Work Text:
People dressed in warm sweaters and thick coats passed by the frosted windows of Slingshot's cafe. Snowflakes fluttered out of the bright sky, falling onto the blanket of soft snow covering the ground. On frigid winter days like this, clocks seemed to run much slower. The fresh treats on the display cases continued to get colder. Cups and dishes remained spotless on their holders. The seats and the tables in the dining area were spotless, devoid of any stains. The cafe was frozen. Nobody wanted a warm, fresh treat or a nice, hot cup of coffee on even the coldest days of the year.
Slingshot leaned on the stainless kitchen counter, tapping his expensive blue shoes against the floor. The ticket rack was fully empty of any orders, and the silence in the kitchen started to get deafening. Unsure of what to do, he peeped out the doorway. No customers. Vine Staff had a watering can in her cursed wooden hand, tending to the freezing plants while whispering to them. Even the smallest, weakest plants were soothed by Vine Staff's words. Shuriken was inching closer and closer to the cash register, looking away every few seconds to see if anybody was looking. Slingshot sighed. The register only had a few dollars and coins anyway. He walked back inside, listening to Vine chewing out his brother about not stealing from the register. There was nothing to do.
He put one foot into the break room, but then a sharp rumble came from his stomach. Earlier, Vine and Shuriken had to force Slingshot out of bed. They had to rush to the cafe to open it on time, meaning he couldn't have breakfast. Stepping back into the kitchen, he grabbed a coffee cup from the cup holder. Holding onto its handle tightly, Slingshot placed the cup onto the coffee machine, turning it on. The coffee slowly filled the cup, letting the sweet aroma of roasted coffee beans around the entire kitchen. As fresh coffee filled the cup, he went out into the front, behind the display case full of pastries which were getting colder by the minute. On normal days they all would've been sold in under half and hour, but it had already been an hour since opening and the case is still completely full. Slingshot took a pair of tongs and grabbed a few chocolate chip cookies out of the case, placing them on a plate. He put his finger onto the cookie. Cold. Too cold for his liking. Slingshot brought the cookies back into the kitchen, he put them on a baking tray and slid them into the oven, heating them back up for a few minutes.
Heading back to the break room, he sunk into the white couch in the corner of the room. His large blue slingshot lay on one side of it. He stared at it, thinking what if he shot both Vine and Shuriken out of nowhere. He shook his head, shaking those feelings out of his mind. Slingshot leaned further into the couch, but he noticed something in the corner of his eye. A photo frame, on the end table. One that he knew too well.
He grabbed the frame off of the table, clutching onto it tightly, afraid not to damage the faded photograph. A small frown plastered onto his face just by looking at it. A photo of young Slingshot and his parents. Slingshot's cheeky smile took up most of his face. The horn-cut his parents always got him, which he never really liked inside. The bright blue clothes that he just got for his twelfth spawnday. His mother and father surrounded him, looking so proud to have a son like Slingshot. He looked so... oblivious to what was going to happen to them a few years later.
A small tear flowed onto his cheek as bittersweet memories flowed back into his mind. Their baking recipes which always comforted him on even the darkest of days. Their soothing voices. Their words. The things that shaped him to who he is. Slingshot remembered when he told them he wanted to become a baker one day, and how they always told him to be there for others. The oven then made a loud ding, snapping Slingshot out of his thoughts. The cookies and the coffee were done, and he forgot all about them.
Slingshot wiped away the cold tear with his sleeve. Using his light blue mittens, he took the cookies out of the oven and left them to cool. He grabbed the coffee off of the machine. Slingshot put the cup on the counter as he looked up at the different creamers and spices, sugars, and much more that he could add to his coffee. He poured some vanilla creamer into the coffee, turning the hot drink into a lighter brown and put a lot of sugar into the cup, making it more lighter. Slingshot always liked his coffee sweet, just like his parents.
He sat back down on the sofa, holding a plate of warm cookies and a hot cup of coffee. He took a large bite of one of the cookies, and took a small sip of the coffee. The combination of coffee and cookie matched perfectly in Slingshot's mouth, but it never tasted the same as his parents. They always involved him whenever they baked, but they never wrote down the recipes, nor does he remember exactly how his parents made their flavorful recipes. After fully swallowing the food, Slingshot stared down at the half-eaten cookie, thinking about his and his parents cooking. One side of his mind yelled that he should've made more time trying to understand his parents recipes, while the other side wanted for him to appreciate what he currently has.
Next to the framed photo, a small notepad and a pen was on the table. Slingshot grabbed the notepad and flipped through one of the pages. In Shuriken's handwriting, it had various instructions for different cooking recipes. Slingshot never really trusted his cooking, as almost always the food became a complete mess. However, his recipe book gave Slingshot an idea. What if he can piece back his parents recipes with what he only remembers? He held the pen in his hand and flipped to a new page, but then the soft jingle of the entrance bell rang. Slingshot heard Vine's signature greeting voice at the front. Finally. A customer. He left the notepad and pen on the couch as he went back into the kitchen to finally use the appliances which were stationary for far too long.
Maybe another day Slingshot could relive his parents cooking again.