Cooking Lessons

"Of course it is," Ranna said, like bad food from her was a concept so incredulous. "What else would you expect?"

"Don't let her fool you," Trea said, showing up beside Aden. Nora hadn't noticed her come in. "When she first started cooking, she was terrible. I taught her everything she knows."

"Lies," Ranna countered, shooting Trea a disbelieving look. "All lies."

Warmth

Aden slumped in the chair, not having the energy to protest anymore.
Maybe he should have stayed home. He wasn't feeling any better, other than being with Nora which always made him feel better.
Pepermint tea floated down in front of him and then Chicken noodle soup was next to it.
"Eat up." Nora told him.
Aden nodded and reached forward, grabbing the spoon and bringing it slowly to his mouth.
The soup was delicious and just the perfect temperature. He felt warmth surge through him.
"It's good." He said, smiling.

Full Care Mode

"What are you doing here?" Nora asked incredulously. He looked miserably sick, his face gray with the effort of being there. She jumped out of her chair, pushing him into it.

"Peppermint tea and chicken noodle soup," she gave her order to Ranna, who was starting it up before Maura even said anything. Aden started to protest, but Nora wouldn't listen to him. She was in full Care-Mode, and Ranna knew from experience that she was a force to be reckoned with, but never to be stopped.

Sick

Aden walked into the coffee shop, sagging a little.
He felt awful.
He hated colds.
And head colds were the worst.
But he knew he would feel better if he got out instead of staying at home. He also knew he would feel better if he saw Nora.
It had been horrible to not see her yesterday, but he hadn't been able to get out of bed.

She turned around when he walked in and the relief on her face was more than he had hoped for.
"Hey Nora." He said in his stuffy nose voice.

Irrational

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm acting so stupid," she laughed, embarrassed. "I'm not doing this. I told myself I wouldn't do this again, and here I am doing it again, and over a guy that I have no idea if he likes me -- he doesn't like me, I just know it."

"Nora, you're being irrational again," Ranna said, a small hint of amusement at the corner of her mouth.

Nora clutched her hair, then smoothed it out and sighed. "You're right. I'm getting all worked up about nothing. So he didn't come today. Big deal. It wasn't because of me. He didn't not come because of me. Am I right, Ranna?" Her eyes begged Ranna to tell her she was right. The coffeeshop doorbell clang as someone walked in.

"Why don't you turn around and ask him yourself?" Ranna asked with a lopsided grin.

Odd

"No I haven't seen him. And he hasn't walked by the shop either."
That was strange. Ranna had been able to hear what Aden thought about Nora.... He wouldn't just not show up for her.
Nora bit her lip. "Can I just have a cookie?"
Ranna raised her eyebrows then walked away silently, coming back with a cookie.
"I'm sure he'll be in tomorrow."

Anxious

Ranna was there, scratches and bruises all up her arms, a cut lip, and a bruising face.

"What happened to you?" Nora gasped. Ranna shrugged casually, as if this were the way she looked every day.

"I'm a little rusty. We had a situation in the South Pacific, and the guys need my help. Well, the guys and Trea."

"That still doesn't explain what happened to you."

Ranna looked at her like she was stupid. "Nora. Superhero, remember?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Hey, I haven't seen Aden all day. He hasn't come in while I was gone, has he?" Her fingers tapped anxiously on the countertop. She didn't notice. Ranna did.

Missing

Nora sat at her table, thinking for a long while before she came to work.
Thorn brought her donut bag right at 9:00 and she rushed out the door.
It wasn't until she came back after work that she realized she hadn't seen Aden yet that day.

Ninja Bet

"Did he send you to ask me?" she said suspiciously.

"Nope. Yuuto and I have a bet, you see. He thinks that you like him. You know, like like him. I think you just like him as a friend. Which one of us is right?"

"Um..." Nora said. "I don't really know." She wasn't good at thinking under pressure like this, not when it came to things that pertained to her personal life. "I haven't thought about it."

That answer seemed to surprise Kagami. "Oh. Well, okay. But don't tell Yuuto, okay? I don't want him thinking that he won and you were just too nice to tell me. He'll be insufferable." She smiled and went back to her table.

Nora sat down at her regular table. Did she like Aden? More than a friend? She just thought they were starting to be friends. Did he like her like that? She was so confused!

Ninja skills

"I'm sure she will." then he took the piece of paper and looked at then got to work making Nora's favorite.

Nora started to go back to her table but then Kagami was standing in front of her, suddenly.
"Oh.. Hi Kagami."
"Hey Nora, How are you?"
"fine... Just chillin."
"Oh good, do you like Aden?"
Nora blinked, that was out of the blue.

My Best Friend's a Superhero

She dropped Nora's bagel-in-a-bag in front of her. "You're late, Nora. Better run."

