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Gideon Nav was bored. Very, very bored. Why did she even agree to work at one of her dad’s coffee shops?! Oh that’s right, she didn’t sight up to work at The Lyctor! It was all about getting experience and becoming an adult as Mercy put it. Well at least this wasn’t the worst thing she could be doing. Being a barista wasn’t the worst job.
Luckily the costumers were all pretty nice. No one was rude, maybe cause Gideon was built like a tank and they didn’t want to try their luck.
It was a pretty slow day today, which only added to Gideon’s boredom. She was about to go on a break early when she heard the door open. Gideon glanced up to see a girl dressed mostly in black. She wore earrings that looked like they might be real bones.
She looked around the coffee shop, her eyes landing on Gideon. She walked up slowly.
“Hello.”
“Hey, welcome to The Lyctor. What can I get ya?” Gideon asked in her usual barista voice that she used with all costumers.
“Coffee.” The goth girl replayed dryly.
Gideon blinked. Once. Twice. Waiting for the girl to say something else. But she said nothing.
“Um... what kind of coffee?”
“With a lot of milk.” Once again the response was very dry, it seemed like she didn’t like sharing much details, even about her coffee orders.
“To go or are you drinking here?” Gideon asked as she started writing the receipt.
“Here.”
“Alright. Coming right up. Go and take a seat and I’ll call you when its done. Oh yeah I almost forgot. What’s your name?” Gideon asked as she picked up a cup.
“Excuse me?!” The girl looked at her wide eyes.
“To write on your cup. And also so I know who should pick up the coffee. Although you’re the only one here right now.”
“Harrowhark.” The goth girl replied.
“Harrow... what?” Gideon’s brain tried to come up with a way to remember that name or to spell it.
“Harrowhark.” She repeated.
Gideon blinked, “Can I just write Harrow? Who names their kid that anyway?”
“Are you always this rude to costumers?” Harrow crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
“Hey I’m just asking. Trying to make conversation. I genuinely wanna know how to spell your name though. Why’d you think I asked for your name?” Gideon smirked as she saw a blush spreading across Harrow’s cheeks.
“You... Just bring me my coffee.” With that Harrow turned around, still blushing and took a seat.
Gideon hummed as she made the coffee. She glanced over at Harrow a few times. She was reading some book and didn’t seem interested in anything else. A few minutes passed before Gideon called that her coffee was ready.
“Can you get me a straw with it?” Harrow finally glanced up at her.
Gideon blinked. Ok so she likes to drink her coffee with a straw instead of sipping it. Gideon will file that information for later in case Harrow decides to come back. And honestly Harrow doesn’t seem like someone who’s easily forgettable.
Harrow stayed there for a few hours just reading her book. It was like she wasn’t even there. Gideon would just hear the occasional slurp. Harrow said a very brief “bye” as she left after paying her bill.
She did indeed come back the next day. And the day after that. And the one after that. She became a regular. It was always the same routine. She would come in, order her coffee, sit down with her book for a few hours and leave. Gideon never saw her on her phone, or in any kind of company. Usually people would at least make small talk with her if they became regulars.
Harrow was a mystery. And Gideon found that weirdly attractive. She couldn’t believe it. Harrow wasn’t her usual type, she was the complete opposite in fact. So why was Gideon so interested? Just because she wanted to find out more about her? But why did she even care?
It was confusing.
Gideon sighed as she glanced at the clock. Harrow always comes in at the same time. Gideon wrote the name on the cup, made her coffee and put the straw in. Not long after the door to the coffee shop opened and Harrow walked in.
Right on time. Gideon smiled and pushed the coffee towards the end of the counter. Harrow approached and raised a brow at the barista.
“You memorized my order?” Harrow asked a bit skeptical but still reaching for the cup.
“To be fair there really isn’t much to memorize. The most difficult part is spelling your name.” Gideon chuckled.
Harrow looked at the name on the cup and sighed, “Harrowhark. Not Harrowhawk.”
“Its still weird! I’m trying my best here!”
“You try this hard for all your costumers?” Harrow asked as she payed the bill.
“Just the hot ones.” Gideon winked. As soon as she did her brain stopped. What the fuck was that?! That was so bad! And she’s not my type at all! Stop flirting Nav!
Harrow opened her mouth to say something but no words were spoken, she just turned around abruptly and walked to her usual seat.
Gideon felt like falling to the depths of the earth and never coming back. She was usually so smooth. Why did she have to say that cheesy pick up line?! Was she losing her natural charm?! No that’s not it, this only happens around Harrow. Was the goth an actual witch?
Gideon spent the rest of the shift trying to come up with a good explanation as to why Harrow made her sound like a dumb teenager who learned bad pick up lines from the internet.
