fic: closing time at orla's. :D
Title: closing time at Orla's
Author: el_em_en_oh_pee
Prompt: Rose Zeller; lovage
Format and word count: oneshot; 1779
Genre: Romance. ish.
Summary: After ages and ages, Rose is finally learning how to properly make tea.
Pairing, characters: Rose Zeller/Kevin Whitby, Susan Bones, Natalie McDonald and Laura Madley mentioned
Warnings: SCHMOOOOOOOOOP. dklfhgkdfjgh oops. Also: the rarest of rare characters! But they're all totally in canon. :D
Author's Notes: This is based off of AA-verse. Asylum Arcanum is an RPG; the characters in it are in, basically, a rehab centre for post-war traumas. Rose and Natalie started a café; Laura and Kevin work there, too. I've tried to write this so those not versed in AA can totally understand it, but if you need explanations, just ask! :D
Rose smiled as she cleared the last customers' mug and saucer. "Come again!" she said, cheerfully, watching the woman (Susan Bones, very nice-- if a little finicky about the way her food looked and the way her dishes were placed (which, Rose thought, might be why she annoyed Natalie so much)-- and a patron every time Natalie wasn't there) leave the café.
She locked the door after Susan. It was late-- Laura Madley had gone hours ago (granted, she had left early: she was going to bring Natalie soup and tea, because Nat was at home with some virus. Rose was suspicious about Laura's intent.), and Susan had been their only customer for a few hours. "Closing time!" she called to Kevin. "And, uhm," she looked appraisingly at a section of the floor. "We've got a bit of cleaning to do. I sort of spilled another cup of coffee."
Kevin came out from in the back room. "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie," he said, mock tsk-ing. "Whatever shall we do with you?"
"Let me make some tea?" Rose suggested, brightly, and Kevin made as if to protest. "No, really," she said. "I've been learning!"
"As is perfectly demonstrated by yesterday morning," Kevin said, dryly. "When you tried to wake me up with another breakfast in bed. What was it that happened, the water somehow turned to... something not-watery?"
"You put water in tea?" Rose asked, frowning.
Kevin stared. "Rosie..."
"I'm totally kidding! I knew that you need water. Hot water. And tea. And you need to let it steep."
"I supposed we could let you have a trial run," Kevin said, and Rose squealed. "But," he amended, "only if you promise to never ever ever squeal in my ears again."
"I promised you last week, didn't I?" Rose said, hugging Kevin wildly (mustn't let him know that I like hugging him more than normal mustn't let him find out about the crush best friends don't get crushes on each other) and bounding behind the counter. "Water comes first, right?"
"Yes, Rose," Kevin said, picking up the dishes that Rose had half-dropped back onto Susan's table. "Hot water first."
Rose nodded, and busied herself doing something with contraptions she probably shouldn't have been using in order to contain and heat water. "So, Kevin," she started, chewing on her lip.
"Hey, R," he said, interrupting a little bit. "Where'd you put Susan's silverware?"
"It's on the table, isn't it?" Rose said. "Or maybe it fell on the floor?"
Kevin surveyed. "I don't see it anywhere. Did you---?"
"I don't know if I gave her any, at all, though," Rose said, frowning. "She only had a scone?"
"But she always has a knife with the scone," Kevin said. "Right? It's her... thing. The knife."
"And the butter, yes," Rose said. "I am the one who talks to all the customers, you know."
Kevin nodded. "Well, sure," he said. "I wasn't trying to, you know, upset you or anything. Suggest that you wouldn't know..."
"Shut up," Rose said. "Shut up and tell me what to do when the water's all steamy and bubbling."
Kevin set the dishes down and strode over, relatively quickly. "Rose, what are you trying to do?"
"Make tea," Rose said, petulantly. "Which I just told you. And I wouldn't worry too much about the knife. We have lots and lots, and this has happened before, I probably just lost track of--"
"It's happened before?" Kevin asked, then shook his head. "Nevermind. Pour the water into the teapot."
"Teapot as in... oh! Right! Teapot!" Rose considered. "Don't have any of those."
"We use them every day," Kevin pointed out. He bent below the counter and came back up with one particularly distasteful puce-coloured pot. "Well. I don't think we use this one, but... you know."
"Yes!" Rose said. "You pour. I'll add the tea!"
"Yes, Rosie," Kevin said, amusedly, doing so. "Hey, d'you want some music?"
"On daddy's old record player?" Rose asked, rummaging about in the jars of tea behind the counter. "How could I say no!"
