Alert for pairings mentioned in this chapter: VaikeXMiriel and Lon'quXLissa.

One Cup Of Alternate Dimension

Chapter 2: Everybody Wants A New Romance

It was a shame that Morgan's first day on the job was looking to be slow. She liked the drink and food. What was wrong with the place aside from just so happening to be placed across the street from a similarly-themed shop?

She hated to look at Robin; he kept scrubbing the same spot on the counter. He probably wouldn't be completely honest if she asked; even back home he'd never admit when he was spread thin. It never helped to be stubborn. Did he think that Chrom was always watching and judging?

And then the doors flew open. This glorious chaos brought everyone back to reality, alert and ready to serve some coffee.

A woman took brisk steps into the coffee shop and made a smooth transition from standing to sitting in the farthest table in the corner. She dropped a bag on the floor, withdrew a silver and square-shaped reflective item from it before setting it up in front of her. Her short red hair worked to keep anyone from seeing the side of her face, but Morgan could sense she was emotional when she stabbed this object loudly.

"Miriel!" A distraught voice boomed from outside. "What did I do wrong?!" And with that, the doors flew open once more.

Morgan couldn't help cringing and plugging her ears when Vaike charged into the coffee shop, decidedly not adverse to shirts in this world. Although the thin, short-sleeved shirt looked like it wouldn't be a match for his upper body muscles straining emotionally.

Morgan swiveled, hoping to remind her father about their new customers. But Robin decided to nope himself out of this, dropping the rag and rushing to the backroom.

Morgan swiveled to the scene at the corner table, seeing Miriel tap away unbothered as words kept stretching across the now lit up square. Vaike kept asking her the same thing: what did he do? It was getting to a point even Morgan wondered. But whatever he did, Miriel was not pleased and apparently the silent treatment was about as bad as fighting a freakin' dragon god for Vaike.

"They're probably not even going to order anything; don't pay them any attention." Gerome mentioned, gliding past the counter seats to empty his dustpan.

Morgan couldn't help but watch, though. She felt bad knowing that where she came from, well, they weren't a couple without some minor disagreements and Miriel having to accept that Vaike didn't always understand her word choices... But they were close enough to get married and have a child. Laurent would even report that they were very affectionate like teenagers when they thought no one was looking. Unfortunately, Laurent's steps were so dignified and noiseless that he'd seen them kissing more times than he needed to.

"Did I put my drink on one of your books by accident again? Did I get a dent in the car again? Did I put my foot in my mouth like always? Damn it, Miriel... Just tell me what I did; I can fix it..."

It was starting to get bad, Morgan couldn't lie. She caught Gerome's gaze as he was making his exit. He made the mistake of halting, and that was when Morgan grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him with what she hoped was adorable curiosity.

"Gerome, is this normal for them?"

"Well, Miriel's always been... Withdrawn. She and Laurent, are so similar that it's scary; caught up in logic, science and books more than anyone should be." Gerome explained. "No one really understands what brought Miriel and Vaike together, but I've heard opposites attract every now and then."

The bottom of a shoe stomping the floor once snapped Morgan's eyes back to Vaike. He went on to look slightly foolish – she couldn't lie – throwing his hands in the air and shouting out that he was going to just drown himself in some of Chrom's coffee until she was ready to talk. With that, he bolted.

Miriel only looked up after the bell made a ding. She stared at the doors for a long moment, removing her glasses and burying her face in one hand. Morgan didn't think she'd ever seen her lose her composure. She refused to believe that Miriel was going to cry whether genuinely sad or frustrated, but she still felt concerned enough to make a leap over the counter. Just ignore the part where she fell on her rear.

"Miriel?" Morgan spoke softly as she approached the table. "You look like you could use a nice, soothing cup of coffee. Or two. Wow, you probably need the entire pot..."

Miriel kept staring ahead, taking her time pushing her glasses back up on her nose. "I have no use for brain stimulation, but... Thank you."

"You shouldn't be stimulated in a public place."

"Of course- What?"

"Well if you didn't come for coffee, what's this um... This..."

"Laptop?"

Morgan nodded vigorously, feeling dumb. It was a given to feel that way when speaking to her or Laurent, anyhow.

Miriel leaned back, eyes cloudy with emotion that just couldn't reach her stoic face. "Unlike my husband, I refuse to burden others with my personal relationship struggles. But I can tell you this: I have decided not to speak to him until I accurately and sentimentally describe my feelings. He needs to hear what he should have when we married."

