InsaneJournal

Tweak says, ""Put down the ducky!""

kondo kozue | 近藤梢 (anthesphoria) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2010-06-14 23:26:00

Entry tags:

keiichi, kozue

WHO: Kozue and Keiichi
WHAT: Present! A Present!
WHERE: Chagall Cafe.
WHEN: After Seiko's Dungeon.
WHY: Kozue cannot resist her compulsion to buy the world.

Kozue had been medicating her doubts and worries in much the same way she had done after other stints in Paradise—aside from her own—shopping and ice cream and cake. Of course, she had covered two out of three of those things in her own place in Paradise. So she was out for coffee and cake; she was also being productive.

At the used bookstore, when she'd meant to buy a Feel Better gift for Renju, or an I Regret That Your Head God Is On Vacation present (they didn't make cards for that), she had ended up buying... More things. For other people. At least, in a used book store, she hadn't found anything for herself, which had probably saved her some money in the end.

She'd texted Keiichi to let him know she had something to give him—and she'd gotten a piece of peach pie while she waited. With a side of ice cream. If Ito showed up in time, he could have some.

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anthesphoria
2010-06-17 12:16 am UTC (link)

This was either cute or stupid, or some combination of the two. Kozue was not entirely sure how it balanced out, in the end, but thought that probably it was stupi-cute. A bit more stupid, but ultimately okay.

"I really like chocolate chips. And strawberries." Oh, like the team didn't know that. She stopped to look at the book a moment. "And, Ito-kun, you do know what a girl asking someone that usually means, right?"

The answer was, obviously, no, if he was planning on either setting an alarm or having her come over in the morning. She was beginning to wonder if maybe being in Paradise had scrambled more brains that just Ishinomori's. As for the familiar address, well... They were familiar. Even if he was, apparently, too dense to get it.

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keiito
2010-06-17 12:56 am UTC (link)

"...Oh."

It was a moment of epiphany, really. Keiichi knew what that word meant, even. Sort of.

Perhaps the problem was that he sort of associated those sorts of things with the state of Dating. Whatever else was happening here, he was reasonably certain Kozue didn't want to revisit *that* particular disaster.

So, that made this a very much Not Date.

"I do, yes. Now that you mention it," he added, a bit lamely afterwards. "I would...rather like that, Kondo-chan."

He felt odd admitting it. The closest he'd ever come was when he'd been walking by and noticed half of the school admiring her rear end.

There was, though, no getting around the fact that Kondo Kozue was rather attractive. And a friend of his. And if dating hadn't killed their friendship, it was unlikely this would. Right?

"Would you like to come shopping with me," he asked, realizing belatedly it might be a dangerous question. "I need to pick up some ingredients. Like strawberries."

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anthesphoria
2010-06-17 02:50 am UTC (link)

"I've never had anybody respond with I'd rather like that," Kozue said, snickering a little bit. It was so... so polite, and so awkward. If Kou hadn't been, well, Kou, that would have been a thing she'd have expected to hear from him. "Don't be stiff or official like that. This isn't a big deal." She nodded, encouragingly, and made herself stop laughing.

"I mean, I want you to know that. I'm not asking you out again. If you ask me out again, I'm saying no."

That was harsh; Kozue knew even as she was saying it, that it was harsh. "I'm not… I'm not okay to do that with anyone, right now, some misguided attempt at love and romance? And besides, it tanked the first time. But we're really good friends. It's better if we're just friends with benefits."

"So, yes, let's go shopping." She'd be able to wheedle her way into more than one breakfast dish, that way, maybe. Omelettes? Crepes? Ooh, bacon.

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keiito
2010-06-17 03:12 pm UTC (link)

Keiichi blinked at her a few times. Yep, there was definitely something of a...disconnect was the wrong word, since they both seemed to at least be agreeing on these relevant issues.

She was definitely much more casual than he was about it, which made sense, since she was much more casual than he was in general. Which was slightly odd, when he thought about it -- traditional grandmother as major influence in her life, somewhat insane professional wrestler as major influence in his.

Maybe they were both rebelling.

"You're right," he said, quietly. "Remember the last time we spoke? I do like you, but in a..." It was hard to explain this point, really, especially since he didn't quite know what to say himself. "I...think that was sort of why it was awkward for me. I don't think I'm exactly ready for dating, either." The entire Misaki situation had probably made that abundantly clear.

There was peach pie he'd been neglecting. The only positive to this was that the ice cream had begun to melt, coating the crust with creamy goodness. He took a couple of bites that were smaller and politer than he'd have liked; in private, he'd have devoured the pie in four bites.

"Interesting benefits we have," he chuckled. He wasn't quite sure if she was in this for the food, or...other things, or maybe both. He liked to think that she could have good food when she wanted; her family was loaded, after all.

That, in turn, led to a string of "why me" questions that he decided to shove away for the time being.

"Alright, we're off," he said, grinning at her. "As soon as I finish this pie, that is."

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anthesphoria
2010-06-17 11:51 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, take your time," she said, waving slightly, "Don't wolf it all down and get sick, I can wait." Her pie, indeed, was maybe one or two bites away from done; she took this opportunity to go from maybe-one to definitely-one bite left.

"Don't be awkward, either," she added, after a moment. "That's just…" She stopped herself from saying such a beginner mistake, because that was beginning to imply all sorts of wrong things. "Nobody benefits from awkwardness, I'll tell you that."

Whether their benefits were interesting or quite run of the mill, Kozue was not saying; it wasn't like people didn't offer sex for other things all the time. It wasn't like Kozue hadn't done that on occasion. And it usually wasn't honest, either. This was, in her mind, a step forward.

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keiito
2010-06-18 12:09 am UTC (link)

"Thank you," he said, slowing down his pace a bit, allowing him to actually taste the peachy goodness.

He listened to her speak. Keiichi perceived a mix of chiding and encouragement in her voice, which was something he tended to read out of her a lot.

It was something that he really read from a lot of people, come to think of it.

"There's a certain innate awkward that comes with being Keiichi, really," he explained, and really, she'd been around him enough to know that it was likely true. "I'll avoid the benefits related awkward, though."

Really, the benefits being offered were rather nice. Especially considering...

"I don't know if I ever really said this when we dated, so it's kind of overdue. You're really hot."

It was a sort of...un-Keiichi moment, all told, but a genuine one. Dat ass didn't lie.

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anthesphoria
2010-06-19 06:34 pm UTC (link)

She laughed, her eyes squeezing closed, as she brushed another stray piece of hair back from her face. "Thanks, Ito-kun." It was sweet. Sweet in, yes, that kind of awkward way that, as she thought about it, she realized she associated with Keiichi now and again. Possibly less often than he thought it of himself.

It wasn't that she didn't know it, but this was not the way in which she usually was told she was attractive. Usually, it had more of an ulterior motive—or more spite—hovering about. And considering that Keiichi had already gotten what people usually had an ulterior motive for? It was less suspect.

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keiito
2010-06-19 09:18 pm UTC (link)

Keiichi had been right, of course. Kozue *was* hot. But there was more than that; she could also be really cute sometimes too. Her laughter made him feel that way, coupled with the casual brush of hair away from her face.

"Don't mention it," he grinned back, putting away his last forkful of peach pie. It had been quite good, but his mind was temporarily diverted away from food and onto other, even more pleasant thoughts.

"When you're finished, we can go to the Iburi Duper Mart," Keiichi said, "as it's probably closest to here. I haven't been there in forever...not since the day I ended up in Paradise."

He hadn't thought about that in a while, really. Paradise he more or less remembered, but the events leading up to him going in were a blur.

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