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Themisto, as his civilian counterpart Zachary, had appeared on the horizon just a few minutes past their designated meeting time. He was late, and he felt really bad about that. His father had slowed him down more than he had initially anticipated. Keeping his text open and the description of her clothing on the forefront of his mind, Zach sent a quick text to notKari:

hey. Look up. wink

sorry about being late - dad saw this thing on the news and got mad about me going out but I told him it was with a pretty girl and then he got madder. had to smooth everything over with pops.

He'd had a rough week - running from a General hellbent on killing him, space travel with Denebola, meeting with a little fuzzy cat... powered life was a busy thing and difficult to balance with civilian life, he'd come to find. Thank god he wasn't in school or things would be even worse.

Walking up to notKari, he dropped her a smile and a wink, offering a hand to help her up. "'Ey, I'm Zach. Nice to see you again."

One thing Zach immediately noticed was Kari -- no, Gale's -- mixed signals. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe she was just being friendly and Zach was just overthinking things. She did mention dating a girl... a Negaverse agent, no less. Yeah, she was just trying to be nice.

"I can dress myself pretty well when I'm not saddled with Stupid Shoe Syndrome." With a chuckle, he held the door open for Gale. "They've got some great salads here, you know, with the crunchy tortilla pieces in the different colors, and beans and cheese and avocado... does that sound good to you?"

Truthfully he had no idea until this point that Gale was vegetarian. Oops. If he'd known before, Zach would have brought her to a place that more readily catered to her dietary needs.

Ducking his head, Zach was a little embarrassed. "Things have been... okay. I met another senshi..." he explained, keeping his voice low in case of eavesdroppers. "I met another cat too, one that knows what's up. How about you, you okay?"

Upon entering the restaurant proper, one could seat themselves. Zach found them a booth to sit at, right near a bright, clean window. Menus were brought and Zach started rifling through it. "Pick whatever you want, my treat.""

Zach had to laugh at the pseudo-threat of being made into a poor man. He took out his beaten, tired leather wallet and placed it on the table next to him. "Well okay, the budget is $60, just don't go too crazy. Okay?" With a wink, he returned to his menu, trying to decide between a burrito lunch plate or a heaping taco salad in those crispy tortilla bowls...

"Been here a few times, I like the variety and it's pretty well-priced. For a soon-to-be poor man, that is!"

He nodded enthusiastically about the fried ice cream and put his menu down to wait for someone to come take their order. Luckily he arrived with an empty stomach and was more than ready to spend some time with Kari... no, Gale. He frowned in concern when she mentioned she would be 'more fine later.' What on earth did that mean?

He reached across the table to lightly pull the menu down from her face. "Ey... what's up, huh?" His look wasn't stern, but definitely said i don't believe you, something is on your mind.

Zach sighed and cocked a quirky smile at Gale. She was trying pretty hard to throw him off the scent and if she wasn't willing to talk about whatever was eating her... not much he could do about it. "Well all the food in the restaurant don't mean much if that lady's heart belongs to another lady. Heh."

He set the menu down, having decided what his stomach was craving. The waiter came by finally and took their orders with an apology for the wait. The lunch crowd was always fairly big in this establishment with its proximity to so many office buildings. Zach shrugged it off and sipped on the water the waiter had brought for them in the meantime.

"Well, Gale," It was weird, he thought, knowing her first as Kari. Of course she had a proper, given name. He did too, duh. "If you don't wanna talk about whatever it is, that's cool. Maybe you can teach me what ladies really want and I'll finally be able to go out and save a princess on my own, instead'a shriekin' like a lil baby and rubbing away from crazy-a** death rhinos... Bleh." Not his finest moment.

Zach couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of being paired up with a cat during a dating event. "I dunno, I've had some bad luck too. Once in high school, I was crushin' so bad on this really cute cheerleader but... she thought I was a real nerd because I'm, you know...." He gestured to his physique, which wasn't so impressive by shallow high school standards. "Anyway, we were in English class together, readin' Shakespeare and she was going on and on about how romantic it was and..."

The boy flushed a bit, an embarrassed smile crossing his face. "Well, I wrote her this poem, like Shakespeare, you know? And she... ended up laughing in my face and called me a total nerd and loser."

He leaned back in the booth and sighed heavily. "Then I've made eyes at four ladies since all this... Themisto stuff happened. All of 'em end up being taken. One of 'em was married, haha. Her husband gave me this hella dirty look hehe. Not that I blame him."

The waiter returned shortly with their orders, placing the plates before the two and offering drink refills. Zach happily accepted. "Maybe I'm destined to be the crazy cat dude, an old duddy spinster weirdo!" Now he could drown his dating woes in a delicious burrito plate. Yum!

"Yeah, not too shabby, huh? This place is pretty good about catering to a lot of different tastes, and it's just fancy enough for schmucks like me to afford to bring people to lunch." His burrito plate was divine - the perfect way to drown out failed romances and young adult sorrows in general.

He wasn't the cleanest eater, and when some sauce decided to leave the burrito early and smear on his face, Zach couldn't help but laugh as he reached for the napkin. "Just classy enough, like I said... I swear I don't need a bib!" Cleaning himself up, Zach was very pleased to see Gale enjoying herself, and was relieved she could find something to eat that both satisfied her hunger and fell within her dietary restrictions.

The girl's fingertips brushed his hand and he sighed, giving Gale a reluctant smile. "You know, you say all that... it's a surefire way to break a man's heart. I should probably start the Unlucky in Love Spinster Cat Club after this!" He laughed about it afterwords but felt his heart constrict a little. It would be fine... it would be fine.

He shook his head then. "Anyway, about this Stella gal. Where'd you meet her, again? I remember you said you wanted us to meet. She from school or somethin'?"

Zach immediately noticed the change in demeanor and kicked himself. He shouldn't tease people like that. He leaned down to catch a good look at her face. "Heeeyyy don't gimme that look. I'm just mopin', that's all. No hard feelings, okay?"

He gave her a wink, just in case.

Zach swallowed heavily when Gale reminded him that her beau, Stella, was part of the Negaverse. He'd completely spaced that bit of information, but it gave him an idea nonetheless. He seemed to nod confidently about it, almost as if he was excited to meet this agent that Gale was so fond of. "Yeah, I'd like to meet her too. Gotta see who made you go all googly! She better be impressive or I'll have to lodge a formal complaint, haha."

The boy laughed then, a genuine laugh. In his mind, he'd promised Kari that he would become stronger and return the favor of saving his life one day. Maybe that day was coming sooner than he expected.

With his fork, Zach pushed a small pot of salsa towards Gale. "Can't leave until you try this, and the fried ice cream too, you know."