Chapter Text
The kitchen was alive and bustling before the restaurant even opened. People hurried to and from their stations as they prepared for the busy night ahead of them. The roar of the fire, the clanking of pots and pans, it was like walking into a whole different world. It might look like chaos, and you’d be right in saying that it was, but it was beautifully organized chaos all under the watchful eye of the head chef, Nanami Kento. Everyone had their place in the kitchen and yours was overseeing the dessert. How you longed to one day have your very own pastry shop, but until then you would continue to grow and learn.
You had been a fan of his work since the first time you tried one of his dishes in culinary school and vowed to one day work in his kitchen. It was three years ago, just after graduating, that you landed a spot as a junior chef in this very same kitchen. And even though Nanami barely acknowledged you it was like a dream come true. Sure, the work was hard, your social life was non-existent and people weren’t the nicest in the kitchen but it didn’t matter because you knew you were part of something bigger.
Overtime you eventually worked your way up to station chef where you were put in charge of dessert and that’s where you were really able to thrive. You were chasing a high of validation from your role model, Nanami. Which is why tonight was so special. It was finally time to show Nanami something you had been working on in hopes it would make it to the menu and he would be proud of you once more.
The kitchen staff went silent as the doors from Nanami’s office swung open. Everyone stood ready at their stations in anticipation for the head chef to make his daily announcements. You waited nervously, your hands clutched the frosting piping bag causing a little icing to spurt out and onto your shoes. You glanced down, eyes wide at the unconscious mess your nerves caused.
Nanami stood tall and proud in his white chef uniform, arms behind his back as he scanned his domain behind his unique glasses. His face was stoic, collected, void of emotions but everyone knew that stress and anger would quickly replace them once the restaurant opened. It was only a matter of time before something or someone set him off. And who could blame him? This was his kingdom and everything needed to be perfect so the patrons on the other side of the doors could enjoy a peaceful and delicious meal. They were there to provide a service and experience that didn’t just entice taste, but all other senses.
“Good evening.” Nanami’s voice commanded the room. It seemed like even the boiling water and simmering soup got quiet when he spoke. That was the kind of presence he brought, the attention and respect he commanded.
“Good evening, chef!” The entire kitchen replied in unison. Nanami was their general and they were his soldiers who willingly fought the same war every night under his command.
Nanami slowly walked by every station, eyeing and tasting what they were working on for tonight’s menu. So far, so good. “We have a full house tonight so I know I don’t need to remind you to be at the top of your game tonight. Even if we weren’t full, I would expect nothing less from you.” He stopped in front of the large stock pot of simmering soup, dipping a taste testing spoon in. Nanami examined the taste with his tongue, tasting for any faults. He swallowed in silence. Nothing was always better than something when it came to tastings. “It’s close,” was all he said before moving to the next station. “Thank you, chef!” The station chef looked like he was about to faint from relief.
“Regarding tonight’s menu, there’s been a change in plans,” he stopped in front of you, tilting his head down ever so slightly to get a better view. You didn’t dare look up at him but instead fixed your focus straight ahead. Being this close to chef Nanami felt greater than any fire that ever burned in this kitchen. The anticipation building up inside you as you waited to hear what he had to say while also terrified he would see the mess on your shoes.
“Our shipment of lobster is delayed so we will be striking that from tonight’s menu and replacing it with the salmon,” no one said anything as they waited for him to finish, but panic was already starting to show in their eyes as they mentally tried to prepare for this rush change. He continued, “Because of this change we will also be swapping out the dessert to pair better,” you could feel his eyes directly on you now, “instead of the black forest cake, we will be serving a chocolate mousse.”
This change caused you to break your attention, your head jerked up ever so slightly before catching yourself and avoiding full-on eye contact. “Is there something wrong?” Nanami asked, his voice stern and deep as you dared question him. “No. No, chef. It’s just that—” you stammer with burning cheeks.
It doesn’t help that Nanami has lowered himself to your height, his face directly in front of yours. You try to look anywhere but straight ahead. “Please, continue,” he commands. All eyes are on you now and you can feel Nanami’s hot breath roll across your face. “I— I just don’t think we need to change the dessert. I worked really hard on this new dish and it would be a shame for it to go to waste. In fact, it would actually pair nicely with the salmon.” You couldn’t believe it, the words just kept rolling out as if you had no control over yourself. No one ever talked back to chef Nanami, let alone a station chef.
Nanami let you finish before he stood back up, now seemingly towering over you. “My mistake, everyone. We will be going ahead with the original dessert,” he addressed the kitchen as your jaw dropped. His attention snapped back down at you, “However, if it’s not up to standards by the time the first order comes in then you’re banned from my kitchen.” His threatening tone sent a shiver down your spine. “I would clean up your station before continuing any further, don’t want to make any more mistakes now, do we?” He had already turned away and continued his rounds as you panicked and cleaned up the spilt frosting immediately. Holy shit were you scared now.
The restaurant finally opened and the controlled chaos only increased as orders started to roll in. The mixture of smells filled the kitchen and dishes were perfectly plated to look like a work of art. But none of that seemed to exist to you as you worked away in your own corner of the kitchen trying to perfect this new dessert that the future of your job balanced on. You were drenched in sweat not just from the natural kitchen heat but also the nerves. You had completely sweat through your shirt with large armpit stains that you would deal with after you got home. Even without looking up you could feel Nanami’s stare burning through your back as he watched you like a hawk while simultaneously running the kitchen.
