#1 — The Beginning of a Triumvirate

The first time Astra met Kevin Kaslana was when the young man walked into his shop a week after its opening with a rubber ducky comically riding on the glowing red bump in his hair.

The teen proceeded to drag himself towards one of the empty tables (the whole shop was empty since he was on the closing time, but since there's a person coming he doesn't mind and decides to open a little bit).

He orders an espresso, then after ordering, the albino haired teen proceeded to slouch on the table, face meeting wood.

The whitehead stayed like that for another two or three hours, only getting up to drink the coffee that Astra brought, with Astra sitting at the same table changing the channels on his television to find something fun to watch.

Stopping the switch at a comedy channel, the blind then slouched into his chair as well and accompanied the whitenette in silence. After a while, the boy turned his head towards the cafe owner and asked with a sullen face

"...Hey, if a man were to be in love with a woman, but she was wholely and completely uninterested, does that mean I don't have a chance..?"

"You won't know the results, until you try till the end." Let it be known that Astra, under most non-life-threatening circumstances, is a lousy source of knowledge to take advice from.

Done something really bad and you can't rid of the guilt? He could give out a thing or two to stave off or at the very least bear the weight, having trouble in religious affairs and you are stuck in the between of hard rocks? He can gave out a couple of life lesson that will ease your mind and soul, but love advice? Him? To the Void no, Hell. NO!

Thankfully, the albino haired teen managed to draw up a conclusion to his problem. He paid Astra for the meal and left with a wistful smile.

The owner could only watched as he left the cafe with a ring of bell, he then turned back to his TV and shakes his slightly.

"Weird..."

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The second time Astra met Kevin Kaslana again, was when the boy dragged himself into the shop two days after the first time.

He still had a comical red bump in his head as well. Ordering up another same espresso again, the boy slouched at the table he sat in the last time. This time though, the white haired teen opened right up when Astra accompanied him at the table.

Apparently, the red bump was from a fail attempt to "Woo" The girl that has been the object of his sole interest. Kevin laughed at his failure and proceeded to pull out a notebook and show the owner some lines that he had developed or strategies that he will use in the future. Astra just chuckled at the teen's antics.

After a while the teen decided to looked at Cafe's menu after his stomach rumbled with rumbling roar, prompting a second-hand embarrassment to the teen and another chuckle to the owner, he then quickly took out one of the menu book and raised an eyebrow at the new addition of food in the lists.

When he looked back up at the owner he was met with a slightly expectant look.

"It's just a new experiment of mine."

Shrugging his shoulders Kevin then decided to just pick one randomly, and he turned to Astra with his finger on the order's picture.

"Very well, your order will be delivered shortly."

After writing on his notepad, Astra nodded then turned around and the whitehead watched as the blonde went inside the kitchen and getting his order ready.

As Kevin waited on his seat he immediately composed himself as the blonde return from the kitchen, a plate on the tips of his fingers. Unknowingly, Kevin drooled from the corner of his mouth.

At first glance, the sweet treat in front of him looks like a cupcake given the size, but the texture looked more reminiscent of a biscuit. On the top of the pastry, a swirl of cream covered the top with a layer of something dusted over like a gold blanket. And three of them sat in front of him

The aroma of the cheese and hints of honey filled his nostril and he sucked all of them greedily as much as he could, it was that powerful and delectable for him, despite only just a small desert.

"This is a cupcake-sized honey cheesecake," Astra explained, smiling slightly at his reaction, "You're probably wondering what the cream on the top is."

Kevin just nodded absentmindedly, his gaze was still focusing on the sweet desert with a very intense stare.

"The cream was composed of a mixture of cream cheese and a little bit of honey. The base is made of biscuits, as is the sprinkles of crumbs dusted over the top. I'm not even sure how I came up with this kind of things. The idea just came to me like out of nowhere."

Drool started to slip more through the corner of Kevin's mouth, as the description of the food only served to fill his imagination further.

"How in the world do you come up with these recipes? It's like as if it came from that Cooking Anime I've watched!"

Kevin exclaimed as the fork and spoon in his hands quiver in excitement and anxiousness, he was barely holding himself from just taking and gobbling the small deserts in one giant bite.

He let out a small grin and chuckled "Thank you for the compliment, but. I'd like my customers to eat it, rather than just simply stares at it."

He put his hand below the plates and then pushed all of the plates closer to Kevin.

"Go on, it's all yours."

Pulling his arm back, he pulled out a napkin from his pocket and cleaned his hands.

"I'll be waiting at the counter then, tell me when you are finished, but for now. Enjoy."

With that said, Astra walked back and left the mesmerised white haired teen alone to enjoy his meals. Pulling out a book from the counter, he crossed a leg over his knee and sat comfortably to read.

...

..

.

"Yeah... Sure.." Kevin muttered, as his eyes never leaving the three plates. He didn't know where to start. The three cupcake sized cheesecakes looked so appealing to him, so much that he was having a major crisis just for deciding where to begin and which to eat first.

"They look so good, never mind my slight distaste for sweet foods, I've got to admit that... This. Is. Goooood."

Deciding that doing nothing will only makes it worse, he took his fork and cut the side slightly, he brought the pieces up to his mouths, he chewed for a couple of seconds, and promptly fell back into the chair behind him. His blue eyes glazed over in delight, shoulders slumping in comfort, and breathing steady.

Nothing could have EVER prepared for the onslaught of flavour that assaulted his tastebuds.

Something was nagging at the back of his throat, and it demanded to be released and so he did.

