2Aftermath of the Curry Catastrophe
Afterword: Show's over. Sojiro won. Go home. It's just Team Mom and Dad cleaning up.
Ren and Makoto cleaned the kitchen. Ren was set to clean the kitchen by himself, though his friends offered to help. He had insisted they head home and that this amount of clean up was the norm during his shift at Leblanc. They conceded after wiping the tables and soaking the plates and the silverware in the sink but Makoto stayed behind knowing he was planning on doing a complete scrub-down of the café. After a bit of a playful back and forth with him stating that a lady as noble and considerate as she, need not preoccupy herself with cleaning for he knew she had a whole host of things that took priority, and her insisting that it was perfectly fine and that it would only be right since Sojiro had so generously allowed them the full day to use his business establishment for a crazy cooking contest, Ren cheerfully accepted her offer. Cleaning was the least they could do to show their appreciation, she had told him before swiping the towel slung over his shoulder and began scrubbing the gunk off one of the stock pots. Ren then located a mop and bucket and while they performed their immediate tasks, they discussed how to divide the rest of the cleaning evenly.
He packed away the leftover ingredients and wiped down the counters while she washed the dishes. What was left of Sojiro's curry was divided up evenly between the group and they all went home well-fed and ready for a nap.
She noticed as he scoured the grime off the stovetop, that he had purposely left one plastic bag out. She stacked the last plate onto the dishrack and dried the knives and the cutlery. After placing the knives in the drawer she turned towards Ren who had just finished sweeping the crumbs off the counter and into the wastebasket.
"Ren, earlier when you, um, modified our curry was that-"
"Uh-oh." He broke off a piece of chocolate and held it teasingly between his teeth. "I think I broke off too much. I could use a little help finishing it."
Makoto felt a blush rise to her cheeks in indignation. He inched closer, dangling the block of chocolate inches from her mouth. "C'mon, you know you wanna."
She suddenly registered his hand on the small of her back, reeling her in.
His smirk grew wider as her face grew redder.
Something went off inside Makoto and without warning, she seized him by the collar, and fiercely crashed her lips into his and nabbed the chocolate. She broke away, smacking her lips. "Huh, that's pretty good. I think that's 72% dark or even 80%? Do you have any more?"
Ren was standing so still, he could fool anyone into thinking he was a professional living statue. A crimson-faced statue.
Her mouth hung open and she blinked a few times in disbelief. She had never seen him so red, so shocked, so...cute?
Ha! Half of her felt triumphant for all the times he made her flustered but the other half felt a bit ashamed for acting so impulsively. Was she not supposed to be the refined and elegant student council president? And yet somehow, he always knew exactly what to say and what to do to bring out her impulsive side.
She folded her hands together. "T-that was... Well, I mean you were asking for it. You should know teasing has its limits."
He didn't move a muscle. He didn't even blink.
"R-Ren?" She was beginning to worry. "I-I'm really sorry. I went too far this time. Please, if you can hear me, uh, at least blink?"
He did. Or at least his body did involuntarily.
"Ren…?"
This was starting to get a little scary and she contemplated googling, "How to break your boyfriend out of his kiss-induced stupor even though he deserved it".
She also thought of sending Ann or Haru an SOS message...
Help.
I think I broke Ren.
Leblanc Cafe.
Now.
Help me.
Please.
...Before thinking twice about it. More likely than not, they would never let both of them live it down and Ann would definitely take pictures.
Makoto shook her head clear of those thoughts, grabbed both of Ren's wrists and somehow led him to one of the bar stools and had him sit down. And there he sat, hunched over like a half-melted snowman with the thousand-yard stare, as Makoto was on the verge of a mini-panic attack, unsure of what to do.
The shopkeepers bell chimed and Sojiro waltzed in.
"Don't mind me, just came to grab some things...oh, it's just you two?"
"Boss! Good afternoon!" Makoto bowed quickly hoping he wouldn't notice how red her face was.
If he did, he didn't make a show of it. Sojiro lazily waved his hand. "Afternoon. How'd the curry contest go?"
"It was, um - good. We had a lot of fun. Thank you very much for letting us use your café."
He turned away, pretending to rifle through some magazines and scratched his temple. "Ah, well. Futaba was so excited - how could I say no? Looks like you even mopped and swept the floors. Very nice of you. Hmm?" He zeroed in on Ren who was slumped over the counter.
Makoto jumped and held a hand up as he walked past her. "B-Boss! We also made sure to clean up the kitchen. Everything should be in tip-top shape-"
But Sojiro's attention was already on his young protégé who from the side, appeared to be doing an impression of Yamcha's pose - sitting down.
"Hey! What's the matter with you?" Sojiro clapped Ren on the back.
