Chapter Text
Kusuo walked into the café at precisely 7:42 a.m., as usual, ignoring the bell above the door and the faint hiss of the espresso machine. The smell of roasted beans, warm milk, and sugar was oddly… tolerable, though he would never admit it.
He’d been working at the Daily Grind for a few months now. He liked the gentle chatter of customers as they sipped their coffee, and the fact that he could get his black coffee here for cheap.
He liked his deals.
A customer made their way toward the counter.
“Hi! Can I please have a latte with two sugars?”
He nodded and reached for the items. If he could avoid talking to the customers, he did.
That didn’t mean he had to be rude, though.
Kusuo swiftly handed her the drink, which had been prepared by another employee in the back.
“Geez, couldn’t you have been a little nicer?”
A voice from nearby spoke, with a hint of amusement.
Whether they were mocking him or feeling sorry for the customer, he couldn’t tell.
Once the customer left, he turned toward the voice.
And saw… a guy.
Floating.
In thin air.
Occasionally he did see some strange activity, but this took the biscuit.
Kusuo stared. For longer than he would’ve liked.
“Oh! You can see me?” the man exclaimed, pointing at his face as if it were the most shocking revelation in the world.
“Yes, I can… see you,” he retorted in his usual deadpan.
“You can see me? Great. Means I won’t have to haunt you or anything.” he muttered, like Kusuo couldn’t hear the last part.
“Also, I’m your official Cupid. Yeah. Your love life is my business now. Lucky you!”
Kusuo stared at him, expression unchanged. Internally, he processed the information with his usual efficiency.
‘Assigned… Cupid. Officially. My love life is now his business. Fantastic.’
He opened his mouth. Closed it again. ‘No. Just… no.’
“I see,” he said finally, voice flat, betraying nothing. “And how exactly am I supposed to cooperate with… you?”
The cupid grinned, entirely missing the sarcasm. “Cooperate? Easy! Just, you know… fall in love. I’ll handle the rest.”
Kusuo tilted his head. ‘Fall in love. Right. Because that’s logical and necessary at 7:45 a.m.’
He sighed quietly. ‘Somehow, my day has already become… significantly worse.’