#suha is never not ready to slide tackle sysba straght up

[attollogame]

[Ok I was on a walk last night and this scenario came to my mind and I was just cackling, so I had to write it. Everyone hates it when they end up in the same coffee shop as their sworn enemy, smh] 

The lineup for the Starsilver is so long that Suha is convinced the world adores her suffering.  

In all fairness, the morning started off completely wrong. She had misplaced her hijab pins, which resulted in her aimlessly wandering around her quarters for twenty minutes before she located them hidden under a pile of towels. When she finally made herself presentable enough for the day, she had been immediately dragged into several meetings, and as soon as those were completed, she was subsequently sent on a coffee run by Markos who claimed he was ‘far too busy’ to do it himself. As if she isn’t equally busy. 

Which leads to right now, in this line, in the sweltering spring heat. 

The A.C in the store isn’t working, which only further serves to irritate her mood. The reason the line is so long lies solely on the shoulders of one woman at the front; Suha can’t hear the entire conversation, but she can tell by the body language alone—and by the presence of the manager at the till—that whatever the conversation is, it isn’t pleasant. She reaches up and adjusts her sunglasses before crossing her arms tight over her chest in irritation. 

She never had to work retail or fast food in her life, and she felt thankful for that. With the bullshit the people who did work those jobs endured, she felt inclined to offer them an award for their service. 

With nothing better to do than stand around, Suha finds herself seeking out any source of amusement, which results in her eyeing up the other people in the line. She’s never seen any of them in her life. There’s a man with a very pinched expression closer to the front of the line; Suha assumes that his expression is the result of him overhearing the woman’s argument. There are a few teens in the line, which makes her briefly question what they're doing out school at this hour, but she shrugs it off. Kids will be kids, after all. 

As she continues her causal observation, she finds herself glancing over her shoulder at the people behind her as well. There’s an elderly woman with whom Suha assumes is her husband, both fanning themselves with newspapers. Another woman behind them holds what looks like a poodle in her arms, which she coos to every so often. Suha continues to look past the woman at the remainder of the lineup, 

And then she freezes. 

Her eyes lock on one figure in particular and, to her horror, they lock eyes with her at the exact moment she notices them.

She stares at them.

They stare back.

She unfurls her arms and reaches up to slowly tug down her glasses, an expression of disbelief on her face.

They mimic her gesture, glasses and all, with the exact same expression. 

Holy fuck. 

She snaps her head back to the front and has her phone out in her hands within moments, furiously shooting off a text to Alexander.  

I’m yelling, she texts, Deadass, I’m literally yelling right now. 

The reply is almost instantaneous; What’s up?? Suha inhales between her teeth as her fingers move rapidly over the keys. 

I’m at the Starsilver and Sysba is in the line with me. What do I do? Like, I can probably pin them down until backup comes, but I’m not sure how well that’ll go over. She pauses, and then adds, Also, they absolutely made eye contact with me. 

She sends the message and waits a few seconds, watching as the three dots appear before disappearing again. They return a moment later, and the text she receives has her turning her barely holding back a scream.  

Damn...thoughts and prayers <3 

Suha clicks her phone off and jams it back into her purse as the line finally starts moving again. Okay, Alexander isn’t going to be any help, so the best thing she can do right now is just ignore them until she can get back to the Headquarters. 

That’s fine. 

…

She’s standing still for less than a minute before she finds herself sending a glance over her shoulder. Sysba is still a few feet back, furiously texting on their own phone, with a very concerned expression on their face. They glance up and catch her eye again before they immediately look back at their phone, their shoulders slouching a bit as if they're trying to hide themself. She quickly turns back to the front as she finally makes it to the counter. 

She rattles off everyone's orders to the barista, who nods along with her words, and then hastily pays, telling the barista to keep the change, before shuffling to the side to wait for the drinks. The other orders are completed in quick succession until Sysba finally reaches the front. They're wearing a charming smile, and Suha watches with slight revulsion as they shamelessly flirt with the barista, reducing the poor man to a flustered mess. When the manager comes over, Sysba directs their attention to him, and within moments they have both of them laughing along with whatever they're saying. When they finally make their way to the side, the look of smug satisfaction on their face says it all. 

The little shit got themself a discount. 

Suha pulls out her phone again and opens Chirp, already typing the furious chirp she intends to post, when she feels a presence beside her. She doesn’t need to look up to know who exactly just sidled their way over to her. She takes a deep breath, mostly to try and control herself from slugging then right here and now, and returns to her task. The other customers retrieve their orders and exit the shop until it’s just her and Sysba standing there, both waiting for their drinks. Clearly, they're buying for their group as well. 

Suha hopes that they all choke on whatever they got. 

She spares a glance at then from the corner of her eye and, as if sensing she’s looking, they glance up from their phone towards her. Both of them hastily turn away when they realize that the other is looking as well. Suha taps her foot impatiently. Sysba shifts from side to side, clearing their throat every so often. The air between them could be cut with a knife, and just as she finishes sending out her chirp (The tension between me and my sworn enemy  <3<3) the barista calls out her order. 

Suha likes to believe that she never has, and she never will, move as fast as she did in that moment to grab those drinks. She sends a quick smile to the barista and, without a second glance at Sysba, speed walks her way out of the Starsilver. She isn’t going to run yet, because she still has her dignity, but she’s pretty close. Her phone vibrates in her pocket as she hurries back to her car but she spares it no thought as she yanks her keys out and nearly throws herself in. It’s only when she locks the doors again and gives a full 360 glance around her car, including a back seat check, does she pull out her phone to see what she received. 

A single notification sits on the screen. 

Sysba 👽 (@eld_rich) liked your chirp.