In Coffee City, We Borrowed Heaven

[sesenta]

WHO: Akane Kurashiki, OPEN
WHAT: Working hard at the lab, Akane decides to treat her fellow coworkers to coffee, and makes a stop at the Cuppa Kupo to load up on caffeine addiction beverages for all.
WHEN: January 10th
WHERE: Cuppa Kupo / Palitutu's Laboratory


Akane knew better than to stay at the lab too late. If she was foolish enough to short herself on sleep, her productivity dropped, and Jade might make fun of her. After all of the kindness he'd shown to Akane, the last thing she wanted to do was let him down or let him make fun of her. That meant working no more than an hour of overtime, and taking an actual lunch break to eat a legitimate meal.

As she couldn't prepare much more than sandwiches, that was what she usually brought. Today, however, after so many days of solid snow, she was in the mood for something warm and comforting, and excused herself to slip away to the cafe. Once she'd trekked there through the mounds of snow, only falling twice on the icy sidewalks (which was a huge success for her!), she arrived smiling and pink-cheeked at the cafe. She loved the way the warm air bathed her chilly face, just as inviting as the smells of rich stews and freshly baked bread. She ordered a hearty tomato bisque and a grilled cheese sandwich, with a cup of hot chocolate for sipping.

It was very relaxing.

As she neared the end of her meal, she found herself gazing pensively out the window more and more often, just watching people stroll by and go about their lives. No one was panicking, or sobbing, or crying. Did they really believe so strongly in the Heroes of Light to save them in spite of all that happened? Or was the human spirit truly so invincible? ...And Moogle spirit, and Hypello spirit, and...

Well, to put it succinctly, it made her feel a little better. In spite of all of her mistakes, and the kind of person she was, people were still kind to her. They were very kind to her. Maybe she could do something kind in return for them. And since Pyukachu was responsible for the miserable state of coffee in the lab...

Wiping the crumbs from her fingers, she carried her tray to the counter before rushing back to stand in line. "Sixteen cups of your best coffee to go, please!" she beamed, slapping her gil down on the countertop. She'd have to summon Keys Kupo to help her carry it all, but with four drinks in each carrier, and one carrier for each hand, it would work!

[OOC: Feel free to join her for lunch, or walk her to the lab, or be at the lab for free coffee gifts.]

Comments

[umslay]

Ales pushed away from his desk, and the wheeled chair rolled across the room before gently bumping against the wall. He hopped down, laced his fingers together, and stretched. Sitting down for long periods of time almost felt like exercise, and that didn't include the strain of reading tiny text.

He left his office and headed to the common room. Mimi packed a lunch for him, and he wasn't afraid that one of the other workers would steal it. Teensies were typically vegetarian, and their meals were tiny compared to humans and hypello.

[sesenta]

Coffee did not have meat in it, so therefore Ales was able to drink it, right? Hooray!

Akane blew into the cafeteria, her face still rosy from the brisk cold, decked out in her finest scarf and armwarmers. She and Kupo Keys set the drink carriers down on the cafeteria countertop before she shook out her fingers.

"Ales, I brought lattes! Would you like some?" she beamed. "I picked up half medium cups and half short. Um..." Well, she assumed he'd want one of the smaller cups, but if he was really thirsty and tired... She studied the drinks carefully, then shrugged. "Which one can I get you?"

[umslay]

By the time Akane announced her presence, Ales had already pulled the icebox lid off and pulled himself onto the edge. The air inside was freezing, and the coffee looked so warm...

"What the heck, sure!" He pushed off and jumped onto the floor to rub his hands together. "Short, please. You don't want to be with a Teensie when he's overdosed on caffeine."

[sesenta]

"Really?" Akane giggled, endeared at his cheerful and enthusiastic response. He seemed to be in a good mood today! "What happens? Humans just tend to get a little jittery and find it harder to fall asleep. I'm not sure how it would affect a Teensie's physiology."

She handed him one of the smaller cups, fitting it with a corrugated sleeve so it wouldn't burn his fingers. As interesting as the notion was, Akane wasn't about to run experiments on her friends. Not outside of the Nonary Game, anyway.

"You seem happy. Is your research going well?"

[umslay]

"What do you think happens you you feed a small creature stimulants? Especially considering how energetic we have to be just to get from one place to another?" He held his hands up to accept the warm up. Now this was what he needed to deal with the awful cold of Aqures Ixen.

"I think it's fine. Nothing awful happened recently, and that hasn't been the norm for months."

[sesenta]

"That does seem to be the case based on this world's history. Especially in the past few years!" she smiled, setting out the rest of the coffees on the counter as Keys Kupo fluttered off to alert the other researchers about the free caffeine hits.

"But no matter how hopeless it seemed, or how terrible things got, you guys always managed to defeat every last threat. It gives me a lot of hope." Akane fixed herself a cup of hot tea and sat down, just holding the cup in her hands as she smiled. "Whatever lies ahead, whatever must be done to defeat the Calamity, I believe we really have a shot."

[umslay]

Ales held the lid of the coffee cup to his mouth, but he didn't drink. Hope wasn't something he thought about while fighting the Cult of Narayana, not when planning how to counterattack Palitutu, not when figuring out how to best revert the Calamity. He wanted to survive and prevent another potential home from being overtaken by the mistakes of the past. Survival was key.

