Chapter Text
A job was a job in Shinsou's eyes.
So when he turned 16 and was finally allowed to work in his Dad's coffee shop, he jumped on the offer.
Aizawa had a quaint little coffee shop in Tokyo, Japan. A nice little shop that was a sight for sore eyes. As lovely as it was, they had only one or two regulars and they were all from neighboring shops.
Then again, it would be a little odd to have a regular at an airport coffee shop.
And when summer rolled around, Shinsou happily agreed to take the night shift with his father. The nine to five? Oh no.
This was the eleven to seven. In the dead of night. Not nearly as busy and bustling as the daytime hours, but everyone seemed to enjoy their coffee nonetheless.
The two would start every shift the same. Take over for the other two employees, make their own coffee, (Shinsou was in love with a medium dark roast with half a pump of hazelnut and one creamer) and get ready for another night of serving tired businessmen and confused tourists.
American tourists were always Shinsou's favorite. They always assumed he couldn't speak English (he wasn't good at it anyway so maybe it was for the best) and either pulled out good Japanese, horrendous Japanese, or spoken Google translate.
Google translate sucked. Shinsou couldn't remember a time where it worked perfectly and completely coherently. And tonight was no different.
Two American girls (he could only assume by the sticker on the suitcase) typed on their phone. He could pick up a bit of what they were saying, enough to know a little bit of their order. The girl held up her phone and spoke into it as Shinsou waited for the translation.
"Would you prepare two little vanilla ice latte, added ice," the phone said. Shinsou wasn't stupid, he could tell what they were trying to say. Shinsou nodded his head and looked at the total, reciting the English in his head before saying it aloud.
"Your total is... ¥1,050. Your name please?" Shinsou said with his best stab at an American accent, double-checking the number before committing. The girls smiled at each other, seeming very joyful to understand him.
"Ellen and Olivia," one of them beamed. They pulled out a bunch of coins and slid them over while counting aloud. Shinsou wrote the names and how he thought they would be spelled on the side of the cup. Aizawa was already making the coffee behind them as Shinsou took the coins.
"Thank you," the one girl said in Japanese. Shinsou smiled to validate her, even if the pronunciation was off. His pronunciation for her mother tongue was probably terrible too. The two sat down and began speaking with each other way too fast for Shinsou to understand.
"Could you get the cups and ice ready?" Aizawa asked while pressing the coffee grounds into the espresso grounds holder.
"Sure thing," Shinsou replied while getting the cups and ice. He set the two next to Aizawa and poured in a little milk. Aizawa put in the shots and added pumps of vanilla and the remaining milk.
Shinsou added the two little cat cookies that came with every coffee. "Ellen and Olivia," he called out as he made his way back to the register. The two doted over the little cookies as they took photos. They soon returned to their seats as Shinsou began helping the next patron.
"I've been meaning to tell you," Aizawa started as they handed their shifts off to the next employees. "In a week, Hizashi and I are meeting up with an old high school friend. She's going to be in town for the first time in forever and the three of us are going to take a couple of days to reconnect."
"So I'll be running the shop alone?" Shinsou asked, mildly panicked. Aizawa laughed.
"God no," Aizawa replied. "I'd never let anyone run that place alone. Honestly, you're my best employee. Maybe I'm biased, but you're extremely competent, especially for being so new at this. I'm putting someone from the afternoon shift on. He's... not the brightest. He struggles with tasks and has not been learning. I thought maybe you could help him since nobody else has been able to apparently."
"Uh, yeah of course," Shinsou muttered. The thought of training an employee that wasn't trained when Aizawa let him go for on the job wasn't exactly enticing. Even though it really didn't sound like fun, his Dad asked him to do something, so of course, he was going to do it. He loved Aizawa and was ready to help him however necessary.
Walking into the house, Eri was leaning over and setting strawberries meticulously on top of some whipped topping. She set down the strawberry and smiled at Shinsou and Aizawa, making her way over.
"Dad! Toshi!" She yelled. She squeezed them both in a hug as well as she could. The two leaned over and hugged her back. She pointed to the four plates on the counter. "Papa and I made you pancakes."
