The Coffee Shop Girl ~ Bucky Barnes

Chapter 15

Katia felt almost numb, but she was doing her best to go about her day as normal, even though she really felt as though she would just like to curl up in a ball on the floor of her flat with a hot water bottle and a nice bar of chocolate.

"Here you go," She gave the widest smile she could as she passed the mugs of coffee over the counter, hoping the customers couldn't see how fake it was. "Enjoy!"

The two thanked her and Katia heard their footsteps recede into the general bustle of the café. It was not a quiet day by any means, but it also wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in past. In a way, Katia was glad that she had barely had a moment to herself since entering her workplace that morning, as it had ensured she couldn't get stuck in her thoughts regarding him.

She hadn't been to the Compound since the day of the incident and she hadn't encountered any of the Avengers in person since, either. Natasha had called to let her know that she wouldn't be able to come to the café that week, and Clint had left a voicemail asking if she was going to be available to go to his home for Christmas. Katia had not responded to the mail from Clint, because she honestly wasn't sure of her answer, but she was hoping that by the time they next met in person, everything would be resolved and she would be able to provide a response personally.

Perching lightly on a small stool that was normally kept tucked underneath the counter to ensure she wouldn't fall over it, Katia let her mind wander. She didn't see the way that her co-workers exchanged glances as they looked at her, a few of them throwing signs to each other to confirm their thoughts before they returned to their jobs with a sigh. Many of them had known Katia for as long as they had been working at the café and very few of them had ever seen her in such a state as she had been in over the past weeks. Katia was known for her bright smile and her ready words of encouragement and yet she had been falling into sullen silences, her expression exhausted and her shoulders hunched, more and more often recently. None of them really knew what had happened, but many had their suspicions that it might have something to do with the fact that they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the metal armed man and the fiery redhead that normally frequented the café. Of course, everyone in the café knew exactly who the two were, but they also knew that it was important they treat them like any other customer, because they had no intention of offending them or scaring them away.

There was one woman in particular who was very worried about Katia. She had not been working in the café for more than six months, but she had soon come to realise that Katia was the woman to go to if you ever needed help with anything. Her name was Ivanna and was the single mother of a young girl called Grace. She had come to work in the café as part of her recovery after the explosion that had claimed her husband and taken her right leg from her. The two of them lived in a bad part of the city and there weren't many places around their home that she could take Grace to whilst she was at work, so she normally brought the child with her and kept her occupied icing cupcakes or pressing tiny chunks of chocolate into cookies whilst she was waiting on customers. The cupcakes made by Grace were highly prized by the customers, as even the most battle worn of them could not deny the tiny dark haired girl when she bounced up to them with a little cake in hand, brown eyes shining with glee as she presented it to them.

On that particular morning, Ivanna had made sure that Grace was well occupied with three different colours of icing and as many cupcakes as she had been able to find - the bakery normally produced more than necessary on the days they knew Grace would be there, just to ensure they could find a job for the girl. The child had been sitting quietly all morning, causing much less trouble than she normally did and keeping out of the way of everyone trying to work in the café. Everyone knew that it wouldn't be long until the end of Ivanna's shift, so none of them were too worried when Grace suddenly stood up, picking up a single cupcake piled high with red and yellow icing and disappeared through the doors into the main part of the café.