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 Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 5:14 am
- NEW DAY - 
The door opened with a merry jingle as Rory entered, holding it open after him. It was nice and warm inside the coffee shop, and he was finally comfortable enough to tug down his scarf beneath his chin -- it had covered his face from his chin to his nose the entire time they were outside. Obviously, he hadn't been the best conversation partner out there, but he was too nervous to really talk properly anyway. Even though this was not in fact his and Usagi's first date, and he had gotten some last minute coaching from Natalia (who pretty much just told him to keep his big fat mouth shut so he wouldn't ramble about anything boring, and just pray to the Goddess and all the fairies that his date didn't mind looking at his ugly face -- which was one of the more supportive things his best friend had ever said to him) he was nervous. Of course he was nervous! He was a forty-two year old man whose dating history mostly involved compiling chronological records of past events (ba-dum bum tssh), he knew no other way to be! But he hadn't sweated through his mittens yet, so already this date was looking to be a little easier than the last.
"It feels good in here," Rory said pleasantly as the door swung shut and he could focus on removing some of his outer layers. "Nice and toasty... Or should I say roasty?" he added with a pleased grin, enjoying his coffee-related pun more than he probably should have. "Do you know what you want? I can go order while you scout a good table, if you'd like. I'm in the mood for something festive..." After a brief moment of looking over the menu thoughtfully, he remembered his manners, and added hastily, "I mean! If you want! I can go get the table, and you order. Or we can both order together! It's up to you, hahahah!" Good thing he had taken off his mittens already.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:29 pm
Her sister had given her all kinds of tips before this date and the last, and while Usagi tried to be appreciative and listen to her sister's advice, she wasn't really sure how Mitsukai really knew anything about dating. Chances were though, that she knew more than Usagi.
Her mind drifted away from her thoughts and was brought to the attention of the warm building and she nodded in reply to Rory, "Yeah, it does," she laughed at his pun, also enjoying it more than she should have. Heh roasty. She looked at the menu, "Yeah, I think I know what I want," she decided, "Umm, it doesn't matter to me, either way is fine!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:20 am
Rory couldn't help himself from grinning like an idiot -- not only had someone laughed at his pun, but it had been a girl he fancied -- and he focused his smile up at the menu so he ended up looking even dumber. "Okay, let's order together, then. It's not too crowded, that's good." To be fair, nothing in Sonata Town was ever quite crowded, but he liked having the place to himself. It might make things a little more intimate, but he could relax a bit more when there weren't as many strangers about. "Excuse me," he called the coffee shop employee over and gave his order, picking something that sounded like it had been designed for a ten year old. "And whatever the lady is having," he added before setting down a bill. Now it kind of felt more like a date, didn't it?
Moving over so Usagi could give her order, Rory lingered by the register so he could get his drink and his change, and in the meantime he turned to his friend with a smile. "It really feels like Winter's here, doesn't it?" he went on pleasantly. "Stocking Day and New Year's are almost here, I can't believe it." One of the people behind the counter handed him a warm paper cup, and he took it with a small word of thanks. "Do you have any plans for Stocking Day this year, Usagi? Are you going to spend it with your family?" The cup had gone from pleasantly warm to uncomfortably hot against his fingers, and he wiggled them as he waited for Usagi to get her drink so they could sit.
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 8:14 pm
"Winter, yeah it does," did that makes sense? Yes it did, well, kind of. "It's gotten really cold," she noted with a nod of the head. "Um, Yeah. I always do. Me and Mitsukai are going to go over to our mom's house to exchange gifts and eat dinner," she explained to Rory, "I'm not sure about New Year's though. Mitsukai always wants to go to the bar, but I'd rather not, and well, I know that if I go to the square she'll come just to keep me company, but I hate to keep her from doing what she wants, you know?" Oh wow, that was a lot in one go, hopefully her friend wouldn't mind. She looked down, after she took her cup from the counter. "Um, what do you plan on doing?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 2:45 am
Not long after she gave her order, the NPC employee handed over Usagi's drink, and Rory took it himself before passing it along to his companion. He smiled at the mention of her mother, always enjoying the small hints at the family life that he assumed was quite warm. He hadn't been home in a long time, and he yearned for something similar. Of course, he had heard that his sister was spending the holidays with her in-laws, and his parents were going on a cruise, so there wasn't a home he could visit at the moment! "That sounds nice, no matter what you decide," he commented pleasantly before beginning to walk slowly towards the seats, glancing around for a good table. There were so many factors to consider, after all! "Me? I haven't decided yet." Determining that a table off to the side, but not too close to the window that it'd be chilly, was their best bet, he gestured to it with his cup hand. "How does this look?" He set down his cup and began to unbutton his coat. "Anyway, New Year's is always a sizable question mark, stay in or go out, stay in or go out," he laughed. "Stocking Day... Well, I was sort of hoping I could maybe tag along on Natalia's dinner with her husband and their kids, but... Well, I wouldn't want to intrude, so I can't seem to bring myself to ask." He laughed once more, but this time a little more nervously than before. Having Nat back on the island had taken no transition time at all, but he was still getting used to having a married friend. The rules were different with a spouse and children involved, after all. "Maybe I'll spend it at home again, who knows?" With a shrug, Rory draped his coat over the back of the chair, then sat down. After a moment, his ears tingle with a new idea. "Actually, Usagi, if you're really worried about your sister on New Year's," he began somewhat slowly, "Maybe you and I could go out and do something? Together?" Upon noticing the hopeful tone in his voice, he hastily added "I mean, so Mitsukai doesn't worry, and she can go off and do what she wants." Real smooth, Roland.
