[META PRP] Coffee Confrontation (Nucleo x Frossa)

[melona-pan]

'nucleo was having a great night, a fine night. it was such a good night, nothing could possibly ruin it'
Frossa visits The Nightly Grind to chew out a certain barista who rejected her idol sponsorship application.

 

[melona-pan]

Truth be told, she expected this.

Calculated, even.

Frossa and Hippodad left as soon as the sun set. The journey ate up a full night, even with a massive lusus that carried her and beetles for the train- but it would be worth it. Oh, it would.

She had checked both her and her father into a hotel on Busthind- if it could be called that. It was damp, cramped, and barren of the luxury Frossa was so used to being bathed in on a daily basis- but it would be worth it. It would.

The next night, she bided her time, indulging in the fanciest breakfast she could locate in this awful, tiny, horrendously boring 'town'. It was dry and tasteless. 3/10. It would be worth it.

Then she set off for The Nightly Grind, receipt in hand. Literally. The rejection 'paper'- that cretin had only responded with a single word written on ******** receipt paper. The blatant disrespect had her nutrition sack twisting with rage, even if she had expected Nucleo's rejection. The nerve.

Showing up in person to confront him at his place of work would all make it worth it, though. Make him squirm a little. But the real cherry on top of the situation- Amonee.

Frossa smiled to herself, thoughts of petty revenge warming her little bloodpusher. As she and her father neared The Nightly Grind, she turned to him, gave him the usual instructions to stay put, and skipped straight into the coffee shop.

While the heaviest flow of the breakfast rush had passed, The Nightly Grind still had late risers trickling in for their early cuppa joe. Frossa nonchalantly joined the short line in front of the counter, rocking on the backs of her heels while she hummed 'Pon Pon Pon' to herself. This was gunna be fun.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

As business began to slow down after the first rush, Nucleo brushed his bangs out of his face in relief. He'd been starting to worry that he'd need to make a few clones to keep up with the pace but it was starting to become manageable now. Thanking the latest customer and sending them on their way, he briefly noted a familiar song fill the air before recognizing it. Augh Amonee had been blasting it over and over during the past few days! It'd gotten on Nucleo's nerves so much that he'd given the jadeblood tonight off just to escape it for a night.

And now here he was... face to face with the singer herself.

"Frossa? What are you doing here?" The surprise on Nucleo's face was clear. While he knew she wouldn't be thrilled with his rejection of her application for sponsorship, he didn't expect to see her until the competition started later! Not entirely prepared, he tried to stay calm to figure out what she wanted.

Besides his head on a plate.

melona-pan

 

[melona-pan]

"Oh, why, hello there Nucleo." Frossa slid up to the counter top, leaning over to give him an impish wink. "What, no greeting?" She straightened up and covered her mouth with a gloved hand, letting out a tiny, mock gasp. "My my, this isn't the first time you've forgotten your manners! Were you hatched in a barn? Or perhaps my mere image just leaves you at a loss for words." Laughing, she shook her head.

"Your horrendously ill conduct aside," waving a hand dismissively, Frossa continued to ramble in her usual fashion, "I was just passing through the neighborhood and thought I'd pay my favourite barista a visit!" Batting her eyelashes up at him, she burst into another fit of unholy giggles. Then, as suddenly as they started, Frossa fell silent. "Although now that I have you here, I may as well-" She narrowed her eyes up at Nucleo, lids slitting to stare seethingly up at him. Her smile never once wavered. From inside her bag, she retrieved the rejection 'letter' from The Nightly Grind and held it up for Nucleo to see.

"Imagine my utmost shock upon receiving this... response." Her nose crunched ever so slightly. "I can only assume there was such a catastrophe on the business end of things here that you were unable to properly articulate yourself in your answer. I wouldn't be surprised if you had difficulty perusing my request- do lowhatched read often if it doesn't have to do with menus? You do seem awfully busy with work. Perhaps you misunderstood my offer in the first place." Frossa smiled sweetly, clasping a cheek in her free hand. She let out a heaving, dramatic sigh. "I don't know, Nucleo. Maybe you can clarify a few things for me about this...?"

