⚉ characters: soul x reader
⚉ wc: 3,3k
⚉ genre: light comedy, slice of life, meet-cute, crack fic?, strangers to friends
⚉ theme: stranger!soul, stranger!reader
⚉ warnings: food mentioned, bathroom humor
Masterlist
⚉ a/n: welcome or welcome back! Okay... I really have to say, please, don't take this too seriously, it’s just for fun.😂 I actually do like this a lot, in my head it is funny, but I do have a broken humor, and I am aware this might not be for everyone. And that's fine! Thank you so much for reading, leaving a heart, or even reblogging - it means a lot to me! If you see any mistakes, please feel free to kindly correct me ♡
1 AM
Everyone would assume that this is the time when you sleep. Where your mind takes you to a beautiful dream, that you won't probably remember in the morning, but wish you did. And to be fair, it did apply to you too. You were snuggled up in your comforter, snoring softly and dreaming about many different things.
That was until the start of a school break.
Since you didn’t have school anymore, and didn’t have to worry about unfinished assignments, you pretty much had nothing else to do. Yes, you were having a part-time job—and occasional hang out with friends happened too—but that was during the day.
During the night, when you finally didn’t have to sleep early, because of classes in the morning, you could be awake until 5 AM without a problem. Your part-time job always started at 2 PM, so you had plenty of time to gain some sleep and also some energy.
Were you just gaslighting yourself that it is actually enough sleep, and you'll be well rested? Yes. In reality, you could use way more sleep, but were you willing to change that? Not at all. You wanted to enjoy your school break to the fullest, before you'll be drowning in school work again.
That's what brings you now to this moment. Because you stayed up late again (mostly playing video games), you were ready for some late night snacks. Of course, your first look was in the fridge, but at the moment, nothing seemed good enough to fulfill your cravings. You even rummage through the pantry, ending up without taking anything. The only option left, was to go to the convenience store that is down the street and open nonstop.
Without a second thought, you quickly put on some oversized hoodie, grabbed all the necessities—phone, wallet and keys—and stuck everything into its large pocket at the front. Then, driven by the power of cravings, you stepped out of your small apartment into the warm summer night, and made your way to food.
You didn’t have exactly in mind what you could eat, so once you arrived at the convenience store—greeted by the bored cashier who happened to suffer a night shift, and flickering lights, that some of them looked like they're going to fall of the ceiling—you just looked around in hopes to find anything that would feed the urge for snacking on something.
After going already through half the store, you settled for a two-pack container with egg sandwiches and a bottle of chocolate milk. It is an odd combination, and many wouldn’t probably survive the consequences, but you were lucky enough to not have any issues with that. You actually never really had any digestive problems, but there was this one time…
Apple juice was never the same in your eyes.
You were ready to close the freezer after taking out a chocolate milk, but a quick "Wait!" stopped you in your action. You looked to the side where you heard the voice, and saw a boy coming to you with hurried steps.
"Thanks." He flashed you a smile once he was close enough, and reached out for a strawberry milk.
Once the boy obtained his preferred flavored milk, you finally closed the freezer. You took a closer look at the boy, and it was obvious that he is here for the same reason as you are—late night snacks. The biggest giveaway was his pink pajama pants, and a hairband in his blonde hair that is used to push your hair back when removing (or putting on) make-up. Though, you have to admit, you were quite appreciating his hair accessory that was in the shape of Pikachu ears. It was cute.
"I see you were also kicked out of your home by the feeling of craving something delicious." The boy spoke with a playful smile on his lips. "Perhaps an empty fridge too? That was my case."
"I was fortunate enough to have something in my fridge, but sadly, there was nothing that would suit the hunger." You answered him with a small chuckle.
"Well, when the cravings call specifically for chocolate milk and… an egg sandwich?" He raised an eyebrow upon seeing your fascinating combination. "Really?" He looked at you, playfully judging your odd pick of food.
