#megafan

@a-snow-witch-arrives this is how it all started.

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Aiden ducked in through a conveniently open door just as the screaming hoard of fangirls discovered that he had backtracked down the alley and picked up his scent again. 

Some supervillain he was, running from a crowd of teenagers.

…he really didn’t want to kill them, and that was probably the only thing that would make them go away.

Even that wasn’t a safe bet; Bloodmaster killed two of his last month and the rest were still just as crazy.

The room he found himself in was quiet and smelled richly of fresh coffee and cinnamon. A handful of white-covered tables filled the small dining room, and a softly-lit pastry case dominated one side, bordered by a shining espresso machine. The floor was burnished golden wood and the kitchen- visible through another open door- was spotlessly clean. 

“We’re not open yet,” a female voice called from the kitchen, and a woman poked her head out the door, took him in, and froze for a moment. Aiden winced. He hadn’t meant to get spotted, let alone by yet another civilian.

“You look like hell,” she said frankly after giving him a second once-over. “Sit. Whatever it is can wait until you’ve had a coffee.”

“Thanks?” Aiden said dumbly and went for the appointed seat before he really knew what he was doing. “What-“

“Coffee first,” the woman told him definitively and brought the espresso machine to life with a series of practiced movements. She looked over when the fangirls screamed past the door. Aiden vaulted the counter and ducked just in time to avoid being seen. 

“Did he go in there?” a woman asked eagerly. She sounded predatory.

“We’re not open yet!” Aiden’s surprise protector sang out cheerfully even as she nudged him farther behind the counter with one foot. “Sorry!”

“Did a man come in here?” Another woman demanded. Aiden heard footfalls on the wood. Heels, coming nearer. “Tall, well-dressed, gorgeous?”

“That the guy y’all are chasing?”

“His name is Summoner!” another woman announced pointedly to the first. “He’s only the greatest supervillain to ever live!”

Great. Outed. 

“Nobody here but me, but I think I saw him go past a minute ago,” his protector told them, cheerfully. “We open at ten if you want to come by later.”

Muted grumbling followed her announcement, but the footfalls disappeared back out the door. Aiden gave it another minute before gingerly peering over the counter. His new best friend was snickering at him, and presented him with a fragrant mug of coffee. 

“Call me crazy, but no one deserves to get fangirled this early in the morning,” she told him seriously, with a smile playing about her lips. “Supervillain, huh?”

“Only on Tuesdays,” Aiden told her, and curled his fingers around the warm mug. “Thank you for that. They spotted me three blocks up and I had to run for it or deal with them, and I’m tired.”

“Coffee will help,” the barista said sagely and dumped the coffee grounds on the trash. “Take the seat on the other side of the coffee maker. You can’t see it from the door.”

“Are you planning to call the cops?” Aiden asked warily and took a sip of the coffee, and moaned low in his throat. “How did you know how I take my coffee?”

“It’s my superpower,” she told him, and vanished back into the kitchen. “Want a scone? They’re still warm!”

A scone sounded pretty good, actually. Sweet to go with the quadruple-shot black-as-sin, cinnamon-laced wonder in his hands. 

“Yes please,” he called back and settled himself in the indicated seat. “What’s your name?”

“Sara,” she answered when she reappeared with a white-plated blueberry scone in hand. “So you’re Summoner? Should I worry?”

“No one who makes coffee like this needs to be afraid of me,” Aiden assured her firmly and took the scone. “Especially after doing me a favor. How much do I owe you?”

Sara waved a hand at him and resumed her previous task of stacking beautifully-iced cookies into the pastry display. “On the house. So how did the fangirls spot you? Aren’t you some kind of business CEO in real life?”

Aiden waited until her back was turned to stuff a hundred into the tip jar, before answering. One good turn, after all. 

“I made the mistake of thinking I could walk from home this morning,” he admitted wryly. “I live nearby, you see, and it was a nice morning…”

“And then the fangirlpocolypse,” Sara finished with the cookies and went for the pan of scones from the kitchen. Aiden took a bite of his and was pleased to discover the baked goods were just as good as the coffee. He would be coming back here often. It was convenient to his penthouse, anyway.

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