your heart's in beat with mine [corbet.]

Lucas tossed in the towel. Literally. He was closing again tonight, and he had just had it. Not that he minded, recently, he'd made a few good friends at closing time.

But it was four or five minutes to close, and no pretty girls were storming in, so Lucas assumed he wouldn't be as lucky. He swept the floor and plopped in his usual place facing the window, with his usual, last cup of the day.

He sighed, contentedly, thinking lazily about the events of the week, and all the clio he'd met that he'd never knew previously. It was all so exciting. He nestled further in the chair, crossing his legs and listening to the light howl of the cold air outside, glad he was inside. Imogene agreed to his musings, silently in his head, perched on the back of is chair, her head under her wing, relaxedly.

Looks like tonight was going to be boring...

Good, Casa Nova's wasn't closed yet, Corbet though as she hurried in looking windswept and out of breath (but very attractively so, in her little black dress) due to the cold and high winds outside. If the coffee shop hadn't been open she would have had to go all the way back to Aite in the freezing cold, and that was unacceptable.

Sitting down with Set at her side, she looked around and saw one other clio, who she assumed was an employee, just sitting there facing the window.

"Excuse me," she said to him impatiently. "But are you going to take my order anytime soon?"

Lucas whipped around. He hadn't heard anyone come in. Imogene squawked and fluttered into the air. He stared at her. "Oh! Oh, um, I'm sorry." He set his cup down and pushed himself hurriedly out of the chair and over to the register.

She seemed to annoyed to tell that the place was closed, so Lucas did as he was told and stood behind the counter and, not at all mechanically, took her order. "Hi, how are you? Can I take your order?" He straightened his uniform as he spoke to her, in a clear voice. He smiled pleasantly at her.

Corbet rolled her eyes. "Just get me a black coffee," she ordered, irritated that the clio hadn't noticed her. While she waited, she pulled out her little compact mirror and peered in it, looking for any tiny imperfection on her makeup. There was none, so she put it back away.

"So," she said boredly. She hated waiting, and needed something to do. "Lucas? (she read his nametag) I think I might've seen you here before. D'you work a lot?"

Lucas turned. He considered bowing away from her, and not showing Her Majesty his back, but he figured he could turn around. He turned the machine on and pressed the button. He scooped grounds from the container. They were fresh this afternoon. Not so much now, but he was not permitted to use the coffee grinder.

They would have to do.

He turned back to her. He glanced down at his nametag then back at her. "Yeah, I work a lot. You've probably seen me around here. This is my second home."

"Wow, that sucks," Corbet commented. She couldn't imagine having to work in a coffee shop, taking orders and serving people. She'd shoot herself. Thank god she'd been born as one of fate's favorites. Then again, Lucas didn't seem unhappy or anything. Maybe he didn't hate working here as much as she would. "Unless you like working here, I mean, in that case good for you," she added with a slight incredulity in her voice.

Lucas laughed a little, turning from her again. He poured her the mug of coffee. "It's not so bad. The pay kind of sucks, but I make it work." He turned back around. "And I haven't been working that much lately. Just been doing other stuff, you know?" He smiled, handing her the mug, "I meet a lot of really nice clio."

"Really," Corbet replied, sipping her coffee, hardly interested now that she had what she wanted. She kept her hands on the mug to warm them, wishing she had worn more layers. It had been warmer earlier, and she hadn't known she'd be out so late. It was still a long ways back to Aite; she wanted to warm up a little more before she continued home. "Would you mind if I stayed here a while?" she asked. Normally she wouldn't ask, she'd just do it, but this clio was too polite and it was contagious. "It's freezing out and I don't want to leave yet."

"Yes, really." Lucas smiled, leaning on the counter and crossing his arms. "Careful, it's probably really hot, since I just made it and everything." He thought about it for a few minutes. This girl seemed like a really tough crowd. Maybe he should tell her he was gay. Girls loved gay guys. "Gee, you like it just like I do: hot, fresh and black." He snorted a little at his crude joke, hoping she thought it was funny.

Blushing he looked away, "Sure, suit yourself. I'm just hanging out anyways."

"Gee, you like it just like I do: hot, fresh and black."

Corbet stared at him for a few seconds after he laughed a little. She didn't really get what he was laughing about. What was so funny about coffee? Did she miss something? "Um, I don't get it. What were you laughing about?" she asked. [It went right over her head. Lol.]

"Sure, suit yourself. I'm just hanging out anyways."

"Oh, good," she took another sip. Mmm, it was so warm.

Lucas shrugged, snorting again. "Nothing, nevermind." He pretended to straigten something up under the counter. "Don't worry about it."

He hopped up onto the counter. "Where are you from?"

This guy was kind of weird. In a charming way, but still. "I'm from Aite," she answered with pride. "It's beautiful there." She smiled a rare, genuine smile, but then quickly reverted back to her haughty expression. "And you?"

"Solas." He said, taken by her smile. "My ex-boyfriend's older brother is the Overloridian. That kind of swayed me into it. Then Aven, my ex, settled because of him as well."

He swung his legs, hitting the counter. "I hear it is beautiful in Aite. I like it in Solas too."

Corbet shifted uncomfortably in her seat when Lucas mentioned his ex-boyfriend. Not because she had anything against his choice of lifestyle, but because she couldn't help but think of herself, and how she'd never found a boy attractive and how sometimes she'd find herself looking at girls instead. It was something she knew about herself but didn't want to accept.

"Oh yeah...I heard it's nice in Solas..." she said distractedly, staring at the counter.

"We enjoy it," Lucas nodded. Quick to pick up on moods, Lucas watched her for a moment before asking, "Are you okay?"

He leaned heavily on the counter, his arms crossed under his chest, layed down on the counter. "You look kinda...upset."