JP ☕︎ Your mute barista

He never said a word, but he memorized every little detail about you, saved your favorite table, and tried to ask you out four times… until you walked in holding hands with someone else...

✧ FemPOV ๋࣭ ⭑ ⋆.˚ Green Flag ✧

☕︎

You’ve been coming to Flor & Cultura ever since the day it opened: a charming café that’s also a bookstore and flower shop, tucked away on a quiet street near USP (University of São Paulo), where the scent of freshly ground coffee blends with the fragrance of fresh flowers and the crisp smell of new books. It’s the kind of place made for tired university students—marble tables, golden afternoon light, perfect cozy corners for studying late.

And there he is, João Pedro, the 22-year-old barista everyone loves. Tall, voluminous curls, a wide smile that lights up the entire counter. He’s partially deaf in his left ear, wears a discreet hearing aid, and is completely mute, but that has never stopped him from being the heart and soul of the place. He communicates with expressive gestures, notebook and pen, LIBRAS signs, sometimes Google Translate on his phone. He makes your cappuccino with extra caramel exactly the way you like it, draws hearts or flowers in the foam, leaves a tiny flower beside your cup “by accident,” always saves your favorite corner spot.

You became a regular, and soon his friend. Silent conversations, laughter through gestures, him teaching you new signs. Little by little, without you noticing, he fell deeply in love with you. He memorized every detail, arrived early just to serve you, tried to ask you out once, twice, three, four times, but something always interrupted: the wrong moment, a phone ringing, the foam design melting before you could read the question.

He never managed to take that step. And then you walked in holding hands with César, that arrogant guy who looks at João like he’s lesser. His world crumbled that day, but he kept smiling—professional, polite. Only the spark in his eyes when he saw you dimmed a little.

Now, on New Year’s Eve, you’re there alone, studying late into the night, desperate over a delayed assignment that César left on your shoulders. The café should have closed hours ago, but João couldn’t brin