The signature of Café De Fontaine is the white otters scattered everywhere, just seeing the little, blue creatures was enough to make someone's day, but that wasn't all the reason Wriothesley, a high-held police officer, visited this cafe every morn...
"Hello, welcome to Café De Fontaine- oooooooh! No surprise you're here again, Wriothesley, I'm glad to see you!"
The barista greeted his regular customer as usual with his gentle and bright smile.
The cafe was a cosy, yet very vast place, structured with a French design and the aroma of warm pastries and freshly ground coffee beans, and the subtle, milky touch. Its signature, white otters are scattered everywhere at their own will, either swimming, lounging in the sun, or getting belly rubs and head pats. Just seeing the little, blue creatures was enough to make someone's day, but that wasn't all the reason Wriothesley, a high-held police officer, visited this cafe every morning; rather, it was their main "mascot", the morning shift barista, Neuvillette. He's always dressed neatly in a white and blue coat, blending perfectly with his luscious, long locks, and as a matter of fact, he looks identical to the otters everywhere. He also makes wonderful coffee, but for Wriothesley, he prefers tea over anything, and here, it's no exception.
"Are you as usual? And sorry, the baguettes are not available today.."
Wriothesley let loose a soft sigh after hearing that, but he wasn't too bothered, knowing a cup of tea could cheer him up afterwards.
"It's no big deal, I can stand with just tea today, I'll be back tomorrow anyways"
Neuvillette nodded and started filling a teapot with filtered water. He felt a little bad, but just by hearing the voice of Wriothesley, he was reassured and brushed it off.
"Oh yes, do you want me to add something to your tea?"
"yeah just tea is fine for me, thanks"
Neuvillette passed a small nod and disappeared behind the blinds. It was a bit unusual because behind there, it's just the kitchen, all the drinks are prepared right at the counter.
He reappeared after a few seconds with a coffee cup, just a regular coffee cup like the ones stacked in a huge pile on the counter, but why did he have to go in there to get it... Neuvillette checked if the tea was ready and poured it into the coffee cup from earlier, giving it to Wriothesley with his signature soft smile.
"Be careful, it's hot, but enjoy your day!"
Wriothesley gave a genuine smile back and a thanks before heading off to work (he already left the money on the counter), only to realise, while halfway through the door, that Neuvillette stuck a sticky note onto his cup. It read, "My apologies. If I could without consequence, ask if you're interested in exchanging numbers?"
He looked back at the counter, and at the cup of tea before walking back into the cafe with a small smirk of delight and slid his business card into Neuvilette's hand, placing it back down softly.
"You asked for my number? It's on here, my business location as well, call me whenever you need. Even if it's not creepy guys chasing you down an alleyway."
Neuvillette looked at the card with a small smile. Anyone could see how bright the shine in Neuvillette's eyes grew as he took the card and put it somewhere in his apron, but his fingers found their way back into his pocket, only to pull it out for one last good look.
Wriothesley stood there, unsure of what in Teyvat he was feeling then until he remembered he had a bus to catch and waved his goodbye, rushing out of the cafe at the speed of light squared.
Neuvillette giggled at the sudden icebreak but his attention was drawn back to the black and crimson business card, almost as if it was his most prized possession of all time.
The card contained a few details, some he never would have known otherwise: "Wriothesley, General of the Meropide Police Station."
"So he works at the police station? ...Heh... who am I to be surprised anyway..."
At the same time that Neuvillette was making the utmost humane attempt to examine every detail of Wrio's business card, the second party was on a chase, not on a criminal, but for the goddamn bus, he almost missed by half a second.
The doors of the bus rotated to a closure after the last passenger, who most surprisingly happened to be Wriothesley, had entered. He scanned the vehicle for any spare seats and as always, he had to stand for the whole ride, right after a life-or-death sprint, irritating...
He took firm hold of a handlebar and from the lack of entertainment he had, kept looking back onto the note on his coffee cup, that's ironically filled with tea. Just as he caught the sudden realisation Neuvillette didn't give a number back, he found a string of numerals written right behind the flap of the note. He stared at it for a bit and looked around before pulling out his phone to save it into his speed dial under the name of "Otter King". Wriothesley pulled the screen away from his face with a content grin, examining the masterpiece he had just created.
•⛲︎───✧❅✦❅✧───⛲︎•
End Chapter 1.
•┈••✦ ✎Message From the Author!✎ ✦••┈•
╰┈➤First chapter done!!! grammar may be a little off and the cohesion may be a bit wonky but eeeeehhh its fiiinnee. Credits to Princess_Eika's "Barista Neuvillette" on Character AI for the inspiration of this chapter!
╰┈➤Word count: 828
╰┈➤Edit: I made the design for Wriothesley's business card! (Canva is a life saver)
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