The Art of Roasting Coffee Beans and Entitled Heroes

Chapter 2 - It Was Definitely Just The Mocha

In the days that follow their chance meeting in the coffee shop, Katsuki feels distracted. 

His mind kept going back to that stupid cafe. Whenever he thought about the interaction, he felt his chest constrict in a funny way that he wasn't used to, and he chalked it up to the drink he had. No other coffee shop had ever been able to serve him something that wasn't disgusting, but this was the first time that anyone actually got his tastes right. 

So that must be why he couldn't get the stupid cafe out of his mind. No, it wasn't the stupid, cute barista who made the drink. He had eyes, and he wasn't stupid- Izuku was cute. There was no denying it. But that was not the reason he kept thinking about the cafe. 

Katsuki Bakugou didn't get crushes. Even thinking that this might be the case was laughable. Pro Hero Ground Zero was intense and strong. He was the best, for Christ's sake! So no- he didn't get his panties in a twist over something as stupid as a cute barista. That kind of sappy shit was reserved for people like Dunce Face or Pink Cheeks. Those stupid idiots are the kind of people to gush about some random extra they met on the streets, but Katsuki was not. He didn't get crushes. 

End of story. 

So, when he ends up standing in front of The Little Leaf Cafe a week after his first visit, he isn't nervous. There is no reason to be. The tension he feels in his shoulders is just stress from work, and the stupid tight feeling in his gut is just in anticipation of the drink he had yet to receive. 

When he enters the cafe, the little bell above the door jingles and the sounds of someone plinking an awful tune on the old piano across the room fill his ears. It's a terrible version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. His eyes zero in on the source of noise to find a kid squished against a familiar barista on the piano bench. The music stops, and laughter fills the air as Izuku turns to the kid. 

"I'm no musician," he says to the little brat, who's still laughing at Izuku. "But that was fun! Thank you for letting me play with you! And you're really good! You should play me another song!" 

"Alright, mister, you got it!" the little boy says as Izuku slides off the piano bench. The kid immediately starts to play some chirpy and happy song on the piano as Izuku turns around and finally spots Katsuki across the room as his eyebrows shoot up into his messy hair. 

"You're back," Izuku breathes. He immediately turns his eyes away and slides behind the counter. There's a blonde girl standing behind the register, but Izuku shoos her away to the back like he did with the last barista. He approaches the counter and crosses his arms over his chest. 

Never mind the fact that his heart rate is through the roof. It's totally just in anticipation of the drink he's about to get. It has nothing to do with the stupidly cute freckled face standing before him.

He notices that Izuku is looking at him like he expects him to answer some kind of question. Katsuki flounders a bit in his head, but his cool demeanor doesn't betray him in that moment. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asks. 

"I asked if you wanted me to make the same thing as last time. You said you liked it," Izuku says. His tone is dry. There's none of that fake customer service bullshit he heard last time, but he's not sure he prefers the dryness, either. "Or, I can make you something different if you were just being nice, it's not a big deal. Whatever you want, I'll make it, just let me know if you liked it though and I can totally make that for you again!" 

And there's the nervous rambling. So, some things don't change. Katsuki remembers that Izuku used to do that all the time when they were kids. 

But it's been a long time since Katsuki was the one that Izuku was rambling to.