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“Josuke, I keep telling you, man, literally all your problems with your body would go away if you just went over to Tonio’s,” Okuyasu said casually as the boys walked home from school. “I make a point of going there once a month, you feel better for only 3500 yen and it’s a lot better than going to a crummy doctor’s office. Plus you get to eat some damn good food,” he added, watching his friend out of the corner of his eyes as he spoke.
Josuke groaned, letting his head fall back a bit as he rubbed his forehead. “I know, I know, I just never really get around to it. It’s just kind of out of the way.” He took a moment before adding, “Plus, I don’t know how comfortable I am with Tonio knowing all of my business, you know? You and Rohan are lucky you just gotta deal with shoulder and wrist pain and eye strain, Tonio would have to like totally take my guts out to fix what’s wrong with me. If I’m gonna get my organs out I want that done by a doctor in a hospital, not some Italian guy in front of duck statues.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Okuyasu replied as the pair closed in on the Higashikata residence, staying on the sidewalk as he added. “Don’t write it off completely though, got it? That food’s so good it’ll blow your tits clean off!”
That addition made Josuke laugh a bit, waving his friend off as he opened the door to his house, “I’m not getting top surgery at an Italian restaurant.” He took off his shoes as he entered the house, seeing the lights on already, meaning his mother was already home. After closing and locking the door behind him, he called out, “Mom, I’m home.”
“What was that about getting top surgery at an Italian restaurant," his mother asked, leaving the kitchen with a cup of tea in hand. While they’d talked about getting Josuke gender affirming surgery before, it had always just been a thought of “maybe some day.” With how hectic the summer had been, anything regarding his gender had seemed like small potatoes in comparison so it honestly hadn’t been on his mind much anymore.
“Okuyasu was just yanking my chain about going to Tonio’s,” he said casually, brushing past his mother to get himself some food as an after school snack. “He was trying to tell me that eating there would be a good and quick way to keep the transition moving. And I told him I don’t think I want Tonio knowing that much about me.” He dug around in the fridge for a bit before pulling out an individually wrapped melonpan, leaning against the counter to open it after elbowing the fridge closed, “Like is it really any of his business if I have a dick or not? Don’t get me wrong, I mean, I’m glad Okuyasu’s like an ally or whatever but sometimes I wish I just didn’t tell him. Since he ate at Tonio’s and got his life changed by it, he’s been on my case about it.”
“Is it really so bad to have a friend who’s trying to help,” Tomoko asked, joining her son in the kitchen. “I understand that it’s a personal thing but with how hard it is for kids like you to get a referral for that sort of treatment, it’s not a bad thing to think about,” she stated matter of factly, taking a drink of her tea before adding, “Plus, it’s only 3500 yen. That’s for a four course meal, right? I think it wouldn’t hurt to think about it, and if you end up wanting to go through with it, I can help foot the bill.”
Josuke was slightly bitter, if only because his mother had made several good points. Had those points been made by Okuyasu he probably would have just brushed them off like his other advice, but he figured his mom was much more well versed in the ways of the world than his arguably pretty dumb bestie. Things regarding his transition hadn’t been easy to this point . In a way it felt like just eating something that would give him a flat chest and a dick would be too easy, especially since everything up until now was hard, it had been a task and a half to get on testosterone and get his name changed but it felt like most things recently had been challenging. Now, things were calmer, it was a lot at a break-neck pace and because of that, Josuke was really in no rush. “Yeah, okay fine. I’ll think about it,” he relented, mostly just not wanting to talk about it anymore, but in her mind, Tomoko had already decided that she would have to make the trip out to Trattoria Trussardi just to get a better lay of the land. Then, maybe, she could give her son a more thorough pitch.
Tonio’s business was far from amazingly profitable, but with his fiance’s successful work as a renowned pastry chef, it didn’t matter how much he made or lost as her job would be able to keep them afloat. They both were chasing their passions, hers was just more profitable than his passion of healing people’s minds and bodies through the comfort of food from his home in Italy. There wasn’t a massive clientele just yet, but with the approval of well-known manga artist Rohan Kishibe things were slowly picking up. Cooking was a love language to him, something healing and soothing and with the new power of his stand, he could not only sooth the soul but also the body and it was a godsend. Every day he got to go downstairs and cook for people, it was truly what he’d always dreamed of doing and even if he only got a customer or two a day it all felt so incredibly rewarding. Rohan and Okuyasu had at this point become regulars, so he was honestly expecting one of them when he heard the door open, but he was surprised to see a familiar looking woman instead. Not that they had met before, but she looked like someone he’d met before.
