Author's Note: There is Portuguese in this fic. While Kai translates, he doesn't do a thorough job. The real English translation is at the bottom. Shout out to isami183 for the translation!

Kai was good at a lot of things. He could run a lab, write an essay, solve a math problem, row a boat, read a book, and even do taxes. He could not, however, make a cup of coffee for the life of him. Not from lack of trying.

He sat a table over from Cinder, the senior employee who had been teaching him that day. "Senior" had nothing to do with age; Kai was a year older than her. Yet, for the first time in his life, he felt severely inadequate.

He bit into a scone an employee gave him earlier. He imagined it had to do with his father being the CEO. Since the moment he stepped into Imperial Coffee that morning, the other employees were distant. When Cinder first greeted him, he had to make her call him Kai: Mr. Huang he reserved for teachers and business meetings with his parents.

Still, Cinder was different from the other employees. From the hours she worked, he wondered if she went to college too, and when she first arrived she smelled like something akin to mechanic grease. He was intrigued, that was for sure, and it didn't hurt that she was attractive to boot.

"Oi, Iko. Como você tá?" he heard Cinder ask, though no one was across from her. He was confused until he noticed the laptop facing her. He could only see the Skype frame.

He didn't hear Iko's reply since Cinder was using earbuds, but now he was curious. It took him a second to recognize the language, but he thought Cinder was speaking Portuguese. He was fluent in Spanish, and he'd recently been taking Portuguese on the side for over two years. Rusty, but he could get by.

"Sim, o trabalho tá bem normal. Não tem nada muito interessante hoje."

Work wasn't interesting? Was he really that unimportant?

"Ah espera, eu esqueci. A gente tem un novo empregado. Ele também é o filho do CEO, então todo mundo tem agido bem estranho hoje."

He now appeared in the conversation, though he couldn't understand completely what she said about him. Something about being a CEO? And…did she say he was weird?

"Quero dizer, sim, mas não vai assumindo coisas. Ele é bem ruim em fazer café." She laughed and Kai's face grew warm. He was painfully aware of the irony of the situation. Yes, he was bad at making coffee. Ha. Ha.

"Trazer ele? Você tá de brincadeira? O que eu diria? 'Minha irmã é louca por você, gostaria de falar com ela por Skype no seu primeiro dia de trabalho?'"

Cinder was...going to ask him to Skype with Iko? Well.

"Tá bom."

Kai saw Cinder get up from the corner of his eye and pretended to concentrate on taking another bite of scone.

"Hey, um, Kai."

Kai looked up and smiled. "Don't tell me lunch is already over."

"No, actually. My sister wanted to say hello. I know it's weird, but I don't want to say no."

Kai got up. "Well, I'm not exactly preoccupied."

Cinder unplugged the earbuds from the laptop as they sat down. The girl on the screen had long, styled blue braids wrapped up in an intricate bun, and her bright gold eyes popped against her dark brown skin. She was beautiful, but she didn't look much like her sister. The girlish expression on her face made her appear years younger, though Kai suspected she was around the same age as Cinder.

Iko's smile grew when Kai waved. He didn't know what it was about her, but Iko made the day brighter.

"Hello, you must be...?"

"Kai. And you are?"

"Iko." Iko then turned to Cinder. "Você não me disse que ele era gostoso."

Kai had never heard "hot" to describe a person in Portuguese before. He filed that away, careful to keep his expression neutral.

"Não achei que fosse importante te contar." Cinder rolled her eyes.

Kai appreciated the sass, but he was disappointed she didn't outright agree with her sister.

"So, Kai," Iko asked, "how's your first day been?"

"I'm no good at making coffee, though not for lack of help." He pointedly looked at Cinder and Iko squealed.

"Cinder's really good at making coffee; she's been working there for five years! Or at least, the one back home. We have one here too."

Cinder glared but didn't say anything. Five years? Kai was barely volunteering five years ago, much less holding a job. Was that even legal? He didn't know.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and she caught on super quickly! Everyone was surprised."

"No kidding." He turned to Cinder. "How old were you? What, fifteen?"

"Yeah, fifteen and a half. I just worked the weekends, though, and didn't have too many hours."

"She's underselling herself, as always." Iko stuck her tongue out.

"Thanks, Iko, I think we've had enough. Lunch is almost over," Cinder grumbled.

"Alright, bye Cinder. Bye Kai!"

"Tchau, foi um prazer te conhecer, Iko," Kai said, right as the call ended. Cinder's eyes widened. He could already read her mind: He could understand us this entire time? SAVE ME.

He walked off as if nothing happened, only to lean against the counter laughing. He was still laughing when she walked up.

"You know Portuguese? Why didn't you say anything?"

He raised an eyebrow. And ruin that fun? his expression said.

"Fair point." Her cheeks were red with what was probably embarrassment, but seeing him laughing broke her into a smile, and then she was alongside him, laughter doubling.

In that moment, he forgot about the spilled coffee, the splattering whipped cream. He forgot about the frustration, the other employees who treated him as if he were different, the distance he felt. In that moment, both of them putting all their weight on the counter, clutching their sides, tears squeezing from their eyes, he was content.

Something had shifted; even once went back to work, there was a glow around them that continued the rest of the day. If there had been any unease between them before it was gone.

Instead, as he looked at the round tables and tall chairs and the espresso machine before him, he thought it felt cozy. The lights were bright, the conversations bubbling low, the scent of coffee thick. He wondered at Cinder's ponytail, whose messiness only seemed to frame her face better than if it were neat. And when he looked in her eyes at the pinnacle of a smile, for an instant…he was home.

English Translation

"Hey, Iko. How are you?" he heard Cinder ask, though no one was across from her. He was confused until he noticed the laptop facing her. He could only see the Skype frame.

He didn't hear Iko's reply since Cinder was using earbuds, but now he was curious. It took him a second to recognize the language, but he thought Cinder was speaking Portuguese. He was fluent in Spanish, and he'd recently been taking Portuguese on the side for over two years. Rusty, but he could get by.

"Yeah, work's pretty normal. Nothing much of interest today."

Work wasn't interesting? Was he really that unimportant?

"Oh wait, I forgot. We have a new employee. He's the CEO's son too, so everyone's been acting super weird today."

He now appeared in the conversation, though he couldn't understand completely what she said about him. Something about being a CEO? And…did she say he was weird?

"I mean, yeah, but stop assuming things. He's really bad at making coffee." She laughed and Kai's face grew warm. He was painfully aware of the irony of the situation. Yes, he was bad at making coffee. Ha. Ha.

"Bring him over? Are you kidding me? What would I even say? 'My sister is crazy for you, would you like to Skype with her on the first day of your job?'"

Cinder was...going to ask him to Skype with Iko? Well.

"Fine."

"Kai. And you are?"

"Iko." Iko then turned to Cinder. "You didn't tell me he was hot."

Kai had never heard "hot" to describe a person in Portuguese before. He filed that away, careful to keep his expression neutral.

"I didn't think it was worth noting." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Bye, it was a pleasure meeting you, Iko," Kai said, right as the call ended.