Work Text:
The cafe was lively with the typing of keyboards and chitter chatter among students from the U.A. campus. The college semester was nearly done and the students were rushing around trying to get their last assignments done. The smell of caffeine wrapped the shop in a warm hug that compared to the harsh winds of the cold winter from beyond the wooden doors. The team of baristas rushed around behind the counter with endless orders. A certain blonde barista took on the brunt of the work.
“Hey, blondie! I need two lattes, three espresso shots, one hot chocolate, one mocha, and three iced coffees- two with caramel drizzle, and one with cream only! Slowpoke!” the manager said, hip-checking him.
Mina was typically high energy and very fun to work with. She was loved by all of the staff, with a welcoming vibe about her- her bright pink hair offered a peak into her fun personality. But this was finals week, the busiest week of the year, and it was not the time to be joking around.
“EH?? Are you kidding me right now, Pinky?? I know for a fact that you’re not talking about me, your hardest working employee who is currently working on fifteen lattes already!! One with double cream, another with 10 pumps of syrup, another with no espresso- THAT’S NOT EVEN A LATTE!!! I’LL KILL WHOEVER ORDERED THIS!!!” The blonde barista glared at his boss with a deathly glint in his eyes.
“That’s why I pay you the big bucks, Bakubabe!!” The pink girl blew him a kiss and began to help him with orders.
“You mean that’s why Katsuki is closing by himself today!” Denki teased.
Katsuki groaned and seethed while his coworkers joked about him. He enjoyed his job- it was calming when it was quiet, and even the busiest nights were therapeutic. But he hated finals week. There was nothing calm about it. But after working at the coffee shop for the last two years, he’d gotten used to the crazy rushes and made a promise to himself to be the best damn barista on campus.
The afternoon rush went by quickly, ending around five o’clock. Katuski manned the register, super bored as most of the students went to their evening classes. He watched the students study and write their notes, listening to the typing of computers and the quiet music that played in the cafe. The cafe was so calm at this time; it was slow enough for Katsuki to make himself a nice cinnamon sugar latte just how he liked it.
Katsuki steamed the milk, not even flinching when little sputters of milk splashed onto his hands. He’d gotten used to the steam not even days after he’d first started the job, and by now his hands had multiple burns that he didn’t even notice. Scanning the room from the espresso machine, he noticed a fluff of green hair popping up from behind a laptop. It was a boy, just about Katsuki’s age. Three cups of coffee surrounded him, and his face was buried into a textbook, looking puzzledly at the screen every now and then. Katsuki watched curiously as the boy slowly turned more and more red- from stress no doubt.
Katsuki grew more and more restless as the evening dragged on, pacing from the counter, to the back of the storage room, to the counter again, running out of things to do. He loved the quiet atmosphere of the cafe, but he also loved doing things around the place; it kept him busy and the time would fly by.
Sipping his cinnamon sugar latte, he would take the occasional order at the counter and go about his shift, making the best damn drinks they’d ever had. He prided himself in his job, knowing that his coworkers had complete confidence in him to close up shop at the end of the night. He had grown to love the small staff that he worked with and considered them his good friends.
Hunched over the counter and drink in hand, his eyes wandered over to the green haired boy again, wondering what he was working so hard on that was making him turn red like a strawberry.
“There’s a damn mess over there...I guess I should go over there and start cleaning.” Katsuki thought to himself, dragging his feet to the sanitizer spray bottle.
“Bye, Katsuki! See you in the morning- thanks again!” Mina waved as she clocked out.
“You know, you oughta take one of my shifts sometime, eh? I’d like a day off too, ya know!” he retorted.
“I’ll be happy to take a shift off of your hands for ya, Katsuki!” Denki called as he followed Mina out the door.
“Tuesday’s all yours, dude!” the blonde yelled after him.
“I know I’m good but I should be able to catch a break sometime ...” he huffed, walking over to the empty tables.
Katsuki wiped all the tables down, collecting all the empty cups and tossing them in the trash. He went over to the green haired boy to collect his long forgotten empty coffee cups. As he got closer, he noticed the boy was mumbling to himself.
“Where in the world do I go from here? There’s just so many things I can say...argh dammit, I’m never gonna finish it on time!” the green haired boy groaned, laying his head in his arms.
“Hey uh...can I take these cups for ya?” Katsuki asked tentatively.
The green haired boy shot straight up, suddenly red from embarrassment. “Oh, yeah thanks! Sorry, I’m really in the zone here- my final paper is due tomorrow and I’m not even close to done. School is driving me insane!”
Katsuki laughed as he tossed the cups in the trash bag. This guy was funny- he liked it.
“What are you studying?”
“Oh, I’m studying to become a teacher in hero characteristics! Lots of hero analysis, yknow.” he gestured to the stack of notebooks next to him- had to be at least thirteen.
