tw: cheesy fanfic cliché

Jordan liked routines, routines were safe, routines were nice. She’d been working for the Zabinis for a few months now. Ezekiel and Blaise were some fabulous fashion designers and, while she was pretty much a minion for them, she was hoping to climb the ladder and maybe actually become something, someday. She already had the attitude, or so some people said.

One of her routine task was coffee and every morning she would go get some fancy coffee for her bosses. The coffee shop they always went to was called The Coffeecat (it used to be called something else, but the name apparently stemmed from a rivalry with another coffee shop, The Warlocks’ Brew who were there before and accused The Coffeecat of copying their recipes or whatever, she didn’t really care. All she knew was that all the pastries at The Warlocks’ Brew were snake themed and she was pretty sure Ezekiel would not appreciate a snake cookie). So she would go, every morning, and the place had become quite familiar, so much so that she sometimes visited after work too, where the place was basically empty and she could just go over some files before going home.

She stepped into the coffee shop that morning as she always did. They knew her by now and knew what she would order, a pumpkin juice latte for her (it was really for Ezekiel), two regular black coffees with a pump of dragon blood, just to spice things up and of course some cauldron cupcakes (the flavor changed everyday). The shop was a family business, so there were not many employees and Jordan had many a favorite or two. Quon was the one who was working the bar most often, he was super annoying but also kind of cute. He apparently had  thing for her, judging by the little foamy hearts he always drew on Ezekiel’s pumpkin juice latte. His brother would also always make sneaky comments about her being his favorite client or something, she always rolled her eyes at them but, really, she didn’t mind that much.  

There were a few people in line that morning so she waited patiently for her turn. And when it finally came, she had to bite back a smile before speaking to Quon, who was being extra cute that day. “Hi,” she said simply. “I’ll take a pumkin juice latte, two black coffees with one pump of dragon blood and, what’s today’s cupcake flavor?” It was written on a little board right in front of her, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

Working at the coffee shop was more like punishment than reward. Alright, maybe he had fucked up a few deliveries and maybe Wei was right that having him get a service job in one of the many Wang fake shopfronts was a good way to keep him off the streets and tone down his ego a little bit, and maybe he actually enjoyed it a little bit. But like, it was still super unfair, and Quon made sure to slam the Wang apartment's front door every morning at 5am when he had to open the coffee shop.

He liked the place when it was empty, and all he had to do was man the bar and make sure that the already-prepped cakes were nice and warm for the first few customers. He sometimes had a coffee himself (black, no extras) and a cauldron cupcake to test the day's flavour. Sen was the one to come up with the recipes and flavour and truly, as crazy as she was, she had the best ideas from time to time, there was no denying that. He had also gotten used to the shop's rythmn, the regulars coming in and recognising him as time flew by - and he recognised them too, although it was no surprise as Quon was pretty good with names and faces. He often struck conversation with people, asked about their days. Most people were nice enough to smile back, although some would just grimace at him and look at him like he was crazy for adressing them. Other people were dicks. Quon didn't mind.

That morning was pretty quiet, although he was still juggling with a couple of orders, but he still turned his head when the bell at the front door rang. Quon felt a twang of excitement when he recognised Jordan in the doorframe, looking as beautiful as usual, and he felt an easygoing smile flourish on his lips as he stood up again. He grabbed his wand and immediately started going with her order, even though there were a few people in front of her in the line. Thankfully, no one came in after her so maybe they'd have time to chat for a little bit before she had to go. “Hi. - Hey." He couldn't help but stare a little, looking at her with shiny eyes. “I’ll take a pumkin juice latte, two black coffees with one pump of dragon blood and, what’s today’s cupcake flavor? - Strawberry and cilantro." Another weird slash great combo from his sister. He simply gave her her order, which was already ready, and packed two cauldron cupcakes for her. "How is it going today, Jordan? Anything exciting planned?" She was a working woman, that much he knew, but she had never really said exactly what she was working in. It was a little game, between the two of them. "Let me guess, you're going to the office to... invent a new sort of magical rocket?"

