Dreaming of Coffee and Love

by FlowerOwl

It was a nothing but a meeting caused by the aroma of coffee beans, or at least that was what Mipha told herself the first time she saw Zelda smile at her as Mipha accepted her order. But as time passed and something more bloomed from the conversations that accompanied the cups of coffee and warm muffins, Mipha could not deny that perhaps there could be more to it than that.

1. Chapter 1

Mipha usually took great pride in being able to read the atmosphere in a room quite well, a skill that had made her able to prevent more than a single fight during those last couple of months she had worked as a barista. It was difficult for her to explain exactly how she could tell when something had shifted until the risk of someone throwing their cup of coffee through the room—cup, lid, contents, and everything—through the room if she left the situation alone for just a couple of seconds longer, but it was almost always present, making it so that she could intervene the moment she felt the spark of electricity that carried the warning of how a fight was about to start in just a few seconds along with it and ask the customers to calm down.

It was an ability she had worked on developing over the months, until it had reached the point where she was almost entirely confident that she would always get a warning in advance.

Perhaps she had grown too complacent, too secure in how she always seemed to have several seconds more than she needed to break up the fight, because when Revali slammed the cup down onto the counter, Mipha jumped into the air, barely having time to attempt to mask her surprise as being something she had planned and twirling around to look at her co-worker just in time to hear Revali breathe in deeply, a sure sign that he was about to make some rude customer leave with a trail of 'never coming back here', 'the worst customer service I have ever seen', and 'I will make sure you get fired' following along with them.

"You know what," Revali began as Mipha slowly tried to edge closer towards him, attempting to get a look at the customer who had just made sure to not get their order handed over to them, "if you don't like it here, you can leave."

Mipha saw how the customer, a man who looked to be about ten years older than her and with an expression on his face like he couldn't believe what Revali was saying, gaped at Revali. Well, if that was the case, he would have to get used to it quickly, because Mipha knew that Revali was not going to stop just because he looked surprised that he had spoken up.

Almost like he wanted to prove her point, Revali gestured towards the door. "No, seriously, the door is right there. Leave, and don't bother to come back."

"But—" the man began to object.

He did not get a chance to finish the sentence before Revali had interrupted him. "But what? If you can't appreciate it here, I would rather that you just left. Trust me, we won't miss you."

That seemed to remind the man of his ability to speak, and as his face turned redder and his tone even angrier, Mipha tried to reach out to place her hand on Revali's arm in a poor attempt to make him calm down. But Revali simply pulled his arm out of her grip, stepping closer to the counter and the customer, who, by now, looked like he was mere seconds away from yelling and asking to talk to a manager, and as much as Mipha would like to have someone support her when she told Revali to just do as the customers said, this was not exactly a situation she thought Urbosa would appreciate.

"I have more friends in this city than you can imagine," the man said, planting both hands on the counter and leaning forwards, closer towards Revali, "and I will make sure they know not to buy anything in here."

It was clear that the man had hoped the promise would make Revali back off and apologise. Once, when Mipha had just gotten to know Revali, she would perhaps also have expected that to happen, but by now, she knew better. So although the man looked confused when Revali simply laughed, mirroring the man's pose as he too leant in towards him, Mipha was mentally rolling her eyes, wishing the man would just leave soon.

"If they are all as rude as you," Revali said, and somehow, even though the words were anything but, he managed to sneak a hint of respect into is voice as he nodded towards the man, "I don't think anyone here is going to miss them."

The customer huffed, taking in air as he stood up straighter, and Revali did the same, positioning himself to stand right next to the counter, his hand coming dangerously close to gripping the cup that was still filled to the brim with coffee. Realising that it was not going to end well is she just kept on standing there behind Revali, Mipha stepped in between and held up her hands in front of her in what she hoped was a placating manner.

"Sir, let me apologise for my co-worker. It has been a long shift, I am sure you can understand," she said, hoping for the best, even if one look at the man's face told her that, no, he neither understood that nor was he interested in understanding.

"Yeah, sure, but if he does not get fired then I won't ever come back here again."

Careful not to let her own disdain for the man show, Mipha nodded. "Very well."

He left without paying, barely turning around before he slammed the door shut to remind them that he still meant what he had said.

