Thump!
Your head jerked up and you stared at the swinging kitchen light.
"Must be the new neighbour," Gran muttered as she took the soup off the stove, "I've never heard someone fall down so many times in one afternoon. Do you think he's a drunk?"
"No," you mumbled.
The old woman glanced your way before quickly turning back to the day's menu to hide the happy light in her eyes. You didn't notice, your attention was still on the ceiling.
"Well then he's the clumsiest man I've ever known," Gran muttered under her breath.
You nodded, finally dropping your gaze to the sign you had been in the midst of writing.
"He's a policeman," you said.
"Oh?" Gran clattered around the kitchen, "Have you spoken to him?"
You nodded again as you finished your writing and propped the sign up on the table. 'Books: 3 for 1$'
"I was bringing in the sign and he dropped his groceries," you mumbled, "So I helped him."
Gran turned to you with a smile, wrapping her arm around your shoulders and pressing a quick kiss on your temple.
"It's good to hear you're talking to people other than Robin again, honey," she said before going back to prepping for the coming day, "Come help me bring the sandwiches out to the front."
You pushed up from the table and quickly moved to follow Gran's instruction just as another thud sounded from above.
"Are you sure he isn't a drunk?" Gran muttered.
A smirk flitted over your lips as you shook your head.
"He's not," you said, "When you meet him, you'll see."
You took the platter of sandwiches and carried them out into the café. Gran stared after you, her eyes wide and brimming with silent tears.
"A smile..." she whispered, pressing her hand over her heart, "I've missed that so much. Keeping going, honey. You'll get there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You cracked your eyes open as a cascade of stomps pulled you from your sleep. You blinked lazily at the ceiling before another thump caused you to jolt upright.
Someone was upstairs!
"He's back?!" you gasped and threw a sweater over your pyjamas before bolting for the door.
Your heart pounded like crazy as a smile split your face. New life began flowing through your veins, kicking you out of your long slump. The world sparkled with renewed colour.
"I'm going to give him such an earful for making me wait so lo-!"
You made it all the way to the front door before you froze.
The street outside was still shrouded in the grey shadows that preceded the dawn. But it was the pickup truck parked outside your shop that snapped you back to reality.
You immediately plummeted from cloud nine all the way down to rock bottom.
"Oh... right..."
Your fingers hovered before the door handle before you sighed and stepped back. After a few long seconds, a smile tightened your lips.
"Well, now that I'm up I better get cooking..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bells over the door chimed loudly, calling you roughly out of your daydream. You lifted your nose out of your book to see your new neighbour filling the doorway with his massive frame.
You hadn't really noticed how tall these guys truly were yesterday. Eustass Kid, with his shockingly red hair and pale skin, almost touched the ceiling as he strode over to where you stood behind the counter.
"You." He grunted, sending you a glare so dark you literally felt your stomach clench.
"Uh.... Me?" you squeaked, slamming your book closed a little too hard.
Kid's amber eyes flicked down for a moment and his lips curled into a snarl. Without a word, he reached into his leather jacket and dug out a few bills. You stared as he slammed them onto the counter.
"For the sink," he ground the words out with great difficulty.
Then he whirled around and stomped toward the door.
You blinked at the money and your mouth opened before your brain could save you.
"Wait!" your call made him freeze in his tracks and his head jerked back to send you the coldest glare you'd ever received, "Uh... um, you don't have to..."
You picked up the money and moved around the counter. Kid was even more intimidating up close and you had to use every ounce of self-control to keep your hands from shaking as you held out the money.
"Please," you bowed your head to him, "I was just helping out my neighbours. There's no need to repay me."
There was a moment of silence as you stared at your feet.
"Tch!" Kid scoffed as he snatched the bills from your hand, "Your loss."
And then he was gone.
You stood in the center of your shop in a daze.
"Nice to meet you too, I guess," you mumbled before returning to the safety of your romance novel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You didn't get any customers until lunchtime. But that was business as usual for you. You didn't have to open up as early as you did, but your grandmother had always unlocked the door at 7 a.m. and you just couldn't bring yourself to break the tradition.
Back then there had been a lot more people living in your area and the café was always full. Nowadays, with all the businesses moving downtown to the New World district, there was less and less of a demand for cafés or bookstores, not to mention a combination of both.
The customers who frequented The Calico Hen were usually locals who worked in the area, but you still got the odd tourist every now and then.
Today there were a few new faces among the regulars seated around the café. Most occupied the tables near the windows but a few had settled into the more comfortable chairs among the bookshelves.
You had just waved goodbye to the last of the lunch crowd when you heard some shouting coming from outside. Having nothing better to do you quickly moved to the window.