"Oh, and one large hot chocolate, please~!"

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"That's one way to put it." Nucleo muttered at her loss for words comment. Crossing his arms as she began her spiel, the greenblood waited to hear what the point of her visit would be. He knew she was here because of his rejection notice but he didn't know what she'd come to do about it.

"Is there something wrong with it? I guarantee you it's spelled correctly." Nucleo asked, feigning concern. He could see the bait she laid out and wasn't going to fall for it so easily. Instead he'd make her work for it, she could actually expend a little effort for once in her life. For all that he'd known her she tended to just do what she wanted without any thought and expected life to just fall into place around her. He, on the other hand, worked hard for what he had.

"Perhaps you should tell me what you're having trouble comprehending. Do you need me to find some flashcards and go over the alphabet with you?" His smile was as sugary sweet as the hot chocolate he placed in front of her, whipped cream sprayed in a frowny face design.

melona-pan

 

[melona-pan]

"Upupupu~" Frossa let out a sardonic giggle, throwing her gloved fingertips up to hoover over her grin. "What's with this new shade of confidence? Did you even hear a word I said, or were you too busy trying to formulate a quippy response? Darling, please- I'm growingly concerned about your level of education. Or perhaps you need your auricular sponge clots cleaned? Please do keep up." She waved the stained receipt in front of his face, leaning over the counter to get as much leverage as possible over the much taller boy. "I expressed my concern for your articulation on the matter, not your outstanding ability to string two characters together into a single word."

Frossa settled back onto the flats of her boots, turning the rejection letter over as if to study it intently. "Now, now- I realize that you're lowhatched, but this isn't how you run a professional establishment! No letterhead, no common courtesies, written on a sullied receipt... If one didn't know better, I'd think you were intentionally trying to be disrespectful!" Frossa ungloved one hand. She dipped one finger into the top of her hot chocolate, careful to only stir the top layer of whipped cream. It dissolved into the drink, frothing into a creamy brown.

"I chose to give you the benefit of the doubt, sweetpea, and believe that you were just too overwhelmed with work and couldn't find the time to write me properly. But," Frossa shrugged, gesturing around the coffee shop. No one else stood in line- while the rush had passed, her point had been made. "Given your sour attitude with me today, after I came all the way up here just to say hello and touch base, and the letter... well..."

Out of nowhere, Frossa let out a shocked gasp. She clutched at her chest. "Nucleo...! Is it possible you... you're bullying me? Oh goodness! In my naivete, I just thought you were one of those distant types. I'm so foolish!" She threw a palm over her forehead, and let out a hiccuping sob. "Ooh... but I know it just couldn't be so...! I must be wrong! Amonee would be ever so broken if he realized you were... purposefully harassing me." Her gloved hand had trailed down from her forehead back to her cheek, highlighting her s**t eating grin. "I've been nothing but gracious towards you, sweetpea! So please, I'm asking ever so sweetly- why don't we clear the air, Nu~ cle~ oh~?"

Frossa licked the whipped cream off her finger. "Oh, and more whipped cream, if you could be so kind."

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"I thought it'd be best to use simple language you could comprehend. Plus I know you're a busy girl and wouldn't care to read about all the details of why." Nucleo replied with a level matter of fact voice. He didn't know where he was going with this just yet but to panic this early in the game would be to play right into her hands. Watching her swirl her finger in her cup, his eyes slowly traveled back up to her face.

"Bullying? No, that would imply I thought you cared about what I do and say. Make no mistake, I know better than that. I didn't think this would even register on your radar, Frossa." The greenblood laughed self-deprecatingly, though his words were intended more as a poke at her. He knew she wanted to see him squirm but did she know he wanted the same back? He'd have to push her a little harder he mused, as he added another dash of whipped cream to her cup.

"If you think back on it, I've been nothing but-" Nucleo sprayed a little extra whipped cream on the tip of her nose, "-sweet to you."