Kevin flashed her a grin. (Oh, and it's so adorable when he does that, he really shouldn't, it shouldn't be allowed, and oh! his smile) "I know just the thing!" He put a record on. Joan Baez-- one of her father's favourites. One of her own favourites, too, at that.
She busied herself with getting the tea in order, after beaming for a second-too-long at Kevin. She felt like rosehips, (that was how one did tea, yes? Getting the bits you wanted and putting them into a pot?) and perhaps something... she wasn't sure. She reached into one of the jars with the convenient little scoop and awkwardly got some up and out.
It spilled.
She swept the tea on the counter into a tea strainer and surveyed the other jars. Peppermint sounded yummy, and lovage had a nice name. She scooped a little of each into the strainer, too, and set it inside the (ugly ugly) teapot. She poked the top of the strainer, and it dipped under the water. She tugged it back up and out, and the water tinged reddish brown. "Hey, look, Kevin! It's changing colours! The water is."
"It generally does," Kevin said, chuckling. "Put the thing back in, Rosie; let it finish steeping."
Rose complied and pushed the teapot into the middle of the counter. She hoisted herself up onto the counter, too, and then over it. "Don't tell Nat," she said, and pushed away from it to go and fetch a broom. "Charms, or the old-fashioned way?"
Kevin considered. "We could charm them," he said, "and have them dance. Or something. Or--"
"Oooh, yes, lets!" Rose drew her wand and swished it about once or twice. "You first."
Pulling his lip in and frowning, Kevin cast a spell at one of the brooms. It promptly started sweeping the floor, swinging its handle and twirling rather suspiciously about the bristles. Rose cast one on the other broom, and it swished up next to Kevin's and started sweeping in time.
They watched the brooms waltz around the floor in time to Joan Baez before Rose heard a rather shrill noise behind her. "What?! Kevin, is this normal?"
"Not if you didn't put the kettle on," Kevin said, dropping his spell on the broom.
Rose did likewise, and followed him to the counter. "Put the kettle on what?"
Kevin stopped and stared at her for a moment. Shifting, a little uncomfortable, Rose wondered what he was thinking (does he have any idea did I say something stupid. Again), because his expression was one she couldn't remember seeing before, on him. But he shook himself, clapped her on the shoulder. "Exactly, Petal. I'm sure it's just... oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh. I don't know." He swung himself over the counter, as she had earlier (Rose giggled and promised him silently not to tell Laura or Natalie), and leaned over the teapot. "Oh, right, you used the one that whistles once it's steeped long enough." He got out two mugs. "Do you want to do the honours, or shall I?"
Rose pondered (for a split second). "I will!"
Kevin grinned amicably. "Then, by all means. I'll take, oh, I'll live dangerously. I'll have it straight up."
Nodding, Rose carefully poured each mug almost full and passed one to Kevin. "A toast?"
"To what?"
"Friendship!" Rose said, grinning. (And the hopes that this infernal crush doesn't ruin our friendship)
"I'll drink to that," Kevin replied, clinking (though perhaps 'clunking' would be a better descriptor) his mug against hers. "To us."
"To us!" Rose said, perhaps a little bit more giddily than she should have. (Why oh why oh WHY?)
Kevin sipped first. Made a face. Opened his mouth...
"Kevin Kevin I'm sorry if it tastes horrid, oh, let's just, you can make hot chocolate at home if you'd rather, I'm sorry that it tastes horrible, I--"
"Actually," Kevin said, wonderingly. "It's a lot better than I expected."
"Which isn't saying much," Rose stated, darting a glance at him for affirmation. "It's really bad, isn't it?"
"Try it," Kevin insisted. "Really."
So Rose did so. It wasn't horrible, really. Sort of yummy. In a way. Way better than that... thing sandwich Percy'd been dubious about a few weeks earlier. But...
it really made her want to tell Kevin about her crush.
"Kevin--" she said, right as he said: "Rosie?"
They laughed. "You go ahead," Rose said.
"Erm. Okay. Rosie, Petal, we're good friends, yeah?"
"Best!" Rose said, patting him on his shoulder. "You know that."
"Right." Kevin looked down at his tea, took another sip. "Well. About that."
Rose's heart fell out. He knows he knows he knows) "Yes?"
Kevin twisted around at her. "See, I don't know if I'm all that great at being friends. With you. It's not you, it's..."
"Don't say it," Rose whispered, terribly. "You don't want to be best friends with someone who has a horrid crush on you. I know."
