The Perk | Tuesday Morning

[defenderofdesmoines]

So the thing about waking up with a single, kind of unsatisfying cookie on your pillow is that it simply wasn't enough. Like, not only was it weird and mysterious as to how the hell a cookie got there, it was also just, like, a single cookie.

Thus, after her workout, Annie had headed into the Perk to get several more cookies, which she happily took over to a window seat with her accompanying peppermint mocha. And while, yes, she was answering emails on her phone (someone at Vought had finally deigned to answer a question Annie had sent over in September), she was also finishing up some last-minute Christmas shopping.

First of all: yes, December 8th was last minute. And really, she was pretty much done, but then she just kept stumbling across things she'd think people would like and adding them to little virtual carts. (Which was how Annie was going to also end up needing to get some more wrapping paper, while she was at it.)

The sheer festiveness of drinking a Christmas drink and eating Christmassy cookies while Christmas shopping had her in a very merry little mood.

[I have been given the holiday gift of an unexpected day off. Open!]

Comments

[bookbeltof_love]

"Goooooooood moooooooooorniiiiiiing!!!!!!!!!!" Nina sang, to the shop at large as she burst through the door dramatically, then made a beeline towards the counter.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Nina, are you ever tired?" Annie greeted her, genuinely curious. "Like what are you powered by?"

Joy? Caffeine? Amazing quantities of punctuation?

[bookbeltof_love]

Definitely that last one!

"I sleep," she protested, with a grin and a giggle. "That's enough to recharge me!!!!!!!"

Once her apple cider was ready, she bounced on over.

"Are you tired today, Miss Annie??????"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"No, but I've also had coffee to wake me up," Annie pointed out with a small smile. And she had run, like, six miles and worked on her deadlift. That had helped. "You're just always so energetic, I wish I could like, bottle it."

[bookbeltof_love]

"I don't really like a lot of sugar or caffeine," she said thoughtfully, not taking a seat since she hadn't been invited to do so. The one cookie Nina had gotten this morning had been more than enough cookies for her. "And, like, sometimes I don't feel like it, but if you want to be happy, you've got to act like you're happy, right??????? So energy is the same way!!!!!!!!!"

[stykera]

Stark had a similar idea this morning inspired by the single cookie on his pillow when he awoke. One cookie was never a sufficient amount of cookies and sometimes sugary caffeinated beverages were a necessary accompaniment.

Was the gingerbread latte AND gingerbread cookies excessive? No. It was festive and seasonal.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"See, Stark, you get it," Annie said in greeting, saluting with a sugar cookie. "The cookie this morning was just an entry point." A cookie gateway drug, if you will.

[stykera]

"Were they everywhere?" He'd been a little worried it was raccoons leaving a single cookie but if everyone got a cookie upon waking that was just the island being the island. "One cookie is never enough cookies."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"There was at least for sure one at my place," Annie told him, nodding. "And I'm pretty sure I didn't leave it out, so unless I see...walking snowmen or something, I'm gonna assume that that's our holiday weirdness for today."

This was kind of her new favorite Fandom thing, the daily holiday weirdness. The candy corn rain and everything back in October had been great, and now it was like that but Christmas-themed.

[stykera]

"Seems like the daily weirdness," Stark agreed. "Better than the singing gremlins at the door. Yesterday I didn't notice anything. Did I miss yesterday?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Gooooood moooooorniiiiiiig!!!!!!!!!!!" Nina chirped from where she was going through her phone.

[stykera]

"Good morning," Stark said in return, blinking a few times. He didn't often get such exuberant hellos, especially from mostly unfamiliar faces. Her voice was familiar though.

"Oh. From the radio. Nina?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"That's me!!!!!!!" she said, smiling. It was kind of nice to be recognized!

[stykera]

"You are very recognizable," Stark said. Nobody else in his experience had ever sounded quite like Nina.

"And you're Liam's daughter."

[thatwaslucky]

Pumpkin spice latte season was over, but do you know what Rey didn't mind at all? Peppermint mocha season.

So after training, she stopped in at the Perk, got her drink, and stopped by Annie's table to ask, "Are you busy?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Only with cookies," Annie assured her, gesturing both to her plate of cookies and to an empty chair. "Which, like, not going to lie, is a great way to be busy."

[thatwaslucky]

"Is this because of the single cookie this morning?" Rey asked, taking that seat.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Who leaves out one single cookie?" Annie asked, mock-outraged. "Like, even when leaving cookies for Santa, you should leave out at least three."

So that Santa could have a choice.

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm sorry, what?"

Congratulations, Annie, you got to explain cookies for Santa.

[stykera]

Stark raised his coffee cup in Rey's general direction as a greeting.

[thatwaslucky]

"How are you, Stark?" Rey greeted him.

[stykera]

"I'm well," Stark said. He had cookies and coffee that tasted like more cookies. What more could a Banik want from a coffeeshop?

"And you? Recovered from your party?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Reeeeeeeeey!!!!!!!!! Rey, Rey, Rey!!!!!!! Is your droid friend really going to visit?????????"

Nina needed to know!

[thatwaslucky]

"Maybe," Rey said with a little smile. "There aren't any plans, but I was surprised he didn't show up for Parents Weekend this last time."

It was only a matter of time before Rey had shared custody, really.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Yeeeeees, I hope he shows up soon!!!!!!!!! I want to meet him!!!!!!!!"

She'd never met a droid before!