"Black French roast for Stephanie?" I asked, stepping over to the table by the window that overlooked the street. The woman sitting there looked at me sharply, but her eyes softened when she saw the steaming cup in my hands. Nodding at me, she took the cup and continued her phone call quietly, something about stocks and inventory.
Returning to my spot behind the counter, I reached for a cup and started polishing, taking comfort in the smell of ground coffee beans and the nice aroma of creamer sitting only a few feet behind me.
I ran a little coffee shop in Keystone City, home to the famous Flash. Many people described their cities by the heroes that protected it, and Keystone was no different. If anything, we were insanely proud to play host to the fastest man alive. My coffee shop got a lot of business due to its downtown location, and the hero was one of my more frequent visitors.
Closing my eyes and letting my mind wander, I listened to the soft notes of a piano playing overhead from the speakers situated around the shop. I created the environment to be soothing and quiet, something that was hard to come by in this age of bustling people and exciting events.
"Hey Erin, my usual please, plus five of those strawberry things if you can spare them." A voice said, just as a gust of wind blew my wild hair away from my face and the small jingle of a bell reached my ears. I opened my eyes to find the city's protector looking at me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow at the man, wondering if he had just dashed over here for some post-battle coffee. I had literally just seen him on the news fighting Gorilla Grod for some inane reason or another. I never really did like to keep up with how the news reports were detailing villain's plans and aspirations. I only ever tuned in to make sure that Flash wasn't getting himself blown up.
My run-ins with the hero all started three years ago when I just opened the shop.
"Excuse me, are you open?" A voice asked excitedly. I had already put in a ten hour shift and was gearing up for another two hours before my other barista got there when this guy showed up, decked in his super suit and fiddling with his thumbs,
"We're open twenty-four hours." I said politely, turning to him with a tired smile. "What can I get for you?"
The Flash looked at me as if he were seeing me for the first time. I could only imagine what I looked like; wavy black hair falling messily from my ponytail to contrast against my brown eyes with bags under them, off-white button down and wrinkled red skirt along with my dirtied black apron that screamed a long shift had been pulled.
I made sure that my employees had a dress code, so it was only fair that I followed it as well.
"Well, I'd like your number to start." The Flash grinned flirtatiously and, maybe because I was exhausted or maybe because I was already stressed enough, I rolled my eyes at the hero.
"Sorry sir, we don't have a drink or snack under the name 'your number' but I'll be sure to check our secret menu the next time I'm asked." I said calmly. The Flash blinked for a second before throwing out a laugh.
"Well, if that's right, then I'll take four double tall dark roasts, one with a lot of sugar and cream, one with two sugars, another with just cream, and one straight black." The flash said, counting off on his finger. I raised an eyebrow before turning to the machines.
"Doing the coffee run?" I asked conversationally.
"Taking the midnight shift?" He asked back.
"Might as well since I own the place." I said with a shrug, and I could almost hear his jaw pop as it dropped. "I don't think it's fair for the newbies to take on the hard jobs. Most of them are dealing with more college classes than I am."
"Er… how old are you?" he asked sheepishly and I felt a smile spread on my face.
"Twenty." I answered simply before taking the coffee and pouring four cups and labeling them by the order. I didn't dare ask the names that would make me look hella interested and suspicious. Heroes must want their privacy respected, and I'd have to cater to that if I wanted to keep any as a customer.
"How'd you get enough money to start up a business so young?" He asked, leaning over the pastry display case as if it were second nature to him. I shrugged before handing him the drink carrier with the drinks labeled nicely in it.
"Legally, I promise." I answered simply before moving to the display and pulling several pastries and labeling them by order to go with. "Here, on the house."
"Oh, you really shouldn't—I mean," He started but I shook my head.
"Honestly, you save the world multiple times. It's the least I can do to thank you." I said with a sincere smile. "Now go do your job, you … hero you?"
The flash blinked at me as I just thought over my last sentence. I blinked twice and laid my head on the counter.
"Ignore me, I haven't slept in twenty hours." I mumbled into the glass.