She was brought back to reality by a tap on her shoulder. The redhead’s eyes landed on the goth, holding out money.
“Oh good, you’re back among the living. This is your tip.”
Gideon took the money and a little slip of paper fell out. Upon picking it up she saw a phone number written on it with Harrow’s full name written on it. Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Boy her family is really something when it comes to names.
“You’re a bit of an idiot Nav.” With that Harrow just walked out of the coffee shop.
Gideon just looked back and forth between her and the phone number in her hand. What the fuck just happened?! She didn’t even want Harrow’s phone number. But she didn’t exactly want to throw it away either. Gideon put it in her pocket.
Later that day she lay in her bed thinking about her options. She could just not call Harrow and lock whatever attraction she had away. Then again maybe Harrow would be up for a one-night stand, it might finally get Gideon to stop thinking about her so much.
“Fuck it.” Gideon sent a message to the number Harrow gave her, asking if she wanted to go get drinks sometime. To her surprise Harrow agreed, all her messages were really short though. Why did she even want to go out with Gideon if she didn’t want to talk? Maybe she was just really horny. If so then she and Gideon are on the same page.
They agreed to go out that weekend. Gideon was looking forward to it actually, its been a while since she’s been on a date. She makes sure to roll up her sleeves cause her arms were some of her best features, so naturally she has to show them off.
By some miracle she got there on time and found that Harrow was already there.
“Hey there Bone Queen. Been waiting for me long?” Gideon winked as she approached.
Harrow narrowed her eyes at the nickname, “Only a few minutes. You got here on time which is admirable.” Harrow looked at her date, “You clean up nicely Nav.”
Gideon blushed at the compliment. She always thought she could take compliments as well as she could give them, and in many cases she could but Harrow seemed to throw everything Gideon thought she knew about flirting out the window. Harrow made her heart skip a beat and she couldn't wrap her head around that fact.
They got a table and ordered some food and drinks. Well Gideon wouldn’t exactly call water and chicken rice food but she wasn’t gonna press about it too much. They ate mostly in quiet. After some time Gideon sighed.
“Alright. What’s the deal here?”
“What?” Harrow stopped mid bite.
“Why’d you give me your number? You clearly aren’t interested in having a conversation.” Gideon smirked, “Do you just find me really hot and wanted to bang? Cause if so I don’t blame you.”
Harrow blushed and averted her gaze.
“No. Well...you are attractive in a stupid, muscly sort of way.” Gideon flexed at the words.
“Ha! I knew it!”
“And I like your eyes.” Harrow said quickly, almost too quick for Gideon to catch it but she did. She stopped flexing.
“My eyes?” She quirked a brow in confusion. People complimented many things about Gideon’s looks but very rarely her eyes. They tended to be focuses on other parts of her body rather than her yes.
Harrow nodded, “Its what I first noticed about you. It seemed interesting.”
“So...” Gideon blinked, “You stuck around this whole time, became a regular at the café, agreed to go out with me, all because you think my eyes are pretty?”
Harrow nodded again. A few moments passed in silence, then Gideon burst out laughing.
“Don’t laugh at me!” Harrow was red again, but this time it was also due to anger and embarrassment.
“Its just... that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I never associated that word with you.” Gideon stopped laughing, “Seriously though, you could have just told me that before.”
“In case you didn’t notice I’m not exactly a people person.”
“Oh I noticed. Which is why it was weird that you randomly wanted to fuck, but I guess it was a possibility.” Gideon said, seemingly deep in thought.
“I do not want to fuck you Griddle.” This time Harrow was blushing simply because of Gideon’s words.
Gideon looked at her.
“Griddle?” She asked with an amused smile.
“You have a nickname for me. Its only fair.” Harrow crossed her arms.
Gideon’s amused smile turned into a warm one, “I don’t hate it.”
They proceeded to eat the rest of their dinner. They asked each other some questions during the dinner. Harrow found out that Gideon’s dad owns a whole chain of cafes, that Gideon likes martial arts and sword fighting, and had a very crude sense of humor. Gideon learned that Harrow studied osteology, which explained the bone-like earrings, she liked reading all sorts of books, her parents passed away years ago but she was doing quite well by herself.
The more Gideon learned about Harrow the more that attraction to her grew. But this time she felt like she understood it more. She wanted to know more about Harrow. And while she wasn’t her type there was the urge to take her to bed eventually.
Gideon decided to take things slow. Harrow didn’t seem like the sort of person to have one-night stands and it took her a while to give Gideon her number. She wasn’t nearly as social as Gideon was so Gideon wasn’t gonna push her boundaries. She genuinely wanted them to get to know each other. Which wasn’t something that Gideon often did with her dates. Harrow was different though, they seemed to be drawn together, complete opposites. And yet Gideon had a feeling they’d fit together perfectly.