Chapter Text
You loved the rain.
Watching the way it hit your window, the calming sounds of rainfall- book in hand, curled up in your favorite blanket at home, warm and protected from the autumn shower outside... yeah, with those circumstances rain storms were a thing that usually brought peace upon your tired soul. Unfortunately, you were not wrapped in warmth reading some new purchase from half-priced books but were, instead, trapped in a chilling autumn rain storm, shivering and soaked, and very much not at peace.
Wet, heavy rain boots splashed against the soaked concrete as you searched for your desired place of shelter against the now pouring rain, clutching your leather briefcase to your chest as you used your other hand to shield your eyes from the downpour. Golden neon was being reflected across the wet sidewalk a little less than a block away, and you felt relief fill you as you picked up your already hurried pace, water spilling off of your coat and soaking your jeans.
You had been on your way back from an interview at a clinic down by your current apartment, nervously picking at your clothes and hands as you replayed your conversation with your possibly future employer in your head non-stop when the rain had started.
You had seen the forecast for the evening earlier, before you left in a panicked rush because you were afraid you’d be late to your interview, so in an attempt to be prepared for the storm you had thrown on your rain boots and hauled ass out your front door.
Of course, that did little to nothing to stop you from being soaked because your scatterbrained brilliance had forgotten the most helpful tool against the freezing rain:
Your umbrella.
So, you resorted to curling yourself against your belongings and running to the place you had recently claimed as a happy thinking place.
Your boots slid to a stop when you reached the glowing sign that read ‘Honeybee Café', the windows full of a warm orange light that contrasted the cold blue of the outside, even just seeing the liveliness of the inside of the café was making you feel warm (although not enough to ward off the shivers you had acquired from your time in the rain).
Shaking yourself off quickly in an unsuccessful attempt to rid the water droplets clinging to you, you pushed through the glass door with a little bee sign reading ‘Open’ on it, hearing the faint ‘ ting ’ of the small bell attached to the door’s frame announcing your presence to the cozy coffee shop. The employees gave you a cheerful, ‘Welcome in!’, in which you replied with some kind of mumbled greeting before taking in the warm, dry atmosphere.
It wasn’t crowded, thankfully, but it seemed you weren’t the only one who was using the Honeybee as refuge against the steady downpour raging outside. A couple of teenagers with fun colored hair and various piercings were situated in the back corner, taking turns showing off videos and images on their phones, loudly laughing and occasionally taking sips of their drinks.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, sitting at a small two-seater table was an older couple gently talking to one another, hands sitting on the table between them with fingers knit together.
You smiled slightly at that, ‘Cute.’ You thought, your boots squelching slightly as you went to take your spot behind another group of mostly dry teens who were finishing up their order.
“-Alright, you’re all good to go, please wait over here for your order and we’ll have it out shortly.” The small barista with golden honey-colored eyes and hair, who looked to have a bee quirk, said warmly before he looked at you, silently telling you it was your turn at the register, before his smile grew slightly and he gave you a little wave over as you approached.
“Hello, Miss; got caught in the rain? It’s only been a couple days since we last saw you, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re becoming quite the regular!” The young man in front of you laughed, his antennae flicking in amusement as your face grew warm.
“Heh, yeah, it’s pouring out there... and I guess you could say that, y'all have yourselves quite the cozy operation here.” You smiled, embarrassed that he had noticed how often you had been coming in lately.
You had found this place on a walk a couple weeks ago, not long after you first moved in, and had fell in love with the general friendly vibes the place gave off. Finding a place to get familiar with that wasn’t your apartment really helped you get settled in, especially after such a big change in scenery.
That and they had a wide variety of teas and really good lemon bread.
The barista, who’s chalkboard nametag read Bruno, smiled at your embarrassment and tapped at his screen, placing a new order. “Well, I’m glad you think so, we appreciate returning company.” Another happy flick of his antennae.
