AN: In which Shouto becomes part of the family, and Momo puts him at ease subconsciously. Also in which Sato is just more of a nice guy and Mina is a general badass, but is weak to good chocolate.
I didn't intend to write more about cakes (I promise this is NOT a bakery AU!) but this just came to me, so... Hopefully you'll like it!
Chapter 3: There Is a Reason Why the Secret Ingredient Isn't Shared
"This," Momo points to the plate between them with a tone that instills mystery, "is the newest recipe. It hasn't been tried by any other customer yet, so it needs to be kept a secret."
"And I am trying it because…"
"Because I trust your taste buds," Momo states and points to the cake as an invitation, one which Shouto readily accepts, without questioning her reasoning more than necessary. Momo likes that about him- he doesn't ask too many questions, but poses the vital ones.
Yesterday evening, a customer brought it to Sato's attention that A Cup of Magic didn't serve mousse. After the cook mulled it over the entire night, he came to work first thing in the morning and locked himself in the kitchen the whole day, researching the creamy dessert. He asked both her and Mina to taste his first batches, but Momo couldn't help but feel that something was… lacking. She told Sato as much, and Mina shared her vague impression, but Sato claimed that he tasted so many versions of this that he no longer had the capacity of taking another bite without wanting to puke, and promised to fix it the next day.
That didn't stop Momo from noticing how his shoulders are slumped, and his steps miss the usual kick that made him seem to float over the floor from customer to customer. He doesn't flush his teeth when smiling like he usually does, and she often catches him staring blankly at the menu throughout the day.
As such, asking Shouto for advice isn't only a pertinent excuse to talk more with him, but also an action she feels is necessary at this point. Sato isn't easily brought down, but failing in his field of work is a sensitive issue.
Mina is all over the Friday customers, and the situation is mostly under control without Momo's input, so she sits down in front of Shouto and scans his face for any details. "So?" she asks as he rolls the chocolate in his mouth as long as he can, trying to decipher its taste.
"It's… bland," he says eventually. "The rest of the sweets here have something special but this- I could buy it in the supermarket." Another thing about Shouto, Momo discovers, is that he is very blunt and spares nobody from his sharp tongue.
"Figured," she sighs and leans in her seat, but is careful not to sprawl her legs or enter his comfort zone. "I don't even know how to fix it. I mean, the consistency is alright and the taste isn't bad per se, but-"
"It isn't A Cup of Magic-ish, either," Shouto finishes her sentence better than she could have and nods. Her thoughts fly away from their discussion topic for a moment to marvel at the fact that sitting across from him feels so natural, and that there's no tension in his attitude or apprehension in his voice as they talk. Granted, they aren't anything more than acquaintances, but Momo feels at ease with the mere prospect that they could be more.
"What are you usually putting in the desserts? Are there any secret ingredients? Perhaps that can give us a clue," Shouto says, bringing her back to their problem.
"Not really. Sato says it's just love." Shouto gives her a fazed look and she explains, "That's Sugarman's real name."
Shouto gives a small nod, as if to prove he's received the information and is storing it safely. A comfortable silence lingers between them, giving Momo the opportunity to admire Shouto's long eyelashes and the way the scar he bares bites into the smooth skin without uglying it. She feels an impulse to touch it, even more powerful than the one to pinch Ochako's cheeks, but laces her fingers together to stop herself from doing it. That doesn't prevent her from watching him as intently as she can without staring, wondering what story hides behind that scar, and behind the mismatched eyes that guard Shouto at all times.
Her eyes drop to the scattered papers he's always immersed in and she analyses them for a few moments. They look like engines, but Momo isn't well enough versed in this domain to tell. She can, however, tell that he's very detail-oriented, because next to each sketch there are notes and question marks, and alternative models. There must be a whole other world that hides behind this pages, just as complex as Shouto himself is, probably just as engaging as Food Chemistry is for Momo.
"I'm sorry to constantly interrupt your studying," she says all of a sudden.
He looks at her as if she broke him out of a daze, and slowly focuses in on her eyes. "You don't need to be sorry. Talking to you is pleasant." Momo jolts in surprise, but he doesn't notice. "I think these are good brakes for me. Besides, I'm also keeping you from going to work," he adds and spares a glance to the counter.
Momo follows his look there. "I should probably get back," she admits more to herself than to him, because saying it out loud makes it an obligation. "Good luck with your studies!" she wishes him as she pushes the chair back and heads to the counter.
"I got it!"
Momo is calling a customer- Tsuyu, her cup says- when Shouto skips the greetings to dump this realisation on her. He's leaning against the counter as Momo proceeds to call a certain Fumikage and keeps talking to her when she shoots him a puzzled look.