Mipha waited until he was so far away that he could not see them through the windows anymore before she turned around to send Revali a disappointed glare.

"What was that about?"

Revali shrugged, having already halfway turned around to go back to his previous task of opening up another bag of coffee beans. "He was being rude so I told him to stop it or get out of the store if he could not act like an adult for a moment." and like that was enough to explain why Mipha had just had to step in between what would almost definitely have progressed into a fight had she not been there as well, he looked down at the bag while he fiddled with the opening.

"Was that really it?" Mipha asked, not even trying to keep the disbelief out of her voice. "You know Urbosa is going to have to fire you if you continue to argue with the customers like that, right?"

Still having his back turned towards her, Revali did not even bother to look up from his task as he answered. "I doubt she will do that."

"And why is that?"

"He insulted the decoration, saying that it was the most hideous thing he had ever seen—"

"Really, was that why you decided to talk to him like that—"

"—and," Revali said, speaking just a bit louder as he set the bag back down onto the counter, spinning around on his heel to look at her, "he also insulted the owner, saying that she obviously did not know how to attract customers if she thought that throwing a lot of colours together was in any way pleasant to the eye. And I was not about to just let some asshole walk in here and insult Urbosa, so, yeah, I began arguing with him."

Struggling to come up with something to say in response to that, Mipha went silent. The truth was that, although she would probably have preferred to stay silent, such a comment would probably have made her feel the same way about the customer as Revali had done. Besides, as she looked around in the room, Mipha had a hard time seeing what the customer had been talking about. Sure, there were a lot of bright colours scattered throughout the room, hidden away in the flowers that had been placed in the tables and the paintings on the walls, but nothing she would ever classify as something that would have kept her from entering the store.

"Okay, I get that," she admitted, "but you really can't say it to them. If you keep on doing that, Urbosa will be forced to fire you even if she does like you."

Confident as always, Revali just brushed off her concerns with a wave of his hand. "No, she won't. I already told her that I don't believe in letting someone walk over me, customer or not, when I applied for the job, so if anything, she probably hired me to do just that."

"But why can't you just bottle all of that up like Link and I do?" Mipha sighed, already sensing that she was not going to change anything. "Just think about how you are being paid for being here, you know? That's what I do. 'The customer is always right' and all of that—it is really not that difficult once you get used to it."

But Revali simply shook his head. "No, that is easy for you and Link to do, because you two care about maintaining the positive atmosphere. I, meanwhile, am absolutely going to tell the customer when they are wrong, which they usually are." patting her shoulder, he shot her a small smile. "But focus on the positive aspect of that, it means that you won't have to confront the assholes."

Slapping his hand away, Mipha couldn't supress a low chuckle. "Perhaps, but I still prefer sharing my shifts with Link. At least I won't have to worry about my co-worker throwing a cup of coffee at the customer when I am with him."

"I wasn't going to do that," Revali admitted, "though you'll have to admit that it did make him leave rather than staying in here to continue to insult Urbosa. But can you imagine how much easier it would have been if I had really done it? He would have left immediately."

"You wouldn't have dared."

"You underestimate me, Mipha," Revali said before glancing over towards the clock hanging on the left wall, "but my shift is over now, so you can discuss this with Link in just a few minutes."

He stepped around her, already fiddling with the bow that fastened his apron before pulling the red piece of cloth over his head.

"You are the worst," Mipha called out right as Revali opened the door leading into the back of the shop and he barely paused to turn around and wink at her.

"Aw, you love me."

The door closing behind him prevented Mipha from protesting, so she turned back towards the counter, still shaking her head over Revali's antics and wondering how long it would be until Urbosa came in to remind him to humour the customers even when they made no sense or if Revali had really been right about his assessment of his own position at the café, only to see that another customer had entered the shop in the meantime and was now standing a few metres away from the counter, looking back and forth between Mipha and the door as she shifted her weight from side to side..

When she noticed Mipha looking at her, the woman in question stepped forward with a gentle smile. "I am sorry," she said, "the sign said that you were still open."

