RP: Our daily bread

[rar_cho]

Date: Monday, May 27, 1999
Characters: Cho Chang, Anthony Goldstein
Location: The Bread Basket
Status: Private
Summary: Chang and Goldstein break bread.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rar_anthony]

Anthony made his way downstairs, his bag on his shoulder, determined to have a warm banana nut muffin and a steaming cup of coffee before work. He didn't usually drink much coffee, but he'd not slept well the night before, and he thought it might help.

"Good morning, dear," said Mrs Marlinspike, "What'll it be this morning?" She liked Anthony (though not nearly as much as her grandson did, apparently) and was always kind to him, even when he was grouchy of a morning.

Anthony put in his order and was informed that the last banana nut muffin had just been purchased by the young lady at the sidewalk table, and would he perhaps like raisin-bran, instead? Anthony frowned as he realised exactly who the young lady was who had taken the muffin that was rightfully his, and he ordered a croissant instead.

He paid and made his way out to the sidewalk tables, looming over Cho for a moment.

"Enjoying that muffin?" He was in no mood to be trifled with today.

[rar_cho]

Cho was startled out of her reading and looked up to see Anthony Goldstein standing over her. Where the hell had he come from?” She hadn’t even seen him approaching or going into the bakery. More importantly, why was he making small talk with her?

She looked at her untouched muffin and then back at him. “Actually, I haven’t tasted it yet.” She tilted her head as she stared curiously at him, “Um, thanks for asking.” Maybe he had decided to try being cordial with her.

[rar_anthony]

"You haven't?" Anthony considered the croissant in his hand, then held it up. "There's almond paste inside. Very tasty. Trade?"

He doubted she'd want to, especially with him, but thought it probably couldn't hurt to ask.

[rar_cho]

Cho bit her lip as she tried not to grin. For some reason, he wanted her muffin. “Almond paste? So, that’s what gives it that hint of something exotic in its flavour.” She took a drink of her coffee before continuing, “It is very tasty. However, I might be willing to split the muffin for half that croissant.” She wondered how amenable he would be to that suggestion.

[rar_anthony]

Anthony frowned. "There's almond paste in this," he said, waving the croissant a bit. "Not in the muffin. You'd like it. I promise." He didn't want to share, he wanted his bloody muffin. He knew he was acting like a petulant little firstie, but he didn't care. He sat down next to Cho and blew across the surface of his coffee, nudging the croissant towards her.

[rar_cho]

Cho hid a smile behind her coffee cup. “Oh! Well, that changes things.” She set her coffee down and picked up the coveted muffin. She contemplated the trade again. “So, instead of just a regular muffin, I could have the flaky croissant with its hint of almond. Hmmm, that is tempting.” She placed the muffin back on the table and queried, “How do you know the croissant contains almond paste?”

[rar_anthony]

"Yes. Tempting. Go on, then." Anthony could have sworn Cho was smirking there behind her coffee cup. He picked up his own, sipped it, then added more sugar as Cho asked how he knew the croissant had almond paste inside.

"Because it hasn't got chocolate," he said, "Because I'd never buy one with chocolate." There. Stupid answer for a stupid question. Anthony sipped his coffee again. It, at least, was perfect.

"Muffin's getting cold," Anthony said. "Have we got a deal?"

[rar_cho]

She crossed her arms and just stared at him. Rude git. So much for cordial. “Your pastry logic is astounding, Anthony.” She shook her head in disbelief, “And what’s wrong with chocolate?” If there was anyone who could use a happy endorphin release from chocolate, it was Anthony Goldstein. She rolled her shoulders before rubbing her temples.

She caught Anthony staring at the muffin and pushed it towards him. “Here, take it.” Since chocolate didn’t make him happy, maybe more bran in his diet would. She had lost her appetite anyway. She looked at her watch and began gathering her belongings.

[rar_anthony]

Anthony snorted into his coffee cup. Pastry logic. That was sort of funny. He tried his hardest not to smile, at least not where Cho could see. That would ruin his whole imposing demeanour. "Chocolate's not a breakfast food," he said.

He screwed up his face and considered the muffin as Cho pushed it towards him. She almost sounded angry--and then she started gathering her things to go. Anthony frowned.

"Just sit," he said, "And finish your coffee, at least. And your muffin." He tore off a piece of the croissant and popped it in his mouth.

[rar_cho]

She knew he was laughing at her. Of course, she knew chocolate wasn’t proper breakfast food but she wasn’t going to admit that - to him. She enjoyed chocolate chips on her pancakes sometimes and chocolate covered strawberries just happened to be very convenient when she was rushing to work. “So, you do like chocolate, just not for breakfast?”