"Hey, don't judge until you try it yourself." You said, your tone a little defensive. "And to be honest, I could have the same reaction about your combination. Strawberry milk and oat cereal, really?" You gave him the same look as he did a moment ago to you, just to tease him back.
"It might be weird, but not as weird as yours." He admitted, protectively clutching the bag of oat cereal closer to his body. "My combo will definitely not make me regret all the life decisions I made while fighting demons in the bathroom."
"Neither is mine." A sweet smile appeared on your face. "But I guess… not everyone can handle this harmless combination. We wouldn’t want this poor cashier, suffering a night shift, to have to clean up your mess in the restroom, right?" Hint of mischief flashed in your eyes—it was an unspoken challenge.
"I wouldn’t shit myself!" He said a little louder than necessary which caused a said cashier to look up from his phone. The boy's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment as he looked around to make sure no one else heard him. "I can handle it without a problem." His voice was much calmer this time.
"Prove it."
At your words, the boy slightly froze, and your smile turned into a small smirk. He wasn’t expecting you to dare him to something bizarre like this, but he seemed like he won't back up that easily.
"Or are you scared?" You couldn’t help it, but it was so much fun to tease the stranger—that’s what he gets for judging the food you choose to snack on.
"Fine, I'll try it." He said after a moment. "But only if you try strawberry milk with oats." He added, waiting for your reaction with hand stretched out towards you.
You didn’t expect him to have his own condition to agree to this stupid dare you unseriously came up with, but you respected it. And to be honest, it was only fair.
Looking at his outstretched hand, you nodded a few times in agreement. "Deal." You accept his hand, making the challenge real and importantly, sealing it.
You both went to the cashier—who was better off not knowing what you two have been up to—to pay for your goodies. Bless the cashier's poor soul.
As a true gentleman, the boy let you pay first and while he was paying for his stuff, you already went to a corner of the shop where anyone could enjoy their food. It was for the people who simply didn’t want to wait until they got back home and made their food there (mostly instant noodles). All thanks to the makeshift kitchen that worked perfectly fine; you were sure the smell of instant noodles would stick on your clothes until you decide to wash them.
It was just you two in the whole convenience store (plus the cashier), so no one will give you weird looks as you and the boy battle about who has the best weirder food combination to snack on. And who is more likely to shit themselves after trying it. If you had an audience for that… well… that would be something—and it would end up being one of those late night thoughts/memories that won't let you sleep out of embarrassment.
As you sat down by the cheap plastic table, that was barely surviving the constant use, you had to pinch yourself on the arm to make sure you're not dreaming. Because the more you thought about the situation you caught yourself in, the more ridiculous—and actually funnier—it got.
And yes. It was still a reality.
Very hilarious one.
Oh, God. What am I even doing? This is what I get for not having enough sleep.
"You look like you want to back out." Those words got you out of your thoughts, and you looked up at the boy who finally joined you and took a seat next to you. "What? Are you scared?" He took his chance to mock you back.
"Me? Pfff." You snorted. "But your knees were shaking when you were coming here to sit down." Of course, you had to continue with this harmless banter that formed between you two.
"Yeah, because I'm scared of you, not this… this… whatever combination of food you've got there." The teasing wasn’t stopping, but for some reason, it felt so natural with this stranger, like you were friends since childhood, and yet, you met him five minutes ago.
"Hey!" You shoved his shoulder with an amused chuckle while the boy laughed out loud; the poor cashier must be so annoyed by you two. "I'm not scary."
"You just punched me in the shoulder." He suddenly touched his arm with his other hand and acted hurt. "It hurts." A small pout formed on his lips.
"I didn't punch you, just lightly shoved you. There’s a difference." You shrugged, ignoring his puppy eyes and pout. "But if you want to feel a real punch, I will happily comply." You gave him a big, innocent smile.