"What the mousse missed," Shouto explains as if that makes everything click.
"You've thought about it?" Momo asks, mildly surprised. She expected him to give up after he couldn't tell from the first try.
"I wasn't supposed to?" Shouto asked confused as Momo proceeds to throw ice and milk and strawberries in the mixer. Who orders milkshakes in november? Well, certainly this customer called Bakugou.
She meets Shouto's look only to let him see her reassuring smile- or so she tells herself, but a small part of her is curious as to how wide his range of facial expressions is. Encouraged, he continues, "I think it needs something fresh. Maybe mint, or lemon? But something like forest fruits would work, too."
"Ah, it would definitely make it less sweet! That's a great idea, Shouto!" He looks pleased with himself when she praises him. "We need to tell Sato! Bakugou!" she calls the customer and then whips her head around the cafe, looking for Sugarman. Momo easily spots him talking with a delighted customer, and smiles at his blushing face. He seems better- maybe a few compliments batted the self-doubts away.
"Okay then, I'm going to go-"
"Where do you think you're going?" Momo's stern and disapproving look is enough to stop Shouto. "It was your idea- you have to talk with Sato, too."
He looks fazed for a moment, lost in her determination, and there seems to be an inner battle between persuading himself to stay and ignoring her to go back in the safety zone, were strange eyes don't pry in his affairs. Seeing the conflicted look makes Momo feel guilty that she pushed him into it, but then he asks, "Wouldn't I be a bother?"
Momo blinks her bewilderment away slowly, trying to grasp the meaning behind his words- words that came out in a shaky voice, much unlike his usual collected one. "What are you saying? You used to be Sato's customer- I'm sure he'd like to hear your thoughts on the mousse."
Shouto's face relaxes into a relieved one, and he looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. But then he quirks an eyebrow at her, and it disappears under the mass of white hair. "So I'm your customer now?" he concludes, no fluctuation in his tone to give away how he feels about this.
Momo is taken by surprise by the question, and is saved only by calling the next customer to get his drink. When she turns to look as Shouto, he's leaning against the wall with a lazy, mildly amused face. Momo would be lost admiring that crooked smile if not for the blush that quickly raises to her cheeks. He's pinning her with his eyes, and she feels she can't escape the sincerity of the black hole that opens in his pupils, as if wanting to suck the truth out of her.
"You are," she mumbles, but he hears her nonetheless.
When Momo dares look up from the mixer again, Shouto's eyes have softened into a fond look, jos black eye reminiscent of melted coal and the blue one of calm waves crashing against the shore. It's a strange combination, but the feeling that wraps around Momo is warm and it puts a smile on her face easily.
"I like having you as my barista," Shouto says and for a few seconds, Momo is sure she misheard him, because no muscle on his face betrays any sort of insincerity. But then she realises his mouth moved, so unless her brain is wired in the wrong way, she heard him right. When she doesn't answer, he continues, "You're easy to talk to, and you always put people in a good mood."
Momo almost forgets she needs to call out to the customers, but the hot drinks that burn through her fingers are enough to remind her. "You're also a good customer," she says after the people leave with their drinks. "You don't complain and you aren't loud. And honestly-" she whispers conspiratorially, as if she's letting him in on a secret "-you seem like you're part of this cafe."
Shouto opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted when Sato walks back in to take two more orders and Momo remembers she was looking for him. "Sugarman, Shouto has a suggestion for the mousse."
Sato's eyes dart from Momo to the half and half customer, and he tilts his head, confused.
"I got him to try your newest recipe and he came up with a good way to improve it," Momo says and looks towards Shouto with a glimmer in her eyes, hoping he'll take the hint and start talking to Sato.
Shouto seems to ponder his choices for a brief moment, but reaches a conclusion easier than usually. "I was thinking of adding something fresh," he says, meeting Sato's look. "Something to dampen the sweetness."
Sato's eyes lit up, and if not for the plates in his hands, he would definitely clapped them together. "Lemon," he says at the same time as Shouto, and the two give each other an excited look before Sato says, "Brilliant!" He turns to Momo with a look that she reads immediately.
"I'll take care of the orders. You can take over the kitchen." She bites back a grin as she sees the gratitude in Sato's eyes and his earlier nausea dissipates into pure excitement. His shoulders square without him noticing, and the spark in his eyes is back- and it's there to stay.
"Thank you, Creati!" is all he says before he skips into the kitchen. It takes him only a few seconds to realise he's forgotten something, and peeks into the cafe again, waving for Shouto to follow him.
