Ĉђąρτεŕ Τђŕεε » Ĉħąī Lαττε

Chai: (noun) A beverage made with spiced black tea, honey and milk.
Latte: (noun) Espresso usually topped with frothy, steamed milk.
Chai Latte: (noun) Definitely Demyx's favourite drink. Do not question it.

"Let's Blow This Popsicle Stand."

Axel Onér was muttering something completely and utterly incoherent, and also probably highly explicit, in what was possibly Gaelic or Russian or Portuguese that caused his blond-haired co-worker to look up sharply in pure, unadulterated annoyance. Said co-worker's temper was getting worse by the second. Really, nothing was more irritating than a mindlessly restless Axel. Why? Well, only because a mindlessly restless Axel had the exertive tendency to do ridiculously stupid things. So it goes without saying that Cloud was finally pushed (shoved) over the edge of his high-and-mighty pedestal of tolerance as soon as the redhead decided to speak to customers in foreign languages and witlessly serve them mugs of tap water.

"Okay," Cloud snapped as soon as the last customer walked out of the bar and they were left in peace for awhile. His patience had just about run off the face of a cliff and plummeted, landing with a sickening splat among some jagged rocks below. "What the hell is your problem, Axel? Your theatrics are starting to really piss me off. Have you completely lost your mind?"

In hindsight, Cloud would later come to realise just how close to the truth his words had been.

Axel blinked a few times at the blond with an expression that clearly read: why exactly are you yelling at me? He ran a shaky hand through his red spikes, shrugged once, and picked up the milk carton on the countertop, drinking straight out of it. "Just about," he replied sluggishly after a long swig. "Damn. This milk's good. Here," he shoved the carton in front of his colleague's face, sloshing some of the white stuff down Cloud's uniform. "Try some."

Cloud wrinkled his nose, very much resisting the urge to grab the carton out of Axel's spindly fingers and spattering its contents all over the redhead's face. Instead, he pushed Axel away and hissed. "Ax, we use that for the coffee, you asshole." He glared pointedly for a few moments. The redhead only looked back uncomprehendingly. Finally, Cloud had no choice but to emit a slow sigh of defeat and pace up and down behind the counter broodingly. "It's that high school kid, isn't it? The one who looked like he would carve out your eyes and eat them if you so much as tried to lay a finger on him."

Axel stopped fidgeting with the milk carton and stared at Cloud. "Wow. You… you know me too well. You're freaking me out here, Strife."

Cloud snorted, his expression dubious. He doubted he would ever get anywhere remotely close to knowing the redhead and understanding how his mind worked.

"Axel, I don't get you. At all. Do you even know the kid's name?"

Cue sudden record scratch of the ear-splitting variety.

Now, Axel was brought back to reality. Huh. What was the kid's name? He frowned slightly. Really, he could've sworn that Blondie's best friend had mentioned it briefly. The redhead racked his brains, but finally came up with a complete blank. Goddammit.

"Er… Not really?" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I'll probably never see him again," he said gloomily, setting the half-empty milk carton on the counter with tired resignation. And to Cloud, Axel sounded like the world had just ended.

What the hell. Axel was never one to dwell over someone he's only met for a time frame of fifteen minutes, give or take. Much less dwell on someone for more than twenty-four hours. Whatever happened to Flirty McFlirtflirt?

"You just saw him yesterday, moron," Cloud muttered tartly, "Man, you seriously need to get your mind off that teenager. God, if he found out you've been pining after him, he'd probably call the police on you. I wouldn't be surprised if you had like, wet dreams about him last night." The blond shuddered inwardly at the thought. Poor, poor high schooler. "Stop. Thinking. About. Him. Besides, he's too young, too rich, too angry-looking. Not your type."

Axel looked mildly offended. "Cloud? I take back what I said about you knowing me too well. You know nuts about me and my taste."

Cloud rolled his eyes. It seemed to be something of an automatic response to more than half the things Axel says.

"Focus, you douche. Leon will kick your skinny ass to hell and back if he finds out that you've been giving free mochas away."

"Hey, hey, hey! That was just the one time! And no, I did not dish it out for free. He just forgot to pay, s'all. What you saw was… was a LIE." Axel pointed dramatically for effect.

"Oh. And I suppose you conveniently 'forgot' to ask him for the money too? Wow, what a coincidence," Cloud muttered sarcastically.

"Well…" Axel scratched the back of his neck. "That's debateable."

Cloud shook his head. "It's what we do, Ax. We get people to pay for the shit we make. It's part of the fucking job description. 'That's four-fifty for the coffee and two-ten for the shortbread finger, sir.' Is that so hard to say?"

Axel crossed his arms with a graceless pout. "At least the guy walked out of here happy and six dollars, sixty cents richer," he reasoned deductively. "I did a good thing. See? I'm sure God'll let me into heaven now!"

