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“Ryuji-senpai, pass me the hot chili powder please. That’s the only ingredient I need left for the spice mix.” Sumire instructs in a hurry while mixing various spices in a pan.
“Which one’s the chili powder?” Ryuji asks as he scans the various canisters of spices and powders in the cabinet. He finally picks a canister containing a dark red spice and hands it to the gymnast.
“Senpai, this is cinnamon! I need hot chili powder!” Sumire protests, handing the cinnamon back to Ryuji as she rushes past him towards the cabinet. “Nevermind. I’ll get it myself!”
“What’s the difference?” Ryuji responds, scratching his head dumbfounded as he stares at the spice.
“Cinnamon is sweet like Ren-senpai. Hot chili powder is, well, hot… also like Ren-senpai.” Sumire answers in a matter-of-fact tone while her face slowly turns red near the end of her explanation. The gymnast quickly grabs the canister of hot chili powder and hurries back to the dish.
“Hey, I’m sweet and hot too, aren’t I?” Ryuji replies jokingly in mock offense.
“Sure you are, Ryuji-senpai.” Sumire giggles at her partner’s silliness as she pours the hot chili powder into the pan. “Speaking of Ren-senpai, do you think he’ll love the curry we’re making for him?”
Ren Amamiya has always been the chef in the relationship. Even before he became romantically involved with Ryuji and Sumire, Ren would always make food for the Phantom Thieves at every opportunity, and they cannot get enough of his cooking. Ren is quite a natural in the kitchen, and the former Phantom Thief plans on opening a restaurant one day to share his talent with the public.
Sumire and Ryuji want to show their appreciation to Ren for all the times he cooked for them and the Phantom Thieves, so the duo had decided to recreate Leblanc’s famous curry as a special dinner for their partner. Sojiro was kind enough to lend the two his recipe after they told him their special dinner plan for Ren. It won’t be long before Ren comes back home from his classes at culinary school.
“Of course Renren will! Maybe it won’t be the exact quality Boss makes his curry, but all we need to do is pour our blood, sweat, and tears into it!” Ryuji declares, earning another giggle from Sumire.
“I think that’ll just make the curry taste gross, Ryuji-senpai.” Sumire jokes as she moves on to the next step of the recipe.
“C’mon! You know what I mean! So, what else do you need me to help with?” Ryuji grins as the gymnast pours the mixed spices and powders into a pot of simmering chopped meat.
“Could you chop up some carrots for me? The recipe doesn’t call for vegetables, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with adding a few extra ingredients. I want our surprise dinner to be both healthy and delicious! In the meantime, I’m going to brew the coffee.” Sumire instructs as Ryuji places the carrots on the cutting board.
“Still not trusting me with the coffee machine, huh?” Ryuji remarks sheepishly while Sumire gives him a deadpan look.
“Sorry, Ryuji-senpai, but it’s a house rule now.” Sumire tells the former track star in a no-nonsense tone before collecting a jar of coffee beans.
“You make the coffee machine explode one time, and suddenly you’re banned from making coffee.” Ryuji grumbles to himself as he starts chopping the carrots.
Half an hour later, Ren arrives at the apartment he shares with Ryuji. A good apartment in a big city like Tokyo tends to be quite costly, so Ren and Ryuji decided it would be better if they find one they can share. Sumire couldn’t live with them just yet. Moving in with them, especially with the three of them in a relationship, is a big commitment, and Sumire wants to achieve her and her sister’s dream of winning gold at the Olympics first. Both Ren and Ryuji respect Sumire’s decision, but that doesn’t mean Sumire can’t sleep over from time to time, which she often does.
Morgana pops his head out of Ren’s backpack. Even in college, Ren still brings Morgana with him to class. Some things never change. The moment Ren opens the door, the former Phantom Thief is immediately hit with an appetizing aroma. Even Morgana catches a whiff of it.
“Oooh! Something smells good!” Morgana chirps as his eyes dart around to locate the source of the enticing aroma.
“Someone’s making dinner.” Ren remarks as he was expecting to make dinner again as always. Morgana hops out of the backpack as Ren sets it down on the sofa. The door to the kitchen opens up, and Ryuji steps out with a wide grin on his face.
“Renren! You’re home! Can you wait at the table? Sumi and I have a special surprise for ya!” Ryuji greets his partner with a wave before heading back into the kitchen. Ren and Morgana exchanged a surprised look at each other.
“Special surprise?” Morgana wonders out loud in confusion while Ren shrugs his shoulders. Now curious, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves walks over to the dining room and takes a seat at the table while Morgana jumps onto another seat. After a few seconds, the kitchen door opens as Ryuji brings out a large pot in his hands while Sumire carries plates and utensils in her arms.
“Welcome home, Ren-senpai!” Sumire cheers as Ryuji sets the pot on the table. Ren looks at the pot in amazement as he begins to recognize the aroma emitting from it.
