Chocolate Kisses (oneshot)
Title: Chocolate Kisses
Pairing: ...
Genre: General
Rating: PG-13
Summary: She is absolutely sure that he just wants to make her life miserable.
Disclaimer: I don't own people.
Note: Kind of a spin-off to Falling Slowly. Based on a dream I had.
________________________________________________
Chocolate Kisses
“I’m sure he’s trying to piss me off,” she grumbles.
They’re having coffee (hot chocolate for her of course - she will never get used to the bitter taste of coffee) right across a soon-to-be chocolate factory.
“Of course, he’s about to open a shop - about to start a whole new business - for the sole purpose of pissing you off,” her friend reasons, sarcasm in her voice.
She ignores it, “Yes,” stubbornly.
Her friend puts her cup of coffee down and rubs her temples. She feels a headache coming up. A princess headache.
“You are aware that you are not making any sense, right?” she asks.
There is a hint of hope in her voice; wishful thinking.
“It makes total sense,” the said princess retorts, still stubborn.
Her friend sighs. “What does then?” she finally asks, arms in the air, full of discouragement.
“He knows I like chocolate.”
An arched eyebrow follows, “Unnie, 90% of the planet likes chocolate. You just happen to be one of them.”
“I love it then,” she corrects herself, “and he’s trying to piss me off by opening a chocolaterie.”
Her friend doesn’t know what to choose between rolling her eyes, hitting her forehead against the table or releasing a desperate yell to the ceiling. She tries the three options, suddenly becomes very dizzy and sighs again,
“I give up.”
*
She pushes the door to the shop.
Doo doo roo~ doo doo doo
Kissing you baby~
Doo doo roo~ doo doo doo
Loving you baby~
She rolls her eyes at the cheesy girly song that is playing and walks up to the main counter. She sees many chocolate sculptures ready to be displayed at the front window. And she cannot decide whether she wants to smash them on the floor or eat them.
She finds him tempering chocolate in the kitchen, clad in a grey-green and chocolate brown Tonari no Totoro apron. How cute, she thinks sarcastically.
She is surprised to find him alone, though. Without his assistant.
“I heard that you were going to open a chocolaterie,” she says to start the conversation and, thus, making her presence known.
He stops what he is doing and looks up to gaze at her with half-closed eyes. She almost falters, but manages to pull herself together quickly and holds his gaze.
“Well,” he says slowly, “as you can see, you’ve heard well.”
She refrains from grumbling; she is a graceful woman after all and not an out-of-control teenager.
Months ago, they would meet for the first time in a random cooking course they both were taking for the simple leisure of it. It would just turn out that he, while not a prodigy, would have enough talent and ambition to become something in the industry.
Just like with everything else.
“Look,” he says with his usual soft-toned voice (a gentle tone that kind of irritates her while - or because - it tends to make other girls and women feel at ease), “it’s good to see you again, but, as you can see, I’m very busy. The grand opening is tomorrow-”
Just in time to make great profit for Valentine’s Day...
“-and I don’t want to bore you with my lack of attention.”
She snorts, “Tsk, as if I needed it.”
He smiles. She turns her back to him very quickly because she wants to leave as soon as possible, as a woman with good manners who do not disturb people’s work and who do not let herself be affected by simple smiles from random men.
She hears the doorbell, announcing someone’s entrance in the shop.
“Oppa!” she hears a cute feminine voice.
She wishes she had already left.
*
She still comes again the day after, the day of the grand opening. It now looks more like a real shop with all the windows full of sculptures, pralines, truffles and whatever gorgeous-and-delicious things he has decided to create. It is a cozy place. There even is a café area which looks elegant, but feels as warm as a good bowl of Mayan hot chocolate.
She sees him putting more chocolate in the chocolate fountain - she stops herself from stealing a bit of that sinful liquid - before returning to filling his pralines in front of fascinated kids and impressed adults. Fortunately, she is quite petite, so he doesn’t see her.
“Oppa!” his assistant calls out as she comes out of the kitchen, “Could you double-check the fudge brownies and make sure I didn’t make any mistake with the timing or the temperature?”