"Yes, that's..." Kevin started, and stopped. "Wait. What?"
"You don't want to be my friend," Rose said. "Because you've found out about my crush. On you. The really big one."
Kevin stared at her. "Noo-oo, I was going to say that you probably didn't want to be my best friend, because of my... yeah."
Rose blinked. "You mean...?"
Kevin nodded, and laughed. "Yes, I mean. Oh, Rosie!"
"Oh, Kevin!" Rose giggled. "This is..."
"Crazy?" Kevin supplied. "Perhaps."
"I was going to go with really, really weird, but really, really convenient," Rose said. "And very nice. But crazy works!"
Kevin laughed, ruffled her hair. Then: "Do you... do you want to...?"
"To what?" Rose asked. "Yes."
Kevin smiled brilliantly. Leaned forward and kissed her, softly.
(Maybe maybe maybe I was right to hope, I think I was right to hope, oh, oh!) Rose kissed him back, and pulled away, giggling softly.
"So you'll-- you'll be my girlfriend?"
Rose wrinkled her nose. "Sure, why not?" she said, and sniffed at him. "I mean, yes, of course I will!"
Kevin grinned, scooted closer to her, draped an arm over her shoulder. "There's something about this place," he said.
"Something about this...?"
"Well," he explained. "Natalie and Laura hooked up here, once, and now we..."
"HOLD ON A MINUTE," Rose said (perhaps a little too loudly). "Bug? And LAURA??!"
"I thought you knew?" Kevin said, rubbing her arm with his draped hand. "But, yeah..."
Rose frowned. "I thought there was something about that Laura girl," she said. "Hmph. I'll have to give her the Talk..."
"The talk?"
"No," Rose said, absently. "The Talk. Capital 'T'. About not hurting Bug."
"Oh!" Kevin said, and laughed. "Natalie gave me that one."
"I don't really like it, Bug with Lau-- what?"
"Told me not to hurt you," Kevin said, leaning his head over Rose's shoulder.
Rose leaned hers on top of his. "So she knew."
"She told me she'd sound you out."
Rose laughed. And laughed, and laughed a little more. "She said the same to me!"
They sat apart, quickly. Looked at each other. "Prank?" Kevin asked.
"You know it!" Rose answered, and slipped her hand in his. "But let's finish tidying up before we start to think of anything."
♥
Author: el_em_en_oh_pee
Prompt: Rose Zeller; lovage
Format and word count: oneshot; 1779
Genre: Romance. ish.
Summary: After ages and ages, Rose is finally learning how to properly make tea.
Pairing, characters: Rose Zeller/Kevin Whitby, Susan Bones, Natalie McDonald and Laura Madley mentioned
Warnings: SCHMOOOOOOOOOP. dklfhgkdfjgh oops. Also: the rarest of rare characters! But they're all totally in canon. :D
Author's Notes: This is based off of AA-verse. Asylum Arcanum is an RPG; the characters in it are in, basically, a rehab centre for post-war traumas. Rose and Natalie started a café; Laura and Kevin work there, too. I've tried to write this so those not versed in AA can totally understand it, but if you need explanations, just ask! :D
Rose smiled as she cleared the last customers' mug and saucer. "Come again!" she said, cheerfully, watching the woman (Susan Bones, very nice-- if a little finicky about the way her food looked and the way her dishes were placed (which, Rose thought, might be why she annoyed Natalie so much)-- and a patron every time Natalie wasn't there) leave the café.
She locked the door after Susan. It was late-- Laura Madley had gone hours ago (granted, she had left early: she was going to bring Natalie soup and tea, because Nat was at home with some virus. Rose was suspicious about Laura's intent.), and Susan had been their only customer for a few hours. "Closing time!" she called to Kevin. "And, uhm," she looked appraisingly at a section of the floor. "We've got a bit of cleaning to do. I sort of spilled another cup of coffee."
Kevin came out from in the back room. "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie," he said, mock tsk-ing. "Whatever shall we do with you?"
"Let me make some tea?" Rose suggested, brightly, and Kevin made as if to protest. "No, really," she said. "I've been learning!"
"As is perfectly demonstrated by yesterday morning," Kevin said, dryly. "When you tried to wake me up with another breakfast in bed. What was it that happened, the water somehow turned to... something not-watery?"
"You put water in tea?" Rose asked, frowning.
Kevin stared. "Rosie..."
"I'm totally kidding! I knew that you need water. Hot water. And tea. And you need to let it steep."
