Coffee Beans || Sasuke Uchiha X Reader

.:Chapter One:.

            The smell that filled your nose the second you entered the coffee shop had been permanently etched into your brain from almost two years of working there. This morning was no different. After waking up painfully early at 5:00 a.m. and transporting yourself to the next street block, you hopped up the front steps of the old townhouse, which like most of the others on this street had been turned into a small business. You pushed open the front door, earning a jolly jingle from the bell above it.

"Good morning~" A voice sang from behind the counter at the back of the room. It was Emiko, as it always was this early in the morning. Unlike you, for as long as you'd know Emiko she had always been a morning person. Maybe it was because her ambitious nature wanted her to be able to get more work done through the day, or there was just something wrong with her head. Either way, her persistence and helpfulness was the reason that you were almost able to graduate from college.

"Morning." You said with noticeably less enthusiasm. You maneuvered yourself through the maze of tables and dining chairs to go past the barista counter and up the spiral staircase that was tucked away in the left corner. Your feet made the old metal stairs rattle, and when you stepped onto the second floor the panels of the dark oak floor creaked beneath you, just like they did on the other three levels of the house. You could still smell the coffee beans and fresh croissants from up here.

The room was mostly empty, except for a battered leather couch, a coffee table that was standing on four broken legs held together by duct tape and an old TV. With its exposed brick walls and scuffed floors, it looked more like a back-alley than an employee lounge. An array of cubbies were pushed against the right wall, which was where you was headed. Second cubby from the left was where your belongings were kept; dark green waiter apron, a few books, hair ties and a comb, and some perfume. You tied the apron around your waist, not caring how you looked in your ripped boyfriend jeans, basic white t-shirt and messy ponytail. That was one of your favourite parts of the job; not having to dress up for work. As long as you weren't naked, no one really cared about what you looked like.

When you went back down to the main floor, Emiko was still behind the counter, fiddling with the cash register. Despite her being nearly perfect at everything else, she never had a knack with technology.

"Did you break the machine again?" You teased.

Emiko rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't break it." She said with frustration cracking in her voice. She tried her luck again and pressed the button to which she believed would fix her problems, then growled angrily when the modern machine let out a horrid buzzing noise.

You rolled your eyes, and gently pushed Emiko to the side while you handled the cash register. With a few easy taps on the screen, the drawer opened revealing different stacks of money.

"Thank you." Emiko sighed gratefully, then went to continue her original task.

"This is why you leave the cashier work to Rin." You told her.

"I would, except she's not here." Emiko said, clearly under more than a little stress from your other co-worker not being present. "She's never late."

"Maybe she's sick." You pointed out.

"Oh, please," Emiko said, brushing off your suggestion with a wave of her hand. "That girl's built like a machine. I swear, she's immune to everything."

You laughed at what she said as you began taking the chairs off of the tables and tucking them in, then doing a quick dusting on all of the tables. You expected there to be a morning rush almost as soon as the shop opened at 7 o'clock, so preparations had to be made to keep up with the swarm of people. You could already hear the chefs in the kitchen, shuffling around as they baked fresh goods for today. You listened to the rhythmic beat of coffee beans being shaken around as Emiko rearranged the different containers on the barista counter. All of these sounds were easily recognizable to you, and even brought you some comfort.