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Every morning at exactly 7:00 am, two things happen.
- A handsome, well-dressed man in a tailored suit with red and white hair comes in and orders one black, cold brew and a bagel with cream cheese.
- A plucky, young freckled-faced police officer with short wavy green hair comes in and orders a latte with a muffin and a cup of fruit.
When Ochaco first started working at All Bite coffee shop, she hadn’t expected to meet anyone she could be interested in. Least of all two people. It wasn’t until a month into her time working at the Heroic Plaza Stripmall that she was utterly surprised to see “Sexy Suit” (Yuga’s words, not hers) strutting in and asking for the tallest, darkest, coldest coffee available.
“I poured from the pitcher that was in the back of the freezer and put a bunch of ice cubes inside it for you,” she had said when she gave him his coffee. “ I would have put my ex-boyfriend’s heart in there two but I figured you want cold and dark, not nonexistent or rotten.”
She had chuckled at her joke but he just stared at her blankly before paying for his drink and leaving. She had figured that she had made a fool of herself, but the next morning, he had come back.
“I’ll take a dark roast cold brew, without the heart of what clearly was an idiot.” He had said it without missing a beat and with a straight face. So at first, she assumed she had misheard him. But after tipping her $20 and leaving, Tsuyu looked at her confused.
“I thought you said he was cute?”
“I did. I mean he still is but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, I think he was trying to flirt with you.”
Ever since then, Sexy Suit would come in order the same thing. Sometimes she would flirt with him or he would flirt with her; they never seemed to realize what the other was doing until after he left for the day. This went on for an agonizing month before one day he stopped showing up.
“I told you, you should have given him your number,” Yuga had said. He was right. He always was and that’s what made Ochaco mad.
A week after Sexy Suit stopped showing up a group of police officers and cadets showed up at the All Bites for lunch. Lunchtime was already hectic at the coffee shop, but the added people made the whole thing more stressful. Ochaco and Tsuyu did the best they could to keep the customers happy while Rikido and Mezo worked on making the orders.
One table that Ochaco was serving was especially rowdy. A blond cadet with red eyes and a taller beefier cadet with dark brown hair and black eyes kept yelling every 5 seconds as an officer with purple hair tried to get them to calm down.
“We are out in public! Stop screaming and calm down! Please have the dignity and grace to not sully our precinct’s good name any further,” the purple-haired man hissed.
“SORRY, OFFICER SHISHIKURA! I JUST CAN’T IMAGINE HOW ANYONE COULD NOT LIKE EGGS! IT’S A BREAKFAST STAPLE!” The beefy cadet yelled.
“IT’S LUNCHTIME!” The blond shouted back.
All the while Ochaco just stood there waiting for them to finish their order.
“I’m so sorry about them,” a guy with green hair said. The poor guy was sandwiched in between the blond and the beefy guy. He was shorter and a bit slimmer than the both of them but it seemed that his presence was the only thing stopping them from physically fighting each other. “They are always like this.”
“Do you want me to just put in your order then?” Ochaco said and smiled empathetically. The poor cadet blushed and nodded.
At first, Ochaco didn’t think anything of the encounter but a week later when she was walking home after work, a thief ran by and stole her purse. Not one to be taken advantage of, Ochaco chased the thief down and chucked one of her shoes at his head. While this didn’t stop him, the ruckus she caused alerted two police officers on patrol. One of the officers was the green-haired man from before.
When he saw Ochaco struggling to get her purse back, he jumped into action and took the thief down. While she was very thankful she hadn’t remembered him at the time but he remembered her.
The day after the green-haired man, Officer Izuku Midoryia, came by the shop for breakfast and to check on her.
“Here. On the house. Thanks for helping me get my purse back.” She slid him a latte with a smiley face in it and a multigrain muffin. He tried to refuse but she wouldn’t allow it.
“Then I-I’ll come back tomorrow and pay for it.” Ochaco found it cute that someone who was in such a scary position was so shy and cute.
He kept his promise though and each day after he came in and bought a muffin and a latte. On good mornings where he didn’t work the night shift, he would get one of the healthier muffins but when he had worked the night or was having a bad day he would get something indulgent like the dark double chocolate muffin which was really more of a cupcake.
Officer Cutie (or Bushy Boy as Tsuyu preferred to call him) soon became a regular. They talked constantly and even exchanged phone numbers. He told her all about how he wanted to become a detective and eventually work with solving higher-level cases for the government. She told him all about her love of space and how she was working to pay her way through school. While her coworkers teased them constantly and called him her boyfriend, she didn’t dislike the idea. The both of them were just too shy to ask the other out.
While spending so much time with Officer Cutie, Ochaco had almost forgotten about Sexy Suit until one morning he appeared. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. Next to him was a beautiful woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
As soon as Ochaco saw them together, she hid, too afraid and embarrassed to speak with them. Yuga, reluctantly took over as she sat crouched behind the counter and Sexy Suit and his beautiful friend weren’t there for long. On their way out, Sexy Suit stopped to ask Yuga a question.
“There was a woman here before. She had auburn brown hair and big brown eyes. Does she still work here?”
