Tori Crowe (lady_macbeth) wrote in freedomtownic, @ 2020-08-19 01:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | makoto kino (guardian0flove), tori crowe (lady_macbeth) |
Who: Makoto Kino and Tori Crowe
Where: Chloe's Sugar Shack
When: The day after this post
What: Sorta first date
Tori arrived to the Sugar Shack a little early, grabbing them a table and waiting. She was definitely feeling some first date jitters, even though this wasn't really a date. She had no idea if Makoto even liked girls! She could be setting herself up for a big bad blow here, but Tori genuinely liked the girl. She wanted to open up to her and, if things went well, see how they went. She was trying to not get her hopes up, but between the butterflies in her stomach plus the caffeine and sugar racing through her veins (damn Sugar Fairy Shooters were addictive, Ok?), she couldn't really help it.
A few minutes later, Makoto finally walked in. She wasn;t entirely sure what to think right now. On one hand, while she'd always felt a physical attraction to both genders, she'd only ever been vocal about boys and wondered what she was walking into here. But on the other hand... Tori hadn't even mentioned this being a "date"... just hanging out, like she'd do with Usagi and the girls back home. Yet... something about this felt like a date. And she found that the prospect of that being the case didn't bother her one bit.
So, unsure of what exactly this was, the tall, fit girl decided to wear something informal, but that would still make an impression if things were how they seemed. Ripped jeans and a snug baby tee that showed off her phenomenal abs made her stand out even among other dressed in similarly casual clothes, as she waved to Tori and walked toward her.
Tori smiled and waved back, and yes, Makoto did look good. "Hey! I got here a little while ago to make sure we got a table. Place has been packed since it opened." She wasn't shocked by that. The Van Warren sisters knew their coffee.
"Arigato, Tori-chan." Makoto said with a sweet, adorable smile, moving to sit down across from the other girl. "I'm so glad you thought of this. I haven't had a chance to just hang out with someone and have fun in such a long time..."
"You're welcome," Tori replied back with a nod, watching as Makoto sat down. "I'm glad, too. I need to get out a bit more myself. I've been kind of burrowing in lately." When school was in session, it did keep her pretty busy, but it was summer. There was no reason for her to be staying home all the time!
"My friend Ami was always like that." Makoto said with a fond giggle, truly missing the girls. "The rest of us would be planning something fun, yet Ami-chan would have her nose in her schoolbooks the entire time." She looked around, liking the overall aesthetic of the place. "I was so glad you liked the food I sent you though. After I did it, it kinda hit me that some people might take that kind of gesture as a little creepy."
"I'm not usually super bookish by nature, though. I guess it's just me taking time after a breakup." Tori wasn't super depressed, but she was still a little sad. Who wouldn't be? "And I thought it was sweet. You remembered me saying that I wanted one when you were able to open your place. I appreciated that," she added with a smile.
"You just... I guess in my mind you were too sweet and pretty for me to just stand by and let you be sad." Makoto told her, a light blush rising on her cheeks. "I've been sad a lot recently myself, and I hate knowing other people feel like that too."
"Thank you. I appreciate the thought." Tori appreciated it a lot, actually. "Is everything OK with you? Are you missing people from your home?" As much as she missed her mom, Tori was OK. If Mouse wasn't here, though, she didn't know what she'd do.
:My parents passed when I was very young. So my four best friends, Usagi, Rei, Ami, and Minako, became more like my family. And not having them here..." She gave a sad smile, "I don't really talk about it much, but I've never felt more alone."
Tori reached across the table and gave Makoto's hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry that they're not here. I know the easy thing to say is that they could always show up here, but it sucks feeling like your life's on hold until someone arrives."
"Arrigato. I'm sorry to hear about you going through a breakup." She replied, before adding with a smirk, "I've been single for quite a while now. Mostly because I got into a habit of comparing everyone I met in some way to my old boyfriend back home. Luckily I've managed to stop doing that as much."
"Thanks," Tori replied. "It's...getting better. One day at a time, you know?" Tori wondered if she should be single for a while, but she felt an attraction, so why not chase it and see where it led her? "It's good to learn to not compare. Has anyone caught your eye here at all?" she teased.
