Eva returned to work half a week later, got the usual bollocking from her boss on how she dare be ill when there were customers to serve, then grabbed her apron and returned to the till.
An average-looking man in a suit and one arm in a sling was waiting for her, smiling faintly. "I missed this place," he said, glancing around, "best java in Manhattan."
She recognized him, but not well enough to figure out how. "We do our best," she said, "what can I get you, sir?"
"Decaf chai latte, please. I've been kinda wired lately, caffeine probably isn't the best idea," he told her. Her brain slowly ticked away- she remembered he was something to do with her costumed customers, but not exactly what. The suit would have made her think SHIELD, but she was vaguely aware that they weren't really a thing anymore.
"Why've you been away for so long?" she said. "If you don't mind my asking, obviously."
"Not at all," he replied, still with that funny little smile. "I can't tell you, but it was kind of you to ask. Sorry."
"I kind of get it a lot, actually," she said, "although I swear I know you."
"I last came in here two years ago."
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "You were the first person I ever served! You and the eyepatch guy."
He chuckled. "Just before the battle of New York, wasn't it?"
"I tend to view that as my 'welcome to New York' party," she told him. "Man, remember when aliens falling out of the sky was the weirdest thing that happened in these parts?"
"They were simpler times," he agreed.
"Your name's… Phil, right?" she guessed, and he nodded. "Well, nice to see you back in town, Phil."
"Nice to be back," Phil replied, "although it won't be for long. Things to do, people to see."
"Well," she said, handing over his drink, "good luck with whatever it is you do."
"Thank you. You too."
A/N so we're thirty-four chapters in, I should probably do a disclaimer. Marvel owns stuff, yada yada yada