“Strawberry and cilantro,” Quon told her and she barely hummed in agreement before he swiftly gave her her order. She should have left, that much she knew, but the moment of hesitation she had left enough space for Quon to strike up a conversation. And it was only polite to answer. “How is it going today, Jordan? Anything exciting planned? Let me guess, you're going to the office to... invent a new sort of magical rocket?” he asked and she couldn’t but smile a little at his ideas. “I’m fine, thanks,” she answered, “and whatever magical weapons I’m working on, I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” she added with a little smirk. Quon was just a coffee shop employee and yet she felt slightly uncomfortable with the idea of him finding out she was barely someone’s assistant, he seemed to have such a high opinion of her, she was afraid to disappoint and she was even more scared of figuring out why she felt that way. So, she always avoided the questions, either answering with something insane or not answering at all. “Did your masterplan to take over the world, one coffeeshop at a time improve since last week?” Quon had told her once, that his family did things more important than owning the coffee shop, she hadn’t believed him and she always joked about how they would turn up being evil masterminds or simply criminals.

“Anyway,” she cleared her throat slightly, “are you the one closing tonight? I have a feeling work is going to be wild today and your brother is shit at making coffee,” she asked innocently enough. Martin was indeed shit at making coffee, his coffee was either terribly watered-down or strong as all hell, so that much was true, work would probably be as it always was, but she had taken a liking in coming over at night. The place was usually pretty much empty and she needed the quiet to go over some files. Plus no customers meant she had all of Quon’s attention to herself, and that was something she had come to crave. Their little evening encounters sounded more and more like dates in her mind, and as dangerous as it was to think such things, she couldn’t help but to come for more. She gave him a big smile as she waited for his answer, she wasn’t too worried, he had been closing down the shop every night last week and that had worked out perfectly well for everyone, so she couldn’t see a reason why this wouldn’t continue.

“I’m fine, thanks. And whatever magical weapons I’m working on, I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” Jordan answered, smirking. That was something that was nice with her: she always smiled and never berated him for wasting her time or trying to make small talk with her, which was not always the case with some of his grumpy early morning customers. Although she more often than not dodged his questions, she never acted annoyed or miffed that he would keep asking day after day. “Did your masterplan to take over the world, one coffeeshop at a time improve since last week?” Quon laughed at that, as he often did, waving his hand around the air as if to disperse any sort of query like that. Thankfully, Chen was not around - otherwise, Quon knew that he would have gotten an earful from his brother about teasing customers and hinting at the fact that maybe, their coffeeshop was a bit more than it seemed... "I'm afraid not, we lost some ground because of the snake cookie lobby," he groaned, pointing with his thumb in the general direction of the Warlocks' shop accross the street.

“Anyway, are you the one closing tonight? I have a feeling work is going to be wild today and your brother is shit at making coffee.” Since he was opening the shop, Quon was definitely not closing tonight, but he immediately replied: "yes I am actually!" in the smoothest voice possible. He was sure Bao would agree to come finish his shift for him while he went home for a quick nap before doing the graveyard shift. Quon didn't mind that much, especially with the promise that Jordan would come visit. "I'll see you tonight, then," he said happily, making sure she got her full order before she left - Quon waved at her frantically until she disappeared around the corner, and a content smile lingered on his face for the rest of the day at the prospect of seeing her that evening.

Bao was more than glad to rid herself off the night shift, and Quon came back to the store a few hours after leaving in the middle of the day. He didn't need much sleep, and he knew that it would be pretty quiet tonight - what he was already dreading was the clean-up at the very last end of the shift... Although magic made it easier and quicker, Martin had insisted that they get precious and rare coffee machines that needed to be cleaned by hand and elbrow grease every day. They made great coffee (as long as he was not the one using them) but Quon didn't think it was worth it.

There was only a couple of customers in the shop, and Quon was reading a book at the counter when the door chimed quietly. He smiled when his eyes met Jordan's accross the room and straightened on the stool he was sitting on. "Hello there." He was a bit tired (and had been nursing a cup of coffee for the better part of the last hour) but seeing her instantly made him smile and sent a jolt of energy through his body. "How was your day? Do you have any insider intel on what company I should invest it with my extensive porftolio?" he asked with a smirk, leaning accross the counter to talk

