Mira

Monday morning

Mira loved Monday mornings, which should tell you everything you needed to know about her - not because she's sadistic, because while Mira Jane Strauss definitely had a darker streak, she was the eternal optimist. The romantic. Mira loved Monday mornings because they represented new beginnings, the opportunities of a brand new day, a brand new week, and this one was already shaping up to be good.
The café she ran with her now fiancee, Laxus, was a bustling thing, vibrant and full of life from the second she opened the front door to the minute the night staff waved goodbye to the stragglers and sent them into the embrace of the evening. They had a wonderful thing going: staff that kept the place running like a well oiled machine; and an agreement with the local department of magical registration, who were all too happy to ignore their hiring practices and menu curiosities in exchange for free pastries every morning. It was a small price to pay, at least in Mira's eyes, to avoid the paperwork necessary when hiring anyone who identified as other than human. Doubly so today, because their new hire was about to walk through the door and Mira really did not want to explain why she'd hired a fae - a pixie, no less, much to Laxus' chagrin. But she had an almost perfect record when it came to staffing the place, and so Laxus left Mira to her own devices, even if he grumbled and groaned under his breath.
So with everyone arrived, the kitchen buzzing with the sounds of cooking, of good natured banter and someone humming - probably Lisanna - and the new girl with her shocking blue curls safely under Cana's watchful eye, although Mira wasn't sure she needed much supervision given her extensive experience (plus a little bit of magic), Mira Jane Strauss fixed her customer service smile, tied her fringe up out of the way, and unlocked the door just in time for the first regular of the day to stomp his way through.
"Good morning Gajeel!"
"Tsk".
It was their standard morning interaction, because Gajeel Redfox had been coming here every morning for the past two years and he was every bit as surly as he looked before he'd been caffeinated.
"The usual, Redfox?" Cana yelled over the sound of the bell, tinkling as more of the mornings clientele began to enter. At his nod, she whispered the order to the new girl, who bounced to the coffee machine and set it to work. When she'd finished, she placed it down on the long counter with a wink that had his tired brain just a little more alert in a way that was completely unrelated to the smell of coffee that was now permeating the air.
"Holy shit. Oi, new girl! C'mere a sec wouldya?"
"It's Gajeel, right? Everything okay?"
"I been comin' here every day for two years, an' this is the best goddamn coffee I've ever had. How'd ya do it?"
"That's classified. See, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." And with another wink, she flounced away to serve another diner, blue curls bobbing happily around ears that seemed just a little too pointed for normal.
"Did she just... Drunk, I ain't even know her name."
"Yes, she quoted Top Gun at you. Stop drooling on my counter dude! And her name's Levy". Cana laughed as she feigned wiping the bench top, locking gazed with her boss over the room she couldn't help but shrug.
Yes, Mira could tell already, it was going to be a very good week.


So, somehow this has sat in my draft folder for sweet baby Jesus on knows how long? Anyway, there was a prompt on Tumblr approximately three thousand years ago about a fairy-run coffee shop and my brain went "hey, you know what works with that?" so here we are!

I think this will be a series of interactions, each told from different characters perspectives, all interlaced in some way and I hope you all enjoy a bit of lighthearted reading because the world is heavy right now, and Rust is going to be moving into some pretty dark material soon.

Stay safe, and much love to you all


- A.V. xxx