she who entangles

Who: Justin Finch-Fletchley, Victoria Frobisher
Where: In the Magic Bean, during morning rush hour.
When: Sometime in the late summer/early fall, 2003. Justin's still living in his crappy flat.
What: Justin flirts and Vicki gets jealous! They even manage to express their interest in each other.
Rating: G.

It was a bright, sunny morning, which was certainly a rarity in England. Justin could practically feel the sun beat down on him, even though he was currently indoors and well away from the windows. The line of customers was longer than usual, but it seemed to fly by for Justin. He had a cheery smile for everyone, and even flirted a bit with some of the females, including the twenty-year-old brunette standing in front of him right now. He smiled at her, but when she blushed his smile grew wider. Justin was only human, and therefore he loved to feel that rush of pride that came when a girl looked at him appreciatively. He finished her Zapuccino in record time and muttered, "That'll be 7 sickles, 2 knuts, love," adding that little endearment at the end for kicks. Of course it hit its mark, and the poor thing nearly dropped her purse while she looked for change. Indeed this was turning into quite a fine morning. Victoria hurried in the door, frowning a bit at the line of customers snaking around the side of the counter. The smile that always tugged at the corners of her mouth when she saw Justin behind the bar was replaced with a sharp stab of something incredibly unpleasant as she witnessed a particularly -friendly- exchange between him and a girl who couldn't have been far out of her teens. As the younger girl hurried away from the counter clutching her Zapuccino and practically giggling, Vicki twitched her nose a bit in distaste, unsettled by the distincly jealous nature of her current feelings. Telling herself quite sternly that Justin could smile and flirt with whoever he wanted, it was a somewhat distracted and cool Victoria that ended up at the counter. "Just coffee this morning, please." "Good morning!" Justin grinned affably at Vicki, but his happy expression gradually fell away when he realized that she wasn't very happy herself. Justin sort of hated himself for how much his mood was affected by hers, but he really couldn't help it. He'd gotten so used to seeing her smile in the morning that he couldn't imagine what would make her upset in the first place. So, Justin was in a much quieter mood as he poured the coffee for her. "How are you?" he asked in a normal voice, glancing up at her periodically as he added the milk and sugar as she normally liked it. Vicki couldn't quite meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what her own expression would show, and until she could explain her jealousy internally, she certainly wasn't going to try and explain it to Justin. "Just fine thank you. How much?" At that tone in her voice, Justin definitely knew something was up. He really wanted to get her to talk to him, but the line continued after her and he couldn't keep them all waiting. So he placed her coffee on the counter and muttered, "Five sickles, two knuts." Maybe he could catch her at her table later once things slowed down a bit. Victoria nodded, and even knowing that she was being silly, handed him the money without a word. She was being ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. She had absolutely no claim to Justin, no reason to worry about him talking to other girls, but some time in the last few weeks she'd started feeling possessive of him. He was her friend. Her barista. With a quick glance at him, Vicki headed for the table furthest from the counter to pretend to read her Prophet. Justin didn't say or do anything as he watched her walk away. Then, shaking his head to clear it, he mustered up a smile and served the other customers. As he worked, Justin kept an eye on Vicki as she read the Daily Prophet. He'd spent so much time wondering what was going on that he accidentally mixed up an order. After he'd apologized for it and hurried to make the right drink, Justin resolutely pushed all his thoughts about her to the back of his mind until he had the time to think. Thankfully, that time came in about 20 minutes. Grabbing a wet cloth, he grinned at the cashier and said, "I'll clean the tables." He started working on the ones closest to the counter, working his way to her. Hopefully, she'd be in a better mood by the time he got there. By the time a few minutes had passed and Victoria had a little coffee in her system (and it really was made perfectly...just enough cream and not too much sugar), she was feeling a little bit uncomfortable about her cold shoulder to Justin earlier. Still, her female pride wasn't letting her feel quite bad enough to turn around or smile at him, despite the fact that she was acutely aware of his presence. She sighed and finally allowed herself a glance around the shop, halfway relieved when she saw that it was nearly time for her to head to work. Catching sight of Justin finally, she felt a rather ashamed blush rising to her cheeks. Justin thought for a bit while he cleared up, trying to decide what to tell her. Finally, when he was near her, he noticed that it was about time for her to leave. So, instead of a long apology or striking up a conversation, he just smiled and said, "Have a good morning, Vicki." He lingered as he cleared the last table, wondering if she would say something. The simple greeting nearly did her in. Combined with Justin's smile, it was quite a difficult thing to be up against. Vicki was momentarily speechless, just berating herself for acting like such an idiot. Of course he had the right to talk to and flirt with whomever he wanted...Vicki just wished he wanted to flirt with her more than the little giggly girl. But then again, he hadn't sought the girl out to speak to her, instead here he was lingering and obviously trying to smooth out the wrinkles. "Thank you, Justin. You too. The ah...the coffee's perfect, as usual," She smiled at him then, trying to replace whatever unpleasant feelings he might have gotten from her earlier. Justin's tentative smile grew more relaxed when he saw that the time apart had obviously helped. And now that Vicki wasn't upset, he could feel his irrepressible happiness about the day affect him again. Twisting his mouth a little, he replied, "Good. At least I haven't lost my touch just yet." "Hardly. I think you'd be hard pressed to make me a bad cup of coffee," Victoria stood as she finished her cup and smiled as she folded her Prophet and put it back in her bag. Freeing her hair from underneath the shoulder strap of her bag, Vicki hesitated only slightly before continuing. "It's really just a shame they don't have curry here. If you can make a good curry, you might be my perfect man," It was forward, perhaps, but then again Vicki had always been forward. And if she was going to go and be jealous, she might as well make it clear that she was interested in staking some kind of claim. What kind of claim, she didn't yet know, but...it was worth a shot anyhow. Well this was certainly a first for them. Justin stood still for a moment, absorbing the fact that she actually considered him near-perfect. That meant that the attraction was mutual, and that he wasn't imagining things. This day really couldn't get any better. "I've never made curry before in my life," he admitted, "though I'm certainly willing to try! I'm not a bad cook overall." He picked up his towel, weighing it in his hand as he thought for a moment before he said, "In fact, I'm sure you'll agree if you try it. I'll have to cook for you sometime." He would have suggested tonight, but that would have been too forward and much too eager on his part. Thankfully, Justin had some dignity left. "Oh, I see. I might have to take you up on that," Victoria wasn't quite ready to commit to anything just yet...after all, there was the small matter of her daughter to consider. Still, it never hurt to make one's point known. "That is, if the little giggly girl doesn't get you first," She shot him a rather pointed look but softened it with a grin. It was time to go before she said or did too much. "I'll be late for sure. See you tomorrow, Justin." Justin blinked, then blinked again. So that was what had bothered her before? Justin barely remembered what he'd even said to her, let alone what she'd looked like. On one hand, he was flattered that he'd inspired jealousy in a woman as beautiful as Vicki. Yet, it also startled him a bit that her jealousy or bad mood in general was enough to dampen his spirits as well. He'd be more worried about how fast he was falling for her if she hadn't presented him with the perfect evidence that she liked him too, maybe just as much. Instead of saying all of that, Justin just smiled again and said, "See you tomorrow! Stay safe out there." That last bit came out of nowhere, but he didn't regret it. With a small wave and one last smile, Vicki headed off to work with a bit of a smirk on her face and a definite spring in her step.