That day, when Josuke came home from school, he was surprised to see his mother not only waiting for him but also noticed that her complexion seemed more even than it had the day before. “Hey mom, trying a foundation or something,” he asked casually, not sparing much more time to look at her as he took off his shoes and slipped on his house slippers. Tomoko had thought the difference in her would get a bigger reaction from her son, in the dry heat of summer, her skin had been drier than usual, and with the start of a new school year, as a teacher her sleep schedule had taken another hit, but one meal from Tonio’s made her not only feel but look refreshed and she was sure something like that would in fact be a godsend for her son’s transition timeline.
“No, actually. I’m not wearing any makeup,” she replied just as casually, “I had a big lunch so I’m not really hungry but you help yourself to something whenever.” Tomoko had decided that she wouldn’t offer up the information to her son as to the restaurant she had eaten out but would give him enough clues to pick up on. She wouldn’t just lie to him, of course, if he asked outright, she would answer. Tomoko knew her son well enough to know he would think her overstepping by doing a sort of private investigation on the place they’d been discussing not much earlier.
Josuke made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of soda from the fridge. “Yeah? Your coworkers take you somewhere today or something?” His body movements were relaxed, though his inhalation seemed somewhat shaky.
“I took myself out for lunch actually,” his mother replied, though her gaze narrowed as she caught his breath shaking slightly. “You were overexerting yourself while binding again weren’t you,” she asked, her tone growing somewhat sharp as she crossed her arms, “I swear, you never take the doctor’s instructions seriously! You’re gonna really hurt yourself doing that, you know?”
“Ugh, mom, it’s not that big of a deal, I’ve done a lot more in a binder than just roughhousing a bit,” he said, though as soon as the words left his mouth he knew that was the wrong thing to say as his mother’s expression turned from just slightly to concerned to absolutely fuming with frustration and anger. She didn’t have time to start reprimanding him for his continued carelessness before Josuke knew better and quickly set down the soda and left the room. “I’m gonna go change out of my uniform, be right back mom,” he called out as he left, hearing the exasperated sigh his mother let out in his wake.
He knew she was right, of course she was, after literally fighting for his life a month ago, just getting into some ultimately harmless fights at school didn’t seem like a big deal at all. If he’d stuck around the kitchen much longer, he knew she would have started talking about how some trans guys bruised their ribs and needed to get surgery after “just roughhousing a bit,” which of course was also right but god, he just was tired of hearing it. He made a conscious effort not to look in the mirror as he took off his chest binder and school uniform, but when he stood in his room in his home clothes, he couldn’t help but look at himself. Shoulders up he was exactly what he wanted to be, but he was all too aware of how the fabric of his t-shirt hung over his chest. Josuke scoffed at his reflection before heading back to his mom, once again acting as casually as he could. “So where’d you end up eating that filled you up so much that you’re not even thinking about supper,” he asked, returning to his soda before joining his mother in sitting at the kitchen table.
“You know that pastry place where I pick up those little opera cakes for special occasions? The fancy one? Turns out the head pastry chef there is engaged to a cook that has his own restaurant out by the cemetery. Not an ideal place but still. I decided since I had a longer lunch today that I’d go over and check it out,” Tomoko explained, absentmindedly doing a sudoku puzzle as she spoke.
“Yeah? God what’s that place called? I always just call it Tonio’s place,” Josuke said offhandedly, trying to remember the name. He knew it was an alliteration, the second word being Trussardi, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember the first word. Some Italian bullshit, surely, but some Italian bullshit that he couldn’t remember.
“Trattoria Trussardi,” his mother replied. “Even though you talked about your trip there with Okuyasu, I was still shocked by just how things were done there. I know you hate when I don’t take your side on things, but I think Okuyasu’s right. I think you should really think about going there for yourself.”
Josuke groaned a little, “Ugh. It’s not like he could just scoop me out and remake my junk. He does shit with dead skin and fungus and diarrhea, I don’t think he could like actually do anything that substantial.” He leaned back against the chair, letting his finger trace around the neck of his bottle as he spoke. “It’s a total pipe dream, mom. Don’t go getting your hopes up about a guy who just cures carpal tunnel or whatever.”
