章 16: 16 Coffee
Well, yesterday was both fun and also really sucked.
For one, I got my ass kicked again, which sucks, and I have since decided that rather than just exercising, I should try learning how to actually fight and to that end I have started paying for a boxing coach.
It's slightly annoying having to hide my actual strength from him, but it is also good training for not putting too much strength into things, I've broken a few glasses by forgetting my strength after all.
I think it's going rather well, I mean, I'm apparently still awful, according to Luke, my coach, but he also says I have decent 'fighting instincts' so I assume it won't be too long 'till I stop breaking my wrists by punching brutes.
However, that is not the most interesting thing that has happened since my last fight, see, something really unexpected happened the day after.
Pop Stop, who I gave my number to over a month ago, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 decided to give me a call.
To be honest, I figured she'd just thrown my number away, but I do love surprises like this.
Also, I find the whole situation of talking to her as 'Alice' right after our little 'interaction' as capes absolutely hilarious.
All of this leads to now, were we decided to meet up when I get off of work, since Anteiku closes early on Sundays and I suggested that we simply meet here.
After all, Mr Yoshimura is kind enough to let me use the shop for some 'private socialising' after it closes.
Now that I think about it, I think the old man thinks that I'm bringing a date here.
Huh, ah well.
So here I am, still in my Anteiku uniform of a plain white dress shirt and deep maroon tie underneath a smart black vest, with a dark maroon skirt over a pair of black leggings.
I think Mr Yoshimura used to be some rich persons butler or something with how he makes me dress, but I can't really complain since it means that once I take of the apron I am already dressed formally enough that I won't be out of place walking around, or meeting with a 'friend'.
Either way, that leaves me wating here, brewing some coffee, something that I have been practicing with the help of Mr Yoshimura who makes the best coffee I've ever had, when Pop shows up.
The sound of the shops bell tingling alerts me to her presence right before her scent does. She has that same, not very nice but still palatable, scent that every parahuman has.
When I look over, I feel a wry smile take over my lips. We had agreed that whilst she would not be showing up in costume, for obvious reasons, she also wouldn't be revealing her identity to me, since I know her as Pop Stop.
To that end, she has shown up wearing the most movie 'disguise' I have ever seen, from the overly large summer hat, despite it being close to christmas time, to the large black sunglasses and a fur scarf covering her lower face.
Honestly, it kind of makes her look like a 'Madam', aka a female pimp.
Other than the over the top disguise, she is wearing relatively normal clothing, a brown skirt that is about a foot longer than my own with stockings, as well as a beige blouse and a simple red jacket over the top.
Even through her thick disguise, I can still see her blush slightly from the smirk on my face, I can practically 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 the blood gathering in her cheeks.
Waving a hand to the stools on the other side of the counter in front of me, I offer her a smile.
"Please, take a seat, the coffee will be done in a moment, would you like a cake?"
She had told me how she was also quite partial to coffee over the phone, which is great since it means I don't have to smell whatever else she would want to drink.
"Ah, n-no, it's ok, just the coffee is fine, thank you." Her voice is quiet even in the otherwise empty room.
Still, I'm fairly certain that her denial was out of politeness than an actual aversion to eating a slice of cake, so I decide to get her one anyway while I wait for the water to boil for a fresh coffee.
"Here, it's on the house." I say as I pass over a slice of coffee cake before moving back to the boiling water and coffee beans.
"I w-wouldn't want to impose so much, there's no need, uhm, I can pay for it though?"
As she reaches down, presumably for her wallet, I gently put a hand over her own to stop her.
"It's okay, we won't sell all of them anyway and we give them away anyway, when they're about to go stale, really it's fine and I insist, you've been glancing at the cakes enough that I'm half convinced you are trying to will them into your stomach."
My gentle chastisement calms her down and my little joke relaxes her enough that I feel most of the tension drain from her as she settles down.
The moments pass in silence as I prepare the coffee, just like Mr Yoshimura taught me. Swirl the water as you pour it to spread the flavour properly.
I make pretty good coffee if I do say so myself, but Mr Yoshimura says that I am still 'too impatient to make perfect coffee', whatever that means.
What part of my coffee making is impatient? I don't do it any different to him as far as I can tell.
Part of me thinks he's just fucking with me.
Still, when I am done and hand Pop her cup, I am vindicated by the groan of satisfaction that leaves her once she takes her first sips.
See? Good coffee.
"That is the best coffee I've ever had." Pop whispers, staring at her cup on the counter as if it holds the mysteries of the universe.
