#Barista-Style Coffee Machine

[taesanluv3r]

latte art

kim leehan x reader

sort of love at first sight? barista!leehan improves his latte art just for his very first customer <3 those concept pics possessed me to write this hehe. super cutesy, i love u leehan! lowercase intended. pls excuse any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors! enjoyyyy

wc: 2,008

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ding!

the bell above the door rang as it squeaked opened, alerting the handsome barista that was busy setting up his fancy coffee machines for the opening of his tiny café. kim leehan looked up, eyes widening at the figure that turned around to reveal itself- or rather, herself. the most beautiful girl the boy had ever seen in his entire life that would become his very first customer.

"uh...? hello?"

he must've been too into his head, not realizing that the pretty lady had moved from near the door over to stand right in front of him at the register. "huh? oh! hi! um...what can i- uh" he didn't ever expect to stutter this way- especially not when he had already went through every friendly barista greeting the night before this grand opening, but the boy couldn't help it. not when the very first person to enter the shop was this stupidly gorgeous stranger in front of him.

leehan sighs, "i'm so sorry...today's the opening of this place and you're the first customer so..." she giggles, "no worries...i get it" they share a smile. "would you totally hate me if i asked you to walk out and back in again so we can restart this?" he asks, smiling until his eyes formed crescent shapes. the girl laughs, "if you insist"

the scene replays all over again. this time, he was ready to greet her with a friendly smile as she re-entered the café. "hi there! welcome to kim's coffee. what can i get for ya?" the stranger couldn't stop the giggle from escaping her lips, finding the cute barista's sudden bubbly-ness amusing. "hm..." she begins, fingers against her chin as she looked up at the menu on the wall. "well...uh, leehan..." the girl trails off, learning his name from the tag pinned onto his apron. "what do you recommend?"

the way his name fell out naturally from her mouth sent about a gazillion butterflies to roam free in his stomach, a light pink blush brushing against his pale cheeks. "well uh..." he almost stuttered again from the sudden shyness but quickly straightened his back and regained his almost cocky confidence. "for a pretty girl like you...how 'bout our signature cappuccino? i could do some incredible latte art too" she widens her eyes, shocked by the compliment. "incredible latte art you say? i'll be the judge of that" leehan grins at her playful personality. "iced or hot?" he asks, beginning to click on the buttons displayed on the screen of the register. "hot, please"

"alright...one hot cappuccino for...?"

"yn!" - "one hot cappuccino for yn coming right up!"

yn nods, watching as he retreated to his coffee machines before she allowed herself to explore the café. it was a relatively small place- but the pretty blue paint on the walls made the space feel a little bigger. "you must be really into fishes..." she says, staring at the framed paintings of all kinds of sea-life and spotting the tank filled with fish over at the corner near the bathroom. the barista guy laughs, "yeah...if i weren't a barista i'd be underwater scuba-diving right now" she nods along with his words, finally taking a seat on one of the chairs at the bar-styled table, giving her the clearest view of the working boy.

"so why open a café?'' she asked, revealing to the boy her curious personality. "it's fun!" he says, his voice a little louder now to overpower the buzzing noise from the milk frother. "and..." he said, mindlessly pouring the fluffy milk into the coffee. "there's a possibility i get to meet pretty girls like you" she rolls her eyes at his comment, watching as he adds finishing touches to the coffee.

"et voila, one cappuccino for yn~ enjoy"

the girl chuckles lightly when he dramatically bows, placing the cup of coffee on the table right in front of her. his head that faces the floor lifts up quickly when he hears her breaking out into a fit of laughter. leehan looks up confused, eyebrows furrowing and head tilting off to the side. "so much for incredible latte art..." yn says, still in between catching her breath. he's still confused, but one look down at his creation was enough to understand the girl's reaction.

"ah..." the boy sighs, looking disappointingly at the lame excuse for latte art he had poured into the cup. "i mean what were you going for here? a...an alien?!" the girl exclaimed, causing herself to giggle all over again. he rolls his eyes playfully, "i was actually going for a rose...but i see where you got alien from..." he clicks his tongue, "guess that's something i still need to work on" yn agrees with him, "but try it, as long as it tastes good..." he watches in anticipation as the girl brings the cup to her lips, blowing on the hot beverage slightly before taking a sip. her eyes widen, "oh my god..." leehan is nervous, "what? is it bad?" she shakes her head hastily. "no, no! not at all! this is the best cappuccino i've ever had ever! like seriously"

yn's comments make him sigh in relief, pressing a hand over his chest. "oh thank god...i thought you were gonna bully me like you did my latte art" she laughs, "it wasn't bullying...think of it as harsh feedback!" the sweet smile on her face contradicted the sharp words that she said, it intrigued the barista boy...there was something about her he just seemed to really like- apart from how pretty she was.

a couple minutes went by and soon the cup of coffee was empty. "thank you for the yummy coffee, how much do i owe you?" yn asks, rummaging through her purse in search of her wallet. leehan shook his head, "no! in honor of being my first customer, it's on me" she furrowed her eyebrows, "don't be silly! c'mon give me a price" but he only shook his head once more, "nope! think of it as compensation...for the underwhelming latte art" she sighs, giving up on arguing with the handsome barista. ''if you come again tomorrow though, i'll let you pay~" his smile made her insides melt like chocolate, and she sighs. "sounds good..." she trails off, beginning to get off the chair and closer to the exit. before she leaves she turns to look at him once more.

"better show me that incredible latte art you keep boasting about though!" he laughs, "trust me...i'll be up all night perfecting it...just for you"

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sure enough, the barista boy kept his word. the next morning rolled around and the boy begins to tiredly opened up his shop. slight dark circles evident under his eyes from the sleepless night he spent frothing milk at home and endlessly pouring them into cups of coffee. with a little more trial and error, and about a dozen more cappuccinos later, he finally perfected the art. the girl kept her promise as well, waking up bright and early so she could get dressed and head straight to the brand new coffee shop.

ding!

a feeling of deja vu washed over him at the familiar noise of the doorbell. "look who it is!" leehan cheered, clapping his hands together as the girl he was expecting entered the shop. yn smiled, "i expect you have perfected that latte art?" he nods, "well i promised you, didn't i?" she giggles, "ah yes...if i recall...just for me, right?" the girl teased, repeating the pretty words he had told her the other day. the boy blushes softly, scratching the back of his head.

"why don't you take a seat? one hot cappuccino with incredible latte art for the beautiful yn, coming right up!"

just like the previous day, the girl sits at the bar. patiently waiting for the barista to do his job. this time she notices the droplet of sweat that formed to the side of his forehead, his eyes narrowed like a hawk as he stared at the liquid he was pouring into the cup. "wait!" he suddenly says, frantically stopping himself and turning to his one and only customer. "what?" she asked, just as frantic as he was. "can you like not look at me while i do this...it makes me nervous" yn opens her mouth in shock, rolling her eyes once before she turned around in her seat, her back now facing him.

"okay..." she heard him whisper to himself, assuming he had finally begun pouring the frothed milk into a design on her coffee. then the girl hears him let out a breath, followed by his footsteps and a clink of a cup meeting the surface of the bar-like table. leehan clears his throat before beginning to speak.

"a hot cappuccino with improved latte art, for one pretty lady"

yn took his words as a signal to turn back around. honestly the girl had kept her expectations low, not really believing that anyone could perfect such art overnight. however, a look of pure surprise washed over her complexion as the cup of coffee came into sight. it was perfect. the foam in a clear rose shape, totally different from the alien-looking image she saw just the other day.

"what did i tell ya? perfect, right?" leehan grins widely, overly proud of his professional talent. he watches in amusement as his customer nods, "wow...this is amazing, leehan!" yn exclaims, pulling out her phone from her bag and snapping a couple pictures before she had to ruin it to drink. "and..." she begins, taking a sip out of the drink. "still delicious!" the barista smiles happily at her satisfaction.

"no but seriously, how did you manage to perfect it overnight?! you a wizard or something?" yn asks, editing the picture she had taken so she could upload it on her instagram story. leehan giggles, listening to her talk as he cleaned up his station in case other customers began showing up. "i'm starting to think you've always been good and just messed it up yesterday on purpose so you could get me to come back here" she states, making up scenarios for the boy's sudden perfection. he turns to her with a smirk, "and what if i did?" his teasing question makes her ponder for a moment before she displayed a similar smirk on her lips.

"well then it worked, didn't it?"

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"so how much do i owe you? you promised i could pay if i came back today" yn spoke, her wallet already prepared in the palm of her hand. "fine, it's $4.99" leehan says, pressing on a couple buttons on the screen. "okay, here...sorry, i don't have any small change right now" the girl pouted, handing him a $20 bill. "no worries..." he replied, opening up the cash register to collect her change. "oh shit....looks like there is a worry, i don't have change either..." the girl's eyes widen, "oh no!" she frowns, "what should we do?" they both look up for a minute, trying to come up with a solution. she could tell he thought of something when a cheeky grin takes over his face.

"say..." leehan begins, handing the $20 bill back to her. "you keep this...and you can just give me your number instead! pay me for the coffee at our date this weekend" the barista's sneaky solution surprises her once again. yn rolls her eyes, "now i'm really convinced that everything you do is a rouse to see me again" but her actions contradict the uninterested tone of her voice as she steals the pen from the pocket of his apron, grabbing a piece of tissue and beginning to jot down her digits.

"there...you better call me" he nods happily as he retrieves the tissue from her hands. "i promise, and you know i always keep my word" she giggles, "just for me though, right?" yn asks one last time before making her way over to the door. and right before she leaves leehan replies,

"just for you"

the end.

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AAAAAAH i loved writing this fic sm :3 also i luv barista leehan LIKE THOSE PICS FROM YESTERDAY #needthat 🤤 also cant wait for this comeback heehehsgegehhe i hope u guys liked this! reblogs and feedback r greatly appreciated as always. tysm for reading! love, kona.

[aloysiavirgata]

Prompt? Prompt: Scully refers to Mulder’s mom as her mother-in-law in conversation to someone sometime in the Revival-ish era..

She picks up on the ghostly rhotics when the barista asks if she wants sugah in her cah-fee.

“Massachusetts ?” she asks, pulling up Apple Pay on her phone.

The girl blushes, grins weakly. “Rhode Island.”

Scully grins back. “My mother in law had a house on the Vineyard and in Quonochontaug. Fell in love with New England myself.”

A broad smile in reply. “I’m here for school. Crabcakes are good, but they’re not lobster rolls.”

Scully lets herself forget Annapolis for a moment, forget Baltimore lunches at Faidley's in Lexington Market after a day with OCME. Imagines, even after all these years, Samantha in college with long braids and earnest eyes, longing for lobster rolls in a strange land.

“Maine or Connecticut style?” Scully asks.

Bright, laughing eyes. “Connecticut!” A scandalized giggle.

“Good girl,” Scully says, pressing a ten into the girl’s palm. “Don’t put it in the tip jar. That’s yours.”

Wide-eyed, solemn nod. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Ma’am. Scully at 54, Scully beautiful still and aware of it, but….54.

A son this girl’s age, a daughter older and-

“Ma’am?”

Scully looks up. “Mmm?”

The girl nudges the coffee cup over. “All set.” Her expression is sweet and shy. “Your husband, Maine or Connecticut?”

“Connecticut,” Scully replies fondly, taking the cup. Remember her first lobster roll with him outside of Comity, New Hampshire in 1996. They’d given one another uncertain sidelong glances and shared a few cigarettes.

“Have a nice day, ma’am” the girl says, turning back to the hulking espresso machine.

Scully leaves with her coffee, heads back to her car in the gas station parking lot.

The windmill turns and turns and turns.

[reclinepilled]

coffee beans

cw: nothing other than language and cheesiness 😭 no fem/masc reader, completely up to you.

desc: barista!ellie hates her job until a cute customer catches her eye and jesse helps her out

a/n: this is my first post, i didn’t lnow wjat to write so i kinda just blurted something out so sorry if this is bad😓 this is extremely cheesy as well, but i like that stuff! i love feedback (not rude) as well <3 also none of the dividers i use are mine, except for the solid colored ones. ill have to find the creator of the really cute ones.. other than that enjoy! <3333 reblogs are welcomed

wc: 1k

PLEASE READ HERE TO HELP PALESTINE.

working in a busy coffee shop, full of bright colors, with people all around, posing for their hopefully viral posts, wasn’t exactly ellie’s “dream job”. the hordes of people that came in during the winter should be illegal. she’d rather be helping people find vinyl’s they’d been searching the markets for, or maybe starting a band straight out of joel’s garage with her close group of friends.

though, she became accustomed to being here. whatever helped her with the stressful expenses she has to pay as a college student.

she rang up the same order that had gained popularity on some app, which felt like the millionth time today. she lets out a sigh, not even looking up, “your total will be 17.20, cash or card?”