Tomoko looked up from her sudoku and leaned forward, setting her pen down. “That’s where you’re wrong. I talked to him, Tonio. I asked him about himself and his personal life. His fiance, the pastry chef, she had a tumor. A massive one, so big she couldn’t walk anymore that was in a spot too dangerous for surgeons to operate on. He made her a dish that totally dissolved it,” she said, looking her son in the eyes as he took a moment to process that. He knew his own stand was powerful, but the ability to remove tumors? To replace bones? That was insanely strong, kind of terrifying even, that a power like that existed at all.
“What do you mean dissolved it,” Josuke asked, he tried not to hope, but his words shook as he said them. A mixture of terror and amazement on his face that had lost a fair amount of its color while thinking about the implications.
“Exactly what it sounds like, kid. Dissolved it. She ate and her body destroyed the tumor completely. It strengthened the muscles in her legs that had atrophied too so she was walking not even five minutes after eating,” his mother said, matching her son’s tone. “If he can do that, I think there’s a good chance he can help you, too. Just think about it, okay? When you have your answer, we can go there together on a day we both have off, you can even bring your friends if you want.”
“Yeah no, I’m not gonna bring Okuyasu or Koichi to watch me get my body rearranged,” he replied after a beat of silence. “I’ll think about it,” Josuke added.
And think about it, he did. For days he weighed the pros and cons of eating at Tonio’s until finally, he came to a decision that while not what he expected, was probably the one his mother and friends wanted. He’d go through with it. His mother was excited that he finally relented and Okuyasu even more so, practically shouting as he reacted. “Woah seriously? Hell yeah, dude! Want me to come with you for moral support or something,” he asked, smiling widely, excited for his friend and wanting to do everything he could to support him.
“Ew, no, man,” he replied, laughing a bit. “That stuff’s gross. You and whoever else wants to can walk me there but I really don’t want anyone in there with me when it happens. It’s gonna be kinda gross,” Josuke added, shuddering a little at the thought of his mother and friend sitting around him and staring at him as his body reworked itself. He would take before and after photos for the sake of documenting it, but those were going to be for his eyes only for now. “Maybe you and Koichi can sleep over at my place after to celebrate but I’m not letting anyone else in there who isn’t me or that Italian man.”
“Damn, okay,” Okuyasu said with a shrug, “That sounds like fun though, I can’t remember the last time I went to a slumber party.” He let the silence linger for a bit before asking a question that he found most pressing, “So, do you think Tonio’s gonna give you a big one?” Josuke choked a bit as he laughed at the question, lightly elbowing his friend as they walked.
“Christ dude, I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be like the most perfect one known to man, who knows,” Josuke said, laughing a bit still. “I don’t think Tonio controls just how his stand fixes a person. It would be kinda fucked up if he could, though,” he added as the pair of them kept walking towards the Higashikata house. “We’re going there Saturday night, I think we were planning on heading over there around 7ish if you wanna walk over with us.” Josuke kept his hopes in check, there was no way of knowing for sure if Tonio was even capable of such changes, but seeing how excited not only his mother and Okuyasu but also Koichi and even Mikitaka had been for him when talking through the possibility with them.
The week seemed to go by slower now that they had a plan set in place, the days seemed to drag on for longer than ever before, right when he was sure it was time to head home for the weekend, he spared a glance at the clock to see that there were still two hours left in the day. Those two hours were ones that he didn’t actively pay attention to, he had his plans and he couldn’t think about anything else. While Trattoria Trussardi didn’t often require a reservation, Josuke had managed to pull some strings given his and Tonio’s friendship to make sure it would just be him dining at the seven o’clock time slot. He was dreadfully nervous, excited of course, but still nervous. Would it hurt an awful lot, he wondered? Would he get everything he was hoping for out of this experience? If Tonio’s food did give him a proper dick, what would it look like? The question had surely been asked in jest by Okuyasu but now it was at the forefront of his mind. Furthermore, if he did manage to magically get a penis through this meal, would he be circumcised? None of these were things he had given any thought to when he’d considered getting multiple surgeries falling under the bottom surgery category, when he would have had a say in the design of it, but now it was fully up to fate.
