#ffft

“It’s not that bad, sweetheart.” He smiles, hands shoved in his back pocket as he stands with his shoulders rolled back—the usual confident bravado oozing from him.

“Right, says you” you mumbled, fanning yourself with the blank order pad. Your eyes caught the lilac-blue button-up he wore, the top three buttons down, revealing his chest. Cheeky.

“It’s not nice to stare, you know?” Johnny smirked.

“I’m just waiting for you to tell me what you want so I can get to the rest of the customers.”

Johnny swiveled his hips to look behind him and to the door, only to see happy patrons sitting drinking iced drinks at the bar. But absolutely no one was waiting impatiently behind him.

“Do you need glasses, hun?” Johnny teased, eyebrows knotted with a fake concern, “because I don’t see anyone behind me.”

“Exactly! You’re the human touch! It’s hot enough already, you probably scared them off!” You complain, giving yourself this time to allow you to try to wipe the sweat off your neck and pull the hair away from it. “You’re bad for business, Johnny Storm.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

It really wasn’t and you couldn’t even find a way to tease him otherwise.

Ever since Johnny Storm stumbled into your coffee shop a few months ago, seemingly got attached to the cappuccinos and your sweet smile, you haven’t been able to get rid of him since. The boom of customers was nice once the tabloids caught wind of his frequent visits, yet on the flip side—the swarm of girls and paparazzi that seemed to loiter in the dining area grew annoying after every visit.

And you would never admit it, but his hefty tips were nice when money was running low. The flirting on the other hand….

“You’re gonna keep loitering in my shop or are you gonna order, Mr storm?”

“So short with me today, sweetheart. I thought you enjoyed our talks?”

“You mean your unrelenting and pathetic flirting?” You murmured, going ahead and starting to jot down his name and usual order.

“You’ll fall for me one day, I know it.” He grinned, you looked up at him through your lashes for a moment.

“You’re confident, what size?”

Johnny seemed slightly bummed by the conversation change, “Large, please.”

“Any flavor shots?”

“Not today.”

“Hot or iced?”

Johnny laughed, his usual response to that last question.

You dropped your pad down on the counter with a thud, “There is no way in hell you are about to get your drink hot today, you are an insane man.”

“I’ve been told,” he chuckles, resting his forearms on your counter to get closer to you. “I like it hot, you know this.”

“There’s something wrong with you.” You jab at him, shaking your head as you scribble down the man’s insane order. Of course, Johnny would be the first and only customer today to get their drink hot.

“You love it.” Johnny beams, handing a crisp fifty-dollar bill to you, “Keep the change, sweetheart.”

-

The heat persisted through the week, and the humidity from your coffee shop only worsened as it made its way up the building and into your apartment above. The news said today was the high of the week, if possible, to stay inside to avoid heat strokes or further illness.

Yet the bustling of your shop stayed busy from below you. These mad, mad people.

Your heart ached for your employees, but at the same time—you were overjoyed you weren’t the one down there for the morning rush. It was a half-day of work for you today, so you tried to sleep in, barely. Your attempt to sleep past your alarm was ruined by sweat-slick skin against your damp sheets.

Then your phone rang.

“Agh!” You threw your sheets off your legs, heavy feet stopping across your apartment to the phone. You bit back a frown as you tried not to shout, “Hello?”

“Hey, uh, it’s Emily. Before you ask! We are doing fine down here, but um, you might want to come down for a second, you have a… special delivery?”

“Special delivery?” You repeated.

“Just come see, please? They are asking you to sign.” Emily finished before you hung up.

It only took you a few minutes to throw on the most decent yet breathable outfit, curiosity plagued your head as you rushed down to the cafe.

The bustling of the cafe usually was usually music to your ears, but with today’s weather, it just disgusted you. Then your eyes found the group of installment guys adored in blue uniforms waiting at the side entrance.

Emily, your shift lead, filled you in enough to understand that they showed up merely twenty minutes ago to install two new air units. She looked overjoyed at the news while you were just… lost.

“I didn’t know this was getting installed today? I mean, I didn’t even know we had the extra funds for something like this!” She beamed.