Your eyes widened as they fell on an all-out brawl happening just outside your door. Heat and Killer were fending off about five other guys you'd never seen before. Your new neighbours moved with frightening speed as they kicked and punched their attackers into submission. Your fists clenched as Killer picked up one man by his throat and threw him into the street, narrowly missing a passing car.
This monstrous show of strength seemed to scare the attackers and the ones who remained standing quickly picked up their fallen comrades and fled.
You could just make out their parting words before they disappeared down the next street.
"This isn't the last you've heard of us, you freaks!"
Heat and Killer watched them go with a bored expression. Your eyes drifted over their bloody knuckles and bruised arms. Then Heat turned and glanced toward your shop. Your eyes met and his widened. You knew you must look pretty scared; your heart was pounding so hard you thought it would jump out of your chest.
Heat's sad expression deepened and he quickly turned away and disappeared through the apartment door. Killer didn't seem to notice you and quickly followed after his roommate.
"There haven't been fights around here for a while," you muttered as you slunk back to the counter, "I hope they don't do that too often. That's bad for business."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After that incident, you didn't see much of your new neighbours for a while.
You definitely heard them, though. They would stomp down the stairs early in the morning and tramp back up them late at night, shouting or laughing depending on their mood. A few times you could hear female voices mixed in, though only for the nights. And those nights were always loud. They enjoyed heavy metal music. Once they got home they would play it on full blast until the early hours of the morning.
It was a jarring transition from the sullen silence you'd grown used to these past years. Honestly, it was keeping you up at night. You really wanted to go up there and tell them to keep it down, but... you had a sneaking suspicion that Kid's room was right above yours and he was the one blasting the music. You definitely weren't about to get any higher on that guy's hit list than you already were.
Your opinion of the surly redhead was only solidified further when, about a week after the brawl outside your shop, you were out getting some groceries and caught sight of him walking down a side street. There was another man tailing him and you were just in time to see him sneak up and try to put a hand into Kid's jacket pocket.
Emphasis on try.
Kid had the guy in a headlock so fast that you blinked and missed it. You couldn't hear what he was saying, but you got the gist of it once he slammed the poor thief up against the wall of a nearby building and began punching his face in.
When you got home you swore you'd keep your distance from these new rough and dangerous men. You could live without going into the upstairs apartment, at least until the landlord kicked them out for being too rowdy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course, the very next day you broke your vow.
There were only two customers left, milking the last few minutes before closing time, when the door opened and Heat walked in.
You couldn't help but stiffen at his approach, and he must have noticed because he slowed down and stopped a few feet away from the counter.
"Y/n... sorry to bother you again," he spoke in his soft, sad tone, "But the TV's stopped working. I think something's wrong with the outlet."
You were surprised by the request, but the normalcy it brought to your picture of the blue haired man made you smile.
"I'll be right up," you tilted your head towards the clock, stifling a yawn as you did so, "Just give me a few minutes to close."
You lifted your voice for the last few words and were satisfied when you heard the remaining customers stirring from their armchairs.
Heat nodded and stepped aside as they came up to pay.
You noticed the frightened and disapproving looks the two people gave the blue haired man as they walked by him.
"Thank you for letting us stay right to the end, Miss L/n," an old man, a regular, gave you a warm smile as you handed him his change, "I enjoy all the time I can spend in here."
"You are welcome here anytime, Mr. Cavanaugh," you tried to return his smile with equal warmth and waved as he left.
"And might I say today's scones were wonderful," a young woman who worked at a clothing store down the street said as she handed you a bill, "No change, please."
Your heavily bagged eyes widened and your tired smiled brightened.
"Thank you so much, Miss Yuki!" you bowed your head in added thanks, "Please enjoy the rest of your evening."
As the woman walked out she cast a positively hateful glare at Heat, who simply watched her leave without any reaction.
Once the café had emptied you retrieved your toolbox, locked the register, and then nodded to Heat. You were surprised to see him watching you with... soft?... sad eyes.
"Ready," you yawned.
Your voice snapped Heat out of his daze and he quickly led the way upstairs. Before he opened the apartment door, however, he stopped and turned back to you.
"Are you feeling alright, Y/n?" he asked.
His sudden question caught you off guard but you quickly nodded your head.
"I'm fine," you smiled.
"Hm," Heat wasn't convinced, "You look tired."
You blinked and lowered your gaze as an embarrassed flush dusted your cheeks.
"Oh... uh... well... I've been having some trouble sleeping lately," you mumbled out.
"Hm."
You weren't even sure if Heat heard you. He opened the door and entered, motioning for you to follow.
"Did you get a repairman?" a loud shout caused you to freeze as you stepped over the threshold.
"No, I got... Y/n?" Heat glanced back when he saw you hesitate.
You swallowed your fear with a slight shake of your head. Don't be a coward, Y/n. You're braver than this.