Ren groaned and uttered, "Too...hot…"
Makoto hid her face.
Sojiro shoved his hair back, which was doing him no favors for his receding hairline. He heaved a long suffering sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I keep telling you to follow my instructions. But you always hafta 'follow your heart'. Can't be helped. Lemme make something for you to help you cool off."
He turned to Makoto. "Niijima-san."
Makoto jerked her head. Sojiro beckoned her into the kitchen. "Give this old man a hand."
He poured a glass of milk. "So. He do something to you?"
"Wha-? How-?" she exclaimed, fumbling for an explanation.
"You don't have to tell me. But let me guess, the kid was being..."
"A total joker, yes."
Sojiro capped the carton of milk and put it back in the fridge.
She clasped her hands. "I'm not sure what to do."
Sojiro looked around in co-conspiratorial fashion before whispering, "I'll let you in on a little secret: Men are stupid. Especially when they want a certain lady's special attention. Sometimes, the cure is to go back to the source of what caused it."
Makoto crimsoned.
Sojiro scratched the back of his head. "Or was that for hangovers...?" he mumbled to himself.
He handed the glass of milk to Makoto. "Anyway, bring this out to him. Don't mind me. I've got to take inventory."
Makoto thanked him. He grunted and turned his attention to the stockpile of disposable cutlery and tableware.
Makoto held the glass of milk in both hands, careful not to spill. As she came out of the kitchen she could still hear Sojiro tallying how many napkins and straws he needed to restock.
She walked over to Ren, glass in hand. "Here. Boss made this for you."
She set it in front of him. Ren remained dumbstruck, staring at the glass before him. When Ren didn't budge she slid the glass closer.
She wrung her hands. "Geez! How long are you going to keep this up?"
Sometimes the best cure is to go back to what caused it in the first place. NO! Absolutely not! And certainly not in front of Sojiro-san…
Makoto made a noise that was a cross between a sigh and a whine and took one of his hands. She lowered her eyes, feeling heat spread across her face. "I'm sorry. I-I promise I won't do that again. So please..."
"That...would be troublesome."
She looked up. Ren turned his hand over and squeezed her fingers, giving her a small, lopsided smile.
She cleared her throat. "I don't know what came over me."
"Yeah. My bad."
Then after a moment: "I wouldn't mind if you did it again."
She jerked her hand out of his grasp. "Hey! Are- are you actually sorry?"
"But I like it when you're spontaneous. It's a rare thing, coming from you. 'Tis a moment to be treasured." He placed a hand over his heart in dramatic fashion.
"H-how can you even say that with a straight face..." She twiddled her fingers. "If I'm going to do that I'd rather…" She trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.
Ren looked down at his hands, biting back a blush and a smile. After taking a moment to collect himself he told her, "The spice blend you made was good. Can I come over the next time you make curry before exams?"
She coughed quietly into her fist. "O-Only if you promise not to go wild with the spice level."
He chuckled quietly and gestured his hand towards her. "I'll leave that to you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Now that you mention it, you purposely snuck in some more chili powder at the last minute, didn't you?"
Ren's face was the picture of innocence. "Whatever do you mean?"
She smirked and leaned forward. "Was it because of what Ryuji said earlier?"
He smirked back and met her eyes. Ren's curly bangs brushed against her straight ones. "All I can say in my defense is: I was just following my heart."
She straightened and smiled at him knowingly. "All right, then. Keep your secrets."
He only laughed wryly.
"Everything alright out there?" Sojiro popped out of the kitchen, notepad in hand, pencil tucked behind his ear.
"Yes, sir." answered Ren.
"Good to see you functioning again. Oh yeah, there's an extra kettle of water on the stove that needs to be used up. Do what you want with it. Give it to the plants or something - I don't care."
"Right."
"Well, I'm off. Lock up after me, will you? Thanks."
Ren and Makoto both waved goodbye. Leblanc's door swung shut, the bell chimed, and the café settled back into its usual quiet atmosphere.
Ren took this moment to sip his milk in silence while Makoto looked around the room pretending to be fixated by the light fixtures. She pursed her lips desperately thinking of something to say, inwardly begging Ren to stop taking deliberate slow sips of milk and resume their little repartee. She glanced woefully at the cheery yellow vintage telephone at the far end of the counter, wishing it would ring to break the awkward silence. She blamed herself for the lull in conversation. It was almost always a guarantee whenever she tried socializing whether it was in a group or one-on-one with her peers. The only time she was able to successfully converse with people for longer than fifteen consecutive minutes was for student council meetings but that mostly comprised of her delegating or debating or discussing school-related matters.
How in the world did Ren do it? How come he always knew the right things to say?
