Fic: Unintended Benefits 1/?
These days, I look around fandom and see lots of well-planned, well-thought out, carefully edited fic. Which is great! I like that we all hold ourselves to high standards. But sometimes I just want to post something that I wrote in a quick, silly rush and maybe add more chapters later if I feel like it, just because.
And also the 'Employee of the month at Cafe Dewees' interview happened at least a week ago and SOMEBODY has to write the fic, even if it's a hastily written to-be-continued by someone who doesn't like coffee.
Title: Unintended Benefits
Fandom: Bandom (MCR)
Pairing: James/Ray, eventually, if I continue it, which depends entirely on how I feel
Summary: Ray is employee of the month at Cafe Dewees before he's even started.
Once upon a time there was a man named Ray who wanted to work at a cafe. He had no particular plans at this point in his life, he just wanted to buy guitars and go to see Metallica concerts a lot, but he knew how to make coffee. All his friends drank lots of coffee and they liked to come over to Ray's house because his house was always clean and had food in the fridge that wasn't mouldy, which you couldn't say for Gerard, Mikey or Frank. (Bob was also inclined to be tidy and have food that was edible, but he was more particular about when he let people invade his house and eat his food, and he was very firm with Mikey and Gerard about the fact that Bob was not their mom and he wasn't going to make them any goddamn coffee.) Ray's friends would be totally happy if he just made them instant coffee, they really weren't picky about their coffee source, but Ray believed that if things were worth doing, they were worth doing as well as possible within his limited budget, so he tried to make the best coffee he could.
(Which had the side effect of people occasionally coming around to his house and demanding coffee at inconvenient times, but Ray tried to take that as a compliment. And hey, he wasn't averse to throwing Frank out when he was being an annoying little shit, either.)
Unfortunately, Ray's budget was not all that big, because most of what he got from gigs went towards keeping his guitars in good nick, because he loved them more than pretty much anything. (Definitely more than he loved coffee, not as much as he loved his friends, but maybe more than he loved Iron Maiden.) So he reasoned that the best place to start looking for jobs would be to find a job making coffee, because he'd honed his skills to perfection.
Starbucks were disappointingly dismissive, even after Gerard protested that they had an obligation to hire his friend when he was one of their most dependable customers, and if they couldn't appreciate Ray then Gerard would buy his four coffees a day somewhere else. Despite the considerable threat, Starbucks remained unimpressed by Ray's decision to wear an Iron Maiden T-shirt to his job interview. Ray conceded that this was probably not a great job interview decision, but he didn't have any other shirts. He'd have to take some money out of the guitar fund to buy some more respectable shirts.
As he was walking home dejectedly from Starbucks, though, with Gerard ranting behind him, he saw a grubby little cafe with a hand-written 'barista wanted' sign in the window, and thought that maybe this was the kind of place that would appreciate him.
"Hi," said the short man behind the counter, when Ray walked into the empty shop. "I love your shirt. What can I get you?"
This, Ray thought, was going to go well.
"Actually, I wanted to ask about the barista job," Ray said.
"Oh, cool!" The man said, and walked around to shake his hand. "I'm James Dewees, store owner."
"Ray Toro," he grinned back.
"So do you have any training as a barista?"
Oh. Maybe this wasn't going to go so well.
"No, but his coffee's amazing!" Gerard piped up. "It's even better than Starbucks. I mean, just. But Starbucks is pretty awesome and Ray's even better. They're idiots for saying they wouldn't hire him."
"Gerard, that's not really helping." Maybe this wasn't going to go so well.
James was just watching Ray sort of expectantly, though, and he realised he had to say something. "Uh, I taught myself. I haven't used a commercial machine before but I know the theory, I guess."
James raised an eyebrow. "There's coffee theory?"
Ray's shoulders sagged. "I like reading up on things."
"Well, let's see what you taught yourself, then," James said, with a shrug, and pointed towards the counter. "I like a cappucino this time of day."
Ray was nervous with the huge machine, but as soon as he had a jug of milk in his hand and the machine whirring to life, he felt right at home again. This was just what he'd always do, but with better equipment. Ray liked it when he got a hold of some good equipment. Once he got started, he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was so focused that it didn't even worry him when he heard Gerard saying "Really, a cappucino? You don't seem like a cappucino kind of guy at all! I figured you'd me more a double-shot latte kinda guy, you look way too cool for a cappucino. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with your coffee choices..."
When Ray handed James the cup of coffee a few minutes later, his prospective boss was watching him with a look of reservation. Not judging him, or disapproving, but withholding from any kind of comment until he'd tasted it. If anything, he looked kind of curious. But after the first sip, he blinked down at his cappucino like he couldn't believe it, took another sip and then stared at Ray in amazement as he put it down.
"Toro, was it?" he asked, as he clapped him on the shoulder.
"Yes?"
"Congratulations, you just won employee of the month at Cafe Dewees."
"What?" Ray asked, bewildered, "So you're gonna hire me?"
"Oh dude, I was gonna hire you anyway," James grinned, "But with skills like that I want you here for life."
"Are there any other employees?" Gerard asked, suddenly. "Because it's a pretty easy win if it's just you."
"Well, it's tough being beaten after my perfect streak, but it's about time someone took it off me," James said. "So, Toro, when can you start?"
"Um, whenever?"
"Tomorrow okay then? We open at 8 for the morning pre-work rush."
"Sure, I can do that," Ray said, eagerly, ignoring Gerard's look of horror at the thought of starting work at 8 am. "I can't wait!"
