bicycle

It felt like riding one of those high-speed cars down one of those steep slopes in Initial D instead of riding his simple bike up and down the hill that he always had to pass to get home. Oh, crap, if he blew this favor – this last favor, he reminded himself – now, he was gonna be both out of his new job and his apartment. The landlady had already warned him that this was his last chance. If he blew this now, there'd be no way to put off eviction.

And it wasn't helping that the long-legged witch was just casually riding in his basket and limiting his vision.

Rokurou kept bobbing his head from side to side to try and make sure that he wasn't going to crash into his impending death, but he was pretty sure that she was doing it on purpose, because she always did everything on purpose. He still wasn't sure how she maintained anything, much less a job. "C'mon, Mags, if you're gonna sit in the front, at least make up your mind on which side you're gonna sit!" he chided, making hand motions in the air on either side of her. "You're gonna get us both killed!"

In front of him, Magilou waved a hand in dismissal and tutted. This was the perks of having her as a best friend. "Rokee-baby, you know I trust you. Just get us there on time. I don't care if we die in the process~"

"But I do! I can't die on the first day of work, you know!"

"Dude, I'm already tellin' ya, Eleanor's not gonna care if you're alive or dead. She's just gonna use you as slave labor either way."

"Geez, thanks for the encouragement."

"I'm the one who put in a good word for ya, remember? Just relax and be the cool Rokubro you always are, and she won't care if you're a little dead as long as you're on time." Magilou's eyes turned to slits as she turned to face him. "Uh, y'might want to pedal a little harder."

"One of these days you're gonna kill the both of uuuuuuuuus-"

He felt the breath knocked out of him as Magilou landed a swift kick to his ribs, which instead of pedaling faster like she'd intended made him stop for a split second, causing the both of them to jolt forward and roll down the rest of the hill. Weakly grabbing his friend's large hat in the air, he embraced for the worst of injuries as he landed on top of her, grabbing her into his arms before she crashed into the ground.

This was met with a sharp bite to his arm, and she wouldn't let go.

Just another day with his best friend and roommate.

"What did you do now."

It was a statement, not a fact, by the guy in the crisp, black and white uniform that all of the baristas wore. Compared to his and Magilou's disheveled appearance, this guy looked like he actually belonged working at a coffee shop. Magilou shrugged and took out a brush from her oversized purse, quickly brushing loose, blond strands back into her messy ponytail. "We had a little snag with our ride. Oh, Eizen, so high and mighty just because you're the only one with a license. Where's the boss?"

"Errands. Is this the new guy?"

"Of course~ isn't he adorable~"

Rokurou waved, flashing a sheepish smile. "We wanted to be on time. Good impressions and everything. Rokurou Rangetsu, nice to meet you."

He offered a hand, which Eizen shook with a forced smile. "Eizen. Well, I have to hand it to you. This is the first time she's been on time in a few weeks. Don't push yourself to be on time like this, though. She told you that the boss doesn't care whether you're alive or dead as long as you're working, right?"

"Ahaha, yeah…"

Eizen shot a glare at Magilou, who pouted and slowly slunk off to the back room. Then, turning back to Rokurou, his shoulders relaxed ever more slightly. "She's said some good things about you, Rangetsu. Said you've had some bad luck but is really dependable. We usually don't hire so I hope you're a good fit for the team."

"Oh, God, me too. As long as you don't have a deathwish, too, I think we can get along just fine, buddy."

They shared a more lighthearted laugh, and Rokurou was shown to the manager's office, where Eizen did most of the paperwork normally done by the boss. He would have to finish the rest of it during his lunchtime, but he could always multitask. Oddly enough, getting there was probably the worst part on his nerves. Now that he was actually learning the ropes of being a dishwasher slash substitute barista, he felt a lot more confident with his new work. Anything beat his old jobs.

Five minutes into his actual clocked hours, he noticed a woman casually slip inside and tie her hair into a high ponytail. She wasn't the boss, was she? No, because Magilou said the boss was a stiff, lanky snake with green eyes. Well, this one was pretty stiff, but she looked a lot more muscular, and she had the sharpest, roundest golden eyes that he'd ever seen. Like a tiger.

And when their eyes met, she threw the most disgusted glare at him that it felt like she just stabbed him in a prison cell.

Rokurou sidestepped over to Magilou, who was pouring an excessive amount of sugar into a pot. Her lips curled in amusement as he put a hand over his head and pointed. "Who's…who's she?" he whispered.

Bad idea. Terribly bad idea. He immediately groaned inwardly as she pulled an elbow down to the table and leaned on it, frantically waving at the woman. "Ohhhh~ you mean my beautiful, darling, beast of a girlfriend Velvypoooooo? The one who my Rokeebro wants to have a threesome at the top of a fancy rooftop at niiiiight? Ohhhh, Rokeebro, I can't believe you're such a gentleman that you'd treat both of us to such a wonderful niiiiiight~"

Rokurou buried his head in his hands. "Oh, my God, Magilou."

"What? What? You wanted to know the name of the love of our lives, riiiight?"

"I never said that! I just think she's cute oh god you didn't hear that-"

"I NEVER HEARD THAT YOU SAID YOU THINK SHE'S CU-MMPH!"

He quickly threw his dishrag over her head, hoping that she'd stop her taunting like a parrot. Every inch in him began to panic as his co-worker raised an eyebrow and walked over to them. Well, there went his job, his rent, his dignity…not that he ever really had any dignity, not since that fateful night when he and Magilou got shitfaced doing shots all night long in Tokyo. Ever since then he was practically bonded to her by blood, and he never figured out if that was a bad thing. Man, he should've went to school to become an accountant instead-

"Hey."

He looked up. Velvet was standing mere inches from him, looking right through him. Magilou placed her hands on her hips. "Velvee, I hear your anger through this coffee-smelling rag. What seems to trouble you, darling~?"

"Die." Her gaze never left him as she crossed her arms, flicking one finger to the windows. "One of the customers brought in a smashed-up bike today. Said some idiots left it in the middle of the room. You better not be a big of a hassle to babysit. She's bad enough."

"…..yes, ma'am."

He felt utterly defeated as she spun into the opposite directions without a word. He wasn't sure why he still felt the blush on his cheeks, even as Magilou practically shoved him back into the kitchen. But he felt something. Velvet seemed unapproachable, the co-worker that everyone would be afraid of and distance from them under normal circumstances.

And yet he felt that somehow, someway, she was the most wonderful angel that he ever met in his life.

I'm leaving this open-ended because I'm thinking of expanding this in the future, but depending on how long I get through an LP + time, that might be a long fucking time.

But I guess my interpretation of rokuvel is. Rokubro's that kinda soft boy with rough edges that would like to get his ass kicked by a strong gal or guy. And Velvet is…a Sharp Edge. And of course coffee shop aus are always in the back of my mind thanks to my best tales pal. It's like their second universe or something.