When he at long last arrived home after school, he made his way to his bedroom after calling out to let his mom know he’d arrived, changing into clothes that were much more comfortable for whatever was going to happen and leaving his packer and chest binder on a chair in the corner. If this night went well, he’d never need those again. As much as he hated going out of the house without a binder on, he still would need to, wanting to give whatever Tonio’s food would do ample space to do what it needed to. He slapped on an outfit that was less than cute, but as presentable as he could make it. He had half a mind to treat this like a proper surgery and take his hair down, but he decided that if he was going to be the man he always wanted to be, the hair would help with that.
The fact that Koichi was there well before the time Josuke said they’d be heading over didn’t surprise him, ever punctual and dependable, but what did was the fact that Okuyasu wasn’t far behind despite only living a minute walk away from the Higashikata house. He led the two up to his bedroom where Okuyasu almost instantly spotted the Packer and Binder chair and felt the need to say something about it. “Woah, koichi look, we’ve only been here for a few minutes and Josuke’s already showing us his dick. Now I’m not one to slutshame but,” he gestured to the chair that had otherwise escaped Koichi’s notice, making the smaller boy blush. It wasn’t phallic, just like a sort of silicone pad he put down the front of his underwear, but it all the same made Koichi’s face turn red.
“Okuyasu, don’t talk about it like that,” he reprimanded before turning to look at Josuke, “Uh, thank you for feeling comfortable enough with us for this to happen. I’m so excited for you, and I’m really glad that I get to be a part of it.” Looking at Koichi, Josuke could tell he was close to just breaking out in tears and that sort of emotion was enough to spur Okuyasu to get teary eyed as well.
“He’s right, Josuke, I’m so sorry for making a joke about it,” he said quickly, making their host frankly at a loss for words as the first tears began to roll down his friends’ cheeks.
“Hey stop it, you two,” Josuke said lightly, “It’s not that big of a thing and I’m not offended that you made a dick joke. This is just what male friendship is, sometimes you’ll see each other’s dicks and that’s fine. Right now, mine’s just detachable and I leave it around my room like my earrings. Don’t worry too much about it, okay? I’m just glad you’re both here and cool with this. Also I’m glad you’re cool with not coming in with me. It's gonna be wicked gross no matter how you slice it, but hey at least Tonio’s food is highly rated.”
Okuyasu nodded, drying his eyes with the back of his hand, weakly speaking again, “It’s really good, dude. So good it’ll blow your tits clean off. You probably won’t even have those cool scars under each pec afterwards like other guys who get their tits cut off get. This is huge, man.”
“Okuyasu I know you’re excited, I am too, but don’t you think maybe we should lay off the tit talk a bit,” Koichi asked gently, making Okuyasu sigh but also concede. “It’s getting close to time we should probably head out anyways.” After looking at the clock, that was something neither of the other boys could argue with, heading back to the primary living area where Tomoko was turning off the lights in preparation for their trip out. Koichi took another opportunity to bow to Josuke’s mom, “Thank you again for letting us be a part of this with you, Miss Higashikata,” he said, while still bowing. Seeing this made Okuyasu realize that he should also thank her, though his was noticeably sloppier the sentiment was the same.
That display made Tomoko laugh a little bit, “You don’t need to do that, but you’re welcome. You can thank me more by getting your shoes on,” she added, sliding her own on effortlessly and walking just outside the front door, holding it open for the boys behind her. The boys soon joined her outside the door and the four of them began making the walk over, Tomoko walking behind the three boys so she could just watch them talk and laugh with each other. As much as he could absolutely piss her off sometimes, Josuke really was a good kid. He could be an asshole, but seeing him laughing with his two best friends while only picking up on bits of their conversation made her just a little more confident that she had raised him well. Not only was Josuke a good kid, but a good person in general. Not only did she love him as most mothers loved their sons, but she liked him, as a surprising amount of mothers didn’t seem to.
As the four of them approached Tonio’s restaurant by the sea, Tomoko found herself thankful that her son had become such a nice young man and how he’d found friends who supported him no matter what. “Okay, I guess this is where we split for now,” Josuke said as they stood just outside. “If you wanna come back in like an hour, an hour and a half, I think that should be good,” he added, turning to face the others, his mother digging in her purse, Koichi close to tears again, and Okuyasu just happy to be there. “Well. See ya,” he said, turning to head in, trying to hide how his body was shaking.