“Anyway, what can I get for you today?”
You looked up in thought, your hair still damp and your skin covered in goosebumps from the icy rain. You needed something... warm, something to get your body temperature back up to a comfortable level.
After a short moment, you decided.
“One medium apple cider, please.”
Luckily for you, by the time your drink had been paid for and prepared you had noticed your usual spot had not been taken by an elderly couple or group of teens.
Holding your hot cider in both hands you made your way to the one booth placed next to one of the outwards facing windows, sitting down at an angle where you could take turns looking out into the stormy outside and the warm seating area of the café.
Setting down your drink, you reached down to pull your brief case into your lap, using your coat’s sleeve to dry the damp brown leather. You unclasped the two buckles keeping the bag from spilling its contents out and pulled out your laptop, mouse, and the psychological thriller book you were currently engrossed in.
You thought it was kind of ironic that you, a (currently unemployed) therapist, would enjoy spending so much time out of work analyzing the characters in said horror/thrillers trying to understand them. You’d think you’d get tired of it and want to switch off the psychologist's instinct when not at work, but here you were.
Finally getting settled in you picked up your drink, taking a small sip, smiling at the warmth that travelled down into your stomach and into your limbs. Another sip and you could feel the goosebumps fading back into smooth, still slightly damp, skin.
You leaned against the warn material of the booth, glancing out the window to watch the rain drizzle down like a shower of frigid diamonds onto the crowd of citizens hiding under their umbrellas and raincoats.
So, for an undetermined amount of time you sat and watched as people of all shapes and sizes went about their day, even playing a little game with yourself where you would try to guess a person’s quirk or job just by first glance as they passed your window. You came up with some fun ones, you thought, like the man with hair made of leaves who you guessed could grow flowers and plants from his own body; or the person who had terminator type glasses who you guessed had medusa eyes that could turn people into stone at a glance of uncovered eye contact, ok maybe you weren’t the most creative person but it was fun nonetheless and helped pass time as you slowly, slowly started to dry off.
After a while of entertaining yourself with ‘guess the superpower’ you eventually grew bored of your people watching. Deciding to be productive you opened your laptop, which you prayed hadn’t gotten any water damage outside, and logged in.
Opening your search engine, you search up the forecast wanting to know how long the storm was going to act up, which you found out wouldn’t end for another hour.
Alright, looks like you’re going to be here for a while, not that you minded. You sighed, sinking back into your seat and ran a hand through your damp hair before taking another drink of your cider.
Blissfully it was still warm, the perfect temperature actually, and you didn’t feel like you had hypothermia anymore so that was a plus.
Reaching over to grab your book, you were interrupted by your computer’s notification that you had gotten an email- an email from the clinic you had applied for!
You slid upright, quickly grabbing your mouse and clicked the notification. The email window popped up with a ‘ping’ and you couldn’t help but be astounded at how fast they had replied, it had only been a little less than an hour since your interview, had they been that willing to hire you-
-‘Good afternoon,
We thank you for submitting your job application for our counseling position in the children’s wellness department and coming in to your scheduled interview this evening. We have reviewed all of the information given to us by you and our team, it was a pleasure to meet with you and learn more about your skills in this work place. Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that we have decided to move forward with other candidates that have better met our criteria at this time.
Thank you for reaching out to us and your interest in this clinic.
Sincerely,
Musutafu Counseling Clinic’ -
Your brows had slowly furrowed as you read, your mouth pulling into a meek frown as you breathed out a long sigh from your nose.
Disappointment.
That’s what washed over your heart while reading what you were hoping to be an acceptance letter. Which you now knew you were wrong. Disappointment filled your chest, but you took a deep breath fighting the urge to stress cry and sucked it in, feeling even more tired than you usually did. This was the second clinic to turn you down in Musutafu, and you didn’t understand why... you were a skilled psychologist; you knew this and didn’t doubt it but it didn’t help with the crushing feeling of another lost opportunity.
