The familiar sound of his footsteps coming up the stairs announces his arrival long before he opens the front door. "Owen was wondering if he could have some help downstairs."
I look up from my book, my eyebrows raised a bit. "No hello?" I ask lightly.
Bucky pauses and looks at me for a moment. "Hi," he mutters a bit sarcastically, taking his coat off.
I roll my eyes and set my book down before sitting up and standing. "I guess I'll go down then." I don't get a response, but that is normal. I turn, pick my book back up, and walk towards my room. "Where were you today?" I ask after a moment, poking my head into his room.
"Out," he mutters, giving me a look. I frown slightly. "Can you get out of my room? I'm trying to change my shirt."
"It's not like I've never seen you shirtless before," I mutter, walking down to my room, which is next to his, connected by a bathroom. I grab a sweater before walking out to the front door, slipping on a pair of sneakers, and exiting the apartment. I hurry down the stairs, knowing Owen can get a bit overwhelmed with customers sometimes. When Owen gets overwhelmed, he makes bad decisions. I open the door to my right and walk through the back storage of the cafe, grabbing my dark grey apron and pulling it on. Finally, I walk out behind the counter.
I blink a few times in quick succession, surprised at the number of people in the cafe. Owen quickly hurries past me, his dirty blond curls bouncing on top of his head.
"You really did need some help," I murmur as I step up to the counter. "Hi. What can I get you today?" I ask politely, my hand hovering over the screen in front of me, waiting to enter the older woman's order.
"A cappuccino with almond milk and a chocolate-chip croissant," the woman tells me, her voice sounding ever so slightly annoyed.
I quickly tap on the things she asked for on the screen. "$17.49 is your total." She quickly inserts her card and clicks two things on the screen before putting her card away. "I'll get those right out for you," I say pleasantly, turning quickly to start on her cappuccino.
As I'm making the cappuccino, I hear the person Owen is talking to order a mocha with extra whipped cream and cinnamon, a peppermint tea with a shot of maple syrup, and two blueberry muffins. I raise my eyebrows slightly at the specificity of the order, though I've had more specific in the past. I finish the cappuccino and grab a chocolate-chip croissant, placing it in a small paper bag. I hand the woman her drink and bag, and she walks out. I look at the next customer, dropping into the strange mind-state I go into when I'm working. Polite, fast-moving, and very efficient.
As the day draws to a close the final few customers come in, each asking for a simple coffee, which we get them. As we finish the last order, we begin closing. I let out a long breath as Owen locks the door and flips the "Open" sign to "Closed".
"I can clean up," I tell him.
"You sure?" he asks, sounding a bit surprised.
"It's Friday. Go have fun somewhere," I tell him, smiling slightly.
His boyish face breaks into a big smile. "You're the best!" he calls, hurrying into the back room. I chuckle quietly before starting on wiping down the counter. "See you Monday!" Owen calls from the door before it closes behind him.
"Want any help?" I jump, looking up quickly to find Bucky standing behind the counter.
"How'd you sneak up on me?" I ask, genuinely confused.
"You had a long day," Bucky murmurs, walking around the counter to me. "Do you need help?" he asks again.
I look around quickly, frowning. "I think I'm okay," I respond slowly.
"Can I stay down here 'till you're done? I'm bored upstairs."
"If you want," I reply with a shrug, going back to mopping the floor. I continue working in silence before finally finishing cleaning and putting things away. "Done," I say, turning to Bucky. I flick the light switch quickly before walking past him and upstairs. He follows me up and closes the door, locking it out of habit.
"You said you had a date tonight, right?" Bucky asks after a moment.
I glance at him swiftly to find him intently studying my small cactus plant sitting in one of the windows in the kitchen. "How'd you remember that?" I ask.
He shrugs. "It seemed mildly important," he responds quietly.
I stare at him for a moment, my head tilted slightly to the side. "Yes. I do have a date to get to." I stand there for a moment before hurrying to my room.
"I'm assuming you'll want my opinion on dresses?" Bucky asks from my doorway, sounding bored.
I turn to find him leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and a small frown on his face. "Black or blue?" I ask after a moment, holding up two different dresses.
He stares at each of them for a moment. "Try the blue one on," he says finally. I take the blue dress into the bathroom and strip down before pulling it on.