Nora, in a way that Aden was starting to get accustomed to, ran out of the coffeeshop. He watched her until she was inside the building, away from his sight. His hand still tingled from touching hers.

xXx

The next day, Ranna wasn't there when Nora came in. Thorn had taken her place at the counter. 

"Hey, Thorn," she said. "How's Loki?" 

"As rambuctious as ever," he said with a sly grin. "Haven't been able to take her out in public for a month now."

"Where do you guys live?" Nora asked. She wouldn't be fit to go out in public, either, if she'd been kept in her tiny apartment for a month. 

"A cabin out in the woods," he said, not noticing her expression of horror."Loki runs around all the time up there. All my hard work at civilizing her gone to waste," he joked. 

"Wow, it must be amazing out there!"

"It is. Now, let's see, Ranna left a list of your regulars. Have a seat, and I'll get it right to you."

"Where is she, by the way?"

"I think she said something about a mission with some of her friends. Saving the world...something like that."

"Oh. I forget she's a superhero, sometimes," Nora said. "She'd better bring me back something cool."

Hurricane Trea

Aden's eye widened.
What?
"What!"
He got panicky.
"She wouldn't really poison me, would she?" He took Nora's hand over the table in his nervousness.

The bell rang as the door opened.
"Raaaanna!"
A smile caught on Ranna's face.
"Trea?" Ranna turned around.
Trea barreled into Ranna hugging her tightly.
"Hey, Ranna, I never asked if you would be my Maid of Honor! will you?"
"Of course." Ranna said pushing Trea off of her.
"Oh good!, I was thinking Red would be a good color for your dress, or orange... no red. Definently Red. Well, don't kill anyone today! Off to tell Topher! Love You Ranna!"

And then she was gone.
It was as if a whirlwind had swept through the store in the seconds Trea had been there.
Slowly, talking began again and then the coffee shop sounded just like normal.

Ranna brought Aden his hot chocolate.
She smirked as she read his thoughts and expression.
"You're lucky Trea came in."

Poisoned

"She's going to get you what you ordered last time. You should sent a mental shout-out if you want that changed," Nora advised him, then a smile crawled across her face. "And hello."

Nora knew when Aden had sent the shout-out. Ranna let out a sharp string of expletives, spinning around and looking first at Nora, who was giggling. Nora wouldn't giggle if she had done it, Ranna knew. She would be running, and it hadn't sounded like her voice, anyway. Which left Aden, because no one else was stupid enough to shout that loud at her in her head.

A sly smile curled up at the corners of her lips, reaching her eyes and making them squint.

"Uh-oh," Nora whispered, humor still in her voice.

"Uh-oh, what?" Aden asked, panic starting to accumulate in his throat. What had he done? Ranna was sure to kill him!

"You probably don't want to drink what she brings you," Nora said. "More likely than not, it's poisoned."

Excitment

Aden walked into the coffee shop feeling excited.
He wasn't used to this feeling.
He was normally just content.
He knew what was coming and what he was going to do about it.
But now... he had no idea. It was all new.
And Aden loved it!
The sight of Nora's face sent his heart pounding in his throat.
He sat down across from her at her table.
"Hello." He smiled.
Ranna gave him a glance then walked away, probably going to get his order.

Hero

"Do you ever think that you're in the wrong job, Ranna?" Nora asked glumly. "That there's something, anything, better out there for you?"

"Me? Personally? Yeah, I know for sure that there is. But I don't want it," Ranna said, cleaning mugs. "But in general? I don't know. Guess it depends on how willing you are to fight for it."

"What do you mean you could have something better?"

Ranna gave her a sly grin. "C'mon, what superpowered hero wants to be caught dead working at some place like this? No, they want all the glory. The kicking bad guys butts, saving the day, falling in love...well, I guess I like that part. But that's about it. Superhero life just isn't for me."

"What's the point of having powers if you don't use them to save people?"

"I do some freelance stuff. Some group missions with a couple of pals of mine from school. Warren and Trea and Topher, you remember them. But I've had enough of that life. I'm ready to take it easy."

"Why don't you want to be the hero, Ranna? Why don't you want the spotlight when you do amazing things?"

Ranna stopped drying her mug, setting it down on the counter. She looked past Nora, almost like she was watching her past behind Nora's curly hair.

"I used to want that. And it ended up hurting my friends, and killing me. I'm lucky I'm alive after that."

Nora looked down at her hot chocolate, her spoon making circles, mixing chocolate and whipped cream together. "You never did tell me that story."

"And it's a story for another time," Ranna said. "Your boy's here."

"Aden's not 'my boy'," Nora protested. "He's just a friend."

Ranna gave her a knowing smile. "Well, then, you'd better get a move on it, hadn't you?"