He smiled.

melona-pan

 

[melona-pan]

Frossa blinked, taken aback by a brief moment by Nucleo's ballsy display. Then her smile returned. The one thing she didn't mind getting on herself- but not her clothes or hair, mind you- was food. Scooping up the whipped cream with her index finger, she popped it into her mouth and giggled. It was cute when he struggled.

"Why- of course you've been nothing but amicable towards me, Nucleo. Well, until that cheap shot at my vocabulary. If I were a lesser troll, I'd take that as an attack! Honestly dear, don't embarrass yourself. I'm not sure what the average reading level is like out here, but I assure you that I'm as fluent and comprehensible as trolls come. One would think that'd be obvious enough in a lone conversation with me." Propping one elbow onto the counter, Frossa balanced her chin thoughtfully atop it and hummed. "That's why I'm here about this rather appalling letter, if you could even call it so." The receipt was waved once again under Nucleo's nose. "I'm offering you a chance to explain yourself, do you f o l l o w? As I'm positive there was some sort of misunderstanding along the way, be it your level of literacy, your schedule, prior commitments- what have you."

"And, now darling, don't sell yourself short." Her voice rang like a bell. Frossa's hooded eyes never once left Nucleo's. "Would I have come up this gog forsaken mountain unless you 'registered on my radar'?" Her fingers were raised in an air quote. Frossa shrugged, then reached to take a sip from the hot chocolate. "Mmm! Splendid. Thank goodness your drinks are better than your cooking. Anyway, back to the matter at horn- I wouldn't have applied for sponsorship unless I thought we had a great relationship!" Frossa batted her eyelashes, smiling sweetly. "Now, are you going to keep dodging my inquiry, or shall I ask in the simplest wording I can formulate in the hopes that will clarify things? I'd hate to tell Amonee that after I came all the way up here to say hi and clear the air, you made fun of me and wouldn't give me a straight answer... but that's what it's starting to look like from my perspective...!" Her lower lip wobbled expertly.

DouwdaDAdtei

 

[Doutei]

"You flatter me." The greenblood shook his head with a chuckle as she insulted his cooking. As Frossa carefully and carelessly ranted at him, he watched her eyes curiously. Now that she'd admitted he mattered to her, in a manner of speaking, he felt pleased. She masked her irritation with sugary words and a speedy delivery that demanded your full attention.

"Alright, you win. I'll spill." At her second insistent threat of tattling to Amonee, the barista stopped cleaning his counter. He seemed uncomfortable but determined at what he was going to say next.

"After the way you showed your support this Bloodfest, I simply copied your example." Here was his own admission. Avoiding her eyes, he hated giving her the satisfaction of learning she'd gotten under his skin in return. But he couldn't help it, he'd been mad. After all this time he'd thought he'd mattered enough for her to drop by only to be ignored completely. She'd come up with an excuse now, no doubt, to try and rub it in and hurt his feelings. She'd been too busy to even think of him.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've got your reasons for it or whatever but... now it's your turn to think from my perspective." The greenblood crossed his arms, subconsciously protecting his heart.

"How was I supposed to take that?" Hating this feeling of vulnerability, he wondered if he'd said too much.

melona-pan

 

[melona-pan]

Frossa immediately straightened up when Nucleo admitted defeat, obviously very pleased with herself. She flipped her hair, titled her head, and made a waving gesture as if to say 'continue'.

"Showed my support at Bloodfest?" Eyes widening, Frossa was taken by surprise at the turn this conversation had taken. Her confidence wavered. She slumped a bit, eyes flicking up to the ceiling as she contemplated her response. They avoided each other's gaze.

"Well, I-" Frossa opened her mouth, then clamped it shut again. Her thinkpan stalled, mind racing to come up with a smooth, witty response. It failed. Instead, it kept circling back to the real reason she hadn't gone this year. Alifax. Hazzan. The NFL. Each Bloodfest, Frossa became increasingly aware of how distant they were growing. They had their own lives, were busy off paving their own paths; but they always made time for nationwide events like Bloodfest. For each other. Until Hazzan didn't. Then Alifax. This year, no one had responded to her letters.

