latchki | When it rains, it pours or something deep like that.

[Sanctuary. They are Safe, finally...breathing ragged, she bends over some with a hand on her knee while she tries to catch her breath.]

We...we did...I knew we could...

[Once she can breathe a little she gets up and makes a rude hand gesture out the window with a little laugh.]

Take that rain!

[Didn't take them! Both of them are just fine, if not a little cold. Her taunting finished, she turns to him and gives him a punch in the shoulder. Gentler than a real punch but still a little oomph behind it.]

Look at you! Getting us through that storm like that. Let's find a seat! I want a booth!

[Her mood has significantly lifted now that they're out of the torrent outside it seems, just grinning up at Hajime. Her cheeks, nose and the tips of her ears are red from the cold, wet hair clinging to her face and neck, but Natsumi seems happy as ever. Obviously pleased with their victory.]

Kuzuryuu!

[Don't make those kinds of gestures in public! Hajime makes a grab for her hand, trying to at least shield it before some unfortunate passerby trying to brave the rain spots them both. But he laughs as he grabs her hand, accepting that punch and just shoving her back, though a little more gently than she'd punched him.]

Alright, alright! Um...

[It takes him a second or two to tear his eyes away from her, mentally shaking his head. She looks really cute like that...? It should be Illegal. But alright, putting his Observe skill to the test. Not that it's a real skill or anything, just that he's trying to pay attention and figure out what the best place would be. Away from the cold window? Check. Booth? Check. Near a heating vent...? Jackpot.

With her hand once again secure, he tugs it, leading her toward the back corner.]

How's this?

[Is she really cute when makes those kinds of gestures in public? There's no protest to taking her hand, waiting patiently for him to find them a seat. She could help, of course, and who could pick a better seat than she can? But she likes asking him to do things for her. Which is usually how words like "we" and "let's" end up. Those are actually code words for "you".

But wow, look at this seating option! She appraises it real quick before letting go of his hand, working on unzipping her jacket so she can put her snacks on the table.]

It has my official approval! It's nice and warm.

[There's an unspoken "good job" added on as she starts stripping that jacket off once it's empty of its contents. Ugh goodbye water logged material. Hello to the idea of drying off. The wind breaker is discarded on one booth seat and she slides into the one opposite of it.

Aaaaahhhhh much better...propping her chin up with her hands, elbows on the table, she smiles up at him again. Though her expression is a lot more mischievous and teasing than before.]

As a reward I'll even let you sit by me if you want.

[It's cute if she's the one doing it! The gestures could stop, though. Or at least, not flip off potential random passerby.]

I'm so glad it meets your approval.

[It's said a little sarcastically, but he honestly is glad... He's pulling his snacks out of his pockets and hoping that they don't get in trouble for bringing in outside food when she makes her offer, and he can't help but stammer with a little surprise. Sitting next to someone in a booth when there's only two people...? That's what people do on a date, right?]

I-I... sure, if you want to.

[No, wait, that was the opposite of a cool reaction. Hang on, maybe he can recover this as he peels his wet jacket off.]

It makes sense to only get one of their seats wet, after all.

[Nailed it.]

[She could be nice here. She could focus on his cool reaction and totally ignore the first thing he stammered out. But then when has she ever been nice?

Natsumi slides over to make room, smirk only turning into a grin as she does so.]

Well I wouldn't have made the offer if I didn't want to. But I guess being polite like that is a good excuse.

[If the cafe has any problem with them bringing in food she could always threaten them a little! She's yakuza to the core after all!

...actually, she'd probably just pay them extra instead. This is a pretty small community cafe, and they are the ones who brought the snacks in. It'd only be fair, right? Then again, she saw their menu on the way in and their food choices looked pretty good...maybe she could get a slice of their cake instead! Eat that and not even touch her snacks. So many choices...]

So who's ordering anyway?

W-what excuse...?

[It's less a question than it is a mutter to himself. He's just slid into the booth next to her when she asks her other question, and he hums a quiet noise.]

I'll do it. Just let me know what you want, and I'll get it for you.

[Which... is honestly a terrible idea, because he's absolutely certain if they were to compare what their wallets looked like, his would be in the far sorrier shape. But... it seems right to offer.]

I like their kusamochi.

[Of course he does...]

[Well luckily, she was planning on handing him her wallet anyway. Because she knows yours is a poor, pathetic thing that needs all the help it can get. Which is what she does once he answers.]

Do you? Get enough for both of us then. I want some. Annnd a white chocolate macchiato, 20oz, with extra whipped cream. I saw lots of cakes in their display window too so get me a slice of chocolate. The icing doesn't matter, it all looked really good.

[Hmmm wait. She sits up a little, staring over at the counter in thought.]