His mother didn’t let him though, catching his wrist, “Not so fast, young man. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Josuke stood for a moment before sort of sidestepping over and giving each of the others a hug, squatting down for Koichi last and looking back at his mom, wordlessly seeking confirmation that that was what she meant.
“All that hairspray is soaking through to your brain,” she said breathily before handing him 40000 yen. “I didn’t raise my boy to dine and dash and I know you don’t have enough cash to cover this yourself.”
“Oh! Right, sorry. Totally spaced it,” Josuke said, laughing a bit as he took the cash, “Now I’ll see you.” He didn’t even bother to pocket the cash, just holding onto it as he walked in, trying not to think about the fact that there were at least three people watching as he entered the restaurant.
When he entered the restaurant it all suddenly dawned on him just to what extent this night could change his life, but he didn’t have much time to think about it all when Tonio came out from the back, smiling warmly. “Buona sera, signore. I’ve been expecting you,” the Italian man said, giving a slight bow as if he was truly trying to make this experience as nice as possible for Josuke’s sake. “Please pick whichever table you’d like.” He said it like it was some sort of extravagance, that Josuke was getting some sort of princely treatment despite there only being two tables to pick from in the first place. He picked one of the tables at random, just setting the cash on the table.
It was only when he was seated that he realized just how much his heart was beating, knowing then with all certainty that he needed something to take the edge off a bit. “Hey, is it too late for a cappuccino,” he asked, looking up at the smiling man who removed the other sets of cutlery from the table and turning one of the glasses on the table upright to pour him water.
“I’m afraid so, signore. But may I get you an espresso,” Tonio offered in return, to which Josuke replied with a shrug, either way it was something for him to drink to not think about how weird this all felt. Not long after it had been settled, Tonio brought out a small cup of espresso to which Josuke gave a nod of appreciation. He didn’t know enough about Italian food or food science in general to even speculate on what the meal could consist of and it felt rude to ask before anything was served. Tonio had disappeared into the kitchen, soon coming out with a plate of what looked like some sort of raw meat with sprigs of green stuff drizzled with some sort of oil. “For the Antipasti, I have prepared a Beef Carpaccio with arugula and a vinaigrette of my own recipe, I hope it is to your liking,” the chef said, setting the plate down before him.
“Can I ask how you picked what to feed me,” Josuke asked, picking up a fork and stabbing a bit of the incredibly thinly sliced meat. He put it into his mouth and suddenly everything made sense. Okuyasu hyping something up was pretty standard, but his mother and Rohan were harder to please but he didn’t personally buy it until now. How the hell did it taste so good when it was just really thin raw meat and some other shit? Insane, frankly, and he did his best to pay attention to Tonio as he answered the question but it felt really hard to do so as he kept eating with shock and amazement.
“I hope it wasn’t overstepping in any way, but my own brother is like you, not man by birth. To help boost his own natural production of testosterone I often made him meaty dishes like this. I know not exactly what will happen to your body so I dare not speculate, but the vitamins in dark greens like the arugula help boost skin production which is what you will be needing if things go as I intend them to,” he said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Would you like me to close the curtains so that you have more privacy, signore?”
Josuke thought about what was being said to him, the way Tonio sort of danced around it felt strange, he was so used to having adults talk about his transition with such straightforwardness. But Tonio seemed to be trying to be as delicate as possible. All the same, he ate. It seemed so simple as a food, but there was a sort of itchy pain not in his chest but rather under it, something that no matter how much he tried to scratch he couldn’t reach. Without being told one way or the other, Tonio pulled the curtains to give the teenage patron some privacy and then made his way back to the kitchen to get the pasta course prepared. There was soft instrumental music playing, nothing that Josuke could pick out at a moment’s notice or even if he focused on it. He groaned, continuing to itch at his chest as he felt a not unfamiliar pain in his gut. It was a pain he’d experienced for years before being on testosterone, a pain he thought had been well and gone now. Maybe it was all in his head, but he swore he could feel something shrivel inside him, his other organs shifting to replace the space that was now made by what he could only assume were his reproductive organs.
