Chapter Text
It was a quiet morning on October 1st. The leaves had all turned shades of yellow, red, and orange a week or so ago, making it officially fall. The season of cozy sweaters, decorations, candies, and delicious food spent with families.
A sleeping figure laid in their apartment, attempting to sleep in during the cold morning. A warm comforter completely covered their body, curtains closed to block the sun.
The phone on the nightstand suddenly went off, starting with a vibration before ringing. The noise filled the once quiet room, the noise of Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’.
The figure’s hand slipped out from under the blanket, the appengage bare. The fur was a dark black, with a red stripe on the middle finger, going up the arm. Each finger was topped off by a sharp claw, the muscles tense. The hand was slowly raised before it reached the edge of the bedside table, picking up the phone with displeasure seeping out of every movement.
The covers fell as the person sat up, his quills a mess, his red eyes barely open. Running a hand through his quills, he looked at his phone with a groggy expression.
‘Boss’.
Oh no…
With a groan, he pinched the bridge of his nose. The music he had as his ringtone truly did not match the situation. He held the phone to his ear as he pressed answer, his muzzle scrunched up in irritation, his ears twitching as he took a deep breath. “Hello?” He grumbled out, his voice slightly snappy.
"Heeeyy- Shadow- good morning!!” An overly peppy voice rang in his ear, causing the dark hedgehog to wince at the other’s ‘excitement’. It was too early for this.
“What do you want, Honey?” He asked with an eyeroll.
Shadow could hear his boss groan on the other side of the phone, dropping her overly sweet customer service voice. “I need you to come in in an hour.” The cat said bluntly, a bit of irritation in her tone.
“What!? But it’s my day off!!”
“Yeeaaah- so- Kevin called out sick.” Shadow growled quietly at this, opening his mouth to say something that definitely would not be appropriate to say to his manager, before Honey cut him off. “I’ll pay you an extra 100 bucks.”
The dark hedgehog went silent. It was his day off- he didn’t want to work- he wanted to sleep in, relax, and study for his upcoming law test. But… he was in desperate need of money…
“Stupid Kevin- I’ll be there soon.”
--
A nice, relaxing shower followed by a 20-step skincare routine was how Shadow always started his day. He was pretty OCD when it came to his quills, spending more time carefully combing them to perfection than he did in the actual shower.
It was 7:45 by the time he was done getting ready, giving him a pathetic 15 minutes to get to work. With a sigh of reluctance, and half a mind to call Honey and tell her he didn’t need the money, he adjusted the golden rings on his wrists, his gloves snugly hugging his hands. His shoes slipped on with ease as he popped some bread into the toaster.
Shadow walked down the hall of the small apartment he lived in, knocking on the door where his roommate slept. “Rouge! I’m going to work!” He called out, raising his voice slightly to be heard on the other side of the door. All he got in response was a tired groan, signalling to him that either the bat was still asleep or had a hangover. Neither of which would be much of a surprise.
The dark hedgehog scowled, his eyebrows scrunching together in annoyance. With a roll of his eyes, he pushed the door open, waltzing inside without a care in the world. He held a hand over his eyes (just in case), standing in the middle of the nicely furnished room with his free hand placed on his hip.
The fruit back groaned once more before sitting up, her face covered in a green face mask. “Why are you going to work on an off day?” She asked bluntly, her ears twitching. “...And I’m not- you can move your hand!”
Shadow simply lowered his hand, earning him an eyeroll. “I wanted to be careful.” He retorted. “And Kevin called in sick, so I have to go in instead of sleeping.”
“Ugh- Stupid Kevin.” Rouge grumbled before lying back down, turning her back to Shadow. “Well, I don’t have to work for a couple more hours, so let me get some sleep at least.”
The hedgehog sighed and walked out of the room without another word, respecting his roommate’s wishes and closing the door behind him.
The elevator had been out of commission for a week now, burdening Shadow with a jog down several flights of stairs on his way out of the apartment complex. He reached the bottom floor, walking through the lobby and ignoring the front desk lady who simply greeted him with a stereotypical ‘Hello, sir! Enjoy your day!’
Once outside, the dark hedgehog strolled over to his motorcycle, the black BMW leaned up against a bike rack due to the stand breaking. He sighed as he sat down, pulling his helmet out of the compartment and holding it in his lap. He ran a hand through his quills, pulling out a small case. He took out a single earbud, placing it in his ear, and shoving the case back into his lowed quills.
Shadow put on his helmet, tightening the straps securely. He opened her phone, pressing shuffle on his favorite playlist, that being his only one. ‘We Fell In Love In October’ started to play in his ear as he started up his motorcycle with a soft roar of the engine that sputtered for a moment before it started to work properly. The dark hedgehog then started to drive off, heading to work with music in his ear…
--
The rumble slowly died down as Shadow twisted the key out of his motorcycle. The fresh autumn air was now tainted with the cruel smell of… pumpkin spice. The hedgehog grimaced as he took off his helmet, balancing the bike with his foot. He scowled up at his workplace, the large Starbucks sign adorned with a few fallen leaves from the nearby trees, making the sight almost bearable.
