Chapter Text
Kiyoko had no regrets after witnessing the team in the kitchen. Yachi and her had planned for the guys to do a team bonding activity outside of volleyball and school....
It was about 11:30 am on a Sunday morning near the end of October. The whole team showed up to Smitten Kitchen on time, because Daichi was insistent that no one was late, and nobody wanted to make him mad.
Getting to the class was chaotic in itself, Hinata and Kageyama were miserably lost and arguing on the side of the road before they were rescued by an overexcited Tanaka and Noya, who were being driven by a slightly drunk Saeko. Yachi and Kiyoko's supervision made sure that Asahi, Suga, and Daichi arrived safely with Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita in tow.
The front of the Smitten Kitchen had big glass windows, their blinds open and curtains peeled back allowing the natural sunlight to flood the area. Said windows also opened a crack to let a fresh breeze flow through the place. The rest of the space was filled with dark wooden tables and chairs, it was the dining room. The whole place was decorated like an Old English Cottage in the Italian countryside. Half of the walls were paneled with mahogany wood and had some sort of intricate golden yellow wall paper on the top half.
The instructor introduced themselves, “Hello Karasuno Boys Volleyball Team and managers! I will be your cooking instructor today. Please just call me Minori or Minori sensei if you want!”
The team captain politely said, “Thank you for having us here today sir.”
“Oo, um It’s no problem. But I would prefer if you use they/them pronouns for me. I uhh, I identify as non-binary.”
The teen was quick, “Oh my apologies!”
“It’s quite alright! There’s really no way you could have known that if I hadn’t told you. Anyways,” Minori grabbed enough name tags for the team, “we have some food to make. Follow me!”
The instructor led the team beyond the dining area, past the wall that divided it from the kitchen. The ambiance was definitely set up to be a more romantic atmosphere as the place was meant for couples cooking classes. There were 8 cooking stations, 4 on each side of the room, parallel from one another. Each station had its own sink, stove, oven, as well as appliances. They were identical, from the granite countertop of the U shaped table, their light wooden cabinets that had pots and pans in them, their silver double sinks, to the arched window above the stony backwash on the wall behind the oven each station had. In the center of the room there was a table with 8 baskets.
Minori clasped their hands, voice booming with excitement, “Okay, WHO’S READY TO COOK! WHEW! Alright, gather around. Since this is normally a couples cooking class, I can’t help but ask if any of you are in a relationship. If you are, and they are here, please hold hands and lift them up so I can see them.”
The instructor looked at the young couples who raised their held hands:
There were two lesbians, both in cute fall outfits. I hope their culinary skills are as sharp as their fashion sense.
Then there was a silver haired teen in a brown fitted dress shirt, with the sleeves already rolled up to his elbows ( Glad he knows to keep his sleeves clean. Good! He probably has some experience in the kitchen.) and nice pants held the hand of the team captain, who was significantly dressed down in comparison. The tanner male wore a plain white t-shirt under a maroon leather jacket and a pair of straight fitting jeans. Seems like a dad friend, these are probably the parent friends of the group. Ahhhh I love it when parent friends get together. I bet he’ll probably either know what he’s doing or pretend like he does. Damn why do I have to be the only one on shift today, I’d love to make a bet with one of my co-workers. Bet there’s gonna be dad jokes.
The last couple they saw raise their hands was the tall guy with long hair pulled up in a bun, wearing a cream knitted sweater with the shortest member on the team. The significantly shorter teen’s blonde streak and black t-shirt gave the instructor roughian vibes. Ah the gentle giant and energetic small dynamic.
Minori saw the ginger, who has on a ridiculously big pastel orange hoodie, exchange glances with a dark-haired teen. Aaand there’s the couple who hasn’t announced their relationship status! Definitely gonna pair them together. Hopefully they’ll fare well in the kitchen. The instructor glanced over their attire again, doesn't the taller one know it’s cold out? Why the hell is he wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt where’s his— ooh that must be his sweater on the ginger. Yeah, neither of them look like they can cook. WELP I can’t judge by appearance. And hey if they can’t, well, that’s what I’m here for!
“Okay now for me to pick the rest of your-”
A monotone voice interrupted, “We’re together.”
Some of the team members looked shocked when they turned their heads to see the blonde holding his hand with the green-haired freckled teen, freckles is wearing flannel. I should have known.
“Alright, aannyyoonnee else want to come out or are we good?”
“Okay now to pair off the rest of you poor unfortunate souls! You two are together” they pointed at Kageyama and Hinata.
“Theeen how about we pair you two,” Minori pointed to Ennoshita and Tanaka, why the hell is baldys basics not wearing a jacket or at least SLEEVES. At least e-boy over there understands the weather . “That leaves you two as partners.” Minori turned to Kinnoshita and Narita.
The instructor continued enthusiastically, “Good now that I have you guys in pairs, I need you all to go to the pantry to find an apron that fits you, and those with long hair may want to grab a hair net.”
Asahi blushed in slight embarrassment, he was grateful for the girls being there or else he would have felt called out. He likes his hair, just not feeling called out.
“After you get an apron on, you are free to choose a station for the two of you to work at, then I need you to wash your hands.” They clapped their hands together once more, “Alriiiight let’sss GO! WhEw!”
Tsukishima held back a groan, Can I have whatever they’re having? He settled for rolling his eyes, he pushed his glasses up at the same time to not seem as rude. The gu- no person, is only doing their job . His mood was instantly lifted upon seeing Hinata and Noya pout, the smallest aprons for the guys were too big on them, and they had to wear the woman's aprons. The only difference between the two was that the woman’s were a bit more frilly than the guys.
Kageyama and Asahi both could have swore they would have had a heart attack at how cute their boyfriends looked with them. Tobio wouldn't admit it to Hinata, knowing Hinata would turn his minor problem into Kageyama's problem. They thought they had hid their relationship from the team well. Though, almost everyone who wasn’t as dense as a brick knew, Suga made them swear that they wouldn’t say anything about it, and to let the young couple say something when they wanted to.
Nishinoya, Tanaka, Asahi, and Tsukishima obviously struggled to figure out how Kageyama, Hinata, Yachi, Kiyoko, and Sugawara put their aprons on so fast, and effortlessly at that. Daichi and Yamaguchi struggled too, not as obvious as the others, and were able to manage it after a few attempts. The trick was to tie it in front of you and then spin it around! Ennoshita took his time. Kinnoshita and Narita helped each other out.
Those who settled on the left side of the room, in order from closest to the back/pantry, were: Tsukishima/Yamaguchi, Kageyama/Hinata, Ennoshita/Tanaka, and Nishinoya/Asahi. On the opposite end of the room, again in order of closest to the pantry, were: Daichi/Sugawara, Kiyoko/Yachi, Kinoshita/Narita, and Minori.
While the instructor made their way around the room, placing a basket, the name tags and a marker at each station, they hoped that this group only had a rough start and the class would go just fine after they got into the groove of things. Minori was grateful for the chalk boards with the team members' names as well as their name tags, because they were not about to refer to the teens by their hair color or prominent features. That said, Minori was pretty sure they saw Hinata? and Kageyama do rock paper scissors for who was gonna wash their hands first. Needless to say they had to hold back a laugh or two before it dawned on them, Oh. My. God. What did I do to myself. I. Swear. If. I. Have. To. Deal. With. Another. Competitive. Couple.