He nods and wipes his hands on his apron before heading over to the kitchen. The crowd splits into groups of people that either decide to take a deeper look at the shop (some girls were doing last minute shopping for Valentine’s Day and using this excuse to get tips from or/and admire the handsome chocolatier) or wait for a good chocolate beverage at the café area.
She, herself, takes a better look and decides on a small box of pretty flower-shaped pralines.
“Oh, unnie!” She jumps when she hears the joyful salutation of the assistant.
“Hi Sunny,” she nods back. “I’ll take these,” she puts the small bag next to the cash register and rummages through her designer purse for her wallet.
“Oh no, unnie!” Sunny protests. “Oppa wouldn’t want you to pay! You two are friends after all.”
She still continues to look for her wallet as she lets a bitter laugh out,
“That’s funny,” she comments as he gets out of the kitchen with an eye-smile and a “You did perfectly, Sunny-ah” on his full lips, “I’ve never considered him my friend.”
*
They end up being partners over the course and it kind of gets on her nerves because he always does better than her and she, putting stereotypes aside, has her pride as a woman.
She, however, doesn’t have enough pride to stop coming to the shop. It is as if some magnetic force attracts her in there (or maybe she just really loves this particular chocolate). This time, though, she chooses a period where most people are at work or at school and it is near-but-not-yet lunchtime (meaning his break time) and she should only find Sunny and be able to get her pralines... while sneaking something in.
She finds Sunny alright, with him next to her, his hands covering hers as he teaches her how to put the right amount of cream on macarons.
Yes, because she doesn’t quite get the amount of pressure she is supposed to put in order to pour the right amount of cream out. Again with the sarcasm.
She knows that it is too late, that the doorbell has already rung and that they know she is there, but she still runs to the door and out of the shop.
She stops at the park and sits at the fountain to calm herself down and to catch her breath.
“I am totally not making any sense,” she whispers out loud, remembering her friend’s words.
She wets her embroidered handkerchief, twists the excess of water down and wipes the sweat off her forehead as she tries to calm the redness of her cheeks.
She takes a deep breath. Her heart, however, is still beating very fast.
Noon comes and she gets ready to go back. He must either be taking a break now or too busy in his kitchen due to the upcoming rush time. Sunny will sell her the damn pralines.
She makes a coin wish before going back to the shop. It is a bit silly, she thinks, but she has done it since she had been a child and she is not about to stop even though her wishes never came true. She is kind of a nostalgic, she guesses.
She pushes the door again and is greeted by an empty shop and a sensual beat accompanied by sultry whispering.
She arches an eyebrow, He definitely likes this group too much. Although she must admit that this song is quite fitting and it makes her want to walk in sync with its rhythm.
It takes her too much time to realise that she is alone in the shop and that Sunny is not here and that the doorbell has already signalled her presence and that she cannot run away a second time from the man behind the counter.
“It’s been a while,” he comments, not directly looking at her because he was too busy melting chocolate in front of her eyes.
Milk chocolate.
Her favourite.
The moment I saw you,
I wanted you and only you to be mine...
“It’s a nice shop,” she comments in return, once she has found her voice back. “You’ve done a good job.”
Thump, thump, thump...
He nods and leaves his melted chocolate just to go get a plateau of freshly baked white chocolate wafers to display on the main counter.
She tries to look at anything but him, so she ends up staring at the chocolate pastries and at the long fingers carefully picking each piece.
She swallows; her heart decides to go for a sprint. She notices he wears a black shirt under his cute apron and that he wears it well. Too well. His sleeves are rolled up, exposing more skin.
And the song that is playing doesn’t help. Too dark. Too tempting.
To hell! she thinks as she subtly grabs one of the wafers while he’s going back to the kitchen to put the empty plateau back. They’re not her favourite, but they’ll do.
She almost runs to the kitchen. Her denial seems to have taken a break,
I’ve got nothing to lose anyway!
She slams the door shut. He jumps in surprise.
“What are you-”
“Try this,” she interrupts, wafer in front of his face.
He cocks his head to the side, but doesn’t question her, and opens his mouth nonetheless.
