A/N: I've been reading so much Natasha fanfics to the point where I'm obsessed. This idea came to me a while back, like months ago, but due to being in quarantine with not much to do other than do homework and play club penguin at 2am with friends, I've decided - with some encouragement from this really good fanfic that I read - to start this series with high hopes that I'll be able to not procrastinate on it and actually finish it. Please comment what you think and hope you enjoy!
A Year After The Battle Of New York
"One caramel latte?" The voice, deep and smooth, called out. A woman stood up from her seat near the counter, smiling at the barista while grabbing her small mug of coffee, a thank you leaving her lips. The man smiled back, nodding as he turns back to making a black coffee for another costumer. He grabbed a small mug from the side, putting it onto a white plate as he clicks the portafilter into place, allowing the coffee machine do its magic.
Checking his watch, he sighed, his free hand reaching up to adjust his round glasses. Just twenty more minutes, he thought as the time nears eight o'clock at night, when his shift finishes. He places the cup on the coffee machine, allowing the dark liquid to flow into it. His eyebrows furrowed from a realisation, who's having coffee at this time? Mentally shrugging off the thought, he took the mug once the machine beeped and placed it back on the plate, bringing it to the counter.
"One black coffee?" Just then, a redheaded woman saunters towards the barista, causing him to pause for a bit, taking her appearance in. She was wearing a full black outfit, which wrapped around her figure perfectly, a black leather jacket complementing her even more. He couldn't help it, after all, he is a guy with hormones. But instead of checking her out more, he stopped himself and smiled at her, sliding the mug forward to bring it closer to the woman.
She grabs her drink by the plate, a stiff smile plastered on her face. "Thanks." The man smiled back.
"No problem." She walked back to her table where an open book is placed on top of it. She sat down, sipping her mug before placing it down and picking up her book, her legs crossed and her eyes focused.
The barista couldn't help but stare at her for a bit longer, intrigued and curious about the woman. His head tilted to the side a bit, his light brown eyes taking in her appearance. The woman must've notice, since her own eyes diverted from her book to him, causing him to quickly look away and continue on with his work, his nerves taking over his body as he fidgets around with some equipments.
Natasha looked at him, an eyebrow raised before looking back at her book. She sipped her coffee again, frustration slowly creeping onto her skin as her eyes lose focus from the story she was invested in just ten minutes ago. Ignoring the random thoughts that were trying to invade her mind, she chugged down her cup of coffee, placing her book back down before walking back to the till, her mug and plate in hand.
From behind the till, she saw that the barista had his back to her, his short, curly black hair swishing around as he moved swiftly within the small area, the smell of chocolate making its way into Natasha's nose as he placed the takeaway cup in front of a young girl who smiled at him before rushing out of the cafe.
He exhaled, a crooked, tired smile plastered on his face, his brown eyes slowly moving their attention from the wooden counter to the redhead staring at him with piercing green orbs. Startled slightly, his eyes went wide for a bit before fazing back to normal, his smile never faltering, only lifting slightly.
The barista's feet moved his body quickly to the till with him now facing Natasha once again. He immediately noticed the empty mug, chuckling before he put his attention back onto the redhead.
"Isn't it bad for you to have black coffee late at night." He said with amusement written across his face. She responded with a raised eyebrow, challenging him to talk further. Unfortunately, the man was blissfully ignorant. "Seriously, you won't be able to have your beauty sleep if you drink too much."
Natasha hummed, the corners of her lips moving upwards slightly, but her face still emotionless. "And aren't you supposed to be serving your customer?" The black haired man chuckled nervously, his large hand - not that Natasha noticed, no - moved to scratch the back of his neck.
"Sorry," Embarrassment washes over his face, a slight tint of pink on his light-tanned skin. "D'you want another mug of black?" The redhead looked at him blankly for a second before nodding her head, her hand passing her mug to the barista while her other hand reached into her pocket to grab her wallet.
The man gladly took her mug placing it on the counter behind him quickly before he turned back to face the redhead once again. He saw her waller in hand, and for some odd reason, he shook his head. "You don't need to pay."
Natasha looked back up from her wallet, her eyebrows rising a bit in question. The brown-eyed man mentally winced, almost regretting saying that, but instead of backing out from what he blurted out, he continued on, with less confidence. "Um, it's on the house."
Her face stayed the same. "Since, you know, the cafe's about to close, and there isn't anyone here, and I thought why not make this pretty woman some nice coffee for fr-"
"So I'm just a pretty face?" The redhead cut him off, amused at him nervously ranting in front of her. He was lucky that no one was around to witness it.
"What? No! I mean," His eyes kept on diverting to everything around the cafe except for the woman in front of him. He eventually gave up on whatever he was going to say and instead sighed, his shoulders deflating and his head tilted down slightly. "I'll just go make your coffee."
Natasha smirked, enjoying the fact that she could make any man a stuttering mess. "Two things," She then said, causing the barista to snap his attention back to her. "One, your name."
"Oh, uh..." Surprise was slapped across his face for a moment before he recovered a bit. "It's Azriel. What about yo-"
"Two," She held up two fingers which made the man - Azriel - stop himself from talking any further. "Can I have my coffee to go?"
The black haired man blinked, speechless and confused at the same time. He slowly nodded, his feet twisting him around so that he could continue on doing his work. Azriel placed the mug into the sink as he reached for a take away cup, only to pause, hesitance in his stance.
"Uh..." His light brown eyes met her green ones again. "D'you want a small or medium?" She started at him for a moment, her mind calculating and observing.
"Small." With a nod, the barista went back to work with a small cup in hand. Whilst the black haired man was focused on making her coffee, Natasha began thinking over the conversation. It was weird, strange even, that somehow, out of all the coffee places she could go to and people she could talk to, she just had to stumble across this small, yet comfy, coffee shop where the barista just so happens to be a cute guy that the assassin herself can't help but check out from behind him.
His body was lean, but not too skinny to make him seem lanky. His shoulders were slightly broad, unlike Steve's shoulders, and although his arms were covered by his long-sleeve sweater, she could tell that he had a slight muscle build from the way the material fit perfectly around them.
As her eyes raked over his body, she didn't seem to notice the small detail of Azriel writing some numbers and a few words on her cup once the machine finished making the redhead's coffee. He turned around suddenly, smiling brightly - though his eyes held some bit of exhaustion - causing Natasha's eyes to quickly divert from watching his firm ass (I'm still a woman with desires, she told herself as she forced her eyes to look at the man's slightly round face.
"Here you go." He said, nervously handing her the hot drink. She took it, her lips curving upwards, a small smile plastered on her mouth as she grabbed her drink.
"Thanks."
"Anytime." Azriel nodded, his eyes suddenly interested on the counter in front of him, earning a chuckled from Natasha as she walked towards the door. She opened it, causing a chime to ring through the empty shop, her head twisting around so that she could see the cute barista over her shoulder.
With a grin, she spoke: "See you later, Azriel."
"Y-yeah, see you!" He replied with a wave, his voice sounding a little too enthusiastic for a response, causing him to wince visibly after. Fortunately for him, the redhead was already gone, allowing him to sigh in relief. A content smile graced his lips for a bit before it dropped once he saw the time.
8:22pm.
"Ah crap." Azriel huffed in frustration, knowing that he won't be able to sleep for another two hours if he doesn't close the cafe soon. Throughout the night, from when he was sweeping the floor clean to when he finally got back to his apartment, green eyes circled around his mind, never leaving for just a moment.