“card, please,” your eager voice responds to an unamused barista. that’s when ellie actually looks up. she scans your features, adorned in a little snow, immediately taken aback. her saying you were gorgeous would be an understatement.

she took in your radiant skin, under the annoying glow of the menus above the prep area behind her. and your eyes. they were so captivating and comforting. the way they were all doe made her heart flutter a little, she swears.

you were a lot different than the other girls that came into the shop, all carbon copies of each other. it made her question reality honestly. however, you were different in every aspect. from your style to your energy, she just had to have you.

“o-of course, just tap it here,” ellie clears her throat and spins the payment machine around, looking up at you. you follow her instructions as you notice her hands. they we’re slender and looked fairly cold but so soft, you thought. her short, messy hair was charming. her style that made her look like someone’s grandpa was also very attractive, for some odd reason you felt like a creep being attracted to a worker, who looks like she very much hates her job as is.

“thank you. your order will be done shortly, pretty,” ellie says flashing you a smile. you blink a couple of times, malfunctioning from a compliment you hear quite often. you smile and nod, feeling your face heat up.

as ellie watches you walk off, she jogs to the kitchen in the back. “jesse?” ellie looks around looking for him. “i’m over here ellie, what’s up?” he looks up at her from a drink he was crafting. “can i take out this order please?” ellie shows him the freshly printed receipt. “less work for me? sure,” he says as he continues to to make one of the orders. “yesss,” ellie grabs your order off of the counter next to jesse and heads out of the kitchen.

now taking a seat at booth far off in the corner, you take off your tote bag and rip off your scarf. you look out of the window next to the comfy booth, in awe of the snow falling so gracefully. your attention was stolen by the outside environment, until you felt the presence of someone walking over. you quickly snap your head to the culprit. that culprit being the barista holding your order.

“it’s finished already?” you say, surprised. “well, you could say that..” ellie hands your order over, that had actually been for someone else who ordered before you. she was just really eager to just talk to you. your eyes lit up excitedly, she found that really cute. you take a sip happily.

“your shirt,” you say looking at her torso, “i love that band so much, even though they are newer. their music is very different,” you say, now looking back up at her. “yea, i totally agree,” ellie awkwardly leans on the booth seat opposite to you. truth is, ellie had no idea who this band was. it was just a random shirt she picked up from walmart, honestly.

“um anyways, i like your outfit. not everyday i see someone as stylish as you,” she motions to your cute leg warmers. “really? thank you,” you sort of giggle as you say that. ellie found that cute too, she was so far in.

what ellie thought was going smoothly and definitely not awkward, was interrupted by her coworker.

“ellie, wrap it up. i can’t be working in the back and working the register,” a man with a wolfy haircut says as he grabs ellie’s shoulder.

“jesse, fuck off. i am clearly preoccupied,” ellie’s demeanor quickly changes as she rolls her eyes, turning to him. jesse grabs his heart, looking offended. he was obviously being sarcastic. “i just blessed you and you’re cursing me out?”

“yo- you didn’t bless me.. i’m helping you”

“want me to help you and speed this up?” jesse pulls out a notepad from his tool pouch, hastily writing something down. you hold back from letting out a boisterous laugh from their interaction.

“jesse, the hell are you writing,” she says through gritted teeth, clearly embarrassed. ellie tries to read what he’s written, but jesse is already ripping it out handing you the paper. “jesse, just stop, she’s already paid!” ellie’s eyes widen with anger from annoyance.

“yea i’ve-“ jesse cuts you off, “don’t worry, just read it,” he flashes you a quick smile as he walks back to the counter.

you read the paper as you slowly smile, then you look up at ellie. you hand her the paper. ellies face immediately turns all fifty shades of red. “god, i hate him sometimes. he’s so.. childish,” ellie says as she balls the paper up, looking away to hide her embarrassment.

“don’t worry, i find you cute too,” you say smiling, looking into her beautiful, jade eyes. ellie laughs awkwardly, inhaling while fixing her posture. she takes a seat opposite of you, “so would you like to go somewhere later, like.. i-i don’t know,” she trails off. “just give me your number and we could talk about it later,” you say while looking at her nervous composure.

“cool,” she looks at you as well, finally relaxing for once. she writes down her number on a napkin that was left on the table and hands it to you. “i’ll see you soon then?” you say, watching her stand from the booth.

“definitely,” flashing you a smirk as she jogs back over to the register.

reclinepilled

please do not plagiarize any of my works or post them on other websites without given permission !

[earlysunshines]

(i love you) for sentimental reasons

kindergarden teacher!sana x fem!reader. (pt. 4)

summary: fate seems to love you and sana being alone together, so do your niece and jihyo.

wc: 8k

warnings: mentions of food ; slight (barely) suggestive(?) ; cursing

pt 1. pt2. pt3.

a/n: thank you all for the kind words and support on this series! it was fun writing it and the support on this has been amazing. thank you and enjoy :-]

-

“What would a young teacher usually order at a cafe.” You ask Chaemin, staring at the espresso machine and pondering. The taller, dark-haired barista looks at you, quirks a brow, then yawns. 

“Do I look like I’d know what your five-year-old niece's teacher would like?” Chaemin mutters sleepily, “I’m tired, it’s early, and me personally I need something strong as hell to get me through this damn shift. Maybe she needs something strong since she has to deal with so many kids running around?”

“What if she doesn’t like strong, what if she’s more fond of something sweet? What if she prefers tea?”

“Well maybe you should’ve asked her or something, how do you not know what your dream woman likes.”

“I’m not gonna ask my niece to ask her what her favorite coffee is, that’s weird.”

“You already make Hana tell you about her teacher, I don’t think that would make anything different, y/n.” Chaemin sighs, “Look, I have to prepare for that fucker that orders six drinks and complains to me that they’re not made in two minutes every Wednesday morning. You have fun figuring out what to order for this wonder of a woman, but make it quick. I need to prepare at least 7 shots of espresso before that damn regular walks in.” He says, walking past you and over to the coffee bean grinder. 

It’s 7:53 in the morning and the form said to meet in the lobby of the school by 8:30. You’re trying to get your daily caffeine in and decided to ask for an extra beverage to give to your nieces' teacher. Is getting a drink for a woman a form of flirting?

“I’ll just get my usual, and then I guess I’ll get something sweeter and I’ll ask her.”

“Okay, so what’s the sweeter thing gonna be?” Chaemin questions, weighing out the coffee grinds for your usual iced americano. You think to yourself for a bit as he tamps the grinds down and puts a filter on,

“Vanilla latte? Hot, since it’s cold out, maybe she would appreciate that.”

“Can’t go wrong with that I guess.” He sighs while pulling a shot of espresso over a cup of iced water.

-

You get to the school at 8:23 am, and by the time you’re all parked and in the lobby it’s 8:27.

The lobby is filled with at least sixty kids, probably more. There are four other kindergarten teachers, you assume they’re teachers from the lanyards they wear. At least ten parents are also present, scattered around the lobby with the teachers of their own students. It’s loud and crowded, you wonder if Hana had gotten lost until you look over to the corner to see Hana waving at you, and return the smile at her before making your way to the girl and her class. 

Sana watches you with the two coffees in your hand and a smile spread across your face as you walk over to hug your niece, making sure not to spill the beverages. You’re wearing a patched, dark-blue denim jacket and a white t-shirt with a graphic that Sana can’t fully make out, and the t-shirt exposes some of your collarbone, Sana notes. The bottoms you wear are simple, yet effortlessly stylish. You have on washed, dark gray wide-legged jeans that compliment your top, along with black laced loafers to complete the look. Sana thinks you look amazing - Your casual, yet striking style is added to her mental list of what makes you so effortlessly stunning. 

After hugging your niece, you make your way over to Sana, the grin that is plastered on your face seems contagious as it makes her grin back. You stand in front of her and greet her with a simple “Hi.” and somehow, her cheeks are already starting to warm up.

“It’s nice to see you, as always,” Sana greets, and you chuckle lightly,

“Yeah, likewise.” You start. The latte that was once about to burn your hands is now at a reasonable temperature, at least one that won’t burn anyone’s tongue (you hope). You look from the latte and back to Sana, “Do you prefer sweet or strong? I stopped by my work and I wanted to get something for you, I didn’t know which you preferred so…” You trail off, looking back at her with uncertainty.

Sana doesn’t know how you’re so perfect.

“Y/n,” She mumbles, looking at the drinks in your hands, “You didn’t have to.”

“I thought you might need some caffeine before working with so many kids you know.” You joke. Sana pauses, you think of her? 

She wonders how often the thought of her crosses your mind (which is a lot), and it gives her a little hope in her heart. 

“You’re so sweet, Y/n. What are the options?”

“I got a vanilla latte and iced americano. I mean you got an Americano when we ran into each other at the store, but I had to make sure there were options.” You explain, though you realize there are definitely not a lot of options. You'd bring her the whole cafe if you could, just to make sure she could have a beverage that she'd like.

“I’ll take the latte, I like sweet things.” sweet things like you, she thinks to herself. You hand her the warm vanilla latte with a grin before another voice joins in,

“Good morning Sana!” A shorter woman chirps. The woman with the bob has her own hot beverage in her hands, and she’s dressed warmly to fit the weather as it transitions from late fall to early winter.

“Jihyo!” Sana cheers, hugging the woman. You smile at the woman (although your jaw tenses a little. You want to be able to hug Sana like that), and she smiles back after pulling away from the teacher. You examine her outfit; she’s wearing a black coat over a dark form-fitting shirt, and casual blue jeans paired with white tennis shoes to finish the look. She also has a beige bag that is hung on her shoulder and a silver ring on her left ring finger. 

Sana looks at the two of you, and she holds back a small giggle looking at your height difference. Jihyo’s head is angled upwards to meet your gaze and even though the woman is shorter – you can’t help but be a little intimidated by such a strong aura: it screams authority. 

“Ah, Jihyo, this is Y/n,” Sana says a bit shyly, and the slightly shorter woman with the bob looks back at Sana with slightly raised brows,

“Oh? Is that so?” Jihyo says amusingly, looking back at your taller self. You seem a little smaller under her gaze, and it’s scaring you a little. Jihyo temporarily washes your worries away by sticking her hand out and grinning at you, “I’m Jihyo. Sana has told me a lot about you, it’s nice to meet you in person.”

“She has?” You question, a brow arching. Sana clears her throat and it stops Jihyo from exposing her, though you wanted to know more.

“Y/n, this is Jiyeong’s mom. We used to be roommates,” Sana quickly says. Jihyo just laughs and nods before Sana adds, “Y/n is Hana’s aunt.”

“Oh, you didn’t tell me that,” Jihyo responds with surprise. Jihyo knew your name and that Sana had a really big interest in you, but she didn’t know that you were her daughter's best friend’s aunt. Sana shuts her down before she can say anything more to make her cheeks redden.

You’re confused, to say the least. Sana talks about you? What does she tell Jihyo? Is she into you? You’re thinking a lot of things and you want answers to all the questions you have running through your mind, but for now, you'll have to wait. Sana walks off, face flushed, leaving you and Jihyo to chat with one another. 

You look over from Jihyo to her daughter, who is talking to your niece and laughing as they converse.

“My daughter talks about your niece quite often,” Jihyo says, and she’s looking in the same direction as you while she sparks a conversation, “Hana seems like a sweet one, she makes my daughter very happy. It’s nice to meet the one who takes care of her, you must be as kind as Sana says.”

“Thank you,” You respond, turning to see her still looking at the two girls, “Can I ask… What else does Sana say about me?”

“You’ll have to find out yourself.” Jihyo simply states.

Aw, man.

-

“This is your chance to talk to Ms. Minatozaki alone! I can’t keep being the one to talk to her and then talk to you! I want to talk to Jiyeong too y’know.”

“Oh.” 

“Papa was right, you need to be not shy for once,” Hana sighs, “I thought you said you had the cool genes!”

Ouch.

Hana had insisted that you sit with Sana after giving you a lecture, or was it her just scolding you? Same thing. You realize that you literally got lectured by a five-year-old, it humbled you a bit. 

The conversation between you and your niece ended after she gave you a pat on the cheek, fist-bumped you, and let you run off on your own as if she was your own guardian – how ironic. 

So, you make your way onto the big yellow bus, looking for the familiar face of someone who you think might be an angel. You wave to her and ask if you can sit next to her, she nods happily. Now you’re closer to Sana than you have ever been, all thanks to that five-year-old, and you’re not too mad about it.

You never fully noticed before, but she smelled really good, not in a weird way or anything – it’s just, she smelled like roses, fruit, and vanilla – it really fits her. Her shoulder was dangerously close to yours, and you figured you’d explode if you guys made even the slightest bit of contact. 