"Oh, yes." Makoto laughed, blushing again. "I tend to swoon over people pretty easily, to be honest. Mostly boys, but I admit that sometimes I'll see a girl that makes me feel those butterflies. The girl I told you about... Ami-chan? Oh, I had such a crush on her. Never said anything though."
OK, THAT was a relief to hear. At least she now knew that Makoto had some interest in girls. Not that she'd hate just having her as a friend, but damn would Tori feel dumb chasing someone straight. "Oh? Why didn't you tell her?" she asked.
"We were all a little younger. Honestly, the way we lived, we weren't even really aware of same-sex relationships. I mean... we knew they existed, but society always told us it was wrong or weird.... it wasn't until Michiru-sama and Haruka-san showed up that we saw that really... love is the same no matter who feels it." She explained, shrugging. "And by that point... something like that could've messed up the group dynamic, and we had responsibilities to keep the world safe."
Tori nodded. All of that made perfect sense, honestly. "It's good that you got to see that. I wish more people got to realize that. Love is love, whether you're straight, gay, human, supernatural, alien...I love that being here, everybody has the freedom to make those choices." She'd seen what happened when the supernatural community came out in her world. Sure, the anti's were a minority, but a minority can be loud and dangerous if they so choose.
"Between my guardian's daughter, and now you though? I don't feel so alone anymore." She admitted, eyes widening as she took a sip of her coffee. WOW. Somehow, it was extremely sweet, and extremely strong. "Wow, that packs a punch..."
She had smiled at what Makoto said first, but then let out a giggle after she tried the drink. "Yeah, the drinks here pack a wallop. I'm pretty sure Chloe first opened the shop simply because she couldn't get drinks that she thought were strong enough for her."
"I do like it here though." Makoto said, getting back to what they'd been talking about. "Even with the bad things I mentioned... my guardian and her family have been amazing. And it's actually easy for me to find clothes here! I was so limited at home..."
"Yeah, this place has all sorts of amazing things that I never would have seen at home," Tori agreed. "And why did you have such a hard time finding clothes?" Makoto looked like she would be a dream to dress!
"Well, I'm almost 5'10". Maybe not entirely uncommon elsewhere, but in Japan? Most girls my age are much shorter." She explained with a blush. She liked how strong she was, and what a good fighter... but at times her height did make her feel a little freakish.
"See, I have the opposite problem. I'm so short that I have to get all of my jeans hemmed," Tori explained. "I was sick a lot when I was young and it stunted my growth." Not that it stopped her now. She was tiny but mighty.
"Oh, but you're so adorable like you are!" Makoto giggled, smiling sweetly. She couldn't imagine Tori any bigger than she was. Her smallness was almost a defining feature, in some ways.
Tori smiled back at her. "I'm tiny but mighty. I don't mind being small. It's just inconvenient at times." She looked Makoto over for a second. "I like you the way you are, too."
"You know in school, I had to wear a different uniform than all the other girls? Because they didn't make the normal uniform in my size." She laughed, giving a sincere smile to Tori. "But between the other senshi back home, and now you... I don't even feel awkward about any of it. I just feel... like me."
Oh that had to be embarrassing! At least Tori's high school didn't have uniforms, or she probably would have been in the same boat. "I'm glad to help you feel good about yourself, though."
Makoto caught herself gazing at that smile for a second, and blushed. She was adorable in the same ways Ami was, but with the fierce confidence the Rei had. It was a hell of a combination, truthfully. "What about you? You asked me if anyone caught my eye... are you trying to stay single for a while? Or has someone caught your eye?"
"There's someone who's caught my attention," Tori admitted. "I'm thinking maybe I should go about things a little slower than last time. Let things develop naturally, you know?"
"You should always do what you feel is best for you." Makoto replied with a kind, caring smile. "And never be afraid to lean on your friends when you need strength. That includes me." She added, reaching over to squeeze the girl's hand.
Tori smiled, turning her hand over and squeezing Makoto's hand back. "I'll make sure to keep that in mind," she replied.