Chapter Text
Kimberly Hart is in college, and she’s never been so stressed before in her life.
The second semester just started, and Kim already found herself being buried in assignments, papers, labs, and exams. She barely had time for hanging out with her friends at this point, and, with how little she’s seen them lately, she would honestly be surprised if she still had friends. There was one consistency in her life, though, and that was her morning stop for coffee.
Last semester, she’d discovered this little coffee shop on the corner of a street not too far from her campus. The menu wasn’t much of a wide variety, but Kim found that nearly everything on there suited her tastes. It became a subconscious habit of hers, walking here every morning from her dorm to get a cup of coffee. She found herself sitting at the same booth every time, after she grabbed her order. The booth was placed right next to a window, allowing her to look out and lose herself in the cars that passed by. It was relaxing, and soothed her stress for at least twenty minutes a day. The baristas usually changed every other morning, and she’d even gotten to know a few of them on a first-name basis. There were a few regular customers who came by whenever she did too. They’d order their favorite drinks and then sit down at a table, scrolling aimlessly on their phones. Overall, Kim’s mornings were pretty uniform.
This Tuesday was different.
Kim walked into the coffee shop, triggering the jingle of a bell that hung above the doorway. The barista, an awkward teenage boy in his employee uniform, greets her with a smile. She gives him her order, the same as always. He nods and soon enough, she has her warm drink in hand and shifts to go to her favorite booth. She expects the place to be empty, as it usually is when she first arrives. But…
There’s a girl. She looks like a college student too, by Kim’s assumptions. She’s sitting in the back corner booth, sipping from her cup and texting on her phone. There’s a beanie sitting on the back of her head, and she’s wearing a cute yellow jacket that fits her perfectly. There’s no way she’s been here before. Kim would have noticed.
Kim doesn’t actually realize that she’s staring at the girl until she looks up from her phone and they incidentally make eye contact, which lasts a solid two seconds before Kim abruptly looks away. Her cheeks are burning from the fact that, yes, she was just staring at this cute girl (by accident, of course). And yes, she got caught.
Staring at the white floor the whole way, Kim goes over and swiftly sits in her usual booth, ignoring the ridiculous flush in her cheeks. After a minute of tapping mindlessly on the side of her cup, Kim reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She brings up the texting thread with her best friend, Jason Scott, and types rapidly.
K [8:57AM]:
cute girl at my favorite coffee place. rn.
J [8:58AM]:
No way. Get her number.
K [8:58AM]:
i don’t even know her!
J [8:59AM]:
Then go talk to her?
Kim reads the last text on her phone, biting her lip and thinking about it. Sure, she could go over there and talk to the girl. But so many things could go wrong! And, on top of that, she would need the confidence to go over there in the first place. She doesn’t even know if the girl likes women, or anything about her for that matter. Yet all it would take is to go over there, and start one conversation...
Alright. Fine. One conversation. Kim could do that. As an ex-cheerleader, she’d had plenty of experience with being social and meeting new people. She inhaled deeply, and turned in her seat to start getting up with the little shreds of confidence she was able to build.
It was too late, though, because as soon as she did, the girl was already making her way out the front door. Kim exhaled in disappointment, but not surprise.
Shit, she thought to herself, slouching in her booth. There goes that.
For the remainder of the day, Kim couldn’t help but think about the mystery girl during her classes, as distracting as it was. Yeah, paying attention would probably be very helpful with the amount of work Kim was in for, but there was something about that girl. Something that made Kim want to learn more about her, and, hopefully, take her out on a date one day.
The next morning, she walks into the coffee shop hoping to see the mystery girl again. She’s slightly disappointed when she doesn’t.
It isn’t until Thursday morning, when Kim walks in at her usual time, does she see her again.
She’s sitting at the same corner booth as last time, drink placed on the old table in front of her, looking down at her phone. Today, though, the girl isn’t wearing that beanie, and Kim takes a moment to admire it.
Her hair is braided so nicely on one side, and the rays of sunlight coming in from the windows shine on her jawline perfectly, and…
Wow, Kim is definitely gay.
The barista is looking at Kim, a hint of confusion on his face as he waits patiently for her order. (Even though he knows what she’s getting already, it’s always safe to wait for a confirmation.) Kim fumbles embarrassingly, pushing strands of her hair behind her ear as she tries to get her order out successfully. She nearly messed it up, stating the wrong amount of sugars and tripping on her words, but managed to compose herself. The boy nods and turns around, grabbing a cup and going to the machines to prepare her coffee.
