Chapter Text
It was 3:20 in the afternoon, and all Lune wanted was coffee.
She had been in meetings all day. First, a call with their sister lab in Korea. Then, reviewing their provisional budget with the head of the department. An unlucky draw onboarding the early interns, followed by presentation rehearsal for the conference next week (she wasn’t speaking, but she’d be damned if she let her colleagues go unprepared). And finally the usual weekly check-in, which dragged on about twice as long as average and three times as long as it needed to be. She had spent lunch at her desk, trying to catch up on email and act supportive in the group chat with her siblings. Sol get antsy if no one responded.
So when she pulled open the door to Emma’s and saw the place was packed, she gritted her teeth and bit back a scream, before evaluating her options. She could get her order to go, but then she’d be right back in the office she desperately needed a break from. It had rained this morning, so the park was out. Or…she could hope somebody got up by the time she got to the front of the line. Not the best plan, but it would put off the disappointment a little longer.
With a small exhale she let the door shut behind her and stepped into line. She pulled out her phone while she waited, hoping nobody had sent her anything urgent in the…five? ten? minutes she had been away from her desk. Silly. Even Sol and Stella hadn’t said anything since lunch.
The line shuffled forward. Maybe she needed a break, some time off that wasn’t flying home to see her family. Get away to some picturesque spot, maybe whale-watching out off the shore. Or perhaps stay home, and get her guitar down from the closet shelf again. Something.
“Hey, Lune, right? What can I get for you?”
Lune looked up to see a familiar face. “Gustave! Wasn’t expecting to run into you here!”
The man gave an easy shrug. “Which do you think gets more business, a machine shop or a cafe?” He tapped his prosthetic against the register screen with a pleasing clink. “Always happy to help my sister out.”
“Well!” Lune tried to think of something sensible to say. “I’m sure she appreciates it.”
“So what can I get for you?” Gustave repeated.
“Just a latte, medium, with soy milk.” No need to go extravagant today. A simple latte would unwind a good chunk of the day’s stress.
“Sure thing. We’ll have that right out for you.”
Lune nodded to Gustave, then tapped her phone against the register and stepped off to the side to wait. Covertly, she scanned the tables and barstools looking for an opening, hoping someone would coincidentally leave right when her drink was ready. She glanced back at Gustave, already taking the next order with a cheerful smile on his face. She supposed all this business was good for him...or at least for his sister, who owned the place. On a quieter day she might have even been happy to stand by the counter and chat while he worked.
She chuckled to herself. As if that even made sense! On a quieter day, she would have a table to sit at, and he probably wouldn’t even be here!
“Got a latte for Lune!” called the red-haired teenager making the drinks. Lune turned around and accepted the cup with a quick thank-you, then turned back and frowned. Nothing had opened up, and judging from the ever-present line things weren’t likely to calm down any time soon.
Well, okay, there was always the option of sharing a table. It would be a little awkward, but...that was still a normal thing to do, right?
Lune glanced around again. The best bet seemed to be a table on the right, where a woman about her age had spread out multiple stacks of paper. As she watched, the woman frowned and carefully wrote something on the page in front of her, then flipped to the next. Good, she was engrossed in what she was doing, so Lune wouldn’t have to make any small talk.
She edged past the people in line and laid a hand on the free chair. “Sorry, do you mind if I sit here?”
The woman looked up and Lune caught a smattering of freckles around her eyes. “Of course not,” she said, after only the briefest pause. “But, uh, I do need the table. As you can see.” She wore a cropped jacket over a ribbed purple shirt, and had a pencil stuck through her brown hair.
“Don’t worry, I just need a spot to set my drink.” Lune pulled out the chair as much as she could without bumping into the next table over and squeezed into the space. Not ideal, but much better than having to go back to the office immediately. She took a sip of the latte and sighed, closing her eyes.
That feeling of contentment lasted a few moments before she became restless. Lune opened her eyes again and rested the cup on her edge of the table before lifting her phone. She heard Stella’s voice in her head, telling her she should really try meditation, it does wonders for a restless mind. She sighed again.
“Oh—!”
Lune looked up as the woman across from her reached out a fleeting hand, the top page of the stack on her left sliding off the table. Lune’s own hand twitched, unable to help without dropping her phone. The sheet of paper fluttered out of sight beneath Lune’s chair. At least it hadn’t gone into the line.
She set her drink down and bent down to retrieve it. When she came back up, the woman was smiling at her. “Thank you.”