I heard the Flash start to laugh and he didn't stop for a few seconds.
"Oh wow, thanks for that." He said after he was done, wiping a nonexistent tear from his cowl. "I feel like I should pay you for just that."
"I'm never speaking of this again. I never met you, this never happened." I groaned, and I felt a pat over my head.
"But I will speak of this and remember it." He said. "Get some sleep, I don't want a repeat of this next time I get coffee."
"What repeat, I don't know what you're talking about." I said, head still not lifted from the glass. "I don't think I even know you."
"Yeah, uh-huh, sure." He said, grabbing the coffee and pastries. "Bye, have a nice night."
Only after the ringing of the bell stopped did I lift my head from the counter and re-evaluate my life.
"For here or to go?" I asked, moving towards the machine.
"Well, that depends," he said, leaning across the pastry display case, "on if you'll accept my offer for a date."
I laughed at that, shaking my head good naturedly. It was true, the famous Flash had asked me out countless times. Now, of course he was joking but it did leave a girl to wonder.
"You know I can't go around dating heroes when I have a job to do." I said, pulling the five pastries into a bag as the coffee started. Many people were already situated outside the shop, watching the scene from the windows. "If you really want to date someone that badly though, I'd suggest my sister. She likes the hero thing, might give it a shot."
The Flash looked at me with an eyebrow raised… or I assume he raised an eyebrow. It's hard to tell with the suit and cowl on.
"Oh come on, she's a nice girl." I said, turning back to the coffee. "She's smart and funny, and she runs an animal shelter in Central City. You can make it there in what, five seconds?"
The Flash grinned, taking a bite out of a strawberry tart.
"Try nanoseconds, beautiful." He said, and I frowned.
"Try eating with your mouth closed." I said, pouring his coffee and putting five pumps of sugar and creamer in it. "Take this and go do your job."
"You're not even going to ask what I was doing in the first place?" He pouted.
"It was on the news, now go save more people." I said, shooing him away from the counter. He frowned, pulling money from his suit before I stopped him. "I told you, on the house. Always. Now go, no more chit chat until all evil is gone."
"Now that's impossible." He frowned.
"Not for the fastest man alive." I said, crossing my arms as he grinned.
"And his coffee girl." He laughed as I rolled my eyes. He grabbed the coffee and sped out of the shop, through the people thronged around the glass looking in, and to wherever he came from.
He didn't even give me the chance to yell at him.
"Was that the Flash?" The business woman, Stephanie, asked from her spot as she looked at me dumbfounded.
"Yes ma'am, he likes to pop in occasionally for his usual." I nodded, returning to cleaning my cup.
The sound of a thundering crash woke me from my sleep. Sitting up drowsily in bed, I yawned before moving to my window and opening it to find… a literal giant snake. Breathing fire. In the city.
A literal giant-ass fire breathing snake was terrorizing the city.
I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes before staring at it for a few more seconds to make sure it was real before I rushed to my closet to throw on a pair of shorts and shoes. With that done, I ran out of my apartment and down the stairs, ignoring the calls for me to stop and get inside. No, I had to go check on my baby.
I ran into the street, making a bee-line for the shop when I spotted the snake looming a block over, above the skyline. Noticing a green flash, I recognized the two heroes who shared a mantle, the Green Lanterns, battling the serpent. After they left my line of sight, I saw a figure punch the giant snake in the nose, literally. If I had my guess, I'd say Superman.
Ignoring the amazing visuals, I resumed running towards my shop that was regrettably close to the action. The heat of the snake's breath started to hit me when I was three blocks away from the shop, although I was surprised to see that nothing had been destroyed so far.
Like, literally nothing had been destroyed or set on fire.
I was cut off when a figure came crashing down from the sky and landed right in front of me, making a small dent in the concrete on impact. Freezing, I watched as a redhead with wings popped up from the ground with a groan before her teeth bared in anger and she shot up towards the sky, mace in hand.