Morgan just stared, not absorbing any of that. Miriel must have known; she slumped into her seat so unlike her usually calm and collected form.

"Vaike and I have only been married two years; We were in a romantic relationship much longer than that, and raised Laurent while living together. I do not perceive myself as a suitable life partner, but Vaike saw something good in me. I want to let him know he has not made a mistake."

Morgan was on the edge of her seat. "You two raised a child together up until adulthood! How could you possibly think Vaike would see choosing you as a mistake?!"

Miriel had to shove her palms to her ears, visibly wincing from the crushing volume.

"No one would flash a ring if they weren't serious." Morgan said, this time in a much more contained voice. She went as far as to awkwardly pat Miriel's shoulder. "It's true you have this confusing vocabulary, but how should that make anyone think you don't love them back? There's smart-like words to describe love, right?"

"I've tried every one." A passing Gerome said mournfully.

Miriel sighed and reached for this laptop-thing. She turned it around so Morgan could see, explaining that she was writing down what words did come to mind and arranging them properly before talking to Vaike again. Until then, it would be a vow of silence. Morgan looked to the center of this "document" as Miriel called it, and knew Gerome appeared behind her and was snooping but she did nothing.

Vaike,

At our first meeting, I would not have expected to insert myself into a relationship with you. But you say you love me. Studies say that love is a chemical in the brain to urge humans to procreate, so I have refrained from saying it myself. I know you believe in the romantic definition, and I must agree there has to be a reason people bother with the process of creating new life.

"Thoughts?"

Morgan's eyes were starting to strain from staring. She could hear Gerome's teeth clicking behind her as he was trying not to say anything, too.

Miriel looked honest to gods hopeful, resting her chin on folded hands.

"Seal this document into a safe, and never let anyone see it again." Morgan finally said, broken to the point her voice went monotone.

Miriel nodded. She seemed to understand the problem, but correcting it would be difficult. Vaike seemed to think that he'd done something wrong, and if he was left to believe it that could damage their relationship. They needed to act fast, and as Morgan wracked her brain only one person came to mind.

Morgan crouched behind the outside menu sign. The target, Inigo, was just stepping out of his family's coffee shop dragging some kind of rectangular container to an even bigger container nearby. She didn't intend to snipe him, but would admit it must have looked that way.

She waited until he swapped containers for a bloated sack. Then she was standing behind him and playfully tapping his shoulder. Inigo made a terrified whirl as if he were about to be robbed, but his defensive stance fell apart as they made eye contact.

Morgan remembered reading books where a female character with enough self esteem would bat her eyelashes to entice a man to join her on an unreasonable, death-inducing quest. Scandalous.

It would look less questionable if she took his hands in hers. So she did.

"Inigo, I need you." Morgan said huskily.

Inigo completely froze up, completely in disbelief. If it weren't for that or his reddening face, he would have gotten away with convincing her that was definitely a phrase he heard a lot.

On the surface, Morgan wasn't sure what made this coffee shop attract more business than her family's. It had a very similar outside appearance outside. Inside was a slightly different story: everything looked brand new, expensive and much more colorful. She tried not to think about its strengths in appearance, though. Having things like more obsidian rectangles on the wall and a floor so spotless one could eat off it didn't mean it had the same soul. If buildings could have souls.

She didn't think to take off her apron before coming in, not that Inigo's parents seemed concerned about anyone else except the sad sight going on at table number six by the east window – Chrom and Olivia could be seen hovering over Vaike himself and Lon'qu. Vaike was rambling emotionally, constantly demanding validation. Chrom and Olivia provided such validation, one purely out of association and the other too meek to throw his ass out.

Lon'qu seemed to have completely taken himself out of this chaos mentally, gracefully sipping his beverage. His enjoyment practically cast a warm glow over him, or maybe that was the sunlight from the window. It could go either way, to be honest.

Inigo led Morgan to a table on the west side, hopefully far away enough to drown out the loud noise. He looked almost apologetic when she turned her attention to him for answers.

"He's usually loud and obnoxious anyway, but it's worse today." Inigo explained, taking the seat opposite her. "He just stormed in blinking back tears, and when Mother told him it was okay to release his emotions he did... He just started ranting, shaking the building! All the other customers bolted, but I don't blame them. Lucina bolted too; she beat me to the broom closet."