“Mhm.” Lune set the page back on top of the stack, but now caught some of the words. A typed paragraph, a name in the corner. A handwritten note at the bottom. “You’re a teacher?”
“I sure am,” the woman answered. “Been one for four years now.”
Lune took in her muscular arms and the tattoo showing on her chest. “Hottest teacher I’ve ever seen.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open slightly, then she began to chuckle. Wait, what did I say? Lune ran the last few moments back in her mind and felt her eyes widen. No, I…I meant “fittest teacher”! Or…or something. Why did I say that?!
“Coming from someone as pretty as you, that’s quite the compliment!” the woman replied. She set down her pen and held out her hand. “I’m Sciel.”
“Lune.” Lune got herself under control and shook the proffered hand. Was that flirting? But handshakes weren’t flirting, right? No. So…flirting to be polite? Flirting for fun?
The woman—Sciel—nodded. “And what do you do?”
“I’m a researcher. A biologist.” The reminder of work wasn’t a pleasant one. There were still times when she felt the passion that had gotten her into the field in the first place…but today wasn’t one of those days.
But Sciel didn’t seem to notice any of that. “Very impressive,” she continued. “I know I wouldn’t have the patience for something like that.”
“But you must have gone back to school to get your teaching credential.” Yes, better to talk about her than dwell on Lune’s own humdrum life.
“Hated it.” The woman leaned in and winked like she was confessing a secret. “I’m happy doing it, but getting certified to do it was—” She cut herself off, but Lune couldn’t help but smirk a bit at whatever colorful phrase Sciel might have been thinking. “Does that make me a bad teacher, d’y’think?”
Lune opened her mouth, closed it again. “I wouldn’t know,” she equivocated, trying for a rueful smile. There was a pause, and she scrambled to fill the silence. “I have a lot of respect for teachers, though. Being a TA was hard enough.”
And it was, but there was more there, all the mixed feelings about how she had and hadn’t followed in her parents’ footsteps, the lauded university professors who were never quite satisfied with her mere master’s degree, with her bounces between the corporate and academic worlds, no matter how much success or positive feedback she found in either…
“Well, it’s nice to be appreciated.” Sciel’s words broke Lune out of her thoughts, and suddenly she was meeting the other woman’s gaze. It was funny, you look at other people’s faces all day but never stop to look at their eyes. Sciel definitely had pretty eyes.
Lune’s phone buzzed and the moment passed. She looked down and spotted the preview. From Alan…an email titled “WE GOT IT!!!”
“Good news?” she heard Sciel ask.
Lune felt her jaw dropping open in a wide grin. “If this is what I think it is…our lab just got funding. For the entire year.” She wanted to laugh, to get up and dance around. Something going right for once!
“Oh, congratulations!” Sciel was smiling now too. She leaned forward a bit. “Will you be doing something to celebrate?”
Despite the positive sentiment, the question stopped her momentum. “I’m…not sure yet.” She couldn’t help but start considering the practicalities. I was just thinking about vacation, but can I afford to take one if we’ve got our work set like this? At least I’m safe from budget meetings for a while. Things’ll be better. …Probably.
No, this is still good news! Be happy about it!
Sciel seemed a little disappointed by her lack of answer. “Well.” Her eyes flickered downward. “Don’t put it off too long. You only have so much time.”
“Er, right,” Lune answered, too much going through her head to focus on cryptic cautions from hot strangers. She looked back down at her phone. It dinged again, and then a third time, as Tristan and Margot chimed in on the thread.
She stood up. “I should probably get back.” Put the phone back into her coat pocket. “It was nice meeting you.” Pushed the chair back in. “Sciel.” And turned to go.
“Hey, Lune.” Lune turned back. “You scientists like numbers, right?” Sciel tore a strip off the page in front of her. “Here’s mine.”
Automatically Lune’s hand started going up to take the slip of paper before the words penetrated the whirlwind in her mind. She paused, one hand still on the back of the chair, and said the first thing that came into her mind. “Did you just tear that off a student’s paper?”
“I would never!” Sciel protested with a smile, putting her other hand over her heart. She held the paper out a little further. “Go on, take it. Then maybe…we two can find some wine to celebrate your success.” Her gaze finally wavered for a moment. “If that’s something you’d like.”
Lune hadn’t come to the cafe looking for a date. Hadn’t even been on a date in months, maybe a year. Hadn’t quite gotten her afternoon relaxation. Hadn’t even finished her coffee.
She shoved her phone in her pocket and took the paper. “I’ll text you,” she said, smiling back. And she meant it.