"I supposed we could let you have a trial run," Kevin said, and Rose squealed. "But," he amended, "only if you promise to never ever ever squeal in my ears again."
"I promised you last week, didn't I?" Rose said, hugging Kevin wildly (mustn't let him know that I like hugging him more than normal mustn't let him find out about the crush best friends don't get crushes on each other) and bounding behind the counter. "Water comes first, right?"
"Yes, Rose," Kevin said, picking up the dishes that Rose had half-dropped back onto Susan's table. "Hot water first."
Rose nodded, and busied herself doing something with contraptions she probably shouldn't have been using in order to contain and heat water. "So, Kevin," she started, chewing on her lip.
"Hey, R," he said, interrupting a little bit. "Where'd you put Susan's silverware?"
"It's on the table, isn't it?" Rose said. "Or maybe it fell on the floor?"
Kevin surveyed. "I don't see it anywhere. Did you---?"
"I don't know if I gave her any, at all, though," Rose said, frowning. "She only had a scone?"
"But she always has a knife with the scone," Kevin said. "Right? It's her... thing. The knife."
"And the butter, yes," Rose said. "I am the one who talks to all the customers, you know."
Kevin nodded. "Well, sure," he said. "I wasn't trying to, you know, upset you or anything. Suggest that you wouldn't know..."
"Shut up," Rose said. "Shut up and tell me what to do when the water's all steamy and bubbling."
Kevin set the dishes down and strode over, relatively quickly. "Rose, what are you trying to do?"
"Make tea," Rose said, petulantly. "Which I just told you. And I wouldn't worry too much about the knife. We have lots and lots, and this has happened before, I probably just lost track of--"
"It's happened before?" Kevin asked, then shook his head. "Nevermind. Pour the water into the teapot."
"Teapot as in... oh! Right! Teapot!" Rose considered. "Don't have any of those."
"We use them every day," Kevin pointed out. He bent below the counter and came back up with one particularly distasteful puce-coloured pot. "Well. I don't think we use this one, but... you know."
"Yes!" Rose said. "You pour. I'll add the tea!"
"Yes, Rosie," Kevin said, amusedly, doing so. "Hey, d'you want some music?"
"On daddy's old record player?" Rose asked, rummaging about in the jars of tea behind the counter. "How could I say no!"
Kevin flashed her a grin. (Oh, and it's so adorable when he does that, he really shouldn't, it shouldn't be allowed, and oh! his smile) "I know just the thing!" He put a record on. Joan Baez-- one of her father's favourites. One of her own favourites, too, at that.
She busied herself with getting the tea in order, after beaming for a second-too-long at Kevin. She felt like rosehips, (that was how one did tea, yes? Getting the bits you wanted and putting them into a pot?) and perhaps something... she wasn't sure. She reached into one of the jars with the convenient little scoop and awkwardly got some up and out.
It spilled.
She swept the tea on the counter into a tea strainer and surveyed the other jars. Peppermint sounded yummy, and lovage had a nice name. She scooped a little of each into the strainer, too, and set it inside the (ugly ugly) teapot. She poked the top of the strainer, and it dipped under the water. She tugged it back up and out, and the water tinged reddish brown. "Hey, look, Kevin! It's changing colours! The water is."
"It generally does," Kevin said, chuckling. "Put the thing back in, Rosie; let it finish steeping."
Rose complied and pushed the teapot into the middle of the counter. She hoisted herself up onto the counter, too, and then over it. "Don't tell Nat," she said, and pushed away from it to go and fetch a broom. "Charms, or the old-fashioned way?"
Kevin considered. "We could charm them," he said, "and have them dance. Or something. Or--"
"Oooh, yes, lets!" Rose drew her wand and swished it about once or twice. "You first."
Pulling his lip in and frowning, Kevin cast a spell at one of the brooms. It promptly started sweeping the floor, swinging its handle and twirling rather suspiciously about the bristles. Rose cast one on the other broom, and it swished up next to Kevin's and started sweeping in time.
They watched the brooms waltz around the floor in time to Joan Baez before Rose heard a rather shrill noise behind her. "What?! Kevin, is this normal?"
"Not if you didn't put the kettle on," Kevin said, dropping his spell on the broom.
Rose did likewise, and followed him to the counter. "Put the kettle on what?"
