Knives is a horrible barista (knives x reader)
trigun knives x reader. (no version of knives in my mind! pick whichever you'd like!)
tags: coffee shop au, barista!knives, slow build. He's kinda rude but your drink is perfect every time, wc; 500 (a short one :D)
You just happened to show up at the same time every weekday -- well almost the same time at 6:50 am -- because it's the only place near your train stop that opens early enough for your schedule is a nondescript little cafe, which feels less like a business and more like a dare.
The drinks are great, the barista's a nightmare. He's the worst barista you've ever met. No smile. No eye contact. Eyes that make you feel like you’ve personally offended him just by existing. Minimal conversation. He never wears a nametag, never smiles, never says more than he has to. He hates everyone, and it's probably mutual. But your order is always perfect, he knows your order and recites it with a bored expression before you even finish speaking.
Perfect every time, always just the right temperature. You don't know how he gets it right without the milk curdling, but you're not about to ask.
The first time he said it aloud -- your drink -- it caught you off guard.
He just handed it to you, he didn't ask for your name hence the blank stare. Didn't clarify anything, just rattled it off like he'd memorized it accidentally and resented that fact deeply.
You almost felt guilty accepting the cup. Almost.
Now it's routine. Kind of. He never smiles at you, but something always passes between you two when your fingers brush against the cardboard sleeve. It was cold, but familiar.
One time you had shown earlier than usual, so you had time to sit by the window. It was one where he could see you from behind the counter. He never really looked directly at you, but you swear you caught him glancing for a second, almost as if he was checking that you were still there.
The rest of the cafe was empty. Short glances that you're not just some figment of a bad dream, or worse, a good one.
You wonder if he prefers it that way, the silence, the stillness. You can sort of see it in his shoulders the way they sit a little lower when he doesn't have to pretend.
He slides your drink to your table without a word. It wasn't... careless, just intentional.
You linger longer than usual, maybe it's the cold, or the way your fingers ache from the wind outside. Maybe it's the fact that he hasn't pulled away yet either.
Glancing up from the drink in your hands, he squints at you. Then, quietly, he nods towards the seat next to you.
"Can I sit," he says, flatly. It didn't really sound like a question.
Barely having the time to nod, he sits there. Two people, a too-hot drink, and the strange hush of a city just waking up. You take a sip, and it's still perfect. It always is.
You stay, and so does he, and somehow it felt more than enough on this quiet morning.