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DAY 19
The coffee shop had been agonizingly dead this afternoon.
Thursdays were always very snail-paced. The regulars would come in for their early morning coffee, and then there would be a few stragglers throughout the rest of the day. Honey prepared herself usually by bringing her textbooks to work, squeezing in a little study time to make the day go by faster.
No task or chore could make it go as fast as she wanted, her unwelcome thoughts of the pretentious ass-hat would slow her down, distract her.
Honey's kind heart felt slightly bad for kicking him out that day. She knew it would eventually settle in her stomach - the guilt for being so mean, even if her anger was called for. All she could keep telling herself was that he was undoubtedly lashing out for a reason.
Everyone was going through something.
The jingling of the bell on the cafe entrance made Honey glance up from her Journalism Studies textbook that she had behind the counter, pushing it to the side as she watched a man with dark, peppery-colored hair walk inside. His round eyes were accompanied by a pair of glasses framing his square-shaped face.
As he approached the register, he gave Honey a kind smile, making his eyes crinkle in the corners. "Hello, can I get a plain latte to go, please?"
His deep, amicable voice made Honey recognize him almost immediately, faintly flashing him a friendly smile of her own in return. "Hey, you're-"
"Bruce Banner," he answered for her with an acknowledging nod. "And you are?"
"Honey Daniels," she introduced herself sweetly, typing in his order as he handed over his debit card.
"Honey Daniels," he repeated with another crinkly-eyed smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Honey said as she handed his card back to him, turning around to make his drink as she continued to speak. "We must have an Avengers signal on the outside of the building or something, you're the second one I've met."
"Oh yeah?" he questioned with a chuckle that rumbled through his chest, making Honey feel humorously appreciated for once.
"Yeah," she nodded, slapping a lid on the fresh latte she had made before sliding it over to him at the pickup counter. "Your friend Steve has been around here a time or two."
Honey didn't overlook the way Bruce's half-smile faltered just barely, like a bad memory had flashed through his thoughts, before forcing his lips to curve upwards once more.
"Ah, Rogers," Banner sighed almost sullenly. "What, uh, what is he up to? Is he still-"
"Insufferable?" Honey finished his sentence with pursed lips.
"I wasn't going to quite say that, but since you mentioned it ..." he trailed off with a laugh, raising his eyebrow suggestively as he took a sip of his latte. "He's still sulking around, eh?"
"It seems to be that way."
So, Steve Rogers acted miserable towards everyone, not just her. Even his poor, old friends had to put up with his antics - she wondered how they even managed.
"Steve's a good guy, really, he is," Bruce reassured her warmly. "He's just had too many bad things happen to him."
Honey nodded understandingly, looking down at her intertwined fingers before glancing back up at Bruce, who was studying her curiously - probably pondering how she knew Steve anyways. "Hasn't everyone?" she asked quietly, her smile fading now.
Bruce chewed his lip faintly as he nodded. "Not everyone blames themselves for the blip, though."
Goosebumps traveled down Honey's spine, fanning across her arms and legs as the realization suddenly dawned on her. How could she have forgotten that Steve was one of the biggest parts of attempting to keep the blip from ever happening?
She remembered the headlines after that dreaded day.
Avengers To Blame For The Disappearance of Millions - Failure To Defeat The Bad Guy When It Mattered Most.
Hundreds of people had rioted for weeks outside of the Avengers headquarters, throwing flaming beer bottles, breaking windows, spray painting prude graffiti on the outside. It was honestly surprising that Captain America had been the only one to go into retirement after that. They were some of the most hated people in the entire world.
The wheels turning in Honey's head must have been evidently displayed across her entire face, making Bruce shrug nonchalantly as he let out a breathy sigh that almost sounded like a laugh.
"But maybe that's something that you should talk to him about."
Honey stuffed her hands into the pockets of her apron, nodding cordially at his words. "Maybe."
"Listen, it was really nice to meet you, Honey," Bruce smiled once more, lifting the coffee up into the air as he turned to exit the cafe. "Thanks for the latte."
"Anytime," she grinned softly, waving at his retreating figure with her fingers as he exited the coffee shop and disappeared from the view of the windows.
Great. Another reason to endlessly think about how guilty she felt for yelling at Steve Rogers. His behavior was obviously inexcusable, no matter how much he had went through or was still going through, there was no reason to take it out on the world around you. But, it did make Honey more determined to put a smile on his face, and to get to the bottom of what made Steve Rogers so angry.
A new operation - Operation get to know Steve Rogers.
