Chapter Text
It was a quiet day today, a rare occurrence in the normally ever-bustling Unstable City. Usually, there were heroes on patrols or villains blowing up places or vigilantes swooping in, casting long shadows across the ground.
Egg always liked the quiet.
Something about it just steadied his mind. It wasn’t often that he could actually hear his thoughts, and it was even rarer that he could process them amongst all the hustle and bustle.
Since it was quiet, Egg was hoping that it’d be a predictable, easy day.
But predictability was never friends with silence.
The sunlight cracked through Egg’s windows, which were permanently closed for safety reasons. His alarm clock, slightly old and gray, went off, and Egg groaned into his pillow before reaching over and turning the clock off, his fingers feeling clumsy and weighed-down from the lingering sensation of sleep.
He could’ve just stayed in bed that day, could’ve just missed work, could’ve just stayed with the sentiment of his slightly-uncomfortable blanket rustling against his wings.
But still, Egg sat up with a groan, running a hand down his face. His wings were large and spread out on his back like two feathered silk cloths, and they twitched slightly before folding inwards into themselves until they were basically invisible.
Same old, same good.
Egg glanced over at his clock.
7:05 AM.
Perfect. He had about 45 minutes to get ready, and then could make his usual trek over to the coffee shop. He placed some bread into a toaster and set it up, watching the toast as it popped out, steaming hot, and he ate it. No spread, no nothing. Just warm bread.
Egg lived in a small, slightly run-down cottage in the middle of the woods near a large lake, where he spent a bit of his time fishing. There were no cities, no towns, no other people who lived near him, which, honestly, was Egg’s whole goal. Living around people was risky, very risky, especially for him, and besides, the crime rate near Egg’s house was probably the lowest in the entirety of the region.
Fun.
Egg finished his breakfast and shuffled his way over to the bathroom, washing his face with face cream (yes, he does skincare. Sue him, he likes it when his skin isn’t built like a person with trypophobia’s nightmares), and brushing out his hair until it’s in its usual style; slightly tousled, but covering his eyes, stopping just above his nose.
His eyesight was already bad, so the hair in front of his face didn’t particularly matter.
The wings framing Egg’s face flutter, and align themselves so they blend in with his white hair, folded over his eyes.
Egg brushes his teeth (he likes the taste of mint toothpaste), and puts on some clothes he can go outside in, instead of his ‘Being gay is cool, but Hollow Knight is cooler’ shirt. He checks himself in the mirror one last time, just to make sure he looks human enough, and then heads outside for work.
The air is crisp, and it smells like something was lit on fire last night, probably because something was. The lake is motionless except for the occasional fish jumping out of the water, and the sky is blue and cloudless.
Such nice weather.
Egg was almost suspicious of how nice this day was.
He walked past the lake, pausing only to watch the fish swim about before he headed through the woods, taking the usual path. It used to be a hiking trail, but Egg found it was much more useful as a sidewalk.
Along the pathway, other than the natural flora, were some sweet berry bushes that Egg had planted last week. He stopped and picked one of the small, red fruits off its stem, popping it into his mouth and chewing on it before continuing his trek.
After only walking for about twenty minutes, Egg reached his destination. A quaint cafe close to the edge of the city, where residents mainly just trying to survive lived.
The cafe, titled Bottles of Caffeine, was made of wood, probably not the wisest material to use in a time where everything was being set ablaze, but the shop wasn’t destroyed yet, so it must’ve been doing something right.
The wood was covered with a neat layer of some other material that Egg wasn’t familiar with, although it gave the entire coffee shop a very minimalistic aura. Honestly, from the outside, the cafe seemed more like a flower store than anything else, and the tables inside were stacked neatly along the windows and in the formation of a square. Egg arranged them that way. He didn’t like it any other way.
The shop was kind of Egg’s at this point. The owner of the shop, Pangi, didn’t usually visit, and when he did, always when Egg needed his paycheck, he just chatted with Egg, got his favorite order (iced mocha with extra sugar), handed Egg the money, and left.