“You mean, Ochaco? She still works here. She’s just...not in right now,” Yuga explained and kicked her lightly under the desk. She knew she was being ridiculous for being so nervous around him but she had been flirting with him for so long only to find out that there was this mysterious woman! How could she not be overwhelmed by that?
The next few days she kept avoiding him the best she could by having Yuga or Tsuyu serve him or going on break when she knew he was coming in.
“If you don’t want to see him anymore; why not tell him so?” Mezo asked her one day after she hid in the kitchen until he was gone. “That or one of us can do it if he makes you uncomfortable like that one short creepy guy that kept coming in before.”
“This isn’t the same as that time with that Mineta guy. This guy is...sweet and funny and-and probably has a girlfriend!”
Soon he stopped showing up as frequently and she thought she was in the clear until Officer Cutie and Sexy Suit came in at the same time. Worst of all, the two sat next to each other and started talking!
“So, what can I get you, boys?” She asked them, trying to seem as calm as she could.
“The usual please, Ochaco.” both men had said at the same time. They seemed to think it was funny how both of them were her regular customers and had similar orders but she wanted to float into the sun.
Officer Cutie left first as he had a morning shift and was having a banana nut kind of day. This left her to deal with Sexy Suit alone.
“I’m glad I finally caught you when you were working. I thought you might be avoiding me. Did you change your hours?”
“A bit…”
“Oh…” Sexy Suit frowned and took a long sip of his coffee. “Listen, I’m sorry if I’m overstepping or bothering you. I can leave you alone if you would like.”
“No! You’re fine, really. It’s just...I saw you with a woman the other day and it’s been a while since you had come in so...I-I don’t know.”
He looked at her utterly confused and she could feel her flushed face burning. She quickly excused herself and went to the kitchen to bang her head against a wall. When she came back he was gone. He had left cash to pay for his order and a tip. On top of the money was a small box and a note. Inside the box was a pink charm bracelet with a charm of the Eiffel Tower, Saturn, and of what she assumed was a bagel (or maybe a donut).
I’m sorry for being gone for so long. I had to take an impromptu business trip overseas with a work colleague. When we came back I wanted to show her this shop because I love how kind and thoughtful the employees are. I also wanted to give you this. I hope I’m not being too forward. -Shoto
She smiled and sighed. While Rikido said it was weird, she didn’t really care. It was nice to know he cared. But the butterflies she got in her stomach when she tried on the bracelet presented a problem. While she liked both Shoto and Izuku and was not opposed to being with either or both, she had no way of knowing if they would be as accepting.
For a while, the three of them lived in this odd limbo. They would come in at 7 am order the usual. The three of them would spend the next few minutes talking and laughing. Anytime Shoto would leave for a business trip he would bring her back a charm for her bracelet and souvenir for Izuku.
“So...they’re having an award ceremony later this week a-and I know you both are very busy but I will be getting a medal for my help with that big burglary case last week. I was wondering if you might...be able to go? I can bring up to three people and my mother can’t make it. Most of my friends are the people I work with so they’ll already be there but if—“
“I’d love to go!” Ochaco said cutting him before his anxiety made him ramble anymore.
“Me, too,” Shoto added. “I think it would be nice. You work so hard and try to do your best. I think it's good people are recognizing you for that.”
“Do we have to dress up? Is there a dress code? I don’t have anything red carpet ready but I can probably put something together by then.”
“We should go shopping. I’m not great at stuff like this like Ms. Yaoyorozu is but I’m sure if the three of us are together we can all find something nice.”
“Shoto, you don’t have to get me anything!”
“But I want to. Besides, you both deserve nice things. I wish I could give you more…” Shoto turned his head away and took a long sip from his cold brew. Behind his hair, she could swear she saw his ears and cheeks were red.
“Okay, okay. I guess if you really want to but nothing too expensive! I almost fainted when Yuga told me how expensive my charm bracelet is. So when are we going?”
“I have the rest of the day off and I have a night patrol tomorrow” Izuku piped in. “I could pick you guys up after work. As long as one of you doesn’t mind riding in the backseat of a squad car.”
“Working for my father I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to eventually do that anyway. Might as well get in the practice.” Both Ochaco and Izuku chuckled awkwardly. Shoto wasn’t on good terms with his father. While Enji Todoroki seemed to be a relatively honest businessman they hadn’t heard anything that made him seem like a great father.
“Well, I get off at 1:30. Izuku and I can go to lunch at Black Hole Tacos and pick you up after you get off of work, Shoto.”
“I’ll try to get through as much as I can so you don’t have to wait long.”
“You don’t have to rush but if everyone’s good with this then I guess it’s a date!” She smiled and meant it more jokingly but Shoto never skipped a beat.
“Actually, it’s 2 dates. Tonight and the night of the ceremony.” His face was so serious that someone who hadn’t grown used to Shoto might have thought he was joking. But she had been here before with him and knew him well enough to know he meant it. So, she laughed and nodded.
Poor Izuku was in shock. He hadn’t expected either of them to say yes in the first place but he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it from his friends at work if he came alone. Now he was getting lunch and going shopping too? And what was that about a date? Why would two people as attractive as Ochaco and Shoto want to go on a date with him?
“Wait, what just happened there?” He asked but the other two had already left to serve other customers or head to work.
“I believe it’s called polyamory, Officer,” Yuga said with a wink. “Lucky you.”