"When we work hard enough, we find a way." He tiled the cup and look a large sip of the hot liquid.

[sesenta]

"Yes," Akane agreed readily enough, smiling down at her feet before she sipped at her tea. "There are so many hard workers among us. And everyone seems like they've sacrificed so much, just so we could get to this point." It was, to her, rather heartwarming just to think of it.

"Ales, what are you going to do if we win?" She lifted her lashes to look at her smaller friend. "Do you think you'll stay here, in Crystallis? Or did you plan to return to your home? Assuming we have the choice to go either way, of course."

[umslay]

If we win.

It was nearly a year ago, wasn't it? He and Ellie were sitting together after a fight while trekking across the former Heran lands. A giant robot stood a ways from the campfire, the warm glow of the light contrasting with the darkening sky, carcasses of monsters lying within view. Talks of returning to Ellie's world to take over the land. A promise to start a new life, free from Ales' past.

That plan went nowhere.

"If no one has an issue with my remaining here, Crystallis is the only choice I have."

[sesenta]

"I don't think anyone would mind that at all," Akane said, just a little concerned at his answer. The only choice I have. Coming from a world where people's fates could change drastically based on just one little choice, it didn't sit well with her.

"What about all of those other worlds out there?" she suggested, tilting her head. "If the option to travel is available afterward, I'm sure there are a large number of places where a Teensie could live comfortably."

She would have suggested her world if he didn't wind up being chased by scientists like a certain Extra-Terrestrial she saw in a certain movie with a certain acronym. But worlds like Crystallis, where all kinds of races were accepted without the bat of an eye, surely those existed in the Rift and beyond.

[umslay]

"I don't know much about them. Besides, why intrude on a world no one invited me to if they won't how me around? That goes against all codes of civility." Ellie invited him. She wanted him there. "And it's not like I can go to Lydia's world. Either I stay hidden in her home world or I stay in the realm of the dead. Neither works."

Who else would he like living with? He admired Sephiroth, Jade, and other leader figures, but they weren't friends. "I've already made a name for myself here."

[sesenta]

Civility? Akane chuckled against the back of her hand. "I suppose you have a point. You're more polite than I would be." She would much rather enjoy skipping from world to world and exploring each one in detail, if she could. But there were other, heavier reasons to anchor her to her own world. Crystallis could never truly be her home.

She smiled and nodded her head. "You certainly have. You've seen and influenced so much. I'm a little jealous; I would have liked to have been here from the beginning. Maybe then I'd understand my purpose here more clearly. For now, I'm glad we had a chance to meet. I never get to speak to non-humans in my world. The aliens have yet to introduce themselves formally!"

[umslay]

"I wouldn't say polite. I'm more practical than anything. A total stranger wouldn't help me find a home, so why do that when I have a world of my own here?" His energy temporarily returned, and Ales added an exaggerated shrug.

"It took me years to get to where I was, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to you, considering." That Shadow confrontation. He'd rather not think about the consequences of that. "But it's honestly not that special to speak to hon-humans. It's just another fact of life where I'm from."

No comment on the aliens. They might live too far away from humans in Akane's world for regular contact, but surely the two groups speak to each other already.

[sesenta]

"You'd be surprised. Some strangers can be very kind." But Akane knew all too well that some of them could be just the opposite...selfish, cruel, vicious. Even so, she still wanted to believe the best of people. There was always a chance they could change.

Akane hesitated, her finger tapping lightly against her coffee cup. "Are things really so beyond repair that you can't go back?" she asked, quieting her voice since they weren't exactly alone. "Feeling like you can't ever go home again just seems so...so sad to me."

[umslay]

Ales made a noise in an attempt to immediately answer her question. He sipped at his coffee a few times, but it would not help in delaying the answer long enough for Akane to give up and go home.

"Yes," came the answer after a good amount of silence. "What you heard my shadow say is true. Everyone knows what I did, and they won't let me do as I please if I returned to the Glade. Really, fighting a god everyone else loved can do that to one's reputation."

He turned away. What delicious coffee, yum. Much more interesting to look at than Akane's face, yup.

[sesenta]

Akane nodded slowly, thoughtfully. She imagined it would be much the same with Junpei should they meet again. The things she'd done to him were unforgivable. And yet, she still cared deeply about him. Going back to him just wasn't an option anymore. The bridge was burned for the sake of the planet's future.

"I understand," she finally spoke with a small sigh. "Then, if it's possible, I'd like to come back and visit someday. This world has been very accepting of me too. It's hard not to feel some fondness for it."

It was clear to her, however, that he really wasn't enjoying this conversation. He probably just wanted to drink his coffee in peace and suffering her out of politeness or obligation. She flashed a quick smile and bobbed her head. "Either way, I hope the coffee's good. Thanks for talking to me, Ales."

[umslay]

"Hmph." It was meant as a neutral statement. He would like to be left alone and not have his past mistakes prodded and poked at but the coffee was good. Akane as well, he guessed.

With a nod, he took another sip. "This'll get me through the rest of the day." A glance at the doorway. "Thank you."