I allowed myself a small moment to think 'how awesome was that?' before I shook myself out of my stupor and ran towards my shop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the snake groan and fall with a resonating, defeated hiss and a large crash. At first I felt glee at the defeat of the creature, then I noticed where he landed.
Two blocks away.
My shop was two blocks away.
Please, oh please, not my shop.
I ran towards my baby, dreading the scene to come. As I got to the last block, I slowed to a walk to catch my breath before praying that nothing happened, and if it did, insurance would hopefully cover it. As I neared, a few voices became audible and I could hear their loud conversation.
"-on't understand! When she's sees this, she'll have my head!" A familiar voice said loudly in a panic.
"She's just a coffee girl, Flash." A gruff voice answered, obviously male.
"No, I'm serious." The Flash answered back quickly. "She's scary when she wants to be, and when she gets here, I'm dead. I'm going to die!"
I rounded the corner from an alley and froze when I saw the carnage.
The snake's head had fallen right on top of my shop. I looked around, and I couldn't believe my horrible luck. My shop, my little baby, was the only thing that wad gotten damaged in the entire battle. And it was the snake dying that crushed it. It laid on my shop, the heroes involved standing around it's corpse as if trying to figure out what to do with it and also calm down the Flash at the same time.
"Flash!" I yelled, anger and frustration boiling over. At my sudden noise, all the heroes turned to me except the Flash who jumped at the sound of my yell before inching behind back a few paces. I glowered at him before walking forwards, only to be stopped by someone coming up through the concrete before me.
The guy literally phased through the floor. I didn't bother to register the amazing feat of him coming up through the fucking concrete, instead letting my anger flare at the fact that he had stopped me from getting at the speedster.
"I must ask you to leave this area." The man said once he materialized. He was at least a foot taller than me, buffer than me, and most importantly greener than me. But I was angry, so all that didn't register along with his amazing powers.
"Oh, bite me!" I said, brushing past him as his eyes widened, as if he didn't expect my answer. I stalked toward the group of heroes, some bemused and others glowering at my appearance, and the one I wanted to speak with trying to hide himself.
Stopping a few feet from the group since I was angry, not suicidal, I crossed my arms before speaking.
"Flash, do you want to explain to me why out of the millions of buildings in Keystone, my shop is the one that's destroyed?" I asked, watching as the hero flinched when I said his name in a severely unimpressed tone. He straightened his back and shot me a sheepish smile.
"Oh hey Erin, I—uh—didn't see you there." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Literally the only fucking building, Flash!" I yelled. "You had two jobs, two!"
"Erin I'm sorry, I really tried to make sure that the shop—," Flash tried to explain to me, but I quieted him with a harsh glare
"Do you know how much money it cost to get that building? How much time and effort I put in to make it health code standard?" I asked, voice deceptively calm.
"Ma'am, please calm down." A soothing voice said. My head snapped toward the voice, narrowing at the man decked in red and blue. "I'm sure that your insurance provider will-,"
"Insurance? Don't talk to me about Insurance, everyone here is literally cock-blocked by insurance!" I cried. "This entire side of the city only gets theft coverage because nothing else happens. Do you really think anyone's insurance is going to cover 'damage by giant fire breathing serpent', really!? Do you think there's a bundle for that?! We're not even going to talk about the thousands of dollars in machines and coffee beans I have in that building!"
"Erin, I'm really sorry." The Flash spoke up, coming towards me and rubbing the back of his neck. I noticed the other heroes watch in bemusement as the flash apologized to a civilian almost a foot or so shorter him. "I'll try to make it up to you."
It was here that he flashed me his signature grin that always made my resolve break, especially when I denied him certain orders because I was out and he wanted me to make them special.
I sighed angrily.
"When I get this place back up and running, every time you get coffee, it will be between nine A.M. and six P.M., you are banned from late night coffee for the foreseeable future, and you will be serviced by interns." I said, frowning.
The flash's jaw dropped as if I'd slapped him.
"But I never come in unless you're there!" he said, pouting. "And you make the best coffee! And I only ever come around after six!"
