Pairings: Shin/Yankumi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Fluff/Sap
Ramen Confessions:
Kuma had pleaded with him to
do this and try as hard as he might to think up of some plausible excuse, Shin
discovered that he really couldn’t say no to his best friend. But it was cool.
He really had no problems doing this anyway. He had done it before and had
found it to be pretty fun…although tiring. So what if his Saturday afternoon
was going to be spent reeking of soba and hot sauce? At least it was better
than hanging around town doing nothing.
“Welcome, Shin!” came the
exuberant cry from the plump woman behind the counter. She grinned widely at
him and he managed a small smile, trying hard not blush at the looks he
received from the few customers in the ramen shop.
“Hello, Mrs. Teruo,” he
greeted with a polite bow. “Kuma…”
“Is in the backroom
changing,” she interrupted, almost pushing the young man towards said room.
“Hurry up, it’s almost lunch time and you know the customers will definitely be
coming in droves!”
He stumbled into the small
changing room, wincing at Mrs. Teruo’s strength. Goodness, but she really
didn’t know her own strength, did she? He noticed his blond friend fixing his
white chef hat onto his head and had to smile at the sight he made. “Looking
good on you, Kuma.”
“Sure, sure, whatever,” Kuma
replied although he was flushed. Ever since taking over his father’s ramen
shop, he had come to take his duties with great pride and responsibility. Shin
couldn’t be any prouder of the way things had turned out. “Get dressed quickly,
man. Or my mom’s going to start screeching again.”
“Don’t want that to happen,”
Shin replied with a wink as he took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of
his t-shirt.
“Let’s work hard today, eh?”
Kuma said with a wide grin as soon as Shin was done tying the apron and donning
his hat.
“Ah,” came the low reply of
agreement. “Let’s do our best.”
__
Two hours later and the ramen
shop was filled to capacity but Shin had lost all sense and track of time as he
performed the double duty of accepting orders and cleaning tables after each
customer was gone. Although the doors to the shop and windows were wide open to
let in fresh air, Shin’s shirt was now stuck to his back with sweat and he had
to wipe his brow every now and then to stop it from entering his eyes. His dark
locks lay damp against his forehead and as he rushed back to the counter to
deliver his next list of orders, he felt he had to take a break and soon. He
wasn’t sure he’d be able to last much longer.
“Are you okay, Shin?” Kuma
asked in concern as he tossed some more noodles onto the hot pan. “My younger
brother should be here in a few minutes and he’ll help you out.”
“No…I’m fine,” Shin reassured
his friend quickly, wincing as another gust of wind ushered in a new set of
customers. Fixing a polite smile on his face in readiness to meet them, he spun
around and almost dropped the memo in his hands at the sight of…
“Yankumi!” Kuma greeted in
surprise. “What are you doing here?!”
“Eh? What kind of a question
is that?” the petite woman said with a cheeky grin as she made her way up to the
counter. “What’s wrong with coming to eat at one of my cute student’s
restaurant?”
“Ah…well…”
“So who’s serving me today?!”
She sat at an empty table and slammed her fist upon it (not very ladylike, Shin
noticed with a groan) in anticipation of a good meal. It seemed as if she had
not yet noticed the young man standing in the corner…that was until Kuma
pointed a spatula towards him.
She blinked large black eyes
behind her glasses and followed the direction of the cooking utensil. “Eh?!
Sawada! You?!”
“Keep your voice down,” Shin
gritted tightly, his cheeks flaming with color as the other customers glanced
towards them. Didn’t she know how to practice proper decorum in public places? She
was always too loud and yet… fascinating.
But Yankumi wasn’t through
teasing him yet. She nudged him gently, laughing at his flustered visage.
“Heheh, I didn’t know you were working here part time now, eh? So how much are
they paying you?”
“…”
“How many times do you work a
week?”
“I…”
“Oh! Don’t tell me! You’re working
here for free! Ah, just like my Sawada! You’re a man’s man after all.” She
slapped his back in enthusiasm, only to wonder why Shin fell to the floor like
a ton of bricks.
“Oy, Yankumi, watch how you
hit people.”