Sinking back into your chair, you shut your laptop, suddenly feeling much too pitiful and hungry. Picking at your hands in thought as you slid out of your booth.
Fuck it, you deserved a piece of lemon bread.
Making your way back up to the counter, your tired look didn’t go unseen by the other barista assisting Bruno today, a young woman by the name of Keiko, who handed you your warm slice of bread with a sad smile, but otherwise didn’t say anything regarding it.
Thanking her, you headed back to your seat to slowly dig into your bread.
It was perfect, warm and fluffy with the right amount of icing and lemon zest, it filled the upset hole of denial in your heart. Feeling somewhat better after some good bread, you felt yourself fill with a distant hope.
You weren’t going to let this effect you so harshly, you would find a job sooner or later and get used to living here and set a pattern of life that is comfortable, you just had to keep looking, keep trying.
Your determined gaze had been focused blankly out the window when the gentle ‘ting’ of the door and sound of rain sounded a new customer had stepped into the café. Nothing special, just another person hiding from a storm, you thought licking icing from your fingers so you could reach for your not sticky book, needing a distraction from the disappointment still faintly nipping at the base of your stomach.
But as you reached you noticed the dripping wet person standing near the entry way and had to take a doubletake at the stranger now taking their coat off to hang it on the guest rack. You had seen many types of people in your field, mostly children and the occasional meeting with parents and coworkers, but you’d never seen someone like this.
He was tall, like really really tall, around seven foot and that was with him slouching so that his head didn’t bump the lights hanging from ceiling of the small shop, so most likely he was even taller than he was now. He was thin too, so not the muscular type of tall but the rail thin type where his clothes looked to be hanging off him and you could almost see the curve of his spine from where it was being bent to accommodate for the too short entryway.
His hair was a wild mess of straw blonde, sticking out in all directions with two long bangs dripping water down onto the floor, like the rest of him it looked worn and fragile.
Your brow furrowed lightly as you tried to sneakily take a better look at his face without being obvious and downright rude, taking small glances instead of full stares, unlike many in the room.
His face was long and angular, like the rest of his body, with sunken cheeks and even more sunken eyes, so sunken you could barely see them. His overall demeaner reminded you of something, not in a bad way but in a vague familiarness of something ordinary that you’d seen a lot around this fall time growing up.
‘Huh’, you thought.
‘a scarecrow.’
The ‘scarecrow’ shook his head, an attempt to dry a wild mane of wet hair, and used his large hands to try and push drooping bangs back. It didn’t work, only resulting in more water drippage. As he started to shuffle up to the counter, where an unphased Bruno was waiting, you quickly picked up your book and tried to get lost in the thrilling story instead of staring at this poor man who was just caught out in the storm like you were, he wasn’t something to stare at just because he looked...interesting.
But still you couldn’t help it, the people watcher in you was hollering at you to just take a peek...
So you did.
You watched from behind your book as Mr. Scarecrow leaned down awkwardly to ask the small bee-barista if they had any green tea in stock. The barista nodded and said something you couldn’t quite hear over the sound of rain and buzz of conversation throughout the shop.
The tall man smiled a crooked smile and his hands fidgeted and moved in front of him, occasionally twisting the fabric of his shirt as he spoke, his back still arched in an uncomfortable angle to talk to the much smaller, younger man taking his order.
You took notice of his outfit as you watched the quiet conversation about green tea, his baggy white shirt wet in the area around his collar where his coat hadn’t quite reached and his navy green cargo pants were held on by what looked to be an over-the-top military belt with a large belt buckle. He was also wearing black combat boots, that almost matched yours- albeit much larger- and you couldn’t help but notice one of his boot's laces were untied.
You were wondering about loose laces when you realized the conversation was over, short and simple, and as Mr. Scarecrow was grabbing his too small cup you were suddenly very interested in your book and not at all in people ogling.
