AN: And I'm back from a long absence from this site due to random issues going on. I'm still going to work on my other series that I attempted to start ages ago, but after reading it again I've realised that the first chapter needs a bit of a rewrite for it to work with what I'm planning to do with it now, so that should be along sometime later. For now, please enjoy this new story I've started working on. I'm hoping for semi-regular updates for both this and my other story, but that's what I was hoping for when I first started that other story ages ago. Oh well, what happens will happen.
Disclaimer: I don't own MGLN. I know, I'm just as shocked as you are that some random internet dweller writing yuri fanfiction doesn't own the series.
Cafe Meetings
I Don't Even Know Your Name.
Sipping at her coffee in the corner of the small cafe, the young blond woman let out a small sigh of contentment. 'This place really does make the best coffee,' she mused. At least, it did when the shy brunette with the lovely violet eyes standing before her made it. Which begged the question – why was she still standing there?
"Can I help you?" the blond questioned, cocking an eyebrow when the girl flushed crimson and avoided eye contact by looking at her feet.
"I- I was just..." she stammered out before trailing off, eyes still fixed firmly on her feet.
"I was just what?" the blond continued for her, amusement evident in her tone.
The girl turned even redder and managed to squeak out "I was just wondering if you enjoyed the coffee," in a small voice, and then rushed back behind the counter to take other customers' orders.
The blond smiled. Yes, this cafe was truly a wonderful place. Great coffee and a cute waitress to tease, it didn't get much better than this. Although she really should get around to learning the girl's name one of these days. Either that or the girl should remember to wear her name tag like all the other waitresses that worked here did.
The smile and content look on her face vanished instantly the moment her phone started to ring. Finishing what was left of her coffee with a huff, she lifted the phone to her ear and hit answer.
"Testarossa speaking. This had better be important."
'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' Nanoha thought bitterly, 'now she'll think I'm just some stupid waitress'.
A loud, "WHAT!" drew her from her thoughts and she turned to see the blond occupying her thoughts violently stand up, anger flashing in her eyes and venom in her voice. Nanoha suppressed a shudder. She couldn't help it. The woman was very pretty, and there was just something so undeniably sexy about those furious burgundy orbs. 'Bad Nanoha! You don't even know her name.'
'...yet.'
"I specifically told you to keep a close watch on her," the blond yelled into the phone, drawing the attention of everybody else in the little cafe, eyes wide and mouths agape as they stared at the now fuming blond. Even Nanoha found herself shocked after she got over how se- 'No! Keep your mind out of the gutter Nanoha.'
It was quite a surprise to see the normally calm blond getting so emotional. Not once had she looked anything but calm when she came in every few days for an afternoon coffee and the occasional slice of cake. Now she was yelling and screaming into the phone and didn't even seem to notice the commotion she was causing. Or maybe she did, but just didn't care.
Deciding that she'd spent enough time staring at the blond, Nanoha fixed a smile in place and walked around the various tables to make sure everybody was alright and still enjoying their various meals and drinks. A few moments of small talk later and she was left with only one table left. Taking a deep, calming breath, she stepped up behind the woman before stopping as the blond wheeled around on the spot and transfixed her with a murderous glare. A glare that promised pain and suffering and death for daring to approach her.
Unlike earlier, Nanoha didn't find this look sexy at all. In fact, it was the scariest thing she had ever encountered in her entire life. The only reason she hadn't run away or collapsed in a heap was that she was so scared that her body was no longer listening to her. And then she felt her eyes start to sting.
'NO!' she thought as she tried to hold back the tears. 'Be strong Nanoha, don't cry. Don't cry don't cry don't cry don-'
'Those stupid, fucking morons' was the only thought running through a certain blond's mind as she listened to the constant, annoying drone of "Please forgive us Testarossa-sama," through the phone. She knew she was making a scene in the cafe, but she didn't care. She had given strict instructions to her men and they had failed her. This wasn't some silly little mistake that had no real consequences, this was a serious matter and heads would roll if they didn't fix it soon.
