LAVENDER LEMONADE [KOBY X READER]
[SUMMARY] you've had a crush on the koby for the longest time, but he only ever seems interested in talking to your coworker, luffy. you're not sure why the two seem to be engaged in some sort of secret conversation this time around, though. [PRONOUNS] gender neutral [GENRE] modern + coffee shop au [POV] second person [WORD COUNT] 2321 [CONTENT] fluff | assumed one-sided affection | awkward confessions | somewhat crack humor | joking about murder & suicide (in the gen z/millennial way) [A/N] belongs to this one shot collection. honestly did not intend for it to be as long as it is but I apparently have a lot of feelings for koby
Smooth jazz filtered through the air, mixing in perfectly with the lax attitude of the cafe and the light ringing of the bells above the door.
You liked Sunday afternoons. More specifically, you liked Sunday afternoons in late April to early June. Spring was in full swing, if not beginning to dip into summer, and the light blue sky and quiet breeze exuded an air of calmness into your usually quite hectic life.
Regardless of the season, though, Sunday afternoons were always a welcome respite; the morning rush finished with and the end of the week close on your heels. Suffice it to say, there were many things you liked about Sunday afternoons, but if you had to pick a favorite…
Well, it wasn’t a hard decision.
“Hey, [Name]-san!” Koby greeted you, grinning ear-to-ear. You beamed, heart skipping a beat at his kind eyes. “It’s good to see you, as always.”
“I told you not to call me that, just [Name] is fine! But yeah, you too, Koby.” You looked at the blond, sunglasses-wearing man (why he insisted on wearing them indoors, you would never know) next to him. “And you, Helmeppo.” Just once, once you wished Koby would show up to the cafe without Helmeppo. Not that you didn’t like the guy– he was fine. It’d just be easier to ask for Koby’s number without him there, embarrassment eating you alive slowly.
The blond returned your polite greeting just before Koby spoke again. “Is Luffy-san working today?”
And there it was, the real reason Koby insisted on coming to the cafe every Sunday: Luffy. You knew Koby frequented the cafe on other days as well, though Sundays were the day he always visited, without fail. You weren't a hundred percent sure why, considering Luffy didn't always work on Sundays, but you figured that it had to do with his schedule. It would have been stupid for you to even entertain the idea that Koby was a regular at the cafe because of you, especially since he always asked for your coworker if he didn’t spot him working the register. Plus, you knew he’d been a regular long before you began working at the Thousand Sunny, but still. You could pretend, couldn’t you?
No, of course not, not when he was looking at you so expectantly.
At first you’d wondered if Koby had a crush on Luffy, but then Nami informed you that it was more hero-worship than anything else. Luffy had apparently gotten Koby out of a really bad job and had somewhat indirectly connected him to his grandfather, who took him and Helmeppo under his wing.
It made sense, honestly, for Koby to look at Luffy with such admiration. You couldn’t blame him.
It still stung a little, though.
“Yeah, he’s just in the back bugging Sanji. I’ll go get him for you.” Your smile turned a little sad, despite your best efforts, and without waiting for a response you headed to the back, making your way to the kitchen. Sanji was fending off a rabid Luffy, yelling at him to get back to work and stop pestering him for the meat he was in the process of cooking.
“Luffy!” You called, grabbing both his and Sanji’s attention. “Koby’s looking for you.”
Your interruption allowed Luffy to snake his weirdly flexible arm past Sanji’s block and snag the meat right off the pan, tossing it in his mouth before the cook had a chance to stop him. “Koby!” Luffy cheered through a mouth full of food, launching himself past you to explode through the door. You offered Sanji a sympathetic shrug and ignored the way his expression went from aggravated to concerned, quickly following your coworker back to the front.
Luffy was perched on the counter, already engrossed in a conversation with his visitor, poor Helmeppo trying to get a word in when he could between the two’s rapid chatter. With a quiet sigh you input their regular order into the register and applied the friends and family discount, like you always did, and prepped it for their usual form of payment. Helmeppo noticed, like he always did, and paid as you went to work making their drinks.