Morgan looked around him as the warmth emitting from Lon'qu and his content mood drifted over.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I do envy Lon'qu." Inigo said mournfully, looking over his shoulder. "He doesn't let anyone stop him from enjoying a damn cup of coffee."

"Well, I have an idea for putting this whole situation back in order." Morgan told him, leaning over awkwardly to pat his hand. That made him snap his gaze back to her rapidly. "You're good with flowery, poetic words. I mean, I don't have anything to compare them to... So... Yeah, you're an expert in my eyes!"

Inigo just looked more confused by the second. He didn't do anything to remove her palm from his knuckles, so she didn't make it awkward if he wouldn't. It was bad enough that during this moment of silence, mood was impossible with Vaike over there loudly listing all the annoying things he did that one's significant other might normally break up with them for. Chrom praised his ability to acknowledge his own flaws for once and then... Silence. Blurting out perceived flaws to Chrom managed to have him go quiet with regret.

Morgan did not waste her chance to explain properly. She rushed to tell Inigo all about Miriel's half of the problem. She would have hoped Vaike would overhear this, but he finally gave an order like a normal person and while Chrom and Olivia practically ran through the closed door to the back he looked to an unsympathetic Lon'qu for validation.

By the end of Morgan's explanation, Inigo looked to be understand it. He was clearly annoyed with the entire situation, but that was it. This crazy situation had to end today, otherwise everyone might need to check themselves into a mental hospital... Or so he claimed. She could see it.

Morgan asked if he had a laptop as well, and Inigo claimed he did. However, he didn't bring it today and as far as he knew Lucina didn't bring hers either. Although if Lucina was secretly blocking out reality with it in the broom closet, he wouldn't be surprised. Morgan didn't expect him to go all her-world style and grab a napkin and pen, physically writing stuff down.

Inigo looked like he'd rather do anything else but fuel this insanity, but at the same time there was flair in his writing. Once he got started, he couldn't stop. Morgan was mesmerized, gladly looking like a fool staring at him while he worked. In the meantime, she could hear chaos nearby.

"...We were doing GREAT until recently! GREAT! What changed?!"

"Perhaps Miriel fixed her lapse in judgment."

"What the hell?! You want to contribute now?!"

"I've run out of coffee."

"Well now you can help me figure this out! Can't believe I have to say this, but I've never seen you and Lissa disagree once!"

"There's no such thing as a perfect relationship; we do have disagreements, but we settle them privately."

"Do you ever feel like... Like... One day she'll realize you suck, then run off with some other guy?"

Lon'qu went silent, and Morgan looked over her shoulder to see that it was because an offended look crossed over his face. But Vaike wasn't referring to him; he was just staring at the table gloomily, barely in touch with reality. Lon'qu noticed, his expression returning to neutral.

"Have you thought to talk about trust with Miriel?" Lon'qu asked like he was speaking to a child.

It was Vaike's turn to look offended, only briefly because he dropped his head on his folded arms miserably. He responded, but Morgan couldn't hear from so far away. She tried to read Lon'qu to determine his answer, but he didn't look as if there was a no to the question.

Suddenly the pen made a dull noise on the table and Inigo was flattening and folding the napkin. He seemed to be feeling sorry for himself due to his participation, but he looked right at Morgan and managed to smile. He wished her luck, handing her what would hopefully end this nonsense. He claimed he would like to get far away from here, hide out for a while in her family's shop... But he caught a glimpse of his father as he was returning with more coffee, and that was enough to stop him.

Morgan, however, threw passive aggressive BS to the wind and waved Chrom over less like a customer and more like an old friend returned from war. This didn't go unnoticed; Inigo frantically waved his hands uselessly, words caught in his throat. Chrom looked up at this stupidity, and was probably wondering if they should be locked away.

"Morgan, please don't-" Inigo's words fell on selectively deaf ears. He slumped, defeated.

"Hello, Morgan. I'm surprised to see you here, of all places." Chrom said upon arrival, choosing not to read the room.

"Why wouldn't I visit?" Morgan asked as intentionally awkward as possible, even grinning like a loon just to emphasize her empty mind.

"She has amnesia, Father." Inigo said, a dark cloud beginning to grow over his head in a very Gerome fashion. "Let's go easy on her; She was only stopping by to help with Vaike and Miriel's problems. She wasn't here to spy on our coffee-making adventures, steal from the register or anything sneaky at all."

