[ PROMPT : MIXOLOGY 101 ]

“It’s too cold in here.” Soon came a whine from Buckeye, head lazily rested against the palm of his hand as he watched Hops prepare a drink for one of her regulars. Her speed and precision with servings and shakes would intimidate him if he hadn’t watched his friend Charon work before.

Once the drink was complete, Hops slowly shifted her attention towards Buckeye; eye almost cartoonishly twitching the moment he whined once more. “Listen. Buddy. You’re the one who wanted to come in and help, nobody’s holding you here against your will.” Her speaking gained puppy dog eyes from the cowboy, lip quivering as he faked a sad look.

“But I do wan-” Before he can even finish his sentence, glasses and bottles are pressed into his hands as Hops wordlessly shifts around to find materials for one of her classic drinks.

“If you want to help so badly, learn how to make a Sin and Tonic. One of the easiest drinks in the books.” Previously saddened eyes are shifted to ones of amusement as Buckeye traces his finger around the glass, legs kicking as he waits for Hops to continue her lesson. “What’s in it?” His tone was- cocky. Annoying even.

“Gin and tonic.” Was the simple answer, “It’s just gin and tonic, dude.” Accidentally feeding into whatever power trip he was on, she continues to step by step instruct him. “It’s only about two ounces of gin, you don’t need too much. The tonic does most of the work.” She instructs him, which surprisingly had him following along.

“After the gin, you need about? Five-ish ounces of tonic, more or less depending on your palette.” Hops gently poured the tonic into the cup, smiling as the fizz of the mixer died down.

Before Hops can continue; Buckeye speaks up, “Does it need a garnish?” An almost too innocent smile on his face.

“Yes. Or- No. It doesn’t need a garnish, you could easily serve this to someone as is. However, most people use limes or other citrus fruits to garnish the cup.” Hops replies, handing him a small wedge of lime.

Buckeye promptly rubs the lime around the edge before promptly pushing the fruit down onto the rim of the glass, “This works, yea?” He gently scoots the cup over for Hops to grade.

There’s a moment where Hops looks between the ingredients, making sure he didn’t add anything random into the mix. She takes a moment to compare the two cups, eye squinted before she takes a step back to compare, “Yea! You did it, surprisingly!”

There’s a moment where he sits up triumphantly before pausing, “Surprisingly?!”