Chapter Text
Fast forward to Monday, it was nine in the morning. Natuski’’s father had left for work as usual. She took her phone from her nightstand, sending a message to the group chat.
Natsuki: Hey guys we have a minor change of plans.
Natsuki: Decorating the bakery won’t be today’s priority.
Natuski: Today you guys can come over cuz we’ll be working on the new menu items today.
Natuski waited, noticing Yuri’s activity status turn green, indicating she was online. Yuri read the text, nervously typing out responses before quickly deleting them and reworking on it.
Natuski stared at her screen deadpan, leaning against her wall as she waited for Yuri to find her words
Yuri: What time should I come by…?
Natsuki: You can come over now.
Yuri: Okay…
Yuri: Please give me a bit of time… I’ll be there soon…
Natsuki replied with a thumbs up emoji before she shut off her phone, leaving it on her bed as she got up, stretching a bit before heading to the bathroom.
She brushed her teeth, did her hair and then retrieved her phone from her room before heading to the living room, sitting on the sofa and doomscrolling a bit as she waited for Yuri to come.
Around five minutes passed, Natsuki’s doomscrolling was interrupted by a series of three faint knocks coming from outside.
Natsuki: There she is..
She let out a quiet hmph, blushing a bit in anticipation before heading to answer the door.
Natsuki: Took you long enough.
She said as she opened the door, looking at Yuri, who had brought some of her own cooking supplies in a reusable plastic bag so that she wouldn’t be freeloading on Natsuki’s supplies.
Yuri: S-Sorr-
Natuski: It’s- It’s fine…! Tch, what did I say about saying sorry all the time?
She pouted, looking up at Yuri as she stepped aside subconsciously to let her enter.
Yuri: R-..Right..
She gulped quietly, stepping into Natsuki's house and shutting the door behind her silently.
Yuri: Thank you for having me over...
Natsuki: Y-Yeah, yeah.. Um, anyway, we should probably wait for Sayori or Monika to come over..? I mean only if you want.. Hmph.
She pouted, looking away, Yuri was still clutching the bag with her food as she looked at Natsuki nervously.
Yuri: O-Of course..! I-In the mean time.. w-what would you like to do..?
Natsuki: I don't know.. Hmph, you can pick I guess.. whatever! Just gimme that.
She quickly snatched the bag from Yuri's hand, placing it on the kitchen counter, catching Yuri off guard as she let out a surprised squeak, blushing even more.
Natsuki: Have a seat..
She gestured to her couch, avoiding eye contact. Yuri was quick to comply, sitting on Natsuki's couch, staring in front of her nervously. Natsuki sat next to her, she could feel Yuri's body heat from being so close, their knees nearly touching.
Natsuki: Anyway.. I guess we can like plan out some ideas for the menu items
Yuri looked at Natsuki, her dark purple eyes softening as she gave her a warm smile, nodding
Yuri: I planned out some of the items that I could do.. I-If you'd like to, uhm- h-hear it..
Her gaze drifted to the side
Natsuki: I'd love to.
She blurted out without a thought. Yuri's face reddened in surprise. The second Natsuki realized what she said she turned a shade of dark red, mortified.
Natsuki: A-Ah.. O-Oh my god..!
She stuttered, quickly trying to correct herself
Natsuki: I-I meant to say sure..! Eeeeeeekk!!
She squealed in embarrassment, covering her face. Yuri blushed, looking at her flustered friend, Yuri looked away, equally flustered
Yuri: I-It's okay..
Yuri clenched her sleeves shyly, staring at her lap awkwardly, not knowing if she should comfort Natsuki or if she should laugh it off..? She hadn't had the slightest clue
After much confliction, Yuri finally decided to just.. brush it off and continue with the conversation.
Yuri: T..-The dishes I planned out..
She started, looking down at Natsuki, who was still visibly flustered over earlier
Natsuki: R-right..
Yuri: I-I..
She took a quick deep breath,
Yuri: Okay.. so, other than tea, I-I figured I could try making lemonade, o-or coffee, maybe even fruit quenchers..?