"Nah, I think I'm good." He straightened up in his seat, dropping the act, and instead he busied his hands with fixing his Pikachu hairband to prevent it from sliding down. "So… are you ready to try a snack that will change your life, and you will admit that what you consider a snack is absolute abomination?" As he was speaking, he reached for the bag of oats to open them up.
You couldn’t recall where exactly it was said that you're the one trying his food combination first, but you didn’t argue and just went with the flow.
"Strong words for someone wearing a Pikachu hairband in a convenience store at 1 AM." You looked him straight in the eyes. "Bring it on, Pika boy."
The boy laughed at your nickname you came up with. "Shouldn’t you call me Ash Ketchum?" The bag of oats was now opened, and so he reached for the strawberry milk.
"The only thing you're gonna try to catch is the toilet."
Pika boy threw his head back laughing hard which caught the attention of the cashier, but he wasn’t bothered enough to keep his focus on you two, and instead went back to scroll on his phone.
"That was a good one." He wiped away an imaginary tear. Once he calmed down, he moved the bag of oats and strawberry milk closer to you. "Here is something that will change your life… or destroy the toilet."
You playfully rolled your eyes at him and took the strawberry milk in your hands. "Is there a bowl and spoon?" You turned your head back to see if you could find something in the makeshift kitchen.
"No, no, no." Pika boy immediately shook his head in disapproval, and you turned back to him confused. "You eat it as it is, straight out of the packaging." He said, his face completely serious which made it clear he truly means his words.
"You're kidding, right?"
He shook his head again. "Nope."
"How am I even supposed to-"
Before you could finish your sentence, Pika boy interrupted you. "Let me show you." He grabbed the open bag of oats and without a word, stuffed his mouth to the brim. After that, he took the strawberry milk from your hold and poured some right into his mouth filled with oats.
You weren’t sure if you felt more disgusted or horrified. But you had to say, it was quite the impression, and so far you had no regrets of meeting this stranger. Something in you was screaming you should probably run, but seeing him like this—looking like a hamster—made you feel not in danger at all.
"Your turn." He said when his mouth was less full and he could finally form proper words. Luckily, no excess food fell out of his mouth.
"Okay." You exhaled, taking the bag of oats yourself, having a good look at them. "Now it's not the right time to say I don't like oats?" You glanced at him.
He wanted to try and say something, but quickly changed his mind. He simply shook his head while gesturing with both hands for you to hurry up.
"Jesus, calm down. You're gonna choke and I will definitely not help you." Now was your turn to shake your head.
Looking back down at the bag of oats, you huffed and without a second thought filled your mouth with some, following exactly what Pika boy did.
You struggled at first, because you had no idea if to chew first and then swallow, or just swallow right away. Instinctively, you started to chew and… it was an experience, to say the least.
Of course there are people who normally wash their food with something to drink, but you were never this type of person. You had to swallow first, and then you could take a sip of your drink.
But this is different. This is just some type of cereal with flavored milk, this is obviously normal to eat together—there is a whole other debate about what comes first, milk or cereal, but that's not the point. However, for some reason, this feels wrong and reminds you more of the first thing, which is washing down your food with a drink before swallowing, and that is not very pleasant.
Eventually, you managed to eat… swallow… everything you had in your mouth without spitting anything out. You looked at Pika boy who had a smug smile on his face.
"Well? What do you think?" He asked. "Life-changing experience, am I right?" He wiggled his eyebrows, reaching out for the oats and milk so he could go for a second round.
"Yeah, but not in a good way." You said and he immediately frowned at you. Though, you couldn’t take him seriously with his cheeks stuffed again to bursting; he certainly resembled hamster more and more. Maybe even Pikachu. "I will admit the combo is… good, but I would much prefer a bowl and a spoon."
He was chewing his oats with milk, looking at you with squinted eyes, which you assumed must have been him trying to think. Great, now he will set off the smoke alarm if he thinks too hard.
You had to wait a good two minutes before he gave you a nod of approval. It had to be just a nod, because he was still chewing… and chewing. You were genuinely waiting for him to start choking—how does the boy do it?
