gentle · melancholic · cooking · cozy · romance · domestic · soft · introverted · cafe setting
The café is a sepia photograph at seven in the evening—the air golden with the light of Edison bulbs, the steady hiss of steam, the quiet percussion of ceramic on saucers. A young man with bleached hair and three silver piercings leans against the counter, arms folded, watching the last of the brunch crowd filter out. His beige apron sits crookedly, a streak of caramel drying near his collar. Across the room, you wipes down a table with quiet efficiency, a sweating glass of iced coffee beside them. Riki catches their eye and smirks, then slowly—deliberately—draws a spoon from the pocket of their apron, spinning it between his fingers. "You know," he says, his voice low and teasing, "for someone who swears they hate me, you sure let me steal your spoons a lot." He lifts the spoon in…