Old Lady for the Job

Michael wanted to argue with the other further until his phone sprang too life. 

The familiar jingle of 'all the small things' blared through the phone's tiny speakers. No freaking way!

Michael's head snapped in the direction of the window. 

Sure enough, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. The waiter could feel his shoulders beginning to slump. Did he honestly waste his precious night of sleep arguing with an intruder? 

Michael felt the urge to simultaneously scream and pull out his hair while slamming his head into the wall. Was it that much trouble to ask for one good night's sleep? 

"What is that infernal sound?" The angel's lips were drawn into a thin line as he glared toward the phone with a look of offense. Michael gritted his teeth as his mind raced through the best course of action. 

"Fuck it! I don't have time for any of this. You better be gone by the time I get back tonight. My apartment isn't a place for homeless bums to reside." Deciding it was better to avoid being late for work, Michael's brain shifted gears to get work-ready. 

Having done the routine hundreds of times over the weeks, the waiter was able to forget about the unexpected celestial guest. He didn't even react despite the way the angel was blatantly ogling him as he swapped out of his flannel pajamas into a polo shirt and work pants. 

"Whatever your issue is, it isn't my problem. I swear to god, I will sue you if anything is broken or goes missing." The waiter warned, snatching the wallet out of Isamu's hand as he darted past the bed and out the room door, leaving an intrigued Angel still lying on his bed. 

Isamu wordlessly stared at the bedroom door even after Michael had left. Really... what an interesting human. Isamu could feel the smirk creeping across his lips as he heard another door slam shut roughly. Perhaps this wouldn't be as tedious as he had anticipated. 

His eyes traveled back to the picture of Michael he'd stolen from the waiter's wallet. Although they shared the same name, this human was nothing like the stuffy archangel he couldn't stand. Human Michael certainly had a lot of venom, but he was harmless despite it. 

The Archangel, on the other hand, could be a real hard-headed bitch when he wanted to be. For someone who was supposed to have been promoted to archangel status due to his compassion and benevolence, Isam couldn't think of any time that the archangel had shown that side of himself. He always seemed instead to choose to be a hard-handed asshole. 

Bleh. Isamu stuck out his tongue as his eyes screwed shut tight as he rolled into a sitting position on the bed. One of the many, many things Isamu would not be missing about having left the heavens. They could keep that Michael if they loved him so much; he, on the other hand, would be happy to explore the more entertaining Human Michael further. 

Speaking of exploring... 

Violet orbs glowed brightly as they scanned around the room. With the human being away, it was time for the angel to play and learn about his unwilling host.

-

Michael the human had hardly made it through three hours of his shift before he began begging the coffee shop floor to open up and swallow him whole.

On any normal day, after a night of proper sleep, he could handle the weekend hoard rush of coffee addicts. After a night of sleep in which his usual eye bags had accumulated bags of their own, it was proving to be a trial. 

"Yes, ma'am. I completely understand. Give me about two seconds, and I will ensure your order is fixed." Michael offered his best, charming, boyish smile to apologize for messing up the cross, pompous woman's order. The charm failed, however, as the woman shot him another venomous glare at being put off and strutted off to stand to wait out of the way of other customers but close enough to continue to glare at Michael. Fucksindale. If the ground wouldn't open up and swallow Michael whole, couldn't the day be over already?

"Baes. I think it is about time for you to take your break. Why don't I finish up this next set of orders, and you go get a breather?" Michael's coworker and unofficial store mascot, Damian patted his friend sympathetically on the shoulder.

Damian's short stature and boyish face made him especially popular with the older women and even some of the guys who came to the coffee shop. His big honey-golden eyes and pouty lips were hard for even the most challenging customer not to melt in the presence of. 

"Thanks." Michael gave his friend a weak smile in return as he allowed the smaller boy to step around him and to the front of the counter. 

"No worries, lovely. You go to the back and get yourself a nice cup of tea and maybe a power nap." Damian shooed the other away before turning his full attention to the customers. 

"Laura will be in later if you need to skip out early, and I can always call Eric back from his break early." Michael gave a small way of his hand in acknowledgment of this offer. If he didn't so desperately need the money to pay rent, he would go home, hide his head under his pillow, and sleep for the next year. 

Not only that, but there was also still the issue of the Angel or whatever he was potentially still at his apartment. Despite having three hours at work to come up with a plan, so far none had come to mind. 

As soon as the waiter made it to the breakroom, he flumped into the closet chair at the table and slammed his head against it, not caring about who else was already there. He felt every bit as exhausted as he looked.

Across the room, Eric, the resident jokester of the coffee shop, glanced up from his phone.

"Geez, Michael, did you try to outdrink a frat boy last night?"

Michael managed a weak smirk without lifting as head. "More like the frat boy outdrank me." He'd always hated fratboys, but after the night he had, he'd have rather been stuck drinking with fratboys instead of the night he had. 

Eric chuckled as he stood, stretching. "Well, you're only semi-zombie today. Only decaf for Mrs. Miller and accidentally gave Mrs. Henderson skim instead of cream. She seemed quite spry after that." 

"Yeah, well, maybe she'll start a new trend." Michael let out a weary sigh.

Their light-hearted banter continued, with Eric playfully ribbing Michael about his apparent 'hangover'. As Michael listened, an idea began to form in his mind. What if he could get someone else to check on his apartment? Someone like...

Snapping out of his thoughts, Michael quickly pulled out his phone and sent a text to Mrs. Graham, asking if she could swing by his apartment to check on something he 'forgot'. He felt a bit guilty for the fib but figured it was for a good cause.

Not long after, his phone buzzed with a reply. Mrs. Graham agreed to help out. Relief washed over Michael. She was the old lady for the job if anyone could handle a complex situation. He would make a mental note to make it up to her later. 

Returning to the front counter, Michael tried to focus on the orders at hand, but his mind was elsewhere. Each buzz of his phone had him glancing down, eager for an update from Mrs. Graham.

"Keep it up, and we'll have to change the board from days without an incident to incidents in a day to keep with you." Eric teased, sliding a mislabeled cup across the counter and back to him. 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Michael replied, his tone dry but with a hint of amusement. Discarding the incorrect contents of the cup, Michael set about redoing the order with the correct drink. Despite his best efforts to stay focused on work, his mind kept wandering back to his phone. Any moment, he hoped for a text from Mrs. Graham addressing the unwelcome guest in his apartment and how she dealt with it.