Chapter Text
Coffee. The bringer of life to exhausted workers, college students, and surprisingly, reapers. It’s no secret in the Reaper world that coffee is a good source of light energy and can be used to balance out the dark in a pinch.
Casper was never a connoisseur for this sort of stuff. He’d usually only drink the instant kind. It worked the fastest and the taste was fine (once he got used to it). Any coffee beverage that sounded remotely Italian made him shy away from it altogether, thinking it was some sort of unnecessarily fancy, awful-tasting thing that only the most pretentious would drink. The only thing he’d had other than his beloved Cafe Bustelo was something called “espresso”. Who knew that such a small amount of liquid could taste so sour and bitter at the same time? After that, Casper swore that he would never try anything like that again.
However, this brings him to his present situation. A particular soul he was harvesting was being difficult and was refusing to pass on properly, which led to a very long and drawn-out fight. He was triumphant of course, but he wasn’t unscathed. His mind was currently a mess, leaving him feeling as if there were hundreds of needles prodding at his brain.
He’d dealt with this before, he thought to himself. He could handle this much darkness, right? However, he needed to find something to fix it and fast . Usually, he’d be able to teleport to the Underworld and fix himself a cup of instant coffee with (lukewarm) water in a jiffy, but his energy was fading far too quickly. His eyes jotted around as he took a quick survey of his surroundings. It was already dark and the streetlights were beginning to blur all together as he ambled down the street.
He then spots a sign. Casper’s eyes are too disoriented to make out specifics, but there’s a word he’s certain he catches: “cafe”. Where there’s a cafe, there’s coffee, right?
With no other options, he began to bring himself over. He was suddenly aware of how heavy his limbs felt as he carried himself to the front door. There was a pleasant tinkling of a shop bell as he swung open the door, and of course, the pleasant smell of coffee hit his nose. A sweet voice greets him:
“Hi, welcome i-!”
“What’s the fastest coffee drink you can make me?” Casper interrupts as he slams a twenty-dollar-bill onto the counter. He knows that he’s not being very courteous right now, but he prefers to not die at the moment.
After a momentary pause of what he presumes to be shock, the barista replied, “Probably the drip coffee? I can pour it right away?”
“That one then.” Casper sucked in a breath. “Please.”
“Uhm okay, would you like a small, medium, or lar-”
“I don’t care.”
He expects, without looking up, that the expression that the barista is giving him is sour, but he doesn’t blame them. After what seemed like forever, he heard the soft clink of a cup being set down. Mentally, he begins to prepare himself for the worst sip of his life, but it’s a sip that will ultimately save his life.
And so he wrapped his fingers around the cup. The first thing that he noticed is that he’s touching ceramic, rather than paper, like he expected. The mug was also pleasantly warm against his cold skin. He shuts his eyes tight as he lifted the cup to his mouth and prepared for the worst when the coffee hit his tongue and-
It’s good.
Oh, wow, it’s really good.
The bitterness of the coffee is there, but it’s not overpowering, like he expected it to be. It tasted the way it smells: coffee-like, but also slightly… floral? There were underlying notes of dark chocolate as well? Is he sure he’s drinking coffee ?
It has to be coffee from the way it cleared up his tangled mind nearly immediately, bringing the necessary light energy he desperately needed. Not even his instant coffee at home was able to bring him back so quickly. He felt… re-energized, for lack of a better term.
A voice brings him from his thoughts. “Wow, that was quick. Want another cup?”
Casper blinked his way back into consciousness. He looked down and found that his cup was already empty.
“Yes, please.” he says, sliding his cup back over to the barista. “That’s probably the best drink I’ve ever had in my life .”
Now that he’s balanced, Casper was able to get a better look at his savior. There’s a hint of concern as well as… amusement(?) in their eyes as they grabbed the mug from him and turned around to get more coffee from the container behind them.
“Well, I’m glad you like it,” the barista said with a slight chuckle in their voice. “It’s the easiest thing to make around here.”