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Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:15 pm
"That looks good," she answered, and followed after him to the table, then followed suite in unbuttoning her own coat. "Stay at home?" she questioned. How sad! "That's no good..." stocking day was a day to spend time with loved ones, not a day to spend alone! "You should ask her," Usagi encouraged. Or maybe she could invite him to spend time with her family? No, that wouldn't work! And besides, she'd be far too embarrassed to ask, this was only there second date friendly outing and she didn't want him or her family to get the wrong idea if she invited him over. That was definitely a no go! The fact that she had even thought it was flustering, and she looked down to hide her face. At least she hadn't actually said anything, it could always be worse. She hesitantly looked up upon Rory's proposal, which had been much less stupid than her own idea, and she brightened, "That could be fun," she agreed.
((Ugh, this is so short. Sorry Loli.))
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Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:41 am
As Usagi responded periodically through Rory's otherwise-monologue, he couldn't help but find himself listening expectantly, as if he were waiting for her to say something. Was he... really hoping that she would invite him to spend Stocking Day with her family? The realization startled him as he had never quite acknowledged the feeling directly -- but yes, perhaps that was what his subconscious was hoping for! It was entirely presumptuous, however, so he tried hard not to be disappointed when the offer never came. By this point, he was quite aware that his feelings for Usagi weren't just platonic and friendly, but they weren't official yet. In fact, neither of them had acknowledged any sort of romantic entanglement at all! Pushing any lingering disappointment, he focused on her agreement instead. "Great! Yes, that's superb, I'm glad! It's a date," he nodded with a wide grin before realizing that maybe the word 'date' itself was rather presumptuous in itself. Actually, even though he had assumed this outing was a date, had they actually referred to it as such...? Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. "Err, or, it's a plan. If you want."
Feeling embarrassed, Rory grabbed his drink and took a big sip to ease the tension -- but the coffee had not cooled yet and was still scalding hot. He coughed and covered his mouth with the back of his arm as the hot liquid ran painfully down his throat. Setting down the mug, he blinked away the tears that had welled up in his eyes and gave a few more pathetic coughs. "Careful... It's... hot," he managed to get out weakly.
When his mouth no longer felt like it was about to burst into flame, Rory exhaled audibly and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry, I should have known..." he laughed softly at his own lack of judgment. They were only starting this date of theirs, if they were even calling it that, and he had already embarrassed himself enough for the week. He glanced across the table at Usagi and was struck by how pretty she looked in her winter clothes. If this wasn't a date, then he certainly wasn't helping his odds of one day changing that. If it was a date, then... Usagi had to be mad to be going out with a doofus like himself. "Usagi," he began slowly, leaning forward again so his arms rested on the table top. "This is probably a little forward of me, but I wanted to ask you something. About the two of us. May I?" A smoother man probably would not have asked permission, but Rory had long since accepted that he would never be considered smooth by any means.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 8:37 am
Her own reason aside, her friend had just given his own example as to why the coffee should left alone for the time being. "Are you alright?" he was coughing, and the whole ordeal just seemed a bit worrying. But of course he was alright, and that was made quite clear after only a moment, thank goodness. The last thing this outing needed was someone getting seriously injured. She returned to looking back down at her coffee, because what was she really supposed to say?
Why had things gotten so awkward between them?
She looked back up as she heard her name, "Yes?" Oh? Oh. He wanted to talk about them? Oh no, where was this heading? Had he finally had enough of the awkward direction there friendship was turning. Did he want to clear up that this was indeed just an outing between friends and nothing more? "Um, yeah..." it wasn't like she could say much else.
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:16 pm
Rory was nervous, probably much too nervous for a man of his age. He could recite a fifth of The Odyssey from memory, read newspapers in Tagalog, and actually comprehend quantum physics, but when it came to expressing himself, he was like any old insecure buffoon. For a moment, he went to take his mug in his hands, but his hands were beginning to tremble slightly with adrenaline, so he kept the mug on the table and instead wrapped his hands around the warm porcelain. "Well, uh," he croaked. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and tried again. "You see, I've been thinking about a lot of things this past year... About my job, my life, my social circle. I've heard that it's normal to do that sort of thing at this age -- we're getting older, afterall, and we have to start mentally accepting that -- but that's not important." He frowned at his drink. Why did he have to be so prone to tangents? Why couldn't he just say it, clearly and precisely and without unnecessary additions? Maybe he should have practiced ahead of time, but honestly, he hadn't planned on having this conversation just yet.
"As I was saying, uh, I, uh, have been thinking. About things that are important to me. Obviously, that's my museum, and my books. And Nat, too, and my parents, though they're so far away they probably should go into a special category of their own. And then there's my friendship with you." Should he have put her before Natalia? "We've been friends for a long time, and I really like spending time with you. I don't have a lot of friends, so I've been so thankful to have you. But, uh... lately things have been changing, or at least, I've been under the impression that they've been changing... We've been on a few of these.... I don't know what to call them. I've been calling them dates. What have you been calling them? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, um, it's been fairly... vague. So I want to clarify some things."
Taking a deep breath, Rory stared intently into his coffee, as he still couldn't bring himself to look up and see Usagi's expression at the moment. It was like he was standing at the edge of the diving board at the pool when he was eight, staring down at the water below. Back then, Nat had gotten impatient waiting for him and had climbed up onto the board too, despite the protests of the lifeguard, and gave him an angry shove off. Rory had gone hurtling into the water and got a pretty bad cut on his leg from hitting the surface at a weird angle, but he had felt a stronger person for surviving it. But there was no Nat there to give him a push in the right direction. This was something he'd have to do himself. He'd have to take the first step himself. "...I... I really care for you, Usagi. I think you're more interesting than any book I've ever read, and... I would very much like to make this official, if... if you'll have me."
Goddess that was lame.
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