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Godot had a nice thing going here. A cute little coffee shop all to himself. He managed to buy the space a year or so after his release, and cobbled it together into his very own business. A little hole in the wall that he could call home, and as an added bonus, make a living.
He hadn't known what he was going to name it while he was furnishing it. The dark wooden bar and stacks of wood shelves came first, with a row of black barstools following close behind. A couple wooden tables, large enough to sit six. with their matching chairs came a while later. The benches outside were an afterthought.
It was after everything had come together that he thought of the name. Barrister's Coffee Bar (often affectionately referred to as simply Barrister's). As he placed the sign above the door he felt like he was back at his first day at the Grossberg Law Offices. Giddy and full of excitement for new beginnings.
Right now, however, he was just an owner/bartender of a cozy coffee stop.
He liked sharing conversation over a cup with his customers. Perks of serving coffee and not alcohol was you get to share as many drinks as you want, he'd say. So, when he heard the entry bell chime, he went to fetch the mug he had left in the back room during a break.
The moment he picked the mug up, his ears were assaulted by the sound of his service bell being rung. Repeatedly.
"Okay okay! Calm down, I'm on my way! Don't break the poor bel-" He cut himself off at what greeted him. A hawk in a bandana tapping the bell with her beak. "Wait. What are you doing here?"
The bird looked up, before launching herself back onto the arm of her owner, who rewarded her with a few strokes to her feathers. The owner straightened his back when he saw Godot, maintaining a wary silence.
"... Well I'll be." Godot placed the mug on the counter, before he crossed his arms. "Simon Blackquill, back from the dead, huh?"
Simon smirked in response. "They grew weary of me, I suspect they'll be around to take me back much farther down the road." He moved his arm so Taka could hop to the back of a chair. "But you would know, having experience and all that." His smirk softened into a gentle smile. "Glad to see I got to you first."
Godot stared at Simon for a few seconds. Then he launched himself across the shop and pulled Simon into a bear hug, which was reciprocated with a laugh.
Godot leaned back with a grin on his face, keeping his hands on Simon's shoulders. "Took you long enough to visit me, kid. I kept the coffee pot on and everything."
Simon chuckled, "It better be a bloody good pot then, sir."
"It'll be the best damn coffee of your life. If it wasn't, do you think I would've gotten this place?" Godot made a broad sweeping gesture to the surrounding shop.
Simon crossed his arms at him, the smile making no moves to leave his face, if anything it brightened. "Oh sorry, was I supposed to clap? I must have gotten distracted by the sheer grandeur of the place." Taka decided that moment was appropriate to return to Simon's shoulder, fixing Godot with a pointed stare. Godot crossed his arms with a huff.
"You're ganging up on me."
"We are."
"You're just jealous."
"Am I?"
"I think you are."
"I think I am not."
They glared at each other for a moment, before they broke into laughter, Taka bobbing and cooing along on Simon's shoulder.
Godot clapped a hand over Simon's back and ushered him over to the comfiest bar stool. "C'mon kid, let's get ya a nice dark cup of joe to celebrate."
"Unfortunately, I still don't like black coffee, sir."
"Heh, I'll make you see the darkness one day, kid."