A/N: This was supposed to be about 500 words shorter, but whatever! I hope you enjoy this coffee shop AU!

Piper got to work at exactly quarter past six in the morning, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and trying not to fall asleep on her feet. It was tough doing the early morning shift at the local Starbucks, but at least the customers knew to not make small talk, and the smell of coffee was good at keeping her awake. She hastily made her way through to the back of the shop, tying up her apron and signing in; she was already a little bit late.

"Testing the boss again?" a voice said from behind her. She turned to see a familiar smiling face, with blue-streaked black hair. "One of these days he's going to catch you sneaking in, and you know it," Percy said.

"Oh hush, Piper said, tying her choppy brown locks into a side ponytail and following Percy to the front of the store and getting ready for the first customers of the morning - usually just hurried businessmen with briefcases and a tendency to snap.

Percy held up his arms in defense. "I'm just saying," he said in a tone of voice that Piper knew meant that he wasn't.

"And I bet that you got here two hours early in preparation?" she teased, flicking a cloth at him. He poked his tongue out at her and then went on to serve the first customer with a smile.

Piper knew that Percy was always the favourite of the two of them, that the customers in this slow shift that stopped and started adored him. Who wouldn't? With his tanned skin and bright smile, his bead necklaces and charm ... If Piper wasn't the gayest human being on Earth she'd probably fall for him herself.

And Piper, with her shaved head and piercings and her dark skin ... some of the customers looked at her like she was scum.

But most didn't, and neither did Percy, and to be honest that was all she really cared about.

They continued their routine for several hours, bantering in between taking orders and yelling out names. It was a simplicity that she loved, the smell of fresh coffee and the silence that fell over the store. She told everyone that she hated her job, hated the early hours and racism and complaints, but in reality there was a charm to it that couldn't be taken away by anything horrible.

At around eight, Percy tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Piper, isn't that the brunette you check out every morning?"

Piper nearly squealed and dropped her coffee but managed to recover in time to glare at Percy. "Don't speak so loudly," she hissed. She spared a glance at said brunette and blushed when she realized she was staring right at them. Fortunately, business had started to get a little busier and there was a long queue before you reached Percy and Piper.

Piper sighed, thankful, and thought about the brunette. Her name was Reyna, and she came in every morning at around the same time to get her coffee. And, yes, Piper had been checking her out, but how could she not? Reyna was gorgeous, and Piper had low self-control. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

She sighed once again. She never really had the courage to say anything to Reyna, and she didn't even know if the other woman liked girls. She was a fancy business type, though, and she seemed pretty well-educated. What would she want with a punk like Piper who worked at Starbucks, for fuck's sake?

The queue had been moved forward while Piper had been thinking about all this, and suddenly she found herself looking into Reyna's beautiful chocolate brown eyes. She swallowed nervously before speaking.

"Hi, welcome to Starbucks, may I take your order please?"

Reyna smirked at her. Piper died a little inside.

"You can take her number as well," Percy commented as he walked past with three cups of coffee balanced on his arms. Piper turned a bright shade of beetroot red.

"The usual?" she croaked, hoping to get the situation over and done with. Hopefully Reyna wouldn't be scared away forever.

Instead, she heard laughter, and realized it was Reyna.

"Your friend is quite the observer," she stated, examining Piper like she was a very interesting work of art.

"He's just kidding," she said, as she went to make Reyna's order.

"What a shame," she heard Reyna murmur. She stopped in her tracks. No way. It couldn't have been true. it was just the wind. She stilled her heartbeat and continued making coffee.

"You should totally do it," Percy said as he walked past, smiling cheekily.

"Do what?" Piper asked innocently. "I'm not going to do anything."

She was totally gonna do it.

Reyna walked out of Starbucks with an amused smirk on her face. That punk girl, Piper, had been checking her out for months. She wasn't oblivious. And she wasn't shallow either. Piper was very attractive. She looked cute when she blushed. It was a pity Reyna was going to have to make the first move. She'd love to see her flirt ...

She glanced down at her coffee cup after taking a sip and then stared, awestruck, for a minute. Then she smirked, carrying on her way to work, thinking all the way about how tomorrow when she went to Starbucks, things would be completely different.

For Reyna ❤ I've been checking you out.

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