Natasha sighs, flipping the 'CLOSED' sign over so that it reads 'OPEN'. Working at Shield Coffees isn't that bad, as far as student jobs go. Phil, the owner, is lovely, and is always on site to sort out anything and everything that goes wrong. The two other co-workers are great as well - there's Steve Rogers, the art student who makes amazing cake and is like a fucking ray of sunshine.
Bucky Barnes, the music student who is quite possibly the sassiest barista in New York, but has an amazing voice and sings like an angel. Bucky and Steve are dating. Natasha is the official homophobe-puncher of the cafe. If anyone says anything against Steve or Bucky being cute and couple-y whilst working, Natasha will pretty much vault over the counter and punch them in the nose. Natasha is training as a stuntperson for movies. that's why she can and will vault over things. And why she's particularly adept at punching people. Phil has framed all the complaints filed against her and they're up on the wall behind the coffee machines and next to the menu as a warning.
Shield Coffee is the go-to coffee shop for all the tired students who study at the campus pretty much next door. 'Shield University'. Hell, they even own this bloody shop. Natasha works here on her free days, when she's not training. Luckily for the three of them - Natasha, Steve and Bucky - their schedules allow them to work here, but sometimes Steve is practicing little doodles on napkins for his upcoming exams, or you see Bucky humming tunes under his breath, and scribbling down what could become sonatas and symphonies with a board marker on his arm. His silver prosthetic arm. He lost it whilst larking about with some mates (Steve included in the 'mates'), fell off a train, which luckily was stationary. Bucky has told the story over and over again, and each time it gets wilder and wilder. Natasha is pretty sure that the last retelling involved dragons.
The shop has a bunch of pretty regular customers - they're all good friends. Tony Stark, the idiot who has more money than sense. His dad sent him to university in the hope that he'd settle down a bit. So far, it's not really working. Thor Odinson, who is like a giant Norwegian labrador - always happy to see everybody. And over six feet tall. Bucky is permanently making 'body of a god' jokes, owing to Thor's name. Which he and his brother blame on their parents. Loki Laufeyson, Thor's brother (adopted), who is probably the most sarcastic (and hilarious) person in New York. Maybe the world. He and Bucky could probably level a New York with their combined sass. Bruce Banner, the ultimate scientist. Knows more about science than the seven of them combined. He's a good guy, wants to be a doctor. Really good at cracking jokes. And finally, Clint Barton. He's probably the best archer to walk the Earth. Training to be a stuntperson, like Natasha. World's most stupid sense of humour, which obviously means he gets on insanely well with Loki, and the pair of them are prank masters extraordinaire. Oh, and Clint has a ridiculously obvious crush on Natasha. He's asked her out five times this week. And it's only Thursday.
The eight of them are best friends. Yeah, all eight of them. Along with various girlfriends and boyfriends. Jane and Thor have been going out for ages. There are bets on when they're going to get married. Tony and Pepper have an on-off relationship. Mainly because they are both control-freaks. They break up about once a week, minimum.
But who cares. They're just a group of students, trying to find their place in the world.