Chapter Text
Sip was tucked away in a quiet yet artsy neighborhood. Located near the university, it was relatively far from the hustle of the big vibrant city. Despite its location, the café buzzed with life, from its opening until late at night. However, it was Iso’s little secret; with cozy furnitures, old jazz tracks spinning on a really old record player, dim lightning that helped him focus on his assignments.
He had found it by accident, on a rainy day by seeking shelter from the storm. The owners were friendly, but their son was …a bit strange.
At first, he didn’t give it too much thought. It was probably one of their many quirky aspects, that added to the café’s charm. From the mismatched furnitures and the weird graffitis on the wall to the strange little doodles of creatures that always seemed to accompany his coffee orders.
Were they always here? Or has this habit started recently? He shook his head, gaslighting himself into thinking it was probably nothing more than just a signature of the house.
Until the doodles started including a miniature version of himself. The creatures were still there, but something else caught his attention. The barista, the one who always takes his coffee orders, had started glancing at him more often.
Iso didn’t mind the stares of others. He’d always been the quiet, yet somehow arrogant, kid that nobody really liked, which made it easier to ignore the unwanted attention from his classmates. But for some reason, he couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling off his chest. A voice in his head urged him to glance back, and so he did.
As soon as their eyes met, the green-haired barista quickly looked away, visibly startled, and returning to his work.
Iso frowned, trying his best to reset his focus back on his assignment. He glanced at the barista again, but before he could process any thought, he sees him approaching his table with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands.
“Hey man!” He said with an unusual yet fitting high pitched voice “here, on the house”
Iso opened his mouth, not sure what to ask. But before he could speak, the same voice interrupted him.
“You know…so you could focus and stuff” he added awkwardly, a hand scratching the back of his head with a nervous laugh.
“Thank…you?” Iso’s curiosity flared, but the words got stuck in his throat.
He quickly glanced at his name tag, something he never noticed before despite visiting this place every day for weeks.
「 Gekko ✦ 」
Before he could ask anything, Gekko disappeared again behind his counter, as a wave of customers rushed in.
Iso stared at his coffee for a few minutes before muttering under his breath.
“Gekko huh?”