#something along the lines of Sirius eventually admitting that he hates his family and confiding in Marlene that he hoenstly loves how she ke

[marlmckitten]

Blackstar Coffee Co Chapter 3: Not So Smooth

A/N: Honestly please let me know if chapter length bothers you. I like short chapters because when I am reading books I like short chapters because of the sense of accomplishment. Also when I am writing, I update more often if they are shorter because it is less of a commitment. Also, let me know how you like my version of James. I’m gonna change him a little because tbh I’m not his biggest fan. (As I was naming this chapter I realized I should have all named them different sorts of coffee and I am disappointed with myself for not thinking of that sooner.) And on my kick of a little push on treating barista’s better. Be like James.

Tag list: @thelaziestgeek @lilyofthelion @prongsmischief @padsmcfoot @blacklilyqueen @jily-swan-hinny1 (I hope that’s everyone!) Thank you all so much for the support, seriously it means so much. And if you want to be tagged in any upcoming chapters just let me know!

And as one last side note, I’ve been talking to @hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon and if you all want more great Blackinnon content, follow her! And another great blog for Blackinnon, Marauder, or Sirius Black content is @padsmcfoot plus she is only *1* away from her next hundred so let’s make sure she wakes up with that milestone!!

Of course, Marlene did nothing with the card or the number. She had considered ripping it up. She had wished she did it in front of him, but something kept her from doing so. Instead she stored it in her back pocket and didn’t touch it again. As attractive as he was, she still wasn’t impressed with how rude or assuming he was and would sooner give up her minimum wage job before date some young privileged boy who was playing weird games with her.

However, this time it was less than a day until she saw him again. She was standing at the till, near the end of her shift when a gentlemanly looking male, probably around her age walked in and very politely ordered himself a mocha. She smiled and wrote his name, James, on the cup while her coworker got started on the drink. “Is that drink really sweet?” He asked Marlene curiously.

The blonde chuckled, “Have you never had a mocha before?”

“No, it’s what one of my friends always gets, but he loves chocolate and anything else sweet so I just realized...”

“It’s pretty sweet,” she confirmed, “Did you want us to make you something else instead?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, you’ve already started,” James nodded his head to the girl who was half finished his drink unsure if she should go on since he seemed on the fence about the whole thing.

“Are you sure, it’s not trouble,” Marlene replied, as she was trained to always make the customer feel at ease even when it really inconvenienced the rest of the team.

But there was an interruption before James could take her up on her generosity, “Wow, Marlene McKinnon providing good customer service, are you sick Marls?”

Marlene rolled her eyes at Lily’s voice, but didn’t say anything since her gaze locked onto the young man. His entire face dropped when he saw Lily standing at the till, it was as if he had never seen a woman before at all. His jaw literally stood ajar and he dropped his wallet, money falling everywhere. But even then he was too transfixed on the redhead to notice.

“Uhm, sir?” Lily waved her hand in front of his face.

Snapping back, James cleared his throat and looked at the floor around him, coins were still rolling around. He made a quick movement to put his wallet down and start collecting his mess, but just as he tried putting his wallet on the ledge, the barista put his hot coffee down, their hands collided and the steamed milk and espresso spilled all down the young man. “Shit,” James said under his breath, shaking his hand.

Marlene grimaced and quickly ran to the back to get a cool cloth and some burn cream for James while Lily helped him get some napkins and clean himself off. “You alright?”

“I, er, yeah, I, er, you are very beautiful-” He stumbled over his words, shook his head and got down on his hands and knees to start collecting his coins.

“Thanks,” Lily smiled kindly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

The door chimed open again and another person was added to the mix. His dark eyebrows raised drawing attention to his cool grey eyes. “What on Earth has happened here now? Every time I walk into this location it’s another mess!”

“Sirius, hi,” James stood up, finally peeling his eyes away from the new love of his life. “This was literally all my fault, I just got a little...”

“He lost his balance,” Lily covered for him, sneaking another look at the boy as his hand went up to ruffle up his hair for some odd reason. “Marlene’s just in the back grabbing some burn cream I would assume for his hand.”

“Really is my fault,” James apologized, “These two baristas have been lovely.”

Marlene finally returned, a mop in one hand and some cream and cloth in another. Lily took it to help out James while Marlene began mopping up the spilled drink. While James apologized profusely, Sirius let out a dark laugh. “I didn’t know this particular barista knew how to be ‘lovely’ honestly I don’t even know how she got hired.”

His voice did not sound threatening in the least, more playful, but still Marlene’s eyes cautiously looked up to Sirius and she forced a thin smile across her lips. “Good to see you’re back. I’ll get you your tall coffee so you can leave.”

“No need, I was just meeting my friend here,” he put an arm around a still very awkward James who was just starring with complete admiration as Lily applied the cream to his hand and wrapped a bandage gently around it.

“He also needs a new coffee since he decided to bless our floors with overpriced espresso and chocolate sauce,” Marlene retorted. Lily turned to glare at Marlene, shocked she was being so careless at this point.

“Right well, we can get one elsewhere, honestly the coffee here isn’t even that good. My family just likes to save every penny they can, even at the price of serving poor quality beans and acting like they are a privilege just to taste. Later blondie, don’t forget to use my number if you need anything!” Sirius quite literally dragged James towards the door while he kept looking back at Lily. As they got to the door however, Sirius rolled his eyes. “Or pass my number onto Little Red over there. I’ve been staying with James the past week so, he’ll be there, with me.”

As if it saved James any grace by this point, he stood up straight, his hand ran effortlessly through his hair and he winked to Lily. “Call me.”

The two boys finally left and Marlene and Lily looked at one another quickly bursting int hysterical laughter. “What even- what just- what was that?!” Marlene asked to Lily, thinking about how many times that James kid made a fool of himself.

Somehow Lily found it charming and her laughter came more from the awkwardness she felt for him combined with the butterflies she got as he winked goodbye to her. Once her laughter calmed down Lily’s smile did not fade, “He’s cute though.”

“And polite,” Marlene agreed.

“And he had a nice butt.”

“But,” Marlene interrupted, “I’m weary of who he chooses to keep as a friend.”

“He hasn’t fired you yet, that’s a good sign!”

The blonde huffed, “He hasn’t fired me yet because he tried asking me out yesterday!”

Lily’s mouth fell open. “He what?”

With an annoyed sigh, she reached into her back pocket. (Marlene had a horrible habit of wearing the same exact pair of black jeans to literally every shift while very rarely washing them.) And she pulled out his card, handing it to Lily. “He told me he’d give me a good tip if I smiled then gave me his number instead.”

“Disgusting...” Lily replied, her whole face scrunched up. “If that’s the case, you really don’t need this then?” She added in, slowly taking the card.

“Call them, get that black haired disaster of a boy to take you out on a date. And bring protection!”

“Marlene!”

“I meant a helmet, maybe some knee pads, definitely leather gloves. Seriously, imagine dinner with him! He will have knives to drop, wine, a full three-course meal, be prepared!” Marlene teased while Lily looked down at the number and programmed it into her phone.