Chapter Text
The Thieve’s Rest was filled with the sounds of people chatting, tea brewing, and the occasional sounds of the bell above the door ringing whenever someone entered, while the scent of warm pastries drifted through the air. This was just a normal day of work for Slingshot, who found a sense of comfort in the familiar atmosphere.
The warmth of the café wrapped around him like a blanket, making the busy afternoon feel slower somehow. Besides, he had a few acquaintances — or siblings, Vinestaff and Shuriken, to help him deal with his sometimes stressing, sometimes painful, sometimes wonderful job, but mostly stressing.
As he moved between tables balancing warm drinks and plates of pastries, the familiar rhythm of the café suddenly shattered at the sound of the front bell swinging open. "Sling, how have you been!" Skateboard yelled through the room loud enough to turn nearly every head in the room and look at said inphernal.
Standing beside him was Boombox, one of his other closest friends, casually waving as if they hadn’t drawn the attention of the entire café. Slingshot felt heat creep onto his face immediately. The once cozy atmosphere now felt painfully small under the weight of everyone’s stares, all because of his two best friends —
"Please don’t yell.." He mumbled under his breath as he wiped the countertop. Skateboard leaned against it casually, eyeing Slingshot as he was busy with his work, while Boombox stood nearby.
"We just wanted to check up on you." Boombox said with a warm smile that helped Slingshot ease the embarrassment he felt towards them just now. "You guys check up on me every day. I’m doing just fine," he answered, trying his best to brush off their concerns. "You sure you are?" Skateboard tilted his head, squinting at Slingshot like he was trying to inspect him for damage. He leaned halfway over the counter without a care for personal space.
Slingshot rolled his eyes immediately, shoving Skateboard’s face away with the palm of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I’m fine."
"You look stressed," Boombox chimed in from beside him, offering a sympathetic smile. Unlike Skateboard’s teasing, his concern sounded genuine enough to make Slingshot feel a little guilty for brushing them off.
"That’s because he’s always stressed," Skateboard snorted.
"I can still throw both of you out, you know."
"See? Stress."
Boombox let out a laugh while Slingshot sighed dramatically, setting the cleaning rag aside. "Are you two gonna order something or just stand there harassing me during work hours?"
Despite his words, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, softer than the polite customer-service smile he usually wore around the café. One reserved for people he actually cared about.
"The usual, please." Boombox and Skateboard spoke at the exact same time. A brief silence passed before the two turned toward each other, immediately breaking into laughter like they’d just shared the funniest joke in the world. Skateboard nearly leaned into Boombox from laughing so hard, while Boombox’s loud, contagious laugh echoed throughout the café.
Slingshot couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him as he shook his head. "You two are way too synced to be normal." "That’s what best friends do." Boombox replied proudly. "Pretty sure we’re just cooler than everyone else." Skateboard added with a grin. "Sure you are.." Slingshot chuckled.
Still smiling faintly, he turned toward the counter to prepare their usual orders — a caramel cookie frappe piled high with whipped cream for Boombox, and an iced mocha with an extra espresso shot for Skateboard. The drinks suited them almost perfectly; Boombox’s overly sweet taste contrasted Skateboard’s preference for something sharper to keep up with him.
While Slingshot was busy preparing their drinks, Skateboard and Boombox leaned against the counter, letting the comfortable café silence settle for a moment, though it clearly wasn’t going to last long.
"Hey, Sling," Skateboard started, tapping his fingers against the counter like he couldn’t stay still for even a second. "There’s this guy we’re pretty close with… and we kinda wanna introduce him to you someday." Boombox nodded eagerly beside him. "Yeah! He’s really strong, and like.. really good in phights too! But he’s also… kinda chaotic..?"
Slingshot paused mid-motion, glancing up from the drinks with mild curiosity. "Chaotic how?" Skateboard grinned like he was already enjoying how this sounded. ".. The fun kind. He doesn’t take anything seriously, but somehow he still gets things done."
"And he’s sneaky," Boombox added quickly, as if remembering something important. "But he’s also nice! In his own way." Slingshot set their drinks down on the counter, raising a brow. "So what you’re saying is.. he’s trouble."