Cloud threw his hands up into the air with a "pfft!" that made Axel know he'd given up at last. "I give up," Cloud reiterated scowlingly. "You're hopeless. There's another reason why your dream boy toy won't ever take a second look at you. You excel at being hopeless."

Axel tsked. "Flattery, or lack thereof, gets you nowhere, Cloudy."

"Whoever said I wanted to go anywhere with you?" Cloudy bit back acidly.

"Oh my God. You really, really need to get yourself a girl. Or a boy. Whichever way you swing. Because, hell, you honestly need to fucking get yourself laid."

"Shut up, Axel. SHUT UP. If you don't shut up right now, so help me God, I will end you!"

Axel did not, in fact, shut up. He kept going as though Cloud had duct tape over his lips and he had earplugs inserted into his ears.

"I know! I could hook you up with my sister! Are you into redheads? You must be! Yes! You and my sister should get together!"

"Look, Axel. I am not, repeat: not, looking for a relationship right now. So go shove your stupid ideas up y-"

"You suuuure? I'm pretty certain Kairi wouldn't mind a one-night stand. No strings attached and all that jazz." Axel cupped a hand beside his mouth and mock-whispered, "I heard she's a major slut."

Cloud looked semi-horrified. "Axel! She's your friggin' SISTER. How can you say stuff like that about her? She's like, sixteen!"

"Sixteen and a slut, yes." Axel nodded.

"No, Ax. No one-night stands. I am not sleeping with your sister!"

"Okay. Fine. Cool."

Cloud stared. Axel had dropped the subject like a hot potato, which was very unlike the redhead. Usually, Axel would harp on a particular subject until the blond gave in completely.

"Okay?" Cloud echoed warily.

"Yeah. Okay. It's so obvious you're gay."

Cloud mentally slapped his forehead.

Axel's eyes gleamed. "How 'bout you sleep with my brot-"

"AXEL. NO, ALRIGHT? Reno was a bitch and I haven't even met Kairi. Stop trying to hook me up with random people I hardly even know!"

"But I know them!" Axel said pointedly, like it made all the difference in the world. "Reno would adore you!"

"Can you please drop it?" Cloud snarled violently. "Not. Sleeping. With. Reno. Or. Kairi. Or any of your family. For your information, your psychotic brother almost broke my arm in high school. And you just stood on the sidelines and watched. With a smile on your face."

"You guys were having a go at each other in the cafeteria!" Axel defended. "What the hell was I supposed to do? Break it up?" Axel exclaimed incredulously, as though the very notion was ridiculous. Really, who the hell tried to break up a fight between two tough (okay, not-so-tough) guys tussling on one of the lunch tables when about two hundred people were cheering them on? "If it'll make you feel any better, my bet was on you. Too bad Reno played dirty."

At that point, Cloud decided to stop talking to the redhead for the next eighteen minutes. Eighteen minutes was a mighty long time. And somewhere in the middle of it, Axel had forgotten all about Operation: Get Cloud Laid. Instead, he was fixed on finishing his milk (that wasn't actually his, really, but that didn't matter) and eventually, he started talking about more interesting things.

"Hey. You know, I heard from Leon that he's hired some new guy to help us out, since y'know, we get kinda swamped at night on occassion."

Cloud looked up from where he was fiddling around with the radio tuner. He didn't say anything for a few moments until he found something tasteful to his ears to fill The Fix ("I'm dying, praying, bleeding, screaming. Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost? My God, my tourniquet. Return to me salvation.").

"Yeah? Where's he from?"

Axel made a face at Cloud's choice of station, then shrugged. "Dunno. Think he's gonna' be a part-timer though. According to the boss, he's studying in the university across town."

"UT?"

"Yep."

"Huh. I dropped out from UT."

"And that's why you work here full time now," came a dry voice from the entrance.

Surprise, surprise! It was none other than (drumroll, please!) Squall I-Changed-My-Name-To-Leon Leonhart!

And they didn't even hear the door open. Wow, that guy was sneaky. Or maybe they didn't realise it because the chime didn't go off. Axel made a mental note to find out what caused it to die.

Anyway, the boss man had someone with him. Someone who looked exactly like one of those hardcore punks with hair that completely didn't make any sense whatsoever and something like twenty piercings on both his ears. He had copious amounts of bling draped around his neck and fingers. What was terrifying though, was that he was wearing their standard Caffeine Fixation uniform, complete with name badge and all.

Axel caught the 'oh crap' that Cloud whispered to himself.

"Axel, Cloud," Leon said, with something like smugness and self-satisfaction in his voice, "I'd like you to meet the newest addition to the team, Demyx Aeco."

"Yo! 'Sup, guys!" the Demyx guy flicked his dirty blond hair back with typical 'I Are Awesome Punk Rocker Dude' elegance and waved casually. And yeah, his nails were painted with black polish.

Cloud nearly died on the spot. What in the name of all things holy was going on?! No way in hell would Leon hire someone like this guy.