"Oh, we are. We just had a bit of an issue that I had to work out, but we are definitely still open. I hope you haven't been waiting for a long time." Mipha did her best to make her tone sound carefree, putting on her best appearance of having everything together as she hoped the customer had not overheard the entirety of her conversation with Revali. Although Revali might be a fan of being perfectly honest with the customers—and seemingly had Urbosa's blessing to do so—Mipha was still convinced that there were certain things the customers did not have to know about, and the fact that she had just had to discuss whether or not almost throwing a cup of coffee at a rude man was one of them.

Luckily, the woman shook her head, the movement making a few strands of blonde hair escape from the clip that had held them in place at the side of her head to instead let them fall in front of her shoulder. "No, don't worry about that, I only waited for about five seconds."

Trying to not let her relief show, Mipha nodded at her. "Oh, well, I am glad to hear that. But anyway, what can I get for you?"

"Uh," the woman paused, and Mipha could see how she was looking up at the menu hanging above the counter, almost able to guess exactly what she was looking at each time she paused before moving on to the next item before making her decision, "can I get a caffè latte and a blueberry muffin?"

"Of course," Mipha said, already halfway reaching out towards the cash register to register the purchase when the customer interrupted her.

"Wait, I forgot to ask, do you have any non-dairy milk?"

"No," Mipha answered, "no, I am sorry, but we don't have that, at least not for the coffee, but we don't have any dairy in any of the pastries."

The customer almost tripped over her words as she brushed Mipha's apology aside. "No, it's fine, but in that case, can I ask you to change to caffè latte for an espresso instead?"

"Of course. Will you be enjoying it here or do you want to bring it with you?"

Pausing to take in the room around her, it seemed that the woman actually considered the question before answering. "I will stay here."

The correction of her order was easy enough to make, and just a few minutes later, Mipha was able to return to the counter with a cup of steaming hot coffee and a plate with a muffin on, the blue of the blueberries blending into the dough, and place the plate in front of her with a warning that the coffee was still quite warm.

"Oh, I know," the customer smiled at her, "this is not the first time I have enjoyed a cup of coffee, though it is the first time I have been here. Is this a new place or am I simply not that good at paying attention to my surroundings when I go for a walk around the city?"

"Well, this shop is about three months old, so that all depends on how often you make your way around here."

"No that often, but still enough so that it doesn't explain why this is the first time I thought to go in here." placing one arm on the counter, she took a bite of the muffin, giving Mipha an approving nod. "And this is really good; I really should have thought to visit this place before. I don't understand why I didn't."

"Well, in your defence, it is kind of hidden from view," Mipha said, gesturing towards the front of the store, "it is not really that obvious that this place would be here with all of the larger buildings placed right next to it. Most people kind of stumble across this place to be honest, I have often seen someone come in because they thought this was some kind of side entrance to the bank only to sit down for a cup of coffee now that they were in here anyway."

"Really?" the woman asked, her voice rising along with her eyebrows. "I find that difficult to believe. With the quality of this," she gestured towards the muffin in her hand, "I would have thought you would have been famous already. Did you make them?"

"Yeah," Mipha said, hoping that she didn't look too proud at the compliment, "but they are actually quite simple to make, Link, one of my co-workers, taught me the recipe in a little under half an hour."

"But they taste like they have taken hours to prepare! Although," looking away from Mipha, the woman glanced down at the table with a slightly embarrassed expression, "that might just tell you more about my own baking abilities than anything else."

"How so?"

"Let's just say that it is not an exaggeration to say that I can barely boil water without burning it."

Mipha laughed. "I am sure it is not really that bad."

"You are saying that now, but I promise you, if you could have seen the results of that one time I tried to make lasagne, you would not be laughing like that, especially not if you were me and knew that you actually had to eat it." the woman shuddered, like the thought alone was so disgusting she could not put it into words. "It looked absolutely horrendous—I had somehow managed to burn the top of it while the pasta at the bottom was completely uncooked and hard as rocks. Trust me, the week I had to eat that was probably one of the worst weeks of my life, at least in regards to the food I was eating." clearly seeing how Mipha was struggling not to laugh at the story, she smiled at her. "Go on, laugh at my cooking skills, I won't be offended at all."

And laughing was exactly what Mipha did, giggling as she tried to picture the kind of disaster the other woman had just described. "I suppose I can't even begin to imagine what it tasted like?" she asked.