"Thanks, Eri," Shinsou replied while ruffling her hair. The four took their own plates and sat down at the dining room table. Shinsou cut into his pancake and shoved the fluffy treat into his mouth. He put a wide and stupid grin on his face to make his little sister laugh as she struggled to cut her pancakes. Hizashi leaned over to help, only to get swatted away with a knife.
"I got this!" She declared.
"Manners, Eri," Aizawa warned. "Swat with a fork, he won't get hurt. If he gets hurt, he'll cry. I don't want a third kid to deal with."
Eri nodded her head as she held the fork in Hizashi's direction once more. After trial and error, her pancakes were cut and happily being shoveled into her mouth.
After finishing his pancakes, Shinsou spun Eri around and thanked her for her hard work. Once he was alone in his room, he flopped on the bed and passed out immediately.
Shinsou felt odd taking the train to the airport alone this time of night. There weren't a ton of people, but it wasn't barren either. People took naps while others haphazardly watched over their belongings. All of it was the usual as Shinsou made his way to the terminal closest to the airport.
From there, he took the airport bussing to the entrance of the airport and into the terminal areas. Shops were closing down as he entered, letting him know that his shift was right around the corner.
Making his way in the shop, those working before him questioned where Aizawa was. "Just me for the next couple of days. If you want to steal anything or slack off, do it now before he gets back," he'd reply. He clocked in on the computer and looked around. None of the people around him announced they'd be on his shift. All four employees began packing up to leave.
He quickly made himself a coffee and before he knew it, he was alone in the shop. He looked around for anyone who seemed like they could be who he was working with.
Ten minutes passed. Nothing. Shinsou served three coffees in the time frame before someone jogged in the small coffee shop. The boy had yellow hair with a black streak through it. His golden eyes assisted his smile that was brighter than the sun.
"Hey! Sorry, I'm a little late. Traffic was insane!" He said.
"Traffic?" Shinsou asked. "At eleven at night?"
"Wild shit, right?" he replied. "Your name is Hitoshi, right? That's what Aizawa told me at least. I mean, I don't think he'd lie about your name but you never know with that guy, y'know?" He asked. Kaminari locked eyes with the espresso machine and immediately began making himself a coffee. Shinsou stared at him as he smiled and hummed to himself.
"You need to clock in," Shinsou muttered. The blond (Shinsou wasn't sure if he'd even consider it blond) tilted his head before Shinsou's words seemed to connect. He stopped his espresso and walked over to the computer, typing in his code.
Shinsou read the name on the screen. "Kaminari Denki?" Shinsou asked.
"Yeah?" Kaminari replied.
"No, I was just reading your name. I didn't know it," Shinsou explained.
"Oh, got it," he replied. Kaminari looked around the shop and saw the espresso machine once more. He went back up to it as if he had forgotten about it completely. He finished up his coffee and quickly cleaned everything. "Anyway, what's up? By the way, you're really good looking. I'm sure you're popular with the ladies. Trust me, I can tell. Do you work the night shift every night? Dude, you must be exhausted. I mean I'm only doing this for a couple of days and I already feel so 'wah', you feel?"
Shinsou stared dumbfounded at Kaminari, trying to even keep up with what he was saying. "Uh, I'm good, thanks. And I work the night shift every night except weekends with my Dad," Shinsou replied.
"So do you sleep during the day? Then when would you do other things? Do you have activities you do during the day right now? Or is working here like your entire life?" Kaminari asked. Shinsou replayed whatever Kaminari rambled about back in his head before answering.
"I'm only working during breaks in school. During those times, work is my only commitment," Shinsou replied.
"Oh cool. Hey, you don't look like Aizawa. Are you actually his kid, or is that like a whole setup?" Kaminari asked. His eyes darted around the shop as if he was looking for something. Shinsou stared at him as he swirled the coffee in his hand and waltzed around behind the counter.
"I uh, I'm adopted," Shinsou muttered. "Are you okay? Are you on something?"
"Huh? Nah, I'm good. Only drug is this caffeine in my hand. Did you know that caffeine is a drug? Man when I first heard that I thought I was going to die, but it turns out it's fine. I think. I don't know, you can still get addicted though. My mom has a caffeine addiction because she drinks coffee every morning," Kaminari replied.
