They were done with the kitchen as Shu gave a satisfied smile. "The other chefs will be delighted once they see this, Shoto.!" The brunette said with a genuine tone which caused the purple haired boy to feel his chest tighten.
He placed a hand to Shu's shoulder. "Shu, you are amazing." Shoto said with a small tear comedically falling from his cheeks. "ARE YOU LEGIT CRYING RIGHT NOW PFT???" Shu asked, holding back a wheeze with a knuckle over his mouth.
Shoto sighed. "Listen, my friend Mysta told me I couldn't flirt unless I've worked here for a week. You're breaking me, Shu." He jokingly said, chuckling at the end of his non-sense of a statement. "This friend sounds like the mom of the groupâ" Shu said which caused Shoto to bark out a laugh that caused him to stumble a bit.
"PFFT! HE'S PROBABLY THE MOST CHILD-ISH PERSON I'VE MET, SHU!" Shoto barked back like a dog.
"OH COME ON! I'VE NEVER MET THEM, SHOTO! How could I know?! To me, YOU seemed like more on the child-like spectrum." He huffed at the end as he wasn't so use to yelling. He gave a small eye roll that Shoto reciprocated back but with a pout.
He sighed. "Alright alright, fair point.. somewhatâ"
"SOMEWHAT?!" Shu heard what Shoto quickly and sneakily tried to whisper at the end of his sentence.
The boy irked up with the sudden noise before stuttering back a comeback. "NO, NO, NO! You didn't hear anything, you fuck. You didn't hear fucking shit." He said with a finger pointing at the brunette in a manner that wasn't even intimidating.
The inch shorter back just smacked the finger away and crossed his arms. "You're the unreasonable kind!!" He said. Man, Shu really was the mom friend in this situation which Shoto knew meant that he was the wrong one and will very much be defeated by the brunette.
Accepting his demise, Shoto backed down. "Don't look at me. Shut up and get to the kitchen that I busted my ass on." He pouted, commanding Shu to also back down and just get to work.
The brunette got the hint and waddled off as he had to get the last word of this battle. "You'd want me to bust your ass at the same kitchen counter, hm?" He said in almost a yelling tone since he was walking away. This caused Shoto to get heavily embarrassed as a few other chefs already started entering the building.
He shouted back in more of a loud whisper. "SHU! SHUT IT!" Having his index finger over his lips in a shushing manner. Shu just chuckled and carried on to the kitchen with Vox.
"I see you're interacting well with the rookie." Vox said, letting out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Shu just chuckled before tying up his hair in a bun. "Yeah, he seems pretty chill and lewd! Maybe he can be a victim of my deez nuts joke." He laughed as the taller male gave a mellow giggle.
"Ah, who is ever safe from your obscene jokes, Shu?" He joked before eyeing back at the kitchen counter with vegetables on it and a cutting board.
Shu talked back. "Yup, no one is safe from the amazing Shu Yamino!" He popped his 'p' before doing finger guns to Vox who also reciprocated a quick finger gun.
"Alright, We should get all the chefs ready. We're about to open." Vox said in a hum before Shu left off nodding at the boss.
Shu was always the mom of the groupâ or maybe the weird aunt if Vox was honest. Reliable, very reliable and kind-hearted. Also extremely knowledgeable in tech and in general, which could be considered charming by some. He also had a side where he was one to laugh at cheesy and corny jokes. Very famous ones were deez nuts and ligma jokes, alongside some dad jokes that would deflate the man.
Vox rolled his eyes, reminiscing the old days with the boy. The award winning smiles he did whenever he was able to slip in a joke about nuts or ligma's.
Oh Shu, what a fascinating young man.
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"Alright!" Shu clapped his hands. "Break time, folks! We'll get back to work in an hour or so!" He smiled before everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief. Even Shoto let out a small sigh, though it wasn't noticeable since he didn't want others to know that he was also feeling the pressure today.
He looked around the kitchen before he saw a little space that probably held most of their food and ingredients that had a little opening spot. Big enough to sit and rest for a bit, he walked on over and sat.