"Oh, you definitely do not want to know the taste of that. It was… well, let's just say that I think it will be a long time before I will attempt to make lasagne again."

"You don't think you have learnt from your mistakes?"

"I know I haven't." the woman smiled at her for a moment, before her eyes flickered from Mipha's face and down to the name tag, her entire expression changing a second later. "I am so sorry, I completely forgot that although you wore a name tag, I didn't," she began, speaking quickly as she held out her hand, "but to introduce myself, although it is a little too late to do so now, I am Zelda."

Mipha took her hand, shaking it lightly. "Well, it is good to meet you, Zelda, even if I didn't know your name at first."

"It's good to hear that." something buzzed, and Zelda blinked a couple of times as they both instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, Mipha leaning in over to counter to see that Zelda had placed a little bag on the stool next to her, concluding that the sound must come from somewhere inside the bag.

"I am so sorry," Zelda said as she jumped up onto the stool to search through the bag before turning her attention back towards Mipha, now carrying a phone in her hand, "but I am afraid that was the alarm I had set to remind myself that I came here to work."

"Work?" Mipha parroted, already silently wondering what exactly that could be. "May I ask what you are working on?"

"Of course. I am in the process of writing a book."

There was no need for Mipha to fake any kind of excitement at that. Although it was not the first time Mipha had gone over to a table to set down a cup of coffee in front of someone who only barely paused to look up and send her a smile and a quick thankyou before going back to tapping along on their computer, the sound of it soon creating a calming rhythm, getting the chance to hear about it was still as exciting as the first time someone had asked her for the WiFi password so that they could continue working while enjoying some time away from home.

And perhaps Zelda saw some of that enthusiasm shine through in her eyes, because even though she had just paused the alarm, acknowledging the fact that she should be working, she did not move from her spot, as she instead continued to smile at Mipha from across the counter.

Hoping that it was an invitation for her to ask as many questions as she wanted to, Mipha placed her elbows on the counter and used the tip of her right foot to pull the stool behind her close so she could sit down as well "A book? What kind of book are we talking about exactly?"

"A young adult novel, science fiction set in a future society that has just gone through something that can only be described as an apocalypse," Zelda said, the same kind of gleeful joy in her voice.

"So do you want to know the WiFi password?"

Zelda bowed her head. "Yes, if it isn't too much of a hassle for you."

Already digging through the papers lying on the shelf right underneath the counter, Mipha quickly shook her head. "Not at all. If anything, I am just happy to help." catching the little slip of paper, Mipha stood back up and pushed it across the counter towards Zelda who took it with a smile before pulling a computer out of her bag and placing it in front of her on the counter.

"Thank you."

Mipha could hear how Zelda typed in the password, and the room tuned silent save for the soft sound of Zelda hitting the keys, going still from time to time as she paused to read what she had just written. Standing there, it took Mipha just a few seconds too many to realise that she was staring and that it probably was not appropriate to just stand still and watch Zelda work, not even if there weren't any other customers. So she turned around and made herself busy with washing up some of the used cups before going over and checking that she was not about to run out of coffee.

The hours passed, and it felt like they were both going by too slowly and too quickly as the customers began to pour into the shop and Mipha actually became busy with keeping track of orders and who had asked for extra milk in their coffee, balancing cups and plates around the store, while Zelda sat still at the counter through it all, seemingly completely absorbed in her work.

From her spot in the other end of the room where she had just placed three entire cups of their strongest coffee in front of a girl who looked like she was barely more than fifteen years old though the amount of books in front of her and the difficulty of the subject Mipha spotted at the front of one of them said otherwise, Mipha could see how Zelda stopped for a moment, moving the cursor on her screen to delete the last couple of sentences as she hummed to herself.

Zelda had without a doubt stayed for much longer time than what it took her to finish the last bite of her muffin and drink the last drop of coffee, and Mipha was quite aware of how Urbosa would probably have reminded her that she had to inform Zelda of how she had to order something if she wanted to stay, but she did not want to interrupt her when Zelda looked so focused. So instead, Mipha just continued along with her work, watching as the café gradually became more and more empty as people began to send worried glances towards the sky outside and the dark clouds that were gathering above them, trying to gauge the risk of getting caught outside in the rain.

