Watching a 'friend', for a lack of better words, holding a cookie at knifepoint was certainly something.
Interrogating that cookie was also something. Though maybe the word 'interrogating' was too harsh.
"Latte, care to explain why there's milk in my fridge?"
Espresso had his arms crossed at the edge of the living room.
Latte leaned forward in her seat, "To make my lattes, duh."
Between both of them, in the middle of the couch, was the cloaked cookie from earlier. It was safe to say that they weren't the one getting interrogated.
"You don't need to go to my house to make lattes!"
"Yeah, but it's funnier when you yell at me," Latte rocked back in her chair confidently.
Espresso returned with a facepalm.
"Uhhhh, can I leave?"
Both of them snapped their gazes to the cookie on the couch, who was hugging their legs. They probably weren't having the best day.
They yelled in unison, "NO."
"Damn," The cookie muttered under their breath.
Latte looked back at Espresso, "Oh yeah, while you're over there you should make me a latte."
He looked offended, "What- no, make your own damn latte."
He left the room.
Latte faced the stranger they kidnapped, "So, what were you doing with that knife?"
They shifted to a criss-cross position. They were uncomfortable, but not because they got scooped up off the street. They were sitting in the middle of a family bout which they very obviously weren't a part of.
Still, though, they were asked a question.
"Oh that? Yeah, I got paid to be a distraction."
"For what?"
They shrugged, "Hell if I know."
Latte cupped her hands over her face, "Great, this was useless!"
The stranger felt a bit bad. They lifted their hands up in reassurance, "Hey, I'm sure you'll find out at some point."
Oh great, being comforted by an unknown cookie. That was one to cross off the bucket list.
She still held her head but looked out past her hands, "Do you at least know who hired you?"
"Well, I never got to see who hired me. I got sent the money with a request, so I did it. That's how I work." They hoped their phrasing wouldn't put too much salt in the wound, but as they saw Latte sink into the rocking chair, they realized it might've had the opposite effect.
Espresso walked back into the room with two cups of coffee and set one down on the table in front of Latte.
"So," He was still standing, "from what I understand is you do anonymous commissions."
Clearly, he overheard the conversation from the kitchen.
The stranger scratched the back of their head through the hood, "Yeah it started out as a side hustle, but now I just do it so I can make a dent in my student loan debt."
Espresso nodded. Student loan debt was some serious stuff, he didn't blame them.
Latte looked up to see the cup of coffee. She leaned forwards in her chair and grabbed it with both hands. It was still hot.
It was a plain white coffee cup. There wasn't much to it aside from the permanent stains making rings on the inside. That was to be expected from a chronic coffee drinker.
She blew on it to cool it down, not that it would help much, and took a sip.
It was a latte. Sure, it didn't have any cool designs or anything of the like, but Espresso genuinely made a latte.
Latte was about to tease him, but she was stopped by Espresso giving her a coldhearted glare. Yikes.
"Oh, I should probably introduce myself," The stranger stood up on top of the couch and pulled down the hood of their cloak.
Their face was dotted with specks of brown sugar and their hair was streaked with orange highlights. The most notable thing about their appearance was they wore a pair of bright orange goggles that were impossible to see through.
It put a hand on its chest, "I'm Orange Shortbread Cookie, please don't turn me in to the authorities." They chuckled nervously.
There was a short silence.
Espresso hummed in thought, "I think I have an idea, Latte."
They started turning in different directions to find an exit, and they were visibly more nervous. "Y'know what? It's getting late anyways, I should leave."
Latte took another sip of coffee and pointed to a door, "The exit's over there."
Orange Shortbread hopped off of the couch and flew out of the house, pulling up its hood as it left.
"You didn't have to scare them off, you know." Latte shot a disappointed glare in Espresso's direction.
Espresso sat down on the vacant couch, smiling to himself, "I know." He definitely thought he was being funny.
He put down his own cup of coffee. It had the print 'Public Enemy No. 1' on it.
Latte couldn't think of another topic to switch to, so she sipped her own coffee in silence. She looked up at a clock on the wall.
It was well past midnight.
She choked. Half of her drink landed on her lap and she started coughing.
Espresso looked concerned.
Latte held up a hand and used the other to shakily put the cup on the table. She coughed for a couple more seconds before saying, "It's late. Really late." She hacked up another cough when she said 'really'.
Espresso glanced at the wall, did a double take, and stood up. "SHIT."
He downed his whole cup of coffee in one go and hit it on the table, "I need to actually do my job."
Latte watched him leave the living room and looked down. Her clothes were drenched. Great.
She sighed and got up from the rocking chair. It was probably a good time to go home anyway. Though when she left, she couldn't help but think to herself...
Why was Orange Shortbread paid to threaten other cookies as a distraction? And weren't she and Espresso supposed to be looking for Madeleine?
YOU ARE READING
Madeleine Grows a Pair
Fanfiction...of wings. He's scared, confused, and now his magic is spiraling out of control. He's driven by a need to feel complete again. Espresso is tired, overworked, and upon finding out Madeleine's newfound situation, curious. With a lifelong interest to...
