#i wish i had like something cool to say but i'm just tired AHAH

[thomine]

present moments of yore : kaveh

pair: kaveh x reader info: general audiences, reader dropped out of school, modern au (laptops and devices exist), not proofread

summary: the coffee shop your family had was never empty, or at least that's what you grew up believing. with the shop now in your uneducated hands, everything it once was feels even further away... until an architect steps in.

word count: 1.3k words series: day 4 of au august 2023 / prompt: coffee shop links: work tag

A man sees Kaveh walking around the streets and instantly recognises him. Blonde hair with browned tips is a unique choice of hair style. Kaveh also has amber eyes that when stared into feels like you’re floating in a deep well of kindness.  These good qualities of him don’t just end in the physical way he presents himself. This man often frequents a coffee shop, and Kaveh graces him with the best service. When he asks for some serviettes, the kind gentlemen would get up from his corner in the café and grant his wish, even if he was in an important meeting.

Kaveh must surely be the owner of the coffee shop down the street. It must be the result of his down-to-earth nature that he chooses to observe his business on the ground while balancing a more reliable day job—as all entrepreneurs do. Although the food is subpar plus the ambience is melancholic at times due to the lack of natural sunlight, if it is the shop of the nicest man he knows, he should visit again some time.

If only the owner of the coffee shop wore a tag, the man thinks while observing Kaveh walk down the street. It would make a proper confrontation less awkward and friendlier. By the time he solidifies his confidence to reach out, Kaveh is long gone.

The man shrugs knowing he’ll just visit the café the next day to find this kind soul. In the meantime, he shouldn’t be distracted by his main goal: he’s only on this street to lodge a complain about this architect called Kaveh who dolled his house so well his wife doesn’t listen to him and his opinions of the design anymore.

You push the chairs in, causing its rusty legs to scrap against the floor and emit a harrowing shrill. The only customer in your coffee shop winces, hands over his ears as he stares at you in disbelief.

“I thought you changed the chairs?” Kaveh asks after he clicks a button on his laptop and plucks out his earpieces. He stares at you expectantly. You twist the tablecloth in your hands, eyes averting from his.

With a shrug, you give him a weak smile. “The chairs you found are of the same model…” you explain, “but… they’re not these chairs.”

Kaveh sighs, a palm almost flying to his forehead, but he stops himself.

“You can’t run a business on your nostalgia,” he comments as he stands from his cushioned chair—sponsored by him specifically for him—to walk towards the rusty chair in question. He kneels to inspect the state of its legs, then shakes his head. “You really need to get new chairs. This could give away under any customer’s weight and you would get a bad review.”

You slump your shoulders, the weight of dead dreams rests on your shoulders.

“Are the reinforcements not working?” you ask, kneeling beside him. It seems as if you’re engaging in his criticism over your choices to keep things the way it has been for years since your family started this coffee shop, but you also just wanted to bury your head in your knees. “I paid someone to help me remove the rust… Did I get cheated off my money?”

The pity in Kaveh’s expression is enough of a confirmation you’re never going to bring back the glory of this coffee shop.

“What was the services you paid for?” He asks. He gets up and carries the chair. You try your hardest to prevent him from taking it away, but his grip on the chair is strong and stubborn. He wins the tug of war, but instead of heading out to throw it in the dumpster, he turns and hides it in the storeroom.

“The listing said they would apply this chemical of sort that could remove rust from iron. I saw the video. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Kaveh seems to be split between laughter and frustration. He places a hand on your shoulder, shaking his head as he stares at the floor like a surrendered enemy.

When he lifts his head, he holds a fragile smile.

“My friend. There is no quick and easy solution to remove rust as bad as that. The only option I can think of is using citric acid, but that would require a lot of acid.”

You feel your face scrunch up as the memory of signing away your money pops in your mind. It was your savings you were supposed to set aside for the renovation that Kaveh recommended. Giving a weak smile, you release a faint laugh.

“I guess I should not have dropped from school?” you say to ease the growing tension.

Kaveh’s eyes glisten with worry.

“Don’t say that. Your circumstances were not ideal. I would be bold to say you had no choice, and holding onto the typical dream of holding a degree would have been worse for you.” He lets go of your shoulder and stretches, remembering he had a task to complete before your old chair disturbed him. Bouncing back to his table, he plugs his earpieces back and you fade into the background for him.

You don’t mind though. For a friend you’ve only met last week, he’s quickly climbed to the position of your best friend. You’ve poured your heart to him of your haunting woes, and he generously gave ideas to rescue the dying legend relying on your unqualified ass. Whether you have the courage to take up his advice though… at least he does not push it.