A sudden light step behind her caused her to turn on the spot in an instant, fixing the person who snuck up on her with her best glare. She was rightly proud of her glare, for with it she had paralysed people with fear and reduce lesser men to tears, and the person who had managed to sneak up on her was going to get a full dose of it.
She struggled to keep the surprise from showing on her face when she realised that it was only the waitress from early who had approached her, and couldn't keep the look of guilt from flashing through her eyes as she realised that the girl was holding back tears. She reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose before sighing loudly and growling one last time into the phone and hung up.
Sighing again, an awkward silence filled the air between them as she wondered what it was about this girl that could cause her to act so differently. Whilst she normally wouldn't have cared in the slightest about scaring some mere waitress, this girl was just … different. She felt guilty about what she had done, and that was something she was not used to feeling around people she barely knew. She didn't even know the girl's name!
Noticing the awkward silence, and the fact that the young brunette had lost her battle to hold back her tears, she sighed yet again and reached up to wipe the tears away with one hand, only pausing to chuckle slightly at the gasp that escaped the girl's mouth at her actions.
"I'm really sorry about that. So please, stop crying." When the girl didn't stop crying, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. "Here, you can keep it."
"I couldn't possi-"
"I insist," the blond said, silencing her objections with a kind smile.
Looking down at her feet again, the brunette shuffled awkwardly on the spot before a small, shy smile graced her features and she looked up into burgundy.
"I was right."
"Huh?" the girl's face scrunched up in confusion.
"I thought you would look cuter with a smile. Not that you don't always look cute, just that you're extra cute right now."
Cue adorable blush and stammering of, "N-no, I'm not really," before turning around and walking quickly towards the other side of the cafe.
The blond just smiled at her swiftly retreating back before turning her gaze back to her phone. A dark look passed across her face, and she pushed the anger that had threatened to break free back down. She didn't want to scare the cute waitress again.
Pulling out her wallet, she took out a few notes and crossed the cafe to come up behind the still furiously blushing brunette. "Here's the money for the coffee, plus your tip" she said, reaching forward to press the notes into the hand that was hanging at the girl's side. Turning back around when she didn't get an immediate response, the blond left the cafe.
She didn't even make it halfway down the street before the waitress caught up to her, panting loudly from running as fast as she could. "Here, your," she gasped out in between breaths, holding up the leftover money. Taking another breath, she tried again. "You forgot your change."
The blond smiled. "No, I didn't. There's the price of the coffee, and the leftover is your tip."
The girl paled. "You can't be serious," she half-yelped. "You gave me a fifty for a six dollar cup of coffee."
"Yes, I did. Honestly, I don't see what the problem is here."
"But it. It's just. It's just too much."
As cute as she may have found her stuttering attempts to hand the money back, she was also starting to feel a little exasperated about it.
"I couldn't possibly acce-"
Best to move in for the kill and leave her with no other option but to take it.
"You can and you will. Or is my money not good enough for you?"
"Th- that's not it!" she desperately yelled.
Victory.
"Now then," the blond said. "Repeat after me – thank you."
"..."
"Thank. You."
"..."
"If you don't say it, I'm going to give you even more money."
"Th-th-thank you."
"There, that wasn't so hard to say. Now then, I have some matters to attend to."
She had made it only a few steps before a shout of "Wait!" caused her to stop and turn around again. The girl was still there, but with a look of new-found determination on her face this time. "I don't even know your name."
"That's easy. You just have to ask." Anything to tease her again.
Flushing again, the brunette went back to studying her feet for a moment, and then looked up again with a sunny smile. "I'm Nanoha, Takamachi Nanoha. Pleased to meet you."
Smiling back, the blond leaned forward to whisper, her smile widening at the way she shivered from the feel of her hot breath on her ear. "Testarossa Fate."