Natsuki: Sounds good to me..
she glanced at Yuri for a second, before looking away again
Natsuki: As for me, I'll try out different flavors for cakes and cupcakes, and I wanna try making cookies, macaroons and parfaits..
Yuri: Sounds tasty... I'm sure Sayori wi-will be delighted to hear this, hehe..
She giggled under her breath, Natsuki smirked softly, nodding in agreement
Natsuki: For sure.. She's practically going to explode out of joy, keheh
The two girls laughed softly at the mere thought. However, their somewhat intimate moment came to an end as the doorbell rang, Yuri squeaked softly in surprise
Natsuki: I'll get it!!
She exclaimed, getting up from the sofa and hurrying to the door. She looked out the peephole, the sight that greeted her was that of her dear friend Sayori! Sayori had a nervous but excited smile that Natuski could see through the peephole.
Natsuki opened the door wide, stepping aside for her to enter
Natsuki: You sure took your time.!
Sayori: Eeh! Sorry! I overslept!!
She chuckled nervously, stepping in and examining her surroundings before her eyes land on Yuri
Sayori: Oh hey Yuri!!
She greeted with a big smile, taking a seat next to her
Sayori: I heard you guys were going to bake..~ Hehehehe
She said, rubbing her hands deviously. Natsuki let out a soft exhale, sitting next to Yuri as well.
Natsuki: Yeah, we are.
Natsuki confirmed, before she started naming off all the menu items that they'd prepare today, Yuri noticed Sayori's eyes shined, mouth drooling at the edges as an immense smile covered her face. The more desserts and beverages that Natuski called, the more her smile grew.
As Natsuki finished naming all the items, her phone buzzed quietly on the table before anyone could speak.
Monika sent a text message in the group chat, notifying them that she'd be busy today and wouldn't be able to come, due to having to attend her piano lessons.
Natuski: Ah, Monika can't come today
Sayori: More desserts for me then!!
She exclaimed, grinning. Yuri's face softened as she watched her friends interact, Natsuki scolding Sayori for being so gluttonous.
Natsuki: Urghh whatever! Let's just start cooking now, kay?!
She said, getting up, Yuri got up right after, nodding softly.
Sayori: Alrighty!! Do you mind if I just wait here while you two prepare the stuff?
She asked, smiling widely, Natuski clicked her tongue before responding
Natsuki: Fine..
Natsuki: Yuri.. let's go then
Yuri nodded quickly, the two of them headed to the kitchen,
Natsuki: Alright, this side of the counter will be my side,
She pointed to the right side of the kitchen counter before continuing
Natsuki: And that side will be yours.
She pointed to the left side, Yuri nodded quickly, picking up the plastic bag with the ingredients she brought before resting it on her side of the counter.
In the meantime, Sayori played a random playlist on Spotify, turning up the volume loud enough so that they could hear the music, giving the house a nice ambience.
Finally, Yuri and Natuski then started working on their respective recipes.
Natsuki was making tiny batches of cupcakes, each with different flavors: Vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, carrot and lemon, setting them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes before she started working on another pastry.
On the other hand, Yuri was preparing various tea and lemonade flavors, for the tea: green tea, cherry, herbal, lavender and mint while for the lemonade she was making: pink lemonade, normal lemonade, peach lemonade and mint lemonade. When she finished those, she started working on the fruit quenchers and coffees.
Hours passed, soon enough, Natsuki and Yuri had finished all of their dishes, small servings with a multitude of flavors. They displayed each one of their dishes across the table in front of Sayori. Sayori's eyes visibly widened in awe, a small trickle of drool seeping at the corner of her lips at all the delicious stuff in front of her.
Sayori: O-Oh my goddd this looks so good
Her voice cracked in excitement, ready to pounce onto the food
Sayori: Can I eat!!
She exclaimed excitedly, Natsuki puffed her chest softly
Natsuki: Dig in..
