TUSOKI
12: Coffee Hearts.
A/n: It's been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, this little one shot is inspired by DBS episode 75 in which we get to see that Eighteen makes hearts in Krillin's coffee. It's SO cute!
Onwards!
Eighteen peeked around the corner of the kitchen. She could hear Marron's cheerful voice as she ran towards one of the bookcases in the living room. She ran back towards the aquarium with a small canister in her hands.
"Time to feed the fishes, Daddy!"
Krillin chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm as he carefully lifted her up so she could remove the lid on top of the tank. Eighteen smiled before returning back to what she was doing.
The coffee machine was beeping, indicating that it was almost done brewing.
Ever since she had been to a coffee place with Chichi, Eighteen had been fascinated with the way the baristas always seemed to create art with the steamed milk they added to the drinks. She had asked Chichi if she had ever done something like that to which the woman had shaken her head.
Eighteen had frowned, thinking she would be able to do it herself. And that's why she had been reading up on the so-called latte art. She hadn't tried doing it yet before now though. She took another look at the small tablet on the counter next to her.
"Really, how hard can it be anyway?" She muttered. She listened for a moment, Krillin and Marron were still busy with the fish. Marron was probably telling stories about each and every fish in the aquarium like she loved to do.
That suited Eighteen just fine, she hadn't told Krillin about her latest venture. She wanted it to be a surprise. She already knew what shape she was going to work towards.
She grabbed the necessities and got to work, gently and very carefully steaming some milk until she felt it had the right consistency.
"Here goes nothing." She said softly. She forced herself to be steady while she softly started to pour the milk into one of the coffee cups.
The second it hit the hot liquid, it fell apart. Eighteen frowned at that, wondering what she had done wrong. She had followed all the instructions. She shrugged it off and decided to be even more gently with the second cup. However the milk spread just as fast as the first time.
Eighteen let out an annoyed sigh. She had fully expected to get it on the first try. She was, after all, very adept at learning new things almost instantly. She tossed the little jug in the sink, stirring the contents of both cups before picking them up and taking them to the living room.
Krillin looked up when she handed him a cup.
"Thanks." He said with a smile. He was sitting on the comfortable sofa while Marron was on the floor in front of him playing with some building blocks. She held up a crooked square creation.
"Look Mama, I build our house!"
"Very nice." Eighteen said with a smile.
"This coffee tastes a little different," Krillin remarked curiously.
Eighteen raised her brows at that.
"How?"
"Dunno, maybe a little creamier? Did you use a different brand of milk or creamer?"
Eighteen let out an amused chuckle. As always, she was impressed by her husband's ability to notice even the tiniest differences in things. She didn't know how he did it. To her, the coffee tasted the same as usual.
"No I didn't, but I steamed the milk this time. That might be why." She suggested.
Krillin nodded, taking another sip.
"I think I like it better like this, what made you think of steaming the milk?" He asked.
Eighteen shrugged, careful to keep her face neutral.
"Just wanted to try something different, that's all." She said.
Krillin gave her a smile as he drank the remainder of his coffee. He set the cup aside and joined his daughter on the floor, who immediately shoved a bunched of block his way so he could build her a car.
"Any plans for today?" Krillin asked, looking up from his little project.
Eighteen shrugged, shaking her head.
"No, let's just stay home." She said.
"Suits me just fine! How about you, firefly?" Krillin said directing his attention to Marron.
"Yep!" The little girl replied.
Krillin raised a brow as he looked down at the mug Eighteen had handed him. She hadn't stirred the contents, there was just a weirdly shaped blob of what he assumed was steamed milk floating in the middle.
He looked up at his wife in question but she was already busy helping Marron into her jacket.
"What?" She asked when she felt his gaze on her.
"Nothing," Krillin said. He stirred his coffee with an amused grin. This had been the third time this week Eighteen had brought him his coffee like this. It didn't make it any less delicious, it was just a little strange to him. But he decided to refrain from saying anything.
"Go give Papa a hug and a kiss, we've got to go." Eighteen said to Marron, who nodded before running towards her father.
Krillin lifted her up with a grin.
"Have a good day at school, be good!' He said
"I will, have fun at work. Catch a lot of bad guys!" Marron said when he let her down.
Krillin chuckled at that.
"See you later." Eighteen said. She gave him a quick kiss before walking out of the door with Marron.
Krillin hastily drank the remainder of his coffee when he realized he'd better be on his way if he wanted to make it to work on time. He grabbed his keys and helmet and went on his way. It was going to be a long shift.
Meanwhile little ways away, Eighteen had just waved Marron goodbye at school and was now flying high above the clouds so people wouldn't notice her. She was frowning.
She had been practicing the latte art for several days now and she still couldn't get it to resemble some kind of basic shape. She had seen Krillin's curious looks at the blobs in his coffee, and who could blame him, really? Eighteen let out a frustrated sigh, she was getting annoyed at how hard it turned out to be. She was a quick learner but somehow the trick to make shapes out of milk was eluding her.
She stopped in midair, rubbing her chin as she thought of something. Making sure people couldn't see her, she descended in an abandoned alleyway near the coffee shop she and Chichi liked to go too. She stepped inside, it was crowded. Eighteen frowned at that, usually it was nice and quiet when they visited.
She didn't get in line, instead she sat at a table close to the bar where guests were served their hot drinks. Using the scanners in her eyes to enhance her vision, she quietly observed every move of the baristas who skillfully prepared every drink with care. She didn't need to know the process of steaming milk, no she had that mastered. She just needed to know how to transform those stupid blobs of hers into nice shapes.
"Miss? Can I get you anything?" A sudden voice said. Eighteen was actually startled. She looked up at a young girl who was smiling friendly at her with memo pad and pen in hand, ready to take an order.