She feeds him the chocolate, but, just before putting it into his mouth, she holds half of it with her teeth and, without any hesitation, closes her eyes shut and presses her lips to his.
She stays still, trembling too much to coordinate a move.
He is surprised, but reacts rapidly and gently holds both sides of her face as he too closes his eyes to deepen the kiss.
She thinks that she’s going to fall on the floor the way that chocolate had been melted on the counter. She finds the ability to finally move her arms and grabs his collar to make sure he is not going anywhere.
As if reading her thoughts, with one hand still caressing her cheek, he uses an arm to circle her waist and pulls her closer, pressing his body against hers...
They slowly pull apart, foreheads pressed together, his fingers drawing circles on her lower back. She tries to recover the ability to breathe.
“Sunny...” she gasps.
He chuckles, “That is the first thing that comes to your mind after this? I am not flattered.”
“But I...”
She is silenced by long fingers on her now rosy lips.
“Moving on... Why did you want me to eat it?” he asks, voice soft and low. “I made it; I know what it tastes like.”
She looks at him with a dumbfound expression. He adds,
“I want to taste yours.”
And, as innocent as these words are meant to be, she can’t help but let her thoughts wander, and blush.
She digs through her purse and pulls a tiny box of handmade truffles out.
“Here,” she hands them out, not daring to look at him in the eye.
He grins and accepts them with a simple smile, “Thank you! I’ll fully enjoy every one of them.”
She blushes even more and lets her long hair cover her face.
“By the way,” he says, “have you looked at the shop’s name?”
“Eh?!” she replies, confused.
“Because if you had, you would have known that it’s your shop.”
Her eyes widen and she runs outside.
Her name is there indeed.
She comes back at a slow pace, too shocked.
He smiles and puts a hand on her shoulder, “You were right. This shop was all about you.”
She jumps into his arms to hide her tears in his broad shoulders. He feels them, but doesn’t say anything.
I got you, babe,
I call, I call it chocolate love...
He however answers her barely audible “I love you” with a low whisper of similar words.
________________________________________________
The dream was the last scene. I don't know why I can't start more directly!
Pairing: ...
Genre: General
Rating: PG-13
Summary: She is absolutely sure that he just wants to make her life miserable.
Disclaimer: I don't own people.
Note: Kind of a spin-off to Falling Slowly. Based on a dream I had.
________________________________________________
Chocolate Kisses
“I’m sure he’s trying to piss me off,” she grumbles.
They’re having coffee (hot chocolate for her of course - she will never get used to the bitter taste of coffee) right across a soon-to-be chocolate factory.
“Of course, he’s about to open a shop - about to start a whole new business - for the sole purpose of pissing you off,” her friend reasons, sarcasm in her voice.
She ignores it, “Yes,” stubbornly.
Her friend puts her cup of coffee down and rubs her temples. She feels a headache coming up. A princess headache.
“You are aware that you are not making any sense, right?” she asks.
There is a hint of hope in her voice; wishful thinking.
“It makes total sense,” the said princess retorts, still stubborn.
Her friend sighs. “What does then?” she finally asks, arms in the air, full of discouragement.
“He knows I like chocolate.”
An arched eyebrow follows, “Unnie, 90% of the planet likes chocolate. You just happen to be one of them.”
“I love it then,” she corrects herself, “and he’s trying to piss me off by opening a chocolaterie.”
Her friend doesn’t know what to choose between rolling her eyes, hitting her forehead against the table or releasing a desperate yell to the ceiling. She tries the three options, suddenly becomes very dizzy and sighs again,
“I give up.”
*
She pushes the door to the shop.
Doo doo roo~ doo doo doo
Kissing you baby~
Doo doo roo~ doo doo doo
Loving you baby~
She rolls her eyes at the cheesy girly song that is playing and walks up to the main counter. She sees many chocolate sculptures ready to be displayed at the front window. And she cannot decide whether she wants to smash them on the floor or eat them.
She finds him tempering chocolate in the kitchen, clad in a grey-green and chocolate brown Tonari no Totoro apron. How cute, she thinks sarcastically.
She is surprised to find him alone, though. Without his assistant.
