[Gift] Morning Mix

The morning light barely warms the streets, filtering in through the cavern clouds in slow, meandering patterns. It bathes the air in shades of peach and pink lace, gently brushing away the night’s shadows like ash from a well-worn hearth. 

Cas rubs his dark eyes with the heels of his palms, jaws cracking in a massive yawn. He’d never been a morning bun. There were always better things to do in the mornings— sleeping, mostly— and his shifts at the cafe did not help him cope with the early hours. 

But Hops’ morning lessons were at a discount, and Cas wasn’t exactly made of money, so. Early morning it was.

And it was nice, in a way— there wasn’t much foot traffic, leaving the soft clack-clack of his hooves on the pavement to echo down the street. There was no music pounding from any bar or brothel to be heard, and the neon signs were all dimmed too; inner city Burrowgatory was a sensory nightmare most of the time. Cas hummed low in his chest, and stretched out his arms, closing his eyes briefly.

If it were this quiet and not seven o’clock in the fucking morning, it would be even better. Can’t have your cake and eat it too or whatever. Unless you have two cakes, which honestly sounds like a dream, but also defeats the purpose of the idiom. 

Cas’ pace slows to a stop, and he turns around, backtracking to take a right onto the street he’d walked past earlier. 

The Wonderland Casino was just ahead at the end of the street, in all its decadent glory. The Rabbit Hole was tucked in beside it, smaller but no less decadent. Cas’ lips part in a grin, and he picks up his pace, tail flicking back and forth behind him like a ribbon in a breeze. He opens the door, the bell above it jingling cheerfully, and his grin widens when Hops looks up and meets his gaze. 

“Cas, it’s been so looonng!” she squeals, and runs over to hug him. Cas catches her and spins her around, to the melody of her delighted laughter. 

Cas’ laughter echoes hers as he sets her down. “Babe, I was here like, yesterday.”

Hops rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but it was so busy we didn’t get any time to talk,” she replies, leading him over to the bar. She vaults it in a smooth, practiced motion, but Cas opts to just take the normal person route behind the bar instead. “How are you anyways, Cas?”

“Eh, same old same old,” he says, shutting the little door behind him with a click. “My manager at the cafe’s still kind of a dick who doesn’t even know how to fry donuts properly, but I’m not paid enough to correct him about it. How about you?”

Hops nods along with the tired understanding of a fellow customer service worker, pulling out a few wine glasses and a bottle of white wine without a glance toward her hands. “More of the same, yeah. Manager caught me drinking with customers again… dunno when I’m ever gonna get out of here,” she says, shoulders slumping a little as she stares at the wine bottle.

Cas’ brow furrows, lips twisting in sympathy as he puts an arm around her petite shoulders. “Hey, you’ll get through it. One day at a time, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Hops mumbles, leaning into him. She closes her eyes a moment, and seems to count to five before abruptly clapping her hands together, trying to psych herself up. “Buuuut y’know what?”

Cas snorts, expression turning fond, and he pulls away to lean against the bar. “What?” he asks with a tilt of his head, playing along.

“You, my masochistic bestie, chose my earliest available time slot,” Hops announces, pointing at him with just a little dramatic flair. “Meaning…”

“That I’m suffering? Yeah, we established that.”

Hops snorts despite herself, smacking his arm. “No, you idiot, it means that we get some one on one time!”

Cas snickers into his palm. “Yeah, figured that’s where you were going with that.”

“Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

Hops crosses her arms. “Anyway,” she says, pouting. “Do you wanna learn how to mix drinks or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘course I do,” Cas says, holding up his hands in mock surrender, a smile still pulling at his lips.

“That’s what I thought,” Hops says with a smirk, which breaks into an excited little smile as she rocks back on her heels. “Sooo, today I’m gonna be showin’ ya how to make a Peach Hellini, ‘cause you’re such a peach.”

“A sweet drink, for me? A woman after my own heart,” Cas says, pressing the back of his hand to his temple, pretending to swoon.

“I know, I know, you can worship me later though,” Hops says, incredibly smug. “For now, just follow my lead, and don’t go into barista mode, ‘cause it’s a lot different.”

Cas nods, straightening up slightly as she begins demonstrating how to mix this specific drink, using the white wine as a base. The secret ingredient piques his interest, but he doesn’t pry— he has similar ingredients for his pastries. When prompted to try it himself, Cas all but jumps at the chance, tip of his tongue peeking between his lips as he focuses on mixing it properly. 

“You’re doing great,” Hops says with a bright smile, then holds out her hands. “Take a sip of the one I made, then yours, yeah?”

Cas’ tail perks up, coiling eagerly as he carefully picks up the two wine glasses by their delicate stems. Hops’ drink sparkles on his tongue, familiar in the way all her drinks are, with an aftertaste that leaves him feeling like he’s flying. His drink… he makes a face, and puts them both down abruptly. “Holy shit I think that wine just punched me in the face.”

Hops snorts, but squeezes his hand, warm and encouraging. “Don’t worry, everyone adds too much alcohol to start with. But you did great! You have really steady hands, so no spills to clean up.”

Cas nods, smiling. “Enough to pass?”

“Enough to pass with flying colors!” Hops replies, bouncing away to dig around in a few drawers, before coming back holding a small recipe book. “Your hard-earned reward~”

“Thank you, thank you,” Cas says, taking it with a dramatic bow. “So, uh… what now?”

Hops’ grin turns into something sharper. “Now comes my favorite part— drinking the stuff we made!”

Cas grins back at her, and has to agree; that’s his favorite part too.