Almost.
Maybe he should have taken a few laps around town before showing up still half asleep. He could have just said traffic was bad- he did live right next to an airport, and all the old people were heading down south for the winter. The dark hedgehog could have listened to at least a few more songs, but no. One was enough, apparently, despite his reluctance to get off of his vehicle.
He groaned under his breath, standing to his feet. The motorcycle beside him toppled for a second before starting to fall over, the dark hedgehog quickly grabbing it with a swift movement. “Stupid piece of crap.” He mumbled, the irritation lacing his voice palpable.
Dead leaves crunched under his shoes as he pulled the bike behind him, a cold breeze blowing past his face. With a grunt, he picked the motorcycle up a few inches, just enough to place it on the sidewalk. He let it lean against a street lamp, sighing with relief and frustration.
Shadow ran a hand through his neatly groomed quills, his gaze locking onto the front door of his job with disgust. He let his head hang slightly, too tried to bother keeping his chin high in the superior fashion he normally had.
The door opened with a click, the little bell letting out a jingle as he walked in. His ears were instantly met with Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song: ‘Espresso’.
A small, pleased smile appeared on the dark hedgehog’s face, a huff reminiscent of a chuckle escaping his lips. “Good morning, Rose.” He didn’t even have to look up to know Amy was on duty right now. Every day, everyone would take turns picking the song that played on the speakers, since there were only 6 people who worked there.
A soft giggle could be heard, accompanied by the sound of the coffee machine whirling away. “Good morning, Shadow. I never thought I’d see you on your day off.” The pink hedgehog spoke with a sweet tone, though it wasn’t like the annoying customer service voice Shadow was met with no matter where he went, and he reluctantly also had to learn how to do since working at a coffee shop. Amy was a naturally sweet person, whether it was talking to customers, Shadow, or even Kevin. All of which made Shadow admire her kindness.
“Honey’s gonna give me a bonus.” Shadow said, his voice a little smug, though it was all in good fun. He walked behind the counter, grabbing his green hat and apron, sporting the logo he had a love-hate relationship with. Amy gasped in mock offence, handing a customer their drink. “What? Man, maybe I should try coming into work on my day off.”
The dark hedgehog grabbed a cup, giving the coffee machine a light shake before starting it up. He scoffed, making himself a cup of delicious black coffee. Free drinks came with being an employee, which was Shadow’s favorite part of the job. “Believe me, you don’t want to.”
Shadow chugged the cup he had prepared for himself as he took his position behind one of the cash registers, not adding sugar or anything, just raw, bitter, black coffee, making Amy’s face contort into mild disgust.
Rose began to chit-chat with another customer as she took their order, while Shadow simply brooded and drank his coffee. It was still early, thankfully, so there weren’t many customers, allowing Shadow to wake up some more. Most people flocked over to Amy, as usual, I mean- if you saw a happy-go-lucky pink hedgehog and one that looked like he would murder you for speaking to him, which one would you rather talk to?
But Shadow’s peace did not last long. Two girls walked into the store, both wearing matching tank tops and shorts, one sporting pink, while the other sported purple. It felt like seeing double. They glanced over at Shadow before giving each other the look . Great .
Shadow wished he could drown himself with his coffee as he watched the two girls walk over, and of course, there was no one else in line, so Shadow was screwed.
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyy!” One of the girls said with a little wave, causing the hedgehog to physically recoil. He scrunched his eyebrows together, biting his tongue in irritation. He knew where this was going.
“Hello, welcome to Starbucks, what may I get you ladies?” He asked in a professional voice, not showing even a hint of emotion. He straightened out his back, his fingers hovering over the electronic device he had to put in people’s orders.
The girl who had yet to speak giggled, whispering to the other where Shadow could clearly hear her. “O.M.G, he’s so polite~!!”
Either neither of them could notice the death glares the dark hedgehog was giving them, or they simply didn’t care. The first girl, the one sporting pink, locked eyes with Shadow, making him very uncomfortable. He hated eye contact. “We’ll have two pumpkin spice lattes, please.”
Oh, I hate these girls even more now.
“Of course you will. That will be 20 rings.”
Not a single complaint was uttered. The rings were handed over, Shadow went to make their drinks, and he thought maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to talk to them anymore. He was wrong.
“So what’s your birthday?”
Shadow squeezed the plastic cup in his hand. So much for peace and quiet listening to Amy’s wonderful choice in music. “June 19.” He said bluntly, his voice a little snappy. The first girl’s face shifted from one of interest to disgust, audibly gagging, while the second one’s eyes lit up.
“Ew- a Gemini?!” She held a hand to her heart, like her whole family had just been insulted in 7 different languages.
“Hot and a Gemini?! I’m in heaven!” The other was practically beaming, leaning against the counter with excitement.
