Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi is a genius. I'm not.

AN: I'm having a pretty good time with this story and it's only the first day! Before anyone asks, a Barista can be male or female. On with the story!

Coffee Princess

Second Cup

"Stabalize the temperature of the porta-filter's group head using a warm glass below the spouts. Begin the pre-infusion cycle. Make sure the water distributes evenly over the top of the espresso pellet…NO! NO NO NO! That's ALL wrong!"

The girl faltered and dropped what, to her, seemed like nothing more than a weird ladle. Kneeling she picked it up and dusted it off on her apron before getting it snatched out of her hands by a fuming brunette. She'd applied to work at Coffee Princess because no HoshiDollars within a 20-mile-radius was hiring. People had warned her that the owner of the shop was a little eccentric but they'd never told her she was downright neurotic.

"What's the big deal? How are they going to know if we prepared correctly before making the coffee? It all tastes the same doesn't it?"

Glancing over her boss's shoulder the young woman watched as a petite blonde behind their boss motioned for her to stop talking. It was too late and the damage was done. She couldn't run out of the establishment fast enough to duck the coffee beans an infuriated Makoto threw at her. It was like being chased by a monster.

"Usagi-chan?" The monster's voice had calmed and was now speaking in a voice heavy with disappointment. "I guess you can call the newspaper and tell them to keep the want ad going. At this rate we're never going to find our barista."

Coffee Princess had once been Kissaten, The Coffee Lounge. After her parents died the only thing Makoto had left of them was the coffee shop. Despite her fears that it would go under she'd found comfort in the support of her friends, Ami and Usagi. It had been Usagi's idea, in particular, to market the store as a place where lovely young women serve expertly prepared coffee.

At first it had just been the three of them. When a HoshiDollars took over the local Shinto temple its former miko, Rei, had applied for a job. Later, Usagi's out-of-work cousin, Minako joined in. None of them could make coffee as well as Makoto and so most of them stuck to making simple drinks; or serving customers in the elaborate costumes Minako came up with. Soon Coffee Princess rose in popularity and they were badly in need of another barista. None of the applicants, however, seemed to know anything about making a good cup of joe.

Rei swept the sullied coffee beans from the floor. "We're never going to find anyone as good as you, Mako-Chan. Why not just hire one of the HoshiDollars rejects?"

Ami, who was glancing over the shop's financial documents, shook her head in agreement. "Mediocre or not, we can't serve our clientele fast enough with just us."

Minako walked out of the employee bathroom looking like something out of a space cadet movie and stood next to her cousin. "But…it's not like any old girl can make these costumes look good!" Usagi chipped in, "and besides…that's not what Coffee Princess is about!"

Makoto latched onto the blondes for dear life. "Exactly! Coffee Princess isn't just any old coffee joint! We're serving the true spirit of the latte, brewing up the best of espressos, hand-dripping the justices of…" Covering her ears with silver-gloved hands, Minako shouted. "We get it! We get it!"

Grinning, the four girls shook their head at their impassioned boss and got back to work.

"Mamoru, guess what?!"

"You're running away to join a circus and giving me your job at the arcade?!"

"Close!"

Chuckling, Mamoru took a sip of Motoki's coffee as he sat at the bar of Crown Arcade. To anyone else it would have been a regular-ole-cup-of-coffee, but to Mamoru it was torture.

"What kind of beans did you use? Robusta?" He asked, trying not to sound too disgusted. "Oh no." His best friend replied, "I just used the instant stuff." Mamoru pushed the mug away in disgust. "Look, will you listen for a moment?" Motoki continued, "I think I found you a job!"

Instantly, the dark haired man's mood brightened. "What kind of job?"

Grinning cheekily, Motoki pulled out a crumpled up newspaper ad. "Look! It says here: Seeking talented barista for high quality establishment. Applicant must have a thorough knowledge of brewing techniques, dosing, tamping, pulling and steaming. Must be able to identify different coffee blends. Sounds like the perfect job for you! Don't you think?"

The truth was that it did seem like the perfect job. Every HoshiDollars he'd gone to had turned him down for not having the right "presence". It seemed to him that they were only interested in the presences of the tanned and buff. They didn't care about the coffee, they only cared about appearances. Years of low-quality meals had landed him squarely in the thin, pale and gangly category. But this place seemed different. From what Motoki had read, it seemed like they were actually interested in hiring someone with an understanding of coffee.

"Y…yeah." Scratching the back of his head he said in a low voice. "Motoki can I use the arcade's phone to call in for an appointment? My line got cut last week and.."

Patting his best friend on the shoulder Motoki nodded in delight. "Let me do it for you!" Before Mamoru could protest Motoki headed to the back. Mamoru could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"A friend who…an appointment…very knowledgeable." There was a long pause and over the counter Mamoru could see that Motoki was re-reading the newspaper. His best friend looked at the ad, looked at him and looked back at the ad one more time. "Of course! …Yes that's perfect. Thank you!"

The blonde young man took much longer to join his best friend than he had taken to leave him. Chuckling softly to himself he walked around the counter and took a seat next to Mamoru. Hesitantly he spoke, "You have an appointment for tomorrow at 6PM."

It was unnerving to Mamoru, how Motoki kept looking him up and down. Finally he spoke, "Well that's good news. But…what's wrong?"

"Oh…Nothing! Well I mean. It's not that big a deal. I'm sure with a little make-up." Motoki took another moment to size up his companion's physique before being interrupted. "Excuse me? Make up?"

Wordlessly Motoki handed his mate the newspaper ad and ran his finger down to the last line; pointing it out for Mamoru to read. "Female applicants only. Males need not apply."

AN: 8D Review review!