~Redamancy~ Ren Amamiya X FemReader

Coffee and Curry

Hello and welcome back blossoms! Writers block really hit hard but I'm still trying :D
Hope you enjoy the chapter, don't forget to comment and vote!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ren was hesitant to head back to his temporary home, something was nagging him in the back of his mind telling him that there wouldn't be anything good waiting there for him. However, he was tired. He and Ryuji had gone looking for the castle they stumbled across this morning but had no luck finding it; he had no other option. So here he stood at the door bracing himself for the assured scolding.

Opening the door, the ding of the bell seemed a lot more menacing when he was promptly met with a glaring Sojiro.

"You're back. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from the school telling me you were over half a day late." His voice carried through and hung in the air, stringing it so tensely it was visible enough to cut with a knife.

And it was at this moment Ren knew; He was screwed. He averted his eyes away from Sojiro as he raised a hand to the back of his neck and stepped inside the quaint cafe.

Yeah, there was no way he was getting out of this one.

As he was trying to avoid Sojiro's stern gaze he accidently locked his grey eyes with a pair of surprised (E/C) ones. The very same ones that belong to none other than the (H/C) haired female he had met this morning. However, this time she had her arms circled protectively around a smaller being; a child, he guesses. Neither of them made haste to look away from the other. Both of their eyes are blown wide, and sporting looks of shock and intrigue.

"That's enough staring lover-boy. Why were you late to school?" The gravely and obviously irritated voice of Sojiro cut through the unintentional stare off and drew their attention back to him. Having got their attention, he mutters something under his breath about how he doesn't get paid enough, before continuing; "Are you gonna answer me or not?"

Ren opened his mouth to speak, but what came out was in fact not his voice. "I'm sorry but that would be my fault; I met him on the way to school and an acquaintance of mine got us lost in the back alleys to school. I apologise, I didn't mean to make him late on his first day." Her words surprised both males, who were now gawking at her by the way. However, contrary to the two males, she looked completely at ease with the whole thing as if she had done this before.

Sojiro sighed, deciding that it wasn't worth it to further the conversation and just accepted that as an answer. He turned back to the simmering curry pot and Ren released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Looking back to the female he found her waving him over and he complied, collapsing into to the seat adjacent of her; were Michizu was previously sat. His bag was placed on the ground haphazardly and quickly forgotten. Ren was stiff, not knowing what to say. As he shifted his eyes, he noticed a pair eyes identical to that of the girl sat in front of him. The smaller female upon realising this unplanned eye contact, dipped her head back towards the older ones' chest. Ren didn't miss the slight red of her ears.

"So, what brings you here?" (Y/N) was the one to break the silence that began to settle over the quaint café. Her right hand was softly stroking the child's hair, easing the smaller being with the same aura as that of a mother. The sight made Ren smile slightly, knowing that he got to see the gentle side of her that contrasted to harsher exterior that she wore earlier.

Ren glanced hesitantly over at Sojiro before he answered her.

"I live here." Short, simple and to-the-point. He didn't dawdle around his answer, yet he spoke barely louder that a whisper. He looked as if he was bracing himself for questions he didn't want to answer. (Y/N) knew that look and feeling all too well, having been in the same position more times than she would care to admit.

"Huh... Boss is letting you stay here? Intentionally?" She seemed confused and Ren was startled to say the least. Why are you living in a café? How do you know Boss? Out of all questions he expected, that was none of them.

Ren recovered quickly and answered with a simple nod of his head.

Once again, the silence settled, only to be disrupted by the clinking of plates and cups being set in front of them. All three of them looked down to find three steaming plates of curry, two cups of coffee and an apple juice: for the child.

Ren looked confused as to why he had some. (Y/N) was practically drooling at the smell of the spices wafting from the dish that mixed with the bitter scent of coffee. Michizu was now no longer tucked into (Y/N)'s side and was now bouncing slightly in excitement. She looked to (Y/N) and when she nodded the little girl quickly dug into the delicious curry.

"I better not get anymore phone calls from the school, you hear me?" Sojiro spoke, directing his attention towards Ren, who nodded in response. Sojiro seemed to accept his response and addressed them all, "I'm going to go now. Leave your plates in the sink, don't forget to turn the lights off and lock up when you're done."

Ren stayed silent, but he was confused, 'Why wouldn't he stay?'

"Are you sure Boss, leaving me all alone with a male? And a supposed criminal?" (Y/N) spoke up, her tone light-hearted and teasing, the smirk so easily slipping into place. This was the (Y/N) that Ren had seen earlier, and he wondered how she didn't have whiplash from how fast she switched from seemingly being motherly before to now being sarcastic.

Sojiro huffed out something that could be considered a laugh before he replied, "If anything I'd be more worried about anyone who's trapped in here with you. I've seen you break someone's nose and I'm sure you'd do it again in a heartbeat if needed." (Y/N) laughed at that, and Ren didn't miss the well-hidden wince.

Though Ren felt like that had been more of a warning for him than anything else and he was getting increasingly more worried.

"Yeah, fair enough. Have a good rest of your night, Boss." (Y/N) waved.

"Bye, Bye Uncle Boss!" Michizu chimed in, her cheeks stuffed with the heavenly dish.

"Goodnight, lil boss." Sojiro chuckled and left.

Ren watched all while becoming more and more confused. 'She's broken a person's nose. Why? She wouldn't hesitate to do it again? Am I in danger? Who is the little girl?'

While Ren was spiralling in his thoughts (Y/N) had taken this momentary silence to dig into her meal. The slight spice of the curry tingled on her tongue and the flavours were unmatched. (Y/N) let out a sigh of satisfaction, 'Nothing is better than Boss's curry after a long day.' Her hand ghosted over her sore ribs.

(Y/N) looked at the still frozen Ren, "Are you not going to eat?"

And wow! Would you look at that, Ren is back! Still reeling at the back of his head but at least he's more present mentally. He responds quietly by picking up a spoon and taking a bite of the meal that was so generously placed in front of him.

When the flavours hit his tongue, Ren's eyes nearly pop out of his sockets and all previous thoughts are halted and quickly forgotten. Never in his life would he think that he would have curry as delectable as this. He quickly began to eat the remainder.

Published: 21/10/22

Words: 3969