Sana is dressed up warmly too; she wears a thick, dark gray cardigan with a white shirt under, and the hem of the shirt peaks from under the cardigan. She’s dressed in casual pants, they’re loose on her legs and just a shade lighter than the cardigan she wears, and to top off the whole look, there are white sneakers that she wears. Her hair is tied up into a ponytail, and some strands fall over her face. She looks beautiful, you might faint right then and there.

Sana looks at you again and tilts her head a bit,

“You’re not sitting with Hana?” She questions, and immediately regrets it after wondering whether it sounded like she didn’t want you next to her, because she definitely did want to be next to you; in fact, you were the only thing she had on her mind last night before she fell asleep. You turn your head to look back at your niece, who’s laughing with Jihyo’s daughter,

“Hana wanted to sit next to Jiyeong. I guess it’s not too bad that she didn’t want to sit with me if I get to sit next to you now.” You say boldly. Sana looks at your expression, you look unbothered and the way you just flirted with her was so smooth it had her blushing from ear to ear. You give her your signature, toothy smile, and she has to take a moment, it makes her look away for a few seconds,

“Your niece kicked you out?” Sana teases, trying to compose herself,

“They grow up so fast.” You sigh playfully. Sana giggles.

The bus driver gives the signal that he’s ready to start heading to the art museum, Sana stands up and starts to talk to the students.

“Alright everyone, I’m going to need you all to use your indoor voices for Ms. Minatozaki. If you do so, we’ll get to the museum quicker, alright?” She announces,

“Yes Ms. Minatozaki!”

“Thank you, everyone. We’ll be there in twenty minutes, maybe less if you all behave, so make sure to leave a good impression on the bus driver and make it easier for him to get there!” Sana finally says. The students respond with another “Yes Ms. Minatozaki,” and the young teacher counts all the kids on the bus, making sure she doesn’t miss anyone. After making sure everyone is all aboard, she signals to the bus driver that they’re all good to go. The bus shifts a bit as it starts, then it starts moving forward.

In an attempt to spark small talk, Sana decides to bring up the weather.

“It’s getting cold, huh.” She mutters, looking out the window. You hum in response, looking in Sana’s direction, but not at the window. Your look stays on Sana’s side profile, and you wonder how every feature on her face is so flawless, whoever made her took their time for sure. Her nose is angled perfectly, and her plump lips are just barely parted as she stares out the window, you could stare at her forever.

Sana turns her head back towards you and you quickly shift your stare to the window to avoid eye contact and to make it seem like you weren't admiring her for the last ten seconds. You clear your throat.

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Thank you for the latte, it was really good. It warmed me up.” Sana says. Eye contact is shared again and you bite the inside of your cheek,

“Anytime. I could uh, bring you more if you’d like?”

“It’s alright, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m using you for coffee.” She laughs, “But I appreciate the offer.”

“Well,” You start, “If you ever change your mind you can always tell me when you see me.” You shrug. Sana smiles at you again, nods, then gives you that look from your lips to your eyes that turns your heart into a beating mess. She looks out the window again and you have to stop yourself from admiring her the whole time.

A few words are shared between the two of you every time Sana spots something pretty, she talks about how it reminds her of things from her past or her friends. You learn a little more about her, she’s so pure and cute it’s heartwarming.

The bus ride goes well. 

As soon as the bus comes to a stop, the kids are all rowdy again, however, Sana quiets them down with ease. She simply claps her hand in the same pattern as she would usually do to grab their attention, and they clap their hands in the same pattern back, all eyes are on the young teacher now. 

“Alright everyone, we’ve made it! Now, in order for us to get started with our field trip, I’m going to need everyone to be patient and exit as I say. The grown-ups will exit first, then the kids. We’ll go by row and I’ll be the last one out, okay?”

“Yes Ms. Minatozaki!” The kids respond, and you admire how much they seem to trust and adore the teacher.

Getting everyone out of the bus was easy, each kid listened and Sana told the parents to keep them in a group once they had gotten out. Once the disembarking had finished, Sana made sure that everyone was present, taking another headcount. After knowing that no one had wandered away, she smiled and kindly ordered them to follow her.

-

After the guides had introduced themselves, given a brief description and synopsis of what the museum offered, and handed out maps, the class was split into groups of four. There were exactly twenty-eight students, seven guardians and/or parents, and Sana. With that amount of people, it was easy to make the groups.

Originally, Hana was set to be in the group that you and Jihyo would watch over, but Hana insisted that you switch with the parent paired with Sana. Jihyo and Hana talked for a few seconds, which you had noticed from the corner of your eye. They exchanged smiles and understanding nods, and whatever they plotted somehow allowed you to be with this wonder of a woman.

And so, you’re with Sana now.

Sana is happy to accept her new partner; in fact, she’s more than happy to spend time with the woman she’s been gushing over for weeks. 

The groups decide to pick their own section in the museum to start at and make their way through the whole place from there, making sure to meet in a few hours. 

-

Your group had seven kids, and each group did. You and the young teacher had stumbled across a certain section with an adult that would give the kids a thirty-minute detailed guided tour, leaving you and Sana to wait alone together and wander around the nearby exhibits. You two would’ve joined in on the tour, but of course, the max capacity was eight people. 

You had insisted that Sana should go join, after all, it was her class. Sana, being the caring person she was, had assured you it was okay if she missed the tour and stayed with you. The tour guide had made sure that he would take care of the kids, after all, the exhibit was mainly for young kids like them, and he had dealt with many before.

Fate decided that you two spend more time together, and this time, alone.

“Have you been to this museum before?” You ask.

“No, you?” 

“Once.” You mumble, “In high school.” 

“You’ve lived here since high school?” Sana questions, suddenly invested. You nod and look at the painting in front of you,

“I’ve lived here since I was in fifth grade, but in the more suburban area, rather than here in the city.” You simply respond.

“Well,” Sana hums, “Maybe you could show me around sometime.”

“W-what?” You practically choke out, a blush creeping to your cheeks. 

“I moved here at the beginning of the year, I’m still a bit new.” 

“I see,” You begin, trying to recompose yourself, “Yeah, It’s a nice area. I wouldn’t be against the idea of showing you around.”

Sana smiles and turns to face you again, “Maybe you could start by showing me around the museum? We have twenty-five minutes.” 

There’s a sudden nervousness that spreads throughout your whole body, as well as a warmth that spreads across your chest. Sana wants you to show her around, and she asks you like it’s a normal request (it is, but you figure it’s not because the person asking is particularly striking).

You nod your head and respond with a small, “Okay.” and her radiant grin grows.

The exhibits were all unique in their own way – some were filled with modern art, some with abstract art, and even some with Renaissance art. Each section had works that were all tremendously striking; however, the most beautiful thing in the museum had been by your side the whole time.  

Sana makes her way to a pleasant-looking painting, something floral. Maybe it’s an oil painting? She can’t really tell, but it sure is a wonder. It’s detailed and vibrant, the colors complement each other well with such a diverse color selection. Each stroke seems to have been placed so carefully, every single swipe of paint complimenting the stroke next to it.

Sana stares at the painting with much interest, “This one is beautiful,” she says in awe. 

“Very…” you hum, though, you aren’t observing the painting,

Your eyes are fixated on her.

-

The day goes by quickly, unfortunately.

You and Sana aren’t able to indulge in many conversations as you two were busy making sure everyone was still nearby and not running off.

The kids finish the painting activity that was scheduled for them at the end of the trip, and they leave the museum with their hand-crafted art. everything had gone by too fast, you wished it hadn’t, then maybe, you could admire Sana for just a few moments longer.

Sana helps everyone get situated on the bus, so you end up sitting down first and getting the window seat this time. You wait for her.

Sana sighs as she sits down next to you, a bit worn out from the day and keeping everyone in check.

You try to ignore the contact that her shoulder makes with yours when she shifts to get more comfortable in the seat, and you also try to ignore the fact that your knees touch a little, just for the sake of your sanity. Sana seems to be unbothered by the physical touch, and she looks at you innocently,

“I think the kids enjoyed it.” She says proudly, resting her head on the seat. She turns her head a little so that she’s looking at you with the most soft, tender look in her doe eyes, “Did you?” 

“Of course.” You say, voice just above a whisper. Of course I enjoyed it, who wouldn’t enjoy their time with a woman like you? You think. Sana lets out another content sigh, and she rests her head against your shoulder a bit, not even bothering to think about how bold the action is, she's too tired and she figures you wouldn't mind – you don't mind at all.

“I’m glad.” she mumbles, and you hope she can’t hear your heart beating out of your chest, “Wake me up before we get back?”

“Of course.” You hum lowly. Her eyes close and her weight seems to shift onto your shoulder more. Your cheeks redden and you let out a small breath as you relax into the seat – you couldn’t be any happier.

-

The chaperones and their kids bid their farewells to Sana, though you stay a bit longer since Hana and Jiyeong want to hang out more. Your mind wanders a bit and you can’t help but stare into the distance, and your gaze somehow manages to land on Sana as you remember what she had said: Maybe you could show me around sometime? The words seem to replay in your head, a thought pops up in your mind.

Jihyo looks over to see you in a trance, and she chuckles to herself as she notices what – or, who your eyes are fixated on,

“Did you two have fun?” The shorter woman asks, a smirk tugging at her lips. Your head turns quickly to her in surprise, cheeks turning a bit red as you realize you’ve gotten caught staring. Jihyo laughs at you playfully, shifting her look towards the woman you had been admiring before, “Sana was really excited to be able to spend time with you today.”

“M-me?” You stutter out, mentally punching yourself for such a response.

“You two are oblivious, I could tell from the few interactions I saw.” Jihyo sighs. 

You look back at Sana, who’s now walking over with a smile on her lips. She looks at you first, then at Jihyo when she meets with the two of you again,

“Everyone just left, sorry for making you wait, Jihyo.” Sana sighs. Her shoulders are drooping down a bit, and she seems ready to go home and rest again, though this time on her bed and not your shoulder (much to your dismay).

She turns to eye you again, and suddenly she’s full of life, as if the energy that had been squeezed out of her had suddenly come back. 

“Ah, y/n. I’m happy that you were able to chaperone. I’ll see you…?” She trails off for you to respond, or in this case, finish her sentence, because she hopes to see you again this week. 

“Um, I don’t think I’m picking up Hana for the rest of this week. My shifts go on until five because I took today off.” You explain, “So, next week.” You nod. There’s a familiar thought from earlier that crosses your mind, you avoid the woman’s gaze and try to forget about it.

Sana notices you biting the inside of your cheek and breaking eye contact as if you were about to say something to her. Sana decides to let it be.

“Well, we’ll be going now Y/n,” Jihyo says, almost sighing. She looks you dead in the eye and raises a brow, almost as if she could read your mind earlier, almost as if she were urging you to go through with your sudden thought. 

“Yeah… Me too. Um, yeah.” Your words are tumbling off the tip of your tongue from nervousness, “Hana, let’s go. Your dad must be waiting at home.” You finally say, waving to the two women and Jiyeong. 

As you depart, Jihyo looks at you slightly disappointed.

-

You’re back in the car after saying goodbye and you stare out the windshield while holding onto the wheel, simply thinking.

The sight of Jihyo and Sana catches your eye from the side-view mirror, and there’s a sudden rush of confidence that takes over. 

“Hana, I’ll be back in a bit.” you quickly say.

Your fingers fumble with the seatbelt that refuses to unbuckle due to your nervousness, though you manage and hurry to open your car door, rushing out. You’re trying your best to prepare yourself for whatever the fuck it is that you’re about to do, your jaw tensing up and your hands trying to straighten up the denim jacket you have on. Self-consciousness and worry took over, but you ignore it, you can’t have Jihyo looking at you like you’re a big loser the next time you see her, can you?

So, here you are. 

Jihyo notices you first and raises her brows in amusement, Sana notices you after seeing Jihyo’s expression shift. 

“Hey, Sana,” You say with a surprising amount of confidence. You clear your throat and your eyes dart to anywhere else but Sana’s eyes, “Can I talk to you for a moment,” You ask, “Alone.” and you practically mumble that last word. Sana tilts her head and Jihyo smiles knowingly, 

“I’ll be in the car,” Jihyo says amused, then grabs her daughter's hand with hers, urging her to come with and leave the two of you alone.

You and Sana are alone now, in the middle of a barely filled parking lot.

“Did you need something?” Sana questions. You nod and it takes a bit for you to continue talking, the words in your mouth getting tangled in your tongue. 

“Uh, well.” god, you really need to get a grip. “At the museum, you uh, you mentioned, well - you said, you said maybe I could show you around sometime? I mean I can. I hope you’re still up for it, I mean,” You close your eyes out of embarrassment and turn your head to the side a bit, and you really try to compose yourself this time.