Doubled over in pain, digging his fingers into his side, he still ate. It felt like the only thing he could do and to some extent, he didn’t even feel like he was fully in control of his body anymore, like some instinct in him was just telling him to keep eating. Who was he to deny that instinct? The pain seemed to last forever, but the eating helped keep his mind off it and soon Tonio came out with a small serving of what looked like some deviously creamy pasta. Probably some kind of fettucini alfredo, he figured. Tonio exchanged the plates before going into his introduction of this dish. “For your pasta, I have prepared pasta alla salmone. It isn’t a recipe with history, this mix being my own creation. With a rich creamy mozzarella base, this is handmade fettucini pasta dish with fresh spinach and garlic seasoned salmon. Oily fish like salmon are meant to be good at burning fat and soft cheeses like mozzarella are bad for uterine health. The spinach is also meant to help your body produce new skin,” he explained.
Fuck it looked good, and if it was bad for his uterus, he wanted it even more. He took a forkfull, making Tonio chuckle a little and leave to give him privacy. Fuck it was life chaning, the salmon was so flaky and the pasta was so creamy and out of nowhere, all pain he felt in his abdomen were completely gone. Now though, the itchiness of his chest was in full force, this time not just beneath the fat on his chest but the fat itself.
His eyes fixed on his chest in horror as he noticed that his fingers were carving themselves into his chest, caking his fingers in blood, but he was incapable of stopping it, just watching as he kept eating. Many times he had dreamed of just being able to claw his chest flat, he hadn’t ever dreamed it would be possible. In his imagination, it was a lot less fleshy, but like raking his fingers through wet clay. The fat on his chest pulled and flaked apart like the fish on his fork, not knowing what to do with the balls of fat and skin that was being forcibly shed from his body, he placed it on one of the spare plates. Logically, Josuke should have been disgusted by the sight of his fat on a plate like that, but he kept eating, switching to shoveling the pasta into his mouth with the other hand so he could focus on clawing off the other side of his chest.
He didn’t know what he expected once the itching stopped, but it hadn’t been that his fingers would make contact with soft, smooth fresh skin over a chest that looked as he’d always dreamed it could. The blood soaked shirt now hung a lot looser on his body, even flatter than he could ever hope to achieve with binding. When Tonio came by to collect his plate, Josuke couldn’t stop touching the smooth skin of his chest, his eyes full of wonder and amazement at the seeming miracle that had just happened.
Josuke poked at his chest a little, frankly amazed that Tonio’s food could even do something like this. His chest was flat, smooth, and perfect. “I’ll be out with your main course soon. Would you like me to lend you a clean shirt, signore? I live just above the restaurant so it really would be no trouble.” The teen looked down at himself, and was seemingly quite taken aback by just how bloody he’d become.
“Yeah, that would probably be best. I’m gonna wash my hands quick. That should be all the bloody parts right,” he asked as he stood, making sure to not touch anything with the tips of his fingers. The last thing he wanted was for Tonio to have to wash those pristine table cloths because of him, it was bad enough that he was carrying a plate of his discarded fat and skin. Josuke scrubbed his hands until the only blood on his hands remaining was a bit lingering under his nails, something he’d have to deal with later. With the door to the bathroom closed, he took off his shirt and examined his change in the mirror, assessing himself from every angle. He’d known there was a good chance this would happen but it felt completely different than he’d expected. It was lighter, yes, but it felt like he needed to learn how to stand without accounting for the weight on his chest. It was amazing, euphoric even, and they were only halfway done. There were only two courses left to go, and he was ready to see what else could happen.
Soon after returning to his seat, Tonio came in with a dish of clams in a sort of yellow colored broth or sauce or something. Josuke didn’t really know what it was but readily looked up at Tonio who instead of a standard cloth draped over his forearm, now had a pale yellow linen shirt which he offered up to the teen who readily put it on. It was only after he was once again fully clothed that Tonio explained the dish. “For your main dish, I have prepared for you Clams Italiano: Steamed clams in a vegetable and herb broth. The red pepper flakes serve to assist in testicular health while clams are also known to assist in the body’s production of testosterone. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know if you need anything.”
“Got it, thanks Mr. Trussardi,” Josuke called out as Tonio left. The shirt he’d been lent was roughly his size, though Tonio was more muscular than him so it did hang fairly loose around his shoulders. It made him sort of feel like when he was a child wearing his grandpa’s shirt, though of course it was different at this point. He had to admit, he was a little nervous about what this main course would do to him but all the same, he picked up a spoon and spooned some flesh from a clam and broth and it felt once again like he was having an out of body experience.