I struggle around with the zipper before giving up and walking back out. "Can you help with the zipper?" I ask, noticing that Bucky is sitting on my bed, his back against the headboard and his legs out in front of him. He motions me over and I take a few steps over before turning around, a bit hesitant because of my back being exposed. A little shiver runs up my spine as he carefully grabs the fabric just below the zipper before zipping it in one, smooth motion. He lets go the moment he's done and the goose bumps covering my arms go back down.
I take a few steps away before turning to face him. He scans me up and down once quickly, then again but slowly. The dress is dark blue, with a square neckline. The sleeves puff out before tightening at my wrists. There is a decorative bow in front of my left hip. The skirt hits my knees, flaring out slightly.
"That one," he says, nodding. I stand there for a moment, looking around, before I start hurrying around my room, grabbing things. Shoes, coats, tights, and one of my jewelry boxes. I set all the options out carefully, standing in front of it all, frowning slightly.
"Black tights, black or dark grey booties, and a grey, long-ish coat," Bucky mutters.
I glance at him, blink a few times, then look back down. "Since when did you know so much about clothing?" I ask teasingly.
"I know what looks good on you," Bucky responds slowly, seeming unsure of his word choice.
I look at him briefly from the corner of my eyes to find him staring down at his metal hand, his eyes a bit distant. I look back down at the things in front of me and select the things he said, putting the others away. I go into the bathroom, keeping the door cracked a bit, and apply simple makeup, a pair of medium-sized pearl earrings, with a pair of smaller, diamond studs, and a silver necklace with a round, dark green stone as the charm, which rests neatly above the neckline of the dress.
I pull the tights under the dress and put the booties on, zipping up the insides and adjusting the laces slightly before turning back to the mirror. I frown at my hair for a moment before grabbing my brush and brushing through it before styling it in a side part, the front part carefully pushed up. Finally, I turn and exit the bathroom.
Bucky scans me quickly. "You look nice," he mutters, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of my bed.
"Thanks," I respond with a tight smile. I pick my coat from off the ground, following Bucky out of my room and back down the hall. "I should be back in one to two hours," I tell him at the door.
"Okay. Text me if that changes," he responds, his face emotionless.
I nod, frowning slightly before exiting the inside door, then the outside door. I glance briefly to my right at the cafe before starting down the street. I catch a taxi and tell the driver the name of the restaurant I'm going to.
On the way there I check my messages. One message from my dad, three from a close friend, two from my aunt, and five from my cousin.
I frown and open my cousin's messages.
Hey Trid. Just wanted to check in on you.
Mom's prolly gonna text.
She's been a bit worried about ur dad.
Also she might want you to come visit us.
We miss you!
I smile a bit before responding.
Hey Skye.
I'm doing well, as usual.
Your mom did text me.
Haven't seen it yet but I'll respond soon.
I then open the messages from my aunt. Letting out a sigh at the length of them both.
Hi Trid! I know it's been a while since we've talked but I just wanted to check in on you again. Make sure the cafe is doing well. Make sure you're doing well. Skye told me you had a roommate! You didn't tell me about that! Please call me soon. I want to talk. Also, you should come to California to visit soon, I miss seeing you.
Unrelated to all that. I'm getting concerned about your dad. He doesn't seem to be doing that great and I think he misses you. He's been calling Skye and Felix pretty often. Just to talk to them. Don't forget about your father! Remember that he exists, and loves you, and wants to know how you're doing. <3
I stare at the texts for a moment, reading over them again before letting out another breath.
We'll talk soon. Both me and you, and me and my dad.
I go back and open the texts from Jade, a close childhood friend of mine.
i went on this crazy ass date with Shawn! it was a good crazy tho!
tell me when i can call you i need to fill you in on all of it.
also Ben's getting married later this year. you're definitely getting invited don't even worry about that.
I roll my eyes at my friend's lack of capitalization but smile slightly. Ben, her younger brother, is also a good friend of mine, and it's good to hear he's finally getting married. His wife-to-be is a really nice, super athletic brunette from Canada. They ran into each other, literally, in a coffee shop, both of them spilling their respective coffees on the other. One of the best meet-cutes I've heard of.
The taxi slows, before stopping against the side of the road, right outside the restaurant. I quickly pay the driver, swiping my card quickly before opening the door and stepping out. "Thank you," I tell him briefly before closing the door and turning to the restaurant. I take a deep breath, look down the street swiftly before walking into the restaurant.
~~~
I hope you enjoyed this little intro into the story!