Katsuki’s eyes widened in amazement. “Wow. You really know your stuff, huh?”
The boy grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I mean, I enjoy analyzing people- heroes to be specific! I could fill so many more notebooks if I wanted to, but I’m dedicated to school.”
“Ohhh, I see. You’re a damned nerd, aren’t you?” Katsuki snickered, making the boy blush. “So what do they call ya, nerd ?”
“Oh, um...people call me Deku, but my name is Izuku.” he said quietly.
“That’s not a very nice thing to call someone. Why do they call you that?”
“I think it’s because I used to be super behind in my class, ever since I was a kid. But I had plenty of reasons for it- single mom, tough childhood. Not all men are created equal, you know?” the green haired boy shrugged.
“Still. I think you should embrace the name, Deku. At least now you can be the Deku who always tries his best, eh?” Katsuki smiled warmly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right! Never thought of it like that- thanks.” Deku grinned back at him. Katsuki noticed that he had bright green eyes that pierced right through his heart.
“Well, Deku , I’m gonna get back to work now. Unfortunately my coworkers don’t care enough about me to help me close the cafe,” he rolled his eyes. “But I will be back in an hour, so I’d better see some progress on your assignment, eh?”
Deku’s green hair bounced as he laughed- and Katsuki was utterly entranced.
He’d gone back to work behind the counter- cleaning up endless coffee stains, and mopping up the floor. By now, the sky had gone completely dark. It was 6:30 in the evening. To Katsuki’s disdain, his shift was going faster than he thought. He looked back at Deku’s table, stealing a glance at him.
He was cute . Like... extremely cute.
Deku’s curly green hair was a mess, but it suited him well. His eyebrows were furrowed as he concentrated on his computer screen. As Katsuki peered a little closer, he saw that he had freckles on his cheeks. His hands were covered in scars, and he wondered what happened to make his hands all battered and crooked. He thought of his sweet smile, allowing it to grow a sense of motivation in his spirit. The yellow light of the cafe shone on Deku’s face, making him look angelic.
The blonde barista kept an eye on the shop, sneaking a look at Deku every now and again.
“Guess the kid’s really busy over there.” Katsuki thought.
At 7:30 he noticed that it was only the two of them left in the shop. The quiet music filled the silent gaps between the two boys as they each did their own thing. Katsuki grinned to himself like he was keeping a secret as he worked the espresso machine. He’d taken his time preparing the steamed milk, pouring it carefully over the coffee and swirling it into a small heart pattern. Artistically sprinkling some chocolate shavings on the side of the cup, he looked at it proudly. He pulled out his pen and on the sleeve he wrote a small message. “ For the Deku that always does his best ;) ”, it said.
He brought the cup over to Deku, who appeared to be a bit more calm, and typed away at his laptop.
“Hey, Deku, noticed you were working hard. Here’s a reward,” Katsuki grinned devilishly. “Just so you know, I only give these to hard workers.”
Deku looked up from his laptop and smiled a soft, tired smile.
“Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver. What’s your name? I’m sorry, I didn’t get to ask before.”
“Katsuki.”
The green haired boy’s eyes lit up and it made Katsuki feel so special. “Katsuki’s a cool name! Nice to meet you. Have you worked here for a long time?”
The blonde shrugged. “About two years. I like it here- my coworkers are brats but they’ve become my best friends. It’s quiet, which is a bonus.”
Deku listened carefully, taking in his every word. He noticed how Katsuki’s dazzling red eyes sparkled as he spoke of his job. The simple sight gave him butterflies.
“Is it your first time here? I haven’t seen you around before.”
“Oh yeah, it is! I typically go to a cafe just outside of U.A.’s campus borders. But I really like it here- it’s definitely quieter.” Deku grinned at Katsuki with a teasing glint in his eye.
“How’s your paper coming along? Any progress?” The blonde barista peeked over at his laptop.
“So much progress, thanks! About 13 out of 20 pages.”
Katsuki looked proudly at Deku. “I knew you could do it,” he said as his eyes wandered over to the notebooks next to him. “Can I take a look at your notebooks?”
Deku’s eyes widened with delight. “You wanna take a look at my notebooks? Nobody’s ever asked to see them before, and they’re kinda nerdy...but sure!”
Katuski took one notebook after the other, marvelling at how meticulous Deku was. He had notes on every hero he could think of- from the way their costumes worked to what would happen if their quirk was used excessively. He himself had always admired heroes for what they did for the city, but he had never met anyone so...fanboyish. It amazed him how detailed Deku was in his analyses. With every turn of the pages, he scanned them with his eyes burning with desire to learn, to consume this new information. He came to the 13th notebook and stopped to look at the cover. It appeared to be burned and crumpled from water stains.
“What happened to this one? It’s all dirty.” Katsuki asked curiously.
“Um...some kids in my class didn’t really like the fact that I’m a nerd. They thought my hero analyses were stupid, so they tried to ruin it.” Deku shrugged.