As you sweep the mostly empty coffee shop, you observe a focused Kaveh. In return for his help, you have been trying to take care of him when he forgets. You’ll keep the phone he leaves when he rushes to a work-meeting to preoccupied to realise his mistake. His coffee is brewed specifically the way he likes it, no extra charge, and he gets his little corner in the coffee shop.

You stand beside him and lean in, eyes glancing over his screen. Kaveh tilts his laptop so you have a better view.

“What’s this?” you ask, pointing to a long paragraph. You can read, but the comment is filled with jargon related to Kaveh’s job that you don’t bother trying to understand parts you could. “You don’t look so pleased receiving it.”

“A bad review,” he whines, about to burst on a long rant but he grabs the drink you’ve prepared for him hours ago and chucks it down instead. You look at him confused. Bad reviews are the bane of a company, apparently. You’re not arguing about how no businesses want a bad review, but you don’t believe it’s as important as Kaveh makes it out to be sometimes. He grabs a tuff of his hair and tugs on it. “And it’s not even like I did anything to deserve this bad review,” he continues. “Look, read what he says.”

You’re apprehensive, worried you’ll pronounce the tough words wrong, and he’ll laugh at you, but Kaveh pushes and even magnifies the screen. You gulp.

“Received more than what I paid for. Sent a quote for a…” you give him a side glance as a plea for help.

“Bespoke. It means customised.”

You nod, starting again slowly.

“a bespoke living room with a sense of… hy-gi…”

You cover your face, not wanting to continue this road of embarrassment. Kaveh’s laughter—genuine this time, loud and strong—doesn’t help.

“Okay, I asked too much of you,” he says as he draws his laptop back to him. “The comment basically says I did a good job. Exceeded limitations to the point he doesn’t want to admit that he held me with such low regard.” He clicks his tongue and crosses his arms. “These people… don’t ever let them pull you down with them, get it?”

You nod, a little amazed and confused how the conversation led to him nagging. But whatever strings fate pulled, you’re just glad at least you’re not alone in this coffee shop.

author's note: i was very tired when writing this so i was surprised this surpassed 1k words.

[catluver3]

Wed. 9/4/2024 pt2

Writing is so fun! Well, I've written stuff in the past before.. From small snippets of my original characters to almost full blown stories!! I wish I had finished them but just like my art and everything in my life, I loose the motivation eventually. 

I'm at work now and it's a bit earlier than I would like to be here. My head hurts and I honestly just want to be back home, watching those 'lost media' documentaries on youtube. Recently finished one about some weirdo, I say 'I would never fall for something like that!' But the internet is just an endless spiderweb that grows with each second.. It's scary to think about it in a way.. It's cool, almost like space!
Talking about space, Sunday, I went to movies with my mom, sister, and my friend! We went to go watch the alien movie and it was so good. I definitely recommend it to anyone who still is indecisive about watching it!! It had the perfect amount of thriller in it and I absolutely fell in love with Andy, something about robots in movies squeeze at my heartstrings! The human/alien baby thing was honestly just disturbing... Had me on the edge of my seat ahah! 

It's slow once again at work, that's why I'm able to write another entry:3! I feel so tired if I'm being honest, I feel tired all the time after 3 pm. I just want my boyfriend if I'm honest, I want him to come by my work, to take me away to his house and just lay on his bed while I pet away at his cute little cat. 

The cat is so shy yet so cute to me, his fur is so soft like a silk blanket and his face is like a LPS toy head. Round and small with big eyes that just seem to stare into your soul! He rarely lets me pet him.. Always hiding away on the second floor or meowing away at the top of stairs, all I can do it coo at him. He also has a dog, such a big dog with the whitest fur. I'm not a big fan of dogs and if I'm honest.. I'm kinda eh on him after incident I had with him. 

I was laying face down on the bed and the dog jumped up, the nail went straight into my nose and cut the inside. I bled and cried to my boyfriend... I don't know why I cried? I mean it didn't hurt much but it did surprise me, my boyfriend was sweet to me after. Rolling me up in his blue blanket and cuddling me!! I love that, I love being babied and sometimes babying him!

If I didn't have to work, I would be the happiest girl ever! Well, I don't mind working. I just hate the customers.. I need to get my drivers license soon!! I've had so many weird encounters with people at work, mostly old men that just don't know how to shut their mouths! I've had one ask me if I could kiss my boyfriend with them? Like excuse me? I just didn't answer him but I did laugh awkwardly. Fuckers kept trying to find me the entire time they were sat down here! Like just eat your food, pay, and get out! 
My brain is currently working up so many things to talk about yet I can't seem to put everything into text! If I did, this would be like 20+ pages long! 
I wouldn't mind talking about my childhood but even then, I'm just now starting to actually remember it! I cried in front of my therapist talking about it and I still feel embarrassed just thinking about it.. I've always been such a big cry baby. Sucks but it makes me, me! 

See you tomorrow. :)