"Y/n? Who's Y/n?" Kid appeared in the hall and froze when his eyes fell on you.
You did not like the sneer that immediately moved onto his face.
"Eh? This little princess can do more than fix sinks?" he rested an arm against the wall and leaned over you.
"Eep!" you squeaked, and your flush increased at the embarrassing sound.
Kid's smirk widened and he bent down further.
"Well aren't you cute," he breathed in your ear.
A shiver ran down your spine and you took a shaky step back. Heat was giving both you and Kid a concerned stare.
"Leave her alone," Killer's voice called from the kitchen, "She's just here to fix the TV."
The redhead let out a huff, but the smirk didn't leave his face as he stepped aside to let you pass.
You hurried into the living room and set the toolbox down on the coffee table, trying your best not to disturb the empty beer bottles and pizza boxes that littered the surface.
Wire was sitting in the corner, perched on an overturned storage bin, and glanced up from the book he was reading to give you a nod. Your eyes flitted over the title and you smiled.
"Agatha Christie?" you hummed, "Nice. And Then There Were None is my favourite."
Wire stared at you for a moment before his lips twitched into a slight smirk and he gave you a thumbs up.
This exchange gave you a little more confidence and you quickly turned your attention to the television. The large flat screen, the center piece of a pretty awesome gaming set up, was currently unplugged and pulled away from the wall.
"Right, Heat thought it was the outlet," you muttered as you dug through your toolbox and found a multimeter.
You set the voltage and inserted the probes into the outlet, frowning at the reading you got.
"Yeah something's not working here," you hummed as you stood, "I'm going to have to cut your power for a second."
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Kid leaned against the doorframe as you moved by in search of the power supply.
"I know this building like the back of my hand," you mumbled.
You found the breakers by the front door and flipped the desired switch, plunging the apartment into blackness.
"Oh right," you sighed, "It's nighttime."
"Are you stupid?" Kid barked out a laugh from somewhere behind you.
Under the cover of darkness you rolled your eyes at him and made your way back to the living room. Miraculously, you managed to avoid running into anyone; but it seemed you were the only one.
"Ow! Watch it, Kid!" you heard Killer grunt.
"It's not my fault, I can't see anything!" an answering rumble sounded from a little too close to you for comfort.
"Where's Y/n?" Heat's voice came from the hall.
"I'm over here," you called as you felt for your toolbox.
You quickly found a flashlight and clicked it on, placing it in your mouth before turning the beam towards the outlet.
"She really does know this place like the back of her hand."
You smirked around the flashlight between your teeth but didn't offer Killer a reply. You unscrewed the outlet cover and quickly found the problematic snapped wire.
"Here we go," you whispered as you fished a new one out of your toolbox, switched them out, tightened everything, and screwed it back in place.
Within seconds you had the lights switched back on and were once again sitting in front of the outlet with you multimeter.
"There," you smiled when the numbers made sense.
You plugged in the TV and it immediately lit up.
"Thanks, Y/n. It sure is handy to have you around," Killer came into the living room and you had to press your lips together in order to not laugh at the frilly pink apron adorning his well sculpted torso.
"I'm not just a pretty face, you know," you smirked as you packed up your tools.
"You had me fooled," Kid grumbled.
Your smile faded as you meet his amber gaze. He looked... upset?
"I just finished up dinner," Killer pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "Its spaghetti and meatballs. Care to take some?"
You opened your mouth but Kid scoffed loudly.
"She doesn't accept payment for her services," he sneered.
You flinched away from him but shook your head and mustered a smile.
"N-not from my neighbours," you picked up your toolbox and started down the hall, "You guys can call me anytime. But if I have customers I won't be able to come right away."
Kid's smirk fell off his face and he gave your back a blank stare as you approached the door.
"Um... well I'll be going now," you mumbled, quickly reaching for the handle.
"Wait, Y/n," Heat's call made you look over your shoulder to see him standing awkwardly in the hallway.
Both Kid and Wire were giving him weird looks behind his back.
"Thanks again," Heat jerked his arm up in what might have been a wave.
You smiled and lifted your own hand.
"No problem," you stepped out into the hall.
The door quickly closed behind you and you let out a shaky breath before descending the stairs.
Man these guys are scary, you sighed, but I guess they aren't too bad...
You reached the comfort of your bedroom and tumbled ungracefully onto your mattress.
"I just barely broke even today, Gran," you sighed as you rolled over and pulled up the covers without even bothering to change into your pyjamas, "I think I'll have to raise the prices again..."
You blew a goodnight kiss to your shrine before turning out the light.
The To Do list for the next day was running through your mind as you fell asleep and it wasn't until the morning sun pulled you from your slumber that you realized that there hadn't been any music that night.