The rain had calmed down to a light drizzle now, the clouds no longer the previous deep grey but now a hazy white where you could see the sun peek through every now and again. The sound of the café was still buzzing with hushed conversations, voices interchanging as finishing customers were replaced with newer ones.
The smell of coffee, baked goods, and some kind of sweet-smelling candle being burned filled you but by now you had gotten used to it, focus drawn in completely on your book as the main character attempted to free herself from the locked cellar to no aval.
She pulled at the bricks and slammed on the door but nothing was working, your brows furrowed and you leaned closer to your book as the words painted a perfect picture of panic and desperation in your mind, and the worse part- she was so close to finally-
You drew back, inhaling deeply, as you realized the chapter ended on a cliff hanger and set your book down to take a quick break from the stress your fictional protagonist was going through. Plus, you were all most at the end of the book and you didn’t want to speed read through the last bit of stressfully tense climax here.
You'd much rather finish later at home.
Shifting to cross your legs, you once more glanced out the rain beaten window, watching people shake off their umbrellas and hats before entering the small corner market and clothing store, internally commenting on outfits and making half-baked plans for a book shopping trip before checking the time on your phone.
Damn, you’ve been in here for a little more than an hour and a half, it didn’t feel like it but you had a feeling that just meant the rain would stop soon and you could head home before it got dark.
You felt your eyelids droop, suddenly the calming aura of the coffee shop making you very relaxed and sleepy. ‘Yeah’ You thought. ‘When I get home, I’m going straight to bed...after I feed Gremlin of course.’ You had to hold in the small snort of amusement as you thought about how mad that big ball of fur would be if you forgot his dinner. Exhaustion seeped into your limbs, making your bones heavy and warm, eyelids half lidded now, you even let out a small yawn before shaking yourself awake again.
Ok yeah, it’s definitely time for a coffee break or else you’d end up falling asleep in this cozy little booth. Sliding your bookmark back into your book, which you preferred using those little magnet ones instead of the large paper ones or heaven forbid folding the corner down, you closed your evening's entertainment, slipping it back into your briefcase before getting up and (sneakily) stretching the sleepiness out of your legs.
There was a small line to get through before you could get your wake-up supply, so you grabbed your phone before heading over to wait, distracting yourself via the method of off-brand Tetris.
Eventually the line got shorter, then shorter, then there was just you and the person in front of you. You weren’t exactly paying attention, idle brain too tired to draw in your surroundings, but when you did tune in you did so to notice the person in front of you had a calm, deep voice that had you looking over your phone to see who was talking so nicely. But apparently, you had been too late cause by the time you were looking up it was your turn to order for the third time today, as Bruno and Keiko pointed out with a laugh as you shifted awkwardly after ordering your caffeine fix.
Moving over to the end of the counter you waited for your drink, returning to off-brand Tetris as you shifted from foot to foot. You were halfway to your high score before movement from the person beside you gently interrupted your empty thoughts.
“Um,” A deep voice muttered before the sound of someone clearing their throat followed. “Pardon me, ma’am...”
You looked up, now understanding the person was talking to you, and- oh!
Your eyes blinked wide when you saw that the owner of the voice was nonother than Mr. Scarecrow, who was sheepishly rubbing his hands together.
His frame was curled down again, this time to be closer to the person he was talking to, his face was closer than it had been when you had watched glanced at him before, so this time you were able to see his eyes.
His eyes, although tired, were an electric blue, nearly glowing in the dark shadows surrounding them, they had you sucking in a small breath because something about them had your chest doing something funny-
Caffeine withdraw perhaps?
Two electric blues that were... patiently looking at you, waiting.
He was talking to you...why was he talking to you?
Your face tensed slightly with slow-brained confusion, before watching his gaze shift from yours to the counter. You followed it and realized what was going on, his drink was ready- had been for a while actually and here you were blinking like a dumbass, standing directly in the way -
Oh god you wanted to vanish into the floor with embarrassment.