She had opted out of Bloodfest, instead busying herself with the hunts in Four Fronds. It was a waiting game, so she camped out waiting for her traps to trigger- all the while telling herself this was her choice to be sitting alone in the middle of a near empty forest, and no one else's.

Frossa pawed at the cup of hot chocolate on the counter. "I'm sorry Nucleo, I really am." Something about the way she fidgeted and averted her gaze seemed more genuine than her usual saccharine. "I didn't realize my presence meant that much to you." Haughty words aside, she still seemed truthful. "A personal emergency came up right before Bloodfest. Hippodad wasn't eating so I took him to the clinic and turns out the fool had a bunch of plastic bags and bottles in his stomach and needed surgery," Stopping herself from going off on a tangent, she shook her head and shrugged. It was all very true- although it had happened nearly a sweep ago. She couldn't even admit to herself the real reason she hadn't gone. "I honestly didn't think anyone would realize I wasn't there. It's such a big and busy event, y'know? I swear I would have written you, had I had known." Or have just gone. Frossa pushed her cup around the counter sheepishly. "Knowing this, I don't blame you for being upset. I would have been," she squeezed the cup, hitting a little too close to home. "So, I offer my sincerest apologies. My absence has no bearing on how I feel about you. This, I swear." It was 100% true. It was a rare moment of half-honesty for Frossa.

It was also fleeting.

Frossa straightened up, shaking her head. Curls went bouncing. "But but but! This is why I came here, to clear the air. Don't you see, Nucleo? I do care~!" She threw her arms out, rhyming in a sing-songy voice. Regular ol' Frossa was back, smiling wide. "So- all good then? Everything is sorted out? I mean- it doesn't really change the fact I was entirely absent from Bloodfest due to dire circumstance and you rejected my application so crudely- a little petty, dear- but I forgive you. It's all just a big misunderstanding." Frossa batted her eyelashes.

Doutei

frossa sits by herself and is sad and pissy she's alone while nucleo gets mad she's not there A++

 

[Doutei]

There were many things he wanted to say. He wanted to shake her and demand her think it over. How dare she pretend no one would notice her absence! She was Frossa Fyrste! The loudest, most annoying, sneaky, manipulative, frustrating little brat anyone had ever met! Merely setting an eye on her, burned her little smirk into your thinkpan! Hearing her voice allowed it to travel into your spongeclot and nest there to wake you in the middle of the day! If there was one thing Frossa wasn't, it was forgettable.

In a way, he felt like she was accidentally admitting he was.

Clenching his fist behind the counter, he let her speak and explain how her lusus had needed her, it'd been a traumatic emergency. It all made sense and was a good reason to have missed it. The two of them had been dancing around each other for a long time now, poking and then jumping back waiting for a reaction. He hadn't been the most forth coming with his feelings about her and so perhaps she had other suitors who popped out more in her mind. Or she could even just be not looking, there were trolls who did that. A small nervous part of him wondered if it was possible she even already had a kismesis that he didn't know about. His bilesack churned at the thought. He'd spent a long time getting over one crush with Elidae. He didn't know that he had it in him to do it again for Frossa.

He had a crush on Frossa.

"Not quite." The greenblood shook his head as she asked if everything was good now. There was one more thing he needed her to understand regarding Bloodfest. It was something Frossa wouldn't have realized because she hadn't attended, but something she'd probably like to know. As much as he squabbled with the highblood, he did also want things to work out for her.

"I'm not the only one who noticed your absence." Hopeful eyes, looking longingly out at the crowd came to mind. A white billowing cloth with pink petals. The other troll who'd been eagerly anticipating her visit, almost more so than him, had smiled and played it off as nothing... but Nucleo could tell. The jadeblood wasn't the greatest liar.

"Amonee missed you. He worked my booth this year waiting for you to come by, and well... just visit him soon, okay?" The greenblood crossed his arms as he scolded her. She could badmouth him all she wanted once there, he'd deal with it. But he cared about his friends, was invested in their happiness, and this is what it would take to paint a genuine smile back on the artist's face.

"Then I'll forgive you." Despite his huffy attitude, his eyes were earnest, pleading.

melona-pan