Shinsou stared at his new coworker as he sipped in his drink. His head perked up when he saw someone enter the shop. "Hi! Welcome to the Paw Print Café!" Kaminari cheered.
"Keep your voice down, it's night," Shinsou requested. Shinsou walked up to the counter and spoke with the Japanese businessman.
"Large black coffee please," he muttered. Shinsou nodded and tapped the screen. Kaminari watched him type in the computer.
"Do you know how to do this?" Shinsou asked. Kaminari nodded his head. Kaminari kept his eyes peeled as he watched the businessman insert his card in the machine. Kaminari tilted his head.
"Do you know how to make the coffee?" Shinsou asked. Kaminari smiled.
"One black coffee comin' right up!" He cheered a little too loudly. Shinsou grimaced at the noise, making Kaminari out his hand over his mouth.
Shinsou closed the ticket and got out a cookie. Black coffee was extremely easy. Just pour it in the cup. He should be done by now.
"Ow, shoot," Shinsou heard. He turned to the boy who was wincing through his teeth, pouring coffee into a plastic cup.
"Kaminari, what are you doing?" Shinsou asked. His eyes widened in concern. Shinsou quickly grabbed a rag and helped the bumbling fool that accompanied him behind the counter.
He grabbed the plastic cup from Kaminari's burning hands using the rag and dumped it in the sink. He tossed the cup and stared at Kaminari. "Why did you try to put hot coffee in a plastic cup?" Shinsou asked.
Kaminari cowered down at his harsh and accusatory tone. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I just thought... that's what I always... sorry."
Kaminari looked down to the ground. Shinsou pursed his lips. He watched the drops of coffee roll down the walls of the sink and into the drain. He sighed.
"It's fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Uh, don't put hot coffee in plastic cups. First off, you'll burn yourself. Second, there's BPA in the plastic cups. The heat will make the BPA go into the liquid, and that'll lead to health problems. So uh, don't do that. Only cold drinks go into the plastic cups. Use a paper cup for this, and put on one of these cardboard holders," Shinsou said. He tried to keep his voice low and soft as not to upset his coworker.
Kaminari hesitantly grabbed a paper cup and put a cardboard holder on it. He glanced towards Shinsou for validation. Shinsou nodded his head as Kaminari poured the coffee into the cup and put on the lid. Kaminari grabbed the cookie Shinsou set on the counter and called out the name.
"Yeah, just like that," Shinsou said. Kaminari smiled and skipped to clean up the coffee he had spilled. Shinsou began serving the next person.
The time between serving patrons was filled with Kaminari's endless talking. Shinsou didn't even know what he was saying half of the time, but he kept talking nonetheless. Business began picking up around five in the morning like usual, all until the next four workers came to take their place.
The four looked a little confused to see Kaminari working the night shift with Shinsou. They all said hello to him and Shinsou but seemed a little hesitant to say hello to the blond. They danced around him and avidly tried to shut down ignore any remarks he made.
"Alright," Shinsou sighed. "I'll see you tonight."
"See ya, Hitoshi!" He cheered. Shinsou pulled out his phone and dialed Aizawa's number. It rang a couple of times before the line connected.
"How was your first day running the place?" Aizawa asked. Shinsou sighed.
"Tiring," he replied. "Kaminari talks a lot. He didn't know some basic things like hot drinks don't go in plastic cups. He also would forget to give people their change."
"Well, is he learning?" Aizawa asked.
"Yeah, but it's a little frustrating. I mean, he should know to give people their change," Shinsou grumbled. "And sometimes he's just loud."
"Right, right. Kaminari was very talkative during the interview. He may not be skilled, but it was clear to me that he had the drive to be a good worker. He wants to learn, but nobody is teaching him. I taught him the basics, but I don't have the time to babysit each new employee. That's why I have everyone train new people. But nobody seemed to be getting through to him while training. They always complain about his incompetence and have a new excuse as to his ignorance. He has a good heart, that's for sure. And I truly think you can teach him."
"What makes you think I'm a good teacher? I'm not exactly the smartest kid in school," Shinsou muttered.
"How did Eri learn to braid hair?" Aizawa asked. Shinsou hesitated as he made his way out of the sliding glass doors at the airport.