An increasingly sharp pain grew not in his core, but between his legs, bringing him doubling over, spreading his legs and groaning softly. The food was really damn good though, and he kept eating, hoping it would distract him some from the pain. To its credit, it did. Josuke couldn’t remember the last time he ate clams, they were richer but the garlic in the broth meshed well with it and the flavor combination did help get his mind off the pain spreading through his body. The pain he’d felt during his bottom growth was nothing compared to this, sharp and all consuming. Were he not sitting down, he was certain he would have fallen to his knees in pain as the sensation spread through his groin.
As quickly as it came, though, it left only a moment after finishing the clam dish. Josuke felt like a brand new person, a person who needed to spread his legs now so as not to crush his new balls. In the span of a few courses, Josuke’s whole body and perspective had changed. Despite being eager to check his situation out, he didn’t want to seem uncool and helped himself up and to the bathroom. Walking felt different now, like he needed to walk slightly more bow-legged, but he was still incredibly excited. Knowing Tonio was still in the kitchen gave him a good bit of time to be as uncool as needed in the bathroom. He hoped the distance from the kitchen to the bathroom gave him enough space to holler in shock and awe at his new body.
After a good bit of looking in the mirror, observing his new form from all angles he could, Josuke cleared his throat and regained his composure, he still had dessert after all. He sat back down at his table, feeling more genuinely confident than he thought ever possible, he’d been confident in himself for sure, but this felt like it was going above and beyond. Caught up in the euphoria of his newfound confidence, he didn’t even hear Tonio as he approached. So caught up in fact that he didn’t even hear the first part of the presentation and only heard what sounded vaguely like a homophobic slur. Almost instinctively, Josuke got defensive, having thought he was in a safe place. On instinct, he brought his stand out, ready to beat up the chef at a moment’s notice. “What the hell did you just call me,” he asked, turning around quickly in his chair.
What he was greeted with wasn’t the face of homophobia incarnate but a markedly flustered man holding a plate containing a small glass dish of what looked like ice cream and some sort of very liquidy sauce overtop. “Oh no, you misunderstand, signore,” Tonio tried to explain quickly, “I understand how you got confused. The dessert, it’s called an affogato.”
Josuke’s posture almost instantly deflated, embarrassed by the jump he had made in just assuming that this man who had otherwise seemed like an ally would have called him a slur. He cleared his throat and went back to facing the table, “Oh man, sorry about that.” His gaze shifted back to Tonio, trying to get things back on track. “So, what’s an affogato?”
“It’s quite simple, a vanilla gelato with fresh espresso poured over top. I remember earlier you asked about a cappuccino, so I hope a dessert coffee dish will satisfy you. It really has no properties other than soothing your spirit after what I imagine was a harrowing experience,” Tonio explained, quickly returning to his own standard procedure, a smile returning to his lips. “While you finish up, allow me to get your bill,” he said, placing the plate down delicately in front of the teen.
“No need, that’s all yours,” Josuke said, motioning to the cash he had set on the table before the meal. “It’s more than you ask for but consider the change a tip.” He grabbed the small spoon in front of him and grabbed a scoop of his dessert before talking again, some food in his mouth. “You’ve definitely earned it. That stand of yours is really something else,” he added, gasping softly as he fully tasted the food. “Even without all the shit you’ve done for me tonight, you still deserve it, this is amazing!”
Tonio couldn’t help but laugh a little as he took the cash from the table, “Thank you very much, Signore. I truly appreciate your kind words. I hope you tell others in the community that if surgery seems too inaccessible I would be happy to help them as well.” The chef smiled and gave the teen a bow before turning to head back to the kitchen.
With everything paid for, after he finished, Josuke stood up and called out towards the kitchen, knowing better than to actually go in to talk to Tonio. “I’m heading home now, thanks again! I’ll get you your shirt back tomorrow,” he called before leaving the restaurant and getting ready to start his walk home. He didn’t expect his friends to actually be waiting for him on the corner, talking among themselves until they saw him, both of them smiling and waving to him, talking over each other as they asked about how things went. Josuke couldn’t find the words to say anything though, just laughing as he ran to his friends and threw his arms around them.
There was a lot to be excited about, there was a lot to tell about his experience, but seeing his friends reminded him just how lucky he was. Not just for the ability to eat a good meal that changed his body, but also to have friends like Koichi and Okuyasu, who no matter what happened, he knew would always be there.