A medium iced chai for Helmeppo, and a medium lavender lemonade for Koby. Sweet and pretty, just like him.
You silently made the drinks, the receipt rolling from the machine after the payment had been processed. By the time you turned back to the counter with the completed order, Luffy and Koby had disappeared, though you were quick to spot them in the far corner of the cafe. It looked like Koby was desperately urging Luffy to lower his voice, which you knew would be a losing battle. Despite how loud Luffy was, you couldn’t really make out what they were saying, the ambient noise doing just enough to drown out their words.
“Thanks, [Name].” Helmeppo nodded appreciatively, taking his drink from you while you placed Koby’s on the counter.
With no customers in line or looking to be in need of assistance, you leaned against the counter and folded your arms across your chest, nodding at the two men.
“What’s all that about?”
Helmeppo flinched, which, granted, was a bit odd, but you let it slide; you didn’t often talk directly to the guy, so it made sense that he’d be surprised by your words.
“Koby had something he wanted to ask Luffy-san about.”
“Really?” You frowned.
“Yeah. Just wanted some advice.” Helmeppo took a sip of his drink.
Your frown deepened. “Advice? What for?”
You got a shrug in response, which caused your lips to twist into a pout. You knew it wasn’t any of your business, but you honestly could not think of a single subject anyone would want to go to Luffy to for advice. He was a better soundboard for spontaneous decisions, always willing to support you if you wanted a quick adventure or had an idea you were just a bit too nervous to try on your own.
Faster than you thought possible, Luffy darted away from Koby, jumping over the counter and leaping into the back. You watched with wide eyes, continuously confused by his insistence of never entering or exiting the coffee bar in a normal way.
Glancing back to Koby, you saw that he had gone strangely pale, wide eyes flickering to yours for just a moment. He looked… nervous?
“Hey! Luffy, what are you-”
And then suddenly Luffy and Nami appeared, the former grasping the latter’s hand in a tight grip as he tugged her past the coffee bar and out to the cafe proper, ignoring the annoyed and disgruntled looks of the patrons who, honestly, should have been used to his antics by then.
Luffy dragged Nami to where Koby stood, and then the three began talking. Koby and Nami kept their voices low while Nami slapped a hand over Luffy’s mouth, effectively muffling his words.
Taking a moment to process what just happened, you eventually sighed and pulled yourself away from the counter, deciding it’d be best to just focus on tidying up rather than focus on whatever that was.
Well, at least with Nami present, Koby would hopefully be able to get some decent advice.
Helmeppo remained by the counter, sipping on his drink as he shifted his attention between his phone and the trio in the corner. Fine by you, you weren’t necessarily in the mood for chatting, anyways.
By the time you’d relegated yourself to wiping down the counters, the three had begun to disperse. Luffy had his signature, extremely large grin taking up most of his face, Nami was looking at you with a slight smirk and sparkle in her eyes, and Koby looked like he wanted to die.
At that point you weren’t sure you even wanted to know what had been discussed.
Luffy opened his mouth, but Nami quickly yanked him into the back before he could say anything. Helmeppo and Koby exchanged a few quiet words before the blond straight up left, nodding at you before he swiftly exited the cafe, effectively leaving you and Koby all alone.
“I’m scared to ask, but what was all that about?” You questioned after a minute, tilting your head to the side. “Helmeppo said you wanted to ask Luffy for some advice, which probably isn't necessarily the best idea, unless you were wanting encouragement to just go for whatever–”
“Will you go on a date with me?”
You stopped. Your jaw dropped, all words and thoughts disappearing from your mind in rapid succession. The world stopped spinning, and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating for a second there, too.
“Come again?”
Koby looked positively terrified, but you saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and seemed to muster his confidence. “I’m asking if you’d like to go on a date with me, [Name]-san.”
