The Perk, Saturday Morning

[pocketpretzels]

If you asked him, Watts was absolutely accustomed to the outrageous prices of the 21st century by now. Absolutely. Never you mind the absolute outrage he felt upon entering the coffeehouse and seeing the menu board.

Though to be entirely fair it was not just the prices on the menu board that were an issue. It was that he had no idea what most of these drinks were.

So, yes, he'd be a while deciding what drink to get today as he made the increasingly less patient barista describe in detail practically every menu item.

Comments

[alwaysonguard]

Dwight had gotten closer, a little bit at least, to something resembling a decent schedule. And that of course involved a stop by the coffee shop.

"There are a lot of choices aren't there?" Dwight mentioned in passing as he stood waiting for his turn to place his order. "Looking for something in particular?" he offered.

[pocketpretzels]

“Given than I am in what I took to be a coffeehouse, something containing caffeine,” Watts supplied, none too helpfully.

[alwaysonguard]

"Well, you have regular coffee selections, if you want something on the sweeter side the lattes are quite good here" Dwight offered. "Cold coffee drinks are also popular here, especially this time of year" Dwight added. "I was going to go with one of those myself."

[pocketpretzels]

“Cold coffee,” Watts echoed, sounding extremely skeptical. “That sounds disgusting.”

[alwaysonguard]

"It can be an acquired taste I guess" he said with a shrug. "Kind of came by it naturally during service. Lucky to get coffee of any kind when you're deployed, let alone be able to enjoy it hot."

"But with the right flavor shots and such, they aren't that bad usually" Dwight said, adding after a moment's thought. "It's a good way to get that caffeine fix without sweating to death in the summer at least."

[pocketpretzels]

“Hmm,” Watts grunted, clearly not convinced. “I think I’ll leave the cold coffee to others.”

[stykera]

Stark, having spotted a sign revealing the existence of something called a cake batter iced latte, naturally had to stop in and try one. How could he resist?

He headed to the counter, nodding to the new face there as he did so, and eagerly ordered one from a barista who gave a knowing nod and a "yeah, I figured you were going for one of those." Probably sickeningly sweet (with excessive amounts of whipped cream) in hand, Stark headed to an open table.

[pocketpretzels]

“Did I hear that right?” Watts said. “Your drink contains cake batter?”

[stykera]

"I think it just tastes like cake batter," Stark answered with a quick glance to the barista for confirmation. "I had to try it at least once."

If he hadn't ordered one some barista (or JGoB employee) would have just shoved one at him eventually.

[pocketpretzels]

“Why would anyone want anything that tastes of cake batter?”

Full offense, Stark. Full offense.

[stykera]

"Who doesn't like cake?" Stark asked in return, bewildered by the question.

Rude, Watts. So rude.

[hasaknightjob]

On any given Saturday morning it was a toss up on if it would be Marc or Steven who would be the first one awake. But Steven had things on his mind so there he was in search of caffeine. If distractions happened as well, well that was a bonus, wasn't it?

[pocketpretzels]

“Steven,” Watts greeted with something akin to a smile.

Well. It wasn’t the confused and slightly overwhelmed squinting he’d been doing at the menu board, at least. Practically a beaming grin in comparison. “Did you know there were so many options?” Most of them ridiculous.

[hasaknightjob]

"Watts," Steven said, with a smile and wave in return. "Yeah, I did. It can be a bit much if you're not used to it. Need help navigating?"

[pocketpretzels]

“If you’ve a suggestion, I’d be glad to hear it. Though Im not interested in cold coffee, I’ll tell you that now.”

[hasaknightjob]

"It's an acquired taste," Steven agreed. He thought about what he knew of the time Watts was from and what Watts had said about his fondness for the variety that came from food carts. "Did you - or I guess do you have many folks from Italy back home? Some of these might be familiar if you've ever tried an Italian coffee."

[stykera]

"Good morning, Steven," Stark said with a small nod.

[hasaknightjob]

"Stark, hey, how are you doing?" Steven said. Remembering what Stark had had at the clinic earlier in the week, he guessed, "Here for an iced coffee?"

[stykera]

"There's a new one that tastes of cake batter," Stark confirmed. "I had to try it."

[hasaknightjob]

"Didn't know that was an option," Steven said. Now he was reconsidering his order. "Do they often come in different flavors? I might need to pay more attention now."

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

Saturday was as good a day as any for Tisarwat to remind herself to actually go be out there a little bit more, and the Perk was always good for traffic, even if it wasn't very good for tea. Still, she got herself a cup, reminded herself that there would be better tea waiting for her at home to make up for it, and took a careful sip when it was ready.

"This is much better than last time," she told the baristas. "You're really getting better at this."

It wasn't, and they weren't, but Tisarwat figured it wouldn't hurt to maybe try and undo some of the damage Seivarden had doubtless done here by trying to be nicer.

And then she took another (very small) sip and looked around, feeling once again, with some unfamiliar faces around, that she really did need do do this more...

[pocketpretzels]

Feeling Tisarwat's gaze flick past him, Watts gave her a small nod in greeting. He wasn't going to be the one to initiate any sort of conversation, but he at least had enough understanding of social graces that he acknowledged her presence.

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

A nod was really all Tisarwat would need to engage in conversation, at least, with maybe a good hint that maybe he was a bit more reserved. So she nodded back, with a small smile, and then a curious tilt of her head.

"Have we met?" she asked. "Or am I about to find myself in a somewhat embarrassing situation?"

[pocketpretzels]

“A negative answer to that first question does not necessarily exclude a positive to the second,” Watts pointed out. “There are plenty of ways to embarrass oneself, after all.” He stuck out a hand. “Detective Watts, with the Trooper Station.”

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

Tisarwat's head ducked a little on acquiescence, since she supposed she had to give him that one.

And as for the offered hand...

"Lieutenant Tisarwat," she replied, "of....the music store, I guess." And, yes, she understood hoe absurd that sounded. "And also from a culture where shaking hands is considered incredibly personal, so..."

She just gestured vaguely with her gloved hand instead.

"No offense meant."