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 Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 10:02 pm
Quote: Sweet Treats (5) : There’s no shortage of holiday themed popup shops and specials at your local places, and after a long day there’s nothing better than a nice treat for yourself. Maybe you decided to try something new, maybe it was a gift, maybe you got one of the coupons in the mail to try the place out–however you wound up with this drink, you’re in for a good time. No matter what your preferences are, the drink is delicious. Hot, cold, sweet, bitter–there’s a version of it for everyone. But, the flavor isn’t what makes the drink so special–it’s how good it makes you feel. There’s no alcohol in it, but drinking it can leave someone feeling tipsy, warm, and in a general good mood. Inhibitions aren’t lowered and there’s no negative repercussions for having the drink; it might make children more hyper, but the drink just has the ability to put someone in a pleasant mood. Sakura practically bounced as she walked on the way to the coffee shop. She was bubbling with both excitement and anxiety, anxious to meet the person whose eye she had caught, and had caught hers in return. They had only met while powered so far, and part of her was anxious beyond reason, worrying that she might not be as appealing as Sakura as she was as Ako. She had always worried about her looks, never feeling quite right or like she really fit in, and that never seemed to go away even with losing her memories. Her hair wasn't nearly as long and pretty as Sakura, for one, and she felt far less sure of herself. She shook her head to clear the anxious thoughts from her mind for now, heading into the cafe. Immediately she was enveloped by warmth and the delicious smells, and it helped set her at ease as well. Now all she had to do was wait and hope she wouldn't make a blunder of this. God she hoped she didn't mess this up.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 7:34 pm
Ei...was not sure how to feel about this. She hadn't exactly been on any dates since becoming a new person--but perhaps that was alright, given that Sakura was also new to...all of this. Just two people with memory loss trying to build something for themselves.
And it was with that mindset that she had psyched herself up for this date. Which shouldn't have felt so fraught; she and Ako got along wonderfully, so there was no reason Ei and Sakura shouldn't as well.
Still.
She scanend the crowd as she stepped in, and smiled when her eyes fell on Sakura. She looked a little different, of course, but....well. Still gorgeous.
"Sakura," she said, stepping over to her. ""Lovely, as always."
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:46 pm
Upon hearing her name, Sakura's eyes lit up and she turned towards Ei. Butterflies ran rampant and she smiled brightly up at the taller woman. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Ei was lovely, just as gorgeous as she was as Kaga. She nodded at Ei, feeling that giddy excitement bubbling through her. "You look gorgeous, Ei." Was this how it felt to like someone? This excitement felt so foreign to her and she wondered, in the back of her mind, if she had ever felt this way before. "I'm... really glad you invited me out."
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 9:14 pm
Ei had not thought herself inclined to the fluttery feelings of early attraction and affection, and yet here she stood, with a pretty girl in front of her, feeling her heart do a little skip of delight over Sakura being so glad to see her. Honestly, it was a little silly, but perhaps she was permitted a little silliness. Perhaps whatever perfection she had sought before didn't need to be adhered to quite so closely.
"And I'm delighted you accepted," she said, and she glanced around. "Let's get some warm drinks and find a table." She offered Sakura a hand, so they might walk together to the counter. "I'll buy, so pick out whatever you want." Her Negaverse salary and the extra money she made from private detective work would certainly more than cover the expense of anything from a place like this.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 9:33 pm
"Why wouldn't I? I really enjoy spending time with you." Was that too eager? Too obvious? How did one flirt anyways? Her heart felt like a little firework went off as she took the offered hand, her cheeks coloring. "Next time is on me, then." She tried hard not to seem too overly eager but god, reeling it in was hard. At the counter, she glanced over the menu and noticed a specialty drink for the season, ordering one for herself. "Seasonal drinks are always fun. What are you going to get, Ei?" Still holding her hand, she gave a light squeeze as she looked up at her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 9:56 pm
"Good," Ei said, "because I enjoy any time spent with you." It was a treasure, really. And frankly, if she appeared eager, interested....wasn't that for the better? Clear communication of what was wanted out of this little flirtation of theirs.
And there it was. The promise of a next time.
"That sounds more than fair to me," she agreed, easily. "And I'll look forward to it." And as many other "next time"s as they could manage, if they were lucky.
She took a moment to ponder the menu; certainly there were plenty of offerings, but her eyes drifted to the specials. "The same for me, I think, actually. I enjoy those sorts of things." Even if she usually took her coffee black, this was a special occasion, and special occasions were for indulging. "And perhaps a slice of coffee cake. That looks lovely. Any pastries for you?"
It felt so nice, to be able to take a girl out and treat her, and to have her flirtations accepted and reciprocated. It felt like...really moving forward, in a way she hadn't necessarily done before. Like truly accepting that she had a new life that was all hers, and trying to build on it. And doing that with someone else who was doing the same...well. She had certainly been lucky, that first night in October when she ran into Ako. She hadn't known it at the time, but looking back, it had been the start of something quite wonderful.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:03 pm
"No thank you, you're more than sweet enough for me." The words left her mouth before she realized quite what she was saying, and her face lit up with a dark blush as she stammered to try and save face. That was possibly the sappiest thing that had ever come out of her mouth and she wanted to fall into a hole. "I..... I can't even defend myself on that one..." She just hoped that Ei would find it at least amusing. When their drinks were ready, she grabbed one to hand to Ei, then took one for herself before nodding towards an open table in a corner by the window. "Shall we?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:14 pm
Oh, wow. Well then. Ei smiled, a little smugly, and brought Sakura's hand up to her lips to kiss her fingers, briefly.