“That’s because you’re not
strong enough,” she replied with a wink. “I can teach you…”
“Not interested,” he mumbled
as he got up and walked towards the next table. He couldn’t look at her
anymore, or he was sure she’d notice he was yet to control his burning cheeks.
“Ah, Sawada! Aren’t you going
to serve me? Oy, Sawada! I’m a customer too, you know!”
Realizing she was going to
continue shouting and making a scene if he didn’t serve her, Shin walked up to
Kuma and rattled off quickly. “A bowl of morisoba and a cup of sake for her.”
Kuma blinked. “How did you
know…?”
“Just give that to her,” Shin
replied quickly and then went off to deal with other customers.
__
Shin was done wiping the last
table and he stood up with a wince. He had been working for so long now and had
completely lost all track of time.
“It was pretty busy today,”
he said as he sat upon a high stool and leaned his head upon the counter. Mrs.
Teruo had long gone home, so it was only he and Kuma left to clean up the
place. “You guys did well today, ne?”
“Yes, indeed,” Kuma grinned
proudly as he took off his hat and then reached into the pocket of his apron to
pull out a white envelope. He placed it before Shin before placing a steaming
large bowl of morisoba in front of the surprised boy. Blushing faintly, Kuma
scratched his head. “A little gift from us to you for all your help and
besides, you haven’t eaten all day…ah, Yankumi, here’s your bowl too!”
Yankumi?!
Shin spun around quickly to notice the grinning woman walking towards them. He
had thought she had left earlier in the day (much to his disappointment) and
wasn’t expecting to see her again.
“What are you doing here?” he
asked quickly. “I thought you had gone home…”
“I wanted to share the last
meal with you,” she said enigmatically as she closed her eyes and clapped her
hands together for a prayer. She nudged him and whispered. “Pray!”
Still dazed at the sudden turn
of events, Shin complied and joined her in the ritual. He opened his eyes and
noticed that Kuma was no longer with them.
“Mmmm, delicious!” Yankumi
gushed as she slurped a string of the food into her mouth. Shin stared at her
for a moment, wondering why this woman had the tendency to make him feel this
confused and yet…pleased at the same time.
“Hey!” he cried out as she
made a move to steal some of the fish in his bowl. “Go eat yours…”
“Too slow!” She snatched the
piece out of his bowl and in retaliation; he reached out to steal a slice of
meat from hers. “Hey! Cheated!”
It was silly and yet so
Yankumi. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he loved her.
“Oy, Yankumi,” he mumbled
softly, finding his bowl of ramen suddenly fascinating. They had managed to
steal most of each other’s food by this time.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Sawada?”
She was still slurping on the noodles but was left speechless as she felt Shin
move and then the sensation of his lips against the corner of her mouth. It was
quick and she almost felt as if it hadn’t happened, since Sawada was back to
eating his food as if nothing had just taken place.
Her cheeks felt hot and for a
moment, she wasn’t really sure of what to do or how to react. She stole a
glance at him and noticed that he too was red-faced. Aww, he really was too
cute when he tried to act all tough when he really was a big softie inside.
“You!” She wrapped an arm around
his shoulder and ruffled his hair gently. “So this means you really like me,
eh, Sawada!”
He tried to escape from her
grip, but she wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t flatter yourself, Yankumi.”
“So what was the kiss for?”
“Because!”
“Because? That’s not a
reason, Sawada! Ooh!” She gave a dramatic gasp. “Maybe you love me?!”
“Shut up,” he mumbled and
rose to his feet, turning his face away. They both gave a quick salute of
gratitude to Kuma, who had returned to see his friends off.
“Aww, that’s so mean,”
Yankumi pouted and picked up her handbag to run after him. “But you kissed me…”
“Trust me it’s not going to
happen again,” he said, sticking his hands into the pockets of his pants as
they made their way down the street.
“Never ever ever ever again?”
she asked, dancing in front of him with a wide grin. “Not even if I asked you
for it?”
He slapped a hand against his
face. “Yankumi…”
“Just teasing you,” she said
as she hooked an arm around his and rested her head upon his shoulder. “But…it
was nice, Sawada. Thank you for sharing the last meal of the day with me.”
His cheeks darkened but he
said nothing as he enjoyed her close proximity. He would just have to tuck this
moment away in his memories. It was something he was going to cherish for as long
as he lived.
~End~