The View from the Bartender's Glass
A/N: It's been a while since I've written fanfiction. This is weird to get back into after reading and writing original works for so long. I hope you all like this one. It's part of my "The View From..." series which spans several fandoms.
-AC:WW-AC:WW-
I picked up another glass to shine. To be honest, the coffee bar just didn't get a lot of business. I let out a soft coo and ran the rag around the inside rim of the cup. I had been looking for other jobs, but really, where was a pigeon bartender supposed to get a job? All the bars had been shut down: the Queen had set a ban on the sale of alcohol.
Our Queen was quite the conservative woman, and had claimed an influx of drunk and disorderly animals. She was one of the many humans who seemed to dislike that Animals worked side-by-side with humans as their equals. Although the majority of the Queen's guard was dogs and wolves, she had never really liked the beasts. Similar to several humans who still held with the old ways, she believed that we animals belonged back on all fours, mastered by the humans instead of working together.
But the Queen's opinion was not the majority. In fact, there had been nearly a hundred studies done on the brains of the animals. Besides a tendency to repeat the last phrase at the end of every sentence, there was no difference between the humans and their animal counterparts. Before long, there were couples of animals and humans - another thing the Queen had tried to forbid, but failed.
Not that any of that really matters in the end. I'm just a lowly pigeon, low in the social order, and left with nothing to my name but this coffee shop under a museum. I suppose that's what I wanted to say before I started on my tangent about the queen. All the animals in her kingdom pretty much share my opinion. It's just how it is, though. A bar-tending pigeon has no place in a world where animals are looked down on and alcohol isn't allowed.
I let out another soft coo and put down the cup I was holding. Every day I washed and polished each of my coffee mugs, used or not. I guess it's just a nervous habit. Or an obsessive-compulsive one. Since I don't get many customers on a day-to-day basis, I have to have something to keep myself busy.
Of course, today was Saturday. The day when I actually got business, since I had a special deal with a local musician, K.K. Slider. He came and performed every Saturday, and all he asked in return was a few cups of free coffee. The other townies always crowded in to see him. I was still trying to decide for myself whether or not he was anything special, but everyone else seemed to think so.
K.K. usually showed up around five, and his performance was at seven and stretched till midnight. I liked listening to his music. Simple guitar riffs mixed with his simple, smooth voice. It wasn't like I had a man-crush on him. He was a pop sensation, after all. I couldn't forget about popular opinion...
I shook out my feathers, clearing my head. Sometimes, I got so caught up in my thoughts that I couldn't even understand what I was thinking.
I glanced idly toward the entranceway as I heard footsteps on the stairs. It turned out to just be one of my few regular customers, a human who went by the name Gemini. She had moved in almost a year earlier, a house close to the museum.
Not long after she moved in, she started coming down and talking with me every once in a while. Soon, she was a daily customer. She loved coffee, and could always tell when I used a different brew. Her daily visit was what I looked forward to in the blur of day-to-day life.
"Care for a cup of coffee?" I asked, as I always did.
She smiled at me. "Of course. Which blend did you use today?"
"The usual. Pigeon milk?" I asked.
"Of course, Brewster!" She exclaimed.
As I poured her coffee, I could hear the clock tower at the Town Hall chime five o'clock. I handed it to her and she took a hearty swig. We both looked over at the stairs as they creaked.
"Brewster, buddy," K.K.'s smooth voice floated down to me. "Ready for another busy night?"
Gemini's voice came next, an urgent whisper. "Who is that?" When I looked over at her, she was tugging on her dress - her own design, a cute purple with bright floral pattern - and playing with her short hair.
K.K. made his way down the stairs and stopped, looking at Gemini. "Crowd came early tonight," he commented, then took a seat at the bar next to her.
"K.K.," I said, watching Gemini, who was blushing furiously, "I would like you to meet my one and only regular customer, Gemini. Gemini, this is K.K. Slider. He performs here every Saturday night."
She sat up and smiled at him. "That explains it. I'm usually here earlier on Saturdays. I... I slept in today and didn't get here till now," she told him. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hand for him to shake.
He smirked, took her hand, twisted it and kissed her knuckles. "Very nice to meet you," he replied.
The blush burned hotter in her cheeks and she turned to look into her coffee cup. I raised a feathered eyebrow at K.K. He shook his head and ran a paw over his nose. He tilted his head to the side. "Do I hear a new gyroid back there, Brewster?" He asked.
I nodded, my expression even. "I found it out back this morning." I cooed softly. "Sugar and cream?" I asked him, pouring his cup of coffee.
He grinned and nodded. "You know just how I like it."
Gemini looked up at me quickly, then back down to her coffee. As I handed K.K. his coffee, she gulped the rest of hers down. "Thanks for the coffee, Brewster. I'll see you tomorrow." She handed me the cup and the 200 Bells for the coffee.