Egg didn’t understand that man.
He entered the coffee shop, closing the door behind him and listening to the familiar sound of the bell jingling. He headed to the back, clocked in, and tied his apron on before restocking some of the supplies and turning the sign on the door.
Closed to Open.
Egg took his position behind the counter and adjusted his apron.
Alright.
Time to socialize.
8:30 AM. Morning rush. People of all ages, mainly college students and working-class people flooding in and out of the building. Lines were starting to form, Egg was moving as fast as he could.
“My order isn’t correct,” Someone had said.
Egg just nodded and remade the drink. He took the one they rejected and decided that he could drink it, even though he didn’t like matcha very much.
“The toilet’s clogged,” Someone else had complained.
Egg took one look in the bathroom and locked it shut, putting up a ‘Under Repair’ sign. He didn’t feel like plumbing turd at the moment.
“You labeled my drink wrong,” Another person whined.
Egg squinted at the label. He honestly couldn’t tell the difference. The words blurred into one thin black line along the cup, but he just nodded and relabeled it. He was pretty sure he got it wrong a second time, but the customer didn’t notice, so neither did Egg.
3:12 PM. End of a school day. Kids, mainly high school and middle school, came into the cafe around this time. They always ordered drinks that were too sweet, and they always talked at a volume that would’ve made Egg’s wings curl around his ears if he hadn’t kept them hidden.
The high schoolers were calmer than the middle schoolers. Some talked to Egg, some just ignored his existence.
Egg liked being ignored more.
“Your hair looks so edgy, man,” One high schooler joked. “Lowkey gives off aura, though,”
“Thank you,” Egg responded, labeling a finished drink and placing it on the pickup counter. “Order for Boomiee?”
A red-haired devil hybrid walked over, took the drink with a stoic ‘thank you’, and then left. The high schooler left as well, hands shoved in his pockets.
Egg sighed.
Bro thinks I’m a chungus.
9:08 PM. The cafe was mainly empty, and it had been empty for the past thirty minutes. Egg was sitting on a chair behind the counter, reading a book about the ancient Egyptian pyramids when the door creaked open.
Egg closed his book, standing up and setting it aside.
“Hi, welcome to Bottles of Caffeine,” He started his usual greeting, looking up. “How may I…”
Egg trailed off.
There was a man, maybe Egg’s age (he wasn’t sure), standing at the entrance of the cafe as if he owned the place. He was wearing a frilly, white dress shirt with a purple jewel in the center. He also had on a black coat lined with purple velvet and a white, fluffy fur collar near the neck. A dark purple corset was wrapped around the man’s upper area, and a pair of black dress pants with gold lining the bottom, near the shoes. Speaking of the shoes, they were a pair of very-rich looking black high heels (holy femboy) that made the man a bit taller, around Egg’s height.
The man’s hair was incredibly long, even though it was in a high ponytail, and a single gold tiara? Crown? Whatever it was, it sat carefully on the man’s head, lined with bright jewels. A pair of dark purple demon horns, curved and incredibly sharp, poked out of the man’s hair, and a pointed demon tail swung around back and forth behind the man.
…Gambit?!
Egg felt like he was dreaming. He blinked once, and then twice, and nearly reached up to rub his eyes before he realized that would’ve revealed his identity. He quickly lowered his hand, trying to recompose himself.
Gambit.
Egg was surely dreaming. Probably. Definitely. No way one of the most wanted villains in the world is just… in the middle of the coffee shop that Egg works at. Yeah. He was totally dreaming.
The man— no, wait, Gambit scanned the menu for longer than necessary before walking over to the counter with a hand in his pocket.
This guy thinks he’s tough, bro. Egg thought. He looks so smug, I want to punch him so bad.
Control yourself, Egg.