You should see if they have anything hot and fresh to eat too. If they do I want it. And you're free to get whatever you want.

[Okay. Off you go cutie. Go order and bring it back like a cute waiter or something.]

H-hang on...!

[Crap, he doesn't have his schoolbooks with him! How is he supposed to remember shit like the size of her macchiato and what she wants on it?! This is the worst PTA he's ever had to go through!

He's counting silently on his fingers as she goes on, eyes widening a little. This seems like a lot! He's silently, abruptly glad that she's the one paying for it.]

O-okay, two orders of kusamochi, large white chocolate ma... yeah, extra whipped cream, chocolate cake, something hot.

[He's repeating it quietly to himself as he heads up to the front. He's really trying his best... so give him a couple minutes, and he comes back with two trays. There's two different paninis that he'd been told have fresh ingredients, the largest size white chocolate macchiato they had with whipped cream, two orders of kusamochi, and a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate icing. And a teapot of green tea with two cups.

This is basically dinner, but he's just following her directions...]

How's this?

[Snack, dinner, same thing right? She watches him the whole time, resting her chin in her hand again and just smiling as he repeats it to himself and then repeats it to the guy at the counter. And, surprisingly, continues to smile like that for his entire return trip! Once the trays are set down she sits up to inspect everything annnnd...]

Perfect! This looks delicious. Now sit down so you can start warming up.

[The first thing she's going to do is grab her coffee, taking a sip of it and following that sip with a satisfied sigh. Oh that's so good and so warm. She's going to sink back into her seat just a little in content. Yup, it's perfect.]

Thanks Hinata-kun.

[He passes her wallet back to her with a sigh and a shake of his head, laughing helplessly. He's honestly glad she's pleased with it! Considering having that many orders in his head, he'd been afraid of getting them wrong and disappointing her. That pause while she inspected it hadn't helped his confidence, either!]

I'm glad... I don't usually order anything so complicated.

[It's a bit of a gentle rebuke, too, because who actually asks their friend for something so complex?? (to him) But... he genuinely doesn't mind, and the small smile and nudge of his elbow against her side is indicative of that.]

But... you're welcome. You bought it, anyway, so I should be thanking you.

You're going to have to get used to it then. It's not like I usually eat commoner food like this. At least not when I go out anyway.

[She is a High Class Lady of the yakuza it's not every day that you get off this easy!! There's a gentle nudge in return as she takes another sip of her coffee and then moves on to a bite of one of those kusamochi. And she definitely talks with her mouth full a little.]

Mmm, this is pretty good. I'm surprised, I thought you'd have a normal taste to go with that normal face of yours.

[There's no comment on the fact that she bought it and no "you're welcome" in return. It's no big deal. Don't worry about it she's got you covered.]

Ah... right.

[Of course... she's the daughter of the biggest yakuza family in Japan. For him, it can sometimes be easy to forget that.

But the panini is warm, and he's freezing from his wet clothes, so he's going to take a bite of that quickly before pouring himself some tea. At the remark about his actual favorite food, he just laughs quietly through his nose again, swallowing his mouthful and glancing toward her.]

Well, if tastes good, doesn't that speak well about my face?

[He's definitely joking. He's fully aware that his face is as normal as his tastes. If not moreso.]

Hmmm...I wonder...

[With that, she leaaaans in close, even getting up onto one of her knees so she's just mere inches away from his face. Close enough for her breath to be on his skin, noses almost touching, and she just inspects him a little bit. Just gives him a long, hard, criticizing stare.

And then narrows her eyes a little playfully, her grin still tugging at her cheeks.]

I guess maybe it's pretty nice.

[Do you want to kiss her maybe? Huh Hajime? She's so close! This is a perfect opportunity!]

[As soon as she's leaning in, he's realizing he's made a Mistake. His eyes go wide as she leans in, and he can't quite help but lean back, just a little. His breath catches in his throat, and she's close enough that he can imagine he can feel her warmth against his wet skin.

Whether he wants to kiss her or not, he's not stupid enough to spring something like that on her. Instead, he clears his throat, a hand coming unconsciously to his tie to adjust it. His cheeks are flared brilliant pink from a flush that he can feel, and knows there's no way she hasn't noticed.]

T-thanks...

[She can... lean back now? No, wait, he knows what to do. He reaches past her to grab that kusamochi and hold it up to her lips. Still awkward, but at least now there's some kind of barrier between her face and his.]

[But maybe that was the whole point of leaning in! Maybe it was to tempt you into signing away your life with a single kiss!