The latter points to himself incredulously, and then meets Momo's look to assure himself he isn't dreaming. A chuckle escapes her as she pulls the door into the "behind the bar" space for him.
"Are you sure?" he asks with a foot floating over the boundary between the two universes, looking at the floor as if his steps could turn it to ice.
"Of course," Momo laughs. "Go, and have fun."
Shouto tears his eyes from the floor and gives her a smile wider than she thought he could, and so genuine it weakens her knees. If this isn't wizardry, Momo doesn't know what is. He doesn't need to thank her, but does so anyway.
Momo is sweeping the floor when she hears Mina scream. She doesn't even think twice about dropping the broom to the ground and running towards the source of her voice- which is, unexpectedly, the kitchen. As far as she knows, Mina doesn't have any reason to scream in the kitchen- she is handy enough around acid and scalpels that knives should not pose a threat. What's more, she doesn't usually scream- she didn't when she saw a spider. What could the kitchen hide that's scarier?
What awaits her behind the door makes Momo still, her eyes wide- and it's not in horror that they become the size of teacups, but because the kitchen counter can barely be seen under the glass cups upon glass cups and even coffee cups that are filled with chocolate mixes- there's white chocolate and dark chocolate, caramel, mint, and coconut milk. The fragrances mix surprisingly well, but Momo's head is bombarded with visual information that doesn't allow her to process the hints of cinnamon in the air.
Mina is safely tucked between empty glasses of chocolate, and her brown lips betray where the content of the recipients has disappeared.
"What happened?" Momo asks, not entirely sure if she should sound amused or outraged, so she sounds neither, voice flat and eyes not betraying the inner war inside.
Sato licks his spoon- Momo hadn't even noticed him next to Mina, which in any other circumstances would be an accomplishment in itself, given Sato's size- and says, "Well Alien Queen entered the kitchen and starting lecturing us about making a mess, but Shouto offered her a mousse and now she's helping us destroy the evidence."
Momo doesn't know if she should smack her forehead or laugh, so she decides to do neither and instead looks at Shouto. He immediately raises a chocolate cup in her direction, tempting her to join them.
"Food won't solve this mess," she points around to the tables filled with different sorts and colours of mouss, and she feels a sigh resurfacing. "What did you guys even do?"
"We tried different refreshing aromas," Shouto states matter-of-factly, but not innocently. "Turns out, not everything can be mixed with chocolate."
"The mint one is good, though," Mina piques up and stretches her hand to get another cup.
"Yes, but it tastes like chocolate mint ice cream. Not original," Sato sighes.
Momo leans against the closed door of the kitchen and feels her head hit something that doesn't have the consistency of the metal she was expecting. She turns around to see papers pinned to the interior of the door, post-its with crossed out words and recognises a list of possible ingredients. There's the neat handwriting of Sato, highlighting possible flavours they could try out, and underneath are ten or so more additions in a different handwriting, one that Momo recognises from the complicated formulas as Shouto's.
"You guys even tried passion fruit?" she almost laughs.
"Yes, it's over here," Shouto points to a place close to where he is leaning against the kitchen island. "I don't recommend it, though," he says and his nose wrinkles in disgust.
Now that her brain has processed the visual mess- and feels quite endeared to see Shouto wearing a chocolate-stained apron, though that is besides the point- she has time to fill her lungs with the smell of melted truffles, and her stomach rumbles.
Blood floods her cheeks when she notices Shouto shaking the cup in front if her eyes again, in an invitation to fill her stomach, and she doesn't ignore him anymore, also accepting the spoon he offers. "That's the mint one- I think it's the best batch."
Momo hums as she takes a bite, and the hum melts into a pleased exclamation.
"Good?" Sato asks.
"Very," Momo praises and stuffs more in her mouth. The grumbles die out in a harmony of pleased exclamations and comments, and Momo leans besides Shouto, apparently the only place in the whole kitchen not stained by chocolate. The background noise of spoons scratching the walls of the cups for more chocolate accompanies the sudden "Is this lemon?" or "Ugh, I found a passion fruit one! Water, water!"
She takes in the kitchen again, now half-filled with empty bowls and four adults that diligently lick their plates- literally. Maybe it's because her stomach isn't empty anymore, but it looks more than just an utter mess- it looks like work and passion went into creating every single pot in there, and she can't help but smile.
Momo stretches her hands and rubs her lower back- she really should take Iida's advice and go jogging with him every once in a while. The microscopes reveal secrets of worlds she even forgets exist, but they also remind her she is only human- and the jab of pain she feels is proof of that.