Shadow scowled. He walked back over to the girls and placed their drinks down with a bit too much force than necessary. “Here are your drinks, enjoy your day, ladies.” He spoke firmly, his voice laced with a hint of anger. His eyes were narrowed, as if he was trying to will them both out of existence, to no avail.
Fortunately, they took their disgustingly seasonal drinks and left, the purple one as Shadow mentally refered to her, giving him a flirtaious wave. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the dark hedgehog’s head fell into his hand. His cheek smooshed against his glove, his eyes drifting close for a moment. His ear twitched, though, as the bell rang.
Another customer.
Shadow opened his eye, standing up straight as he watched a man walk over to him. Taking a deep breath, he spoke. “Hello, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get you?”
The man simply stared at him with a flat expression, his eyebrows raising slightly, his lips twisted into a frown. “Mmm… yeah… what do you have that’s free?”
Shadow blinked a few times. Okkkkaaaay… “Well, we have a buy one, get one free sale on our birthday flavored cake pops.”
“Mmm… yeah… can I get the free one?”
…What.
Shadow stared at the man for a few seconds, in utter disbelief. Did this guy really just come in at like 8 o’clock in the morning and ask THAT?! Containing the urge to call the customer a dumbass, made a little popping sound with his lips, sighing. “It’s ‘buy one, get one free’. You need to… buy one… to get the free one.”
“Mmm… yeah… I just want the free one though.”
“You can’t just have the free one.” The hedgehog pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling an oncoming headache.
“But it’s free . I don’t want to pay for anything- I want the free one- the customer is always right, y’know.”
Shadow inhaled sharply, clasping his hands together with a small clap! “...You can’t-”
The man let out a loud groan, running a hand through his greasy hair before slamming down on the counter. “I want to talk to the manager!!” He nearly screamed. The few customers in the shop froze, staring at the full-grown man throwing a fit like a toddler. The hedgehog on the other hand, didn’t seem to clinch.
Taking a deep breath, Shadow turned around on his heel. His hands formed a megaphone-like shape as he held them around his mouth. “Honey, we have a code ‘Chad’!!”
The man raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to probably make some comment about what a ‘code Chad’ was before Honey the cat walked over to Shadow. “Kay- what’s going on- oh yeah, he definitely looks like a Chad-” The cat said, taking a step back upon seeing the man, her eyes widening as she sucked in air through her teeth. “When was the last time you washed your hair? It looks a little greasy.”
A scowl appeared on the man’s face, his eyes filled with pure rage. All over a cake pop. “Your employee won’t give me the free birthday flavored cake pop I asked for!”
Honey raised a confused eyebrow, giving Shadow a side glance. Shadow deadpanned, shrugging his shoulders. “He wants the free cake pop from the ‘buy one, get one free’ deal, but doesn’t want to… buy one.”
“Oh!” A snort escaped her at the revelation, trying not to absolutely bust up laughing. She turned to the man, leaning against the counter with an overly sweet smile. “Well, as you should know, ‘buy one, get one free’ does not mean you can just get the free one, so either buy a cake pop, or go along your merry way- the door’s right over there.”
The man let out a loud ‘gasp!!’ , his hand clutching his shirt. The bell from the door rang, signalling another person’s arrival, but no one paid attention; the now screaming man was the main focus. “Excuse me?! How dare you- the customer is always right and I want my fucking -”
“Ok- I’m going to stop you there, Chad.” Shadow quickly butted in before the man could utter another word, his eyes narrowing at the other.
“My name’s not Ch-”
“I don’t care.” The hedgehog took a deep breath, holding his clasped hands to his face in irritation. If only swearing at customers was allowed- “You are disturbing other customers and the employees that work here. If you are not going to pay for something, leave.”
The man huffed, clenching his teeth together. He stomped off, storming out the door, but not before shouting “I’M LEAVING THIS PLACE 0 STARS ONLINE!!”
Honey and Shadow both rolled their eyes in unison, giving one another a tired look. “Well, now that that’s been taken care of, I need to go make sure Silver doesn’t have a panic attack from being alone for too long.” She gave Shadow a pat on the shoulder before leaving, the dark hedgehog sighing in exasperation.
Amy walked over, taking off her apron and hat as she let out a small whistle. “Dang. You ok, Shadow?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips. The pink hedgehog had served all the other customers while the incident was going on, so the place was for once quiet.
The other hedgehog turned around to face her, leaning against the countertop as he stared at her, unamused. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just hope we don’t have another situation like that today.”
“You know, the best way to deal with the Karens is to punch them in the weak spot!!” A southern voice called out from the drive-through area. Amy sighed, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “We know, Bethany!!” She said back, before going over to the bathroom.
Shadow was alone. At last. A moment of silence, just him, his thoughts, and the music playing on the speakers. He faced the front of the store again, his head hanging low. A soft hum came from his throat, the song he listened to on the way to work, not even 30 minutes prior, still stuck in his head.
“Wow, he seemed like a asshole.”
Shadow looked up upon hearing the voice, his eyes meeting… an emerald green.