“This Sunday, yeah. There’s always a flea market on Sundays, they’re on until around eight. We should go, I mean if you’d like. What I’m trying to say is I’d really like to show you around.” You finally say, you say what you’ve been thinking and you say it without tripping over your words. 

“You’re asking me out?” Sana asks playfully,

“You implied that you wanted me to.” You simply say, making eye contact with her again. Now it’s Sana’s turn to be all flustered as she looks up at you. Your eyebrows are slightly raised as you wait for an answer, and her cheeks are dusted a faint shade of pink as you waited for a response, 

“So?” You question again,

“I’d love that,” Sana says almost immediately.

“Really? I mean, yeah- yes. Okay, that’s,”

“You’re so cute.” is what Sana says, and it has your heart skipping a beat, Sana’s heart too, “Let me get your number, so you can text me the details?”

“Yeah, here.” You respond, handing her your unlocked phone. 

You both exchange numbers, and before departing you can’t help but grin at each other, and you grin at each other for a while.

Mission success.

-

You agree to pick up Sana from her place in the evening around five. 

Your fingers tap against the wheel of your car and you tap your foot anxiously as you wait. There’s a sound that’s heard from your phone as it vibrates against the cup holder, and you immediately check to see what it is. There’s a message from the young teacher and your eyes light up immediately as you open it,

Sana

I’m on my way out right now

Can’t wait

y/n

Take your time

Can’t wait to see you

You probably look like a fool who's in love as you read her message, reply, and hit send because you’re smiling at the screen and biting your lip slightly from the rush of excitement that courses through your veins.

Sana shows up a couple of minutes later.

Your eyes widen almost immediately and your cheeks are definitely tinted – no, fully crimson. Your grip on the wheel tightens, and it seems to do so every time you see the wonderful woman. Your heart does flips and beats at an unhealthy rate as you take in everything about her. 

She wears something so striking, but slightly casual too. She has on a black blazer, almost a jacket, you think. It’s worn over a black shirt and the tops she wears are complimented by silver jewelry that loops around her neck, sitting just above her collarbone level. She’s wearing dark jeans that are just slightly loose around her legs, and casual sneakers to really top it off. 

She’s so incredibly stunning that it makes you wonder if you’re dreaming.

Sana waves as she makes her way over and you’re trying your best to act normal – or at least act like this woman isn’t making you completely lose your cool.  

“Hey.” She says, getting in your car,

“Hi.” You say in awe, “You look beautiful.” and that’s just an understatement. You’re unable to look away from her as if your eyes were a moth and she was the flame drawing you in. Sana simply smiles and she’s extremely flattered by your compliment, as well as the way your lips slightly part while you check her out.

“Thank you.” Sana responds as she puts on her seatbelt, “You look really cute.”

You’re going to explode.

“Thanks.” You mumble, quickly turning your head away and back to the steering wheel. Sana plays the passenger princess role too well, with emphasis on the princess part because her looks are something you would expect to see from a descendant of royalty, something in a renaissance painting that has the words 'do not touch' beside it. You adjust the rearview mirror for no apparent reason as it’s already been adjusted, but you’re doing anything to distract yourself from the jaw-dropping sight to the right of you.

As you drive toward the city, there’s the faint sound of a slow romance song playing. The mood is extremely intimate and romantic, you’re having trouble focusing on driving as your heartbeat ups its pace. 

It takes about fifteen minutes to get to the flea market area downtown. Fifteen minutes of small conversation and Sana’s gaze on you every couple of minutes.

You two arrive and you turn off your engine, making sure to get out first and open the door for Sana. She gets out and smiles at you sweetly, which makes you smile back. You close the car door for your passenger princess. 

The brisk winter air carries a hint of anticipation that invites everyone to immerse themselves in the weekly event. It’s early winter and darkness envelops the slightly crowded, dimmed, and busy streets. the sun had almost set completely, though there are bright lights that illuminate the areas which seem to be hidden away from the lamp posts that lighten up the main streets. Each store and vendor has its own uniqueness, selling different types of items, clothing, accessories, and more.

You and Sana walk towards the flea markets, the space between you two getting smaller and shoulders occasionally brushing every now and then. The two of you explore and interact with any vendor or stand that seems to have anything interesting, which helps you learn about one another.

Sana learns that you have an interest in old rings, silver ones specifically. You buy three silver rings, and it all ended up being ten dollars in total. She learns that you have a liking towards graphic t-shirts; in fact, you buy two while walking around. Sana had picked out both for you, telling you that you’d look cute in them, making your cheeks flush, though your cheeks might've been red ever since you laid your eyes on her. 

You buy an old vintage camera and film for less than thirty dollars, and Sana thinks it’s so extremely cute how your face lights up after you purchase the two items, holding them up as if they were trophies you had won.

You learn that Sana seems to love jewelry, and she buys various bracelets and necklaces for herself and even buys one of each for you. You insist that it’s okay and you don’t need it, but you give in when she looks at you with those puppy eyes – you learn that you can’t say no to her. Sana buys a few samples of fragrances, and she explains that she’s always had a thing for collecting different scents, you think it’s adorable. 

You’re the one who had asked Sana on this date, but she’s the one who ends up dragging you to every little section that manages to catch her attention. The knuckles that brush against each other lead to the intertwining of fingers and flushed cheeks. 

After almost two hours of walking around and exploring, you two decide to relax and get ice cream, even in the cold weather because the two of you are warmed up enough from just being around each other, ice cream won’t hurt anyone.

“Have you tried this ice cream place before?” You ask Sana, who’s taking a picture of the dessert in front of her. She shakes her head,

“No, you?”

“Twice. Once in high school with Johnny and last year with Hana.” You explain, taking a bite from the sweet treat in front of you. It’s matcha flavored, though the sweetness is still there. The strength of the matcha is more prominent than the coconut base, just how you like it.

Sana melts as she takes a bite of her strawberry ice cream, her eyes lighting up and shoulders relaxing. You can’t help but laugh.

“What?” Sana questions, 

“You’re just really cute.” You simply say, taking another bite of your ice cream. Sana’s heartbeat quickens. Sana tries to compose herself in front of you, changing the topic of the conversation,

“So,” She clears her throat, “What do you like to do? It’s a cliche and unavoidable question, but other than being a barista do you do anything else?”

“I actually write a little. I used to write for some art articles online, I still do it every now and then.” You explain, “You?”

“Just teaching.”

“Did you always want to teach?” 

“Yeah, actually. I’ve always liked helping others and I don’t know, I like encouraging the kids.”

“That’s cute.” You mumble, “You’re so cute.”

The night goes on and you two learn more than just about your interests in occupations. Sana learns that you rock climb every weekend, which explains why you’re so unbelievably athletic looking and toned. She finds your love for cooking and making drinks extremely cute and admirable, it seems as if the more she learns about you, the more she falls for you. She learns that you moved to the city with Johnny when you were 18, and that was the same time Hana had been brought into your life, one of the best things the universe had given to you. You’re the type of person who lives life to experience the beauty the universe has to offer, she thinks that’s amazing. 

You learn that Sana had moved with the help of Jihyo and that they had been friends since college, Jihyo was also the reason Sana had landed her current job. Sana shares that she’s an only child, and in contrast to you, she wasn’t the athletic type really. You notice how bubbly she is talking to you, her more professional demeanor had completely broken down and a new, lively side was revealed. Sana is incredibly talkative and she rambles a lot, you think – no, you know you could get used to this.

The night had gone by too fast, Sana is back in your car again and you’ve just reached her apartment complex.

It seems that time spent with Sana seems to go by too quickly, and you hope that there's a chance of being able to spend more than just a couple of hours with her.

“Thank you for everything y/n, I really enjoyed tonight.”

“It’s no problem,” You start, “I’m glad you liked downtown.”

“Maybe you could show me around again sometime? I’d really like to do this again.” Sana says, and her toothy grin is so bright it nearly outshines the lights in your car.

“I’m not against that at all.” and you think you might die right then and there from the way your heart beats, and you want this moment to last forever; just you and Sana together.

“I’ll see you then, text me.”

“Yeah,” you breathe out. She opens the car door and your heart breaks slightly, not ready for her to leave just yet.

Sana seems to have read your emotions because she pauses before she gets out and turns to you.

“Wait,” She begins, “I forgot something.” 

Before you ask her what it is that she had forgotten, she seems to answer your question before you can even let any words out of your mouth,

her lips are suddenly on yours.

The contact is sudden and you’re a bit unprepared, but you easily grow accustomed to it and kiss right back, eyes fluttering shut. Sana’s lips are so incredibly soft on yours, and the scent of vanilla and fruit is takes over your senses. Sana pulls away and your lips chase for hers again, and when they meet again it’s like the oxygen from Sana’s lungs had been snatched. Your hand moves to cup her cheek and your shoulders relax in the moment because it feels as if nothing else in the world matters except for her, as if all your worries had vanished just like that. Sana moves her hand to your neck and gently caresses it as you two share a few more soft, slow, and steady kisses, there’s no rush as if this moment would last forever. You two are practically unable to pull away from how much you both like the feeling of each other's lips on one another.

You want to live in this moment forever.

You two finally pull away after what had seemed like forever, though your hands seem to linger on each other a bit and both of your lips are parted slightly. Your lips are still so close that they’re slightly brushing against each other, butterflies are in your stomach and you’re forgetting how to breathe, think, or even function.

“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I saw you.” Sana mumbles against your mouth, “You’re so cute.” 

If you were in a cartoon right now, you’d think your heart would be dramatically beating out of your chest, and your jaw would be on the floor. You pull away a bit and it’s almost impossible to make eye contact with Sana, but you manage to do so anyway. 

“I think I might die right here right now.” You mumble, it’s the only thing you can say or think of in the moment. Sana giggles and presses another soft peck on your lips,

“Let’s do this again.”

“Yeah.” You breathe out. 

the light from the car shows her flushed cheeks and warm smile as she leans away from you, opening the car door and smiling at you one more time as she closes it. She turns to leave and you’re left in the car alone, your heart beat slowly beating back to its normal pace. 

You put a hand on the wheel and grip it tightly, still processing what just happened before smiling to yourself and driving away from the apartment complex.

Sana has you head over heels, and you want to kiss her again and again.

-

Chaemin had been teaching the new high school student that had been hired. He helped her measure out the espresso grinds, telling her how many grams would be needed for whichever drink, and she listened carefully.

“Hello.” A customer beams, Chaemin turns his head.

“Hello, I’ll be with you in a moment.” Chaemin starts, giving the woman a friendly smile, “Eunchae, just measure out the grinds and pull a shot. Give it a try and I’ll be back.” He says to the young, new employee.

Chaemin walks over to the register and taps at the screen. He gives the woman his signature smile and greets her,

“Hi, what can I get started for you?”

“Oh, I’m not ordering, I was just wondering if y/n was here?”

Chaemin quirks a brow, “Y/n?”

“Yeah, she should be off in ten minutes, no?”

“She’s off soon, just putting stuff in the back. You are...?”

“Sana.”

Ah.

“So you’re the woman she’s been gushing over.” Chaemin laughs, “God she has not stopped talking about you since she met you.”

Sana’s smile grows a bit from the sudden remark and she laughs,

“I see… That’s sweet.”

“You had her going insane for three months.” Chaemin jokes playfully, “I’m glad she finally found a way to ask you out. I haven’t heard her complaining as much about not being able to take you out for about two months or something, though she’s still always gushing about you.”

Sana and Chaemin talk about you for a bit, laughing at your antics and Chaemin decides to tease you here and there. The two get along very well, and Sana is very happy about that.

“You know one time, I think, maybe before you two started dating? She came in the morning and asked me what a ‘young teacher usually order at a cafe’ and I swear she almost-” Chaemin gets cut off when you push him aside, pushing his face away with your hand and squishing his cheeks. He groans. 

“Alright that’s enough.” You say, embarrassed. “Whatever he said, do not listen.” 

Sana giggles and it’s time for you to stop being annoyed by Chaemin and start smiling at the girl you’ve been with for almost three months now. Chaemin narrows his eyes at your sudden mood change, scoffing playfully.

“Hi, Sana.” You say all giddy, “You didn’t tell me you were stopping by,”

“I wanted to see you. It’s also Friday, maybe we could-”

“Yes.” You cut her off, “I’m down for whatever.” 

Chaemin rolls his eyes at you, chuckling to himself, “You’re so-”

“Go back to teaching Eunchae.” You retort, narrowing your eyes and Chaemin can't lie you look scarier than usual, you are infatuated with this woman. 

“I’m not letting this go.” Chaemin finally sighs, walking back over to Eunchae.

Your attention is back on Sana, who’s smiling at you, “Dinner?” she asks,

“Yeah.” you respond, “Where?”

“My place?” Sana suggests, you nod,

"Let me get my stuff and I can drive us."

