Hi guys. It's been way too long without writing fanfiction for me. I've been so busy this year, what with being in 2nd year GCSE, with coursework and exams galore. In fact, I need to be studying for mocks over Christmas, but here I am, writing yet another Jeyna story because of a plot bunny that just grew and grew and grew.
I was inspired by 1oooW0rds' story Café Jupiter, and I've also used the name purely for story purposes. However, I read that story more than a year ago, so this plot is entirely my own and will be very different from any existing Jeyna Coffee Shop AUs out there. I've already outlined the entire plot of this story, and I'm super excited to write the later bits, but bear with me for the slow start—I tried to tell myself to keep it short and sweet but I'm terrible at making things succinct so I spat out thousands of words in one go. Heh.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, and will not do so for the entirety of this story.
By the way, I'll establish early that all chapter titles are song lyrics. Feel free to search them up if you like them. This chapter title, also the story title, is from the Train song Drops of Jupiter, which is pretty much my go-to nostalgic comfort song. It's beautiful.
Hope you enjoy the story!
the best soy latte you ever had, and me
Reyna is a twenty-three-year-old Yale Law-graduate interning at the prestigious Athena Barristers and Solicitors law firm—she has time for her morning caffeine, but none to chat with the barista behind the counter.
It's her first work day, so of course she has to arrive at the glass-encased office building of her dreams two hours early. She checks her watch; she has to report to Athena, her new boss and only the greatest barrister in the whole of Boston—no, California—at nine. It's just seven in the morning now, and Reyna has already finished scouting out the area around her new workplace, taking notes of all the possible transportation and restaurants and cafés nearby. (She's also taken the subway from her apartment and back at least ten times and clocked the average time it takes to wait for a train as well as take it so she'll never be late to work—this is Athena B&S at stake, for god's sake.)
All there is to do is wait, really. Reyna decides to get her daily coffee. But, since it's only seven in the morning and some chain stores only open at eight, Reyna is left with little choice and little patience. There's only one café that's open at this time of day within ten minutes' walking distance, so she steels her taste buds for the onslaught of possibly stale and morbid coffee that Reyna associates with small, non-chain cafés. She's not normally so against unbranded products, but the Puerto Rican young woman is a force of destruction and irritation without her goddamn coffee. It's one of the many things she holds in such high regard that anything less than perfection is absolutely unacceptable. Reyna treats her work the same way.
Café Jupiter is just across the road from her office complex, and she imagines that she will be able to see the Romanesque lettering of the café's sign from her new workplace. The café exudes a warm, inviting aura, she has to admit. It isn't huge. There's a counter running along the far side, behind which a large coffee machine stands proudly, with all kinds of different syrups and powders and seasonings scattered around it on the polished wooden workplace. Everything is wood in the café, and yet it manages to seem a bit homely—mahogany and oak tones abound in the furniture. Reyna notes with satisfaction the lack of fireplace. That would just be stupid.
Next to the counter is a door which Reyna presumes leads to the staff break room. Along the right side of the café is a bulletin board littered with what she thinks are messages left by customers. The left side boasts a more secluded part of the café with a huge bookshelf, and her mouth waters at the thought of spending lunchtimes with a quiche and a novel. Another corner along the left houses an old television set complete with DVDs and even some cassette tapes. It's probably broken and not functional, but the ring of armchairs and couches and coffee tables around it make it somewhat of a nice addition. The remaining side of the café is the one that faces out to the street, and it is all glass with metal sides and a matching glass-and-metal door.
Reyna gingerly pushes open the door. It's so cliché that a small bell chimes at her entrance, but somehow, it makes the stressed girl crack a smirk. She's greeted with wooden tables and wooden chairs, plaid armchairs and brown leather couches. Reyna takes one look around and already knows where she's going to sit for today—and if she likes the coffee here—for a long time in the near future. She likes establishing routines. They give her a sense of security and stability, which she knows she'll definitely need with the crazy workload of a law intern. Though she tries to tamp it down, a small part of her knows that she's already half in love with the beautiful, homely café with the bookshelf.
The café is still empty, but Reyna walks straight for the counter—sure enough, the chime of the bell alerts the staff to her entering. One of them comes out of the breakroom, but she's too busy scrutinising their selection of pastries and drinks to notice.
