smile! sweet!

feat. churros made by yours truly

“hmm....”

you bit your lip, staring at your phone. “..?” the boys stared at you with curious eyes.

“hmmm...”

“... manager, is something wrong?” goujin decided to gather all his courage (from his toenails up to his baby hairs) and asked. “hmmmm...” your eyes were focused on your phone, staring hard.

“something's definitely wrong...” mansaku whispered as hiura nudged him with his elbows (“careful, she might hear you”). shirou only frowned, he knew that look. ‘she's definitely craving something...’

“manager, what are you watching?” shirou asked as your eyes brightened, rushing to pause whatever you were watching.

“i'm so glad you asked– i'm watching churros asmr!” the boys deadpanned (“oh god, that again...” “are we gonna be rushing over to buy her cravings again from the other city?”). shirou gave you a smile, “aah, churros... do you want us to go buy you churros?” he offered as you paused, thinking over it for a moment before shaking your head.

“no, the last time i asked you guys to satisfy my cravings, you somehow ended up in chiba...” you mumbled as they avoided their eyes. “... then you won't satisfy your cravings?” hiura asked, unsure. the guys suddenly had stars in their eyes, they felt hope (“manager has been enlightened..!”).

“of course not! the only difference is that we're not gonna buy it, we're going to make it.”

“huh?” (“also, manager... it's ‘you’ not ‘we’, you asked us to buy it for you...” “oh shush, kazemaru.”)

—

“oh my gosh, you're so pretty!”

you cooed as you stare at shirou who's donned in an apron. “manager, are you sure about picking me as your... partner?” he asked as you blinked, “eh? but it's just cooking, no need to be nervous about it.”

shirou only pursed his lips, “but i'm not really sure about my cooking skills... why not pick gouenji..?” you only smiled, “what's wrong with picking you as my cooking partner? i want you, not shuuya.” (“and besides, all he knows is how to make takoyaki...”)

shirou could only nervously laugh at your side comment at gouenji, “i'm flattered, i shall do my best, manager.” you only grinned, giving him a thumbs up:

“alright then! first, we have to prepare the flour, eggs, and the sugar..!”

shirou only smiled at your enthusiasm and went to get the bowls and the other tools. “you seem excited and pumped up, manager.” he commented as you only grinned, “well, we're making churros after all.”

shirou blinked, “eh? do you like cooking, manager?” he closed the cabinet and stopped next to you, placing the bowls on top of the counter. “hmm... more like, i love cooking.” you said with a smile before continuing: “that's the only thing the person i treasured taught me, so it makes me feel calm and relaxed, and a bit nostalgic.”

shirou only pursed his lips, watching you make the batter. “come to think of it, you know a lot about us but we don't really know much about you...” he said as you chuckled, “really? i don't think it's something worth knowing but... let's just say that i'm a bit similar to you in a way.”

“similar? i don't think so, how are we similar?” shirou asked as he turned the stove on and heated the pan. “hmm... let's see...” you stopped to think deeply about it, “i guess it's the fact that we lost our parents in a young age and forced ourselves to be independent? i'm not too sure...” you mumbled as shirou stopped, blinking. his actions didn't go unnoticed by you, though.

“aah, i'm sorry. that was too insensitive, wasn't it...” you said with worry etched on your face. shirou only shook his head with a smile, “no, it's fine, i'm trying to get over it anyways. besides, i'm glad to know that we share something common.”

“i'm glad, too...” the both of you leaned on the counter as you waited for the batter to cool for ten minutes. “manager, may i ask you something?” shirou asked as you hummed.

“who was the person you said you once treasured? what was she like?” you paused, blinking. “aah, but it's okay if you don't want to answer. i'm just curious.” shirou said as he waved his hands.

“her name was lily, she was beautiful, a kind and gentle person...” you mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. “where is she now?” shirou asked, looking at you. “hmm... i'm not sure, but i'd like to think that she's somewhere happy.” you answered with a knowing smile.

shirou swallowed, “aah, i'm sorry...” you only faced him with a dazzling grin, “it's fine, i'm over it now and i already have you guys!” you exclaimed as he smiled.

the beeping of the timer suddenly shocked the two of you. “aah, ten minutes is over..!” shirou turned to you, “what do we do next?” you pointed at the eggs, “we need to crack the eggs on the batter and mix it. after mixing, all we need to do is put it in the piping bag and fry!”

—

“y/n, we're home!”

endou's voice echoed. “oh, you guys are back.” kazemaru noted as he welcomed the guys on the doorstep. “hm? where's y/n?” kidou asked. “aah, she fell asleep after cooking.” gouenji said as they all headed to the lounge. “cooking?”

“right, i forgot to tell you. manager made churros. you guys came right in time, the churros are still warm.” mizukamiya smiled. the guys dropped their bags on the couch before heading to the dining room, walking to the table.

“ooh, it looks delicious..!” sakanoue exclaimed as he went to reach on the plate. he blinked when someone stopped his hand and gulped. “wash up before eating, manager won't like that.” goujin said as sakanoue let out a relieved sigh (“i thought it was manager for a second there...”).

haizaki blinked at the separate plate that no one has noticed til now. “aah, that...” mansaku began, noticing him looking at the plate which was placed in front of haizaki's seat.

“what's this..?” haizaki pointed. “that's a churros, manager did that especially for you.” haizaki blinked, “a... churros? why is it shaped like this?” hiura only sighed, “she said it's your shark from your hissatsu shoot...” (“believe me, i tried stopping her!”)

let haizaki's response be: “what the actual f*ck...”