Two For One

Chapter 3

The late mornings at Scholar's Coffee Shop was always absolutely the busiest point of the day. Yang hardly found enough time to breathe, let alone take even so much as a moment to observe the shop beyond the fact that the line was growing. It was at that perfect time of the day where everyone was usually out and about, either at class or at work, and the majority of students at both the University of Vale and Vale Community College tried to avoid the super early morning classes if possible. By 9 or 10am, the crowds would start to flow in, but by 11, they were at their peak.

It wasn't anything Yang couldn't handle. She'd done this a hundred times before. There was a reason why the shop paid so well, even for part-time employees like herself. The shop had the perfect location between the two colleges of the University District, and it made damn good coffee at that. It rivaled even that of the local chains, but she'd even heard horror stories of how much worse the lines were at the chains on the UV campus from Ruby. She thanked her lucky stars everyday she'd landed the job at Scholar's Coffee, and not the chains that pumped exhausted workers through a revolving door like children who had just had their first ever interaction with a revolving door.

Yang looked up, still wrapped up in her own exhaustion, from the computer to take the next order. She had meant to give her standard greeting, but instead, was rendered completely speechless when none other than Blake Belladonna appeared directly in front of her.

"Hi, Yang," Blake said with a soft smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here," Yang replied, trying to recover from her sheer moment of shock. She'd never seen Blake here before. Then again, would she even have noticed someone she'd never met before?

Yang would have had to have noticed. Blake was far too pretty for that.

Did she just think that?

But Yang should have noticed. It was rare that a Faunus were to come in here. Surely, if she had at some other point, there would have been whisperings from some of the other customers, and Yang would have had to go get her manager, who would have kicked the racists out.

Yang glanced up for a moment to the stunned surprise that Blake's cat ears were covered with a bow. They were completely still, as if a hair bow simply sat atop her head, with no indication of the ears that lay underneath.

Blake let out a small laugh, causing a smile to come to Yang's face instinctively, breaking her train of thought. "It's okay. Can I get a medium pumpkin spice latte?" she asked.

"Coming right up!" Yang exclaimed with a new wave of energy, punching it into the computer.

Blake handed her a handful of lien, significantly more than her order was worth. When Yang handed her back the change, Blake immediately dropped it into the tips cup with a smile.

"Thanks!" Yang's smile had not faded since Blake had laughed.

"Hey, I know you're busy, so I'll keep this brief. Do you have a break coming up?" Blake asked quickly and quietly.

"Uh, yeah, in about twenty minutes, why?"

"I came out early to actually call you and chat about your application- since I already ran into you, we could talk in person on your break instead, if that's okay?"

Blake flushed nervously. She didn't know why. This was just another business conversation, about cats.

Then why was Yang's goofy grin so-

"Yeah, of course! I'll come find your table when I go on break."

"Great, thanks," Blake said with a smile. "See you then!"