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MK groaned as his alarm went off for the 5th time.
He hit snooze, and pulled the covers over his head.
“MK!! You better get your ass down here in 5 minutes to open shop or this will be your last day here!” Pigsy yelled up the stairway.
He gave a halfhearted response to his boss’ empty threat and rolled out of bed.
Just another day.
-
MK stumbled down the stairs, still tying his bandana around his head, hurrying out a good morning to his boss and father figure.
Pigsy gave a gruff sigh as he pulled out a tray of pastries for the day.
“Mornin’ kid, get the coffee brewin’, will ya? You’re already late.”
MK hummed in affirmative and began his usual ministrations of opening packets of coffee grounds and turning on the large coffee makers.
Before they knew it, the clock hit 6am and Pigsy turned the sign to ‘open’.
Customers began to trickle in, until the 8am morning rush was in full swing. MK fell into his usual rhythm with Pigsy, both of them bouncing between taking orders at the register and making the drinks.
It finally died down around late morning.
MK was wiping off a table when the door chimed, and a deep baritone bellowed, “hey guys! Sorry I’m late this morning,” MK perked up at this, greeting Sandy cheerfully.
“Hey, little buddy!” Sandy responded, ruffling MK’s hair.
Pigsy emerged from the back and greeted his old friend with a huff from his snout. “It’s fine, we had enough from yesterday to hold us over for the morning rush. But don’t be late again!” He chided with zero venom behind it. “What’s your excuse this time? Lemme guess it was one of your cats again.”
“Eheh, yeah, It was.” Sandy gingerly rubbed the back of his neck, “Jasmine had a pretty nasty hairball that took some time to clean up so I left the house late.”
Pigsy laughed and shook his head “Of course. So, what-”
“What blend did you bring us today?!” MK enthusiastically butted in.
Sandy chuckled. “Today’s blend is ginger oolong with lemongrass! Great for settling the stomach and giving you some nice caffeine to start your day!”
“Ooh! That sounds so good!” MK beamed.
“Welp, I better be off, Mo can only hold down shop for so long.” Sandy dropped the large box of loose leaf into MK’s hands before darting towards the door.
“How many times do I have to tell you that a cat can’t look after a shop! Get outta here!” Pigsy yelled behind him.
MK giggled at the exchange between old friends and brought the box behind the counter.
“Hey kid, I’m gonna work on some paperwork in my office, gimme a holler if it starts gettin’ busy again.” Pigsy said as he walked into the back.
MK nodded in affirmative and glanced at the clock, almost lunch time.
The café was noticeably devoid of customers after the morning rush, but that was pretty usual just before lunch, as the university nearby had most classes in session around this time.
The door jingled open again, catching MK’s attention. He perked up, taking his post behind the register. When his eyes fell onto the new customer, MK felt his heart skip a beat. A fire demon, that much was obvious. Blazing red hair tied up in an unruly ponytail, warm amber eyes, and a pinched expression that told everyone to stay out of his way. MK shook himself out of his musings in just enough time to plaster on his customer service face, suppressing some fear and a slight rising blush.
“Welcome to Pigsy’s café! What can I get y-”
“Silence, coffee boy. I don’t need your pleasantries. I’ll have a hot spiced chai latte, no sweetener.” the demon glanced around the café as he rattled out his order.
“O-oh, yes, right away.” MK’s thoughts stilted before he restarted. He felt like he really should be mad at being treated this way by a customer, but all he felt was mild fear, and a lot of intrigue. “Your total is-”
“I don’t care,” the demon pulled a rather large bill from his pocket and handed it to MK. “Keep the change for this revolting little establishment.”
Now MK really didn’t know how to react to that. So, he just put the bill in the register, made a mental note to tell Pigsy about it later, and glanced back up at the interesting stranger.
“Can I get a name for…?” MK flinched at his traitorous mouth going through his auto piloted phrases. You dumbass! He’s the only one here! You don’t need his name!
The customer looked at him with shock, disbelief, then anger. A few sparks flew from his hair. That was neat.
“You- you don’t know who I am?!”
“N-no?” MK squeaked. Beginning to shrink behind the counter as a couple short bursts of flame erupted from the demon’s hair.
“I am Red Son! Son of the Demon Bull King! Heir to Iron Bull Industries!” He shrieked.
Now MK had dug himself into a hole here. He’d never heard of anyone or anything the demon had just shouted at him, and if he pretended to know now it wouldn’t be very convincing. MK took a deep breath, deciding an honest, friendly response would be for the best.
“I-I’m sorry if I offended you, I just don’t get out much. I don’t really keep up with much outside of the café.” MK scratched the side of his face, flashing a disarming smile to ease the tension in the other’s features. “Nice to meet you, Red Son, I’m MK.”
Red Son’s pinched expression eased just a fraction, and if MK blinked he would have missed the light blush that dusted the demon’s face as his eyes darted over MK. He was clearly thrown off guard.
MK felt his face heat up a bit at how intense the other’s stare was getting. Before he could think about that too hard, MK cleared his throat and turned on his heel. “I’ll have that out for you in just a moment!” He set to work steaming the milk and scooping Sandy’s special chai blend into a tea bag, trying to will away his blush.
Once he had finished preparing the drink, he turned around only to yelp in surprise, seeing as Red Son hadn’t moved to sit at a table; if anything he had gotten closer to the counter.
“Uh- excuse me, sorry about that. Here you are.” MK tried to ignore the brush of scaldingly warm fingers as he handed the cup off to the other.
Red Son stood there a moment longer, those warm eyes almost burning a hole into MK. Before he could say anything the demon huffed and left the café without another word.
Only then did pigsy decide to make an appearance from the back office. “You alright, kid? I heard a bit of yelling, but I figured you could handle it.”
MK stared at the front door with a slightly far off stare. “Yeah… yeah, everything’s fine.” he shook himself out of the trance and decided to inform Pigsy about the unreasonably rich new customer.
Pigsy didn’t even have time to yell at him before the lunch rush began.