"I hope you won't take it as an insult for me to get something, then, because it certainly isn't a mark against your sweetness." How cute, that Sakura was so flustered by her own bold words.
The spot Sakura selected was lovely, and she nodded as she took the drink and her slice of coffee cake over to the table, settling in.
"What lovely atmosphere," she said, "and the view is beautiful." Outisde and across the table, but she suspected if she said so, Sakura might combust. She took a sip of her drink, and immediately felt...warm.
Warm, and happy. But that was no surprise, was it?
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:36 pm
Sakura was fairly sure her face had never in her entire existence been this red, her ears even burning at this point. "Nope, not at all. By all means." Her heart was threatening to escape from her chest at this point and she was glad for the coolness coming off the window when they sat, letting it help calm what she was sure was a tomato like color on her face. She gave an apologetic smile to Ei over the top of her drink. "I uh. I'm new at this. Very new. I'm not sure I've.... actually ever been on a date before." At least not one she enjoyed. Because despite the gap in her memories, she was certain that she would remember this feeling. Taking a sip of her drink, Sakura sighed as it help calm her a little. Happiness seemed to melt throughout her and she gave Ei a bit more of a confident smile. "It really is, as is the company." She managed to not nearly implode this time, flirting with a bit more confidence. She could do this. She absolutely could do this and not make a fool of herself. She was sure of it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:25 pm
Oh. Well. There was something special, to hear that she might be Sakura's first date ever. Of course neither of them would ever know for sure, with Sakura's memories lost as the price of her choice to join the Negaverse, but...well. It did still make her feel special.
Perhaps she sohuld have felt some sort of way about the gap in their ages and experience--but she put those thoughts aside. Sakura could choose for herself what she wanted, in that particular department.
"That's alright. I can't remember the last time I went on one, myself." Surely she had, before, but...it was all gone. And what mattered was here and now, anyway.
"Oh, yes. The company is the best part." She took a sip from her drink, letting the warmth of it suffuse her, and couldn't help the smile that felt almost permanently affixed to her face.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:33 pm
It occurred to Sakura that she knew fairly little about the woman sitting across from her, though it wasn't as if she had had much time to get to know her what with gargoyles and snow creatures being the basis of most of their meetings this far. "Tell me about yourself, Ei. What do you do for fun, what sort of things do you like, I want to know more about you." Sakura smiled at her over the top of her cup as she took another sip, the smile not once leaving her face. She, in return, was more than happy to be an open book should the other ask the same of her.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 12:39 am
Ei raised her eyebrows. She supposed it was a fair question, all things concerned; and honestly, knowing a little more about each other would help.
"I like to watch a lot of procedurals," she said. "Law and Order, Blue Bloods, that kind of thing. It's all terribly unrealistic, but that's sort of the fun of it." She took a sip of her drink, and hummed. "I also do karate in my spare time, as a way to keep fit. My favorite food is takoyaki--there's a restaurant near my apartment that makes some of the best I've found anywhere." Perhaps she'd have to take Sakura there.
"And you? Tell me about yourself."
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 12:53 am
Sakura nodded as she listened. Those weren't her main type of show to watch, but she had seen clips here and there of them. Karate made her raise her brows in curiosity, but takoyaki being mentioned made her light up. "Okay but fresh takoyaki is a thing of magic, I'm with you on that." Her eyes glimmered with excitement as she took another drink. "Hmm. I don't really watch much in the way of TV, or at least I haven't as of yet. I do have a watch list I keep meaning to get through." She seemed thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "I'm not sure I have an all time favorite food, but tamago is up there, along with honey walnut shrimp. Takoyaki is to die for too though." She grinned at Ei, feeling a warm, happy feeling bloom through her whole body. "Before uh. Accepting the offer from Chal, I apparently kept a journal and wrote down important stuff. So according to that, I was born in Japan and grew up there for the most part. Which definitely explains my food preferences." Oh god, was she rambling now? She took another drink to hopefully stop herself from info dumping about herself needlessly.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 1:15 am
Ei nodded, eagerly. "Exactly. Perfectly hot takoyaki is a delight." And it seemed as if accommodating for their favorite foods wouldn't be hard--similar preferred cuisine. Perfect.
"What kinds of things are on your watch list?" It would do, for prompting a little more. And her expression became a little wistful, at the mention of where Sakura grew up. "I...no longer remember things like that, but I suspect I may have as well." She retained a fluency in the language that she wasn't entirely sure she'd have picked up growing up in the US, but then, perhaps she'd lived in a bilingual household.
Yet another mystery filed away forever.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 1:28 am
"You totally get it, I love that." She grinned brightly, then pulled her phone out and slid it across to her to show a note document she kept. "It has a little bit of everything on it. What We Do In The Shadows, Criminal Minds, Ghosts, a bunch of different ones. I like the more light hearted things, I've noticed. Life can be... too serious sometimes, so it's nice to escape from it. I've got a storage unit with a bunch of stuff from before, and I came across some older dvds in it too that I want to eventually watch. Firefly, the entire Tim Burton movie collection, a fair amount of movies from the late 90s and early 00s. I apparently was a fairly nostalgic person, if that's anything to go by."She felt a pang of regret for bringing up her past. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking..." She gave her an apologetic smile, reaching over to rest her hand over Ei's. Her hand was soft and warm, and the dark red of her nails shimmered in the light. She had wanted to look as nice as possible, so she had gotten her nails done and even done makeup for once, hoping to have made a good impression.
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