lucetilogs | Coffee Shop Construction is a go!

Who: Natasha Romanoff and anyone ~~conned into~~ likely to swing by and help
What: Before it can open, the coffee shop needs a little tlc and a few touch-ups.
When: Friday, May 10. Possibly extending into the weekend.
Where: The future location of A Shot In The Dark coffee shop. (AKA, Building M)
Summary: Natasha calls in a few favors and bribes a few friends and teammates into helping her get the coffee shop ready to open. Anyone able to hammer a few nails, wield a paint brush or broom, or move some furniture is invited. ~~Or come ogle some of the shirtless males she's put to work, that's acceptable too.~~
Rating: PG. Probably. >.>

Natasha's still not entirely sure why she's doing this. Most mornings, she wakes up with the inevitable realization that she's probably lost her mind. She's not one to put down roots, to make a commitment to anything, because things don't last, situations change and her lifestyle choice of 'don't get attached' is slowly getting buried under a mound of teammates, friends, and persistent pests that somehow end up being debatably endearing.

And, apparently, a coffee shop.

Yup. She's definitely lost her mind. That doesn't seem to stop her from going each day and working on the little shop off the plaza, although she's reached a point that there's not much else she can do on her own. She needs help. A galling realization, but hey, that's what teammates are for, right? So, on a bright and sunny Friday morning, she rounds up what help she can find to pound out the last few renovations needed for the place.

((OOC Note: Most of the work needed is inside the cafe itself, although some work can be done outside as well. The doors will be propped open for people to come and go and they're taking pretty much a blank slate of an interior and turning it into this. So, work your character could possibly be doing is helping construct the coffee bar, painting the walls, hanging light fixtures or the shelving behind the coffee bar. Cleaning up the tables and chairs or the other surfaces inside once the sawdust and nail-pounding clears up. And if someone wants to get creative and make her a sign, she will be eternally grateful.

There will be a constant supply of drinks and snacks as well, for people wanting to take breaks or those wandering by to eyeball the proceedings. Hop in, help out, or just stop by to chat.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Where can I help?"

Vastra has shown up after spotting the construction, dressed in her standard battle-attire (it's the only thing she can work in, she is not endangering her spectacular dresses thank you). She smiles at Natasha, somewhat aware that it's been almost weeks since she's seen the other. Time to come out of her draft-hole, though. Help a friend.

"Do all of these have to go inside?" she asks, gesturing to some of the squishier armchairs, tables, and so on.

"Vastra!" Natasha smiles at the sight of the woman, her expression brightening as she pushes to her feet to greet the other woman. She'd been in the process of scrubbing down the tables they'd gathered and she takes a moment to wipe her hands before approaching.

"And anywhere you like. They do, yes. The chairs are ready. I'm still working on the tables, I've got about half of them cleaned up and ready. Do you want me to grab someone to help you?"

She shouldn't have stayed away so long. The fact that Natasha seems happy to see her isn't a shock, but it is a little foreign to her. It's nice, she's glad she came to help.

"Oh no, no need to interrupt anyone." Vastra walks towards one of the chairs, examining it briefly. Probably best if she sets the cushion aside for the moment--which she does, onto one of the clean tables. She takes a look at the door, then at the chair, and lifts it over her head as easily as she lifted the cushion.

"I'll put this somewhere out of the way, until we're ready to rearrange. Is there a cover for this while the construction is happening?"

This is how Vastra furnished her apartment by herself.

Only the faintest flicker of surprise crosses Natasha's face when Vastra hefts the armchair up, but she's quick to mask it, not wanting to accidentally offend her friend.

"Thank you," she answers instead, giving her a crooked smile and motioning over to one of the front corners of the cafe, which remains relatively empty for the moment. "If you don't mind setting them there for the moment, we can arrange them once the majority of the work is done. There's plastic sheets folded up in the back room for protection if you need it."

"I would think we would need it. Construction creates a bit of a mess, after all." She frowns, considering while still holding the chair above her head, and finally goes to set it down. "Perhaps it would be best to assist with the building before I move these in? Or is keeping the soft furniture outside also contributing to the dirt problem?"

Completely Natasha's call, of course. She's the one with the master plan, and Vastra's there to assist with the vision.

"There's not a whole lot of actual building that needs done, other than the coffee bar and Steve seems to be progressing nicely on that," Natasha interjects, surveying the room thoughtfully. "There's still painting going on here and there, so it'd probably be better to cover them up if we do move them inside. As long as we keep them to the center of the space, they won't be in anyone's way. And then I don't have to worry about it suddenly raining on us," she added, casting a skeptical look at the sky.

"Ah, yes," Vastra looks up at the sky as well. If it starts to rain, the upholstery will be completely ruined.

"Inside it is, then," Vastra says cheerfully, picking up the chair again. "I'll get them in as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Vastra." She gives the other woman a crooked smile, genuine and warm, before motioning back to the row of tables she'd been working her way through. "I'll get these finished up in the meantime. We can get them moved after the chairs."

"Straight away," Vastra smiled back at Natasha and moved the chair, not entirely gracefully, through the door. But even if she was struggling a little with the spatial recognition, she wasn't about to drop it. If anything, it was a little like trying to slot an oddly-shaped polygon into a square hole.

After the chair came the cushion, then Vastra covered the whole thing with a sheet of plastic and went back for the next one. Eventually, she'd moved all of them into the shop and came back to check on Natasha's progress.

"I didn't peg you as the sort to start a cafe," she said, examining a few of the tables. "Though I am happy you are. I didn't realize how much I missed quick lunches at my local tea shop."

"You're not the only one," Natasha countered ruefully, working on the second to last table in her supply. She didn't look up, but fell companionably back into the conversation with the other woman. "I got stuck in the rain one day and was missing my coffee shop back home and well... here we are. I think my companions' eccentricities might be contagious."

"They do seem to be an eccentric bunch, from what I've seen," Vastra agreed with a chuckle. "However this does give me a static location where I can pay you a visit. And while I do enjoy spending the occasional hour at Seventh Heaven, I believe this atmosphere is more to my liking."

She looked back at the building interior, smiling faintly and nodding in approval. "I'm certain you will make it as unique as you are. Even if it is not generally the sort of thing you do."

Coffee Shop Construction is a go!

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