She's definitely noticed the blush, taking that in with satisfaction, and the tie adjusting? Hajime you're so easy. But...that sure is kusamochi being put up as a barrier between them. What's with this? What are you afraid of? There's a pause as she flicks her gaze down to mochi and then back up to the boy's eyes...

And then, without breaking eye contact, slowly and carefully takes it from him with her mouth.

Following that though, she sits back down, taking time to finish the sweet without saying anything. Though surely she has something to say...]

[Oh god. If anything, his cheeks only darken when she takes the kusamochi from his fingers with her mouth, at once embarrassed and... honestly a little attracted. He'd be way too self-conscious to ever do anything like that, but here she is, treating it as if it's no big deal. And staring at him while she does it.

Save him.

He clears his throat again, still fiddling with the knot of his tie before going back to his panini.]

Um...

[Okay, but how does he break this silence.]

Is... the coffee good...?

[That's the difference between you and her. She's bold and brash and willing to do anything that couldn't potentially ruin her reputation. Flirting with a guy definitely isn't on that list so...]

It's good. I like their macciatos, they aren't bad. I might have to drag oniichan here in the future to buy me one.

[Well...and also so they can just have an excuse to go out and do something together. Talent hasn't found her yet after all, so she's gotta be even more assertive until it does.]

So if I asked you to feed me, would you? You seemed to enjoy that.

I'm, uh, sure he would.

[Let her drag him here, anyway. Not that Hajime's ever met the guy, but there's no way even a SHSL Yakuza could say no to her... right?

His blush had just been starting to fade while they spoke about something normal, and then she has to go pull something like that. Immediately, he's flushing again. This is it, this is his life now.]

C-c'mon, give me a break. There are people watching!

[Im... plying that he'd be fine with it if they weren't in a public place? Even if said public place is nearly empty, and the back corner table he'd picked was rather secluded, it's still way too daring. People would talk! If they saw.]

B-besides, you're the one who decided not to take it from me to eat...

[He definitely can't say no to her. Or well, he can, but eventually he caves.

But oh la la so you'd do it if you were alone, huh? How naughty, Hajime. Thinking of her like that!]

You were the one who put it up to my lips! I assumed that's what you wanted me to do.

[SHHH HE'S A PURE BOY DON'T GIVE HIM THESE ULTERIOR MOTIVES!!

Even though it's true. Ugh.]

Y-you're the one who leaned in that close! What else was I supposed to do?!

[Except he's getting a little loud, because he's flustered, so he forces himself to lower his tone.]

L-look, don't worry about it, okay?

There were a few things you coulda done. You could have pushed me away you know. Or asked me to sit back down.

[Just leaaannning against his shoulder.]

Or been cool and kiss me. That was an option too.

[Sitting back away from him, she takes another sip of her coffee as she starts to decide what to really dig into first. Probably her panini.]

Now you've shown your hand though. You're into feeding your lover. No way I'm gonna forget that.

[Come here you delicious sandwich.]

[He just lets out a quiet, strangled noise right in the back of his throat. K-kiss?! It's true the thought had crossed his mind, but there was no way he could do something like that in a place like this!]

S-shut up...!

[It's more an embarrassed hiss than anything else, and he just shoves panini into his mouth, his face a study in not looking at her.

That's it, that's all he's got, apparently.]

[There's a bump of her shoulder against his and once she's swallowed her bit she leans over a little to try and get a look at his face.]

Jeez you're so easy. I'm just teasing, y'know. If you kissed me before meeting my family oniichan would definitely kill you. I wouldn't put you in danger like that!

[Natsumi...that probably doesn't help anything...after a bite of cake she adds:]

Plus we're still in school and I don't know if you're sneaky enough to do something like that without anyone knowing. He'd kill you for that too.

[Going right back to teasing...]

[That doesn't help at all!

He just grumbles a little, because his mouth is still full. And then coughs, because he shouldn't try talking when he's shoved nearly an entire panini in his mouth?? Like a loser.

Once he finally manages to swallow, he bumps his shoulder back against hers, still flushed a deep pink.]

I'd be more afraid of what you'd do to me. You're really tough all on your own, you know...

[But wait, hang on. He knew her family was almost definitely more on the traditional side, since, well, yakuza. But...]

H-hang on, does that mean you can't date anyone until you're out of school?

[That sounds like a lot of pressure!]

Good. It's good to have a healthy fear of me. I'd be scared of me if I were you too! And probably, but like I give a fuck about that. It's just dating after all. It's not like we're running off to get married or making babies.

[Another bite of her cake. This is really good...chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was a good choice, it's the perfect amount of sweet here.]

There are some things I can argue with him on, and he'll just have to deal with us dating if he has a problem with it. If we aren't, some other girl might think it's a good idea to ask you out and then I'd have to be the one doing the killing.

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