Small Town Enby (Casual Velociraptor x Goddess)

[Goddess]

The small Midwestern town of Springfield was brimming with color, with the fall season turning the trees around it red and yellow and so many shades as they got ready to conserve resources in the winter. Despite the centuries of establishment, not once had the population reached over a thousand people, serving more of a scenic pit stop between larger cities than a tourist destination.

Most inhabitants had lived there for generations and tended to know each other one way or another. Usually, it was through school somehow, as Springfield had one Elementary School, one Middle School, and one High School. That, and right in the town square was a large Latter Day Saints Church which most of the population visited at least every Sunday. But the town also featured a single Post Office, one barber shop, and a single pharmacy. There was a small grocery store, but many people just visited the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons instead.

The Town Square had a vibrant food scene though, and one of the many shops was a small cafe and bakery, Joe's, that had been passed down through the generations. Despite only having seating for 15 or so people, it was always busy, particularly in the mornings when people were getting their morning brew and a breakfast sandwich to go.

Despite it running smoothly, the manager Joshua had been busier than usual since the change in ownership. Not only was he the main barista, but he was constantly turning down the bright ideas the new owner was bringing on the regular. Clearly the damn city boy? City person? Ugh, whatever they called themselves had no idea how things worked in a small town, and he had no intention of bringing coffee from Honduras or Guatemala, or buying lavender syrup for it to sit there for years to be used thrice and then thrown away three years later.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll have a meeting about it in the evening, when we're about to close! Just go and take orders until you can master the espresso machine!"

Said owner Joseph Alexis Malkovich, (usually going by Alex), tried to be innovative and fun, but with no training in the food industry, they were admittedly reliant on Joshua's expertise. Despite their business degree, they'd merely inherited the store, and while it was certainly a lot more relaxing than their previous job at corporate hell, they still hadn't found their footing. They still got stares due to their long pink hair and had, at least on 3 occasions, been told that men shouldn't wear makeup. He didn't even identify as a man! At least they managed to convince Josh to bring pumpkin spice lattes and to add almond and soy milk to the roster.

With plenty of experience in dealing with clients, they gave their best customer service smile as they greeted the next person in line. "Welcome to Joe's~ How may I help you today~?"

 

[CasualVelociraptor]

Andrea "Andy" Hamilton (who, yes, had been the butt of all of the Hamilton related jokes from their friends when that play came out and took the Internet by storm, and still did to this day) nervously looked down at their feet, and then back up at the Help Wanted sign in the window of Joe's with a sigh of defeat. This wasn't what their life, years volunteering with NGOs, Habitat for Humanity, and congressional campaigns, or their expensive political science bachelor's degree at American University was supposed to lead them to- some podunk Midwestern town miles from the nearest train line (as she preferred that over environmentally wasteful airplanes when traveling). But they had signed the lease on an apartment just a couple blocks down from Joe's anyway for a few reasons.

One, they only had to take the Amtrak down once every two weeks for office meetings to keep their boring government administrative job and all the benefits it conferred. That meant they could work from home the rest of the time on a surprisingly robust gigabit connection from the local cable provider. They would have to change their locality pay, but cost of living was so ridiculously cheap compared to the city that they didn't mind. And if they got bored, they could just fire up their Xbox Series X and game a bit, or finally chip away some more at the novel that they had been writing in fits and starts for six years. Still, they were seriously thinking of getting a second, weekend job at this eatery to really start to pay down their loans and credit cards.

Two, they had no real reason to stay in the Maryland area after their parents disowned them for coming out as gender non-binary and genderfluid. In fucking Maryland. She wanted nothing to do with them, and her friends would stay connected to her online...right?

In any event, three, and most importantly, they had just had to break up with their Japanese-American girlfriend, Kaitlin Aito, for a.) checking out of their relationship almost the instant Andy came out to her as non-binary and b.) fucking some random jerk in their bed on the one day Andy had had the ability to come home early from their office trip. While high as fuck after kicking Kaitlin out, they had then clicked on a random part of a random state and been taken to Springfield. That place seemed like the easiest and cheapest to get that beautiful monster out of her life forever.

So, when Alex gave their best customer service smile (boy, did Andy have fond memories of being on the other side of that interaction while someone complained at GameStop) and asked, "Welcome to Joe's~ How may I help you today~?" He seemed to almost trail off between each sentence, but at the same time, Andy was naturally a little lost in thought so didn't know if that really was the case.

"I heard you have a front of house position open for the weekend rushes?" they asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

 

[Goddess]

Alex was a bit caught by surprise by the question. Sure, they vaguely remembered putting up the Help Wanted sign, but Joshua had warned them it might take a while so long as they were the owner. Someone who identified themselves by so-called weird pronouns and died their hair pink didn't exactly match the conservative image of the town, and with the main prospects being high school kids most parents weren't too eager to have him be an influence. The last thing they imagined was another out of towner to offer to help. It was pretty easy to tell, almost nobody in town dyed their hair an unnatural color.

"Oh! Hello there!" They now spoke calmer, less rehearsed. Gone was the sing-song tone that trailed off and the ear-to-ear smile. They were finally looking at Andy as a person, not just a client. "We're actually a bit busy at the moment, but could you hang out on those tables in the corner until my manager also finishes with his drinks? It could be some 15-20 minutes or so, if you don't mind waiting."

They looked over at their manager, who was still in the midst of three orders and all they could really help out with was warming up a carrot cake muffin. And there was still another person in line. "It's just me and Joshua right now, and we both need to sit in on the interview," They explained. "As soon as we're done with the clients already inside, we'll go to the back office but if you don't want to wait, you could come in before we close at 3? I'm happy to share a coffee and some pastries on the house while we talk?"

While the business decisions were ultimately theirs, they were not about to go to the back office alone with anyone. Not only would it be unprofessional, but with so many rumors going around town about them, the last thing they wanted was to be perceived as promiscuous, lest someone tried to test it out. Despite how open they were about their sexual identity and gender expression, they'd been hurt and harassed too many times to let their guard down. They didn't expect this unassuming person to be a threat, but plenty of devout christians were looking for any excuse to beat them up. And the fag from the cafe harassing a poor woman scenario had already gotten them threatened more than once in far more liberal a place.