Wonka's Candy Shoppe - OPEN

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Still feeling rather emo growly over this morning's radio broadcast but with no sign of a hangover, Ivanova opened up Wonka's, sucking on a few experimental candies while she went over her history notes, vowing this week to actually contribute something to the discussions. Every once in a while she would bang the counter and growl something uncomplimentary about the dark mistress of the airwaves.

Comments

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

Quark, having had a quiet morning at the apartment office, wanders around town until arriving at Wonka's. He swings open the front door and begins eyeing the various confections and candies, before walking straight up to the person behind the counter.

"So," he says, a slight smirk on his face. "How's business?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Bustling. I can barely keep up with it by myself." Ivanova replies, completely deadpan, barely flicking an eye around the empty store.

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"Unless you get paid by commission, you got to love the quiet hours if you're just a humble employee. Now your employer, on the other hand, they probably hate the lack of business." Quark looks over the store again.

"So, you sell candy, huh? There a lot of call for candy around here?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova smiles a bit. "I'm pretty sure my employee forgets he's running a business half the time. And most of the population of our fair little island is teenagers. There's always call for candy." She waves a hand at the shinies. "Can I help you find anything in particular? I'm not familiar with your species, so I'll hold back on suggestions."

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"What sort of species do you have in this town, anyways? Klingons, Breen, Cardassians?" Quark grabs a few small chocolates and sets them on the counter. "Or is it mostly humans around here?"

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

Inara feels like something sweet this evening.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Ivanova."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Mostly human, actually," Ivanova replies, her brain skipping over the unfamiliar species names as one of those 'only in Fandom' things. "But we've got quite a few varieties of those." She checked the prices of the chocolates and rang them up. "$1.75 for those, then."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova grinned when she saw the woman. "Hello, Inara. I haven't seen you around much lately. How are things?"

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"Right, right." Quark had managed to secure a little of the proper currency from the previous owner of the apartment complex, and pays up with a ten dollar bill. "Keep the change," he says. It was easy to be generous when you didn't think you were actually being generous.

After all, this paper stuff wasn't latinum. It wasn't really worth anything.

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"Busy," Inara said, smiling back with a grin. "Possibly energetic. And I have this yen for something sweet. What about you? New semester at the school?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

An eyebrow shot skywards at his generosity. "Thanks. Oh, I'm Ivanova, by the way. Susan Ivanova. Welcome to Fandom."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"New semester, new living quarters, new job," Ivanova replied. "All very satisfying so far. Well, mostly. Were you looking for something chocolatey or sugary? You strike me as a truffle person, and Wonka makes the best."

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"Quark, humble landlord and businessman." He smiled and gave a short nod. "Good to work up a repoire with the locals. After all, Rule of Acquisition Seventy-Four: Knowledge equals profit." Quark takes his purchase and pockets it.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Miss."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Any time," Ivanova replied with a smile. "May I ask what line of business you're in?"

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"That's quite a few changes. Truffles are always good, but I feel like something tangy-fruity today."

She looks along the display cabinet at the goods beneath. "Mostly satisfying?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Tangy-fruity?" Ivanova frowns as she goes through her limited mental catalogue and begins poking around as she answers. "I'm having roommate troubles, and I have a feeling my room-change paperwork surfaced somewhere in Madagascar. Ah, how about some Refreshers (http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/images/refr0002.jpg)?

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"I'm in whatever profits and pleases me at the time, Miss Ivanova. Currently, I'm the new owner of the apartment complex over on Mallard Way. Just bought it this morning, in fact." Quark smiles. "I think I'm going to like it here."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Most people do. Like it here, I mean," she replies, smiling. "Well if I know anyone in need of a place to live, I'll send them your way. I hope I'll see you around town sometime."

[[Must not . . . quote . . . Rules of Acquisition . . . so . . . difficult . . .]]

[landlord-quark.livejournal.com]

"Until then." Quark nods again. "And thanks for the free publicity."

He smiles and turns to leave.

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"Room-mate troubles are bad," Inara says from personal experience. "It's hard finding someone you can live with."

She looks over the Refreshers. "A pack of them would be good. Actually, I've heard good things about Mr. Wonka's 'hardboiled sweets' - they last a long time? Do you have any of them in stock?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"I do!" Ivanova kicked herself mentally that she hadn't thought of them. She opened the large jar by the counter and tipped it towards her so that she could reach inside. "How many would you -" Several things happened almost all at once. The jar began to slip, banging against Ivanova's bruised wrist, which made her yelp in pain and lose her grip, sending the jar to the ground, where it bounced but thankfully didn't break, instead only spilling a couple dozen of the candies.