"I'll have a large hot soy latte with a double shot of espresso and a plain croissant, please." Reyna's order rolls off her tongue; she says it at least twice a day. But she definitely isn't expecting a smart remark.
"Isn't it a bit counter-effective to order a latte and then ask for a double shot?"
The voice that greets her is a deep one tinged with humour and early morning hoarseness. Reyna feels a pang of irritation—she never gets questioned for her drink choices—and forces herself to look up, but really, she never strikes up conversations with baristas. She's a woman with too much to do and too little time for such indulgences.
But the owner of the voice is a tall boy about her age with blonde hair that is slightly mussed (he must have been dozing off before she came in) and bright, twinkling blue eyes, whose purple Café Jupiter shirt (coincidentally, her favourite colour) doesn't obscure how well-built yet lean he is. His nametag is… covered by a finger?
"I'm Jason," he says, pointing to the neat Times New Roman print. Reyna hopes to the gods that he didn't notice her staring, because that would be terribly unprofessional. As if he can sense her thoughts, he grins and lets out a genuine chuckle. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Can I get your name?"
"Reyna," she shoots back curtly. She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes, because she already knows his type. Handsome, charming and he knows it, with a dimpled cheeky grin that shows all his pearly whites and chiselled facial features that look kind of princely and eyes so blue that you could drown in them. Even his name is pretentious. Jason. He probably makes it his second job to flirt with all the girls who come to this café, and probably doesn't know how to do his actual job.
Her thoughts drive her to say something, anything to break the silence—she feels like she's lost a verbal battle that never really started, but all the same, the lawyer side of Reyna has to have the last word. "You won't be seeing me in the future unless you make that latte well and make it quick," she quips, smoothing a hand along her braid, a nervous habit of hers when she's uncomfortable or impatient. Right now, she's a bit of both.
"I wouldn't worry about that," Jason smiles again, taking her money and turning to start the coffee machine, his hands working with practiced ease and fluidity. Reyna's always enjoyed watching confident baristas doing their jobs—Jason takes over the workbench as if it is part of him, and he obviously knows it like the back of his hand. "There are two reasons why people love Café Jupiter: we've got the best soy latte you ever had, and me."
He says this so matter-of-factly that Reyna barks out a scoff, shaking her head in disbelief. She's yet again reminded of why she doesn't take it upon herself to talk to baristas. However, before she can condemn Jason and reconsider her feelings about Café Jupiter, a paper cup is placed on the counter in front of her.
"Your large hot double-shot soy latte and plain croissant," Jason grins, looking a little too smug for someone just doing his job. Reyna's pleasantly surprised at how fast he is, and takes a good long sip of her drink.
The liquid is smooth and just the right temperature—not scalding, but still a little hotter than warm—the soy milk is detectable but not too beany, and the coffee is rich, slightly bitter. Just the way she likes it.
Reyna can't help the smile that comes from a delicious coffee. Taking her things, she makes herself comfortable in the corner seat on the right, next to the glass window so she can stare out into the street. After all, she's going to be coming here twice a day for the foreseeable future.
As she reaches for her croissant, something catches her eye. The insulating sleeve on her paper cup has something drawn on it in thin black marker pen. It's a doodle of her, a cartoon girl with a braid and a grumpy expression. A speech bubble quotes: "MAKE IT QUICK!" alongside her name in the same messy cursive scrawl. She's impressed; he's probably the first barista to have spelled her name correctly on the first try.
Reyna looks up and catches Jason's eye. He winks. "The best soy latte I ever had—maybe," Reyna mutters to herself. "But I wouldn't come back here for the cute coffee guy."
When her coffee is drained and her watch reads 8:45, Reyna gets up to leave, her heart hammering hard in her ribcage. Jason comes over to clear up her plate.
"Where you going?" he asks casually. He's friendly. Too friendly for her taste.
"Work," she replies, jerking her head awkwardly at the building opposite. "First day."
Jason seems to understand immediately, and his eyes shine with something akin to admiration when she indicates the esteemed law firm. "Good luck," he offers with a smile that stabilises Reyna's heart for a second. She nods back in thanks, pushing the heavy door open.
"See you tomorrow, Reyna."
Always looking forward to reviews, follows and favourites! Thanks for getting so far. Coffee shop AUs aren't rare, but I hope you like my take on it. There's going to be major drama and more interesting plot lines later, have patience!
Merry Christmas, everybody. Or happy Hanukkah!
time-failed-us