"I taught her," Shinsou muttered.
"How did she learn to use the microwave?"
"I taught her."
"How did she learn to cut her own pancakes?"
"I get your point, Dad," Shinsou muttered.
"He's an anomaly for sure," Aizawa said. "But give him time. And if he still hasn't learned by the time I come back, we can work together to teach him."
"Right, I'll keep that in mind," Shinsou sighed.
"I have to go. Remember to pay the babysitter. Love you kiddo," Aizawa said.
"Love you too Dad," Shinsou replied.
When Shinsou made his way into the café, he saw Kaminari already behind the counter and talking to the employees. All of them made a conscious effort to not reply as he went on about something Shinsou couldn't make out from where he was walking.
Making his way in, the four employees finished up what they were doing and clocked out. They gave Shinsou the run down and walked out as quickly as they could. Shinsou could have sworn he heard one of them say "he's your problem now."
Kaminari smiled and handed Shinsou a coffee. Shinsou looked at it for a bit before hearing Kaminari speak up.
"One medium dark roast with half a pump of hazelnut and one creamer!" Kaminari cheered. Shinsou stared at the cup for a bit before taking a sip. It was perfect, just the way he liked it.
"How... do you know that?" Shinsou asked. Kaminari shrugged and walked away.
"I saw you make it at 2:16 and 5:48 this morning," Kaminari called back. Shinsou stared at the cup and took another sip.
"Uh, thank you," Shinsou said. Kaminari grabbed his own coffee and began cleaning the counters that were already spotless. "The counters are clean, you don't have to do that right now."
Kaminari looked down at the counters. "You sure?" He asked. Shinsou nodded his head. He beckoned him towards the register.
The young man glanced up from his phone. "Can I please have a small arctic mocha latte with extra chocolate drizzle? Also soy milk instead of regular."
Shinsou rung up the drink and typed in the modifications. Kaminari went wide-eyed as he watched Shinsou. "How did you do that?" He asked.
"The modification?" Shinsou asked. The blond nodded. "Oh, you just go to 'add message' and type it in. But if he would get an extra shot of espresso or something you have to charge for that by going to this tab here," Shinsou explained, hoping that anything he was saying would stick. Kaminari nodded his head and walked away. Shinsou completed his order and walked over to see what atrocity Kaminari was making behind him.
To his surprise, no atrocity was to be seen. Only Kaminari looking rather confused. "I'm not sure where to go from here," Kaminari muttered. He had the ice in the cup with the extra chocolate drizzle on top of the ice. Shinsou tossed the ice in the blender.
He had a separate cup full of the espresso, syrup, and cream base. All perfect amounts. Shinsou tossed that in the blender as well. "Just put the top on and press one. You're only making one drink so you press one. If you were making two, you'd press two, and so on."
"Right, right," Kaminari said. Kaminari took a cup and poured chocolate on the sides. The drink was done blending and Kaminari stared at Shinsou for what to do next.
"Pour it, put on whipped cream, chocolate on that, and the dome top," Shinsou said. Kaminari did exactly as Shinsou said and finished the drink. He grabbed a cookie and set it on the counter, calling out the name.
Kaminari was about to say something when the two of them heard the unmistakable noise of American laughter. They turned to see a group of six or so come up to the register. Shinsou went over his grammar in his head.
"Hello," one of them poorly said in Japanese. "You speak English?"
"I speak a little English," Shinsou replied in their language.
"Thank goodness," one of them laughed. She took a breath and suddenly Shinsou only head gibberish. She had a strong accent, whatever it was. Shinsou stared and tried desperately to figure out what she was saying.
"I am sorry," Shinsou said in (probably horrendous, hell if he knew) English. "I am having difficulty understanding your words."
The girls all looked at each other as if not sure what to do. A few were obviously getting frustrated. Shinsou shifted uncomfortably. Usually, Aizawa was able to help out here, but he seemed to be flying solo.
"Yo, everything good? You look upset," Kaminari asked. Shinsou sighed.
"I can't understand them well. They're speaking English with an accent and are speaking way too fast for me to understand anything," Shinsou muttered.