The boy let out another sigh before eyeing the room to only be greeted with chitter and chatter alongside a lot of laughter by the fellow chefs. Huh, was Shoto in the same room with these people earlier?? Even he couldn't recover from such a fast-paced job and he was the fucking waiter.
He watched as Shu barked out a laugh, followed by a hand waving in the air and meeting Vox's back. They all seemed so.. in sync? Nothing seemed out of order, like the shit about them running around and dropping plates didn't happen earlier.
It was like it was so normal for them and Shoto didn't know how to react nor respond to that- Maybe cus Shoto is on the more introverted side? Yeah, he can social and exert himself to others when needed. Maybe for missions and stuff but he rather be alone half of the time when he's resting.
Maybe even reading a book by the window in his break wasn't that inaccurate when it comes to how he chooses his methods of self rest.
He just sighed before tilting and resting his head by a metal cabinet like furniture before feeling his eye lids heavy. It was barely in the afternoon and he's already sleepy?? I mean, his sleep schedule didn't do him any justice but that doesn't matter..
The cold touch of the silver metal to his cheek was comforting to say the least. He just wanted to sink himself in deeper and drift off to sleep. But this thought was later interrupted by an approaching male.
He had short hair, same length as Shoto which surprised him a bit. All he's been seeing in the kitchen were men with long hair all the way to their back so he was glad that someone else bothers to cut their hair every now and then.
His hair had an ashy top as it faded to a nice blue hue on the ends and tips of his hair. The boy finally stopped walking as he was infront of Shoto. Shoto was too busy with his head in the clouds that he didn't notice the 5'8ft tall boy hovering over him.
"Shoto?" He said in a calm tone with a hand slowly reaching out to the sleepy boy. He just let out a hum while eyes still closed.
Opening his eyes to the sheer bright light, he whined. "Hello chef..?" He questioned at the end.
"Ike, I'm Ike Eveland." He said with a charming smile as his earrings dangled from every move he did, even if it was subtle.
"Hi chef Ike, do you need.." He trailed off before finally having his soul back to his body, he jumped up and stood.
"âOh god- So sorry, did you want to sit here??" He asked, gesturing to the small space between pastries and ingredients.
Ike just patted a hand to Shoto's shoulder before giving a light chuckle. "Awh Shoto- No, no. I was gonna ask you if you wanted to talk with me, Shu and Vox? You seemed quite lonely here. Of course, I'm not forcing youâ" He said, being really considerate.
It finally dawned on Shoto as he tilted his head and pointed a finger at himself and then the group. "Me talk to them?" He asked, still feeling sleepy and like the sleepiness would overtake him any time soon.
The boy with earrings nodded as he gave a gentle smile before resuming back. "But you do seem tired, are you getting enough sleep Shoto??" He asked, rubbing a hand towards the boys shoulder.
Shoto layed a hand ontop of the taller male and sighed, closing his eyes in the process. "It's alright, chef Ike.. I'll talk with you guys if that'll be fine?" He gave a weak smile, he wanted to sleep and doze off but maybe socializing was a better alternative.
He walked over along the boys and chatted for a bit. He learned the favorite dishes each chef preferred making and other useful tips and tricks whenever making simple food like ramen to Shoto. Like how he should season it, a better way of mincing certain vegetables, etc etc.
He found it quite enjoyable and useful if he was honest, he gave a genuine smile. He was actually enjoying himself! Maybe this little meetup was a good mood booster for him since he still had about 3 hours left of work, excluding the "challenge" he did of being a janitor.
He mentally sighed before resuming back to the conversation, adding into the melody of chatter. He felt included, which he hadn't felt in a short while.
_______________________
Finally, everything was done and everyone was deciding to pack up. Shoto, tired as fuck and excited to go home only to later realize that he had an extra duty to clean the kitchen as he made an oath.
He whined before waving a goodbye to everyone. Welp. He's now alone again.
With Vox.