ᴍᴇᴛᴀɴᴏɪᴀ | ꜰᴏᴏᴅ ᴡᴀʀꜱ x ᴍᴀʟᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2

The [H/C]-ette shook his head from side to side, shaking away his thoughts that were stopping him from getting help in finding his way back home. The boy sighed, grabbing the handle to the front entrance and sliding it open.

"Ah, sorry, we're closed." his ears picked up the voice of a grown adult.

When the middle schooler looked up, he was met with an older brunet with a singular long bang in the front. [Y/N]'s eyes drifted to the uniform the man wore, signing that he worked there. Probably the owner, right?

"I apologize for the intrusion, sir." [E/C] made contact with gold. "My name is [Y/N] [L/N], and I'm lost."

The chef and owner of Yukihira's blinked at the young boy who seemed to be the same age as his very own son. Speaking of whom, paused from his work of sweeping up the floors where the customers ate. 

The redhead stared at the stranger, wondering what on Earth he could have been doing outside at 2 in the morning all by himself.

"Oh, do you need to borrow the phone?" the man inquired.

Seeing the small nod he got, the brunet took out his pocketed cellphone, unlocking the device. He handed it to the boy, directing him to sit down at the counter that divided the dining area from the kitchen.

"Thank you," He mumbled shyly, opening the phone app and trying to remember his brother's phone number.

"No problem, kid." the brunet paused for a moment. "I'm Joichiro, by the way."

[E/C] eyes wandered to look at the man, the eyebrows above them furrowing in confusion. Joichiro felt slight discomfort under the analytic gaze of the school student no older than 14, effectively hiding the feeling with a crooked smile.

"Your last name isn't Yukihira?"

[Y/N] quickly realized how rude of a question that was, mind racking up reasons as to why the restaurant's name is what it is. On the other hand, the brunet felt taken aback at the question, quickly coming up with an excuse.

"Well, it's a preference thing. I'd rather you call me Joichiro rather than Yukihira."

The reply was short, almost defensive. Joichiro quickly changed the question. 

"Do you not remember the phone number you need to call?"

Feeling called out, the boy visibly stiffened, a wave of pink rushing from his neck to his forehead in embarrassment. The [H/C]-haired male coughed into his fist, avoiding eye contact with the two other people in the room.

"Um... yeah. Could I search something up?" he asked, deciding to call the line of the restaurant rather than the personal number of his older sibling. Truthfully, the only problem there was would be [Y/N]'s inability to remember numbers.

After getting a confirmation from Joichiro, the man's son strolled on over, using this opportunity to fulfill his curiosity. The redhead, with a carefree grin stood in front of the stranger. 

"[L/N], right?"

A/N: if you havent noticed, [Y/N] switched around his first and last name when he introduced himself. Soma thinks that [L/N] is his first name lmao