"Okay." She beams.

-

You two grow extremely fond of each other after spending more time together as a couple. Three months of being together turned into four months, six months eight, and suddenly you’re together for a year. Each and every second that passed by while you were with her is another moment that you had fallen more in love.

You love Sana for so many reasons.

She's the only one you want to see when you roll over in the morning, the only one you want to kiss awake after intimate nights after seeing her with her oh-so-messy hair flowing down in different directions around her. You love to carry her to your now shared living room and set her on the couch while you make her coffee, her giving you the kisses you can never get enough of, ones that you reciprocate and smile into. You love her radiant smile and the way her nose scrunches up when she giggles at you for slipping and falling on accident, you love the sound of her high-pitched giggles so much that you would purposely slip and fall over and over again just to hear her laugh again and again. 

As you grow more attracted and attached to Sana, the physical aspects of her seem to disappear for a moment, you fall for not just her outside beauty, but all the internal aspects. You’re in love with how comfortable she makes you feel – you can sit in silence for hours and there are no words that need to be said because you two simply just enjoy each other's presence. You’re in love with how caring she is, she naturally is a caring person, she always has been. She’s always looking after kids at her job, making sure they’re all satisfied and happy – then she comes home to you, making sure you’re loved, and you return the favor. She’s beautiful not because of the way her features fit perfectly on her face, but because she makes you feel so giddy and happy. She makes you smile and that’s the thing that really makes her so captivating. 

You’re in love with all of her, from her physical beauty to her caring heart. She is the one who you love so tenderly, so warmly, you love her and it’s real, genuine, and you don’t think you could ever love anyone the way you love her.

Sana also loves you for many reasons. She’s been in love with you since the day she saw you – whether she knew it or not.

The first time Sana had woken up next to you she knew she wanted to be with you forever.

Her nose was buried in the crook of your neck and her arm was lazily thrown across your chest while her legs were tangled with yours. The only thing that was heard that morning was your slow, labored breaths, and Sana could feel your chest rise up and down with each one. A smile had formed on her lips as she traced your jawline, her heart fluttered and the moment was so simple, yet so soft. Sana wanted to live in the moment forever.

Sana loved you because you were there when she needed a pillar of support, you were her pillar of support. She loved you because you loved and cared for everyone important to you, whether it was your parents, Johnny, or Hana, you loved them all so deeply and it was so genuine that it made Sana so incredibly happy to realize that you would love her as much as you loved them – it’s almost as this love that you had for everyone you cared about was the most precious thing in the world, and she was someone you shared it with.

Sana loved the late-night drives with you, humming softly to the romantic music that would play. She loved the way you’d mumble sleepily in the morning, your cheek squished against the pillow, it was a cute sight. She adored you when you would pull her aside and serenade her to slow songs in the living room during the evening, and she loved when you'd cook or make coffee for her, how you’d kiss her as she fell weak to your touch, and so many other things that not enough words could ever describe. 

Sana felt so lucky to have you in her life, she was so glad that your niece had her as a teacher because if she didn’t she wouldn’t have met you. You were so glad that Hana had helped you get to know her kindergarten teacher, you were so glad that Johnny had that business trip because it allowed you to meet Sana.

 You’re so glad that a five-year-old helped you meet the love of your life, you're so damn glad.

[wlw-imagines]

Coffee Shop - Kara Danvers/Reader (Supergirl)

request: i found this prompt and was wondering if u could write it with kara danvers from supergirl pls?? "i started writing 'Supergirl' on your coffee cup as a joke because you kind of look like her but it actually turns out you are them oh shit - anon

a/n: these are from my old tumblr thefandomwritings from back in 2018 ! re-vamped and re-purposed (jk it is hardly edited at all) !! hope u enjoy and forgive the 2018 me style writing

Starting anywhere as a newbie was tough. Especially at this coffee shop... when you’d never made coffee before... and to be honest, you weren’t even really a coffee drinker. But, alas, you had rent to pay and a job opening had come through and you had been accepted for the job. More fool them.

The coffee shop was a busy one, constantly on the go. Your hands were already covered in burns and your new clean white apron was now covered in coffee drips and smears. Your shift had only started 45 minutes ago.

You let out a deep sigh and slouched, leaning on the serving desk to try and gather some energy before the next customer appeared. You really couldn’t bear some jackass in a fancy business suit complaining that you’d made their fancy coffee wrong again. Even though you had most definitely made it wrong.

As the next customer approached, you perked up slightly. Maybe the next 10 minutes of your life as a barista would be more bearable.

"Good morning, you must be new here! I'm Kara." She began and smiled cheerfully at you. She also added in an awkward wave before pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Uh, yes I am." You replied, letting your customer service smile develop into a real one. "Is it that obvious?" You laughed slightly, there was probably a 'newbie' aura about you (maybe it was the burnt hands?), it was fairly obvious how nervous you were, and you didn't need pretty girls making you even more flustered around boiling hot liquid.

"No, no! You're perfect- I mean, you know, you're great- doing great." She rambled, her cheeks reddening. "I pick up coffee from here every day before I go to work so I guess I just know everyone who works here pretty well."

“Morning Kara! The ususal?” Your co-worker, Liam, greeted her with a smile. He had been a slight godsend to you and had the patience of a saint. No matter how many times you had fucked it up.

“That would be great, but no rush!” She added, politely eying your resigned expression. You could hardly make 1 cup of coffee and now you had to make 6? For a pretty customer? Shit.

Liam nudged you, “Ready?” He smiled, his eyes slightly teasing as you took in a deep breath and nodded hesitantly.

“Yeah, sure, piece of cake.” You shrugged, taking the order note and looking to find the easiest first. Small steps.

On the first attempt of the first coffee you already found yourself once more cursing yourself for ever applying to work here in the first place. Your curses were interrupted by Kara looking at you with a worried look. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon." She gave you an encouraging smile and you shot her a weary look.

"God, I really hope so." You mumbled, running your burnt hand under the tap for a couple of seconds.

After a short pause (and two successful coffees in) Kara cleared her throat and nodded towards the coffee machine, “It’s like riding a bike, right?”

“Huh?” You glance up quickly, confusion etched on your face.

“Making coffee. Once you learn, you’ll be set.” She elaborated, fiddling with her fingers anxiously. 

You smiled slightly and gave an embarrased shrug, “I can’t ride a bike.” You admitted.

“You can’t?” She looked slightly crestfallen, hoping to have made you feel better rather than just make you feel worse about the situation. “Oh.” She faltered, annoyed with herself. Her brain searched for something else to say to make you feel better and to make you properly smile again. Before she could, you continued.

“I just never understood like, the pedalling? And the turning and also the gears?” You let out a soft laugh, “Although a bike makes more sense to me than this coffee machine so maybe I do have a chance.” You smiled up at her and her heart melted. That was the smile she was aiming for.

“I could teach you!” She burst out, without really thinking about what she was saying. Kara shook her head and tried again, “I mean, I like cycling. It’s easy once you get the pedalling and the turning and the gears down.”

You nodded, trying not to let her offer go to your head, “Do you also know how to make coffee by any chance?” You joked, standing up to properly face her and nodding your head over to the devil machine.

“Can’t help you there, sorry.” She put her hands out apologetically. You laugh and go to continue the conversation, but before you can Liam is nudging your shoulder and pointing to the coffee you were making.

“Y/N, the cup-” You turn around to see the coffee pouring out over the top of the cup, overfilling and spilling everywhere.

You leap towards the cup and let out a small, “Shit.”

9 cups of coffee later (3 of which were currently residing in the trash can), you carefully started to pass the cups into a holder, so she could carry all of them at the same time, and then hesitated.

"Which one is yours?" It’s your first shift and you're already trying to pick up girls. You decided to forgive yourself, you deserved it after the hell of this shift. Once it was pointed out (she had black coffee usually, which surprised you as it didn't seem to suit her sweet character), you wrote your number and drew a little picture of a superhero and labelled it 'Supergirl' - you were quite proud of yourself for making the art.

They didn't look identical or anything, but you had noticed that there were similarities from the moment she had stepped up to the counter. Once you were finished you slid the carrier of drinks and her black coffee over the counter.

She frowned slightly, looking suspiciously at the doodle on her cup. You shrugged, suddenly feeling a little self concious. You weren’t sure what about - the drawing? Your flirting? Your bad coffee skills? You cleared your throat.

"Well, it's a joke." You smiled at her. "Just because, well y'know, you look a bit like Supergirl...” She looked up at you, eyes slightly wide, which you couldn’t tell if it was a good sign or not, “If you just took away the glasses and added a cape-" You trailed off slightly when she started to look uncomfortable. You straightened up and cleared your throat feeling somewhat guilty that you seemed to have distressed your new (and favourite) customer. "Sorry, I meant it as a- it was supposed to be kind of like a compliment." You smiled gently, trying to show her that you didn't mean her any harm or discomfort. In the short space of time that you had met this women you couldn't help but feel completely distracted by her.

"Oh, right - Yes, of course... well, she is pretty strong and it must be kinda cool to be able to fly. Hypothetically speaking, of course. So, uh, yes. Thank you." She looked back at her cup then tilted her head to the side to read your writing. "Wait, what does that number mean?" Kara tilted her head, her eyes scanning her coffee cup. It's like she was deliberately trying to make your heart melt.

"That is my phone number." Blood rushed up to your cheeks. You don’t recall a time where you had to explain your pathetic attempts at flirting so much.

"Ah, right. Yes. Your phone number...” She nodded thoughtfully before her brows shot up and she looked back at you, a similar red creeping into her cheeks, “which I will phone you with." The realisation dawned on her face as it slowly sank in that you had just given her your number. 

You laughed and leaned towards her again. "Yes." You nodded, licking your lips. "Or you can text me. It's up to you, if you were to want to go out sometime, that is."

"No- I mean yeah, I'd love to. That, that would be great. I-" She grinned and she nervously pushed her glasses up her nose again. "I should go but I hope to see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, of course. As long as I haven't burnt the joint down, you'll definitely see me tomorrow." You joked and watched as she nodded slowly with a small smile in return and turned to leave.

As she walked out the door she looked back at you, giving you a little wave before walking out and away. You smiled and took a step back from the counter, mentally congratulating yourself on the win, until you knocked a cup of coffee from the side and it flew all over your feet. 

“Shit.” Maybe your job here wouldn't last as long as you thought.

[asahicore]

espresso macchiato - sjh

part 1 of the coffee mini-series // prompt 72 of the 100 kisses list, accidentally bumping noses

pairing. coworker!junghwan x fem!reader

synopsis. It’d only been a month since Junghwan had started to work with you at the coffee shop, but your crush on him was already threatening to make itself known. It took a broken espresso machine and a cute accident for you to find out that these feelings might not be one-sided.

genre. winter au, coffee shop au, fluff with a side of fluff and extra fluff, noona!reader (just one-year age gap tho)

word count. 2.2k

a/n. i said two seconds ago that i would post this tomorrow but i already changed my mind. i had so so much fun writing this so i hope you will too while reading! i tried to make it as cute as possible... just cute cute cute... super excited to write the rest of the series. no promises but i'll try to do like a double update next weekend with part 2 of this and part 2 of hey heeseung !! ok i know nobody reads these but as always lmk what u think pls and thank u bye bye &lt;3

winter.

You should’ve known that nothing good could come out of having such a cute coworker as So Junghwan.

The moment he’d stepped into the coffee shop, announcing himself with a big smile as the new barista, you had to keep yourself from freaking out. Somehow, all the ugly things that came with being a barista hadn’t tarnished your dream for a coffee shop romance. No amount of spilled coffee and rude customers could stop you from wishing a handsome guy would stride in and sweep you off your feet.

But now that said handsome guy had finally strode in, you didn’t know what to do with yourself. Because it wasn’t enough for the handsome guy to just be handsome, he also had to be charming, and kind, and funny. And tall. Very, very tall. If at first his face alone had been enough to destabilize you, soon, it was his contagious boyish grin, the sound of his laughter, the way his hands worked the machines that made your heart beat faster than it should. You’d even started to like the fact that he called you noona - at first, you chided him for it, arguing that you were barely a year older than him, but he insisted, and you didn’t have a choice but to get used to it.

As with most bad things in your life, you blamed your manager. Got a cold? The manager insisted on turning the heating all the way up this winter, and your body has gone into shock every time you’ve had to go back into the cold outside. Missed a deadline? The manager asked you to take over someone else’s shift that one day you had planned on writing your essay after procrastinating for two weeks. Liked the new barista? The manager made you responsible for his training, because “you’ve been here for so long” (two years) and “you’re one of our best” (ten time employee of the month, thank you very much) and “you have the most overlapping shifts with him, anyway.” No problem, boss. No problem at all, you’d said, and you had meant it, until Junghwan walked right from your dreams and into the coffee shop on a bright morning in early December.

