Work Text:
It was a busy day at slingshot's cafe, thieves rest. Of coure it was, because it was none other than valentine's day! The best day to show your appreciation to your lover or friends, and what better way to do it than enjoying coffee and dessert together?
Thieves rest looked especially cozy today, of course, sling and his siblings had already planned all the decorations beforehand. Several pots with beautiful, pink and red flowers that vine had grown surrounded the main area, and the walls and ceiling were carefully decorated with ribbons and paper crafts made by shuriken, the usually white tableclothes were now pastel pink ones. And of course, all the pastries and cookies had a special decor today, slingshot had been working hard all morning baking and decorating all the cokies and pastries for the occasion. The cookies were weart shaped and some had cute phrases on them, the cupcakes had a red wrapping and a piece of heart shaped chocolate on top, etc.
Although he was tired, slingshot was quite proud of his work, and when he finally finished baking, he headed to the counter to serve some customers. He couldn't help but smile as he watched the costumers react to receiving the pastries, commenting on how cute and lovely they were. Small things like that made him realize that all his morning work had been worth it.
"Why are you smiling at the air like that? Did you hit your head or something?"
Slingshot's soft smile inmediatelly faded when he heard that voice. Oh, that voice. He had been in such a good mood until now, of course the one who was about to ruin it had to be Coil.
Even though Coil already had a history of coming just to annoy him, slingshot tried to treat him as he would anyone else, sighed, and forced a smile before speaking, ignoring Coil's questions.
"Good afternoon, Coil. What can I get you?"
Coil leaned against the counter and pretended to think, glancing at the menu for a few seconds before ordering the same he always does.
"Give me a black coffee and a... Ew! what is that?"
Once again, Sling's smile, even if fake, faded upon hearing that exclamation. Was there something disgusting around? If that was the case, he needed to clean it up immediately. The least he wanted was to any customer having a bad experience in his cafe. He looked at Coil to see where he was pointing at, it was right down to the glass counter that separated the both of them, where some cookies and pastries were on display. Slingshot looked down, expecting to see some spoiled cake or something like that, but everything looked perfectly fine, just as he had left them there freshly baked a few hours ago.
"...What's wrong with them?"
"Why do all your desserts look like they were made by a 10-year-old? My eyes hurt by just looking at them. Wait... the whole place looks like this. You really have bad taste."
Slingshot couldn't tell if Coil was once again trying to rile him up on purpose, or if he really was thinking his decorations were that bad. He was about to say something mean when he remembered all the previous costumers that had complimented his cookies and pastries and calmed down, knowing the decoration was not a problem.
"It's because today is Valentine's day, Coil."
Coil let out a small 'oh' as if he literally just then realized it was valentine's day. Perhaps he really did. Then, he nonchalantly shifted his position to now lean on his elbow against the counter.
"Valentine's day, huh? I always had a feeling you were the corny type. Anyway, just give me the coffee then."
Coil slid a few bucks across the counter and waited for his recipt. It took Slingshot a moment to take the money and get the recipt. Coil always ordered a black cofee and whatever pastry he felt like eating that day. Was he really not gonna eat one today just because they looked corny? Sling couldn't help but ask.
"Are you sure? Not even a cookie?"
"One of those heart shaped things? No thanks. Just give me the coffee."
Coil's inmediate answer just made sling more confused than before, so he pressed a little.
"Why is the design such a problem? I baked them with the same ingredients as always, they taste exactly as they always do."
"I just don't like it, okay? It looks... ridiculous. On Valentine's Day, people get so cheesy that it makes me want to puke."
Sling frowned, and before he could stop his mouth, he ended up saying in an not so friendly tone:
"Is that it? Or is it that you don't like it because you don't have anyone who wants to spend the day with you?"
Slingshot inmediatelly regretted saying that when the words came out his mouth. Sling knew Coil didn't had many friends, and he didn't seem to mind before, but now, that question that seemed more like an accusation seemed to have caught him off guard. Coil's eyes widened for a second before they turned into a glare and he straightened up.
"What do you know?"
Slingshot wanted to apologize, but him and Coil never got along and he just made things worse now that he had actually offended him. It was funny, no matter how many times Coil had pissed him off, sling actually offended him once and he was already feeling like an asshole. Eventually, Sling just gave him the recipt and said no more. Coil snatched the recipt in a purposefully rough way and walked away, taking a seat by the window and staring outside.
While Slingshot was making the coffee, he tried to console himself. Coil was a loner, he surely didn't mind being alone even in a day like this. But when he stole a glance in his direction, Coil was there sitting alone staring outside. The sight of him all alone, while everyone around him was laughing and having a great time with their loved ones, sent a feeling right at sling's chest. It wasn't pity, it was empathy.
But even if Coil actually preferred to be alone, his words had been inappropriate, and he needed to fix that.
Slingshot approached the table, placed the coffee in front of Coil, and then put one of the heart-shaped cookies next to the coffee cup.
Coil glanced down at the cookie, frowned again, then looked up at slingshot.
"I told you i didn't want any of your stupid cookies, i'm not paying for this thing, you know?"
Despite the insult, slingshot ignored it and gave him a smile, this time a genuine, apologetic smile.
"You don't have to pay for it. My treat. Take it as compensation for having been so rude to you before."
He didn't wait for an answer and went back to work, not giving Coil a chance to try to reject the cookie or say anything. Coil watched slingshot until he started talking to another costumer, taken aback by the sudden gift. He wasn't used to apologies, neither giving or receiving them, so he never expected it.
Coil took his eyes off Slingshot to look down at the cookie again. It was a pink, heart-shaped cookie, but it had something written on it.
'I really like you.'
Truth be told, Slingshot just reached for a random cookie from the counter and gave it to him without bothering to look at the design it had. But Coil didn't know that.
He stared down at the phrase written on the cookie, then looked back at slingshot who was currently busy working. He let out a small laugh that got lost admist the noise of the cafe, then drank his coffee and ate the cookie, taking his time. It really tasted the same as always, it was the same recipe, but this time for some reason it tasted a little sweeter.
Before leaving, he went back to the counter to leave a generous tip on the tip jar. At the moment, Slingshot was busy with another costumer, but he noticed.
Sling watched from the counter as Coil headed out of the cafe, now with a faint smile instead of a frown on his face.