"He’s interesting," Skateboard corrected immediately. Boombox smiled nervously. "Yeah! Interesting!" Slingshot let out a small hum, still looking at them curiously. ".. Really?" Skateboard then suddenly perked up again, like a switch had been flipped inside his head, "Oh— wait, we could even invite you to one of his boxing matches sometime—"
Slingshot paused mid-step, eyes immediately sharpening with interest. "Boxing match? I’ll consider." Boombox’s face lit up instantly, practically vibrating as he took another sip of his drink. "Great! We’ll let you know when he’s free. I mean, he’s usually free anyways.." After a while of casual chatter and finished drinks, the café gradually returned to its normal rhythm, cups clinking, soft voices, and the steady warmth of baked goods in the air.
Eventually, Skateboard and Boombox got ready to leave the café. "Alright Sling, we’re done. See ya tomorrow!" Skateboard waved out as he walked towards the door. Slingshot was busy serving the other customers, before turning his head to the two and waving back, giving them his usual smile. "Yep, thanks for visiting!"
The bell above the door chimed as they left, and for a moment after they were gone, Slingshot stood still, like he was still thinking about that name they hadn’t fully explained yet. The inphernal seemed interesting enough to him, but he just shook his head and got back to work.
Before Slingshot could think much more about it, the soft ringing of the bell above the café door echoed once again. The inphernal who entered carried himself with the kind of confidence that would probably be too much for someone to physically contain. He casually strolled into the café like he’d been here a hundred times before, eyes darting around with open curiosity.
Without waiting to be seated, he immediately leaned over the counter slightly, scanning the pastries on display. "Welcome to Thieve’s Res—" Slingshot was cut off mid-sentence as the inphernal spoke up. "The usual." ..The usual? This is the first time he’s ever seen him in here!
But it also isn’t the first time he’s dealt with customers like this. Slingshot put up his usual professional-happy-worker facade, ".. Sorry, could you repeat that?" He was cut off once again, "What do you even have in here?" The inphernal asked, as if there wasn’t already a menu to look at. Slingshot stared at him silently for a moment, the polite customer-service smile on his face twitching ever so slightly at the corners.
"There’s a menu right behind you, you can check it out if you want," he replied carefully. To be honest, this guy is already getting on Slingshot’s nerves, and he was already in a bad mood today.
The inphernal glanced over his shoulder briefly before looking back at him again, shrugging. "Too many words." Slingshot felt something inside him threaten to snap immediately.
Stay professional.
"Right," he said slowly, tightening his grip around the cleaning cloth in his hands. "Well, most customers usually read the menu before ordering."
"Most customers sound boring."
The smug grin on the customer’s face made Slingshot’s eye twitch slightly.
He had dealt with difficult customers before. Loud customers, rude customers, impatient customers — he worked in a café after all. But something about this guy specifically felt like a personal attack. And the worst part? He looked completely relaxed while doing it!
"Well unfortunately for both of us, you still have to order properly." Slingshot said.
The inphernal hummed absentmindedly, leaning further against the counter as his eyes wandered across the café instead. He looked far too comfortable for someone who had just walked in.
"You always this serious?" he asked casually.
"Only during work."
"That sounds miserable, dude.."
"Can I help you with something?" Slingshot asked, the professionalism in his voice becoming painfully forced.
"Maybe."
".. That isn’t an order."
"You got anything sweet?"
"This.. is a café."
Slingshot exhaled slowly through his nose, already feeling a headache forming. Something about this guy was deeply irritating in a way he couldn’t properly explain. He wasn’t even being outright rude, just annoyingly smug and relaxed, in a way he hates.
Meanwhile, the inphernal looked completely entertained by the entire interaction. "You look like you’re trying real hard to not throw something at me," he commented.
"I’m trying really hard not to ban you from the café before you even ordered—"
That earned an unexpected laugh from the inphernal. "Wow," he grinned, "so rude for what?"
Somehow, for some reason, that only made Slingshot even more irritated. "Alright, enough with the vague answers. What do you actually want to order?" There were still other customers waiting to be served, and he refused to waste the rest of his evening dealing with one particularly annoying inphernal—
"Man, you’re no fun." He sighed dramatically, "fine.. just give me anything that’s actually worth buying."
Slingshot narrowed his eyes immediately. ".. You walked into my café and basically told me to prove myself?"
"Pretty much."
The confidence in his answer was so immediate that Slingshot almost laughed out of disbelief. Keyword, 'almost'.
