Well, being an apprentice in Team Rocket certainly wasn't all glamor.
Being called in during one of the weekly executive meetings, Lyra Soul assumed that she was about to be sent on a dangerous mission. As she raced down the sea-blue hallways and jabbed the elevator's buttons, she couldn't help but imagine the danger, the excitement, the raw battles that lay ahead of her.
Perhaps he wanted her to go to the farthest reaches of the ocean to track down a rare Pokémon. Or, perhaps she would have to take flight in the private Rocket jet and race against time to gather a rare object of power before the League got their filthy hands on it. Heck, she might even be given an opportunity to prove her worth to those terrible executives! Oh, the possibilities were endless!
However, such wonderful imaginings were shattered when she received her mission.
"C-Coffee?" She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice as she met her mentor's eye. "You want me...to get you coffee?" She could hear Arianna stifling a chuckle, making her face warm up in embarrassment.
"Yes, I want you to get me coffee." Red locks were flicked over his shoulder before he took a moment to weave his fingers together. "Thank to some idiot's stupidity," Silver eyes darted over to the teal-haired executive before snapping back to his apprentice. "The official Team Rocket coffeemaker is out of commission."
"O-Oh," Hazel eyes drifted down to the crimson 'R' on her mentor's suit. "I see." She had known going in that not everything was going to be exciting, daring and battle-related. But...getting her boss coffee? Wasn't that what interns or better yet, one of the numerous, worthless grunt's job? Then again, being an apprentice is pretty much being an intern.
"Right," The redhead in the ornate, claw-footed chair stopped to pull out a wallet. Her head perked up as she watched him dig through his vast supply of currency in a search for something. She tilted her head as he pulled out a good amount of golden bills. "Here," He promptly shoved a good thousand Poké into her warm palm. "Make sure it's hot. I hate nothing more than cold coffee."
"Er," She paused for a moment before looking up at the stern face. Did she miss something? He hadn't even told her what kind of coffee he wanted! How was she supposed to know... Suddenly, she recalled how her mentor always ordered coffee before he started her training.
Oh, so that's how he expects her to know.
"One black coffee, Hoenn-grown beans, no sugar or cream with no flavorings whatsoever?" Lyra quietly relished in the momentary melt of her mentor's features as he nodded in approval. Well, looks like she at least learned something!
"Go on," The slight lift in his voice was the only praise she could rationally expect in front of his executives. "There's a Sawsbucks a few blocks from the Pokémon Center. You shouldn't have any problems with getting a cup of coffee." She gave him a nod before rushing towards the door. A quick sound from her mentor made her look over her shoulder, only to find him already engaged with these important figures.
The drop in her stomach was certainly unpleasant, but she was just being sensitive again. With a sigh, she slipped out the door and headed towards the elevator.
It should not take a good half-hour to get a cup of coffee.
Switched into a pair of casual clothes—also known in some circles as a disguise—and waiting impatiently for the line to move, Lyra Soul bit the inside of her cheek. Would those fools in the head of the line decide on a flavor already?! Everyone else was getting restless to say the very least, and it was honestly a pain in the neck.
Stupid coffeemaker. The brunette couldn't stop herself from mentally complaining. If that thing hadn't broke—or, more likely, Proton hadn't smashed it—then she wouldn't be here, waiting for coffee. She had no idea how people in Viridian City managed to wait so long for overpriced coffee.
Then again, she was more of a hot chocolate sort of girl.
Finally, after much moaning and complaint, the line started to move. Lyra nearly jumped in the air and clicked her heels together. Thank Ho-Oh! She was finally getting somewhere with this line! Now, if only the remaining twenty people ahead of her could get their orders filled within supersonic speeds and let her get that cup of coffee!
Yup, she knew that she was being too hopeful.
The once clear skies had suddenly decided to be the biggest jerks in history and summon a downpour, leaving her racing through wet streets in a pair of untied sneakers. Her hoodie wasn't doing much to keep her dry, and these denim short-shorts were utterly useless to protect her lower thighs, knees and shins from such heavy rain. Heck, even her kneesocks had failed her! They were currently bunched up at the ankle and leaving her the opposite of high-and-dry.
The roar of thunder only made her pray that the coffee which she had nervously tucked in her white hoodie would stay warm. After waiting for a good hour and fifteen minutes for a single cup of coffee, she was not going to let this thing chill on her. She was going to get this coffee to him, whether the weather wanted her to or not!
A sharp honk made her look to her left just in time to slide over a red car's hood. Blurting out an apology, she raced ahead with sloshing footsteps.
Perhaps focusing on her own problems was not the best idea when crossing a busy intersection.
"Sir!" She was stumbling to get inside of the fiftieth floor's Launch Pad's golden doors. She couldn't mess this up, she just couldn't. "Sir, I've brought you your coffee—"
All hope of triumph was dashed by the sight of her mentor being the room's sole occupant. The great Silver Rocket, leader of the grand Team Rocket itself was simply sitting in his chair with his fingers weaved together, his elbows resting on the golden arms of his chair. His right leg was swung over his left, another sign of impatience coming from her mentor. His eyes were narrowed as his chin nearly kissed the collar of his suit jacket.
Well, that wasn't a good sign.
Her shoulders slumped as she slowly walked over to her mentor, coffee in hand and a dark disappointment taking over her features. Wet sneakers squished with every step as she prepared for trouble. Judging by the dark shadow of his frown, she might as well make it double-trouble.
"I-I brought your coffee, sir." Her voice quivered as she numbly held out his coffee. Bright eyes locked on to the brown plastic cup before lifting to her face. A dark mask had covered his eyes, making the poor apprentice gulp down nervous energy.
A pale hand reached out and took the cup out of her shaking hand, not even saying a word. He slowly put the lid to his lips and took a testing sip. A few drenched seconds slipped by before the cup was lowered from his mouth.
Slowly, he smiled.
"Good job, Lyra." Before she can process what's going on, her mentor is giving her a pat on the head and a chuckle. "That place almost never makes hot coffee, so I'm pretty impressed that you managed it." Her cheeks warmed with praise as he placed the cup on the table.
She wasn't going to admit that she had to heat it up on the way.
Author's Note: Another thing I wrote for my Tumblr. I think I'm trying to apologize for my year+ absence on there. /awkward laughter/
Here! /tosses this at all my "The Pains of Being in Charge" fans/ Have some Rocket!fluff to hold you over until the next update! (Even though he calls her Lyra instead of Kotone. It's pretty much the same thing)