And still, Zelda stayed.

In the end, Mipha felt that she had to say something, so she went over to stand behind the counter again, looking at Zelda until the blonde noticed her and glanced away from her computer, raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

"I am so sorry to interrupt you," she began, hurrying to add the last half as she saw how Zelda opened her mouth, no doubt to say that there was no need for the apology, "but we have to close in just a couple of minutes."

Zelda's eyes widened as she looked first at Mipha, then at the clock on the wall, and then back at her, eyes even wider now. "Of course! Sorry, I completely lost track of time, I—"

"No, it's fine. I haven't closed yet, it was just that I thought you might like getting a warning a few minutes before I would have had to ask you to leave."

"Yeah, you are completely right about that," Zelda said, pulling her shoulders forwards as she let out a silent chuckle, "well, thank you for the warning, I'll just have to save this and then—" the sound of rain hitting the outside of the windows seemed much louder than they should have been and Mipha followed Zelda's line of sight as she turned around to look at the street outside.

It had begun to rain. At first it was just a barely more than a few scattered drops, but in just a few seconds, the amount of water grew along with the intensity of the sounds of water hitting glass. Before long, the rain would be pouring from the clouds.

It seemed that Zelda had arrived at the same conclusion as Mipha, for as she turned back towards her, Mipha saw how she quickly looked down at her computer, worry apparent in her eyes, before she met Mipha's glance again.

"Uh," Zelda began, "can you give me a second? I think I have a plastic bag somewhere I can wrap around it. I mean, my computer should be okay, but I don't really want to take the risk—I can't understand how I forgot to bring something better along with me, but, well, clearly I didn't think about that." she continued, more to herself than to Mipha.

"Actually," Mipha cut in and hoped that Zelda had not been about to say something important about the computer, "I have an umbrella out in the back of the shop that you can borrow."

"Really?" Mipha could see how Zelda hesitated to accept the offer, looking between the computer in front of her and then over at Mipha. "I don't know, what about you then? If I take your umbrella, won't you get soaked once you go outside?"

Trying to muster as much conviction as possible, Mipha simply shook her head. "No, I have to close everything before I can go home, and by then, I am sure the rain will have stopped." the amount of rain that was pouring down outside did not do much to support Mipha's lie, but she hoped for the best as she continued. "Besides, I don't mind a little rain, and I know that it will hurt me less than it will hurt your computer."

At that, Mipha saw a smile tugging at Zelda's lips. "It just doesn't feel right to take your umbrella."

"Well, I insist, so you will just have to accept it."

And finally, Zelda gave in. "In that case, thank you so much."

Gesturing for Zelda to wait there at the counter, Mipha turned around to push the door leading into the back of the shop open with her shoulder, and just a few seconds later, she had managed to dig her umbrella out from underneath a little pile of jackets, returning to hand it over to Zelda with a smile. "Here you go. It should hopefully do a good enough job of keeping the rain away from both you and your computer."

Zelda accepted the umbrella with a smile, and before Mipha had even realised it, she had shoved her computer back into her bag and left the shop, pausing outside to send Mipha one last nod before she made her way down the street.

The last thing Mipha saw before Zelda disappeared from sight was how the red fabric of the umbrella struggled against the wind as Zelda turned around a corner.

It wasn't until Mipha had gone over every last centimetre of the counter twice, making sure that it was completely spotless and that there really wasn't anything she could do to delay the moment she would have to step out into the rain outside anymore that she realised that she would probably have to buy a new umbrella as soon as possible so that she would not have to make it a habit to let the rain soak her clothes.

For even if Mipha had not necessarily lied when she had told Zelda that she did not mind the rain, the sight of Mipha stepping into their flat, hair sticking to the sides of her face and with her clothes several shades darker than it had been when she had put it on in the morning, did seem to matter to Revali.

"Hey, can I ask you—" he said, leaning out of the doorway that separated the tiny hallway and kitchen before pausing and drawing his brows together, already sending the puddle beneath her feet a harsh glare, "what happened to you? Why do you look like you just decided to jump into the fountain with all of your clothes on?"

Mipha pointed towards the window behind him. "It's raining."

"Yeah, I know, but I thought you had an umbrella with you."

"I had."

