something private.

Taken aback by the question, unsure of how to answer, they wouldn't lie, couldn't, but what would come of telling her the truth? They smiled shyly as they went to speak, purposely showing the fanged teeth they had. "I-it's um... I-it's art-artificial... B-blood." They clinched the cup tighter for a split second before relaxing their grip in fear of breaking it.

Myth's pov

"Oh wow. I must not have rested long enough.." Myth muttered out, and reached up to comb her hair out of her face. When her hand bumped the base of her horn, her cheeks flushed softly in embarrassment. She blinked a few times before casting them away, returning to her more human looking form. "I'm really sorry.. I- I didn't expect a shutdown so soon."

Soon it registered that Jamie probably was a bit worried since she had made no mention that anything like that could happen. "Oh h-hey, I'm okay." Myth said with a smile, attempting to ease some of Jamie's uncomfortable feelings.

Putting two and two together, sharp teeth and blood, Myth mouthed an long oh and nodded. "That makes more sense. What an interesting mechanism, it's like magic!" Myth laughed at herself. "Feel free to make yourself comfortable here. What's mine is yours. And I can get more stuff too if you anything more catered to your needs."

Jamie's pov

A shutdown? More of that curiosity burned through them, almost as if It was in their veins, but they once again pushed it down. "It's o-ok." They weren't sure what had happened, but it obviously was normal for Myth and as long as she was ok they were happy. Their ears flicked an unusual pattern, fluttering through their hair slowly lazy, content, and happy.

Brightened by Myth's words they smiled wider. "I… I guess i-it is Inter-Interesting." Feeling comfortable they took a small sip from the glass, immediately scrunching their face in disgust. They'd thought it would get easier after years of drinking it, but the bitter taste really wasn't for them. It reminded them of black coffee or valerian root. 

"N-oo, I should be fine… just no s-silver." They said this with a shutter, they'd only had it a couple times, but silver poisoning was an awful experience, one they'd rather avoid.

Myth's pov

Myth found herself enamored with them, watching their subtle expressions and movements. No one she had ever been around had these kinds of reactions with her.  Whether they were consciously doing them or not, it didn't matter. She wanted that kind attention. She craved it even.

Myth noticed a lingering scent of metallic bitterness that swirled around her nose. It wasn't a pleasant scent, but it wasn't horrible either. She just assumed that the drink finally had reached her.  It also made sense why Jamie had such a reaction to it.

She spoke with a slight smile, "Sounds good to me. If anything changes, do let me know." Myth paused and glanced over her shoulder at the old wall clock hung above the door. "Whenever you're ready we can start getting the baked goods prepped and in the ovens for the morning. Sound good?" She smiled casually. She realized that she had spent way too long talking, but didn't regret a single bit of time spent. It was nice to have company again.