“I heard that you were going to open a chocolaterie,” she says to start the conversation and, thus, making her presence known.
He stops what he is doing and looks up to gaze at her with half-closed eyes. She almost falters, but manages to pull herself together quickly and holds his gaze.
“Well,” he says slowly, “as you can see, you’ve heard well.”
She refrains from grumbling; she is a graceful woman after all and not an out-of-control teenager.
Months ago, they would meet for the first time in a random cooking course they both were taking for the simple leisure of it. It would just turn out that he, while not a prodigy, would have enough talent and ambition to become something in the industry.
Just like with everything else.
“Look,” he says with his usual soft-toned voice (a gentle tone that kind of irritates her while - or because - it tends to make other girls and women feel at ease), “it’s good to see you again, but, as you can see, I’m very busy. The grand opening is tomorrow-”
Just in time to make great profit for Valentine’s Day...
“-and I don’t want to bore you with my lack of attention.”
She snorts, “Tsk, as if I needed it.”
He smiles. She turns her back to him very quickly because she wants to leave as soon as possible, as a woman with good manners who do not disturb people’s work and who do not let herself be affected by simple smiles from random men.
She hears the doorbell, announcing someone’s entrance in the shop.
“Oppa!” she hears a cute feminine voice.
She wishes she had already left.
*
She still comes again the day after, the day of the grand opening. It now looks more like a real shop with all the windows full of sculptures, pralines, truffles and whatever gorgeous-and-delicious things he has decided to create. It is a cozy place. There even is a café area which looks elegant, but feels as warm as a good bowl of Mayan hot chocolate.
She sees him putting more chocolate in the chocolate fountain - she stops herself from stealing a bit of that sinful liquid - before returning to filling his pralines in front of fascinated kids and impressed adults. Fortunately, she is quite petite, so he doesn’t see her.
“Oppa!” his assistant calls out as she comes out of the kitchen, “Could you double-check the fudge brownies and make sure I didn’t make any mistake with the timing or the temperature?”
He nods and wipes his hands on his apron before heading over to the kitchen. The crowd splits into groups of people that either decide to take a deeper look at the shop (some girls were doing last minute shopping for Valentine’s Day and using this excuse to get tips from or/and admire the handsome chocolatier) or wait for a good chocolate beverage at the café area.
She, herself, takes a better look and decides on a small box of pretty flower-shaped pralines.
“Oh, unnie!” She jumps when she hears the joyful salutation of the assistant.
“Hi Sunny,” she nods back. “I’ll take these,” she puts the small bag next to the cash register and rummages through her designer purse for her wallet.
“Oh no, unnie!” Sunny protests. “Oppa wouldn’t want you to pay! You two are friends after all.”
She still continues to look for her wallet as she lets a bitter laugh out,
“That’s funny,” she comments as he gets out of the kitchen with an eye-smile and a “You did perfectly, Sunny-ah” on his full lips, “I’ve never considered him my friend.”
*
They end up being partners over the course and it kind of gets on her nerves because he always does better than her and she, putting stereotypes aside, has her pride as a woman.
She, however, doesn’t have enough pride to stop coming to the shop. It is as if some magnetic force attracts her in there (or maybe she just really loves this particular chocolate). This time, though, she chooses a period where most people are at work or at school and it is near-but-not-yet lunchtime (meaning his break time) and she should only find Sunny and be able to get her pralines... while sneaking something in.
She finds Sunny alright, with him next to her, his hands covering hers as he teaches her how to put the right amount of cream on macarons.
Yes, because she doesn’t quite get the amount of pressure she is supposed to put in order to pour the right amount of cream out. Again with the sarcasm.
She knows that it is too late, that the doorbell has already rung and that they know she is there, but she still runs to the door and out of the shop.
She stops at the park and sits at the fountain to calm herself down and to catch her breath.
“I am totally not making any sense,” she whispers out loud, remembering her friend’s words.
She wets her embroidered handkerchief, twists the excess of water down and wipes the sweat off her forehead as she tries to calm the redness of her cheeks.
She takes a deep breath. Her heart, however, is still beating very fast.