“Yes I am actually!” Quon answered with enthusiasm and Jordan couldn’t help but smile in his direction. “Alright,” she simply answered as he said “I'll see you tonight, then.” She took her order and left, rolling her eyes at his frantic waving.
Work was indeed, shit, as she had thought it would be. Zeke, her boss, was in a mood, as he was from time and to time and they were drowning in work and late paperwork. Her job was a lot less eventful than Quon seemed to think. She was just an assistant after all, and most of what she did was transfering paperwork from one person to another. It was nothing groundbreaking but it was still way more demanding than people thought. She finished working later than she would have liked. She knew the shop would still be open, but still. She brought some documents to look over with her as she left, nothing too confidential, obviously.
It was already dark outside by the time she made her way to the shop and the sight of Quon quietly ready was almost enough to make it all worth it. “Hello there,” he said and she made her way to the counter, breathing a simple “hi,” in his direction. The shop was pretty much empty, and she knew it would be soon enough. “How was your day? Do you have any insider intel on what company I should invest it with my extensive porftolio?” She laughed a little, fighting back a yawn at the mention of work. “It was long, very long. And I’d have to see your portfolio first,” she finished with a little smile. “Can I have a coffee with extra dragon blood, please?” she asked him with a pleading smile. She knew he couldn’t say no, she was a client after all, but manners were a thing, weren’t they?
She went to sit down on her table, the one she always chose because it was near enough to the counter that Quon could serve any clients that might show up but could also sit with her when the place was empty. He brought her her coffee after a few minutes and Jordan silently asked him to sit down. She took a sip of her coffee. Jordan had never been particularly shy, yet for some reasons she was when she ended up alone with him, her confidence seemed to melt under his gaze and she didn’t really know what to do about that. “How was your day?” she finally asked before she put her cup back on the table with a little bit more strength than she had planned. “Fuck,” she said, as she wiped the splashes of liquid from the table with her wand. “Sorry, I’m a mess when I’m with you,” she said, her voice barely audible.

Jordan laughed, a hearty and ringing song that made Quon's smile deepen and go up to his eyes, wrinkling the skin around them softly. “It was long, very long. And I’d have to see your portfolio first. - Alright, but be warned: it's extensive." Quon was only half-joking: he had started an investing portfolio a few years ago, following his brother Chen's lead. Although he had not made most of his invested money back, he still had his hand in a few things that he hoped would one day be worth it. “Can I have a coffee with extra dragon blood, please?” Quon's face softened. "Of course, Jordan, coming right up." He usually didn't like people who were being extra polite on purpose, as if working in the service industry was the bane of human existence (although sometimes it was, but Quon didn't really like pity coming from strangers) but he could tell that Jordan was being genuinely nice and friendly.

He prepared her coffee with care and brought it to her table, sitting down in front of her when she silently asked him to. The place was mostly empty and he enjoyed their talks. “How was your day?” Quon shrugged, opening his mouth to answer, but jumped when she spilled some of her drink on the table. “Fuck. - Holy..." He moved to grab his wand but hers was already in her hand and she quickly wiped the hot liquid into nothingness. “Sorry, I’m a mess when I’m with you.” He couldn't help but laugh at that, thinking she must be joking. "Now you're just being nice." But he was also pleased, as one could tell from his sparkly eyes and content smile. "Are you okay though? That coffee was super hot." He leaned in a little to look over her side of the table and make sure that nothing had splashed on her skin or her clothes, slightly worried. He frowned a little and leaned back against the back of his seat once reassured that she had not been maimed in the whole ordeal.

"My day was pretty uneventful. To be honestly, I was kind of waiting impatiently for you to show up tonight," he admitted with a smirk, playing with the sugar and the other toppings on his side of the table. Quon was a world class fidgeter who always needed to keep his arms and fingers moving, restless and uneasy when he kept still. He started to stack the condiments together without thinking twice about it. "I really like our conversations and as you can see," he gestured towards the rest of the mostly empty coffee shop, "it gets pretty boring here without my favourite customer around. What about your day?"