"Go Toro!" Gerard said, happily, and then leaned in to whisper "I get discounted coffee for getting you the job, right?"
And also the 'Employee of the month at Cafe Dewees' interview happened at least a week ago and SOMEBODY has to write the fic, even if it's a hastily written to-be-continued by someone who doesn't like coffee.
Title: Unintended Benefits
Fandom: Bandom (MCR)
Pairing: James/Ray, eventually, if I continue it, which depends entirely on how I feel
Summary: Ray is employee of the month at Cafe Dewees before he's even started.
Once upon a time there was a man named Ray who wanted to work at a cafe. He had no particular plans at this point in his life, he just wanted to buy guitars and go to see Metallica concerts a lot, but he knew how to make coffee. All his friends drank lots of coffee and they liked to come over to Ray's house because his house was always clean and had food in the fridge that wasn't mouldy, which you couldn't say for Gerard, Mikey or Frank. (Bob was also inclined to be tidy and have food that was edible, but he was more particular about when he let people invade his house and eat his food, and he was very firm with Mikey and Gerard about the fact that Bob was not their mom and he wasn't going to make them any goddamn coffee.) Ray's friends would be totally happy if he just made them instant coffee, they really weren't picky about their coffee source, but Ray believed that if things were worth doing, they were worth doing as well as possible within his limited budget, so he tried to make the best coffee he could.
(Which had the side effect of people occasionally coming around to his house and demanding coffee at inconvenient times, but Ray tried to take that as a compliment. And hey, he wasn't averse to throwing Frank out when he was being an annoying little shit, either.)
Unfortunately, Ray's budget was not all that big, because most of what he got from gigs went towards keeping his guitars in good nick, because he loved them more than pretty much anything. (Definitely more than he loved coffee, not as much as he loved his friends, but maybe more than he loved Iron Maiden.) So he reasoned that the best place to start looking for jobs would be to find a job making coffee, because he'd honed his skills to perfection.
Starbucks were disappointingly dismissive, even after Gerard protested that they had an obligation to hire his friend when he was one of their most dependable customers, and if they couldn't appreciate Ray then Gerard would buy his four coffees a day somewhere else. Despite the considerable threat, Starbucks remained unimpressed by Ray's decision to wear an Iron Maiden T-shirt to his job interview. Ray conceded that this was probably not a great job interview decision, but he didn't have any other shirts. He'd have to take some money out of the guitar fund to buy some more respectable shirts.
As he was walking home dejectedly from Starbucks, though, with Gerard ranting behind him, he saw a grubby little cafe with a hand-written 'barista wanted' sign in the window, and thought that maybe this was the kind of place that would appreciate him.
"Hi," said the short man behind the counter, when Ray walked into the empty shop. "I love your shirt. What can I get you?"
This, Ray thought, was going to go well.
"Actually, I wanted to ask about the barista job," Ray said.
"Oh, cool!" The man said, and walked around to shake his hand. "I'm James Dewees, store owner."
"Ray Toro," he grinned back.
"So do you have any training as a barista?"
Oh. Maybe this wasn't going to go so well.
"No, but his coffee's amazing!" Gerard piped up. "It's even better than Starbucks. I mean, just. But Starbucks is pretty awesome and Ray's even better. They're idiots for saying they wouldn't hire him."
"Gerard, that's not really helping." Maybe this wasn't going to go so well.
James was just watching Ray sort of expectantly, though, and he realised he had to say something. "Uh, I taught myself. I haven't used a commercial machine before but I know the theory, I guess."
James raised an eyebrow. "There's coffee theory?"
Ray's shoulders sagged. "I like reading up on things."
"Well, let's see what you taught yourself, then," James said, with a shrug, and pointed towards the counter. "I like a cappucino this time of day."
Ray was nervous with the huge machine, but as soon as he had a jug of milk in his hand and the machine whirring to life, he felt right at home again. This was just what he'd always do, but with better equipment. Ray liked it when he got a hold of some good equipment. Once he got started, he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was so focused that it didn't even worry him when he heard Gerard saying "Really, a cappucino? You don't seem like a cappucino kind of guy at all! I figured you'd me more a double-shot latte kinda guy, you look way too cool for a cappucino. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with your coffee choices..."
When Ray handed James the cup of coffee a few minutes later, his prospective boss was watching him with a look of reservation. Not judging him, or disapproving, but withholding from any kind of comment until he'd tasted it. If anything, he looked kind of curious. But after the first sip, he blinked down at his cappucino like he couldn't believe it, took another sip and then stared at Ray in amazement as he put it down.
"Toro, was it?" he asked, as he clapped him on the shoulder.
"Yes?"
"Congratulations, you just won employee of the month at Cafe Dewees."
"What?" Ray asked, bewildered, "So you're gonna hire me?"
"Oh dude, I was gonna hire you anyway," James grinned, "But with skills like that I want you here for life."
"Are there any other employees?" Gerard asked, suddenly. "Because it's a pretty easy win if it's just you."
"Well, it's tough being beaten after my perfect streak, but it's about time someone took it off me," James said. "So, Toro, when can you start?"
"Um, whenever?"
"Tomorrow okay then? We open at 8 for the morning pre-work rush."
"Sure, I can do that," Ray said, eagerly, ignoring Gerard's look of horror at the thought of starting work at 8 am. "I can't wait!"
"Go Toro!" Gerard said, happily, and then leaned in to whisper "I get discounted coffee for getting you the job, right?"