A scandalized look flashed across Chrom's face. "Rivalry with Robin or not, I wouldn't excuse his children of anything!"

"Yeah, you'd have to be wasted to think I'm good at stealth." Morgan agreed, nodding contently.

Chrom eventually decided to start over, clearing his throat and slapping his customer-ready smile on once more. Morgan couldn't help but quietly notice it was a very soft smile, perhaps the one that convinced Robin from her world being friends with him wouldn't be a mistake. She wondered if Robin of this world had ever just looked, even by chance.

"Well I hate to speed this along, but I have to find a way to throw my old friend out on the curb without looking like the bad guy." Chrom suddenly spoke, looking between them curiously. "Unless you two called me over to try and jog Morgan's memory by reenacting that public love confess-"
"Father!"

Morgan joined Chrom in looking over to Inigo, tilting her head genuinely curious as to what the outburst was for. Well, Chrom had a certain knowing spark in his eyes. Robin from her world used to say that Chrom was everyone's favorite person to toy with, and if he was getting his revenge in another world... Hey, good for him.

Inigo went on to feebly explain – red and laughing nervously – something about social etiquette or junk like that. No one was listening.

"...That's all in the past, isn't it?" Chrom somehow said nonchalantly. "If you want to help Morgan regain her memory, you need to talk about everything. Even the cringe-inducing times. That was how I, um, I guess I helped her father when he forgot about our days in college."

Inigo was still an embarrassed wreck, babbling about not giving Morgan the wrong idea. Morgan thought he looked adorable trying to save the atmosphere, but thought it unfortunate he didn't realize every atmosphere would be destroyed with her involvement.

"It's ancient history I haven't dusted off in a long time... But we did. I wish I could say it meant something, but time proved that our friendship wasn't good for either of us." Chrom finished with little fanfare to a distracted Morgan.

Morgan would stick that bit of information in her head, burn it into her brain for later. She didn't see reason to stress herself out about finding that way back home; she could infiltrate people's lives here just as easily.

Chrom had to return to work, so he said his goodbye and encouraged her to stop by to get some "real" coffee sometime. There was probably some passive aggression in that, but he was better at concealing it. Inigo managed to regain his composure, decidedly avoiding what his father brought up instead telling her he was going to get Vaike out of here while she removed Miriel.

When Morgan made her return, she found Cherche and Robin dealing with two placeholder customers toward the window table, Miriel furiously typing and Gerome MIA.

Miriel was stunned to see Morgan successfully acquire help, and she swiped the napkin before Morgan could place it on the table. Trembling with suspense, they unfolded it together and read quietly.

1: Go to the place where it all began

2: Be honest

For a moment Miriel looked genuinely devastated as if they reached a dead end. But Inigo must have been vague for a reason; Morgan was willing to believe in his ability to impress girls. Morgan asked aloud where the couple fell in love, and Miriel promptly responded it was back in high school... Actually, the high school still existed and was within walking distance of the cafe. She argued it was too good to be true – She wasn't yet ready to put her feelings into words, but Morgan referred her to the second step. Honesty.

This high school Miriel brought up must have alternate routes; Morgan was grateful they didn't run into Vaike on the way, but this sparked interest in learning the layout of this little village-like area. Luckily Miriel was able to take her straight to front yard of this school, to which Morgan's beam threatened to waver at the state of it.

It looked like the apocalypse struck only this area. The moderately large building was clearly not in use, perhaps even outright abandoned. There was weather damage, rotten spots, entirely missing walls and one part that Miriel described as the "gym" had a caved in roof. But that's not even scratching the surface; the grass reached past their ankles quite a bit, trash was scattered and even dead rats could be seen here and there. When Morgan thought of a lovely place for sentimental babble... This one didn't exactly match up with the secluded gardens or extravagantly-decorated castle courtyards in books.

And despite all this... Despite the dead rat Miriel had to take a large step over... She clasped her hands close to her heart like a maiden in one of those books, burying a tender smile into them by lowering her head.

"This is... This is..."

Morgan cleared her throat, not gagging. Really. "Um... Not what I was expecting, but not terrible. Of all the places we could be doing this, it's a five out of ten for me."

But Miriel wasn't listening. She made a weird sound, well, weird for her at least. Was it a sob? No, impossible. Morgan was willing to go with the logic over emotion argument there; Miriel did not cry. Her tear ducts probably didn't even produce what they should. Why else would she need glasses if she didn't have bad eyestrain due to this medical issue?

