The Rise of the Brave (college AU Hiro x reader x Varian)

CH3 - Of Hot Lunches and Quick Punches

Lucky Cat Cafe was much more packed than this morning, and your social anxiety began to get the better of you as you entered. You guessed the later hour had something to do with the rise in customers, probably rush hour since classes let out around this time. Thankfully, Tip waved you over as soon as she saw you. You rushed over to her and Miguel and the three of you chatted mindlessly about your respective days post-work. Once your food arrived you got down to business.

"So, what's the plan for this weekend exactly?" You asked, shoveling your dish into your face - Miss Cass' food is absolutely amazing. This place must have a michelin star or something.

"Well," Tip took a thoughtful bite of her dinner-french-toast as she spoke through her food

"We got to talking, and we figured Saturday might be boring if you just come to grade our work. What do you think of a potluck dinner after? It could give you some time to get to know the band, and you could relax about your critiques. And if you think of something during dinner, you could run it by us in real-time." she finished, grabbing another bite.

You thought for another moment, savoring the bite you took of your dish,

"Mmm, sounds good to me," you swallowed to clear your throat, "Want to have it at my place? Y'all could sleep over if you want to drink? Wait, how rowdy are your bandmates? Should they be drinking? How old are they?" You suddenly worried. Miguel laughed, "No worries (Chica/Chico/Chic@), Tip is the only one underage, and you know she's responsible. The only one you gotta worry about is Von Schweetz, and that's a sugar problem not an alcohol issue"

You laughed, "is that the one you call 'Sugar Rush'?" you asked, using air quotes for the nickname.

"The one and only, so hide yo sweets, hide yo wife" he commented, laughing. Tip hit his arm "Hey, she's not that bad around new people. It'll be fine." She turned to you "We'll read them the riot act beforehand anyway. Are you sure you want it at your place? We could do it at the dorms?"

You smiled, "Nah, my apartment has 2 whole couches and a big bed. As long as you don't mind potentially sharing a bed, I'm good with a floor or a couch for the night. I trust you guys. Plus, with all the work we've been getting recently, you deserve a break! Just worry about what food you're going to bring, and I'll be good with the rest."

--

The rest of the night consisted of fun chats and a lot of laughter, before you excused yourself to head home to sleep. On your way out, however, you ran into a familiar face with shaggy dark hair. "Oh, hi! You're the patron from earlier today, (Y/n) right?" he asked nervously, you simply nodded in response, "Right, um, my aunt Cass read me the riot act after that. She said it could've made you uncomfortable with our establishment, and I should've handled it better, so I just wanted to apologize for jumping to conclusions so quickly."

You were surprised, you didn't even think it was possible to avoid an establishment with such a warm hostess and wonderful food. Plus, you had left each other on a positive note, it was more funny than anything else. "Nononono, you're fine! I did look pretty sketchy, I could've kept it in a less conspicuous container. Please, tell her not to worry, I swear I'm not mad or anything. It actually made for a funny story to tell my coworkers this morning." You stated, pointing to the table with Tip and Miguel, now staring at you and your company. They immediately looked away when you pointed, but you caught them in the act. I'll have to tease them about that later. Gosh, why do schools always have such weird hierarchies? This guy seems pretty normal to me. You thought.

Hiro looked over and chuckled, watching them look away quickly, "They must go to SFIT with reactions like those."

You laughed in response "One of them does, the other goes to SFAI, but I'd be willing to bet you're a legend there too"