*OLD* Love Like You (Rohan Kishibe and Daughter Reader)

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (Part 3)

"(Y/n) was wonderful! She scrubbed down every place we told her to without missing a spot—Signore Rohan, I don't think your daughter has a single lazy bone in her body!" Tonio poured their respective wine into their glasses, then took a bow.

"I'm not surprised. (Y/n) is my daughter, after all. We Kishibes are some of the hardest workers of all." Bubbles kicked up in the wine when Rohan's lips grazed it, for he started to chuckle at the sight of (Y/n) holding her glass out to the chef, anticipating her own fill of the smooth liquid. Reimi and Okuyasu and Tonio chuckled along with Rohan, instigating a confused curiosity within (Y/n).

"What's so funny?"

"Honey, you can't have wine! It's a drink for grownups!" Reimi said.

"Yeah, even I'm too young to drink it!" Okuyasu said. "That gives me an idea though! I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"

Okuyasu went to retrieve a replacement drink for the girl, who would be lying if she said that she wasn't just the slightest bit disappointed. A father's intuition kicked within Rohan and he could sense her feelings. So he chuckled, "Here (Y/n), I'll let you have a sip of mine." He heard the inhale of a person ready to speak from Reimi, and he cut her short by raising his gloved hand. "Relax, Reimi. It's not like I'm giving her the entire glass. Easy, just a sip..."

(Y/n) sniffed the liquid before placing her lips at the edge of the glass. Rohan tilted it lightly, and the few drops that touched the tip of the girl's tongue twisted her face, as though the wine was unsweetened lemon juice in disguise. "BLEH! Rohan-Sensei, Reimi, how do grown-ups drink this?! I'm never drinking wine when I'm older."

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Rohan said.

The adults and Okuyasu, returning with a wine glass filled with a fizzy red liquid, laughed much harder than before when (Y/n) rolled her tongue over her lips to ward off the taste. Okuyasu handed her the drink and said, "I think this'll tickle your fancy more, (Y/n)! Don't worry, it's only sparkling grape juice," —for (Y/n) glared at him suspiciously.

(Y/n) sniffed the drink. Its scent was sugary, so she licked her lips, took a sip, and twittered and rolled her nose at its atingle texture. "It's all tingly in my nose!"

Sprightliness splayed across his smile, Tonio pushed the plates of food closer to the family of three and said, "Now, I certainly do hope you three enjoy your meal. Grazie (Y/n), for helping me and Okuyasu in the kitchen tonight, and listening to what I had to say." Tonio bowed once again, Okuyasu following suit in a more juvenile way, then turned to go prepare the dessert and wash the dishes.

"Wait! Mr. Trussardi, Okuyasu..."

They turned at the call of their names. (Y/n) slid off of her chair and walked over to the father and son, wrapped her slender fingers around theirs, and gazed up at them with her generous eye. Rohan and Reimi exchanged fervorous glances like presents: they knew what she was going to say and were proud of her for it.

"I think the two of you should eat with us tonight! It's only fair because you made all of this yummy food for us!"

They stopped in their tracks to consider the offer. Trattoria Trussardi was jam-packed every night, and when Tonio and Okuyasu thought about it, they hadn't had a meal with friends for a while. "Ah (Y/n), that's so considerate of ya! Dad and I would love nothing more!"

So Tonio pulled over two extra chairs, both across from (Y/n), Rohan, and Reimi, and Okuyasu retrieved five plates and two extra forks and knives. Dinner was a little different than what everyone was used to that night: instead of having a meal of their own choice, everyone shared the generous portion of the roasted quail, spaghetti and meatballs, and abalone risotto.

And by God were (Y/n)'s tastebuds blessed by the touch of Tonio's cooking.

Her body seemingly went into a state of shock when she took the first bite of each dish—all her life her tongue had grown weary of the taste of wild berries and apples, and she would rather not think back to all of the half-eaten hamburgers and nearly empty potato chip bags she and (M/n) had to dig out of trash bins just to survive, thank you very much. Tears balanced on her eyelashes like squirrels climbing across frozen-over wires with every bite she took; who knew food could drive one to tears?

"Bambina, I can tell you're really enjoying the food!" Tonio leaned forward until the shadow of his hat overcast the salt and pepper shakers in the center of the table, "One way a chef can tell that a child is enjoying our cooking is if they're wearing it on their face!"

(Y/n) was indeed wearing her dinner on her lower face: stray pieces of risotto loitered around blotches of spaghetti sauce on the corners of her lips, everything on a green of herbs from the quail. Okuyasu broke into a fit of snickers, Rohan smirked and shook his head, and Reimi picked up a napkin to clean off (Y/n)'s face. "Or if they have chipmunk cheeks! And...there! All squeaky clean!"

"Hold on Reimi, you missed a spot," Rohan said, stealing the napkin out of Reimi's hand. (Y/n) touched her face and cocked her head to the side, which soon flew backward as she threw a tantrum of giggles when Rohan began to tickle her belly with the napkin. "Right here!" After he said, "(Y/n), you should slow down and savor the food. It's not going anywhere!"

When (Y/n) settled down, she looked up and saw Tonio with his eyes closed, his head resting on his hand. He was slowly chewing and let out the occasional cognitive hum and nod of approval—a perfect example of someone taking their time to enjoy the food. (Y/n) decided to follow Tonio's lead, and the cuisine took her down a memory lane she was not yet alive to see.

She took a bite of the abalone risotto: the snails ((Y/n) never imagined consuming one in her life) were as supple as the loving touch of a mother when her baby is weeping, or when her husband could work no further; but they also held a special firmness to them, like that deep wisdom of a mother known by even the mountains and rivers and stars.

Next was the spaghetti and meatballs: this was the dish that stood out to (Y/n) the most, for it seemed to represent the spirit of childhood: spaghetti sauce splattered like the finger-painting of a kindergartener; noodles that snaked over each other, challenging her fork to a game of tug-o-war; and the meatballs were like the collection of questions a child asks day in and out, a roundabout of curiosity that forever turns within the hearts of children all across the earth.

And she finished off her course with the roasted quail: the herbs were bold and seemed to have dominance over other flavors, commanding them over the tongue; and the skin was crisp, like a consumable shield, but underneath that tough exterior was an inspiring tenderness that could drive people to march on forward in times of pain, towards a brighter future.

And for time unseen by the distraction of fun, everyone lightened up the restaurant in their own way under the mantel that held a group of toy soldiers, a golden arrow tattooed with a design akin to people cheering, and a shorter version of Tonio's chef hat with an edelweiss flower tucked in its crease: Italian fairy tales were told by Tonio, and Okuyasu shared of his misadventures with Josuke and Koichi; Rohan made everyone laugh by tying spaghetti noodles with and around his tongue, and Reimi kept stealing the melt-in-your-mouth tiramisu off of Rohan's fork—(Y/n) shared the rest of hers with her father.

The good times rolled on, and (Y/n) thought about how she never had the honor of meeting Virginia, Marco, or Keicho, yet she felt a little closer to them that night; and their legacy would live on through Tonio's and Okuyasu's cooking for years to come, for it will spread happiness and forge nostalgia amongst the old, the young, the sick, the healthy, and those who are no longer in Morioh—(Y/n), Rohan, Reimi, Tonio, Okuyasu, and the other residents of Morioh were sure of that.

And somewhere out in the graveyard, a shooting star flew across the sky, and two patches of edelweiss began to bloom.