In graveyard shifts, Eva liked to think about the weirder customers they got at the coffee shop. Tonight, she had had an English hipster ask for a double espresso, which had triggered the memory of a man who had come in about just under a year before Ultron- and, more importantly, Vision- had turned up.
"Good afternoon, sir, what can I do for you?"
"Whatever you recommend," replied the man smoothly. As she did with Sam, she went for the most expensive drink she could think of.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she worked; tall and slim, pale with long dark hair nearly hidden beneath his hood, and- not to put too fine a point on it- hot as dicks. His accent had sounded similar to Vision's but older somehow… more archaic.
"You not from around these parts, huh?" she asked, despite herself.
He smirked. "Not even remotely."
"Please feel free to not go into details," she said, and then smirk grew more pronounced.
"So," he said, "this is where the Avengers come to drink."
"Depends on what kinda drink you're talking about," she replied coolly, "and we aren't a tourist spot."
"Good thing I'm not a tourist, then," he said.
"Hmm."
"Thor came here recently," the man persisted. "The god of-"
"I know who Thor is, dude. Chill. And if you're some… creepy stalker fanboy or whatever, I ain't telling you crap."
"I'm not-" he paused "-whatever you just said. And I just wanted to know if he came here."
"Why?"
"Friendly concern," the man snapped. He did sound like Thor, actually, and he had a similar demeanour- although he seemed to take up much less space, as if he preferred to stick to shadows.
"Why do you care?"
"It's none of your business why I care, girl."
She dropped the drink on the counter and raised an eyebrow at the window of the till, which was flashing the price. "Whenever you feel like paying," she said.
The man continued to glower at her for a moment, but then bit his tongue and handed over a fifty-dollar bill. "Keep the change," he said shortly, adjusted the collar of his green jacket, and stalked out of the building.
"Hey, cheekbones. Hold up."
He turned, flung the door back open dramatically and glared at her. "Well?" he demanded.
"I ain't seen him round for a while," she said, "but if something had happened to him, I would know. Wherever he is, he's as safe as a warrior prince can get."
He stalked back towards her, eyes narrowed slightly. "Why tell me this now?"
"What harm can you do?" she shrugged. "Should I tell him you were asking after him?"
"No," said the man immediately, then turned away again. He was half out of the door before he hesitated, and looked over his shoulder. "Thank you, serving girl."
"You're welcome, Hamlet. Now get outta my shop."
He smirked, and stepped out into the crowds.
Eva held the bill to her nose, smelt the wealth, and reluctantly dropped it into the till.
"Weirdo," she said, looking out of the window- but the man had disappeared.
A/N (shameless self-promotion warning) A Loki chapter, huh? This seems like the perfect time to plug my new Loki/OC fanfiction, Of Mice and Mischief Makers. Do you like mice? Do you like mischief makers? Do you like the slightly erratic writing of me, but want chapters to be several times longer than they are in this fic? Then go check it out! OMAMM exists in the same canon universe as Coffee Run and Finding Bucky, and the first chapter takes place just after Loki leaves Eva's coffee shop. I'll love you 5ever if you go have a look. (shameless self-promotion complete)