"Oh, can I try?" Kaminari asked. Shinsou stared at the blond. A small part of him wanted to shut it down before Kaminari accidentally said something offensive. But what are the chances of that?
"Knock yourself out," Shinsou muttered. Kaminari smiled at the girls.
"Hey! Welcome to the Paw Print Café! I'm Kaminari, but you can call me Kami!" He said. His English was... amazing. He was so comfortable speaking it, almost as if it was his mother tongue. He began speaking to them as each of them took a turn talking.
He began punching things into the computer all with a smile. Sometimes he would talk for a bit and make them all laugh. Shinsou could barely understand a word of what he was saying, but he was surely entertaining them. As one girl was ordering, he stopped and stared at the screen.
"How do I do that 'add espresso shot' you were talking about?" He asked Shinsou. Aghast, he showed him how and Kaminari went on entertaining the six of them.
Once everyone's orders were taken, they got ¥1,200 in tips from them and Kaminari went and began making the drinks along with Shinsou. Kaminari didn't even look at the receipt or the cups while making them. He said he was going to make "Emily's, Brooke's, and Diego's" and Shinsou could make the rest.
"Just take the cups of the ones you're making. I don't know who they are," Shinsou requested. Kaminari grabbed three cups and began preparing them. Shinsou did his share and finished up. Kaminari asked a couple of questions before finishing up and setting them on the counter with their cookies.
They caught a break around three in the morning. Nobody was in the shop and the two of them were alone.
"How do you know English so well?" Shinsou asked. Kaminari shrugged.
"I watched a lot of American cartoons growing up", Kaminari replied nonchalantly. "As I grew up, I casually repeated some of the things so my parents put me in English lessons until I was like ten. I keep up now by just watching American shows and movies and reading things in English. Once you learn the patterns it gets kinda easy. Some of the things are stupid but I understand. I also understand a little bit of Spanish. Spanish and English are similar in a couple of ways. It's pretty cool to see the similarities, but I don't know Spanish that well."
Shinsou nodded his head, amazed by his casual process of learning a foreign language. "So you just... picked up an entire language and had a few classes in between."
Kaminari nodded his head. "I remember things well," he said. "Most of it is useless shit that just sticks with me, but it comes in handy when learning a language."
Shinsou nodded, remembering not only the exact way he made his coffee but the time he made it. "That's really cool," Shinsou said.
Kaminari paused the counter he was cleaning. He looked up to Shinsou with a bewildered expression on his face. "You think so?" He asked with a hint of hope in his voice.
"Yeah, that's a real gift, being able to remember small details," Shinsou said. Kaminari smiled and walked up to Shinsou. Without warning, he pulled him in for a hug.
"Thanks, dude," he sighed. Shinsou hesitantly hugged him back. The two broke their hug.
"Uh, no problem," Shinsou muttered. He let out a yawn, only then realizing how tired he felt. "I'm gonna make some coffee."
Kaminari nodded his head, going to make his own. Shinsou listened was he flattered around and hummed to himself. As he put in his creamed, he heard the buzz of the blender go off.
"I wanna try something," Kaminari said over the buzzing. It came to a halt and Kaminari poured the pink liquid into a cup that had strawberry syrup hugging the sides. He put whipped cream and strawberry syrup on top and stuck a straw in.
Shinsou watched as he sipped the cup. He pondered and ever so slightly stuck out his tongue. "I should add chocolate to the sides," he said. Shinsou raised an eyebrow only to have the drink shoved in his face.
"Try it!" Kaminari smiled. Shinsou hesitantly took the drink and sipped on it. It didn't have any coffee but it was a little... actually it was good.
"It's alright. Strawberry?" Shinsou asked. Kaminari nodded his head.
"Yeah! Like an arctic strawberry. But add chocolate and it'll be killer!" He said. Shinsou felt the need to squint a little at Kaminari's brighter-than-the-sun smile.
It wasn't long until the people started coming in the Café once more. Shinsou was... impressed with how much more comfortable Kaminari seemed to be than the first night. Whenever he got the chance to talk, he would. But now, he doesn't seem to second guess helping to make an order or whatever he was making.
If Shinsou didn't know any better, he'd say he was a natural.