A peek at Miriel's face showed she wasn't crying, thank the gods. But she was definitely emotional, murmuring under her breath. She used foreign words of things like "chemistry class", "detention" and "prom". Morgan's head usually spun trying to understand her, but now it was really bad.

"This is..."

Okay, that was getting old. Yeah Morgan admitted it, but she wasn't so rude as to slap the rest of the sentence out of her mouth.

Just when it seemed like that observation would never be spoken, a male voice spoke up not too far away from where they stood.

"This is bringing back memories?"

Miriel and Morgan turned with enforced slow motion, making sure their hair fluttered in the breeze that inexplicably stirred now that more people were around to make a scene.

Indeed, the other half of this... What do you even call this kind of couple... Vaike walked forward from a different path. However, he was alone. The breeze sent his already wild hair flying a bit, and it helped to draw attention to how his face was more serious than Morgan had ever seen it. No, Vaike didn't do the serious thing. What was happening? This world suddenly went crazy.

The lovers met each other halfway, walking with determination and purpose. It was a shame they couldn't have roses in full bloom nearby for their petals to dance in the wind and serve only to hammer in how humans are so full of themselves to think flowers' only reason to exist is for serving expressions they should be able to make. Or something.

When they were close, Vaike spoke first. "Chrom's son told me I'd meet fate, or something like that. I thought: hey, that's interesting because I feel like our relationship surviving past us being inexperienced teenagers must be fate. I wonder if it's possible... If there's just a slight chance you feel the same."

Miriel looked like she really wanted to respond. Emotions welled in her eyes, but she didn't let them onto her face again. Morgan couldn't help if she bit her nails, terrified she was going to stick to that stupid silent treatment thing only unhealthy couples do.

"I know I don't always pick up on things, but if I did something really bad... Tell me. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want a fight. But you know what I do want?" Vaike's voice went lower until he was practically whispering at the end.

Miriel snapped out of her fight with herself, and when she realized Vaike made a move for her hand, she clasped it like she had no intention of releasing it again.

"Do your desires align with mine?"

Vaike kind of destroyed the moment by gasping when she talked. He acted like she'd been mute all her life. That energy went into his expression, too. He was serious before, and now he smiled clearly having built anticipation.

Miriel pushed her glasses up with her other hand, letting them gleam as if to say... Come at me. A challenge she was probably giving that part of her obsessed with maintaining composure, stubbornly clinging when she just wanted to express herself now and then. It was easy to forget given how cold she could be at first impression, but she was as human as anyone else.

"My desires involve you and I working through these communication barriers. I have tried understanding where they've come from and why, but I have no credible answer. All this studying, all this research... I fear it's pointless. But that cannot compare to another fear I have." Miriel was tiny compared to him, so she had to awkwardly reach up for Vaike's face to brush his cheek tenderly. "I fear you terminating our relationship. If I've never hinted at such, I apologize. It shouldn't be so difficult to be so open to someone after you've gone through all the steps of crafting a bond and having children."

Surprise and absolute joy battled to stay Vaike's expression. Ultimately, he wrapped his arms around her waist in a very challenge accepted response. "You don't have anything to worry about! I'M the one who was worried; you're probably the smartest person I know! Brains are sexy, you know? Well, that's what I've found out anyway. The point is: I don't wanna be insecure, but I've spent years worrying some smart guy who can quote the periodic table any time or do equations in his head might seduce you!"

"Ugh, I could never marry someone with equal intelligence." Miriel groaned.

"Then... I've never been happier to be below average!" Vaike chirped, pulling her closer.

It looked like they were going to kiss, or something. But they lingered for a moment, just staring into each other's eyes as if only just seeing them for the first time. Flashbacks between the two were so powerful that- Whoa, the images were so vivid that even Morgan saw them.

Miriel always went to the library during gym with two other girls in her class. They were all hardly friends – They just so happened to be paired often in chemistry, and their only reasons for getting along was the fact they could read about scientists from history and have a healthy discussion about their morals and methods.

One of the jocks, Vaike, should have been using this time of the day to his advantage. But he kept sneaking away from practice, sparking rumors he did something scandalous like participate in singing performances. No, he just wanted to try and hold a conversation with the school's smartest student.

Vaike made sure any trace of dirt, sweat and the occasional drops of blood were gone as he smoothly made his way to the table Miriel and placeholders sat at. Only the placeholders looked up, disturbed from just the aura of someone outside their clique.

