Nepeta and Equius retired to a table in the far corner, discussing what had happened in the absense of each other. Even if Karkat couldn't hear anything, he would've known that that the two had a lot of affection for each other, in such a brother/sister kind of way that it was strange how different they looked. Even so, he could hear them, and although he tried not to, eavesdropped on their situation.
"Greetings once again, Nepeta. It has been far too long since we last spoke. I believe we were both still in high school when last we were in communication. What have you been doing since then?"
His speech, karkat thought, was strangely stilted, stuttering. Not in a nervous way, but in a stiff way, like he was mulling every few words around before deciding that they were upstanding enough. He must have had some royal blood in him, or at least was very enamoured with the idea, despite having the getup of someone who lived in a gym.
"I've been great! I was drifting for a while after High School, but I did a few Vetinary courses, and now I'm working here to pass the time until a good job opens up! The clinic here doesn't have any openings and it's the one I want to work at the most! This place isn't so bad though either!"
Equius' permanent frown changed into... A frown. Karkat didn't know the man well, but he seemed like the kind of person who's face constantly resembled a bouncer dealing with a particularly obnoxious drunk. However, he looked concerned now, casting his eyes about the establishment.
"Are you sure about working here? It is rather... Unclean, if I may say so. And that head Barista looks as though he should not be running a Coffee Shop, or any kind of establishment. And are you sure you can handle the people who come through here?"
Karkat was about to interject, but Nepeta had quite a frightful look on her face and was standing now, barely taller than Equius even though he was sitting. Her hands were on the table as she leaned over it, never wavering nor breaking eye contact, barely even blinking as she spoke in a low tone that brooked absolutely no argument.
"Equius, I know you worry about me, but I am not, and nor have I ever been, helpless or fragile. I enjoy working here, and Karkat is a perfectly adequate Barista. The manager is rarely ever in, so he runs the place almost all by himself! And the people who come here are great, I'm friends with almost all of them! Can't you just be happy that I've found something I enjoy? Or are you still sore over that girl who rejected you?"
Karkat had no idea what either of them were going on about, but he did enjoy being defended, complimented even. Equius, though, looked taken aback, and even a little hurt. Obviously, he hadn't expected Nepeta to lash out at him so suddenly, and he slouched a little in his chair. Nepeta realised what she'd said, and immediately backed off.
"Equius, I'm-... I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just... We haven't seen each other in more than three years, and the first thing you do when we finally meet again is criticise me? How am I supposed to respond to that? I'm so sorry about mentioning her, though. That was out of line."
Equius sighed and shook his head, looking more tired than concerned or taken aback now. He shifted forward in his seat, looking at Nepeta with a more brotherly concern this time, more relaxed.
"I should apologise, if anyone must. I didn't mean to be so... Fiddlesticks, quite so intrusive about this. I'm very proud of you for finding something you enjoy doing, and I wish you all the best for your future. I've merely been worrying about you since we graduated, even though we promised not to."
Nepeta grinned and ran around the table, pulling him into another hug. Both of them looked happier now, more at ease with each others presence. Despite how blatantly different the pair were, they seemed to be right at home with each other, and even Karkat smiled as he watched them. Finally, they seemed to notice his presence and came over, Nepeta grinning still with that catlike grin as she introduced them.
"Karkat, this is Equius! He's been my best friend since primary school! He gave me this beanie, you know! Equius, this is Karkat. He's sort of my boss, but not really. He's kind of a grump when you first meet him, but once you get used to that he's a sweet guy!"
Equius looked down at Karkat, which was hardly a surprised. He was the kind of person who towered over you no matter how tall you were, and it was pretty damn imposing, given his physique. A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth as he extended a hand. Karkat took it, almost crying out as Equius proceeded to crush his hand in a scarily competent imitation of a vice. Karkat could feel his knuckles grating against each other as Equius, who quickly realised what was going on, released him.
"Oh! Please forgive me, sir! I sometimes forget my own strength, I truly didn't mean to hurt you."
Karkat looked up at him, still rubbing his hand and trying to decide if he was serious. He didn't seem like the kind of person that would hurt people just to spite them, but he never knew. In fact, he hardly knew anything about this guy. Still, it was better to play it positive.