Instead, he sat the rag in his hands down a little harder than necessary before turning towards the coffee machines. "Alright then," he muttered. "Don’t complain if your taste sucks."
Behind him, he could practically feel the inphernal grinning. "See? There’s personality in there after all."
Slingshot resisted the urge to throw a towel directly at his face. As annoyed as he was though..
the inphernal’s presence had somehow managed to make the café feel less boring.
The café slowly settled back into its normal atmosphere after that, conversations blending together with the soft hiss of the coffee machine and the faint clinking of glass cups. Slingshot tried focusing on his work again, though it was admittedly difficult with someone still leaning against the counter like he planned on living there permanently.
"You always stare at the coffee machine like it personally offended you?" the inphernal asked.
"You always talk this much?" Slingshot shot back immediately.
"Usually more."
Slingshot clicked his tongue under his breath before turning his attention back towards the drink he was making.
Fine then, if this guy wanted something 'worth buying', then he’d get exactly that.
The inphernal watched curiously as Slingshot worked, eyes following each movement with far too much attention for someone who claimed not to care. "You’re weirdly serious about coffee," he commented.
"And you’re weirdly annoying for someone who just walked in."
"Still talking to me though." Slingshot paused for half a second at that.
.. Unfortunately, he had a point.
A few moments later, Slingshot finally placed the drink down onto the counter. "Here." The inphernal picked it up carefully, eyeing it with suspicion before taking a sip.
Slingshot crossed his arms. "Well?" There was a moment of silence between them.
".. Okay, that’s actually really good."
"I know."
"You look way too proud of that."
Slingshot scoffed. "Because unlike you, I actually know what I’m doing."
The inphernal laughed quietly under his breath, lightly shaking the drink in his hand. "Damn, you got attitude issues."
"And yet you’re still here."
"Maybe I like annoying you."
Slingshot raised an eyebrow immediately. The worst part was that the stranger looked completely genuine when he said it. After lingering around for a little while longer, the inphernal finally pushed himself away from the counter. "Guess this place isn’t bad after all," he admitted.
"What a breathtaking compliment."
"You want a better one?"
"Not really."
"Alright then, see you around, café guy." Before Slingshot could respond, the inphernal turned and headed toward the exit. The bell above the café door rang softly as he disappeared outside.
The Thieve’s Rest immediately returned to normal afterward, yet something about the atmosphere felt oddly off now. Too quiet, maybe. Slingshot stared at the doorway for a brief moment before scoffing quietly to himself and grabbing the rag from the counter again.
.. Seriously. What was that guy’s problem?
The café didn’t get quieter so much as it slowly ran out of people. One by one, customers left with half-finished conversations and empty cups, the bell above the door chiming each time like a soft punctuation mark to the end of the day.
Slingshot worked through it all on autopilot — wiping counters, stacking chairs, counting the register, his body moving through routine while his mind stayed somewhere in the background, half-distracted and tired in that familiar way.
By the time the last customer left, the café finally settled into silence. Not the lively kind, not the comforting kind, just absolute quiet.
Slingshot let out a slow breath, leaning slightly on the counter for a moment longer than necessary. His shoulders loosened as the weight of the day finally started to fade.
"Closed," he muttered to himself, flipping the sign on the door. The lock clicked into place with a satisfying finality.
Only then did he start the real closing routine, cleaning surfaces, resetting tables, shutting off machines, making sure everything was exactly how he wanted it before leaving. Perfect, orderly and predictable.
Just the way he liked it.
Eventually, the café was dark except for the soft glow of the back lights. Slingshot grabbed his bag, finally allowing himself to relax fully as he headed toward the door.
"End of shift," he exhaled, stepping outside and locking up behind him. The night air felt quieter than usual. Maybe it was just exhaustion. He didn’t think much of it as he walked home.
—
Later, after a shower and a change of clothes, Slingshot finally dropped onto his bed with a low groan, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Notifications immediately lit up the screen. Two messages, both from familiar names.
Skateboard: yo sling u free tmrw??
Boombox: HEY!!! are you free tomorrow?? :D we have something to show you!!!
Slingshot blinked once, staring at the screen. "Something to show me…" he repeated quietly to himself. His thumb hovered over the keyboard for a moment. He already had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what this was about..