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Wha—“

“Excuse me, sir!” You had to call out to the men, choosing the one holding the paper and packing slip. “I didn’t order this, I’m confused as to how this mix-up happened.”

The man just shoved a paper in your hands, addressed to you, he reconfirmed your name and business. “Can you sign here?”

“Uh, when you tell me who placed the order, I don’t have the money for all this.” Your voice raised slightly, and the other employees' attention found yours.

“It’s already paid for by a third party, ma’am.”

“What?”

The installation guy leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone, “And I’d honestly take this and turn a blind eye, this is the newest version to come out of Richard Reed's home tech line improvement.

An answer to your questions settled in your stomach, you wanted to groan, shout, already having a pretty good hint of who this came from.

“Fine,” you murmured and signed.

For the most part, you sat on your shop's counter, an Americano dripping with condensation in your hand, watching the men install two units with a grimace. One in the kitchen and one in the open entrance.

Deep down, you knew who this was. Your not-so-secret admirers, as your employees coined him. Johnny did this. You couldn’t think of one person who cared enough while having enough money to afford the high technology being put in your building right now. Especially one with Richard Reed type money.

The thought of Johnny Storm caring enough to help not just you, but your business, you wanted it to feel good, you wanted to welcome that in… but, it just felt fake.

If Johnny Storm thought he could charm his way into you falling for him with cheeky one-liners and his family's money, he needed a new reality check that wasn’t just a rogue space trip.

The air kicked in and filled the room with a breeze of relief.

Time passed, the air felt lighter and your clothes didn’t stick to your back. More business came in once people caught wind of the AC in your building, seeking comfort with iced coffee and pastries. You settled up with an apron tied around your waist, clocking in earlier knowing that the kitchen was actually cooler than your apartment.

The day went by, and you tried not to dwell on the inevitable consequences of Johnny Storm giving you such a gift. Letting the hours go by as you baked and prepared espresso, allowing yourself to close your eyes and let the breeze of your new air units find the back of your neck.

Then you got a new order ticket.

(1) Large, hot ??? Cappuccino with (1) extra shot of espresso and (2) shots of hazelnut

The question marks scribbled behind those familiar words were enough to make you laugh, you were less cranky in the cold air, and a rolled eye was the most annoyed you could get.

You held the warm cup in your hand, searching for the blonde. Peering your eyes before yelling out, “One large cappuccino for flame brain!”

You heard him laugh before you saw him, gaze traveling to find a grin larger than the state of Texas and piercing blue eyes on you.

“Nice nickname, when’d you think of that?” Johnny teased, words dripping with bravado.

“Just now.” You said, poising a hand on your popped hip. “How did I know you’d come by today?”

“Oh, I don’t know, it’s kinda just my routine now.” He looked around your shop, before his gaze found you again. Staring you down and making you feel like melting in your spot. Without breaking his intentional gaze, “It's a lot cooler here today, feels nice.”

“Hm, I wonder why?” You pointed out. You knew the answer, Johnny knew you knew the answer.

But his smile was enough to reconfirm what you already knew.

“You’re welcome.” He spoke softly, it was the more genuine tone you’ve heard from him since having the unfortunate pleasure of getting to know the superhero.

“For what?” You played dumb, raising your brows.

Johnny laughed, leaning in closer. This man knew nothing about personal space, and thank god for the counter that always placed itself between you two, at least it was more bearable when you didn’t feel like burning up. “Saving the world to name one… among other things.”

“I think that’s just your job, Johnny.” You tutted, grabbing his hands. Johnny was warm, but it was the farthest thing from uncomfortable. Johnny's touch was welcoming, you ignored the buzzing in your palms as you shoved the cup of coffee into his. “And I’ll keep doing mine, which is serving you coffee.”

“Harsh, sweetheart,” Johnny muttered above a whisper, seemingly tranced in the way you held him for that moment.

“Just honest,” you shook your head, “enjoy your coffee, matchstick.”

“I love it when you call me that one.” You heard him say before you found yourself passing the doors back into the kitchen, attempting to ignore the different kind of warmth in your hands.

-