"Just some tea please, no cream or sugar."
"Alright, anything else. Can I interest you in one of our famous chocolate chip cookies?"
"No thanks."
"Okay, I'll be right back with your tea!"
But Eighteen's attention was already back to the baristas behind the bar, one in particular who seemed to be fond of making hearts. She gently sipped the tea her server brought as she focused all her attention on him, filing away every movement for later use. Sometimes the enhancements Gero did to her came in handy, no matter how much she still resented that man for what he did.
When she felt she had observed enough, she paid for her drink and left the establishment, filled with new determination to try again. And this time she would make sure she succeeded. A look at her watch told her it was almost lunch time. Since Marron ate at school, she decided to pay her husband a visit at his station and eat lunch with him.
Later that evening, Krillin sat down with a sigh, it had been just one of those days! He didn't know what was wrong with people, but it seemed that everyone was feeling the need to break the law.
He smiled when Marron snuggled up to him on the couch to watch some cartoons, they'd just had supper and it was almost time for her to go to bed. He watched as she let out a yawn, trying to hide it behind her hand.
"Looks like someone had a busy day at school, today!" He said with a chuckle.
"I'm not tired!" Marron said with a frown. Krillin shook his head at that, she looked so much like her mother when she did that.
"I didn't say that." He said holding his hands up in defense.
"But it is time for bed."
"Ten more minutes!" Marron challenged.
Krillin shared a look with Eighteen, who smiled behind her hand.
"Ask your mother." He said with a grin, Eighteen shot him a look at that.
Marron folded her hands, giving Eighteen the best expression of the so called 'puppy dog eyes', a trait she clearly had inherited from her father.
"Fine, ten more minutes. But after that no more asking or complaining!" She said with a stern voice.
"Okay!" Marron said. She snuggled back into Krillin's side. Eighteen joined them on the couch. Not even five minutes later, there was soft snoring coming from beside Krillin. He nudged Eighteen as he pointed at their sleeping daughter.
"So much for ten minutes huh?" He whispered with a grin.
"I knew she wouldn't be able to stay awake that long anyway."
Krillin carefully lifted his daughter up, making sure she wouldn't wake up because it would be hard to get her back to sleep if she did.
"I'll take her upstairs."
Eighteen gently kissed the back of Marron's head.
"I'll go make some coffee." She said. She watched as Krillin walked up the stairs, smiling slightly. When he disappeared from her sight she retreated to the kitchen.
"Okay, we're gonna make this happen tonight, no room for failure anymore!" Eighteen said softly with a determined look. She went through the process of preparing everything. When it was time to put her latte skills to work, she let out an almost nervous sigh. She wanted it to go right so badly.
She bit her lip as she raised the small jug with the steamed milk and got to work.
Krillin stretched out and let out a yawn as he descended the stairs. He'd taken a quick shower after putting Marron to bed. He peeked into the living room which was deserted.
He went into the kitchen. Eighteen turned around when he stepped over the threshold.
"Hey, that coffee smells good."
Eighteen nodded. She averted her gaze when she reached out to him with a steaming mug. Krillin frowned slightly at her strange behavior but took the cup from her no less. He looked down, fully expecting it either to be stirred or adorned by another formless blob.
His eyes widened considerably when he found a perfectly shaped heart instead.
"Wow! A heart? For me? How'd you do that, it's so lovely!" He said in total awe, cheeks coloring slightly pink as he looked up at Eighteen, but she wasn't looking at him. Krillin squinted his eyes at her, noticing a splash of red before it disappeared.
"No need to do that." He remarked, knowing Eighteen would know what he was talking about. He gently tugged at her sleeve. Eighteen looked down at him.
"Do you like it?" She asked softly.
"I love it!" Krillin gushed. "Is this why I had those strange blobs in my coffee? Were you practicing?"
Eighteen nodded, telling him about how she had tried and failed to learn how to do it over the course of several days.
"I'm glad it worked this time." She said with a small smile.
Krillin looked down at the steaming cup of coffee in his hands, the heart as prominent as ever.
"I don't want to drink it." He said softly.
Eighteen raised a brow at that.
"There is nothing wrong with the coff..." But Krillin interrupted her.
"I know that, it's just...this is so special to me. I don't think anyone has ever done something like this for me." Krillin said softly.
"I..It's just a simple heart." Eighteen muttered, she could feel her cheeks grow warm once more at the look of total adoration her husband was giving her.
"It's not 'just a simple heart'! Knowing how much you must've practiced just so you could do this for me, it means so much more to me. I'm totally awestruck!" Krillin said.
Eighteen forced her ever growing blush down. Her husband could be so sentimental at times, though she did endear that about him, but it was a little embarrassing to know how much he valued whichever small gesture or thing she did for him. Not that she didn't appreciate it, it just made her feel a little self conscious. Something she still had never really gotten used to, even after all their years together. She smirked before she grabbed a small spoon and promptly stirred his coffee.
"Wha...Nooo why?" Krillin gasped.
"Stop being so dramatic." Eighteen said taking the mug from his hands. She bent down and kissed his forehead.
"Besides, I can make it again, if you want me too."
Krillin hopped onto the counter and pulled Eighteen closer to him. He gently kissed her before giving her an almost deviant stare.
"From now on I demand all my coffee to have a special Eighteen hearts in it, else I won't drink it." He said wriggling his brows. Eighteen leaned her forehead against his.
"I guess you leave me no choice. I knew I would regret doing this." She joked softly.
"You know it!" Krillin countered.
Eighteen laughed at that, closing her eyes when Krillin leaned in for another kiss.
End.
Hope you enjoyed this little ficlet! Please let me know by hitting that review button! Till next time!
