I had just taken another sip of my coffee when—

Chime.

Right on cue.

I looked up toward the door.

Well.

That was fast.

The two men from last night stepped inside, looking significantly less like zombies but still very much running on caffeine and determination.

The officer with the cat hat waved slightly when he saw me.

"Morning."

I set my cup down.

"Morning."

They walked over to the counter, each holding one of the thermoses I'd given them the night before.

The man in the coat placed them carefully on the counter.

"Returned as promised."

I checked them briefly.

Clean.

Good condition.

Responsible thermos borrowers. Rare species.

"Thanks," I said, putting them back under the counter.

The officer rubbed the back of his neck.

"We wanted to properly thank you," he said. "Last night helped a lot."

His partner nodded.

"We would've been miserable without that coffee."

I shrugged.

"You looked like you needed it."

The officer smiled slightly.

"Oh, we definitely did."

Then he straightened a little.

"Actually... we never introduced ourselves."

He tapped his chest.

"Naomasa Tsukauchi."

Then he gestured to the man beside him.

"And this is my partner, Sansa."

Sansa gave a small nod.

"Nice to meet you."

I wiped my hands on my apron.

"Izuku."

Tsukauchi looked around the café again, this time in the full morning light.

"It's really a nice place you have here."

Sansa nodded.

"Yeah, we honestly can't believe we never noticed it before."

"It happens," I said again.

People said that a lot.

Still weird.

They moved to sit at the counter.

Tsukauchi leaned forward slightly.

"We really are grateful, you know."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"It was to us."

Sansa nodded again.

"We deal with a lot of long nights."

And then—

Grrrrrrr.

The sound was loud.

Very loud.

Both men froze.

Tsukauchi slowly turned to look at Sansa.

Sansa looked down at his stomach like it had personally betrayed him.

I blinked.

Then I couldn't help it.

A small laugh escaped me.

Sansa sighed dramatically.

"Traitor."

Tsukauchi snorted.

"You skipped dinner."

"I was busy."

"With paperwork."

"Important paperwork."

I leaned against the counter.

"...do you need breakfast?"

Both men looked up instantly.

Tsukauchi blinked.

"You serve breakfast?"

"Until ten."

Sansa straightened immediately.

"What kind?"

I gestured to the small chalkboard menu near the pastry case.

"Nothing fancy."

I started listing them off.

"Bread with toppings."

"Croissants."

"Cereal."

"Or ham and eggs."

Sansa stared at me like I had just offered him salvation.

"...ham and eggs."

Tsukauchi chuckled.

"I'll take a croissant and coffee."

I nodded.

"Coming right up."

As I turned to start cooking, I heard Sansa whisper loudly to Tsukauchi.

"This place is amazing."

Tsukauchi murmured back.

"Don't scare the kid."

"I'm not scaring him."

"You're staring at the menu like it's holy scripture."

"...it might be."

I smiled a little as I cracked eggs into the pan.

Yeah.

This café was about to have a very strange customer mix.

The eggs finished cooking a few minutes later.

Simple.

Nothing fancy.

Two eggs, ham, lightly toasted bread on the side. I placed everything neatly on a plate and added a fork and knife before sliding it onto a tray.

Next was Tsukauchi's order.

Croissant.

Fresh from the case.

And of course, coffee.

Strong.

Because if someone worked night shifts as a police officer, they deserved strong coffee.

I carried the tray over and set everything down in front of them.

"Ham and eggs."

The plate landed in front of Sansa.

His eyes lit up immediately.

"You're a hero."

I snorted quietly.

"Wrong profession."

Then I set the croissant and coffee down in front of Tsukauchi.

"And croissant."

Tsukauchi gave me a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

I nodded and stepped away, heading back behind the counter.

Breakfast rush was... nonexistent.

Which meant I could finally eat something myself.

I grabbed a small pan and cracked two eggs into it.

While they cooked, I toasted a slice of bread and poured myself another coffee.

The smell of food filled the café.

Behind me I could hear Sansa already attacking his breakfast like a man who hadn't seen food in years.

"Careful," Tsukauchi said between bites of his croissant. "You'll choke."

"I will not."

"You absolutely will."

I flipped the eggs and slid them onto a plate.

Simple breakfast.

Perfect.

I was about to retreat to the corner table like usual when—

"Hey."

I looked up.

Tsukauchi gestured to the empty seats beside them.

"You can sit here."

I blinked.

"...what?"

Sansa looked up from his plate and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah."

He waved his fork.

"There's literally nobody else here."

Tsukauchi added calmly, "You don't need to eat alone in the corner."

I hesitated.

Because normally I did.

Owners didn't usually sit down with customers.

But also—

They were right.

There were exactly three people in the café.

And two of them were currently eating my food.

Sansa pointed at the chair again.

"Come on."

"Yeah," Tsukauchi said. "Join us."

I stared at them for another second.

Then I sighed softly.

"...fine."

I grabbed my coffee and plate and walked around the counter.

The chair scraped lightly against the floor as I sat down.

Sansa grinned like he had just won something.

"See? Much better."

I took a bite of my toast.

"...you're very enthusiastic about breakfast."

He pointed his fork at me.

"You have no idea how rare it is to get real food during night shifts."

Tsukauchi nodded in agreement.

"Usually it's vending machines."

I winced slightly.

"...that sounds tragic."

"It is tragic," Sansa confirmed dramatically.

Then he pointed his fork at my plate.

"You cook for yourself too?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Tsukauchi sipped his coffee.

Then he looked at me thoughtfully.

"So..."

I paused mid-bite.

"...yes?"

"You really run this whole place alone?"

"Yes."

Sansa whistled softly.

"That's impressive."

I shrugged.

"It works."

Tsukauchi glanced around the quiet café again.

"You must get some interesting customers."

I took a sip of my coffee.

Then answered calmly.

"...sometimes."

Understatement of the year.

But something told me these two didn't need the full list.