Broken Glass (Joshua x reader)

Chapter 12

"Open wide~"

"I can feed myself thank you!" I snatched the plate of pancakes away from Joshua, towards me. Joshua pouted and grabbed the plate of food, bringing it closer to him. He was sitting on the opposite side of the table we were both at.

"I'll give you the food if you let me give you this one bite," he said, holding the plate of food even farther away from me. He raised the fork with a bite of the pancakes in front of me again, and my face heated up. Oh, you little-

"Fine! Just this one. Geez! You're so annoying when you want something," I said. Joshua paused, and placed a hand on his hip, expecting me to say something else.

"What's the magic word?"

"Oh, my god. Please," I said, just longing to eat something. I was too famished to argue with him.

"Well someone's a bit hangry now aren't we? But, I suppose that's good enough." Joshua raised the fork to my mouth and I reached over to it and took the piece of the pancake off with my teeth. I chewed and swallowed, feeling slightly humiliated.

"Can I have the pancakes now?" I asked hopefully, not wanting to go through another experience like that again with him.

"But that was fun."

"Just give me the pancakes!" Joshua rolled his eyes and passed over the plate full of food as well as the fork. As I began to eat the food, Joshua stared at me closely. I pretended not to notice as I ate the pancakes, remembering how tasty Mr. Hanekoma's cooking actually was. Speaking of Mr. Hanekoma, the only customers I've seen him get were those like Neku and his friends, Joshua, me, and those who either liked the place or were just lost.

I finished the plate, relishing how good it tasted and stood up, feeling my strength come back. I went walk past Joshua when he grabbed my arm.

"Wait. Do you mind telling me what happened before I arrived?" Bingo. Right on the jackpot. My hands clenched the plate in my hands as I looked down. Joshua slid the plate out of my hands and onto the table. I bit my lip, before taking in a deep breath. "... Alright."

I explained everything, from having Solaris over, to finding the necklace, to now. Joshua listened intently, taking in every little detail into careful consideration, as I told my tale at Nikolai's. Just thinking about the name caused me to loathe it even more than I already did. As I finished, Joshua stayed sitting for a minute before standing up abruptly and pulling my body towards him. He brought me into a tight embrace and I froze, unsure of what to do, before hugging his torso back.

We stayed like that for a minute, before I pulled away, flustered.

"Um, thanks, I needed that. We can go after I set the plate in the kitchen." He nodded and let go of me, pulling out his phone to occupy him instead. I gingerly picked up the plate and turned on my heel, walking towards the kitchen.

What was that about? Joshua's been acting strange since we returned from the Higher Plane. He's less... snobby? In a sense anyway. I set the plate and the silverware in the sink, seeing the dishwasher running. I left the kitchen to see Joshua waiting at the front door of WildKat. I joined him and let him lead the way out of the cafe.

"You better not be taking me to Lapin Angelique," I said, shivering at the thought of entering the store with him.

"I still have that bunny parka you gave me for Christmas," Joshua said.

"OK, to set things straight. I got that as a gag gift for you, and you wore that thing around all day, saying you liked it," I pointed out. It was true. I had gone into Lapin Angelique to get a present for Joshua as a joke (I did get him an actual present that year) and ended up picking the bunny parka, which Joshua happily accepted. Joshua scoffed.