Author's note: This story contains blood, violence, sex, drugs, sexual assault, blackmail, death, weapons, abuse, toxic relationships, curse words. If you can't handle any of these things or find them triggering, please find a different book to read. It's perfectly understandable.
CoWritten by RandyNetwork4
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ChatNoir, a man feared by many, walked into a coffee shop. Disgust was written on his face as he had a distaste for venues that lack class but his business partner, Ryuku insisted on it. She claimed that "La Coccinella" had the best coffee. He was the type of man that needed to see for himself if this was true or not. He studied the four employees that were working as he waited in line.
A caramel-skinned woman with auburn hair was cleaning the machines. Her glasses fogged up due to the steam from the machines. She rubbed her glasses on her apron. He assumed she was muttering curse words at the glasses for the number of times she had to clean them.
Another employee with black hair in two separate braids was filling orders for the customers. ChatNoir assumed that this employee was higher maintenance than the other three as her eyebrows looked like a reading of an EKG. She wore hand-beaded earrings that were red, white, and blue. "Maybe, American?" He questioned as the earrings paired with her pronunciation being slightly off was obvious she wasn't French-born.
One employee had vibrant pink hair that was a mess. ChatNoir wondered if she even knew what a comb was. She was in charge of cleaning the dishes and putting them away. She wore roller skates, he couldn't see them from where he sat but they certainly had a specific sound. She made quite a show tossing dishes about as if she was a juggler at a circus impressively avoiding collisions with her colleagues.
The last one was by far his favorite. She managed the cash register and helped fill orders as best she could. She smiled at each customer. Dark hair, small frame, cute smile, but clumsy by nature. She broke two mugs in the period of him entering La Coccinella.
Apologizing to the customers and her fellow employees. She would've broken more ceramics if the pink-haired one didn't catch them before they hit the floor.
All four wore red aprons with the cafés title embroidered in white silk thread. Some wore baseball caps to match but others had their hair up. He noticed that all of them seemed to be women. He sighed realizing why Ryuku was very fond of this establishment.
Before the clumsy barista could speak, he gave his order. Quickly and sternly. "Black Coffee, grande."
"Okay, Monsieur,"
He stared at the golden name tag that was pinned to her chest. It read: Mari. But unbeknownst to him, her full name was too much of a hassle to emboss so she shortened it. He found himself attracted to her. He wondered if it was her dark hair wrapped into a scrunchy, tempted to pull it out to witness how she would look with it cascading down her porcelain skin. He watched as she grabbed a mug and a disposable coffee cup. Her arms moved as if she was deciding as she had forgotten to ask if it was for her or to go. He smiled as she struggled to decide to guess or just ask.
He let out a small chuckle, "It's for here." causing her to jump as she did not expect him to read her mind.
She attempted to fill the mug as she was hoping to fulfill one successful order before her shift ended. She burnt her hand while she poured the coffee. "OUCH!" She yelled, shaking her hand hoping that would soothe the pain.
"Black coffee grande." She said sliding the coffee towards her customer. Holding on to the saucer as her curiosity got the best of her. "What's your name? I mean I've never seen you before."
She wanted to ask about the mask he wore but she couldn't. Especially since she didn't know his name or what he would prefer to be called. As she had dealt with a female customer who also hid behind a facade.
"ChatNoir. My friend is a frequent visitor of this establishment." He replied as he paid for his drink that was bitter as he. "She insisted that La Coccinella had the best black coffee in Paris."
"I wouldn't know. I dilute mine with sugar and cream."
"Monster." He stated as he didn't understand what all the fuss was about flavored or ice coffee. He thought that coffee should remain free of additives. He had been called a monster himself but the true monsters would always be the ones who ruin his beloved refreshment.
"Are you kidding, Monsieur Noir?" She asked as she couldn't tell if he met his comment sarcastically as he was difficult to read.
"No, since you contaminate liquid gold and expect me to play nice."
She looked into his eyes that held three of the deadly sins; envy, pride, and wrath. When mixed she felt as if he was piercing her essences. "You're quite intimidating,"
"I think anybody would be intimidating if I was your size." He said knowing that he was at least two heads taller than her. There was some wiggle room due to the counter but ChatNoir was pretty confident his estimation was accurate.
"Don't you dare insult me like that!" she said, grabbing him by his shirt collar
"Careful now, I don't want to spill my coffee. I did come all this way for it." He grinned as he considered her outburst a breath of fresh air.
"I just don't like it when someone makes fun of my height," she released him from her grasp. As she would hate to get fired for picking a fight with a customer. She needed this job to help out with rent. As she couldn't keep on feeding on her friend's generosity. He was kind enough to let her live with him and his sister as they graduated from the docks to an actual apartment