"Now you're just being nice." She wasn’t, not really. "Are you okay though? That coffee was super hot." - “Yeah I’m fine, just slightly embarrassed, but I’ll survive,” she said with a smile as Quon checked her for coffee burns and stains. Jordan was very careful, usually, and as much as she liked to pretend she only came for the coffee, the company was more charming than she had expected and made every visit a rollercoaster of emotions she wasn’t ready to deal with. “My day was pretty uneventful. To be honestly, I was kind of waiting impatiently for you to show up tonight,” She looked back up at him, surprised. It was not so much of a shock to know that Quon liked her, he was always extra nice to her, always asked how she was and the way he looked at her was, well, fairly obvious. But it was his honesty in this matter that was surprising, the way he could just say things as they were, without shame or hesitation. She wished she could have been more like this, more straightforward, more honest, really. “I really like our conversations and as you can see, it gets pretty boring here without my favourite customer around. What about your day?” She couldn’t help but wonder if he said that to all the girls. She really hoped he didn’t. “I do too, like our conversations, I mean,” she answered slowly before taking another sip of her coffee. “As for my day, it was pretty boring too, my work really isn’t as exciting as you think it is,” she answered with a chuckle, “and I don’t know, I guess it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, you know?” She liked it fine, but she was getting tired after years of being bossed around all the time, she needed a break, and more than a simple vacation. “So yeah, I’ve been trying to think about what I really want, not what people want from me and trying to find that again.” Jordan wasn’t necessarily a people pleaser but, despite this, it was what she had done for years, trying to please her boss even though he was never really happy, trying to please her friends, trying to please the people she liked and shaping herself, sometimes literally, to fit their wishes and expectations to the point that she didn’t really know who she was anymore and what she wanted. “Sorry, that went … deep,” she added, shaking her head to chase the thoughts away. “What about you, is working here what you always dreamed of?” It was nice and quaint and it seemed like a simple job, nice enough that you’d want to keep at it, but maybe a bit repetitive. But then again, weren’t all jobs less than what you first expected?

Quon could just imagine his sister Sen's face if she saw him like this, openly talking and shamelessly flirting with a customer: she would think it unprofessionel and would undoubtedly give him one of her trademark tip-of-the-fingers slap at the back of his head, or would flick his ears until they rang. But Sen was not here, and neither was Zhang who would have swooped in to get all the attention to himself as usual. It was only him and Jordan and the last remnants of customers for the day. And Jordan was looking at him. Him.

“I do too, like our conversations, I mean.” The smile on Quon's face widened, turning his usual loopsided smirk into something softer and warmer. She had that effect on him. Few people did. “As for my day, it was pretty boring too, my work really isn’t as exciting as you think it is and I don’t know, I guess it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, you know?” He nodded. He was familiar with the feeling. He was not planning on staying a coffeeshop guy for the rest of his life either. Or just a simple delivery guy for his family's unofficial business for that matter. Of course, all Wang kids were taught from a young age that they were, like it or not, bound to become so and so in the clan's business and for most of his life, Quon had been fine with it.

But as he grew, he realised that he liked other things, that he was skilled in multiple fields, and that he deserved more than whatever scraps his father threw at him when Zhang decided he didn't want them. Quon was tired of being second in everything. Maybe, just maybe, Wei had been wrong and he was meant for greater things.

"Can't live your whole life in your boss's shadow," Quon offered in a soft voice, thinking of his brother's face. “So yeah, I’ve been trying to think about what I really want, not what people want from me and trying to find that again.” Quon nodded at that, understanding a little too well what she meant. “Sorry, that went … deep.” She might have looked embarrassed but Quon only shook his head, chuckling a little. "Not at all." Maybe a bit, but he liked it. He enjoyed small talk just fine, but that was not exactly what interested him about Jordan. “What about you, is working here what you always dreamed of?” Quon made a face at that. "Not really no." He looked around the shop to make sure that no one was near and leaned over the table slightly, as if to share a big secret. "My family, they own a couple business, right? Import-export, all that stuff." This meant nothing and everything at the same time, which was the point. That was not a lie, but that was not the whole truth either. "Well, I may have fucked up a couple of... tasks." The loss had been upwards of twenty thousand Galleons. Let's say Zhang and Wei had not been pleased. "So working here for a few weeks, that's my punishment. All day, too!" He rolled his eyes. "It's not too bad when there's customers like you around. But sometimes..." He sighed. "I'm sure you can imagine." Not everyone had worked a service job, but most people could imagine how bad it could be some days.