“Oh! Shit, I’m sorry-” You rambled quickly taking multiple steps back, face burning at the fact you had just been standing there staring at him like he was the one being confusing, when in fact you were the one being the oblivious ass. He didn’t seem to be annoyed though, and you blamed the shudder that passed through you on the no-longer-existent cold and not the deep rolling chuckle he let out.
“It’s quite alright,” That crooked smile was back as long limbs reached across to take his order.
“I, too, have a habit of getting distracted in less than convenient places.” He laughed softly, holding a, once again, too-small cup in one large spindly hand while the other idly rubbed at the back of his neck.
He was standing straighter than before now, his tired face still tilted towards you but no longer hunched to get your attention.
Now it was your turn to fidget your hands.
“Even still, I should have been paying attention, I hope you weren’t waiting on me for too long...” You muttered still embarrassed, pretending not to notice how warm the back of your neck was.
The tall blonde waved away your worry. “Oh, not at all, it had only been a few minutes! No harm done,”
You went to give him some type of response, most likely a polite smile and something to end the surprisingly pleasant interaction, when you noticed that your coffee was being set down on the counter.
You stepped forward, your apparent caffeine withdraws honing your attention on the new source of fuel, taking the steaming cup in one hand before bouncing it back and forth between the two at feeling the heat that bled through the coffee cup.
Turning back around, after thanking Bruno for your fix, you barely caught the movement of wild hair exiting the door to the shop, watching the way the man/scarecrow had to duck to fit through the doorframe and enter onto the now darkening street, before disappearing into the crowd of those who came out after the rain had stopped.
Your small... encounter with Mr. Scarecrow stuck with you as you went over to the small cart of confectionary goods the café provided, adding your chosen amount of sugar and creamer you stared into your cup as you watched the creamer and coffee swirl and mix together in a spiral with the stirring of your mixing stick.
‘Hm’ You thought, flicking your now unwanted stick into the small disposal can at the bottom of the cart.
‘What a strange man’.
After you finished messing with your coffee-to-creamer ratio, you went back to your booth. Enjoying the renewed energy you had, you spent another couple minutes of enjoying your coffee, making sure the fatigue of the day wouldn’t affect you on your way home before you went about packing your laptop, which you had been using to search for new job opportunities in the area while you sipped away.
Sliding your mouse back into its protective pocket; you clasped the buckles back into place, slid the shoulder strap over your left shoulder across your chest, and headed back out into the now damp but no longer stormy world after waving goodbye to Bruno and Keiko.
You began making your way downtown, passing multiple small shops and restaurants, your boots still a little squelchy- you cringed at how wet your socks felt- but not feeling as down as you would have if you had read that stupid email at home all alone.
‘No, going to the café had been a good choice,’ you determined, walking up to the large apartment complex sit at the end of the block.
Upon entering the building, and climbing like 5 flights of stairs, you unlocked your apartment door with cold hands, kicking off your boot before you entered so you could set them against the wall to dry.
Almost immediately, after you stepped into your home and locked the door, you heard the loud meows of greeting as your cat approached from around the corner leading to your kitchen.
“Hey, Grim,” You cooed as your Maine Coon started to rub his large fluff covered body against you, purr more adjacent to the purring of an engine than a cat.
You reached down to pick him up, with a huff because Gremlin was a big dude, to cradle him against your torso.
He chirped at you impatiently.
“I know,” You sighed, walking over to where his food bowl was before gently setting him down.
“I know.”
You fed your big baby of a cat before heading to your bedroom, setting down your briefcase next to your desk, and going to get changed into some sweatpants and a sleep shirt.
Once out of stiff air-dried clothes you plugged in your phone before curling up in bed, exhaustion dragging your body down with it despite the little pick-me-up you had at the coffee shop. You turned onto your back to stare at the ceiling recounting the day in your mind.
