Work Text:
There was a hero in Techno's coffee shop.
He was trying very hard to act completely normal, but it was a little difficult. Crow's wings were quite hard to ignore, and he was sure the hero had caught him staring at least once so far. He'd just waved with a smile, and Techno had promptly turned away to pretend he hadn't seen, which didn't help very much with the whole "acting normal" thing.
This was insane, in the best way possible.
There wasn't a line, so Techno finished making the last drink and calling out the name before heading back to the register. "Hello, what can I get for you today?"
"Hey! Can I have a black coffee with twelve shots of espresso, please?"
Techno blinked. That... wasn't at all what he'd expected. It also seemed borderline unsafe to consume, in all honesty. "... you're sure about that?"
Crow nodded, stepping to the side a bit to reveal a teenager, also with a mask and hero outfit, who was grinning widely and also literally bouncing. He seemed like he'd already had too much caffeine. "Yep! It's for him. It's his first day as a hero apprentice, so I figured I'd get him something special."
"And he chose liquid death?"
Crow burst out laughing, and the kid started blustering on about how he was a "big man" and "could handle a little caffeine" and "please Phil it'll be great I promise". Crow waved a hand while he recovered. "It's fine, mate. I'll still get it for you if you're sure."
"Absolutely. Yes. Caffeine my beloved."
Technically speaking, it wasn't any of Techno's business what people ordered. If it was something that would probably give them a heart attack, that was their choice. Yeah, sure, the healthy number of espresso shots was closer to seven or eight, but that was the kid's problem, not his.
The heroes continued a separate conversation as Techno prepared the espresso shots, and after a few minutes, he interrupted it to hand the cup to the apprentice hero, who immediately lifted it up to drink. "I wouldn't-" Techno began, only to get cut off as the kid sputtered, lowering the cup and coughing violently. "Ow-"
"I was gonna say, don't drink it yet, it's hot," Techno deadpanned.
"Now you tell me!"
"What did you expect?!"
"Shut up," the kid grumbled, taking a more cautious sip. He seemed happy with the taste, at least. "Thanks, Phil! Let's go!"
"What, no thanks for me?" Techno drawled, entirely unseriously. "I see how it is."
Crow laughed at that. "Thanks for putting up with him, mate. Have a good day!"
"You too." There was still no line, so Techno started cleaning up stuff behind the counter, still mildly in shock that one of the top heroes had picked his coffee shop to go to. Absolutely insane. Almost as insane as that kid was, actually. Hopefully he didn't have a heart attack or anything.
-----
The kid did not have a heart attack. Techno found that out for certain when he showed up two days later, this time without Crow by his side.
"Black coffee with twelve shots of espresso," was the first thing he said, completely ignoring the social convention in which one said "hi" to start a conversation.
"Hello to you too," Techno said under his breath. He didn't bother writing down the order; it was simple, at least. No extra syrups or special preparation instructions or anything, just regular coffee with enough espresso to make you see God. "Where's Crow, by the way? Seems irresponsible of him to leave a child unattended at a coffee shop."
"I'm not a child," the kid told him matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. "And Crow's nearby, he said it was fine."
"... right."
"He did!"
Techno snorted a laugh, going to start the espresso shots. Not a child, indeed.
That being said, the kid did remember to say "thank you" to him this time. It was a little bit of progress!
-----
By the third time the apprentice hero came to the coffee shop, Techno had come to the unfortunate realization that he must be somehow immune to the massive amounts of caffeine he was consuming, which left an untimely heart attack out of the question. Oh well. Espresso cost extra, so it wasn't too much of a loss for him.
He didn't even bother waiting for the kid to order, just started preparing the espresso shots as soon as he walked in and completely ignored him until it was done.
"Here you are."
The kid blinked at him. "But- hold on, I didn't order yet?"
"Black coffee, twelve shots of espresso," Techno recited. "It's not that hard, kid."
"Not a kid- wait, does that mean I'm a regular now?"
Techno paused to consider that. As much as he wanted to say "absolutely the heck not", it was true that the kid's order was one of the few he had memorized. Sure, he only remembered because it was absolutely insane, but that still technically counted. "... I guess so, yeah."
"Does that mean I get discounts?"
"Absolutely not."
-----
By the end of the second week, Techno had figured out that the kid came in every other day at almost exactly the same time. He had the order ready before the kid even walked through the doors.
"How the heck-" the child started.
"Magic," Techno deadpanned.
The kid squinted at him "... no."
"Yep. I can just sense the chaotic child energy from a mile away, and then I think 'oh no, it's the gremlin again'."
That earned him a huff of annoyance. "You know I have a name, right?"
Techno shrugged. "I mean, I figured you did, but 'gremlin' fits."
"It's Crimson, thank you very much."
"You know I'm gonna keep callin' you kid, right?"
Crimson flipped him off, taking his coffee and taking a large gulp before his eyes widened with realization. He swallowed painfully, not saying a word, but Techno could tell exactly what he was thinking.
"Forgot it was still hot?"
"Shut up-"
-----
It was another month or so before Crow joined Crimson in visiting Techno's coffee shop, and by that point, Techno could confidently say he was no longer quite as star-struck by heroes. They were just regular people, after all. It was a little hard to stay scared of them once he'd realized just how much of an absolute gremlin Crimson was.
"How's the hero work goin'?"
"Boring," Crimson declared, taking the cup Techno handed him and starting to down it, before pausing and taking a much more cautious sip.
"It's alright," Crow said, tilting his head curiously. "How'd you know we were coming in, though?"
Techno shrugged casually, unable to entirely hide a grin. "Magic. Will that be all for today?"