"You're back again." Miriel said with a monotone, carefully flicking to the next page. "That makes it seventy-five days."

"No, not yet." Vaike reminded her, grabbing a chair and sitting in it backwards. "Seventy-six days."

"Ah, yes..." Miriel looked up at the clock suddenly. "You're early, but correct. Almost seventy-six days have passed, and yet you continue talking to me."

"Desperate." One of the placeholders muttered, shaking her head.

"Clingy." The other placeholder gagged slightly on the word.

Vaike was focused solely on Miriel, and when their eyes met for just a moment before she buried her nose back into her book he may as well have been given an electric shock. He was more nervous than he would have liked, any words he thought of before crumbling on his tongue. His opener really wasn't... Vaguely good. At all. But he couldn't just blurt out a love confession... Could he? Was almost seventy-six days enough?

"Now I have an inquiry."

Vaike and the placeholders all looked to Miriel with a jolt, fearing for her mental health because she spoke first.

"Is there a reason you've made a habit out of talking to me?"

He was speechless. His shock must have been completely obvious, because she cringed slightly and completely concealed her lower face with the book.

"I do not possess skills in... Throwaway conversation. You return, nonetheless. It's puzzling to think you would go to such lengths to talk to someone like me."

She almost looked embarrassed. She had no idea how cute she was, did she? If she wanted to escape this encounter, she could have. Vaike decided it was now or never, dramatically standing up. After all, no one's ever made a bold declaration while sitting. Well, they've tried... And sucked at it.

"You're so smart, Miriel. I can't believe you don't get it! You don't see that I like you!"

The words shook the library, but because no one's given a damn since '99 there was no one to scold these hooligans.

"I never gave a proper response that day." Miriel reminded him, arms circling his neck.

"Instead of saying 'thank you' and bolting, what did you want to do?" Vaike's smug face indicated he knew already, but whatever.

Miriel actually rolled her eyes. Morgan didn't think that was possible. She had nothing to say in response to her husband's antics, not this time. But what she did have in mind, however, was finally moving her face in to his.

Morgan watched, probably lot more creepily than intended with hands shoved to her mouth and barely-suppressed squeals of anticipation being their background music.

"...So yeah, Father, that's one problem ruining business solved!" Morgan finished her tale as if about to raise the victory flag.

On the opposite side of the table, Robin and Cherche exchanged absolutely baffled expressions. Gerome wasn't going to be seen even sitting around these fools in public, so he leaned against the wall nearby being all huffy about anything mildly positive.

There was a terribly awkward silence, one that Morgan decided to dismiss as healthy suspense. Eventually, it was Cherche who broke it with a burdened sigh.

"Thank you for your good intentions, Morgan. I have no idea how this helps the business, but..." Cherche trailed off, trying not to flinch as she motioned for Morgan to fill in the blanks.

"It's so SIMPLE." Morgan insisted, grinning broadly. "It's like how people go to taverns not even to drink; they're either looking for a place to be depressed, or hoping to bump into an adventurer looking to create a party! I think that's what wrong with this coffee shop: Miriel only came here to try fixing her relationship problems. So if we can start communicating with the customers, they'll be so grateful they'll actually place an order!"

Cherche still looked confused. Robin... He looked like he was genuinely considering her words. Cherche usually went to great lengths to look composed all the time, never bothered by anything unless harm came to anything even resembling a wyvern. But she looked to the love of her life, possibly about to label him insane.

"Robin, that's logic only found in those RPGs Morgan hoards." Cherche argued, never losing her neutral tone at least. "We need to be realistic. Business will get back on its feet, but unless we come up with striking advertisement or find the money to pay more workers-"

"You don't need any of that! I mean you probably do! Wait!" Morgan blurted, springing out of her chair. "Who's to say the people who want a sip of coffee don't also have romantic struggles, and need a nice soul to point them to the best path for a future?!"

Morgan looked around frantically while Robin was just in contemplative silence, and Cherche was rubbing her temples like they were about to explode. She looked around for anything- Any kind of saving grace. Don't get her wrong; she was obviously the smartest person in the room if you were to kindly escort Robin away. But did she have a silver tongue? She'd never looked at her tongue in a mirror, really.

Gerome surveyed his own nails with no interest in anyone else. He slowly realized Morgan was looking to him with the fakest sad eyes imaginable.

TBC