"Flash, let me point something out to you." I growled, gesturing angrily to the ruble that used to be my shop. He looked at it and frowned. "You broke your promise, and now you're going to suffer the consequences, am I understood?"
"Yeah." The Flash mumbled. I nodded sharply before turning to the other heroes.
"I blame the rest of you too." I said. "Have a good night."
With that, I turned on my heel and walked back to my apartment, determined to get a good night's sleep before I had to go and repair my shop.
"That girl could rival Batman." Hal Jordan said. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes."
"How do you think I feel?" Flash groaned, frown apparent. "I knew this was coming, I'm lucky I got off that easily."
"Flash, please tell me she's not the one you get our coffee from." Wonder woman said, and then something struck the heroes at that moment.
From the time that Flash had gotten the first four drinks from the small coffee shop in Keystone City, they had become something of a treat at the tower. Flash said that he'd gotten them from a twenty-four hour coffee bar and he also liked the barista, and the rest of the heroes had to admit she made the best coffee. He only time the heroes hadn't liked it was when the Flash admitted their usual barista wasn't there and he had to get an intern to make the coffee.
"Make sure you get the right order next time." Batman said as he stared down at his cup. The entire Justice League had become coffee addicts thanks to Flash, and they were downright spoiled when it came to their drinks.
"I'm sorry, they said she was out on a date." Flash said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Superman had frowned slightly into his coffee, not liking that the taste was off. In fact, whe wasn't even sure if it was his correct order. It didn't even have the little 'S' she would carve into the foam for him. He remembered the first time that their coffee girl had put a shot of cinnamon in his and then drew his symbol haphazardly on the cup, as if she secretly knew that he would enjoy it, and had officially became their coffee girl to him. This intern, whoever it was, had absolutely no idea what they were doing in his opinion.
Wonder Woman, who loved the Mocha Frappuccino that their coffee girl made, was unimpressed by the drab cup of iced coffee in her hands. Their coffee girl knew to double blend her drink and add three shots of chocolate, not to mention a dash of something the amazon had yet to put her finger on. It was almost like the girl had ESP when it concerned the League's coffee and their moods, she thought. Now in her hands was a cup of burnt chocolate with ice, not blended at all, and it stared bleakly up at the woman as if it were actively trying to ruin her day. This intern definitely was not their coffee girl.
John Stewart, who had immediately liked the coffee the first time Flash brought his cup, dumped his in the trash immediately and moved back to his station, mood effectively soured. He didn't like to think that a thing as simple as his coffee order thrown off was bugging him so much, but damn it, he liked his coffee the way he like his coffee and this intern did not do coffee correctly like their coffee girl did. If he knew where this shop was, he would go down and demand a refund before he remembered that they got their coffee and pastries for free.
The Martian's first run in with coffee had been a drink from their coffee bar, and he's taken instantly to the drink. However, when he'd gotten a cup on his own, he immediately disliked it. Wondering why, he asked the Flash who simply answered 'our girl does some sort of magic with coffee' and left it at that. Martian Manhunter relied on the flash to bring his favorite coffee from then on, at eleven P.M. sharp as usual. Now that his drink was distasteful once again, he found himself upset at this intern who had the gall to replace their coffee girl.
Hawkgirl had been relatively safe from the draws of the coffee by ordering a tea instead, but she quickly grew attached to it. From then on, she requested exotic mixes of drinks to test out from the little coffee shop that the Flash passed on his way to the tower. Their coffee girl would always send a note back about the mix of drinks and what she'd taken the liberty of changing, always earning a smile from the warrior at her thoughtfulness to her taste buds. Even though the intern thought they were making the coffee right, they were not doing it like their coffee girl did, and that was a problem.
Aquaman, on the few times he was at the watchtower, found he was partial to the coffee brought by Flash and how it was somehow made to suit his tastes as an atlantean. He had asked Wonder Woman about it, only earning a shrug and getting a musing about 'some sort of coffee ESP'. Though his drink was simple, he could tell it was delicately made each time with both care and love. He brought a cup home to his wife often enough that she enjoyed the drinks as well, delighted by the talents of their surface-dwelling coffee girl. The one time that the intern made their drinks, both Mera and Aquaman were saddened that they were denied their usual treat. This intern was not as skilled as their surface-dwelling coffee girl.