Ivanova dropped to her knees, biting back a curse, and grabbed the jar, putting it upright before scrabbling for the spilled candies. "Sorry, Inara, I'm so sorry!"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Bye!" Ivanova waves him out the door and smiles at Inara as she enters.

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

Inara is startled but not dismayed. "It's fine, Miss. Ivanova." She crouches down and helps pick up the candy, the wrappers rustling beneath her fingers. "It's quite all right. Did you hurt anything when you dropped the jar?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

She winced. "Just hit an old bruise." She dropped the candies that had fallen in the bin. She wouldn't sell those. Actually, should have kept them for Lyta.

Oh, she was a bad person.

"Um, so, how many did you want?" Ivanova asked, her ears maybe turning a little pink as she located a small bag and dipped into the jar.

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"I'll start with six and see how far they go," Inara suggests. "If I need more, well, it's a short walk here - even if a slightly chilly one."

She eyes the bruised wrist and wonders whether to comment that it's not a usual place to develop bruising unless someone's been handling you roughly. No. Not her business.

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova counts out a half-dozen and rings them up. "Would you like the Refreshers as well?" She glanced outside. "It's getting darker - are you sure you want to walk back in the dark?" She glanced down. "Sorry. I'm sure you can handle yourself."

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I'll take the Refreshers, too, and give them a try." She pays Ivanova. "It's nice of you to be concerned, but I'm pretty sure that it's reasonably safe."

Before she walks out the door, she pauses, asking, "Does Tonks still work here? I haven't spoken to her for a couple of weeks."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Tonks is still around," Ivanova replies. "She's usually in Monday through Wednesday."

[serra-inara.livejournal.com]

"That would explain why I'm not seeing her. Monday and Tuesday I'm working at Chaucer's doing calligraphy and some basic illustrations." Inara smiles. "If you don't have any classes, you're free to drop by a chat. The store is usually pretty quiet."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova smiled. "I will. That would be nice. I'll let Tonks know you were asking after her, too."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"'Nova!" Tonks called, Apparating into the shop, just behind the dark-haired girl. "'Nova" hadn't become something of a petname. Not at all.

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Ack!" Ivanova jumped, turned, and banged her wrist on the counter, all at once. "Ow . . ."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

Tonks blushed. "God, you okay?" She reached out for Inara's wrist, fingers brushing the skin an inch or so above the bruise.

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ivanova said through gritte teeth. She was really tired of whacking the stupid thing. "An old bruise. It seems to attract hard surfaces."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"Sad thing is," Tonks paused, "That happens to me all the time."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Ivanova chuckled. "Maybe I caught it from you, then. Usually I am the picture of balance and grace. And today I have a mystery bruise and dropped a jar of candy on Inara."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

Tonks crouched, snagging one of the spilled cellophane-wrapped sweets from near her sneaker. "Hope it's not contagious... otherwise, how many spills have I inadvertantly caused?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Just the one," Ivanova replied seriously. "But who knows how much worse it could get. We could have a crisis situation on our hands here."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"We could!" Tonks replied, her usual overexcitement fueled by Ivanova's solemn tone. She fished a handkercheif from her pocket and wiped her nose, then tucked it away. "Who knows how far this calamity has spread!"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Complete chaos as people drop anything they touch. The stock market gets butterfingers and everything falls. Governments crumble." Her mouth barely twitched upwards.

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"And, for millions 'round the world, life begins sucking in general." Tonks put in, noticing the slight twitch of Ivanova's mouth.

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"Bowling scores go down, mini golf scores go up. The Backstreet Boys make another record." It was getting very, very hard to keep a straight face with Tonks laughing at her. "Rioting in the streets."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"Weird sisters break up. Super Harlequinn publishing companies go out of business."

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

At that, Ivanova breaks down. To make sure she doesn't laugh, she drops to her knees and raises her hands to the sky. "Nooooooooooo! Not the smut! Anything but the smut! Oh, the humanity . . ."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

Tonks doesn't ruffle Ivanova's hair.

Except for the part where she totally does.

"But the limited-edition hardback seven hundred page smut collection came out the day before?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova totally didn't crane her neck to lean into the ruffle, because there was no ruffle and Ivanova would never condone such a thing.

She climbed to her feet nonchalantly. "Oh. Well that's alright then."

[luridpinkspikes.livejournal.com]

"Seven hundred pages could last awhile..." Tonks doesn't keep her hand on the side of Ivanova's head, because there was no ruffle.

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

"It, um, could." Ivanova is not thrown off because of the hand. Because it isn't there.