Kevin stopped and stared at her for a moment. Shifting, a little uncomfortable, Rose wondered what he was thinking (does he have any idea did I say something stupid. Again), because his expression was one she couldn't remember seeing before, on him. But he shook himself, clapped her on the shoulder. "Exactly, Petal. I'm sure it's just... oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh. I don't know." He swung himself over the counter, as she had earlier (Rose giggled and promised him silently not to tell Laura or Natalie), and leaned over the teapot. "Oh, right, you used the one that whistles once it's steeped long enough." He got out two mugs. "Do you want to do the honours, or shall I?"
Rose pondered (for a split second). "I will!"
Kevin grinned amicably. "Then, by all means. I'll take, oh, I'll live dangerously. I'll have it straight up."
Nodding, Rose carefully poured each mug almost full and passed one to Kevin. "A toast?"
"To what?"
"Friendship!" Rose said, grinning. (And the hopes that this infernal crush doesn't ruin our friendship)
"I'll drink to that," Kevin replied, clinking (though perhaps 'clunking' would be a better descriptor) his mug against hers. "To us."
"To us!" Rose said, perhaps a little bit more giddily than she should have. (Why oh why oh WHY?)
Kevin sipped first. Made a face. Opened his mouth...
"Kevin Kevin I'm sorry if it tastes horrid, oh, let's just, you can make hot chocolate at home if you'd rather, I'm sorry that it tastes horrible, I--"
"Actually," Kevin said, wonderingly. "It's a lot better than I expected."
"Which isn't saying much," Rose stated, darting a glance at him for affirmation. "It's really bad, isn't it?"
"Try it," Kevin insisted. "Really."
So Rose did so. It wasn't horrible, really. Sort of yummy. In a way. Way better than that... thing sandwich Percy'd been dubious about a few weeks earlier. But...
it really made her want to tell Kevin about her crush.
"Kevin--" she said, right as he said: "Rosie?"
They laughed. "You go ahead," Rose said.
"Erm. Okay. Rosie, Petal, we're good friends, yeah?"
"Best!" Rose said, patting him on his shoulder. "You know that."
"Right." Kevin looked down at his tea, took another sip. "Well. About that."
Rose's heart fell out. He knows he knows he knows) "Yes?"
Kevin twisted around at her. "See, I don't know if I'm all that great at being friends. With you. It's not you, it's..."
"Don't say it," Rose whispered, terribly. "You don't want to be best friends with someone who has a horrid crush on you. I know."
"Yes, that's..." Kevin started, and stopped. "Wait. What?"
"You don't want to be my friend," Rose said. "Because you've found out about my crush. On you. The really big one."
Kevin stared at her. "Noo-oo, I was going to say that you probably didn't want to be my best friend, because of my... yeah."
Rose blinked. "You mean...?"
Kevin nodded, and laughed. "Yes, I mean. Oh, Rosie!"
"Oh, Kevin!" Rose giggled. "This is..."
"Crazy?" Kevin supplied. "Perhaps."
"I was going to go with really, really weird, but really, really convenient," Rose said. "And very nice. But crazy works!"
Kevin laughed, ruffled her hair. Then: "Do you... do you want to...?"
"To what?" Rose asked. "Yes."
Kevin smiled brilliantly. Leaned forward and kissed her, softly.
(Maybe maybe maybe I was right to hope, I think I was right to hope, oh, oh!) Rose kissed him back, and pulled away, giggling softly.
"So you'll-- you'll be my girlfriend?"
Rose wrinkled her nose. "Sure, why not?" she said, and sniffed at him. "I mean, yes, of course I will!"
Kevin grinned, scooted closer to her, draped an arm over her shoulder. "There's something about this place," he said.
"Something about this...?"
"Well," he explained. "Natalie and Laura hooked up here, once, and now we..."
"HOLD ON A MINUTE," Rose said (perhaps a little too loudly). "Bug? And LAURA??!"
"I thought you knew?" Kevin said, rubbing her arm with his draped hand. "But, yeah..."
Rose frowned. "I thought there was something about that Laura girl," she said. "Hmph. I'll have to give her the Talk..."
"The talk?"
"No," Rose said, absently. "The Talk. Capital 'T'. About not hurting Bug."
"Oh!" Kevin said, and laughed. "Natalie gave me that one."
"I don't really like it, Bug with Lau-- what?"
"Told me not to hurt you," Kevin said, leaning his head over Rose's shoulder.
Rose leaned hers on top of his. "So she knew."
"She told me she'd sound you out."
Rose laughed. And laughed, and laughed a little more. "She said the same to me!"
They sat apart, quickly. Looked at each other. "Prank?" Kevin asked.
"You know it!" Rose answered, and slipped her hand in his. "But let's finish tidying up before we start to think of anything."
♥