Leon was oblivious to the many explosions that were detonating within Cloud's brain at the moment. He was busy introducing the new employee. "He's a second year kid from the University of Twilight. Came to me looking for some part-time work. So from now on he'll be here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from late afternoon – as soon as his classes are over – till late. He'll work the morning shift on Saturday too."

"Mmm. Demyx, was it?" Axel hummed. "He looks pretty, er…" He thought for a short moment, decided to abandon that train of thought altogether when he realised that he had no idea how to describe him, and all but pranced around the counter and approached the newcomer, extending a hand. "Hey. I'm Axel. Pleasure to meet you. That," he pointed over his shoulder, "is Cloud. He's gay." The redhead beamed. "Are you gay?"

Cloud spluttered. Clearly, Operation: Let's Totally Get Cloud, the Newly-Pronounced Homosexual, Laid! was still on Axel's mind.

"Er…" Demyx looked startled, kind of (very) lost for words, as he numbly shook Axel's hand. "… Wha-?"

Leon took this moment to clear his throat. "Axel, you know that I acknowledge your amusing comments and such, but could you please not make a habit out of freaking new employees out?"

Axel stepped back. "Sure thing, boss. I'll take good care of Demy Dem Dem."

Leon nodded. "I'm placing him under your supervision for the next few days. But I don't believe he'd need any training. He used to work at a café. Isn't that right, Demyx?"

Demyx nodded, playing with a particularly monstrous and remarkably shiny ring on his finger. "Employee of the month for three months straight at the Coffee Club, sir. I make an awesome ice blended mocha and the best chai latte on the planet." He grinned good-naturedly. "Chai lattes are God's gift to cafés."

"Right. Wonderful. You'll do just fine." Leon turned to Axel, then to Cloud. "Now, you guys help him get his footing around here. I've got to make an important call."

He left via the back door.

"Okaaaaay. Is it just me or is Leon making a hell lot of 'important calls' these few days?" Axel wondered aloud with a raised eyebrow.

"I believe he's got a new girlfriend," Demyx whispered conspiratorially. Then he straightened, gave a cheery smile, adjusted his uniform and drove a hand through his unruly mullet-cum-mohawk (all at the same time!). "And you so didn't hear that from me." His smile widened innocently.

Axel grinned. "Kid? You and me are gonna get along juuuuust fine."

Cloud made a strangled noise and felt like bashing his skull in with the coffee machine.

Axel looked back at the counter and shrugged nonchalantly with a suppressed grin. "Not sure about the rain cloud over there, though."

Cloud was arguably semi-mortified that Leon had hired the Punk of the Year to work with them (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday! WHY, GOD, WHY?!). Was Leon insane? INSANE?! Maybe this Demyx guy and Leon were pals or family friends or something close and chummy like that. Either way, Cloud was not very glad about this new arrangement.

"Hey, um, Cloud? Can I call you Cloud? Yeah, uh…" Demyx spoke up cautiously, walking up to the other blond. "You look kinda annoyed at something."

"Oh, really? What makes you think that?" Cloud hissed, then turned on his heel and stormed off indignantly into the kitchen in a huff.

"Don't mind him, Dem. He's just sore that Leon likes everyone except him. He'll get over it soon enough. I see you and him becoming real good pals in the near future."

Demyx looked at Axel, unconvinced. "I guess… I just don't like people being mad at me."

"Not your fault he's such a sullen bitch," Axel said comfortingly. "Trust me, by six tonight, he'll forget that you're new and start warming up to you. Now, let's get to work. Emokids, two o'clock." Axel grabbed Demyx by the arm and tugged him behind the counter just as two people walked in through the glass doors.

Demyx blinked rapidly, nearly stumbling.

"Emokids?" he whispered in hushed tones as he regained his balance.

"They both have the Hair Thing going on," Axel explained, voice low. And at Punkboy's blank look, elaborated, "Y'know, the flippy-hair-in-the-eyes thing."

"Oh."

"Now stand behind the register. I wanna see how you tackle these two."

That was when Demyx finally looked closely at the two supposedly 'emo' customers. He started at them for all but two seconds before giving off a half-squeal and running straight into the kitchen like a drunken rat that had just spotted a lion.

"What the-?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. That was definitely weird. What had gotten into that kid? He couldn't have a fear of emohair and black skinny jeans, could he? The redhead turned back to the customers, who had approached the counter at last.

They were both guys. Guy Number One had long silver hair. Guy Number Two had not-that-long-but-still-pretty-long slate-coloured hair. And both of them had their faces almost half-hidden by their tresses.

It was almost disturbing.

Uni kids, Axel decided. Definitely uni kids. And he'd be damned if Demyx didn't know at least one of them somehow.

Author's Note: I'm right in the middle of my finals. This chapter was a product of pure procrastination. And yes, Demyx has joined the crew. Also, yes, Riku and Zexion just walked into the Fix.