As soon as the words escaped Natuski's mouth, Sayori leaped, first trying all the cupcakes/cake flavors
Sayori: MMMmnph!! So..so good eee!!
She squealed in contentement
Sayori: 100/10!!
She said, covering her mouth as she chewed, a bit of lemonade frosting stuck to her cheek, Natsuki grinned confidently, amused with how eager Sayori was about her cupcakes.
Sayori took a sip of one of Yuri's fruit quenchers,
Sayori: Oouhh!! Cherry! Mmmh~ So good!! 10/10!
And so she went on and on, trying each dish, giving all of them a 10/10, some even higher. Natsuki and Yuri weren't sure if she was giving all these high ratings because she was hungry or if the food was actually good..
The clock struck 3pm by the time Sayori had finished all their dishes.
Natsuki: Alright, so then everything we prepared today will be on our menu then
Sayori: That's great!! Hehe, in that case, I might have to occasionally drop by as a customer..
Natuski: Hm, okay so now that we've established what items will be sold at the restaurant, we could start designing our restaurant since Sayori's here
Sayori: Alrighty! Natsuki before I start, do you have like, a layout of the restaurant? It'd make it easier for me to decorate that way
She asked, smiling brightly.
Natsuki: Hmm, no, but it's fine. I'll draw the layout on paper and then you can draw your decorations onto it.
Sayori: Sounds good!!
Natsuki turned to Yuri nervously
Natuski: In the meantime, Yuri, do you think you could do the dishes? I won't have time to do it after you guys leave, a-and you know how my dad is and all..
Yuri nodded quickly, smiling softly, happy that she could be helpful
Yuri: O-Of course!!
She picked up the dishes, making her way to the kitchen to clean them. Natsuki got up, getting a piece of paper and a pen. She drew the layout of the bakery with clumsy boxes.
Natsuki: Hmph, this should work, here
She handed Sayori the piece of paper and she got right to designing, doodling. After a while, when she finished the concept sketch she handed it back to Natsuki, who glanced over the draft.
Natsuki: Hmph, I like it.. next time I see Monika I'll show it to her and if she approves then we'll buy all of these.
Sayori: Yippee!! Okie dokie!!
Once Yuri finished the dishes, the three sat on the sofa, looking over Sayori's sketch again, assessing whether they should add anything else and tweaking a few small details to make the design a bit more realistic.
Finally, they all decided over a final look, the sketch was now a double-sided sheet. It included: The top view of the inside of the bakery and the walls.
The sketch of the top view of the bakery had messy sketches of cute pink sofas, oak wood tables, nice potted plants, cute, light pink carpets and some air conditioners.
The sketch of the wall had adorable posters of cats and delicious pastries, as well as neat white wallpaper with light pink polka dots with a finishing detail of a whiteboard where customers could doodle or leave feedback.
Yuri: I r-really like it
She muttered shyly, encircling a strand of her long dark purple hair around her finger
Natsuki: It's perfect!! Hehe! I can't wait to show Monika
She smiled widely, proud of the design that they all worked on together. Sayori glanced at the clock by the television now that they had finished designing the draft
Sayori: Woah! It's already 5pm!
Yuri: T-They say time flies when you have fun d-don't they..?
She said quietly, a warm smile on her face
Natsuki: For real, tch, well I guess we're done for today then right? We need to check in with Monika before doing anything else
Sayori: Of course!! So.. that means we're done for today, right?
Natsuki nodded
Natsuki: Thank you two for coming and stuff, hmph..
Sayori giggled and nodded, getting up and stretching
Sayori: Alrighty! I'll leave the draft with you so you better not lose it haha!
Natsuki nodded, looking away in embarrassment, Sayori grabbed Yuri's write, pulling her up off the couch
Sayori: Alright then, me and Yuri will get going!! See ya next time!
That said, the two of them left. Without them, the quiet demeanor of the house returned, making it feel lifeless yet again. She sighed, walking around, making sure it looked like no one came over before taking the sketch, heading to her room and hiding it under her bed.
She laid in her bed, another exhausting, yet fun day spent with her friends.