WARNING: mild Doctor Strange spoilers ahead.

It was a nice, quiet evening in the coffee shop, and Eva was spending it sat on the side with her feet up, doing the crossword. They were closing in half an hour, the floors were mopped and the chairs were upturned, and there was nobody there to interrupt this rare moment of perfect solitu –

Tingaling.

She hopped off of the counter at the sound of the doorbell ringing and a man in a suit strode up to the counter. Outside, a flashy looking supercar was parked in idle, in a no parking zone. It wasn't Eva's problem, so she didn't mention it. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Espresso for Strange," the man replied.

"Sure," she said, "I'll write the name down in case I can't find you later in this vast crowd."

"Funny," said Strange, "real funny. And make it quick, will you? I have places to be."

"And here's me thinking you wore bowties all the time," Eva said as the coffee machine juddered into life. "You do seem like that kinda person."

"Oh," said Strange, "I am. You just happen to have caught me on an evening when I am, in fact, in hot demand. Although that is most evenings, come to think of it." He shot her a dazzling smile.

"Well, aren't you just the picture of humility?" Eva asked, grabbing a cardboard shot cup from the shelf.

"There's humility and then there's blatant dishonesty. Don't you take pride in your prowess as a barista?" Strange asked. "Admittedly it's not quite on the same level as pioneering neurosurgery, but we all save the world in our own small ways."

"Very profound," Eva said, "and no, I don't. I'm in the service industry, it's compulsory for me to hate my job."

Strange chuckled. "Pithy epigram."

"Cheers," said Eva, "I think. Here ya go, sir. Three sixty."

He dropped a ten dollar bill on the counter. "Keep the change," he said, sipping at the cup as he walked away. "This is good coffee! You should be proud!"

Eva rolled her eyes and went back to the crossword, switching on the radio to keep her company as, outside the shopfront, the sports car roared away. About half an hour later she was trying to figure out an eight-letter word for a wizard or magician (fourth letter C) when something on the news caught her attention.

"… acclaimed neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange was found in the wreckage of his car later this evening and has been airlifted to the same hospital where he earned his fame. His status is alive, but his condition beyond that is unknown."

"Jesus," Eva murmured, glancing over at the counter where the man had been stood just a short while ago. As the newscaster moved on to matters of politics and culture, she switched off the radio and wrapped her arms around herself. I hope he's okay.

And then she forgot all about it.

%

A while (let's say a movie's worth of time) later

"Hello again."

Oh, thought Eva, taking in the man's extravagant attire, good. Another superhero. "I'm sorry, sir. Do I know you?"

"Strange," said the man, "Doctor Strange."

"Oh! The car crash guy. You grew a beard and I forgot about you," she said, and Strange frowned. "Espresso, right?"

"Please. And I can hardly believe that you forgot about me," he said with a laugh, "I mean, I made headline news just moments after I left this place."

"I've witnessed bigger headlines," Eva replied. "No offense."

"None taken," Strange said coolly. "Anyway, I've just moved into a place on Bleecker Street, right next to the intersection, so we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. I have to make your espressos a regular thing."

"Yay," said Eva, "more costumes in my coffee shop. Great."

"Hey," said Strange, "don't offend the cape."

"Whatever," said Eva, "here's your coffee. Three –"

"Three sixty, I remember. A ten-dollar note and keep the change, right?"

"Um," she said, "can you do it in two fives? That way I actually get to keep some of it as a tip, but my boss says if it's unbroken I can't trade the money out of the register. Dumb policy, but."

Strange nodded, pulled a wallet out of the recesses of his robe, and traded the ten dollar bill for two fives. "Do you deliver?" he asked.

"For our regulars."

"Great," he said. "And you don't get freaked out easily, do you? My place is a little… trippy."

"I'm unfazeable," said Eva, tucking one of the bills into her back pocket.

"Excellent. See you around –" he squinted at her name tag – "Eva."

"Doctor," she said, and waved goodbye. Something about him made her like the man. And by something, she meant the five dollar tip in her back pocket.

A/N I think we can all agree that the Cloak of Levitation/Magic Flying Cape is the best character in the MCU, right? I think I'm going to have to do a delivery chapter for the Sanctum Sanctorum too, because that place is flashy. So expect that, a Spider-Man chapter for when Homecoming comes out, and a couple involving one king of Wakanda that I'm doing pre-Black Panther film. EXCITING TIMES.