That familiar disappointment was back, you noted with a frown, the kind that had been keeping you up as of late. You... really needed to find a job. One where what you did matter, where they didn’t just want you as a secretary, where they wanted you for what you were - someone who helped those who needed help helping themselves.
You wanted to be able to help people again, help children again.
You groaned, the disappointment morphing into something closer to hopelessness that you tried to internally shake away.
Just needed more searching, more time.
Your arm pressed against your eyes until you could see odd colorful shapes float around in your dark vision. At least you got to visit the Honeybee today, even if it was just to hide from the rain, you got to relax for a bit and that was something to be grateful for.
Also, your sluggish brain said quietly, you got to meet some interesting people today.
Visions of the tall blonde scarecrow came to your half-asleep mind, and you felt your face start to grow warm.
Too tired to understand why your body was acting funny you simply ignored it and let the cool darkness of sleep take you.
At some point in the night Gremlin had joined you in your bed.
You knew this because it was him who decided to curl up on your chest, which would usually be very sweet.
It would be sweet except for the fact that he was very much an extremely warm and heavy weight crushing your ribcage as he purred away contently.
Your heavy lids slowly opened and you groaned at the feeling of said sleeping cat currently vibrating away on your torso. You made a mistake sleeping on your back, and you were now paying for said mistake as your joints ached and creaked.
Gently, and much to Grim’s disliking you sat up (which resulted in an angry yell from your fur baby) and with a good stretch got up to begin your day of job hunting.
Slipping your slippers on and pawing for your phone, you padded your way to your bathroom, getting a good look at your terrible bed head and squinty eyes, and went about you morning rituals.
Once finished, you headed to make yourself breakfast, Gremlin padding along beside you.
Opening the fridge, you found your first meal of the day- deciding the lone blueberry yogurt would suffice for now, so with a shrug you grabbed the cup before heading to the tea cabinet. Grabbing the tin of leaves labeled, ‘Spiced Chai’, you turned to start your electric kettle.
After you filled the kettle, you opened your phone to scroll through your socials, watching clips of news videos starring heroes like Manual and Kamui Woods capturing some villain with a... clown quirk?? Or something, which had attacked a jewelry store just a couple blocks from where you were staying.
Huh.
You were still getting used to being around so many heroes in your everyday life, that was one of the things about Japan you were getting accustomed to. Sure, there were plenty of heroes in America but due to the size difference between the countries... well let's just say you’re more likely to actively see a hero vs villain fight here than just videos and news articles like back at home.
You swiped past the video and continued swiping until your screen was playing a video with a very famous man saving some kid from a gross ass looking slime monster.
All Might.
Japan’s #1, the big man himself.
You weren’t exactly a hero fan.
Don’t get it wrong- you were all for helping people and saving lives!
Unfortunately, there were many things in the hero business that you saw as... well as unfair, corrupt, and sometimes downright sneaky and dirty. Even in your youth you noticed there were heroes that didn’t seem genuine, that would take advantage of the pay and general public, turning something noble into some kind of popularity contest and acted as though they don’t care if people were truly safe.
They only ever cared about their rank.
Their fame.
Those heroes, the fake ones, had a real special place in your dislike box, like an exposed nerve if you will. If someone dared to try and tell you that the hero system was a perfect one- even just a good one- you'd most likely laugh.
But, then again there were the goods ones as well.
Good heroes who loved their job, not because of the fame or money, but because they got to help people.
All Might was one of these few diamonds in the rough. He was real. He took pride in helping people and you could see it in the way he acted, the way he never boasted or complained. He was the type of hero that would sacrifice his well-being for a kitten, the type to lay down his life for a stranger. He’s a pillar of hope that has been there and will be there for generations, and you respected him for it.
That and you thought he was absolutely goofy for his apparent obsession with the USA, which at some point you found out was legitimately real and not just a ploy to appeal to a wider audience.