"But, Gemini, won't you..." I started to say, but she was already gone, running up the stairs.
K.K. laughed. "Brewster, dude, you've got an admirer," he said with a grin.
I shook my head. "No, K.K., you have an admirer. She usually stays and chats. I'm in the friend zone, even if I did like her." I smiled and pushed the little pair of glasses I wore up on my nose. "You, however, have a shot."
He laughed again. "Doubt it. She seems like a pretty straight-laced human. You know how they are." He sighed and downed the rest of his coffee. "I'm going to warm up, alright? We can talk about this after I'm done up there."
I nodded and watched him walk up to the stage, his tail wagging slightly. I knew he would be thinking about Gemini, I knew when the set was over, he would ask me where she lived, I would inevitably tell him, he would go to see her, and... I didn't want to complete the thought. No matter what happened between them, I would probably hear all about it tomorrow.
-AC:WW-AC:WW-
Around 6:45, townspeople began slipping in to my little shop. They would grab a cup of coffee and find a seat in the tiny shop. And then at seven, K.K. picked a lucky person to get their song played. He asked for requests, and the first person to get his attention - tonight it was Pelly, from the Post Office - got the song of their choice played, and a free copy of it to take home.
The first song of the night was always the big draw. The first song was the only one all night he gave a free copy of. So after the first song, the crowd dissipated a bit. By eight, there were not a lot of people in the room. By eleven, it was basically empty. But at 11:30, all the late-night humans came in for the last set of the night. They drank coffee and listened to the light songs, content with themselves. Blathers, the museum's curator, even came down.
At 11:45, I noticed movement in the doorway. I hadn't been expecting such a late-comer, so I looked over. Gemini stood shyly in the doorway, her hand on a dainty golden chain around her neck. I had noticed it before - she had a nervous habit of grabbing at the heart-shaped charm in the center of the chain - but tonight, it showed even more. She had on a beautiful dress of black sequins. Her legs that were usually covered with stockings of some kind were bare, and her usual tennis shoes were replaced with black stilettos.
I felt a pang of jealousy. She had even worn a bit of make-up. She was watching K.K., her expression somewhere between awe and lust. If I was a mammal, I probably would've growled.
K.K. looked up as she walked into the room, and their eyes met. His jaw dropped and he stopped playing. I felt my blood boil. She dropped the hand from her neck and took another step forward.
"I think I'm going to head out early tonight, folks," K.K. announced. There were some dissatisfied grumbling, but K.K. ignored it and hopped off the stage. "Gemini," he said in greeting, his voice soft.
She smiled shyly at him and I threw up a little in my mouth. I grabbed my shining cloth, put up a triangular "Sorry, We're Closed" sign and headed toward the back room. I couldn't stay here, I couldn't watch this.
I heard K.K. say something softly in her ear and she giggled quietly. I groaned and pushed my way into the back room that served as my home. To the left was a small kitchen that I used for food storage more than anything, and to the right was my small bedroom. I had it decorated with pictures from the townspeople I had gotten to know over the years, my family, and Gemini. Only one picture of Gemini, but it was mine. At the head of my bed, I had placed several gyroids – they were mystical creations that each made a unique noise and came from the ground. I had created a sort of chorus of them, and they sang to me every night.
I heard the ding of a bell from out front. Why had I added the "ring for service" bell, anyway? "We're closed," I called out to the front.
The bell rang again. I pushed my way back out, saying, "I said we're closed."
I turned to see K.K. standing there. He had a small, secret smile on his face. Everyone else who had been in the cafe was gone. "Why are you closing so early, old friend? I said we would talk later."
I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. "Go have fun with Gemini," I said as I grabbed a mug from behind me. "Don't worry about me. We'll catch up next week."
He tilted his head and nodded. "I don't think I want to," he said with a smile.
This time it was my jaw that hung open. "What the heck are you talking about?" I asked, stunned.
"I can't do it, dude," K.K. said. "She just doesn't want what I want, you dig?"
"No, I don't 'dig', K.K.," I replied. "She is obviously into you. Why don't you go?" I tried to hide the jealousy in my voice, but it really didn't work. I didn't know what had come over me, and I didn't care.
K.K. started to say something, but I interrupted him. "No, Mr. Slider," I said, holding up a wing. "I do not want to hear it. Please leave."
He looked shocked, probably because I had called him 'Mr. Slider' – a name he had told me never to utter again, it sounded too formal – and he backed away from the counter. "You know, man, I thought you were cool. I thought we were friends." He shook his head. "Now you're just another person I can't trust. Just like those industry Fat Cats I work for." I felt a surge of emotion, a reaction to the hurt on his face. "Peace out, Brewster." He turned and left the café.
And I was alone again. I picked up another mug and began wiping it down. A small coo slipped out of my beak as I stared out at the empty room.
A/N: Read and Review, please! I gotta know what y'all think!