You put the finishing touches on the dish, it was finally ready and now all you needed was chef’s approval. You weren’t necessarily a prideful person, but occasionally you made something that made you feel proud of your culinary skills. And this was one of those times. Carefully, you lifted the platter to bring it to the table behind you for easy tasting and display, but in the heat of the moment you didn’t notice the commis chef rushing behind you without making their presence known.
CRASH.
Your bodies slammed into each other with the dessert acting as a buffer. The once perfect dessert now dripped down your apron and onto the floor. The commas chef’s frantic apologies were lost as the sound around washed away and you froze in shock. All that work, gone. And what’s worse, it was gone before you could get approval on it. If you had no dessert to show then did that mean you no longer had a job?
“This is why you say ‘behind you,’ idiot!” The sous-chef was red in the face as they began to chew out the commis chef. “And what’s your excuse? You need to be aware of your surroundings!” They turned their attention to you as you just stared down at the floor.
It wasn’t until Nanami stepped in that you were brought back to reality. His large hand reached forward towards you. You flinched, afraid he might slap you even though deep down you knew he wouldn’t but anything was possible in the heat of the moment inside the kitchen. Nanami didn’t slap you though, instead he swiped his finger across some of the dessert that was still on your apron. He raised it up to his lips and tasted it. Did you just catch a small twitch of a smile? It was so fast that you weren’t sure if you were seeing things or not. At that moment, you forgot how to breathe.
“You’re right, this would have paired well with tonight’s main course,” was all he said before glaring at the commis chef, “get out of my kitchen. I don’t have time for those who can’t live by my rules.” It wasn’t uncommon for Nanami to fire people on the spot but it also wasn’t an everyday occurrence so when it did happen it was still a shock and wake up call. “I don’t know why everyone has stopped working, did we close early?” The kitchen immediately started back up again, avoiding eye contact with you.
“I’m sorry, chef,” you let out softly. You couldn’t find the strength to look Nanami in the eye but managed to give him a small glance as a sign of respect.
“Looks like you’ll be making your black forest cake. You better hurry. I meant what I said, no dessert no job,” he crossed his arms before he went back to running the kitchen.
Thankfully the dessert Nanami wanted was easy enough and you were able to finish it just as the first dessert order came in. It was stressful, but at least you did it and would live to see tomorrow. This would definitely go down in one of the worst nights of your life.
With your duties done at the end of the night, you cleaned up your station and headed out back for a smoke. It was chilly out, but you welcomed the change in temperature as it helped calm your heart rate down. As you lit your cigarette and inhaled, everything from tonight came crashing down on you and you couldn’t help by cry. No one said being a chef would be easy. You knew you’d have days like this, but you also knew you couldn’t keep your emotions pent up and letting them out was probably the healthiest thing to do? You couldn’t afford a therapist so hopefully you were right.
“Got a light?”
Startled, you wiped away your tears and looked over. Nanami stood near you holding an unlit cigarette. As usual, his face was hard to read. You handed him your lighter, his fingers grazed your skin as he took it from your hand. In the cold, it was easy to feel the heat radiating from him at contact. His burned and healed and then burned again fingers actually felt kind of nice but the moment was over all too soon. “Thanks,” he nodded.
The two of you smoked in silence. This was probably the first time it had just been you two alone for this period of time. Normally, someone else would join you for a smoke or a waiter would come out to complain about a party. But this silence was nice and you weren’t afraid of Nanami like this. You stole glances of him from the corner of your eye. Something seemed different under the flickering flood light. There was no denying that he was handsome and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t attracted to him. But for one, he was your boss and two, he was your boss. Not to mention there was no way he saw you like that. You were just a fresh faced pastry chef who was just barely hanging on.
You finished your cigarette first and stomped it out, “See you tomorrow, chef,” you gave a small wave as you opened the door to head back into the kitchen. Suddenly, you felt a grip around your other wrist and looked back - it was Nanami. You stared into his eyes, but only saw your reflection in his lens.
“Don’t forget your lighter,” he slipped it back into your hand, letting go of your wrist. It was still warm from being in his hand. “ Thank-thank you, chef,” you nodded softly.
Another moment of silence filled the space between you.
“Will you make that dessert again tomorrow?” Nanami was dead serious. You struggled to find words, all you could do was nod in disbelief. He took a step to you, eliminating the already small distance between you too. He turned his head slightly away to exhale the smoke, but his eyes never left you. Your pulse began to quicken, heat in your cheeks already blooming. What the fuck was happening?
“One more thing,” he said almost in a whisper as he leaned down and into you. Twice today his face was mere inches from you and it was making you dizzy. His free hand met your face and just when you thought he might be cupping your face for a kiss he gently brushed some icing off your cheek, pulling back as he quickly licked his tongue. It felt like your heart was about to jump out of your chest if you didn’t leave immediately.
Nanami studied your bright red face and let out a small chuckle. He could laugh?! He was capable of some kind of positive emotion?! “See you tomorrow. Get home safe,” he turned away to finish his cigarette as if he knew what you were thinking.
“Yes, chef…”
“Make sure you bring your lighter tomorrow, I’m going to need it again,” he wasn’t even looking at you now, but you knew he didn’t have to for him to know how hot and red your face was. And before he could give you an actual nosebleed, you pushed through the kitchen doors and rushed home.