“Why?” You spluttered out, unable to stop yourself. God, just say yes! Why are you like this?
His face was impossibly red, but he maintained eye contact. “I’ve liked you for a while now, ever since I saw you on that first Sunday we met. I- I thought you were incredibly beautiful, but I didn’t know if you’d ever feel the same way.” His jaw clenched. “Luffy’s been telling me to just tell you, that you liked me too, but I didn’t believe him.”
Luffy knew? Luffy told Koby that you liked him? Luffy had somehow managed to keep his mouth shut about the entire thing for God knows how long?
Oh, you were going to kill him. You were going to ring his rubber-like neck–
“It wasn’t until he brought Nami-san out to confirm that you felt the same way that I was able to build up the courage to ask.”
Oh my God, you were going to kill not just one, but two coworkers.
Sorry, Sanji. It had to be done.
“B- but if they were lying, and just messing with me, I- I completely understand!” Your eyes refocused, spotting the panic quickly enveloping his demeanor. “I- I’m sorry for bothering you, I’ll never talk to you again if you don’t want me to, I’m so sorry–”
He must have taken your silence as rejection. Your heart twisted in your chest, beating wildly against your ribcage.
“Oh my God, no! No!” You interrupted him, waving your hands in the air and shaking your head enthusiastically. “No! Koby, no! I’m sorry, I was thinking about how I was going to kill Luffy and Nami, that’s all!” You cringed as the words left your mouth. Just how badly could you fumble this opportunity? “N- not because they lied to you or anything! They didn’t! That’s why I have to kill them. I can’t believe they ratted on me–”
“Wait, so you really do like me too?” His words stopped you dead in your tracks, the smallest hint of hope audible to your ears. You took the moment to refocus, taking in the way the panic had begun to ebb away from his features. He was looking at you with a softness that made your knees weak, the corners of his lips twitching into a faint smile.
“Koby, I– yes.” I have been hopelessly crushing on you since we met. “Yes, I like you too, and yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”
It felt like you were back in high school, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.
The smile Koby directed at you was a reward in and of itself. You’d never seen him so happy, so relieved; you wanted to make him smile like that all the time.
He laughed, light and pleasant and wonderful. “I’m so glad. Thank you, [Name]-san–”
“Wait.” You held up a finger, stopping him in his tracks. His eyes widened. “I will go on a date with you, but only on one condition.”
You felt a little bad, seeing the way he quickly reverted to the meek, nervous Koby from before. “O- okay?”
“You have to stop calling me [Name]-san.”
It took a second, but he smiled and laughed again, eventually nodding. “Fine, I suppose that’s fair.” And there he was again, the confident, happy Koby you admired oh so much. “When does your shift end?”
“In about three hours.” You glanced at the clock, unable to stop the frown from appearing on your lips.
“Perfect! I have some errands I need to run, but would you like to get dinner with me once you're off?”
You looked back at him, cocking an eyebrow. “Just the two of us? No Helmeppo?”
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “No Helmeppo.”
“Then yes, I would love that. But, uh, give me some time to get changed and ready and all that, first. Meet back here in about three and a half hours?”
“Sounds good.” He looked so happy, so pleased with himself and your response. You couldn’t help but attempt to match the brightness of his smile. “I’ll see you then, [Name].” The way he said your name without the honorific made you shiver. “Thanks for the drink.” He grabbed the long-forgotten lemonade and offered you a little wave, one which you happily returned.
“Any time. See you in a bit.”
With one last satisfied nod, Koby exited the cafe. You watched through the windows as Helmeppo attacked, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders, mouth moving a mile a minute. You flushed, the events of the past few minutes finally catching up to you, and you suddenly became aware that you were in public.
That entire exchange had been in public.
You wanted to crawl into a hole.
“Yay! I knew everything would turn out okay!” Luffy’s voice appeared from behind you.
Ah, yes. Right. Okay, new plan: murder Luffy and Nami, and then yourself.
But not until after your date.