[Open - Irish Coffee]

[irishcoffee]

Maggie looked around the semi-filled cafe as she wiped down the counter and checked the case. Apparently, the onset of spring wasn't only bringing life back to the flora around them, but also a realization that bathing suits aren't far away.

The pastries were full, the fruit and yogurt were utterly depleted, the all-natural granola and oatmeal also showing signs its popularity.

She laughed softly and took out a pastry, setting it on a plate to snack on between the early morning rush and the one filled with students and those that started work a little later. As she snacked, she changed out coffee carafes, pulled supplies and started to refill the case with the healthier breakfast selections.

Humming as she worked, her eyes darted up every now and then to the counter. Just in case someone new dropped in. Again.

Comments

[irishcoffee]

"One of these days I'm going to catch you in the middle of a street with not a stitch on save a dog collar. And before you offer, I don't want to know if you were the cop or the robber with the kinky faerie. Some things are better left to the imagination, i think."

Maggie blew unnecessarily on her coffee and thought for a second. "Damn. Think I need to add that to the Welcome to The Folly speech? 'By the way, if you decide to shag a hot, blond cop, he screams like a little girl over anything tentacled?"

[detectivecontrary]

"See Mags, now you're playing with my heart. You talk about how hot you think I am, you're imaging if I'm the cop or the robber..."

Not that Levi was serious, at least about the imagination thing. Well, maybe that was true, but he didn't think she was really interested in him like that. Not that it wouldn't be nice, she was gorgeous, but Levi had a rule of nothing more than one night stands. He wouldn't ruin his breakfast routine for that. Probably.

"Which, I thought would have been obvious with the domino mask."

[irishcoffee]

"You don't need me to tell you you're hot, Jeans. You know that perfectly well on your own every time you pass a mirror. Or an interested girl. Or guy. Or tentacled faerie." Nope, she wasn't about to let the tentacle thing go anytime soon.

To Maggie, Levi's attractiveness was academic and wasn't one of those debatable things. The wind blew, birds sang, and the man before her looked more like he'd been chiseled than grown. But just as she knew Levi didn't do anything resembling repeat performances, she didn't either. She knew the dark side of love only too well - it was great while it lasted, but it never lasted. Especially not in the Folly.

"Always assuming I know the differences between one mask and another."

[detectivecontrary]

"Not true. Any reflective surface is really all it takes."

Admittedly, Levi knew he was attractive, although it had less to do with any effort on his part and more with his family's standards for marriage that was essentially a eugenics program. He didn't even really work out. Hell, is breakfast was coffee and donuts.

"But if it helps, you are definitely the hottest barista in my line of sight right at this moment."

[irishcoffee]

Maggie rolled her eyes and made a fanning motion towards her face like she was getting the vapors. "Oh, I do declare, Mr. Astor, you're makin me all weak in the knees," she said with an affected southern accent before straightening herself.

The next second she called the air behind him and spun it together, bringing the whole spinning mass against his backside then turned back to her carafe. She set another pot on to brew for the late morning book club crowd and turned to smirk at him over her shoulder. He'd known her too long not to know about the magic and she usually didn't use it much. But sometimes he needed a kick to the backside and using the air was the most effective method.

[detectivecontrary]

Levi gave a grunt of surprise as the mass of air ran up against him and narrowed his eyes at Maggie. She didn't often use her magic around him so it was always a surprise when she did something like that. It made him feel like he annoyed her in a special way, which made him grin.

"Now, should I bring you in for assaulting an officer or molesting one?" he asked as he gathered up his things. "Or are you the kind of girl that enjoys handcuffs?"

[irishcoffee]

Maggie batted her eyelashes at him. "Jeans, if I'd been going for molesting, I'd have hit the front rather than the back."

She set her mug down and leaned well forward, lowering her voice. "And it'd be a long, slow stroke and not a smack. I've a bit more care for a man's...tender bits than to go slapping them for no good reason. For your second question," she paused and winked, "I don't kiss and tell either, Detective."

[detectivecontrary]

"See Mags," he said, grinning at her and reaching out to tap her on her completely adorable nose. "This is why every night I fall asleep and have nothing but dirty dreams of you."

Whether or not that was actually true, Levi would never tell. At least, not unless she asked very nicely. Levi leaned back and took a final sip of his coffee. It was time to head out and protect the city.

"You'll call me if anyone that's trouble shows up?"

[irishcoffee]

They'd been dancing this dance for so long and the steps felt so comfortable, she'd stopped wondering a long time ago how much of it was real and how much wasn't. The point was that it worked for them. And had for years.

Today, she just grinned back and brushed a breath of air over his cheek. "One of these days, I'm going to make you tell me just what my dream self does while you're sleeping, Levi." Then she straightened and nodded, breaking the moment to let him see to the job he loved.

"Will do. Haven't had any real fun since the freaking chick with the red eyes showed up."