Kim was waiting patiently by the counter for her coffee to be presented, she really was. Some part of her mind dared her to look over at that corner booth, which she resisted for... quite some time. But with her significant lack of self control she eventually did, when she realized the girl was standing, and-- oh god, is she walking this way? She’s walking this way .
Kim tensed up where she was waiting, eyes trying to look everywhere but at the girl who was coming straight for her. The yellow crop top that she’s wearing evidently draws her eyes anyway, where Kim can see her exposed tan skin and she tries to ignore the way her heartbeat begins to race.
Then, she realizes, the girl is actually walking towards the napkins.
Right. Of course. Why would she be walking towards Kim? The napkin holders are just a foot away from where she’s standing. It only makes sense when she stops in front of it, pulling out a few thin white napkins.
The girl does look up as she does, briefly glancing at Kim and making the smallest amount of eye contact. She looks away almost immediately, to Kim’s dismay, but as she passes by to go back to her table Kim is able to peek at the name written on the girl’s cup. Just barely, she’s able to make it out.
The name TRINI is written on the side in thick black marker, and Kim smiles a little to herself.
Trini. It’s a beautiful name, she decides.
Kim’s routine has changed.
Most days are completely normal; she arrives to her favorite coffee shop, sits at her booth with the perfect window view, and watches other customers come and go. Sometimes she does a bit of last minute school work, sometimes she just watches the street and the strangers that pass on the sidewalk.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are a different story, though. Every week, the same mystery girl in yellow sits at that back corner and silently enjoys her drink. Kim quietly pines over her, admiring the different outfit choices and how the color yellow really looks good on her. A lot of times, Kim spends the entire morning wondering if she’ll ever actually manage to speak to Trini.
Her usual conclusion is, no, she probably won’t. Even with Jason’s advice and encouragement, she can never get that same courage she had the first day. It was, for the most part, a helpless cause.
But, one morning, Kim gets an idea.
She just-so-happened to get there a good fifteen minutes early today, and sure enough, the cute mystery girl hadn’t arrived yet. So before placing her order for her usual coffee, Kim grabbed a napkin and pulled out a pen from her bag.
In her clean, neat handwriting, she writes:
Hi. I’m Kimberly, the girl that sits by the window.
It’s lame, and definitely a middle school tactic, she knows. Writing a note? It’s almost pathetic, but it’s all she can manage to do without making a complete fool out of herself. Kim jogs over to that empty corner booth and slides the napkin towards the very center, leaving it there to be found later. Then she orders, sits, and waits.
When Trini finally arrives, she orders with very little conversation with the barista, and walks over to her usual booth-- and then she stops. Kim holds her breath as she realizes that the girl is reading the note. After reading it for what nearly seems like an eternity, she looks up and glances over at Kim with confused eyes. Kim smiles at her, offering a small and almost awkward wave, and Kim swears she can see a small curl in the corner of the girl’s mouth. Wishful thinking, maybe?
Kim turns back inwards to her table quickly after, trying to occupy herself by scrolling through her Instagram feed. The sun was pouring in through the window, making the contents on her phone nearly unseeable, but it didn’t matter. (She was internally freaking out about the girl’s response anyway.) She keeps scrolling, seeing pictures posted by Jason and a few of her other college friends, and she even almost gets invested in reading a longer post.
Until a hand slips a napkin in front of her. Kim looks up immediately to see Trini passing by her booth, heading towards the holder for sugar packets in the front. Secondly, she looks down at the napkin she’d just been given, and reads the words scribbled onto it:
Trini. Sup.
Her handwriting is incredibly sloppy, but it’s actually kind of endearing in a way that Kim can’t help but smile at. She feels relieved at two things: one, Trini actually replied to the note that she’d left; two, Trini didn’t think that Kim’s method of introduction was completely ridiculous and embarrassing. Or, at the very least if she did , she didn’t show it. Kim picked up her pen, grabbed another clean napkin, and wrote down her response.
We should talk some time.
She rereads it at least twenty times before she notices Trini making her way back to her table, and before she can pass, Kim casually slips it into the girl’s palm. She sees the way Trini’s eyes scan the note when she gets back to her seat, and she sees the visible hesitation as Trini lets her own pen hover over it. Then, finally, she writes.