Noon comes and she gets ready to go back. He must either be taking a break now or too busy in his kitchen due to the upcoming rush time. Sunny will sell her the damn pralines.
She makes a coin wish before going back to the shop. It is a bit silly, she thinks, but she has done it since she had been a child and she is not about to stop even though her wishes never came true. She is kind of a nostalgic, she guesses.
She pushes the door again and is greeted by an empty shop and a sensual beat accompanied by sultry whispering.
She arches an eyebrow, He definitely likes this group too much. Although she must admit that this song is quite fitting and it makes her want to walk in sync with its rhythm.
It takes her too much time to realise that she is alone in the shop and that Sunny is not here and that the doorbell has already signalled her presence and that she cannot run away a second time from the man behind the counter.
“It’s been a while,” he comments, not directly looking at her because he was too busy melting chocolate in front of her eyes.
Milk chocolate.
Her favourite.
The moment I saw you,
I wanted you and only you to be mine...
“It’s a nice shop,” she comments in return, once she has found her voice back. “You’ve done a good job.”
Thump, thump, thump...
He nods and leaves his melted chocolate just to go get a plateau of freshly baked white chocolate wafers to display on the main counter.
She tries to look at anything but him, so she ends up staring at the chocolate pastries and at the long fingers carefully picking each piece.
She swallows; her heart decides to go for a sprint. She notices he wears a black shirt under his cute apron and that he wears it well. Too well. His sleeves are rolled up, exposing more skin.
And the song that is playing doesn’t help. Too dark. Too tempting.
To hell! she thinks as she subtly grabs one of the wafers while he’s going back to the kitchen to put the empty plateau back. They’re not her favourite, but they’ll do.
She almost runs to the kitchen. Her denial seems to have taken a break,
I’ve got nothing to lose anyway!
She slams the door shut. He jumps in surprise.
“What are you-”
“Try this,” she interrupts, wafer in front of his face.
He cocks his head to the side, but doesn’t question her, and opens his mouth nonetheless.
She feeds him the chocolate, but, just before putting it into his mouth, she holds half of it with her teeth and, without any hesitation, closes her eyes shut and presses her lips to his.
She stays still, trembling too much to coordinate a move.
He is surprised, but reacts rapidly and gently holds both sides of her face as he too closes his eyes to deepen the kiss.
She thinks that she’s going to fall on the floor the way that chocolate had been melted on the counter. She finds the ability to finally move her arms and grabs his collar to make sure he is not going anywhere.
As if reading her thoughts, with one hand still caressing her cheek, he uses an arm to circle her waist and pulls her closer, pressing his body against hers...
They slowly pull apart, foreheads pressed together, his fingers drawing circles on her lower back. She tries to recover the ability to breathe.
“Sunny...” she gasps.
He chuckles, “That is the first thing that comes to your mind after this? I am not flattered.”
“But I...”
She is silenced by long fingers on her now rosy lips.
“Moving on... Why did you want me to eat it?” he asks, voice soft and low. “I made it; I know what it tastes like.”
She looks at him with a dumbfound expression. He adds,
“I want to taste yours.”
And, as innocent as these words are meant to be, she can’t help but let her thoughts wander, and blush.
She digs through her purse and pulls a tiny box of handmade truffles out.
“Here,” she hands them out, not daring to look at him in the eye.
He grins and accepts them with a simple smile, “Thank you! I’ll fully enjoy every one of them.”
She blushes even more and lets her long hair cover her face.
“By the way,” he says, “have you looked at the shop’s name?”
“Eh?!” she replies, confused.
“Because if you had, you would have known that it’s your shop.”
Her eyes widen and she runs outside.
Her name is there indeed.
She comes back at a slow pace, too shocked.
He smiles and puts a hand on her shoulder, “You were right. This shop was all about you.”
She jumps into his arms to hide her tears in his broad shoulders. He feels them, but doesn’t say anything.
I got you, babe,
I call, I call it chocolate love...
He however answers her barely audible “I love you” with a low whisper of similar words.
________________________________________________
The dream was the last scene. I don't know why I can't start more directly!