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You already had a carafe of coffee on your table when Sasha bounded into the diner. She looked deliriously happy, so you assumed her night with Connie had gone well. Armin brought over some extra creamer when he saw Sasha. “Don’t you have class?” you asked him, eyebrows raised.
“Not until the afternoon. I had to pick up some morning shifts to cover rent this month. Eren lost another job.” he rolled his eyes affectionately. “That guy has a temper.” He greeted Sasha as she sat across from you. “Wave me over when you’re ready.”
“Eggs Benedict!” Sasha chirped, handing the menu that she never opened back to Armin. You ordered your usual vegetarian omelet, and smiled a bit, remembering what Jean had said the night before. “So how was your night with this mystery guy?” Sasha poured three containers of creamer into her coffee, stirring in four packets of sugar. You always teased her about her coffee flavored sugar milk. “And what’s his deal, anyway? How’d you meet him?”
You explained your discovery of his sketchbook, and the loving detail in which he drew you. Her eyes got a sort of faraway look to them as she declared how romantic it must have been. “Really, it was nothing, I just read a book and he drew me again. But Sasha, it’s so amazing. He’s so talented. He even brought a frame, in case I wanted to keep it. I took down that picture from my family reunion to put it up.” you laughed.
“Okay, so he sounds great and all, but I still don’t know his name.”
“Oh! Right, his name is Jean Kirstein.” Sasha’s eyes widened. “What?”
“He must be friends with Connie! Connie said something last night about Jean teasing him about never getting hot dates.”
“Speaking of hot dates...How WAS your first date with one Connie Springer?” Armin brought your plates out, and you knew you wouldn’t get an answer from Sasha until she was done eating. To your surprise, she delicately cut open one of the eggs and took a small bite. “Oh my god, it must have been amazing if you aren’t swallowing those whole.”
Sasha chewed, her expression unreadable. “It was awesome, actually. He took me for pizza and bowling. I beat the shit out of him in bowling, he’s really terrible. He said next time he wants to go to an arcade.” she giggled, taking another bite.
“First of all, next time? That’s super cute. But more importantly, I am not at all surprised that Connie sucks at bowling, but is good at everything in an arcade.” you laughed. “Did he take a bunch of pictures?”
Sasha’s eyes widened. “He...He didn’t even have his camera with him. I’ve never seen him without his camera. He used his phone and only took a few selfies of us together.” She looked surprised. “Why didn’t he have his camera?”
You sighed as she looked at you with wide-eyed fear. “Sasha, you can be so dumb sometimes. He probably didn’t have his camera because he wanted to pay more attention to YOU, and not whatever he could take artsy pictures with for his Flickr page.” She looked positively joyful at that. “So when are you going out again?”
“I don’t know. We’re probably going to hang out today between classes, we have a break at the same time. I may have brought brownies.” Since becoming close friends with Sasha, you often wondered why she didn’t switch from culinary to pastry. Everything she baked was perfect, and she worked at a cake shop. It wasn’t too late for her to switch. It might take her a little longer to graduate, but you thought she might be happier.
The pair of you finished your food, occasionally squealing over your experiences the previous night. Armin dutifully refilled your coffee, eventually bringing over a huge bowl of creamer containers for Sasha. When you left, you tossed an extra twenty dollars on the table. “Eren lost another job, Armin’s gotta pay rent.” you replied to Sasha’s awestruck look. You weren’t surprised when Sasha threw a twenty dollar bill on the table along with yours. She even pulled an individually wrapped brownie from her purse and left it for him.
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Your chef whites were filthy with various sauces, although Sasha was far dirtier than you. Most of her Bernaise sauce had ended up down her front. You had regrettably ended up over-boiling your Lyonnaise, your mind, for once, not focused on the stove. Your jacket was splattered with small chunks of onion, and you brushed them off as you and Sasha entered the courtyard.
She took off her jacket when she reached a table, and you followed suit. Your hair was in a pair of high pigtails today, and you jumped when someone tugged at one of them gently. “That’s cute. You look like an anime character.” Jean teased you as he sat beside you.
“Ooh, you must be the mysterious Kirstein!” Sasha made no attempt to hide how she scrutinized him. You wished the earth would swallow you whole. “Hmm, I can see why she likes you.”
“Oh my god, Sasha.” you shook your head, blushing. Jean looked over at you with one eyebrow raised, that damn smirk on his face. His eyes examined Sasha for a moment.
“You must be the girl who kicked Springer’s ass at bowling last night.” Sasha looked stunned. “He posted a couple of pictures on Facebook, and texted me. He wants me to stop making fun of him for not getting hot dates.”
“Oi, Jean, you don’t have to like, SAY that!” Connie’s embarrassed voice chimed in. Sasha immediately brightened. Connie leapt up, sitting on the table. “So, how’s it hanging?”
“Low and to the left.” you immediately replied. Your vulgar sense of humor was a point of contention between you and your family. You had acquired it while working in kitchens, the men constantly making dick and shit jokes. You found it hilarious, and by acquiring the same sense of humor, assured that you would never be harassed for being a girl. Sasha laughed loudly, Connie looked surprised, and Jean gave you an affectionate sort of smile. “Oh. Sorry. Sometimes I forget I’m not in the kitchen.”
“Is that really how people who are making my fucking food talk?” Connie asked in surprise.
“Are you kidding me? That’s all we do. We have to have something to take our minds off of the customers who insist that cooking a steak more makes it more tender, or who want a beef Wellington with no pork.”
“Wait, what’s beef Wellington?” Connie looked a bit ashamed. “I’m not exactly a culinary expert.”
Sasha clapped her hands together excitedly. “Dinner party! We can cook, you guys can...I dunno, draw and take pictures or something!” The guys perked up - of course they did, men were always up for free food. EVERYONE was up for free food. Sasha turned to you. “Is your apartment okay? You have a better kitchen than I do!” You nodded your agreement, and Sasha squealed. “Next week? Saturday?”
“That reminds me! Eren’s having a party tonight, y’all should come! It’s Friday, live a little!” Connie shook Sasha’s shoulders as she laughed.