"So why didn't you use it?"

Noting Revali's poor attempt of masking the amusement in his voice, Mipha quickly reached up to twist a strand of her hair, making the water drip from her fingers as she flicked it towards Revali who simply stepped out of the way. "Because a customer needed it more than I did."

At that, the accusatory look that Revali had been sending towards the puddle disappeared as he instead moved over, having already halfway put his arms around her shoulders before he seemed to realise that her clothes were still drenched in water and settled for merely showing her lightly, a teasing tone in his voice as he laughed. "Please tell me they weren't some idiot who complained about the weather until you gave them your umbrella, because if that is the case, I am afraid I will have to go and track them down to get your umbrella back since they didn't deserve to get it."

Mipha retaliated by punching his shoulder. "No, I am not that much of a pushover, you know."

Revali simply raised a brow. "I don't know about that. The fact that you actually tried to apologise to that man would say otherwise. But that is beside the point, I actually wanted to ask you if you knew where the large pan was."

"Underneath the sink, I think." Mipha answered. When Revali sighed, she added. "Why?"

"It's supposed to go be the same place as the casseroles." turning around with a dramatic sigh that was not reflected by the joy on his face as he rolled his eyes, Revali motioned towards the stove where she could see smoke coming up from a cooking pot placed on the burner. "And the reason they were supposed to be there was that I had wanted to surprise you with dinner, only I couldn't figure out where the pan was since you don't put it where I do, so, well," Mipha guessed what was in the pot already before she and Revali had crossed the distance between them and the stove to look down at the contents of the casserole, "I had to improvise."

The sight of the two pieces of what looked like severely burnt salmon involuntarily made Mipha laugh as her mind immediately compared it to the description of Zelda's adventures into the art of making lasagne.

"Well, I am happy that you at least find this funny," Revali commented from beside her, "because I am not about to let this go to waste."

That immediately put an end to Mipha's laughter. "No, it wasn't… I just…" noticing the smile Revali sent her way, Mipha gave up, "I just had a customer who told me something funny about food, it was nothing really. Though, she was also the one whom I gave my umbrella to."

"Well, I hope that she will return with your umbrella because from what you are telling me about her, I really would like to get a chance to introduce myself to her."

"Yeah, me too," Mipha admitted, and noticing the look Revali sent her, she hurried to add, "but if she does, you have to promise me that you won't try to scare her away."

Feigning hurt, Revali placed his hand above his heart and stepped away from her. "When have I ever done something like that." the look she sent him must have been enough to let Revali know just what she thought about that question, for he chuckled and grew serious again. "Okay, I promise that even if she turns out to be just like that asshole from before, I won't say anything. I just need to know if this is actually about you being a pushover yet again."

"I am not a pushover," Mipha reminded him again.

"The fact that you just accepted having to eat that," Revali nodded towards the contents of the pot, "says otherwise."

"Oh, so are you saying that I should actually refuse to even taste it?"

Revali simply laughed at that. "No, not at all, I meant what I said about not wanting to let it go to waste. Now, let me see if there's anything I can do to salvage what little is left of the quality of the fish."

Mipha stepped aside to let him move past her, already knowing better than to try to interfere with his plans. If Revali wanted to fight for what to Mipha at least looked like a case of a completely ruined dinner, she would not be the one to try to stop him.

However, when they sat down at the table later that evening, Mipha apprehensively lifting a forkful of salmon up to her face, sending Revali a look as she tried to decide how bad it could really be, before giving in and eating a bite of it, she had to admit that, somehow, in a way she could not even begin to fathom, Revali had actually succeeded in saving the attempt of frying the fish, turning it into a meal that was more than just simply okay.

Of course, that did not stop her from thinking about the lasagne Zelda had described even though there was barely any similarities between the piece of salmon on her plate and the burnt cheese.

She hoped that she could get her umbrella back. Mipha knew that the chances almost non-existent, but even then, she found it difficult to focus on making sure that the text she sent to Sidon that evening to make sure that he had made his own plans for how he would spend the Festival of Hylia and that she would not end up finding out that he had been alone was intelligible, her thoughts returning to the umbrella every other second.

There was no doubt about it. She had to get that umbrella back so she could stop thinking about it all the time.