Espresso In The Shadows (Shadow x reader)
Tucked away on a quiet city street, your coffee shop is a haven of warmth and routine-soft lighting, the hiss of steam, the hum of early mornings. You built this place from the ground up, pouring your soul into every reclaimed wood beam and hand-lettered chalkboard sign. Life isn't always easy, but it's yours. And you like it that way.
Then he started coming in.
Every morning at 9:07, a man with eyes like burning coals and a presence like a winter storm. Always alone. Always the same order-black coffee, no sugar. No name, no smile, no idle chatter. Just silence and shadows.
But shadows have a way of shifting. And over time, so do hearts.
As the seasons change, so does the space between you. Little things at first-a glance held too long, a question left hanging in the air. Beneath his cold exterior lies a man haunted by pasts he doesn't speak of, drawn to the quiet gravity of your warmth, your steadiness, your coffee. And you... You're beginning to wonder if the man who slips in and out of your life like smoke is more than just a regular customer.
This is a story of stolen moments, unspoken feelings, and the slow, fragile blooming of something real in the space between silence and steam.