Kim waits, drinking her coffee and enjoying the way it helps her relax. Her heart pounds in her chest, yet a part of her feels slightly more at ease. The anxiety has all but subsided, but there’s a little bit of hope somewhere in her chest. Just a little bit.
A good twenty minutes go by, but Kim doesn’t complain. Trini holds onto the napkin until she gets ready to leave, she notices, and drops it off on Kim’s table on her way out. Trini doesn’t look at her, avoiding eye contact most likely, so Kim reads the note instead of staring at her walking away.
Sure. I’d like that.
The front door bell jingles as Trini leaves. Kim puts down the napkin, grinning as she brings her coffee cup to her lips. She’s looking forward to next Tuesday.
Next Tuesday comes around.
Trini doesn’t show.
Kim is undeniably disappointed.
She’s taking slow sips from her steaming coffee, leg shaking anxiously under the table. Why isn’t she here today? It’s cloudy outside today, but it isn’t rough enough weather to avoid going out. Kim tries her best to shake the worries out of her head, because this probably isn’t even about you, Kim. She probably has perfectly valid reasons for not being here. The cars outside catch her eye, and she’s watching the daily traffic when she gets a text message from Jason.
J [8:43AM]
How are things with cute girl?
Kim lets her thumbs hesitate over the phone screen.
K [8:43AM]
her name is trini.
and she didn’t show up today
J [8:45AM]
Oh.
Don’t worry about it, K. Maybe Thursday.
Kim sighs, turning off her phone and shoving it in her pocket. Yeah, maybe Thursday.
It’s Thursday morning, and there she is.
Kim walks in trying not to get her hopes up, really. Telling herself that even if Trini isn’t here, there’s always next time. But her breath instantly catches in her throat when she looks over at the corner booth and sees Trini, leaning back casually in her seat. Yellow grabs her attention first; a yellow tank top to accommodate the warmer weather outside. The beautiful tan skin gets her attention second. Kim gets hopelessly lost looking at her arms, which are... more muscular than she thought they’d be.
It’s in that moment that Trini shifts her gaze to meet Kim’s and for the second time, Kim realizes she’d been staring for far too long. To cover up the whole weird staring thing, Kim gives her a small friendly wave. And surprisingly, Trini waves back. The girl’s face shows almost no emotion, except maybe sleep deprivation from being this deep into the college semester, but the wave has to mean something, right? Right.
Once Kim successfully orders her coffee— something new this time, actually— she walks over to her usual window seat and stops in her tracks. At this point, Kim’s heart scolds her as it pounds relentlessly against her chest. Go talk to her , it screams. Come on, Kim. You can’t make that much of a fool of yourself. And while the odds of Kimberly Hart making a fool of herself is actually higher than many people would expect, she knows that talking to Trini is the best idea.
So after a bit more inner pep talk, Kim swerves and goes over to Trini’s booth.
“Hi,” she begins, very awkwardly. What an amazing conversation starter, Hart. Trini looks up at her almost immediately, turning off the phone that rests on the table. Kim feels her intended words get caught somewhere in her lungs as Trini’s brown eyes nearly sparkle in the morning light. Wow. “Would… Would you mind if I sit with you?”
Trini’s shoulders visibly tense, but then she shrugs it off nonchalantly. “Sure, I guess. I did say we could talk some time.”
Kim smiles softly to herself; that was the first time she’d heard Trini’s voice.
It was totally worth the wait.
She sits down across from Trini, sliding onto the bench. Their feet brush just barely from the somewhat tight space underneath the table, but Trini doesn’t seem to notice it.
This was it. The moment Kim had been building everything up to. The moment she’d finally talk to this cute girl she’d been pining over for weeks. The moment she finally broke the ice. Except…
It’s quiet. So, very, awkwardly quiet.
It dawns on her that maybe Trini wasn’t much of a talker. Or maybe this was just a weird situation in general, since they didn’t really know each other.
“So,” Kim starts, fiddling with the plastic top of her coffee cup. “I’ve been coming here every morning since the school year started, and I never saw you here until a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah,” Trini responds slowly, folding her arms over her chest. “My friend Zack introduced me to this place. I guess you could say I’m addicted now or something, so I come here before my classes.”
There’s a grin on Kim’s face that she couldn’t quite hold back. “Wait, wait,” she holds up a hand dramatically, “Zack Taylor?”
Trini nods. “I’m guessing you know him?” She questions, with the arch of a perfect eyebrow and the slight curve of her lips. A gesture that makes Kim silently swoon.
