Coffee Beans

Out Of Time

Ellie's phone started to ring in her pocket. The silence was shattered as she held the phone to her ear. "What do you want, Dad? I'm in the middle of something." She exchanged a glance with Robin and sighed.

"Well forgive me for caring, but I thought you'd like to know the latest news about your cafe."

Robin put a hand on Ellie's shoulder - the brunette wasn't looking too happy.

"What's happening about the cafe? You said that there were six months for me to prove I own it so what's changed?"

"I was talking to Laura over dinner yesterday and - "

"Mum's friend?" Ellie's voice dipped as she thought of her Dad and Laura... Her Mum's best friend...

"That doesn't matter. What's important is that the guy claiming to own the building that your café resides in has gone to court with the case. Laura's firm is taking on the case which is why she told me about it."

"What? How is this possible? Did Laura say anything about what I could do?"

"There isn't a lot to be done – this guy has all of the papers and contracts which prove he owns the building. I'm sorry to say it Ellie, but I don't think anything can be done about your café."

Not exactly knowing what to do, Ellie ended the call, her phone dropping into her lap. Her eyes begun to sting as tears formed, threatening to ruin what had, so far, been a near perfect evening with Robin.

The blonde squeezed Ellie's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "What's up? Is there anything I can do?"

Head buzzing, almost spinning, Ellie fell into the blonde's arms and started to cry.

Robin took a deep breath and stroked the brunette's soft hair. It was almost a natural reaction for Ellie to lean in closer; her world was falling apart in every direction with the café possibly left in tatters, but here, at this moment, she'd never felt so safe.

"What was that?"

Ellie sat up and wiped her eyes. "What was what? You're not making much sense."

The blonde laughed a little bit. "You were muttering something about being safe. I think that's what doesn't make much sense."

"Have you ever been completely distraught, but at the same time feel at home? Like although nothing is going right, there's still something that's worth holding on for?" Ellie could feel her cheeks burning up as a vibrant blush formed.

"I have actually," Robin moved a few stray hairs from the brunette's distressed face. "And you're the something I want to hold on to. If that even makes sense."

A/N: Ok so this is three weeks late but hey ho - life sometimes gets in the way. Anyhow, here it is and I hope you enjoy folks :3