"You know what my father said?" He started to imitate Wei's deep voice and his Cantonese accent - although it had smoothed over the years, there was still a texture of it in the back of the throat, words that clipped too much against his lips. Jordan had never met him, but anyone else would have thought the impersonation to be uncanny. Quon was good at those, although he mostly used this skill to mock and prank his siblings. How many times exactly had he sent a fake Howler to Bao pretending to be a pissed-off Wei, just to see her scatter around the flat like a nervous bird? This always brought a smile to his face. "'That'll teach you some manners, boy, and remind you of your place!'" He rolled his eyes. "Well, as of now, I've mostly learned that coffee shop employees wake up at ungodly hours and that a worrying amount of people actually want yak milk in their morning coffee." He shook his head, a little smirk appearing on his face again. "Can I ask... what's stopping you from quitting?" It was maybe a personal question, but he was curious - and Jordan seemed to be open to converse as it were, so why the hell not.

“Not really no,” Quon answered simply enough. Jordan wasn’t really surprised, the man seemed to be bursting with too much energy to settle for something as uneventful as this, even though it might have been someone else’s dream come true.

She laughed quietly as he told her how he had ended up working at the little café. “That’s quite the story,” she commented while nodding solemnly. She would have never imagined that the story was so wild. She had made the wrong assumption that Quon was nothing more than a lost young man. She had thought he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, and that it was the reason why he was working there, to try to make that decision, or something. She felt quite ashamed of having assumed so much but relieved she had been wrong, at the same time.  “Well, as of now, I've mostly learned that coffee shop employees wake up at ungodly hours and that a worrying amount of people actually want yak milk in their morning coffee.” She let out another breathy laugh. “I can’t imagine all the stories you must have to tell now,” she said. She expected coffee shop employees to know everything about their customers, or at least a great deal more than they should.

“Can I ask... what's stopping you from quitting?” It was a tough question, one she didn’t have a perfect answer to. The truth was, she didn’t really know. She had come to England thinking it would be a fresh start, thinking she had a chance at climbing the corporate ladder, at making something out of herself. But it had been a few years and not much had changed, if anything.
“I … it’s complicated,” she finally said. “When I came to this country, my boss gave me a chance and I think that a part of it is that, feeling like I owe him or something.” She couldn’t help but feel that she did, in a way, although it probably wasn’t true. She was an employee, he was her boss, end of story. “And I don’t know what I’d do, and I don’t really want to go back home, to be honest.” The States held too many bad memories, memories she didn’t want to revive. “Do you want to go back to those other businesses?” she asked after a couple of seconds, “or do something else?”

For a second, Quon thought that maybe he had said something wrong as he watched Jordan's expression shift in front of him. He had to bite down on his own lip so that he wouldn't immediately take the question back and drown her in a wave of anxious apologies and explanations - thankfully, she replied eventually, as he felt regret twist his gut over and over again in his stomach. “I … it’s complicated.” He thought she would leave it at that but she didn't, instead adding: “When I came to this country, my boss gave me a chance and I think that a part of it is that, feeling like I owe him or something.” Quon could understand that. His siblings could understand that too - after all Wei had quite literally taken most of them from horrible situations in other countries and offered them a chance at a new beginning. Quon had been a little different but it still resonated with him. He too lived with the feeling that he owed something to Wei and could never get away from him until his debt was repaid.

And it was not the type of debt you could ever repay. “And I don’t know what I’d do, and I don’t really want to go back home, to be honest.” He wondered where was home exactly, although Jordan's American accent was pretty telling. He had never been. To be fair, he had never really travelled, except to Hong Kong a couple of times. It had never been a thing amidst his family. Maybe he should, one day... he thought maybe he would like it. “Do you want to go back to those other businesses?” Quon blinked and forced himself to focus on the present. “Or do something else? - I..." His eyes fluttered again, confused. "I don't think I have much of a choice," he admitted in a low voice. Leaving the family business was not an option. What's stopping you from quitting? he'd asked her. He wondered at his own reasons and although they felt unavoidable, a part of him also knew that Wei wanted them all to forge their own paths in life.

"But if I could, maybe I'd like to travel." He enjoyed biking and discovering new paths in the countryside. The idea of doing this in a foreign country was both exhilarating and frightening. "See the world." He sighed, picturing himself on a far away beach, wearing an Hawaiian shirt and sipping some fancy cocktail from a coconut - that's what rich people did when they travelled, wasn't it? Quon had a very peculiar idea of success, much like his brother Zhang. "In any case," he said, stopping his daydreaming, "your boss sounds like a dick. But at least he's not entirely blind: he was right to give you a chance. Everyone deserves a chance." Quon smiled, a smile to shame a Lumos Maxima. "You especially."