Take a sip, babes

Over time, Yoshino had perfected the art of hitting up their favorite places around Burrowgatory during low-traffic periods. They didn’t mind the noise of other people so much, but they hated being jostled around in large crowds and having to keep their wings folded tightly against their body to prevent them getting caught or pulled on something. Yoshino’s whole job revolved around spending time with other buns that they often didn’t think particularly highly of; when they had time to themselves, they valued a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere.

The Rabbit Hole was arguably the best place in town to get a good drink, of course, which made it one of the hardest to visit during a lull. Oftentimes, even if things were quiet for a while, they would pick up before long with rowdy casino guests and buns scrambling to get one of Hops’s famous drinks. This evening, the crowd was invitingly thin, and Yoshino was tired from a long week of catering to overly-chatty business blowhards, so they decided to take their chances. It would be a bummer if they had to excuse themselves early to escape a big influx of people, but they could at least get a drink before then.

They were in luck; there were some free seats right up at the bar. Yoshino climbed onto one and waited for Hops to finish tending to the few other customers, letting the sedate atmosphere of the bar roll over them.

“Evening!” Hops chirped when she came to them. “You picked a great time to come by, there’s no wait right now!”

“Yeah, I did that on purpose,” Yoshino said.

Hops blinked at them for a moment, seeming a little surprised that the timing of their visit had in fact been calculated, but she quickly recovered. “Well! What can I get for you?”

Yoshino studied the menu; their general tastes didn’t vary much, but they hadn’t had a specific drink in mind. “Something sweet and cold,” they declared, rather than settling on something in particular.

“Hmm…” Hops tilted her head slightly as she considered what might best fit. After a few moments, she brightened. “I’ve been on a little kick with sparkling wine coolers right now - how does that sound?”

“Works for me.” Yoshino leaned on the bar, kicking their feet absently as Hops bustled away to fix their drink. She worked with a haphazard efficiency that Yoshino always expected to cause the drink ingredients to end up splashing everywhere, but somehow that rarely happened. The highs and lows of Hops’s personal luck, they supposed. For all of her mishaps, everything seemed to work out for her in the end.

Not that Yoshino ever would have wanted to swap places with Hops, though. She spent far too much time running around.

In just a few minutes, Hops happily presented Yoshino with a tall, cold glass of sparkling wine mixed with… whatever else she’d mixed it with. Some kind of juice, probably. Yoshino was here for the booze, not the filler.

“Thanks.” They accepted the glass and took a long sip through the straw. The drink was indeed sweet and cold, instantly refreshing. They let out a deep, satisfied sigh. “Yeah, that’s good.”

Hops beamed at them and settled against the bar on her own side, grabbing a glass to polish as she did so. “So, what brings you in this evening? Day off in the middle of the week? Need a little pick-me-up?”

“Something like that,” Yoshino answered, mostly noncommittal. “Nothing’s really happened, I just felt like a drink and was hoping it wouldn’t be too packed.” And any chance that they had to snag one of Hops’s hand-mixed drinks was a chance they would take, they reflected with another slow sip of their wine cooler.

“Yeah,” Hops let out an almost dreamy sigh of agreement. “It’s nice. We don’t get lulls like this very often. Summer felt like it was a nonstop rush, and we’ve been getting more business from cherubuns in the casino, though of course most of them don’t come to the bar for drinks…” She rambled on for a short while, and Yoshino let her, continuing to drink slowly throughout. 

Despite their leisurely pace, they soon found themselves with an empty glass. “Could I get a second?”

“Sure!” Hops… well, hopped up, took the glass from them, and went to mix a second cocktail.

When she flounced back over to hand the new drink to them, Yoshino asked, “So the casino’s slowed down too, now?” In their mind, they idly turned over the possibility of doing business there; some of their clients were generous about giving gifts to the buns they hired for arm candy. It wasn’t out of the question that some of them might be willing to give their escorts an allowance of carats to play around with on the casino floor if they decided to wine and dine business partners at Wonderland.

“Compared to the last couple of months, it sure has. There’s still enough regular customers year-round, though. Some people just can’t stay away.” Hops winced a little, probably reflecting on her own situation. Yoshino took another drink rather than commenting.

A few more patrons trickled into the bar as the hour grew later, and Hops went to take their orders and treat them to her hospitality. Yoshino finished their second drink and got a third, relaxing as the comfortable haze of alcohol overtook them. It didn’t take much to make them sleepy; the periodic sips of the cold wine cooler made them feel a little more awake each time, but then the warm, sleepy feeling would creep back in. They leaned their head on one hoof, waiting for Hops to make her way back over to them.

“Another?” She asked brightly once she returned to Yoshino’s spot along the bar.

“Yeah.” Yoshino let her take their glass once more and stretched a little, fluttering their wings, before leaning back on the countertop.

Hops did indeed bring them a fresh cocktail, pausing after she handed it over. “Are you feeling okay? Need a break?”

“Hm?” Yoshino mumbled, opening their eyes. They hadn’t realized that they’d closed their eyes in the first place. “Yeah, I’m good. This is my break.” They did straighten up on the barstool, picking up the new glass and beginning to sip at it just like they had the previous ones.

Still fruity, still sweet, still cold. The first sip was just as good as the last. Honestly, Yoshino would be in the Rabbit Hole multiple times a week if it didn’t regularly get so packed that it was standing room only.

“Well, take it easy,” Hops hops delivered one of her stock bartender lines with good-natured humor. “If you actually fall asleep, I’ll have to wake you up and ask you to leave, or else Angora would get upset that I’m letting someone take up space at the bar who won’t buy anything.”

Yoshino snorted as they went in for another sip. “Haven’t I bought enough to make her happy?”

Hops gave them a rueful grin. “I don’t think she’ll ever be satisfied.”

Yoshino did actually crack a faint smile at that, buoyed by the wine. “Nah, probably not. I know her type - don’t tell her I said that.”

Hops laughed a little. “Even if I did, I think she’d take pride in it. She knows her own type, too.”

“Mm.” No arguing with that. Yoshino tipped their glass back, draining the rest of the drink, and then set it on the bar with a thump. “Guess you’re right though, I’m probably done.” Their tipsiness made them agreeable as well as sleepy, and the amount of buns in the bar was slowly but surely increasing. They were still hovering in that sweet spot where the alcohol rendered their thoughts slow and syrupy, and the buzz was pleasant more than anything. That could change far too quickly if they got caught up in a crowd that they were even less equipped to deal with now than when sober.

Going home and getting in a pile of blankets to cuddle with their imps sounded pretty good right about now. That was always more appealing than dealing with other people, anyway.

With a sigh, Yoshino pushed back their stool and got unsteadily to their feet. They dug around in their purse for the appropriate amount of carats to cover their tab, plus a generous tip - inspired, perhaps by the imagined generosity of future clients who just might like to take them for a spin at the slots or even the roulette in the Wonderland Casino.

Plans for the future. Sleepytime was now.

Hops cleared away both Yoshino’s empty glass and their money, waving them off with a cheery flap of the dish towel she was using to clean the bar. Yoshino waved back lazily and a little unsteadily, and they wound their way through the gathering patrons of the bar, and then finally out to the cool late evening air.

Home, then bed, then imp cuddles. Imp cuddles in bed. Good plan.