The first few weeks, it was easy to lie to yourself that it was just due to Junghwan being practically perfect that you felt like this - anyone with eyes and an attraction to men would react the same way. Or so you thought, until you talked to your coworker-turned-bestie, Jayoon.

“I don’t know, I think he’s kinda dorky.” Your friend had simply shrugged when you asked her about the newbie. You’d been trying to be as nonchalant as possible, but your interest in him was obvious. But then she’d seen your appalled expression, and tried to backtrack slightly. “I mean, super nice and all, just not my style. He’s all yours,” she’d added with a wink.

You realized you had a proper crush on him when a customer wrote her number on the receipt and left it for him, and the jealousy you felt upon seeing the slight blush that spread across his cheeks was too much to ignore. Something you had noticed about Junghwan after a month of working with him was that he could dish it but not take it. When it came to grabbing something you couldn’t reach from the top shelf for you, telling you your hair looked cute that day, or making a little heart on top of the latte you desperately needed when you worked the opening shift together, he was a pro - but if you so much as called him cute or patted his head, the boy became a stammering and blushing mess, akin to the clueless female lead of a high school romance anime.

Seeing someone else have that effect on him was no fun. You wanted to run after the girl and lecture her about disturbing coffee shop employees when they’re trying to do their job, but you knew you just wished you had as much guts as her to shoot your shot with Junghwan.

“Look, noona, a girl gave me her number,” he said, gloating and holding the small piece of paper for you to see, when a random two p.m. rush had subsided. “She even drew a heart.”

You scoffed, turning away and pretending to be busy rearranging the syrup shelf so he wouldn’t see the glare in your eyes. “You look so happy,” you commented moodily. Great job hiding your crush, Y/N, you thought.

“It is pretty flattering.”

You turned your head to look at him. He’d taken a few steps closer to you and was now resting his back against the counter, palms flat on the surface behind him to hold him up. His smile had gotten even wider, that idiot. You squinted your eyes at him. “So, are you gonna call her? Or text her?”

“No,” he’d answered right away, and the lack of hesitation took you by surprise. “There’s someone else I like.”

The words had already made your breath hitch in your throat - but as if he was intent on killing you, Junghwan started walking right towards you, only stopping when he was towering over your shorter frame. He crumbled the receipt in his hands and threw it in the trash can that you happened to be standing in front of, his eyes never once leaving yours. He beamed down at you, that familiar, puppyish grin that lights up his whole face, and, as if nothing happened, walked to the register to take the order of a customer that had just arrived.

It took at least a full minute for your breathing to return to normal.

-

Junghwan was a quick learner. He mastered the espresso machine and latte art in record time, remembered recipes to specialty drinks easily, and didn’t panic when someone ordered something he’d never made before. He also wasn’t scared to ask for help, and you’d soon grown used to his questions, tone ranging from simply curious to downright alarmed. Noona, do I add cocoa powder on top of a cappuccino? Noona, what’s the difference between a regular latte and a latte macchiato? Noona, why the hell does this person want their chai to be dirty?!

So when he called out, Noona, I think the machine’s broken, you hadn’t thought anything of it at first. Luckily, it was reaching closing time, and not many people came for a caffeine fix at seven in the evening, so you could easily deal with the machine. 

You headed to where Junghwan was crouching, glaring at the espresso machine as if that would magically fix it. You shook your head at him with a chuckle and told him to scooch over. Either in an attempt to tease you, or because he genuinely wanted to know how to repair it, Junghwan followed your every move, very, very closely. He stood and bent over the machine along with you, checked the water and coffee bean levels along with you, made sure the tubes were properly cleaned along with you. But in the end, it was just that the tube that poured the espresso had come somewhat loose, and so the machine beeped in warning every time one tried to make coffee.

“Look, it’s no big deal, just that the tube came loo- Oh!”

Junghwan had been looking at you as you explained the problem, but the two of you were crouching in front of the counter, so close together that when you turned your head to look at him, your noses had bumped into each other. You’d both leaned back in surprise at the same time, eyes widening and heat spreading to both of your faces as you peered at each other, astonished. But then, Junghwan’s face broke into a grin, and a chuckle escaped his lips, then another one. You burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, the fact that you had to keep quiet because of the few remaining customers in the shop making it even harder to stop giggling.

When after a few minutes, you managed to regain your senses, a wave of shyness hit you - even if for just a split second, you had been close enough to Junghwan for your noses to touch, even, perhaps, for your lips to touch. And thinking about kissing Junghwan was not good for your heart.

A silence settled between the two of you, and you were thankful for the music playing softly and the chatter of the customers that filled the otherwise quiet coffee shop. You could barely look at Junghwan anymore and found him quickly averting his gaze as well every time you dared a glance at him, as if the same realization had hit him.

Fifteen minutes later and you could finally close. You and Junghwan said “bye” to the last customers, then started cleaning the store and preparing it for tomorrow’s first shifters in unusual silence - normally, you’d spend an hour joking around, chasing the other with a mop or spraying water on the other’s face, but today, not a peep could be heard from either of you. You didn’t know what to make of it, but at least, it meant you were done half an hour earlier than usual.

Shivering, Junghwan watched as you hurriedly locked the doors to the coffee shop, wanting to put your gloves on as quickly as possible. It was so warm and toasty inside that stepping outside was like being pushed into a bath of ice water. You were about to start walking to the bus stop, as you always did with Junghwan after the closing shift, but he stopped you.

“Noona, your scarf.” He stepped in front of you and reached out to tighten your scarf, even though it was already snug around your neck. Immediately recalling the proximity you’d been in not even an hour earlier, all you could do was look up at him, mouth slightly agape in surprise. When his eyes met yours, a small grin bloomed on his lips. He kept his hands on your scarf, holding gently there.

“What’s wrong with it?” you asked in a quiet voice, looking down at your scarf so Junghwan couldn’t see your flustered reaction - but something prompted you to meet his eyes once more. 

His grin got wider and unconsciously, you started smiling too. “Nothing,” he admitted, then finally let go of your scarf, and you released a breath at the same time. You followed as he started walking towards the bus stop, hanging your head low so he couldn’t see the smile on your lips. Just like you, his hands were buried in his coat pockets, but you were itching to reach out and grab one of them. You couldn’t stop wondering what his reaction would be.

Then, he sighed contentedly. When you looked up at him, he was smiling too, looking straight ahead of him. The cold had already bit at his cheeks and nose, staining them bright red, and there were slowly melting snowflakes covering his hair. You thought he’d never looked so handsome. It was almost painful, tearing your gaze away from his face.

“It’s so cold, you can see your breath,” he suddenly said, and you laughed. Not because what he’d said was particularly funny or interesting, but because it was such a relief, hearing his voice after long minutes of silence.

“Yeah,” you simply replied, giggling when your gazes met for a brief moment.

When you reached the bus stop, you sat down on the bench while he stood, tracing figures in the snow with his foot. Your heart swelled ten times its size and you couldn’t stop smiling as he wrote your initial, a plus sign and his initial, then encircled them in a heart. You shook your head at him but it made you unreasonably happy.

“Too cheesy?” he asked, smiling so wide that the corners of his eyes crinkled.

“No, I love it,” you replied, giggling, but you meant it.

He sat down next to you, kicking your shoe with his, and you both giggled at nothing. Too soon, his bus came. 

“Noona?” he called out as he stood up, walking towards the bus door. You said nothing but raised your head, waiting for him to go on. “You know how I said there’s someone I like?”

This time, you said nothing because you couldn’t speak. Your heart stopped beating, anticipating his next words. You meekly nodded.

The bus doors opened and he slipped inside, turning back to look at you, that boyish grin you love so much still on his lips.

“It’s you.”

The doors closed and Junghwan headed to a window seat, waving happily at you as the bus took him away, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on you.

When your shock faded, all that was left was happiness. Junghwan’s sudden confession filled you with a warm, honey-like feeling that settled comfortably in your heart, in your bones, everywhere. The cold January air couldn’t cool you down.

You didn’t stop smiling for a second the whole way home, and you’d never been so excited for your next shift.

permanent taglist: @k-ingzo @bbujiikseu @sunghoonmybeloved @lalalalawon @sd211 @w3bqrl @raikea10 (ask to be removed/added!) © asahicore on tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate or plagiarize my works. feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

[coffeeandjournaling]

I put together an itch page for this early version of "Dice or Decaf", now complete with a printable score card and some more elaborate endings. :) Title courtesy of The Librarian, thank you so much!

Save your coffee shop

You're the proud owner of a small neighbourhood coffee shop. Not only have you poured your life's savings into this business, but all your heart and at least a hundred hours of watching online tutorials for the perfect cup of espresso. How hard could it be? Pretty hard, it turns out. After a year of grinding behind the counter, you scraped together a couple of repeat customers and serial squatters, but neither are enough to save what is, by all accounts, a cursed undertaking. To make matters worse, your competition from across the street is gearing up to squash you like a cockroach in the break room.

Time to descale the drip machine and steam some soy milk - will you manage to save your coffee shop in time? Or will your extraordinary efforts cause your shop's premature downfall?

Tell me more

This is a silly little choose-your-own-adventure-style narrative add-on to the classic dice game Yahtzee (or Kniffel, as I’ve grown up to know it). If you’ve ever been stuck on a weeklong class trip with a Yahtzee-crazed colleague or had to spend the holidays locked up with your loved ones and a cup of dice in the Polish countryside, you might be familiar with the intense boredom I have been subjected to. From these harrowing experiences, this small project was born. What if I could enjoy myself without having to ruin everyone else’s fun?

While playing along with a normal game of Yahtzee, you tally up your successes and failures to determine whether you can save your coffee shop from ruin. Each and every round you get to read a little more about how your efforts help or hinder your goal, and every playthrough will be a little bit different. Deal with some truly unhinged customers, make terrible decisions and woo your crush with your barista skills - the dice determine how well you will do! 

The Dregs

The writing is rough, my friends. This is a first draft that barely anyone has laid eyes on so far. Some major decisions have yet to be made, knowing myself, however, I will probably never touch this again, and I'd rather share the tiniest bit of incomplete fun now and again than let all my weird little stuff gather dust somewhere on my hard drive. Here's a list of stuff I'd like to change/add in the future:

some text editing (possibly character names and pronouns)

art for a nicer print version and better formatting

more elaborate PvP rules

If you have some suggestions, shoot me a message. If you wanna turn this into your own thing, mix this up etc. Do whatever you wish. Sharing is caring.

[norah-posts]

Coffee and Weapons

Simon Ghost Riley x singlemom!barista!fem!reader

Summary: You own a coffee shop near the military base. Your coffee shop is always full of with soldiers, but that Lieutenant, who always wears a skull-patterned balaclava, grabs your attention. You try to talk with him, but he doesn't seem friendly, always gives short replies and never spends too much time in your shop. Until that day when Ghost finally starts to talk with you.

NSFW - minimal use of y/n, strangers to lovers, Ghost and reader are in early 30's, flirting, mutual pining, sexual tension, smut, p in v (unprotected), pet names, dirty talk, fingering, oral sex

Chapter 1/ 2 /

Wc: 3,2k

Chapter 3: Good girl turns into a dirty girl

Simon walked through the door of your coffee shop with a confident look in his face beneath his balaclava, his head held high. However, his expression turned slightly hesitant as he saw the number of soldiers in the shop, all staring at him.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses, trying to ignore the gazes of the soldiers as he approached the counter.

"Good morning," Simon said softly as he looked at you.

You turned to him and put down the cup on the counter what was in your hands. "No, no, no," you shook your head as you stepped closer to the counter. "No glasses in the coffe shop, sorry. It's the rule," you said teasingly, as you reached out your hand to take off his glasses.

Simon watched as you took off from him and set it down on the counter.

"Alright, fine," he said quietly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He took a deep breath as you looked up at him, trying to force a smile and ignore your teasing. "I guess that means you'll finally see just how tired I am then," he added with a smirk as he leaned against the counter, trying to hide his embarassment.

"I'm tired too," you shrugged and turned back to the coffee machine to make a cup for Simon without asking about it. "It was a long night, huh?" you continued with a sly smile on your face. "You found a girl who were into your mysterious balaclava style?"

Simon tried to hide his amusement as he heard your teasing. "Well, let's just say she liked me more without the mask," he replied with a wink as he glanced at your face. "How was your night? Did you have fun hanging out with those soldiers?" he asked, his voice sounded slightly teasing.

"Oh, yeah," you nodded when you turned to Simon and placed a cup of coffee in front of him on the counter. "That guy is russian," you pointed at a bald soldier. "He said yesterday I need to drink vodka with him sometime, I'll love it."