She was tucking her notebook back in her bag when he encouraged her to stay. She looked up to see he had started eating the croissant. Her croissant. She swore she had never met a more contradictory bloke in her life. She pulled the croissant closer to tear off a piece, “Hey, I was going to eat that.” She pushed the muffin in front of him. "You should eat this before it gets cold," she said with a smile as she mentally chastised herself for her fleeting wish that it was already cold and he would forget to use a warming charm.

She knew she should make a better effort to get along with him. "So, how are things at Obscurus Books?"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony shrugged. "Chocolate's fine for other times of the day," he said. It wasn't his favourite, but he liked a small piece of the really good stuff now and then.

He grabbed the croissant back and shielded it from her with his arm. "Leave my breakfast," he said with a hint of humour in his voice. "You've got a lovely banana muffin. Which is definitely cold by now."

She asked him about work. Was this some sort of ploy to distract him from what he was quickly realising was a fantastically amazing croissant? "It's fine. Why?"

[rar_cho]

He redeemed himself a small degree when he admitted to liking chocolate. As for not having chocolate for breakfast, Cho wasn’t one to deny herself if she was craving something sweet just because it was morning. Of course, she was just as likely to have breakfast foods for her evening meal as well. So it was a balanced diet, sort of.

“Anthony!” She couldn’t believe he had taken the croissant and was holding it out of her reach. “Oh, I see how it is. The muffin is suddenly lovely after you taste the croissant.” She narrowed her eyes, “I told you we should’ve split them.”

Why was he asking ‘why’ she was making polite small talk? Evidently, civility was lost on him. “No reason,” she shrugged as she scooted her chair a little closer, keeping the croissant in her line of sight.

[rar_anthony]

"The muffin was lovely earlier, too," Anthony pointed out. "However--" he paused to savour another bit of the croissant "--I'm finding that this suits my tastes much better this morning." He popped another large piece of the croissant in his mouth to punctuate his sentence. And he couldn't help himself--he gave Cho a smirk as he chewed. Lisa or Michael would've laughed, but Anthony wasn't sure how Cho would react.

"Okay." Anthony shrugged, too, and kept working on his croissant. He noticed Cho still hadn't touched the muffin, and he drew his wand and cast a warming spell on it.

[rar_cho]

She would have found Anthony’s behavior amusing if it had been anyone else. She just didn’t know him well enough to discern whether he was taking the mickey or was serious about his strange breakfast bartering game. His smirk could mean either. Regardless, it was pretty funny. “What a lovely discovery to make, that you prefer your own croissant,” she couldn’t resist smirking herself, “And how fortuitous that this revelation came before you ate my breakfast.” She had a hard time not laughing out loud.

After he used a warming spell on the muffin, she murmured her thanks and then tore off a piece. She kept sneaking glances at him as she slowly nibbled on a bite of the very muffin she had bought for her own breakfast. This was almost a pleasant encounter, yet still very bizarre.

[rar_anthony]

"It is lovely," said Anthony. "Quite. Thank you." He had some more of the croissant and washed it down with a gulp of coffee. "I do hope you enjoy the muffin. If you've never had them here before, they're quite edible." He tried his damndest not to smirk at Cho again.

The door to the bakery opened, then, and Anthony saw a familiar figure exiting with a pastry and a steaming mug of something-or-other.

Marlinspike.

Fan-bloody-tastic.

Anthony glanced between Marlinspike and Cho, unsure of what to do. Marlinspike saw him, then, and lifted his eyebrows as if asking if he could come and sit with them. Anthony ducked his head, defeated, then waved Marlinspike over.

"Hi," Marlinspike said, choosing the chair next to Cho and leaving one empty spot between himself and Anthony. He reached out a hand to Cho. "Don't believe we've met. John Marlinspike. That's my Gran makes the muffins and such in there."

[rar_cho]

She couldn’t help but grin and shake her head at Anthony’s overly polite responses. He was definitely taking the mickey. “Thank you. How did you know edible muffins just happen to be my favorite?”

She was sipping her coffee when she noticed Anthony waving over a bloke who had just left the bakery. The fellow sat down and extended a hand in greeting as he introduced himself. She took his proffered hand as she said, “Hello, John. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Cho. Cho Chang.” When he mentioned his grandmother was the one who had made the baked goods, she couldn’t help smiling over at Anthony. “I think Anthony and I both are happy patrons thanks to the delicious muffins and such.” She looked back at John, “My compliments to your grandmother.”