She sighed quietly. The ratio of flowing conversations to awkward silences in my life is not ideal . Her eyes roved past the stained glass lamps and over the warm, mahogany and walnut tones of Leblanc's polished, wooden interior. Everything about Leblanc from the ambiance to the decor was homey and cozy…just like the coffee Sojiro served. And then there were the baristas who contributed to that mellow and languid atmosphere. She looked at the boy in front of her who loved serving her coffee with a winning smile - just for her. This is what he saw. Another perspective.
She lightly drummed her fingertips on the counter. "So this is what it's like to be on the barista's side."
"You like it?"
"I've always wondered what things looked like from your point of view."
His eyes flickered towards the kitchen. "Well, Miss Barista, I can see there's a fresh kettle on the stove. If you don't mind, I'd like to place my order. Ethiopian Mocha Harrar. Two spoonfuls of sugar. No more, no less." His hand cut back and forth like a pendulum as he requested his preferred amount of sugar.
She patted the counter. "Sir, this is my first time, you see. I'm afraid I don't have enough experience. If only there was someone to show me."
"Well, you happen to be in luck." He rose and came around the counter. "I'm no expert but from my experience, you're going to need an apron."
...
The kettle was set on a potholder, the coffee beans were accurately measured on a scale, the paper filters thoroughly rinsed, and drip machine was ready to go. Lastly, two cups sat on the counter, waiting for coffee to be poured into them.
"First, grind the beans till they're the consistency of fine soil." Ren stood behind Makoto. His gentle hands enveloped hers as he guided her step by step on brewing a cup of coffee.
"For this type of coffee we want a finer consistency. It will drip slower but the wait is worth it."
She nodded in agreement. "By prolonging the steeping time you allow the flavors to come out, producing a richer taste. Otherwise if you don't grind the beans enough, the water will just seep right through and the coffee will taste bland."
He raised his eyebrows and smiled, impressed. "Very good."
"I did wonder why you ground certain coffee beans to a specific consistency and why some cups of coffee took longer to make than others."
"My, my. To think this humble part-timer would be so closely observed by such an erudite customer like yourself. I'm honored."
She blushed and gently nudged her head against his. Ren slid the drip coffee maker in front of them. "Filters." he prompted. She selected one and placed it in the dripper.
"Add the ground coffee to the filter and then you tap the side, like so," He demonstrated with a light tap to side of the dripper and had her do the rest. "To level the surface of the grounds. Good."
Her hand reached for the kettle and she looked to him for the next step. He nodded. "Now, pour freshly boiled water over the beans in a small circular motion. Pretend you're drawing a spiral with the water starting from the edge, moving towards the center."
Makoto poured the water slowly and evenly over the grounds. Ren had his arms around her waist and he murmured advice into her ear. "That's it. Slow circles. Just like that. Keep it steady."
The coffee bloomed and its fragrance, rich and robust wafted through the air. They both inhaled deeply and "ah'd" at the wonderful aroma.
He grinned and whispered, "You are a natural."
She set the kettle down and beamed at his compliment. "I have a good teacher."
Just as Ren said, the mixture of water and coffee that collected at the top, trickled down at a slow and steady pace.
"We're gonna have to do this about two more times. Okay? Slow and steady. Make sure the water's covering everything."
"Right. Slow and steady. Spiral motion."
When the carafe was about a third full, she placed one of the coffee cups in front of its spout.
"Please, go have a seat so I can serve you."
He pressed his cheek against her hair and rocked them back and forth. "When it's done dripping."
It was almost as if he planned this all along! Well, that was fine. It was comfortable being in his arms - more than she was willing to admit aloud.
The coffee finished dripping after the fourth pour and he returned to his seat. She poured him a cup and slid it forward the way he always did for her. "Enjoy."
He blew, or rather whistled the first few notes of Mozart's Symphony No. 14 (A Major) over the liquid's surface and took a sip.
He set the cup down slowly and smacked his lips. His expression remained neutral. "Hmm."
"Does it meet with your approval, Mr. Barista-in-training?" she asked, in perfect imitation of his barista "persona".
He beckoned with his index finger to, "come closer."
She smiled coyly, knowing what was coming and leaned forward on her elbows. He tapped the cup.
"I'll give a detailed evaluation of this fine cup of coffee after. But first: payment. I shall give what is due for one cup." His hand closed around her elbow. Warmth traveled up her arm. She came closer. He came closer. "And since you don't work here, your payment will not be money but..."
She tasted mocha and a hint of berry on his lips, specifically blackberry. It's a little bitter. Did I overgrind? Can you overgrind? Maybe it's the temperature of the water that -
Ren trailed his fingers down her neck and he pulled her into a deeper kiss, causing whatever other self-criticisms she had, to dissolve instantly like sugar cubes swirled in coffee.