"He even have vodka for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Simon said with a teasing grin and gestured to the bald soldier. "So, did you drink with him? Or you were too busy talking to with another one?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I was busy with just one," you replied and leaned your elbows on the counter, leaning closer to him.

"Just one?" Simon repeated the phrase with a sly smile and when you saw you leaned closer to him, his gaze lingered on your face for a few seconds. "So, tell me. What did you and the 'one' talk about?" Simon aksed, his tone shifted to sound slightly more flirtatious.

"Nothing special," you shrugged. "About his job and his balaclava... About his love life," you glanced at his eyes.

Simon looked at you and raised an eyebrow curiosity, "About his love life? And what exactly did he say?" He tilted his head slightly and glanced at you with a small smile. "Was he into you?" he asked jokingly, his tone sounded a little teasing.

"I don't know. was he?" you asked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe he was," Simon replied with a sly grin underneath his balaclava. He took another sip of his coffe and looked at you, his expression turned more serious as he leaned closer to you. "Or maybe he just liked your eyes," he said softly. "Or maybe... Maybe he did like you," Simon said teasingly.

"Hmm..." you hummed as you kept looking into his eyes. "Maybe I should wait him here after work?" you asked in a whisper and for a moment you looked down on his balaclava where his lips were beneath it.

"Mmm, maybe you should," he whispered a bit playfully, his grin turned into a soft smile as you looked at his lips beneath the balaclava. "After all, if he's coming here for coffee, he might be interested in chatting with you some more."

"Thanks for the advice," you murmured, your voice was seductive. And then you pulled back a little, pushing his cup of coffe toward him. "Drink it," you said softly. "I'll be free all night," you added with a small blush on your face.

Simon took a moment to process your words. He looked at you, then his eyes slowly travel to your lips. "You1ll be free all night?" he asked as he picked up his coffee cup, his tone sounded slightly amused. "Well, lucky me," he said with a small smile and rolled up his balaclava on his lips to take a sip of his coffee.

You smirked, Simon made you embarassed with this flirt, so you crossed your arms in front of your chest.

Simon paused for a moment and looked at you. He smiled again and raised an eyebrow at you, seeming slightly amused and confused at your behavior. "Are you trying to look seductive, princess?" he asked in a teasing tone as he shifted his weight towards you.

"What?" you looked down on your chest and you saw your decolletage was too deep, your arms made your breasts pressing together, making a seductive line between them. "No... I'm not," you muttered as you put down your arms.

Simon chuckled at your reaction, his gaze lingered on your chest for a few seconds longer.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a teasing tone. "Because, if you look at me like that a little longer, I might just have to take you on this counter," he added with a sly grin beneath his balaclava. "And I can do it all night with you, right?" he added with a wink.

Your eyes widened. "You don't have to work?" you hissed as you looked around nervously. You tried to ignore those scenarios in your head about you and Simon on the coffe shop's counter.

"Who says?" Simon asked in a quiet, teasing tone. "And I think you already know what I would do with you if I didn't have to work," he added, his voice sounded a bit more sultry.

"Okay, hush, go away!" you giggled with red cheeks and took away the empty cup from him.

"Princess," Simon said softly, being suprised on your reaction as you got embarassed, "you have nothing to be nervous about." He tilted his head slightly as he looked at you, his gaze lingered on your lips for a few moments. "But... if you don't want anything to happen tonight, that's fine too," he added quickly. "We can just sit and talk for a while."

Perhaps, you didn't want to just sit and talk with him all night. "We'll meet later," you smiled softly.

Simon's face softens beneath the balaclava as he smiled at your smile, his gaze lingered on your face for a few more seconds. "Yeah, we'll meet later," he replied softly and stepped back like he was ready to go, but he paused for a second and then glanced back at you, his expression turned a bit mischievous. "And hey, when we do it, don't be shy," he added slyly, and before you could reply, he turned and exit the coffee shop.

--

The day turned into night. It was dark outside, when Ghost done with his work at the base and came into your coffee shop, knowing the fact that you'll be his all night and you could continue whatever you had between you and him.

Simon stepped into the coffee shop what was empty finally. He took off his balaclava and his glasses, and he saw you stood in the back of the coffee shop, being back at him. He made his way over the shop and stood in the doorway to the coffe shop's storage. He watched as you held a paper in your hands, reading it before he spoke.

"Hello, princess!" Simon said softly, his tone sounded more flirty than usual and leaned against the doorframe.

"Shit!" you winced scaredly and turned to him. "You scared me," you muttered as you took a few deep breath to calming down your heart.

Simon laughed softly, his expression turned a bit teasing. "Sorry," he said as he smiled at you, his gaze lingered on your face and your red cheeks. "Didn't I tell you not to be nervous?" he added with a laugh and looked around the empty coffe shop for a moment, seeming a bit amused. "Did you close the shop earlier tonight?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," you nodded as you took down the paper on the shelf in the storage.

"Oh, why'd you close the coffee shop early?" Simon asked with a little bit of mock increduty in his tone. "Did you want some time alone with me?" he added with a smile.

"Calm down, big boy," you chuckled. "I needed to do some paperwork and I can't give attention when the shop is full."

Simon looked at you and chuckled softly. "Give attention?" he asked with a smirk. "Is that what you call it?" His gaze lingered on your face for a moment, then he leaned against the doorframe and looked at you with a slightly flirty look on his face. "Well, if you need someonte to give attention to, I can definitely help," he added, his tone turned a bit more seductively playful.

"Oh really?" you raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"I don't know, I can be very persuasive," he replied with a wink. Simon enjoyed this playful banter and the way your gaze lingered on him. "And besides," he continued with a soft smile. "A sexy girl like you shouldn't have too hard a time finding some attention," he paused for a moment and look down and up at you, his tone turned slightly more serious. "Unless you need the attention of someone specific," he added with a teasing smirk.

"And what do you think how should I get that specific person's attention?" you asked back playfully.

Simon chuckled softly as he heard your question. "You mean... me, right?" he asked in a teasing tone, his tone turned a bit more flirtatious as he watched your face. "If you ask me, you already have my attention."

"So I don't have to do nothing, just being pretty for you like a good girl do?" You asked quietly, your eyes lingered on his face.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Simon smiled and he raised an eyebrow, his voice sounding a bit teasing. "But being pretty for me is definitely part of it," he added with a sly grin.

He shifted his weight slightly, leaning closer to you. "But you don't have to be a good girl for me," he whispered after a few moments of silence. "In fact, I think it might be better if you weren't a good girl."

"Oh," you nodded with a smile on your face. "So... you're into the bad girls," you grinned. "I'm curious. What does a bad girl?"

Simon hesitated for a moment, looking at you with a teasing expression on his face as he considered your question. "I like girls who speak their minds," he started, his voice sounded slightly flirtatious. "I like girl who aren't afraid to break the rules... and who aren't afraid of getting a little bit dirty." he said with a sly grin on his face.

"Dirty?" You smirked teasingly.

"Simon kept looking at you and grinned with a slight blush spreading across his face. "I like girls who aren't afraid to explore..." he mumbles softly, his voice sounding a bit more seductive. He paused for a moment as he took a step closer to you, seeming to enjoy the flirtatious tension that is building between you two. "And who aren't afraid to do whatever it takes to get what they want."

"So, you like it when a woman is indulging you?" you asked back with a soft smile as you take a small step toward him.

Simon continued to grin seductively at you. He leaned closer to you, watching your soft smile closely. "I like a woman who isn't afraid to indulge me...," he murmured softly. "And I really like a woman who isn't afraid to get a little dirty..." he added in a whisper.

"Hm..." You glanced down at Simon's lap, where was a big bulge and you looked back at his face.

Simon saw it, he saw how your gaze lingered on his lap and his face flushes slightly. "Oh, princess," he whispered lightly. "I think you know what you're doing, dont' you? Are you trying to be the bad girl I like, sweetheart?" he asked in a teasing as he watched you.

"I don't know... Maybe?" you asked back in the same tone as Ghost.

Simon grinned. "I guess I'll have to teach you how to be a bad girl for me..." he paused for a second and shifted his weight again, his gaze lingered on your face. "How to make me want you..." he added with a sly, seductive grin.

You were staring at each other for a few moments, until Simon sighed and straightened himself. You looked at him with a shocked expression as he started unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. Your gaze lingered on him as he started to pull his pants down, revealing more of his chiseled physique and his hard, thick cock.

"Get on your knees, princess." Simon's voice sounded suddenly more serious and dominant.

You hesitated for a few moment, the slowly bend down and knelt down on the floor. Simon continued to look at you as you knelt down on the floor in front of him. He watched as your tongue ran along your lips slowly on his cock's sight, looking slightly nervous yet also seductively excited.

He gripped his cock, pleasing himself with his palm and you watched his hand's moves. The sight was so seductive, it made your mouth watering and you heard as Simon grunted lushly as he looked down at you. His eyes seem to be focused on you as he watched your mouth for a few second. Then, his gaze lowers to your body and he watched your breast, your hard nipple under the fabric of your shirt. Then, he looked back up at your face. He was breathing a bit heavily now, and he moved his hand on himself a little bit faster. His eyes were watching your face and lips as he started to tense up.

"Ahh..." Simon sighed softly when you looked up at him with red cheeks. "You can come closer if you want," he whispered. He moved his hand up and down on his cock slowly, his face flushed with excitement as he looked down at you. "Don't be shy, princess. I want you to come over here..." he said with a sly grin.

Simon grinned as he watched you lean closer to him. You moved closer to his body slowly, your face blush red. You felt Simon's hand on your neck as he pulled you closer to him.

"Ah..." Simon sighed softly as his hand ran through your hair. His voice was deep and seductive, and he sounded slightly out of the breath as he pushed himself closer to you. "Open your mouth, sweet coffe girl," he whispered.

He moved his hand up and down still, while his other hand moved to your chin and tilted your head up so that you were looking up at him. "Open wide," he whispered softly, and you could feel his hand on the back of your neck, his touch felt a bit hot. "Open your mouth for me... you know what I want," he told you in a seductive, urgent tone.

You opened your mouth and Simon drove himself into it. You felt the sheft of his cock on your tongue. The taste of his thick cock made you moan and Simon replied to you with a deep groan. But he was too big.

You couldn't accept his cock fully in your mouth. The tip rubbed that sensivite spot the back of your mouth what made you gag and your eyes watering.

"C'mon... You can take it," Simon murmured as he held the back of your neck. He felt you were struggling, so he gently caressed your cheek, his touch felt a bit comforting. He looked at your face as he did this, his eyes fluttered a bit in pleasure.

"C'mon, princess, relax..." he whispered softly as he continued to caress your cheek and moved his hips forward a little.

"Hmm..." Simon grumbled softly as he started to move his hip back and forth. "Breathe... I know you can handle it. You're a bad girl, right?" Simon moaned, holding your head. "My... sweet... bad girl." He whispered with every thrust into your mouth.

His touch felt a bit more forceful now in your hair, his words were becoming more urgent. "My sweet, bad girl.," he murmured again, his voices sounded deeper now. "Just relax..."

He moved his hand to your cheek and touched your face gently, his eyes glanced down to your mouth every now and then as he thrusted his cock in between your lips agan and again.

Simon sighed softly as he felt you relax, his eyes were fluttering a bit in relief. "Good girl..." he whispered softly as he continued to look at your face as he moved his hips, his gaze lingered on your eyes and your lips.

His touch felt a bit more intense now on your neck, his breath a bit more labored since he was moving his body in a more rhythmical way. You looked up at him with innocent gaze, watching his reactions.

He moaned, continued to move in a rhythmical way, staring at you with a soft, seductive gaze. His finger rand through your hair, gripping it a little, his touch felt a bit more intense and sensual. "Keep looking at me," he whispered softly. "Look into my eyes, princess."

You moaned around his cock, trying to keep that intensive eye-contact with him. He moved a bit faster now, he held your head firmly in place. His face flushed with excitement, his moves were sloppier and his groans got deeper and louder, his breath were getting more labored and rushed.

"Fucking hell..." He grunted, his voice was low, his tone sounded a bit more intense and urgent. "You'll swallow it," he said, sounding slightly more firm. "All of it..."

You nodded quickly, your face flushed with excitement and anticipation. Simon's grip tightened on your hair as his body started to tense up. You could feel the heat of his breath on your face as looked up at him. His eyes were looking down at you, his gaze lingered on your mouth and lips.

He bited down his lower lips as he was spilling into your mouth. His eyes shutted tightly, gritted his teeth as he tried to hold back his loud moans. All of this was just a few seconds.

When Simon was done, he let go your hair and stepped back a little, letting free your mouth and giving your space. He stood in front of you, his body flushed with excitement and pleasure as he watched you wipe away the saliva and his cum from your chin.

He looked down at you and smiled softly. "You were a good girl," he whispered to you, his voice sounded a bit more relaxed and laid back against the doorframe. "A very good girl..."