She hangs her lab coat back on the hanger and pulls her jacket on, fishing for her keys to lock the laboratory and secure her research into the perfect viscosity of the sauce and how it affects the taste buds. It's already noon- her stomach tells her that before she checks her watch- and she ponders whether she should cook at home of grab something to eat on her way and gulp it down while going over her homework for Monday.
The decision is made when she answers her buzzing phone.
"Yaomomo, they're at it again!" Mina whines on the other end of the call, and Momo can hear Kendo's unmistakable voice as she calls out customers to take their drinks in the background.
"They?" Momo's brow furrows in confusion.
"They took over the kitchen!"
Momo's frown only deepens, knitting into the clear skin of her forehead. The only one who stepped into the kitchen was Sato, and herself when needed.
"What?" she hears on the other end of the call. "Why do you want to talk to her?"
"Mina, what's going on?"
Before she can receive an answer, the phone falls in someone else's hands and Momo hears a deep, fruity voice say her name. "Is this Momo?"
"Shouto?" she questions, both intrigued as to why he'd want to talk to her and flustered to hear his voice so close to her. It's as if he's whispering in her ear- and the thought alone is enough to give her goosebumps.
"Listen, we really need you to come. Sugarman and I have some more batches that we're confident in- but we need someone to try them out." The phone makes his voice more gutural, something which doesn't bother Momo, except that she has to check if she has a fever or if her cheeks are just that flushed.
"Okay, sure. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"That was fast," Shouto says instead of hello when she steps into the kitchen. She was expecting the same level of unruly experimenting as the day before. Instead, she is met with exactly 12 cups- she knows because they are labeled- neatly arranged into a line, each of them on top of a paper on which the recipe is scribbled.
"Well, I was at university," Momo shrugs and fastens the tie on her lila apron. "Now, where do I start?"
"I recommend batches 4, 7 and 8. They are the best, though you can try them all if you want."
Momo decides to trust Sato's words and go with batches 4, 7 and 8- sweets don't substitute a proper meal, after all. She picks up a spoon and asks, "Why are you guys here anyway? Mina seemed exasperated."
"Well, yesterday was a great starting point, so today we decided to continue," Sato simply explains, as if he's telling a toddler that the sky is blue. Momo guesses cooking is just that deeply engraved in his being that it even became part of his DNA, and wonders if being in the kitchen is associated with survival on a daily basis for Sato.
"Sugarman had this great idea to make the mousse into halves instead if mixing the ingredients together," Shouto adds, pointing to number 4 in Momo's hand. Indeed, instead of the usual, uniform color, the mousse is divided into two parts: a dark chocolate one and a pink, probably raspberry mix. "It was too good of an idea to let it rest until Monday."
Momo eats her smile with the raspberry and chocolate mix, and hums as the taste melts her mouth and her taste buds chocolate is subtle, only slowly growing to take over the raspberry that meets the tongue with the impact of a well- delivered fist. "Amazing! You can feel the aroma better than if you mix them together!"
Sato and Shouto say nothing, eagerly waiting for her to try the other two. She humors them, and takes a bit out of the coffee-cocos one and the last one, which seems to be lemon sorbet with caramel. All odd combinations, and all equally delicious. It takes all she has not to lick her lips in delight.
"So?" Sato asks, barely containing his excitement.
"I love them!" Momo smiles widely. "These are just great! However, I do believe we should only start by putting one on the menu, and then slowly enrich our variety." Both men nod. "And as much as number 7 is my personal favourite, customers may not fancy coffee or may have an allergy to coconut. So let's go with batch 4."
"That's what I thought," Sato nods and begins to store the rest, adding the recipes to his thick notebook. Momo can't wait to see the good reception this dish will doubtlessly receive and give Sato the green light to figure the other batches in the window shop.
She feels Shouto's eyes on her and turns around to see admiration painted in them. "I never thought of that," he says and his voice is nothing if not full of respect. His eyes coat her with a warm feeling, and she is touched by his honesty. "That's what makes you such a great barista," he adds.
It's that day that Momo learns a new thing about Shouto- he compliments as easily as he he breathes, and it only serves to make him a more complicated puzzle.
AN: Hello again!
This chapter has been another blast to write- I love this AU to death! Unfortunately, my laptop is undergoung repairs now, so updates won't be as frequent with my old tablet here. But there is more TodoMomo, and next chapter also features more Uraraka, and even more sweetness (with more frank Todoroki making Momo melt, but also Momo being surprisingly sweet).
Your love keeps me alive! Thank you for all the support, and till next time with a cup of hot chocoalte (should change this with 'with a piece of cake' lol)!