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Derrick sighed as he waited at the table near one of the windows for Key to come. They hadn't gone out in a while, and he was feeling guilty about it. He coudln't help it though, when winter time came around, he just seemed to shut down. Perhaps it was just winter depression, but he barely even wanted to go to work during those months. He kept wishing he lived somewhere where it didn't snow. He could take other natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes if he just didn't have to deal with the cold, gray, dead weather that was winter.

Alas, it was not to be. Though he would have moved later once he had saved the money up, he now was pretty much stuck here in Destiny City as a senshi. From what he had heard or at least seen in the information that the database provided, while there were other senshi out there, they didn't seem to do too much out of DC, which was just great. It meant he really was just stuck here unless they somehow managed to defeat the Negaverse in his lifetime, which he doubted.

And so he had practically been a hermit during the winter, and while texting Key the whole time, they hadn't really done much else together. He could only hope that inviting her for coffee so that he could apologize would smooth things over, if she was annoyed with him. He sighed and looked out the window. At least it was nice and sunny and warm outside.

Derrick saw Key as she walked in, glad that she had come, and was about to call out to her, when she noticed him and went right up to him and kissed his cheek. He still wasn't quite used to affection in such a way, and blushed a bit afterwards. At least it seemed that she wasn't bothered by them not getting together too much.

"Hey." He said, in greeting to her, still blushing a bit. He nodded in agreement about it being nice out. "Yes, I feel like I can finally do stuff you know? Finally try out rock climbing and such." He replied, grinning at her. "It's good to see you again, face to face at least. Sorry we couldn't do much this past winter, but it just shuts me down. At least now I feel like I can move my limbs without them freezing in place." An exaggeration of course, but that's what it always felt like. Unless one was doing a winter sport, such as skiing, then what could one really do outside unless it was freeze to death? And then of course he didn't have a car so he always had to walk to work, and he sometimes felt like impulse-purchasing one just so he could have the heater. Not that it would be worth it. His work was only a block away from his apartment. The heater wouldn't even be working yet.

"We had a ray of hope in March when it got warm, but then it decided to snow again in April." Sometimes he wondered if the Negaverse was behind global climate change. He wouldn't be surprised if they were at least. He nodded in agreement with her though, glad that she at least had the same ideas about the weather. "It's like the cold sucks the life right out. Though maybe for people who like it, it actually gives them energy." He grinned. "Maybe the snow is a way to drain energy from us warm-weather people to give to the cold weather people. Energy draining, in a different way." Though if the Negaverse was in charge of the weather and could actually make snow drain energy, he would be happy to march straight to their leader and hurt every agent that got in his way.

"I agree on the indoor sports. It's just... not the same as being outdoors." The sun really did make him happy, and of course the perfect weather was a sunny sky, perhaps with a few clouds, and a nice temperature, such as in the upper 60s. If only he could live somewhere that had that all of the time, life would pretty much be perfect for him then, weather-wise.

Derrick blushed at her suggestion, but nodded. He couldn't really imagine them breaking up so far. "We'll definitely have to visit each other next winter. I think I was just so drained from everything that in just wasn't good for me this time." Honestly it did drain him. He hadn't even powered up since about February. He would have to start going on regular patrol once again. "I'm sure we'll find something that will occupy us."

"The weather is getting ridiculous. It's like it's trying to give us all whiplash or something." Derrick muttered. It had been creepily warm in March, not that he complained. The weather was just screwy at this point. One had to wonder if they would be getting freak snow storms in the middle of July at this point. "I guess they just have to release that energy in some way." He shook his head at the people who actually liked the colder weather. "Spring and Summer for me thank you."

He shook his head in response to her question. "I've only looked at the menu. I was waiting for you to come before ordering. Since we haven't eaten in front of each other, I feel like this is a good way to get to know the other. Or at least dates having to do with eating are pretty common, and I'm sure that there are some things a person can find out about another just in the way they eat. As an example, someone who can't close their mouth while chewing or making weird grunting noises." He shuddered at the last example. He had a cousin who did that and it always ruined his appetite. "I know what I want though, so anytime you're ready we can order."

Finally they were both ready to order, and Key went first. Derrick looked at the menu a bit more before deciding on a simple veggie omelet and some coffee. He didn't want too much and didn't feel like filling his stomach with a bunch of grease from meat such as bacon or sausage.