Egg cleared his throat, placing his hands carefully on the counter in front of him. He should act normal, he had to act normal. He can’t be sure why Gambit was here. Maybe he was here to kill Egg, to hunt him down and to take his heart.
Or maybe he was here to get a cup of coffee.
“Hello. What can I get you today?” Egg asked, trying to be as polite as possible, although he knew that it came off as incredibly fake with the skeptical expression that he earned.
I’m so cooked. So incredibly cooked. Someone kill me now.
Gambit scanned Egg, giving him an up-and-down before he placed his hand that was in his pocket onto the counter, leaning on it.
“A drink,” Gambit said.
Bro.
Egg waited a long moment for Gambit to elaborate, but when he didn’t, Egg just sighed quietly.
“Yeah, we— we got drinks. What kind of drink?”
Gambit paused, scanning Egg one more time before he cleared his throat.
“A chai latte,”
Is he deadass? Egg groaned in his head. Bro has the taste of the middle schoolers.
Egg turned towards the machines, pointedly ignored Gambit’s very-intense gaze on his back as he started making the order. He nearly spilled the milk once. Holy aura loss, bro.
Egg capped the drink, squinted at the different labels and placed one that looked like it read ‘Chai latte’ on it before sliding it over to Gambit.
“That’ll be four ninety.” Egg said.
Gambit took the chai latte, sniffed it like he wasn’t making sure it was poisoned before he took a sip.
“Hm. Not sweet enough,” Gambit responded simply, handing the cup back to Egg. “Add some sugar.”
I’m going to kill him. Oh my god, I’m going to kill this chud, is he fucking with me right now—
Egg just took in a deep breath before he uncapped the drink and added in some sugar syrup, mixing it in with a straw before re-capping the drink.
“Extra sugar,” Egg sighed. “For… uh…”
“Do you really not know me?” Gambit looked amused.
“I do know you, bro,” Egg argued. “I’m just tryna make sure that you won’t smash my head into tiny pieces the moment I acknowledge your role in society,”
“Alright, dude,” Gambit laughed.
Oh my days. I just made a villain laugh. I should put that down on my bucket list. Make a villain laugh ten times.
Egg silently cursed his mind for acting like a drunk 18-year-old in this situation.
Gambit looked down at Egg’s name tag, and took a sip of the chai latte.
“You’re an odd creature, Egg,” Gambit said, his voice slightly mocking. “I’ll be back tomorrow,”
I’m actually going to kill myself.
Gambit tossed a few bills onto the counter, turned, and sauntered off like he was a model in a fashion show. Egg stared at Gambit’s back until the purple-haired demon hybrid was fully out of sight, and then he collapsed on the spot, sliding down underneath the counter.
Egg’s hands were curled around his chest, and his breath came in short, slightly panicked bursts.
“Oh my days,” Egg groaned, leaning his head back against the nearest solid surface. “Oh my days. Holy crap. What the hell. Why was— what— I—”
The clock on the wall ticked once, as if amused.
Egg forced himself to his feet. He had to leave the cafe around this time, probably should clock it, and close down the shop. He reached for the money that Gambit left, scanning it and froze on the spot.
…how much money was that?
Egg recounted the bills.
4… no, 400 dollars.
400.
Four, zero, zero.
“...why is he loaded” Egg wondered out loud before he smacked himself with one of his headwings. “Nah, I’m just stupid, he robs banks for a living, of course he’s going to be loaded.”
Egg stared at the money.
“Should I report him to the hero association?” Egg mumbled.
The clock ticked again.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Egg snorted. “He basically paid for my groceries for the rest of my life, so…”
Egg stared at the money for another long moment.
He silently shoved three of the 100-dollar bills into his pocket and put the other one into the register.
“Nobody will ever know,” He said as he cleaned the shop, unclogged the toilet with a slight grimace, and clocked out, flipping the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’. “Why am I talking to myself?”
He had a single foot out the door before he paused, looking back at the counter.
“...I wonder if that chud is showing up tomorrow.”