-----

Chapter 4 ... soon ...

[phlebaswrites]

The Only Living Boy in Konoha

Summary:

Cafe Uchiwa serves coffee.

(But that's not all it does.)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Naruto Relationship: Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Izumi Word Count: 1,045 (Complete)

Entry for @narutorarepairweek

Day 2 - July 31: Meet Cute Wheel | Modern Ninja AU

Inspired by @greencuttingmat wondering if it was possible to have a coffeeshop AU where neither of the main characters is a barista, this story was written for day 2 of Naruto Rarepair Week, for the prompt 'Modern Ninja AU'.

The title is, of course, a play on the Simon & Garfunkel song The Only Living Boy in New York, and the chapter titles are also the names of songs by them.

This story also owes its existence to I've Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile (The Only Living Boy in New York), an absolutely fantastic coffeeshop AU that really showed me how it should be done and incepted me with the connection between Simon & Garfunkel and this trope.

Thank you forever, gyzym.

Izumi walks around the cafe, biting her lip as she looks for the shirt her model said he would be wearing.

Given that almost everyone is wearing back in varying styles, it's less useful than she would have hoped as a guide.

"Hey, miss." An arm waves at her and she stops. It's a mistake, she realises immediately, but that doesn't help her now. "I need a refill." The man raises his mug, clearly expecting her to take it. "A six shot venti."

A venti?

This isn't a Starbucks!

Still, she takes the cup anyway and heads for the counter.

This shift is constantly understaffed - something that always happens during term time when most of the university students who have part-time jobs here are busy with classes - and it's not as if she doesn't know how to work the espresso machine.

"Please allow me, Izumi-san." Long fingers swoop in to scoop the mug out of her hand, making her blink at its sudden disappearance. "The cafe is the responsibility of my family."

"But it's not your responsibility!" She chases him past the pastry case, but doesn't manage to snatch the cup back. "You don't work as a barista anymore, Itachi-san!"

"I'm attempting to become a barrister, is that close enough?" He flashes her a quick smile, small and contained but it’s there.

"Studying for the bar has nothing to do with making coffee!" She makes one last attempt to stop him, but he dodges around her to get to the machine. "Itachi-san!"

Read the rest on AO3.

[synthient]

Being a non-coffee drinker myself, I had to google what this thing even is beyond Hipster Coffee Machine.

But apparently, it's a manual espresso machine. They're the "traditional" option that fell out of style after the 1940s, when they got overtaken by automatics.

So that ties in with the minor running gag where, despite being a machine, Smith seems to be a bit of a luddite about "modern" (to the 90s/2020s) technology. It's also funny that he's a traditionalist when it comes to paper vs digital/manual vs automatic/etc, but his motives are otherwise all about change/the future/disrupting the status quo at any cost.

Manual espresso machines are more difficult to use, but they give you what this source describes as "undeniable, complete control" over the outcome. There's a bit in the dvd special features where Lana reflects that she and Lilly tried to control every aspect of the trilogy's production (with meticulous storyboards, studio lighting instead of natural light, etc) because their lives felt so out of control otherwise. So there's maybe something to this (and Smith's original Take Over The World plan) about Smith grasping for control in the face of its absence.

It's also interesting that Neo uses coffee as an excuse to escape his office (and go stare wistfully at Trinity). But Smith has ensured that he doesn't have to go outside or interact with anyone for his caffeine fix. One less reason to ever leave his cage.

On the other hand, Smith's hipsterism is a sign that coffee drinking isn't just a pragmatic, caffeine in/productivity out deal for him. He cares a lot about the process, the flavor. So there's a link to the pleasure/sensation theme.

And there's maybe also a subtle joke setup: he takes over that barista's body at the end, because he is an amateur barista. He's probably been snubbing the Simulatte because he thinks he could do the barista's job better than him. And in the end, He Does :)

[sockeye-run]

Day one at the bee farm!!

It was a very good day. Most of the time was spent in the kitchen, learning the ropes and recipes. It seems very straightforward and simple, and I feel confident that I will pick it up fast. The menu is small and comprehensive. Everything has the honey incorporated into it 😍. I have the most skills and experience in the kitchen so they are looking to me to help them establish it as a self sufficient and productive venture. I spent most of the time there going over their health and safety standards, inventory, procedures,etc. We have a lot of ground work to establish, but everyone is very eager to get going In the right direction, so it should be a generally easy experience. We just need to organize and streamline a bit. They want me to bring in my barista experience as well, and help establish coffee service. We spent a lot of time shopping for different espresso machines and commercial drip brewers, and I established a connection with a local roastery for beans that we are excited about. I also came up with a couple of new test recipes for the kitchen, that I'll have to make this weekend to see what the crew thinks of them and if they are efficient enough to add to the menu.

I spent a small amount of time in the retail shop today, too. There is a honey tasting bar, tons of honey and raw bee products for sale, as well as an endless supply of bee related gifts, from beauty products to home goods to books and clothes. It's such a unique environment and it's exciting to get to learn about it. My job in the retail environment, besides selling things of course, is to help sell the queen bees to customers as well as all the bee keeping gear they could possibly need. The farm makes their own custom bee boxes, of every fathomable size and style. They sell everything you could possibly need to establish your own colony and harvest your own bee products, including lessons from pros. They even lent me one of their most highly recommend books to read, so that I can get into the lingo of it all.

It's hard to say exactly what I will be doing full time there; they want me to help with retail, but they also really need my skills and knowledge in the kitchen. The owner and the kitchen manager said they were arguing over who gets me lol. I'm flattered but feeling torn too. I think it makes the most sense for me to main the kitchen; it's where my expertise lies and it needs the most support, IMHO. But they still need a body in retail for their busiest season, queen buying season, which starts in April. We'll see soon enough how things turn out!

[rollercoasterwords]

mahonia, aloe vera & papyrus for the ask game? (I hope your flight goes well when you finally get on btw!!)

thank u!! the flight attendants gave everyone free mini pastries so i am no longer starving at least <3

mahonia ⇢ what place, thing, activity inspires you most and how do you express yourself when it does?

probably music!!! like if i hear a really good song i feel like my brain just starts spinning w story ideas like an angry washing machine. and so then of course i have 2 express myself by writing them down <3

aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

i really want to be a barista at some point lol. or work in a bookstore! like i'm sure that if i did actually get either of those jobs it would get old really quick bc like....i have worked retail + service jobs before so. but!! i still just cannot shake my little kiki's delivery service style fantasy of working in a cute local coffee shop....a dingy little secondhand bookstore....UGH i want it so bad

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

dirt room by blue october!

every so often i rediscover blue october which is a band i grew up listening to thanks 2 my sister and am just reminded of how good they are!! i love dirt room bc it's so angry and scratchy and just !!!!!! so fun

this ask game

[wardogsong]

What’s something about the way your muse ‘helps’ that might be different from how someone else would help? What in particular about their style of ‘help’ is different/unusual? 

hc & development questions || no longer accepting

Frank's style of helping tends to lean towards the AGGRESSIVELY helpful. Like a lot of men, he is solution-oriented, so if you bring him a problem you want to vent about— he'll listen, but in his head he's already working on how to solve it. Obviously if you bitch to him about your local barista fucking up your morning coffee he's not going to put a bullet in them about it; he doesn't react to EVERYTHING with extreme prejudice and violence, but you might find yourself the new owner of a shiny espresso machine of your own, or at minimum with a gift card to another coffee shop in your area with better service.

Frank just takes everything on to his own shoulders and then goes above and beyond about it. Take for example his interactions with Sarah Lieberman; he starts out taking a look at her garage door and quickly ends up nearly her own personal handyman, interacting with her kids, bringing her flowers (albeit some of that was for ulterior motives). He ends up doing so much that not only does he get smooched about it but he was starting to fill in something like a parental role for the kids too. I mean, she entrusted him to be alone with Zach to get a talking to.

And if you've seen the show, you know how that goes. Frank Castle thought it was a good idea to put a knife to a kid's throat in an effort to scare him straight. He's just LIKE THAT. It works, it gets the kid to talk about the real problem, but he most likely could have accomplished the same thing WITHOUT the Kandahar torture tactics and treating him like that. But aggression and getting answers/solutions are what Frank knows best and without someone there to pull him back, this is how he'll go about it. It was the same with his own son, Frank hears Maria screaming about the painting on the wall and what does Frank do? He helps by getting all up in Junior's face about it, putting him on the ground, yelling at him, trying to intimidate him out of the behavior that has upset his mother.

Mind you, at the core of him he's a man who means well. In Zach's case you see him throwing a ball around with the kid afterwards and having a good time. I like to think it would have gone similarly with Junior.

Amy Bendix is another recipient of Frank's overly aggressive helpful style in a couple of ways. He kidnaps her for what he presents as her own good, but much later, he also shoots a man dead for her— in an effort to give her the comfort of knowing that she wasn't the one who killed said man, she only wounded him, his was the killing blow. It can be so very absurd, but the intent behind it is still the same, it's just more of Frank putting everything on himself, taking it on to his own shoulders for the sake of someone else's well-being, be it mental, emotional, or physical.

So yeah. Frank is aggressively helpful, sometimes overly so, featuring knives and guns and death. AND FUN!

[koffeeexpress]

Best Coffee Brands From All Over the Country

Your morning latte deserves a better bean.

While it’s hard to argue with the delicious hit of serotonin that comes from visiting your favorite coffee shop (not to mention the joy of supporting a small business), I’d say it’s still worth it to have a homemade caffeinated beverage that doesn’t require you to get high. shoes, a coat, or even pants. For many of us, that means investing in a decent pour-over and keeping a carton or two of dairy-free milk (I’m a fan of Minor Figures Barista Blend) in the fridge for frothing. To others, it may seem like a high-end espresso machine that can deliver a flawless cortado or latte (no art included). Regardless of how involved your home coffee station is, you’ll need beans, ideally the ones your barista would approve of.

intellectual cafe

Courtesy of Intelligentsia

“I first found out about Intelligentsia coffee when I bought a Christmas present for my brother — I dove deep into the good quality coffee beans and found a selection of their blends. He can confirm that it was an excellent gift, and after trying the coffee myself I can confirm that it is fantastic. Founded in 1995, Intelligentsia was a notable player in the third-wave coffee movement (essentially, a shift toward an emphasis on better-quality, better-sourced coffee). Their house blend is my favorite roast, and it’s everything I want in my first cup of coffee. It’s well balanced, not too acidic, and the standout tasting note (for me) is the milk chocolate.” — Merlyn Miller, Social Media Editor

787 coffee

“A 787 coffee shop recently opened in my neighborhood and it immediately became essential to me. (I’m not normally into novelty espresso drinks, but their horchata latte is now an integral part of my nights.) The company grows, processes, and roasts all of its beans from its coffee farms in Maricao, Puerto Rico, without the involvement of third-party distributors or roasters. In addition to being fresh, delicious, and sustainably sourced, 787 beans can now be ordered by anyone with a monthly subscription.” — María Yagoda, Senior Editor

coffee partners

“My vote goes to my Australian friends at Partners for their quality, roast, and commitment to sustainable farming and production. They source their beans from direct farm relationships and their single-origin beans are hard to beat. My favorite is El Ramo, a beautiful medium to light roast (many roasters tend to want to roast dark coffee to the center in the US, burning the roast). They roast to order and offer whatever grind you want if that’s your thing.” — Melanie Hansche, Associate Editor

Cafe Sey

“When I’m in the mood for a beautifully bright, acidic yet balanced cup of coffee, Sey is my go-to. This Nordic-style roaster not only produces amazing light roast coffee but is passionate about the sustainability of the coffee industry. Their in-season beans are packaged in beautiful, elegant boxes, each indicating both the source and the producer for complete transparency. If you can visit their Brooklyn cafe in person, I highly recommend it for good coffee, prepared right in front of you by their friendly and knowledgeable staff. For a fun at-home experience, Sey also offers a monthly coffee subscription, where you can have one to four boxes of their select seasonal beans delivered right to your door.” — Elsa Saatela, Senior Digital Producer

brio coffee

“In the heat of the miserable pandemic, but once travel was even remotely possible again, I headed to Rome to take my daughter to her first year of college there, except three weeks before I was supposed to leave, I realized that my passport had expired. . Not good! Through a total panic app, some questionable passport issuance services, and way more money than is reasonable, I ended up with a last-minute renewal appointment in St. Albans City, Vermont at 8:30 am. to put. on a Wednesday, a nifty 18 miles from the Canadian border and an even niftier seven hours drive from my Brooklyn apartment.

Do you know what you need at 8:00 am? to put. when you arrive in a small Vermont town after a seven-hour drive before dawn? Coffee. Very good coffee. And a lot.

Click here farmer brothers