"Don't worry about it. I'll live. You've got a hell of a grip though. I'm pretty sure you almost dislocated about three knuckles. Anyway, you want a coffee or something? Any friend of Nepeta's is a potential customer."
Nepeta playfully hit him in the arm as he got behind the counter, Equius pondering over the menu. A frown came over his features as he looked through what was on offer, before finally speaking up.
"...Is there no Kopi Luwak here? It happens to be one of my favourites."
Nepeta tried, she really did. Composure was necessary in these kinds of situations, and he was her dearest friend. But in the end, laughter won out and she collapsed over the counter, punching the bench in fits of laughter as Equius looked on in mild concern and major confusion. Karkat, too, was having trouble keeping his composure, which was rare.
"I don't know where you come from, but you do know how that coffee is made, right? I mean... If you actually drink it, you probably don't, but do you?"
Equius, nonplussed, shook his head. Nepeta finally stopped laughing long enough to choke out half an explanation.
"Cat...poop...coffee..."
And with those elegant words, she collapsed back into hysteria, tears of mirth streaming down her face, cheeks red with laughter. Equius double-took, the words linking together in several ways, none of them good. Karkat, ever the more mature of the duo, gave a more thorough explanation.
"That coffee is... Produced by cats who eat the beans and shit them out again. You're drinking shit coffee."
Equius turned a rather interesting shade of green. Obviously he didn't actually know this. Sitting back down in a nearby seat, he remained silent. Eventually, Nepet got herself under control, gasping and panting, falling into a chair alongside him.
"I'm sorry Equius, that was really mean... But... Oh wow, I didn't know you actually drank that stuff."
Karkat tuned out of the conversation, waiting for the bell to ring again, signifying another Customer. Soon enough, it did, and inside stepped Karkats closest friend. He was a strange person, for sure. His usual attire was a shirt that was half black and half whic, blue and red glasses, and half and half shoes, same as his shirt. He has a slight overbite, not really noticeable, but enough to give him a lisp. As usual, he had a laptop on him. He walked to the counter, casually sidestepping Nepeta and Equius.
"Hey KK. I'll just take whatever you can be fucked making, I'm not feeling picky. What's up?"
Karkat set about making a coffee, recounting the current days events to Sollux Captor. Sollux was an IT legend. He'd created programs for big name companies, just to hack into them later to prove a point. He was pretty infamous amongst hacker circles for his daring escapades, although he toed the line of legality quite carefully.
"Hey Sollux. Not much shit today, thank god. Terezi came in and tried to fuck up my day, again. Long story short, I have a fuckton of five cent pieces to count again. Also, Nepeta's friend from years back came to visit, he's here now."
Sollux turned to look at... A face he recognised, and one who was staring back at him. Wasn't that...
"KK, I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta run. Now."
Karkat looked over and realised why,. Equius was looking over at him with an expression that could only be described as murderous, and was rising from his chair as Sollux grabbed his stuff. Nepeta, sensing danger, distracted him as Sollux sprinted for the door. Karkat approached Equius, anger written on his features.
"You mind telling me why the fuck you were giving one of my customers and close friends that kind of stinkeye? I could evict you from the premises for that kind of bullshit."
Equius, who thankfully had everything under control, shook his head, sitting straight in his chair. Nepeta had a soothing hand on his shoulder, patting his back every so often as he spoke.
"That's the one who took the girl of my dreams... Petty, I know, but I truly did love her. I worked so hard to win her affections, and then he simply came along and ruined everything. Suddenly, she didn't have the time to look at me, and it was all his fault."
A slight growl came out at the end of the sentence, and the table creaked as he applied pressure. Karkat sighed, crossing his arms.
"Look, that's high school bullshit that I don't have time for. Now stop trying to break my table, and if I ever see you looking to hurt him or anyone else in this place again, you're own on your dumb ass for good."
So saying, he turned and headed back into the storeroom, leaving Nepeta to deal with Equius. He took out his phone, and... Sure enough, Sollux was messaging him. Not one to leave a close friend hanging, Karkat continued their conversation, waiting for the bell to jingle once again.