He quietly thanked their waiter and sighed when they had finally gone, and turned to Key. He opened his mouth to say what had been on his mind, but ultimately closed it, deciding that another time would be better to talk about what he wanted. He didn't want to talk about his powered side while in a civilian coffee shop and powered down. Too much of a risk of some Negaverse agent hearing them.

Instead he said, "We need to meet more. I mean, I know we've just been talking about it, but honestly, I would really like to do more with you." Where was that coffee? He desperately needed something to stop him from talking nonsense some more. Somehow when he was with Key he seemed to blurt everything out compared to when he was with strangers or even friends.

"It's just... I'm really not sure how to say it, or even if I should, but I would like to get to know you more." Should he mention that he thought about making the relationship more serious? He wasn't sure. There had been a bit bothering him though about their relationship and he thought it was silly, but it was still eating at his mind a bit.

He was a senshi and she was a knight. He knew there were other couples like that, including one of the Senshi Princesses if he had heard correctly but it just seemed... like they were still so separated from each other, even if they were on the same side.

He nodded his head slowly, trying to calm down a bit. That had been such a big question to ask, though it really shouldn't have been that nerve wracking. He then smiled at her. "Thank you, really. But if we're going to do that, then we should pick something to do together first. Seeing a movie, doing something outside before the weather decides to change it's mood again, something." He pulled out his phone. "I have my schedule set most of the time, so if we just want to look up something to do together we can. Though if we don't have any ideas, then we can just text one another when we do come up with something."

It was then that their meals were brought it. Either they cooked quickly or they were microwaved, but either way Derrick didn't mind. He picked up a fork in his right hand and looked at her. "You know... I haven't been patrolling for a while. We could do that together?"

"A movie would be nice. Hopefully no agents show up and ruin it." He said, rolling his eyes a bit. They always seemed to pop up when one least expected it. Unless it was something brand new in the city by some sort of private organization. Then there was a 99% chance it had to do with the Negaverse. "Scary is fine. I like action too. And it depends on the romance. Princess Bride is fine, something like the romance in that new Jumanji too where it's just a side part of it but not the main part." He stopped responding for a second, looking at his plate and trying to figure out what movies he had seen recently, and realized suddenly that he just didn't go to movies himself that often.

"I can't say I go to a lot of movies, not that I dislike them, but I just don't go, so just about anything you want to see is fine. Though if it's a hard R then I would have to look at the description first." R-rated movies were usually a pass for him because he found them ridiculous in some way, either having way too much nudity to the point of silliness, or so much gore that one couldn't help but laugh.

"Sounds good though. We really should know each other's schedules a bit more. And I wouldn't mind getting out of my apartment more." He took the phone and went straight to the calendar on it, ignoring whatever apps there may have been on it. He really wasn't interested unless she wanted to talk to him about them. If she looked at his own, she would see a lot of step-game apps which he played when he needed a break from parkour.

He took out his own phone and typed a couple of notes, taking longer because he was doing it with one hand. "All right, I've written down the times that we could meet together and I can send you that." He replied, taking another bite of his omelette. It was a veggie omelette. "Good so far. We might have to come here again, if only so we can be lazy about making breakfast." He said in-between mouthfuls of food. "Though I would rather wake up at your place and make breakfast together." He really meant it. Home-made meals of any sort were usually better than what any restaurant could produce. And if he made them with someone he was fond of... it would turn out better. Probably. he hadn't done it yet so he wasn't too sure of it.

"Right. It's fine if it's in there, but they need to be well-written. Not on Twilight level of writing." Sure, there wasn't a whole lot that could actually be matched to Twilight in terms of awful, but they sure liked to skirt it! "Movie it is then. Hopefully they'll have something. Though if it's a movie either of us have seen before too but enjoyed, I wouldn't mind that either." Gore was out of the question though, especially since they would most likely have food with them. It just wasn't good to mix the two.

He nodded as he finished his breakfast off and once he could reply again said, "I like it. It's a plan at least." He liked plans, at least when it came to dealing with other people, even if he liked them. He took his time to finish his drink though. "I'm willing to walk around if you want. Or we can go to one of our apartments and plan something there. But I am glad that we got to meet up like this. It feels better than just knowing you're going out with someone in the back of your mind." And it was true, it had felt like that. He knew he had a girlfriend, but it was almost as though it hadn't been real. "Whenever you're ready, we can pay and go. I'll wait." He chuckled. He knew he had eaten his food fairly quickly, but he was hungry!