Katsuki felt mildly enraged. “What the hell, Deku! Don’t you stand up for yourself?”
He noticed Deku not even flinch at the raising of his voice.
“Well, obviously I try. But even as kids I’d get beat up for my notebooks. I don’t care anymore, and it doesn’t bother me, I swear. I just want to complete my studies and become the best teacher there is!”
“Those kids are assholes. Y’know, for what it’s worth, I think your hero analysis notebooks are amazing. They’re so detailed! I loved learning about heroes as a kid, and you have more information in those notebooks than I could ever imagine obtaining!”
“Thanks, Katsuki.” Deku blushed. The barista noticed his freckled cheeks turning red. It was cute as hell.
“Enjoy your drink, eh? I gotta take care of some cleaning and stuff, but I’ll definitely be back to check in on your progress.” Katsuki winked, turning on his heel leaving Deku blushing like a fool.
Heading behind the counter, he locked eyes with Deku. The poor green haired boy was so cute when he was flustered. He raised the cup to his lips when he noticed the note on the coffee cup sleeve. His face flushed the most impossible pink color. Katsuki hadn’t flirted with anyone in a long time, and he was glad to know that he still had it in him.
He spent the next hour filling up the work station’s espresso machine, caramel and chocolate squeeze bottles, rotating the milk in the fridges, washing the dishes, and cleaning the machines. He mopped up the floors and put the food away, making sure to save a brownie. He worked hard, gently humming along to the music as he worked. This was what they paid him for. A freaking spotless cafe. He prided himself in the work he did at the cafe, and there honestly wasn’t anything else he wanted to do.
“Hey Deku. Want anything else to drink?” he called over to him.
“Actually, can I please have a mocha? With extra espresso!” he smiled.
“God, his smile is infectious.”
“You got it, nerd. I've almost finished my shift, which means the cafe will be closed soon, okay?”
“Oh, okay...” It might have been Katsuki’s hearing playing tricks on him, but he thought he detected a hint of disappointment in Deku’s voice.
The blonde barista finished his shift promptly at 8:30. He made a large caramel latte for himself, and a mocha with extra espresso for Deku. He hung up his apron and walked over to the table that Deku occupied. He noticed that all of the boy’s materials were put away.
“You know, just cause we’re closed, doesn’t mean that I’m gonna kick you out. I can keep you company until you’re done.” Katsuki quickly said.
“Are you serious?!” Deku shouted thankfully. “Please, that would be just what I need! See, my internet has been having major issues, so I just need to finish my assignment and then I’ll head home! Thank you, Katsuki!”
They sat down at the table, and Katsuki handed him a brownie and his drink.
“Oh my god, thank you! I haven’t had a chance to eat today- student life, eh?” Deku laughed, warming the blonde’s insides. He sipped the drink carefully. “This drink is so good! Is that-?”
“Chilli peppers? Yep, my secret ingredient. It really adds something don’t you think?”
Deku nodded in agreement.
“Just so ya know, I only add my secret ingredient for people I think are cute.” Katsuki winked at him again, just in time catching his adorable blushing face again.
Katsuki watched Deku work for the next few hours, in awe at his passion for his study of choice. It was a breath of fresh air to see someone so dedicated to their dream. Deku had a very focused face when he studied. It was hot . Katsuki’s gut sank as he realized that Deku was done his paper.
“So when would I be seeing you again, Deku?” he asked. The question he posed was more shy than he’d intended for it to be.
“Whenever you want, Katsuki.” Deku’s eyes twinkled, making his stomach do flips.
“Ah, that’s good to know. Just in case, you might want to check the coffee sleeve.” He felt a surge of confidence flow through him as Deku looked at his coffee cup.
“Is this your number?” The green haired boy’s face flushed red and smiled widely, and Katsuki felt like he’d won the lottery.
“Yeah, I mean, if you want it. It’s just that this campus is huge. It’d be a total shame if I never got to see you again.” he shot Deku a small smile.
“I’d love to get together sometime, Katsuki!”
“Well...what are you doing right now? I could make you dinner at my place if you wanted. You did say that you didn’t have anything to eat today. I’m not just a fantastic barista- I’m also an amazing cook.” He crossed his fingers under the table.
“Actually yes! That sounds like fun!”
“Perfect, Deku. Shall we?” Katsuki gestured for them to leave.
“Wait!! I didn’t get to pay you for the drinks and the brownie! How much do I owe you?!” Deku shouted, digging around in his bag for his wallet.
“Stop that, nerd. Coffee’s on me. You can pay for the next one.” Katsuki grinned, grabbing his hand.
The two boys left the cafe, both excited and nervous about what the rest of the evening held for them. But they were so glad to have met each other that day- it felt like a breath of fresh air, knowing that their dreams could be achieved by the support that they mutually gave each other.