Chapter Text
Kim Kitsuragi had taken on quite the array of odd undercover jobs during his 20 something years of being on the force. He’s had to pretend to be a husband with a male co-worker for a bust of a gay landlord who ran an underground prescription drug trade, had to be a bartender at a strip club for a case of the owner who was the center of a huge money laundering scheme, just to name a few cases. Going undercover was really not his forte, but he did a pretty damn good job at it.
This job though? This one had ‘strange’ written all over it. Kim and Alice were assigned to ‘run’ a coffee shop in the ever booming university area of Revachol, where all the college kids lived. The thing that rubbed him was the fact that he was going to be more or less working in a coffee shop. Kim hadn’t worked retail since he was about 19, and he had no reason to go back. Yet now, here he was, manning a counter and making coffees for a bunch of college kids just so they could uncover a drug ring that the owner of the franchises in the city was running. It wasn’t a huge company, but the CEO had quite a few stores around Revachol. Usually, this type of situation was left to the city’s special ops team for a raid, however the CEO was very notorious for paying off cops and getting away undetected, so he knew how to get away scot free. Precinct 57 was designated for this task because they were, in a roundabout way, the last hope for catching the kingpin. Drug bust undercover operations were commonplace but this situation was anything but ordinary. Thankfully none of the twenty somethings who frequented the cafe gave anything of a shit regarding the new staff and management. They were too busy typing away on their laptops or caught up talking with their friends to inquire about any of that.
“One large iced caramel macchiato for Sarah!”, he called, placing the drink on the counter before hopping onto the next order.
He had to admit, this job was no easy feat. The hours they worked were 5am to 2pm, with a few other detectives from their precinct working the night shift. They had drawn the short stick and ended up with the morning shift, aka the busiest one. It was going to be extremely tricky both serving customers and keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity or people in the store. Thankfully, he had Alice alongside him to help him out and be his second pair of eyes. If only they had more help…
Just then, a pair of gentlemen walked through the doors. And they weren’t just any gentlemen. They were Harrier Du Boi and Jean Vicquemare. The two had become notoriously famous in Jamrock within the last year, uncovering a huge scandal regarding a mental hospital and the experimentation on patients and the disappearance of reporters and journalists who went to report on the story. It was ALL over the news and their pictures were plastered pretty much everywhere. Precinct 41 wasn’t a very well known one, much less respected, but after the whole story broke, all other stations had a newfound respect for them. Harry and Jean apparently came close to death a few times during the whole operation, but they didn’t look like it as they strolled into the coffee shop. It was bizarre seeing them here, since their district was on the other side of the city.
“Hello! Welcome to Luna’s Café and Bakery,” Alice welcomed in a cheery voice. Kim could tell she knew straight away who the men were but chose to not say a word to keep her identity hidden. Which seemed to be working just fine, since the two seemed to pay no interest in the two detectives behind the counter. They were too busy squabbling like an old couple.
“For the last time, I am NOT dealing with that shit tasting burnt coffee you made,” Jean growled, obviously fed up.
“Aw, come on! I just made a whole pot! Besides, I think it tastes perfectly fine. Nobody else seems to complain about it!”
“Yeah, because you don’t listen to shit like that, assface.”
Alice leaned in near Kim. “These are the guys who busted that whole corrupted physicians thing at the asylum last spring?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Kim shrugged. “Sure doesn’t seem like it. Maybe we caught them on an off day?”
“I’m just curious as to what they’re doing here. Surely there are plenty of coffee shops in Jamrock.”
Kim just went back to fixing the drink he was working on and let Alice handle them, not really caring why the men were there.
“Yeah, can I get a café au lait with almond milk and two cranberry biscotti”, Jean said as they approached the counter.
“And for you sir?” Alice asked, turning towards Harry.
“Uhhhh, yeah I’ll just get a regular black coffee.”
Jean shot him a deadpan look. “Are you fucking shitting me right now?”
“What?? I just want some regular coffee!”
Jean pinched the bridge of his nose. “I bring you to one of the best coffee joints in the city, and all you want to get is a plain black coffee?! Unbelievable, shitkid.”
Alice let out a slight chuckle. “May I suggest the new dark blend? It’s made with beans from the mountain region of Mercutio. It’s very popular right now.”
Harry made a pensive face. “Sure, why not. Medium dark blend, please!”
“Jesus, finally you listen to a suggestion for once,” Jean grumbled as he took out his wallet.
“Names for the order?” Alice asked, already knowing the answer.
“Harry and Jean”, Harry replied in a nonchalant tone.
“Okay. We’ll have your order right out.”
Kim began making their drinks, glancing every so often at the two officers as they grabbed a booth near a window. With each quick glance, Kim couldn’t help but notice Harry’s features. Seeing his face on tv and the papers, he just seemed like a regular looking guy. But now, with the sun cascading on him, creating a glow around him as he sat at the table, Kim began to notice that the guy was actually kind of attractive. Especially when he laughed or smiled or-
Stop that.
Kim brushed off the thoughts and focused on the drinks, forcing himself to keep his nose in the ultimate task at hand.
“One Mercutio black for Harry and a café au lait and two biscotti for Jean”, Kim called.
It was Harry who got up to get the order. Oh boy.
Kim tried to avert his gaze from Harry as he put the drinks on the counter.
“Thanks,” Harry said, as he took the items, catching Kim’s gaze.
Kim’s heart skipped a beat as he watched Harry go back over to Jean. The whole time the two were there, Kim kept stealing glances over.
When they got up to leave, he heard Harry say “Alright, you convinced me. I like this place. I’ll keep coming back to try more drinks.”
Great. Now Kim had yet ANOTHER thing on his plate.
“I saw that,” Alice hummed, right as the two men had left that coffee shop.
“Saw what?”
“The way you were looking at Harrier.”
Blood rushed to Kim’s face and he looked away from her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, he replied, trying to keep his composure.
“Well, just remember that workplace relationships are frowned upon, especially regarding a station that is our competitor.”
“Alice.”
She chuckled. This was REALLY going to be a handful.