However, Instead of words coming from his mouth, it was a long and drawn-out moan of pure delight erupting. It was guttural like the sound was coming from his very soul.

At the counter, Astra dropped his book to his lap in shock, not expecting such reaction coming, his emerald green eyes stares at the still dazed Kevin.

Feeling like he was being stared at, Kevin went back to normal and snapped out of his Nirvana-induced state and his blue eyes met the still shocked green, and the both of them stares at each other in silence.

There was a pregnant pause settling in the cafe, as only the two of them was the remaining occupants left, since Kevin often came at the time where he almost closed his cafe.

.....

....

...

..

.

Kevin was the first to break out of their staring contest and stares below at his food, and before Astra could even react, the treats was instantly devoured before the eyes can blink.

Stooding up from his seat, his blank face was devoid of anything, and it would have convinced the owner, would it not for the crumps all over the lower half of his face marring it.

"Thanksforthefoodnowifyou'llexcusemeiwillgohomenowandwhenicamebackiwillonlyorderRamenwhichyouwillmake."

Not giving him a time to process, Kevin turned around and walked to the door, snapping the blond owner and prompt him to shout.

"Wait-"

Ring!

And with a very fast steps, the whiteheaded teen quickly exited the cafe and leaving the blond owner to himself, he blinked and stares at the plates previously by Kevin.

"Did I add too much honey?"

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The third time Astra met Kevin Kaslana was two days after the second meeting. Kevin walked into the shop without any injuries and asked Astra if he had a Pfp game system, the events yesterday seems to be unadressed by the teen and the owner doesn't mind, it is kind of embarrassing, Azaka then focused back to present, he asked why to him and Kevin said;

"So that I can play it here, playing it at my apartement is very nerve-wracking because someone could accidentally heard it in at any time, thin walls and all that."

By this point, Astra knew why it was nerve-wracking if he wants to play his "game" at his apartement but he pointed out that he only had one television to hook the game system up to and it was the one in the shop. Kevin, in a moment of his gloriously stupid innocence, walked up to the lone customer, who is also the same age as Kevin, that seems to like to hang out in the Cafe to drink hus coffee brew and asked if he minded if Kebin played his game here.

"I don't mind."

The customer answers serenely while still closing his eyes, something that always kind of confused Astra since how does he know all of the menu if he didn't even cracked an eye open, even if it's just a tiny one.

In the end, Kevin, Astra and the lone customer named Sutris- or something (Kevin and Astra decided to just call him simply by a short suffix, Su) played the dating simulation together.

They managed to somehow unlocked and completed one of the secret routes that were surprisingly tear-jerking and emotional.

Su left the odd càfe in tears, still retaining his closed eyes, only that his cheeks are stained by tearmarks and saying that he must meditate himself in his home to clear away the sorrow and grief.

Kebin left afterward but not before getting a promise out of Astra that he won't play the game while Kevin isn't around.

Astra closed down the shop and started playing it anyways despite Kevin's words. He somehow discovered the super-secret hidden Easter egg for unlocking the Kitsune route. He pulled an all-nighter finishing that route, it was very touching. That even he slightly sobbed at the tragic fate of the pink haired kitsune girl and her little sister.

Kevin ended up being a regular to Astra's Cafe after coming at an average of three or four times a week. He always orders the usual espresso, sometimes also requesting him to make Ramen, which he didn't mind. But what's even more strange is that when Kevin often asks a random goofy request to him.

Astra, for reasons he doesn't really understand and know, complied with most of those requests.

Whether it was giving advice on his plans in attempting to win Mei's heart, or just simply make him Ramen, and Azaka never could've never said no to his love-struck friend.

Plus. The fact the entire reason he avoid any of his menu list of food, and decided to just eat his handmade Ramen was purely because of that incident still brought a good chuckle to him.

'...Friend...'

For the first time in his life, Astra felt happy, genuinely happy that he could call someone, weird and eccentric as they are, a friend.

And although Su and him only met for the first time, and in the most oddest meeting, he also considered him a friend at best, while also strangely felt a slight kinship.

'Friends, huh..' The blond mused to himself, before his green irises then looked at the dough that he was currently beating up on the table.

Ever since the Second Day Incident, Kevin stayed true to his words In that he will only order Ramen, which he found out is thin wheat noodles inside a rich broth made from many condiments, and full of many assortment of side dishes; Beef/Porks/Chicken slices, boiled egg, a dried layer of seaweed named Nori and many more.

And right now, he is currently shaping and beating up the dough of wheat so he could make this Ramen, he doesn't know how to make it, aside of his knowledge of making noodles

And he certainly don't want to use the... Intern? Or was it Internal? Bah! Whatever, advanced technology was never his forte despite him once being the owner of a highly advanced tech-flying homecastle that could turn into a giant mecha, also there's a reason why Androids were produced back in his home... Fortress... Or Castle, whatever it could be called, Heavenhold is Heavenhold. At least television is simple and easy to use.

But still, to call Kevin and Su as friends felt right to him, and that certainly brought a small smile to the former Guardian's face.

"Some things... Never changes.." He then grab ahold of the wheat and then slam it on the table with an echoing slap sound in the empty kitchen.

He continued to do it again, and again several times to make it more firmer, he thought, the sounds of wheat flour slamming on the hard woresounded many times in the kitchen of Heavenhold Café.

That night, Astra unknowingly made the best Ramen on his very first try despite lacking such knowledge on how to make it.

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End