Breakfast Bagels

He spent the rest of the day with Rebecca. It was just mindless fun, hanging out with her and watching movies together. With each other's company they had everything they needed to pass the time. Good food, entertainment, and a shoulder to lean on. It was a nice change of pace, but all things do come to an end eventually.

The next day had to come around and they had to get back to their lines of work. As much as they were both a part of night city, they still operated in entirely different worlds. His was that of a lowly street vendor and cook, following the rules laid upon him by the city. She, on the other hand, was someone who trod on the fine line of the law, someone who lived their day like it was their last; she was an edgerunner. That, however, did not stop them from spending their time together.

"You sure you don't want to stay for the opening?" He asked as he held Rebecca closely, wrapping his arms around her, "I could use an extra hand or two in here."

It was early in the morning and the light of dawn had yet to peak from over the horizon. The streets of Cherry Blossom Market were still empty as it was still a few more minutes before the next shift started. With no one around, they had his little stall to themselves.

"Maybe next time Chef, I already had my little break so it's back to the grind," Rebecca replied as she pressed her cheeks against his chest, holding him tighter before letting go. Looking up to him with a grin, she then added, "and somebody has to bring the eddies home, ya know?"

"You're really not letting that go, huh?" He chuckled, shaking his head ruefully.

"Nope!" She replied unashamedly. Smiling up to him softly, she then reassured him, "Come on Chef, it's not like it's going to be forever. I'll drop by on the way home. Who knows, I might even crash in your cushy apartment.~" Ribbing him with a teasing smile, she then said, "Mister Bigshot over here's been holding out, living in that castle!"

"It's not that high class," He replied with a smile of his own before teasing her in turn, "And you were just there because of the food, weren't you~?"

"It's not my fault that you make everything delicious," She fired back with a pout, "I swear, you're going to make me gain a few pounds."

He hugged her tightly, shaking his head as he told her, "You're perfect no matter what size, Becca."

She blushed as she melted into his hold, staying there together before she gently pushed her away. Growling, she fumed, "Damn it Chef, don't make this so hard on me. It's hard to not stay, you know?" Crossing her arms and turning around, she grumbled, "You're lucky you're cute."

"I love you too," He replied as he gave her a pat. "Well, the shift workers are coming so better get going," He then told her as he gave him a parting kiss on the cheeks, "Go get em, tiger."

Her face turned red as she stared back at him all wide eyed before beaming as she leaned up to him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. Leaving him stunned, she ran off giggling as she waved at him, "I'll catch you later! Good luck!"

"Shoot them first!" He called out, making her laugh one last time before she disappeared into the crowd. He sighed fondly before he turned to the other love of his life, his passion project. Seoul Kitchen was open for service and he was ready to knock them out.

-x-x-x-

With the shutters half closed, he prepped the kitchen for the day ahead. He still had an hour or so before he fully started his day. He was a bit late, all things considered, but he really didn't have a set time to start. That was the beauty of being his own boss, he got to decide when enough was enough as well as what he was going to make. Speaking of, he still had yet to decide on that.

Washing his hands, his eyes wandered off to the oven in his shop. "No more pizza," he told himself, shaking his head as he rolled his wrist. "That was way too much pizza for the day," he said aloud. He knew that somebody was not going to like it but he wanted a bit of variety in his restaurant. What he didn't expect was their voicing their disapproval so soon.

"You're not making pizza," A deadpan voice spoke out all the sudden, making him jump in fright. Whirling around, he found a red hooded girl staring up at him as she sat in one of his stools. With her face scrunched up in a grimace she asked, "Why?" Demanding an explanation with narrowed eyes.

"Jesus fuck, don't scare me like that!" He exclaimed as he held his chest, breathing deeply to calm his racing heart, "You can't just come in here unannounced! I'm not even open yet!" he shouted, pointing at the still empty menu display. The only thing that was there was Chibi Kiwi giving them a V sign, that he was going to keep.

"I can and I will," The brat replied, challenging him with that hair raising glare of hers. He felt his skin crawl as he recoiled in fear. "The question, I want answers," She reminded him.

Fearing for his life, he broke rather quickly, "Damn it, I just wanted a bit of variety ok?" He told her, "I did burgers the other day and pizzas yesterday. I wanted something new," Rubbing the back of his head, he then added, "Don't you know that variety is the spice of life?"

The girl remained silent at his answer. Sighing, he then told her, "Look, I can cook anything you want the way you want it. The only reason I did pizza was because a friend of mine wrote it down to attract more customers," He then at the Kiwi art, "You can thank her for it."

The girl turned to the drawing and nodded before looking back at him. He felt sweat drip down the back of his neck as the girl kept staring, already preparing to duck if she pulled out a gun before the girl suddenly spoke up, "Make some bagels."

"Bagels?" He replied as he gave her a look of confusion. That came out of the left field. "Why Bagels?" He then asked, wondering what that was about.

"It's breakfast," She answered, "You get bagels and coffee when it's breakfast," She replied as if she was stating a fact. Looking over to his empty pot, she then asked him, "Speaking of, where's your coffee?"

He blinked at her reply as he mulled over the request. "You know… Bagels wouldn't be a bad idea…" Glancing over to the back door, and knowing he was running a bit low on flour, he then told her, "But you know, that's going to take some time. Proofing is going to take some time, you know?"

"I have time," The girl answered easily with a scoff as she turned around and glared toward the city center, "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"I can respect that," he replied, nodding along. The girl had some business with some powerful people and she was just a grumpy little gremlin. A good meal ought to stop her from scowling. "A large batch of bagels, coming right up!"

A/N:

Like I promised, we're back to actual cooking stuff. The slice of life stuff is a bit of sidequest than anything else... and I might have just a bit too over eager with playing around the idea :V I like slice of life with romance and her comes Little Red to spice things up :3 I've seen a few people know who she is but heh, best to keep her identity under wraps. It's not like Chef ask people who they are. This is a little safe corner in Night City after all.

Oh yeah, one more thing. I kinda want to ask you guys something. With all the recent comments, I kinda realize that a decade of living here might be a bit too much. Would 2-3 years be a better alternative? I haven't really explored Chef's past that much so it's just a little retcon plus its still long enough for Chef to get enough eddies by selling to the right buyers (Something I'll be exploring way wayyyy later cause its not relevant now, not when he's still small scale).

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank vyor once more for making this possible. Praise be Vyor cause his magic hands make these chapters readable... you guys should definitely hire him for your work :V. Now if you want to support me or want to read some fic chapters in advance, consider dropping by either Pat reon or Ko -Fi. Without my s, I wouldn't have been able to write this. Links in my bio