I beam in pride at her words and give her the most exaggerated, most smug smile I can manage, "I know, I know, I truly am amazing, but it's a trade secret so I can't tell you how it's done unfortunately."
My 'brag' gets a snort out of her that seemed to surprise herself.
Maybe I was right about my assumption of agoraphobia then?
"So!", I clap my hands, getting her full attention, "I don't think it was coffee that made you decide to call me now of all time, so what did you want to talk about?"
She scratches her cheek with one finger in slight awkwardness at the reminder that she ignored my number for a whole month, only to contact me because she presumably needs something other than simple conversation.
But after coughing once in her fist, she pushes that down and starts talking, immediately grabbing my interest.
"Well, I remembered what you asked, about how my power interacts with velocity, and since you seemed to care more about how my power worked than getting a selfie or something like most people do, I was thinking you might be able to help me with something."
Humming with genuine interest, I lean down on the counter on my elbows, idly using one hand to stir my coffee.
I didn't actually think that I would be having an interesting conversation today, I thought it would be more a case of her wanting to make a friend who isn't a co-worker or somehow connected to her work.
The only reason I agreed despite that is that it is just too funny to not try and befriend a hero.
But it is certainly a pleasant surprise that the conversation might not be boring normal stuff.
"I'd be happy to help." I say with a smile.
"Right, w-well, uhm. You see, I recently had an, uh, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 with some other capes, and I'm not sure if you know, but I have only been in the Protectorate for a few months now, making me the newest member and I had never actually been in a proper cape fight before and I felt like I wasn't doing as much as I could and at the end I kind of got, uh, immobilised, without even being able to do anything about it, so I was hoping you might be able to help me come up with better ways to use my power?"
Blinking from the veritable tsunami of words she just vomited out in a single breath, I take a moment to process all that she said while she herself takes a moment to breathe after her rambling.
When I finally finish processing her words, it takes all of my will to not start laughing, the best I can manage is limiting my visible amusement to a large smile.
A Hero is asking a not-quite-a-villain, how to better use their powers to beat them in a fight?
This is the funniest thing to happen to me.. maybe ever!
Ah, don't lose yourself Lusia, it would be a shame to give the game away when it's so much fun.
With that in mind, I quickly placate the dismayed Pop Stop who clearly thinks I was making fun of her, which is correct I suppose, just not for the reason she believes.
"Ah, don't worry Pop, it just makes me happy to see you acting so human. People like to see Heroes as beings that are larger than life. It's just nice to see visual evidence that you lot are just as human as the rest of us 'mortals'."
My words do calm her down, but they also make her make a confused expression before it turns contemplative.
I don't know what she's thinking, but after a moment she just smiles and relaxes some more as she gets the conversation back on topic.
"Right, so, do you have any ideas? Because I feel like I've hit a wall and I at least need some inspiration to work from, you know?"
"Yeah, I get you", and I do, "it's like writers block I'd guess, you just need some help to push through the wall and then you can go back to figuring things out for yourself."
My words make her make an 'o' expression with her mouth that I can see now that she lowered her scarf so she could drink, and I continue after she doesn't.
"Well, for now, how about you tell me how you use your power right now, as well as maybe give me a demonstration? So I know what to build of from?"
She acquiesces to my request, and explains how she uses her abilities, while also giving me an example of how it feels.
Obviously, I already knew basically all of this, but I do need a reason to know it so this is all necessary, even if my first bit of advice is something that I thought about a while ago.
"Well, from the way I see it, your power is less like a shaker effect and more like a masters, effectively 'taking away' the 'time' of anyone who flinches at your bubbles, taking more 'time' the more they flinch, right?"
She nods her head, clearly wondering where I'm going with this.
"Well, you know you can make multiple bubbles, and pop them sequentially in order to keep someone freezing and effectively immobile. So why don't you try popping multiple bubbles at once? Theoretically, it should make a louder 'bang' and thus take more 'time' from whoever hears it, no?"
Once I finish speaking, I am greeted to the sight of Pop's face slowly morphing into a dumbfounded expression as realisation overtakes her.
I can almost see the moment that something seems to just 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 inside of her mind.
"Why did I never think of that?" She breathes out, barely a whisper.
When she finally stops staring into space, lost in thought, and finally looks up to me, she sees me smirking as I pointedly drink my coffee, purposefully making slurping noises once I see her looking at me.
She immediately becomes embarrassed for a moment, before that feeling is seemingly wiped away by excitement.
We go on to spend the rest of the day talking about intricate ways she could use her powers, as well as a lot of theories and physics.
All in all, a very entertaining night.
-----------------------------
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
I accidentally opened youtube shorts and lost two hours of my day
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