“What did you give me? This is still coffee, right?”
The barista’s smile briefly quirked downward before they replied. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“What did you do to it? Why does it taste so good?” Casper was still in disbelief.
A moment of silence passed as the barista set the mug full of coffee down in front of him again, but this time with a much firmer clink than last time. They examined Casper briefly, their eyes swimming with thought as to what to say next.
“What do you usually drink then, sir? Do you make your own coffee at home?”
“Yes, I do.”
“What brand?”
“ Cafe Bustelo . The instant kind.”
The barista closed their eyes and gave a loud sigh. “Ah, that’s why.”
“What’s wrong with Cafe Bustelo coffee?” he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
“That's the problem. It’s not real coffee.”
Casper nearly choked. “ What do you mean it’s not real coffee? ”
“Well, at least according to my own standards.” The barista leaned on the counter. “The whole freeze-drying process takes out all the parts of what makes coffee good.”
“What makes a good cup of coffee then?” he asked.
Casper quickly noted that the barista’s eyes lit up momentarily before they replied. They looked behind him, and he realized that they were checking if other customers were coming.
A slow smile was creeping up on the barista’s face. “Do you want the short version or the long version?”
Hm, this is interesting , he thought. He could humor this to make up for his poor behavior from earlier, but he was also genuinely curious. “The long version, please.”
The barista was fully beaming now. “Well, it’s a number of factors. The beans, the way they’re roasted and ground, and how they’re brewed. You know the coffee you’re drinking right now?”
He nodded.
“The beans are a blend from Indonesia. We roast them in a big machine in the back and it basically cooks the beans to perfection. After that, we store them for up to a month and when we use them, we grind it to a specific coarse-ness or fine-ness, depending on what we’re brewing it in.”
“For example,” they pointed at a small glass pitcher nearby with some sort of metal contraption on the inside, “that’s a french press. The way we grind the beans for it is different from the way we grind the beans for your drip coffee.”
Casper considered this information for a moment. “There are different ways to brew coffee?”
“Yes!” they replied. “It can affect the flavor and the strength. If you brew coffee beans for a long time, like a cold brew for example, it makes it really strong, but also really bitter if you’re not careful. That’s why we strictly brew our cold brew for 24 hours, but there’s some leeway for about an hour before and after.”
This was a whole new world to Casper. Who knew coffee was so complex? he thought. If this was the care and expertise that went into creating the most perfect drink he’s ever had in his life, then it was worth it. The enthusiasm and passion the barista had for coffee made him feel more knowledgeable, to say the least. And the way the barista’s eyes sparkled as they spoke and the bright smile that accompanied it all…
Ah, nevermind. Those latter thoughts are irrelevant to the topic at hand.
“I think I get it more now,” he said. “It’s like an art form.”
The barista threw their arms in the air out of joy. “That’s exactly what it is! Now you’re getting it!”
It was Casper’s turn to smile. Wow, this human’s cheer was contagious . “This was… wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“I should be thanking you! Do you know how long I was holding in that explanation?”
“I would guess that it’s been a while,” he said, chuckling. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Y/N,” they said, sticking their hand out over the counter for a handshake. “And yours?”
Ah. He should’ve expected this response. He wasn’t thinking when he asked them that question.
“It’s, um…” he paused, thinking of something to give them. The first thought that came to mind was that he’s a grim reaper, right? Maybe he could give a name that had something to do with grim reaping?
“You can call me Grim. For now.” Shit . That’s not a name is it? But he’s just opened this can of worms and now he’s gotta lie in it-
He took their hand and shook it anyway. It was warm, just like his coffee mug earlier.
Y/N’s head gave a slight tilt as he responded, not fully believing it from the way he said it. “Nice to meet you… Grim.”
“And you too, Y/N.” he said, liking the way their name rolled off of his tongue. He slid his mug back to them, since it was empty again. “I guess I have to get going.”
“Hope to see you again, then?” Y/N said as he turned to leave.
“See you again soon,” he replied. And it was a promise he would keep.