Utena walks to the counter of the tiny coffee shop. 'Ohtori' sounds like a far too grand a name for the small coffee house tucked in a little alley, but the place looks nice and cozy.

The dark skinned girl in glasses behind the counter gives her a polite smile. "What would you like?"

Utena shrugs. She isn't much into coffee to be honest. She was just curious about the new shop and figured she could get something before going to work. "Just give me whatever."

'Whatever' turns out to be a cup of tea. Utena isn't much into tea either, but figures she only has herself to blame, and thanks the barista, pays for the tea, and walks to the table to drink it.

Next time she enters the coffee shop Utena doesn't even have to give her order, the same barista gives her a smile, and a cup of tea is held to her before she has time to even order. Utena's friend Wakaba orders a black coffee and it also materializes quickly.

Next time Utena is alone again, and walks to the counter to get her tea. "What is your name?" she asks.

"Anthy Himemiya, Miss Utena."

The smile she gives her makes butterflies flutter in Utena's stomach, and only later Utena realizes she never introduced herself.

And that the teacup that's always given to her is different in design than most cups in the shop, more delicate with pink and white roses painted on it.

This time Utena walks into the shop a bit earlier than usual. The shop is never that packed, part of why she likes it so much. Today it's empty apart from her and the barista.

She leans on the counter. "You won't believe what my boss told me today. Touga, the asshole, you remember him?"

Himemiya smiles and nods. "You have mentioned him before."

She stands there and listens while Utena rants about her boss, and once she's done she reaches to give her the familiar cup of tea with a "Good luck, Miss Utena."

Utena sits at her usual table, and watches Himemiya work at her usual place. There is a certain elegance in even her most mundane of actions, and Utena watches her clean the coffee-maker, oddly mesmerized.

A green haired man walks to the counter, and gives Himemiya a sleazy smile. "Hello there."

Himemiya smiles. "Good morning, Mister Saionji."

Utena tenses as the man reaches a hand to stroke Himemiya's face.

"An expresso."

Utena watches Himemiya smile, and wonders if she should interfere, if this creep is making Himemiya uncomfortable.

To her relief he gets his coffee and walks to a table. She thinks she sees Himemiya breathe a sigh of relief too.

Saionji slams his fist down so hard on the counter that a pile of paper cups falls down. "The expresso you gave me was too weak!"

Utena stands up, ready to help. If he's going to touch a hair in Himemiya's-

Himemiya doesn't even look at her, and gives him a smile. The same smile she has been giving Utena all these months.

"My apologies, Mister Saionji, let me fix that for you."

A cup of coffee is held to the man, and Utena freezes. The cup with the rose motif. She turns to look at her table, for a second irrationally believing her cup has disappeared. But it's still there.

Saionji takes the rose cup, and for a second Utena is afraid he is going to throw it on Himemiya. Instead he leaves with his coffee, still fuming.

But Utena can't quite place the feeling in her chest. That smile had been given to Saionji. The same smile that had made Utena so happy these months...

And the cup...

Maybe her giving her tea was just an odd joke. Utena realizes she has thought of it as an inside joke they share. Some kind of connection. But maybe that was just what she wanted to see.

Utena takes her tea again at the table, and observes Himemiya. She is efficient as a barista, and always pleasant. Too pleasant according to some popular girl who tries to claim she found an octopus in her Large Gingerbread latte with cream and sprinkles on top. No one takes her seriously.

A polite smile is directed at the girl yelling about seeing snails in the back room too.

Utena's attention is at Himemiya. And she realizes she knows nothing about her. They have talked, yes... But those had been less conversations and more her ranting at the barista.

She tries to think what she actually knows about Himemiya. She is always polite to the customers. There is something different in the smile she gives to the dark skinned manager that rarely appears in the shop. Utena has assumed he is her brother for some reason but doesn't actually know that either.

She knows very little about her.

Before Himemiya even has the time to set the cup of tea in front of Utena, she interrupts her. "I don't like tea."

The same smile. Now it only annoys Utena and she isn't certain why.

"What would you like to order then, Miss Utena?"

"Uhm," Utena stumbles. "I guess coffee?"

"You need to be more specific, Miss Utena."

"Ehm. Hard black coffee," Utena says.

Part of her keeps hoping she'd just be faced with the familiar cup of tea, but instead a cup of what she assumes is black coffee in a plain white cup is set in front of her.

"Thanks," she manages.

She hopes she doesn't sound accusatory when she says: "So, uh, the thing with tea, I sort of thought-"

"Whatever you thought, Miss Utena, was only what you chose to project into the situation. I am a barista. I am not here to work as your friend."

"Oh." Utena feels like a stone is dropping in her stomach.

Utena looks her in the eye. "Could you maybe... could we go do something after you're free? I mean, no pressure, I didn't realize, you're at work-"

The surprise on Himemiya's face seems much more genuine than the smile ever did. And the uncertain smile playing at the corner of her mouth when she says "I am sure to be a disappointment," gives Utena a warm feeling that's totally new.

She smiles. "I guess we'll just have to see. Meet for real. Outside of this shop."