[YOTB] Ch. 3-A Mochi Borrowing 1: Hop To It

As the pretty looking drinks are slid over to him, the mildly nervous man giggles a bit unintentionally. Since the idea of getting drunk might have him spend more time is a bit scary, he could sleep through Mochi Moon! It’ll mean that all the hard work for his beloved friend would go to waste and the man will be so very disappointed… plus those strawberries are so sweet he and Dan could have made the best mochi out of them.

They will make the best mochi out of them.

“... Shibani. You don’t have to - I mean you really shouldn’t drink the whole thing, hon.” Hops’ voice can be heard from the side, clinking glass and moving screeching chairs against the floor. He looks up at her and admires her busywork for a few seconds, then snaps out of it as he grasps onto one of the expertly crafted and finely decorated glasses.

“Oh! I know, I just… ha ha, if I get drunk, I need to watch the time even more!” Shibani explains, raising the martini glass to his nose and swishing it around a bit. The fragrances that once laid dormant waft in the air and the strong alcoholic smell hits him. It’s strong and the citrus is undeniable. Looking up once, he catches the wagging tail of the waitress who is dipping in and out of the back, cleaning and sweeping and bending over or ducking under things to ensure that the Rabbit Hole is as spotless and shiny as Angora is. Just how she likes it. It makes Shibani give a small smile as he brings the sour tasting drink to his lips.

“Mm…” His lips pinch together as he squeezes his eyes shut for a few seconds. Indeed, this one is very sour. Yet, it is still good, maybe not really his favorite of the new drinks so far and at least it looks cute? What with the slices of colorful fruit stuck onto the rim of the glass to give it some charm.

“You work so hard, Hops.” He compliments her, sticking his finger into the liquid still inside and swirls it around to get some more drops of it onto his finger. Just a tiny drop will be okay, before the palette cleanser at least.

“Would be a shame to not be able to snag a break, drinking alone sounds like no fun at all.”

The pink lady’s heels clicking come to a brief pause, where the owner makes a quick sideways glance at him, placing her free hand on her hip and shaking her head with a smile.

“I know what you’re trying to do. And it’s not gonna work! I just told you I can’t let myself get too drunk!” She isn’t angry, but the opposite in fact. Very amused, perhaps, and actively fighting against the urge to sit down at the bar with him to do the taste testing. And perhaps the long expression on his face made her add, 

“... Maybe in a little bit! But only a coupla so, okay?”

“Oh, you don’t have to, barkeep~” Shibani had since set the martini glass down in favor of a big hurricane nearby with fun little umbrellas in it for him to pluck and play with.

“Was just a suggestion.”

With that, Hops took a moment to watch him, sipping from the spiral straw in the new glass before moving and arranging more bottles and containers after cleaning up a little more. Her tools of the trade are laid out in front of her including some lovely fresh fruits, syrups and other good looking things… ah. This one is sweet, like she is.

“Ooh, I like this one.”

“Well don’t just chug it like that, use the straw! Tiny sips!”

The pale doll kicks back in his stool and laughs a little, hiccuping after which caused another eruption of laughter. It gets Hops going as well, especially when he goes for a third drink that she was making - to which she drags away from him, teasing him.

“Hey now! I’ma still work on that… you can have this old fashioned one!” She exclaims, flicking her knuckles against a short glass filled with a rich amber brown colored liquid with a twine cord tightly tied around it. He didn’t have the heart to tell her how boring it was… and because he thought it was likely made as a joke, because of just how plain it is.

“But it’s just amaretto I can smell it from over hereee…” He whines in retaliation, leaning over the bar to reach for it anyway, and snatching an almond or two from a dark wine colored bowl nearby and pops them into his mouth, once shelling them.

“Okay I know you can’t be drunk yet! You barely touched the martini and that hurricane is mostly juice and sugar!”

She laughs more with him and eventually, she ends up joining him as she said earlier.

The drinks, even though they were various flavors and amounts in the alcohol content, were so much sweeter with her. Laughing, chatting away, throwing almonds at each other and taking turns pretending to be a pirate because he just couldn’t get over the amaretto thing… It was great.

Eventually, they both were varying levels of tipsy, with Shibani being even more so.

At least, the strawberries are his. He’ll have to come back later to help again and maybe get more of that sugary goodness for himself one day, perhaps as a new favorite drink just for this season.