You watched the video on loop around three times, still taking in the fact that the bastard had somehow changed the weather with a damn punch, before your kettle whistled signaling the tea could be added. Adding your tea leaves into your little metal tea steeper, you poured your hot water into your ‘space is cool’ mug.
Gremlin had jumped up onto the counter and was now rubbing his large face against your shoulder as you ate your yogurt, waiting with you as your tea steeped, purring loudly.
Eventually your tea was done, after topping it off with some milk and honey, and you went over to quickly feed Grim his breakfast and retreated to your room to change, hot tea still in hand, the All Might video still looped playing on your phone...
The next couple of days went by in the blur of wake up, apply for interviews, get either refused politely or never called back, go home, fight back your existential dread, and sleep. Wake up, repeat.
At this point you were genuinely considering starting your own clinic at home but thought against it due to your current money situation. If you didn’t find a job soon you’d have to start looking for a side, non-counseling, job. Not that you wanted to but hey whatever pays the bills.
“What do you think, Grim?” You asked loudly, your voice and the sound of some baking show you put on filling your living area.
“Should I keep trying or give up on my dreams?”
You were answered with a short chirp from your cat, who was seated on the back of the couch, as he pawed and bit at your hair.
You snorted. “Yeah, giving up sounds easier... but alas,” You turned to scratch at Grim’s ears. “Mama ain’t raise no quitter.”
You were met with a purr.
The next time you visited the Honeybee Café was on an uneventful Tuesday morning.
It was breezy outside, not windy, but the cool autumn air that lightly rushed the leaves and chilled your nose.
The sun was out though, bright and warm, and as you walked the streets of Musutafu you watched as the public bustled around you.
A group of small children ran past you, one using their quirk to summon small paper origami creatures to chase and circle their friends who shrieked in false terror.
You carefully dislodged a small fluttering paper butterfly from your scarf before sending it off to flutter after its small owner. The child noticed and giggled their thanks before running off again, leaving you to softly smile and take in the happy vibe of the morning.
The Honeybee was having a bit of a rush it seemed, line longer than usual and most seats taken by (mostly) satisfied customers.
That didn’t deter you however, you wanted a coffee damn it, and if you had to wait twenty-plus minutes so be it!
You were right about the waiting estimate, the line took around twenty-five minutes.
But you finally made it up to the counter, saying hi to an exasperated Keiko and happy Bruno, and placed your usual order. After a few more moments of waiting, you had your long-awaited beverage, humming as you speed walked towards the cart to add your special ingredients.
Eyes focused on the cart you were daydreaming about the walk through the town you were going to have in this perfect weather, maybe stop by the craft store uptown for some new yarn-
You were so focused on the thought of coffee creamer and soft baby yarn that you, somehow, managed to walk face-first into a wall.
Or at least it felt like one, if a wall could grunt.
Whatever it was had you stumbling backwards towards the floor with a pained yelp, poor untouched coffee falling and catastrophically spilling onto the hardwood floor.
But before you could hit the floor along with your now ruined coffee a firm grip on your upper arms steadied you, stopping your descent.
Ow! Your nose stung.
Damn what did you run into-
“Shit, I’m sorry! Are you alright? I didn’t mean- I didn’t see you-!”
...Who did you run into...?
You quickly but gently brought your hands up to rub your nose, head hung as you tried to determine if you broke something. It stung but didn’t feel broken, that was good at least. The person you had ran into was still rambling off apologies and curses, warm calloused hands still holding you up.
“I’m alright,” you said weakly, before shaking off the sting and adding a more reassuring tone. “I’m alright!”
The person continued to apologize, their deep voice ringing familiar bells in your head.
Huh, like really familiar bells.
You suddenly had to look at the person you had stupidly body-slammed yourself into, lifting your head-
You blinked.
Your eyes met electric blue and before you could help it-
“Scarecrow.”
Blue eyes blinked.
“Excuse me?”
...Shit.