Hal Jordan, who had been a long-time lover of coffee, absolutely adored their coffee girl and everything she made. He often asked Hawkgirl for a taste of her concoctions, who would begrudgingly oblige, letting him in on the little bits of pure heaven that the coffee-girl allowed. His own usual was something of his own little slice of heaven, he liked to think. He had quickly learned that their barista had created specialized drinks for each of them, making fairly educated guesses to keep them happy, or she had the coffee ESP Wonder Woman assured she did. Either way, he made sure to brag to everyone on Oa about the drinks, and when John agreed with him, many believed their coffee girl to be some sort of drink deity that humans worshiped. When the intern got his coffee wrong, Hal took it personally because he would be returning to Oa for a while and wouldn't get his last taste in. When he did return to Oa, many lanterns decided to stay out of his way because they learned he was very attached to his coffee girl.
The Batman, although hard to win with only black coffee, had come around after the third time Flash had brought a cup. It had taken the Coffee girl only three tries to find the right brew and send it to him, surprising him with a roast he didn't know, but definitely liked. The flash told him it was one of her own roasts, a special mix of beans, and the Bat made a mental note to tell Alfred about the coffee. Their coffee girl had matched, and almost surpassed his butler in coffee, especially when she started sending pastries with every drink as if she were worried that the heroes weren't eating well. As soon as the flash came in without pastry bags, the Bat knew something was off and he didn't like it. Though he could deal with an intern making the wrong blend once, the denial of one his favorite parts of the day was something he would have to work on to excuse.
Somehow, the coffee girl had become a set part of the heroes' day, a vital moment in their schedules. They realized this, and realized that with their jobs being as demanding as they were, the heroes deserved what the coffee girl had to make and did not think much more about it.
"Tell her she's not allowed date." Batman said testily to the Flash, turning back to the screen and resolving to throw the cup out the next chance he got.
Although his words were a bit drastic, none of the league members thought they were out of the ordinary. In fact, many of them agreed with the Bat and thought that their coffee girl shouldn't be out so late at night anyway; it was practically asking for something bad to happen. And if dating made this atrocity happen, they were against her seeing this new person for the rest of her life.
Now that the heroes realized just who the girl was and what she meant to them, not to mention what her terms meant, their mood soured considerably.
"Batman is going to be unbearable for the next few months." Hawkgirl said.
"We all are." John Stewart frowned. "And then some. I have a feeling Flash won't be making coffee runs any time soon."
Superman looked incredibly put out by the realization that he wouldn't be getting his daily coffee. The cinnamon and sugar and little designs she drew into the foam had been a little joy in his day and now he wasn't going to be getting that for the foreseeable future.
"Do you think any of us could reason with her?" Wonder Woman asked calmly.
"Reason? With Erin?" Flash asked. "Ha! The only way to get her to do anything is to promise her something."
Martian Manhunter cocked his head, thinking over the girl's words in his head, not necessarily understanding the dilemma.
"She only said she would not service Flash, correct?" He asked, and watched as realization dawned an all the hero's faces. "I am sure she would not mind any of us doing the coffee runs."
The small air of relief passed the heroes, feeling that their sentence was incredibly shortened by that little bypass in the girl's terms.
"Batman is still going to be unbearable when he finds out that we crushed the league's coffee shop." Hal sighed.
"It's a good thing Flash is going to tell him then, huh?" Wonder Woman mused.
"Wha-but superman punched the snake into the shop!" The flash protested.
"But you broke a promise apparently." Hawk girl said, watching as the Flash's shoulder dropped.
"She's never going to forgive me, is she?" He asked.
"I am sure that she'll come around." Martian Manhunter said, soothing his friend's nerves.
"Come on, let's get rid of his snake." Superman sighed, leading the team in removing the carcass.
RAW- 9/22/16
EDIT- 8/5/17