“Just last week I had to pick him up from a party, because he got too wasted to even see straight,” Kim groans, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. Oh, what a fun night that was. He had nearly puked in the backseat of her car, and then proceeded to pass out soon after. Yeah, on the bright side, he was able to get home safely with Kim’s reluctant help. But that’s a memory she’ll hold against him for a long time.
“Oh, I know,” Trini snorted, the rare hint of a laugh. “I’m the one that dared him to do a kegstand.”
Kim finally let herself relax, laughing loud enough to grab the attention of a nearby customer. She didn’t notice, though. “No way!” Kim smiled, shaking her head. The picture is clearly painted in her head: Zack, trying to down as much alcohol as possible. Trini, smirking from the sidelines. A true disaster. “...Are you a partier? I didn’t think you’d be the type,” she finally admits from behind her cup.
“Why? Did you think I looked too much like a loner over here in my corner?” Trini retorts, sarcasm heavy in her words. Kim freezes momentarily, wondering if she’d actually sounded rude in her assumption.
“What? No, I didn’t mean—”
“Relax. I’m joking,” the girl says, smirking. It’s the closest thing to a smile Kim has been able to see from her so far, and it… is extremely cute. It’s such a smug and adorable look at the same time, even as Trini leans further back in her seat comfortably. “I don’t do parties, really. Not a fan of crowds. Or socializing,” she adds. “But Zack said I needed to ‘get out of the house.’ Do something fun.”
With a simple reply, Kim nods. “That definitely sounds like Zack.”
They sit in silence again now, drinking their caffeine and letting the minutes tick by. This time, however, it’s more comfortable. Natural. Kim even forgets that she has a class to be getting to soon, until she glances at a clock on the wall. She opens her mouth to declare her departure, but Trini beats her to it.
“Well,” Trini says, standing and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Guess I’ll see you around, Kimberly.” She gives a small salute, one that would seem polite if it weren’t for the casual vibe that resonated with her.
Kim smiles, watching her leave.
“See you.”
It becomes their new routine as more weeks fly by.
One of them will get there first (many times they have this unspoken race, hoping to get there first and wait with a smug look on their face), grab a booth, and the other will join.
They talk, usually short but sweet conversations. They discuss classes, exams, and other school-related topics. It takes a long time for Kim to get Trini to speak about her home life, and even after some progress there still isn’t much information out in the open. She doesn’t push, and let’s the girl open up on her own time.
When they don’t talk, they sit in what is now a comfortable silence between them. No words are spoken, but there isn’t anything wrong with that.
And Kim never stops admiring her. She admires that cute, rare smirk that Kim manages to evoke more often than not. She admires her little habits, like the way she folds up her napkins into odd shapes after using them. Most of all, though, she admires the way Trini’s eyes shine whenever Kim sits down on the other end of the booth.
Okay, that one might be her imagination, but she really hopes that it isn’t.
One morning, they exchange phone numbers so that they can hang out sometime.
Kim saves her name as Trini, with a yellow heart.
“Hey, Trini?” Kim asks one morning. It’s late April, and the coffee shop’s AC is just starting to kick in. How long have they been doing this? A few months have gone by of the same weekly routine. Meeting up every Tuesday and Thursday morning (and sometimes Saturday now!), spending half an hour a day in each other’s presence. It’s become so natural to them.
“Yeah, Kimmy?” Trini responds, not looking up from her phone. She’s reading some post on Instagram that clearly has her attention. The nickname makes Kim’s heart swell with nothing but adoration.
“Go on a date with me,” Kim blurts out, suggesting it before she loses her confidence. Trini freezes, looking at her now with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. “Like, a real date. Not here. Maybe the movies, or a nice restaurant…”
There’s an absolute silence as Trini stares at her in surprise. Kim feels her heart falter at the thought of misreading everything.
“Or, you know, we could forget I ever said this—”
“No! I—I mean…” Trini cuts her off. There’s a flush in her cheeks as she attempts to look at anything but Kim. Eventually she gives in and meets Kim’s gaze, and Kim can read everything in those beautiful brown eyes. “The—The movies sound nice. But, seriously, no romcoms, unless you want me to fall asleep.”
Kim smiles at her, and it’s the happiest she’s been in a long time.
The first time they kiss, Kim swears that there’s a hint of coffee on Trini’s lips.
It doesn’t surprise her.