"Done?" You asked after a moment of you two sitting in silence (except the sound of AC running somewhere in the store), and him almost fighting with the food in his mouth. The only answer you got was another nod, but this time it meant a confirmation. "Good. 'Cause now it's your turn." With a big smile on your lips, you pushed the container with two egg sandwiches and a chocolate milk closer to him. "Don’t worry, you can eat this like a normal person."
"How kind of you." He mockingly touched his heart. "But I'm gonna do it my way." He flashed you a smile while opening the container.
Before he took one of the sandwiches out, he also opened the chocolate milk. When that was done, he finally took one of the sandwiches, took a big bite, and just like with the oats, he poured the milk into his mouth right after.
"Okay, that is disgusting." You scrunched your nose in revulsion and yet, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. "I am now 100% convinced, you're going to shit yourself."
Because he couldn’t talk again (even though he tried), he just waved a hand at your comment and took another bite. And yes, you guessed it, he also added more chocolate milk.
He suddenly moved the container closer to you, nodding his head at you. A gesture for you to take the second egg sandwich, which was rightfully yours.
"Thanks." Taking the sandwich out, you took a bite out of it—much smaller than he did—and ate like a normal person would. After swallowing, then you drank your chocolate milk.
When Pika boy was finally free to talk again, obviously he had to take the opportunity. It looks like he always has something to say; at least he has a nice voice. "See? I didn't need to use the restroom." He said it like it was something to be proud of.
"Yet."
"C'mon, just admit it," He leaned closer to you, but not close enough to invade your personal space, he had some respect. "I won."
"Are you sure?" You turned to him also leaning closer. "Your stomach says something different." As soon as you finished your sentence, his abdomen made a loud rumbling sound. "Seems like I won." You straightened back up and finished your sandwich.
"But I didn't-" He stopped mid-sentence as his stomach made another noise, perhaps even louder. His hand immediately shot up to that place in false hope of stopping the sounds.
"Do you still think you won?" A teasing smile appeared on your lips right before you took a sip of your chocolate milk. "Hmm, delicious." You provoked him, but you really couldn’t help it—it was so much fun to see the color drain from his face as he was slowly realizing he might be in trouble.
"I still…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I still didn’t use the restroom." He was persistent, and that was strangely admirable.
You eyed the poor boy for a moment before nodding your head. "Fine, I'll give you that." Seeing him so determined—and you could say, hungry for a victory—you gave him some slack. "But only this time."
At that sentence, he perked up; even some of that color returned to his face. "Does that mean there will be next time?" You could see the hope shining in his eyes that were now wide in anticipation.
"I have a few more food combinations you might want to try."
The boy's eyes widened in excitement, but he quickly tried to act cool about it, like he doesn’t care that much. "Me too." He said, failing at hiding his happy smile. "Tomorrow at the same time?"
You gave it a thought, but there wasn’t much to think about, you were already decided. "Yeah, sounds good." You smiled at him, but this time it was a normal, genuine smile that wasn’t hiding any teasing or smugness.
"Great!" He grabbed his oats and strawberry milk, ready to go. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow-" He paused, waiting for you to fill up the gap for your name.
"Y/N."
Pika boy smiled. "Name's Soul."
You returned him the smile and watched Soul leave the convenience store. The cashier eyed him for a moment before looking at you, but he quickly turned back again to his phone to kill boredom. Since you were already done with your own food, you stood up, ready to leave too. On your way out, you throw the garbage into a bin that was handily placed in a corner by the door—but it would be better to have it by the makeshift kitchen.
By the time you got home it was almost 3 AM, and you were ready to call it a night. While you were falling asleep, your mind drifted to the encounter with Soul, and even if it was a quite unusual first meeting, you couldn’t wait to see him tomorrow.
And yes, you were right, the smell of instant noodles did in fact stick to your clothes, but so did the sweet scent of strawberry milk, that now reminded you of him—your Pika boy.