“Is that…” Ren mutters in shock before turning his head towards Sumire and Ryuji for confirmation.
“Leblanc’s famous curry? You bet it is! Boss was kind enough to lend us the recipe, but Sumi and I added a few changes to call it our own.” Ryuji clarifies with a toothy grin. Sumire finishes setting up the table.
“We gave it our all, so we hope you like it.” Sumire adds nervously, but Ryuji wraps an arm around her to boost up her confidence.
“Oh? What’s the occasion?” Ren inquires as he fills his place with the homemade curry.
“There’s no special occasion or anything. It’s just… you always made food for us back when we were the Phantom Thieves, and you still do every day after coming back from your culinary classes.” Ryuji answers with Sumire nodding along.
“You’ve done so much for us, Ren-senpai. So we figured why not show you our appreciation by cooking you a special meal.” Sumire professes while her face becomes red from blushing.
“It must’ve been very difficult making the curry with Ryuji in the kitchen.” Morgana quips to Sumire, and Ryuji sends a quick glare at the “cat”.
“What’s that supposed to mean, you annoying cat!” Ryuji shouts, and Morgana responds back with a hiss.
“I’m not a cat! I only said that because last time you tried to make food in the kitchen, you burned my sushi! Should I even mention the coffee machine you exploded?” Morgana points out.
“I’ll have you know that I almost burned the meat once when Sumi and I were making the curry!” Ryuji brags while Sumire couldn’t help but facepalm at the response.
“Ryuji-senpai, I’m not sure that’s something you should be bragging about.” Sumire tells the former track star.
“Ha! Just shows you I was right!” Morgana laughs, resulting in a scowl from Ryuji.
“That’s it! No curry for you!” Ryuji declares, earning a loud whine from the “cat”.
“That’s not fair! Sumire, tell him that it’s not fair!” Morgana begs the gymnast.
While Ryuji and Morgana continue to bicker and argue with Sumire trying to play peacemaker, Ren scoops up a spoonful of the curry his partners had made and takes a bite. His eyes widen from the taste, and the former Phantom Thief swallows the curry.
“It’s good.” Ren acknowledges, causing Ryuji, Morgana, and Sumire to pause their argument.
“HUH?!” Ryuji, Morgana, and Sumire shout all at once, staring at Ren as if he grew a second head.
“I said it’s good. Sure, it doesn’t taste exactly how Sojiro and I make it, but it’s still delicious. I can tell you both made it with love, and the carrots are a nice touch too.” Ren explains before taking another bite of the curry. Ryuji’s toothy grin returns, and the former track star hugs Sumire and kisses her on the cheek.
“Hell yeah! I told ya he’ll love it, Sumi!” Ryuji cheers at the mission accomplished while Sumire could only mutter a jumbled mess of words as her face turns completely red like her hair. Soon after, Ryuji and Sumire join in to get a taste of their creation. Sumire even gives Morgana some curry with Ryuji relenting thanks to some sweet words from Ren.
As Ren, Ryuji, Sumire, and Morgana talk about their day, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves lets out a warm smile. While it’s been years since his adventures in the Metaverse, he’s happy to have people he can return home to. Out of all the people he could’ve dated, Ren chose Ryuji and Sumire because they make his life feel special.
Ryuji was the first person to befriend Ren after the latter got transferred to Shujin Academy. Even when Ren's criminal record got leaked and false rumors about him had spread around the school, Ryuji continued to be Ren’s friend and proudly stood by his side. Meanwhile, Sumire was always kind and supportive towards Ren. Whenever she had a problem, Ren would always be the first person she would go to for help. Sometimes Ren would feel like he doesn’t deserve their love, but Ryuji and Sumire would always reassure him that he does, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Does anyone want seconds?” Sumire questions as she holds up a ladle of curry.
“Oooh! Me!” Ryuji answers as he quickly raises his hand, and Sumire is more than happy to pour more on his plate. While Ryuji and Sumire only started off as friends, their relationship quickly blossomed romantically thanks to the two supporting each other’s progress in their respective athletic fields. Not to mention their shared love for Ren was also a factor, resulting in the unique relationship they currently have.
“Save some for me too.” Ren banters at Ryuji as he holds up his plate.
“Don’t worry, Ren-senpai. Ryuji-senpai and I made sure to make more than enough for everyone.” Sumire giggles as she pours some more curry on Ren’s plate.
The dinner ends with full stomachs and satisfied smiles. Ryuji and Sumire are happy that their curry was enjoyed by Ren while Ren was thankful for the gift he received from his partners as it made him feel loved. After tonight’s success, Ryuji and Sumire made it clear that they plan to cook more food for Ren in the future. That way, Ren can have a well deserved break from the kitchen every now and then. Unfortunately, Ryuji and Sumire didn’t have the heart to tell Ren the messy state of the kitchen, but the less said about it the better.