Ren had been looking forward to celebrating Christmas with his friends. Christmas in Japan was not an especially religious holiday in the least, but it was an excuse to have a party with his friends and eat some good food. Maybe he could try the JFC Christmas bucket he’d heard about, something that hadn’t exactly been available out in his part of the countryside and that his parents would have scoffed at even if it had been. They were very strict about diet, to the point where he thought they’d probably be horrified if they ever learned he was spending the year living over a restaurant, rather than in the Sakura residence. Going to the Wilton Buffet with Ryuji and Ann (and then other friends, later on) had been amazing after sixteen years of moderation being tirelessly preached. So had indulging in hot pot, splurging on sushi, wolfing down Big Bang Burger challenges…he’d been looking forward to Christmas cake and the JFC bucket.
And then Japan’s mental landscape had nearly imploded on itself. Somewhere between learning he and his friends were likely to be framed and arrested and fighting a false god, he’d kind of given up on the Christmas party. He’d count himself lucky just to survive.
Which meant he was somewhat bemused when he not only survived and avoided prison, but had a perfect Christmas Eve date with Ann complete with Christmas cake and was now watching Sojiro set down a JFC Christmas bucket on one of Leblanc’s booths along with food the others had brought: a charcuterie board full of cheeses provided by Haru, Ann’s tower of creampuffs, marinated seafood prepared by Makoto, some sweets Ryuji had brought.
Things really were going so perfectly. It was wild just how quickly life could change in less than 24 hours.
Sojiro raised a brow at him while opening the bucket full of hot, beautifully crispy fried chicken. “Someone looks eager,” the old man chuckled, setting two pieces on a plate before sliding it his way. “I remember you hinting about it.”
“Sojiroooo,” Futaba whined. “I hinted too!”
“Me too! I did too!” Morgana said, which was true, if only technically.
“You know I can’t understand you,” Sojiro told the not-cat in fond exasperation. “Futaba, I take it he wants some? Can he eat fried chicken?”
“Don’t you dare! Boss, I can eat it! Let me have some!”
Makoto spoke up to quell the bickering, letting Sojiro know that Morgana could indeed safely eat fried chicken. He got the smallest piece, suitable for his small size, and everyone else got a piece too.
Just one. Ren was puzzled, a bit, that he’d gotten two, and a little flustered to think he’d been that obvious with his hinting. There was a saying about the squeaky wheel getting the grease…and the fried pieces were greasy and oh-so-delicious. A little embarrassment was not enough to keep him from wolfing down both pieces, tearing apart the crispy skin with his teeth and savoring it before going for the next bite of juicy meat. He licked his lips once he was done, and then went for one of the cream puffs in Ann’s tower. Even if they were store bought, she’d put work into arranging them, so he had to show appreciation for them. He gave a small “mm” when the flaky outside crust gave way to vanilla cream oozing into his mouth, and Ann giggled. From there it was onto a few forkfuls of the marinated seafood, Makoto smiling as he thanked her for bringing it, and some of Haru’s cheese: just like Ryuji had said, it was stinky, but very delicious. He took a swig of the orange drink Futaba had brought to help everyone wash the food down, and then popped open the black box Ryuji had brought.
They were miniature cupcakes, frosted with a snowflake pattern. Ren picked one up and smirked at Ryuji. “Aww, cute.”
“Ahh, shaddup and just eat ‘em,” Ryuji grumbled, so Ren popped the one he was holding into his mouth. The frosting was sweet, but not too sweet. It was good. All the food here was. He wouldn’t say no to more of it.
Ann took another cream puff from her slowly shrinking tower and held it up to his mouth as he was finishing chewing. “Ahhh!” she said.
Did she want to…feed him? She’d been a bit bold on their date last night, but Ren hadn’t expected something like this in front of the others. Now he felt a bit embarrassed. Still, he didn’t exactly want to refuse. “Ahh,” Ren mimicked, and she popped the cream puff into his mouth. The cream seemed warmer this time, but that might have just been his face heating up. As he chewed, Makoto took his plate and filled it again with more of her marinated seafood, Haru’s cheese, and what must have been the last two pieces from the JFC bucket.
“Well, that wasn’t bad at all, but I’m heading home for the night,” Sojiro said. “You kids have fun.” He slipped on his jacket and headed out.
Makoto placed the plate back in front of Ren. Now he was sure his face was red. Everything was good, but he’d already had his fair share. Why was he just…being given more like this? “Did anyone else want more chicken?” he asked. “Yusuke?”
“Ah, I’m filling up on drink and some of the seafood,” the artist responded. “Please, Ren. Indulge. Now that your appetite’s been whetted, you should satisfy it.”
…Yusuke said a lot of weird things, but this was definitely up there. Ren stared at him, waiting for someone else to point out the strangeness, but the awkward stretch of silence only made Ann frown.
“Was anything bad, Ren? You usually love to eat.”
“No, nothing’s bad, but it’s–” He gave up for the moment. He did have room for more food, and he didn’t want to be rude, even if he was still bewildered by being given extra food without him even asking. He took a few bites of one chicken piece, and then a forkful of seafood, and three bites of the cheese.
Ann popped another cream puff into his mouth the second it was empty, and he mmphed in surprise as the cream leaked into his mouth. “Hey, let him have more of mine too!” Ryuji said. He picked up another miniature cupcake and brought it to Ren’s lips as he was still chewing, prompting him to open up again. The two sweets mixed wonderfully in his mouth, cream and frosting and pastry and cake melding together as he chewed and chewed before finally swallowing. Ann grinned and patted his belly, making Ren blush harder in the face, though thankfully the table hid both her hand and his belly from the others.
…His belly? Ren briefly glanced down at himself and puffed his gut out, just barely able to make out the small but flabby tummy under his shirt. Then he sucked it back in. That was…strange. He guessed he could have put on some weight, but he definitely didn’t remember doing so.
