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The small bell attached to Cafe Leblanc's door jingled as the door opened. Alongside the brisk September breeze came in Ren, fresh off another day at Shujin Academy.
If fresh were to describe Ren himself at the moment, however, that would be quite wrong.
Sojiro saw Ren's expression as he shuffled by. Silently exhaling, he watched Ren go upstairs to the attic he was using as a bedroom.
"Who was that, Boss?" one of his customers asked, snapping him back to attention.
"Oh, just a hired hand. So to speak." he responded.
Satisfied with the answer, the customer returned to eating his plate of curry. After a few minutes, Ren, now in his casual clothes, came back downstairs. "Need some help down here?"
"The rush hour is starting to wane, but I appreciate it nonetheless." Sojiro responded with a little smile. "Grab an apron. The cat's upstairs, right?"
Ren nodded as he put on an apron, and the two of them served the customers until it was closing time. Hanging up his apron, Ren let out something that was in-between a sharp exhale and a sigh, and sat down on the second bar stool from the left.
Sojiro read his mind easily. "Coffee?" Whenever Ren was in the mood for coffee, he always sat on the second bar stool from the left. It was almost a ritual.
"Yes, thank you." Ren said, exasperatedly. "Today was way longer than it had to be. At least when I'm here working with you, I feel like I can accomplish something."
"Even though you're the top of your class?"
Ren let out a silent chuckle. Parents always knew their kids's grades, even if said kid was only going to be there for a single year. He nodded.
"Well, I can't say I don't appreciate the honor. So, what'll it be?" Sojiro asked with a smile.
"Salvadoran Pacamara. And, can you go a little light on the sugar this time?"
The coffee was served as requested. As Ren reached for the cup, he noticed the surface of the coffee looked complicated.
Sojiro noticed. "Hm? What's on your mind, kid?"
Ren glanced up at Sojiro. "I could ask the same to you."
"What, me?"
"Yeah. I learned something interesting today, and I couldn't help but notice it in you."
"Alright, go for it."
Ren looked back at the coffee. "Coffee can sometimes be a mirror, so to speak. If the mind of the brewer is clouded, then the coffee will reflect as much."
"And you think you can see that in me right now?"
"The coffee told me. So, what's going on?"
Sojiro remained silent, suddenly unable to make eye contact with Ren.
"Is it about Futaba?"
"...Something like that."
Ren gestured to the bar stool next to him, and Sojiro sat down. "The girl hid away in her room for so long..." Sojiro began. "And she wouldn't even let me in. I mean, I'm her caretaker for crying out loud. Then all of a sudden it's like she changed completely. She's going out, she's interacting with folks around her... Shit, you even took her to the beach. The beach! If I'd suggested that she'd have a conniption fit. She was the textbook definition of a shut-in, but then out of the blue you and your friends show up in her life and suddenly she's one of you guys in the blink of an eye. And then there's you. You've got a criminal record and you're forced to live far away from your home, but you're somehow managing as if you're a fully-functioning adult. Your sleep schedule is coordinated, you have a part-time job, your grades are phenomenal, it's like you just need me to give you a roof over your head."
Ren nodded, taking a sip of his coffee as he continued listening.
"Makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong."
Ren had to force himself to not choke on his coffee. Out of all the things he expected Sojiro to say, that was the very last one. "Doing something wrong?" he inquired after carefully swallowing.
Sojiro shook his head. "Futaba just needed kids her age, and you're already functioning well despite being on probation. What does that mean for me? What am I providing? Food? There's probably a couple hundred places to get food between here and your school alone. Someone to talk to? You've already got a group of friends you hang out with. All I really give you is this cafe for you to sleep in. I'm useless as a parent. Both to you and to Futaba."
Ren set his coffee down. "I don't believe that."
"Why not? Just about everything I can offer, you and Futaba already have. I'm just some guy running a cafe, and you happen to live in it like some yahoo I picked up off the street. You don't really need me."
Sojiro looked away after saying that, only for Ren to come up and hug him. Surprised, he slowly returned it.
"Who was it who took me in when I basically had nowhere to go?" Ren asked. "Who took time out of his day to make sure I was properly registered to go to Shujin? Who was it that taught me how to brew coffee and make curry? Who gave me that part-time job you mentioned?"
They let go of each other, and Ren looked Sojiro in the eye. "It was you. All of that was you. You've done so much more for me than you think you have. And who does Futaba cling to when someone who scares her shows up in the cafe? Again, it's you. So please, don't sell yourself short. I know the circumstances surrounding us are...weird, but you're doing your best, and to me, your best is pretty damn good."
After a few moments, Sojiro cracked a smile. "When did you learn that smooth tongue of yours?"
"Self-taught." Ren responded, lightly pushing his glasses up on his nose. "First tried it out on Makoto, and it's been smooth sailing ever since."
"She your girlfriend?"
"Pretty much."
Sojiro shook his head, still smiling. "Well, I can't say I didn't need to hear that. Thanks, kid. You've got a lot of heart that, to be honest, I'm surprise you didn't lose after all the BS you went through that landed you here."
"What can I say?" Ren said with a smirk. "I've got conviction."
"Ain't that the truth."
The clock went off, catching the attention of both of them.
"It's that time already? That went faster than expected." Sojiro said, as they stood up. "Well, it's time for me to head home. You know the drill by this point."
Ren nodded, and after Sojiro went home, he flipped the sign so that it said Closed and locked the front door, before playing Power Intuition for three hours and then going to bed. Thank goodness the next day wasn't a school day.