InsaneJournal

Who: Tessa, Yumichika
What: a little 'getting to know you' coffee talk after his shopping excursion with Glenda
When: recently, beginning-to-mid flu epidemic
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!




After a hard day shopping, Yumichika usually unwound with a nice non-fat iced coffee drink. Today was no different, except for the fact he would have someone to talk to. That meant he wouldn’t be forced to watch his surroundings and note people’s outdated shoes and accessories. Bliss!

He had texted Tessa to meet him in a nice little coffee bistro that wasn’t dirt cheap, but not outrageously expensive either. He was on a budget after all. Even so, Yumi made that budget work and looked fabulous, no matter what the circumstances were.

Rent was three days overdue? Not a hair out of place.

Bank account in the red? Not so much as a trace of a blemish on his skin from stress..

Zombie apocalypse? Looking like the most well put together zombie, ever. Even if being put together and zombies were something unheard of, Yumi could make it work.

While he thought those thoughts, he waited by the counter in all of his well put together unzombied glory, with a gleeful smile on his face.

Tessa made sure that her hair was done, and she was dressed nicely. She got the impression that her coffee ‘date’ was the type of guy who would absolutely notice what she was wearing. She even did her makeup, nothing too over the top, and her overall look was classic, if a bit understated. Hopefully she wouldn’t make him weep to behold her!

She found the bistro easily, and stepped inside, keeping her eye out for the most well-dressed Asian man in sight, figuring that he would be it. As a bonus to being ridiculously easy on the eyes, he seemed to be in a good mood as well.

“Yumichika?” she inquired as she approached. “I’m Tessa.”

He so was. It was Yumi's habit to start from the hair and work his way down to the shoes, doing a total assessment and adding up the cost of that outfit, with deadly accuracy. This time was no different, but he kept smiling and didn't look like someone had rubbed a halved lemon in each of his eyes, then shoved both pieces in his mouth. In Yumi body language? That means she's not an eyesore.

Overall? Great success!

"Hello and that would be me," he cheerfully replied, offering her his hand and seemingly unafraid of catching anything. If he did, he really would die young and lovely, and there was nothing wrong with that. Even so, Tessa didn't look like she had even a trace of the sniffles. "Please, sit down! Let's chat about your predicament with your interior decorating. Right after you get some coffee in you, because I would perish the thought of even daring to talk about that, while being uncaffeinated. I should call over one of the wait staff."

Like he was aboard a luxury cruise and they needed service, stat, Yumi raised one hand and snapped his fingers. And kept right on snapping until a waitress got their butt over there, pronto.

"What will you have?" Yumi asked, like he'd just parted the red sea and looked fab doing it.

Being a paramedic, Tessa took great care to eat healthy, exercise well, get plenty of sleep--when she could--and take her vitamins to keep her immune system in top shape. Still, even being around hospitals as much as she was, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been sick.

She sat, watching quietly as Yumi summoned the server, and offering a smile as she ordered an iced, blended mocha. She didn’t worry about nonfat milk--she’d burn it off the next time she went for a run, or hit the gym, or lifted a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. “Thank you,” she added, though whether to Yumi for ensuring prime seating and prompt service, or to the waitress for being patient with them was anybody’s guess.

“So how did you get into the personal shopping business?” she inquired, “If you don’t mind my asking.”

"Victim of circumstance," Yumichika said, his voice rising and falling as if each word was a tragic sigh in it's own right. It was a momentary interlude in an otherwise bright moment, since he was having a great hair day and wasn't about to let a sour memory ruin it. That's why he smiled so brightly that he just about shimmered, such was the aura he exuded. "My mother and I liked the finer things in life. The problem is, that I did the work and my mom spent the money. Then I outlived my usefulness, and she ran back to Hokkaido for a businessman. It's pretty there, so I can hardly blame her for wanting to go home. She is getting old and she's likely senile, so it's not like she can help it."

Old, for Yumichika, was anywhere past the age of thirty-five. If someone hit twenty-eight, it was what he considered to be middle-aged. But he wouldn't say that to their faces unless it was a heated argument. No one wanted to be reminded of their inevitable downhill slide toward looking drab and run down. He was going to be incredibly depressed on his twenty-seventh birthday, and will require several spa outings and some hot springs, in order to feel an itsy bitsy bit better.

"Anyway! That's how I came across the idea of making money by being paid to do what I love to do. SHOPPING." He took a sip off his coffee and cleared his throat a little, before asking, "What is it that you do, if you don't mind my asking?"

He did tell a colorful tale, if a bit melodramatic. She’d never tell him how old she was, if he thought twenty-eight was middle aged. Suffice it to say, she was too young to be his mother!

“It’s always good to be able to do what you love,” she said, nodding as he concluded the story. “As for me, I am a paramedic. It can be a stressful job at times, but it can also be very rewarding. I suppose it was my way of following in my father’s footsteps without actually going into mortuary science?” She smiled a little, and shrugged her shoulders. “Less depressing most of the time, anyway.”

"Oh that can probably be extremely stressful. I suppose you have to look at live people at their worst, instead of mortuary dead people. Although they’re probably spurting blood all over," was Yumi's reply, like he sympathized with the mental picture and for the poor bleedy people of the world. Meanwhile, the sight of blood didn't bother him too much. As long as it didn't get on his clothes, because then he had to pull a full wardrobe change. It was such an inconvenience.

That was a moot point. He hadn't had to pull a full wardrobe change in a while. For right now, he needed to get some sense of the woman across from him, because she didn't have the easiest job and she seemed nice enough to not have to look at any eyesores. In fact, he made up his mind to help Tessa, even if she couldn't pay him.

"You definitely need a tranquil space afterward, to relax in," he said, still quite happy as though the thought appealed to him and because she seemed the type of person who deserved it. "What sort of things do you do in your free time? Outdoor pursuits, reading...any hobbies?"

Live people at their worst about summed it up. She didn’t really worry about looking her best, either, while she was on duty. Only about staying healthy, and doing her best to save lives.

“In my free time, I exercise, teach women’s self-defense, and--” This last was probably the part that would catch Yumi’s attention the most. “Sometimes I go dancing. Ballroom, salsa, jazz, clubbing--I enjoy a variety. I do swim, some, as well, but I don’t get to the beach as often as I would like.” As evidenced by her fair complexion.

He did note that she didn't bake her skin or cover it up with fake orange spray tan. He could fully appreciate that. Yumi did perk up too at the mention of dancing. He always enjoyed clubbing and made it a point to watch Dancing With The Stars on a level that was almost religious, such was his devotion.

"Oh really!" He sat up while sipping his coffee, pinkie raised, and seemed keenly interested. And not only in the dancing, though that was first and foremost. "I do find some dances more graceful than others, ballroom in particular. Even so, it's fun to dancing in clubs, even if some of the people are there to cause trouble instead of having a good time." He shrugged a shoulder like that sort of behavior was to be expected, adding, "If you teach self-defense, then you can handle yourself. So useful for your job and a night out. I love it. It is form and function."

Tessa smiled. “I took ballet lessons for a while, when I was a girl,” she said, “But I had a bunch of older brothers, so they taught me how to stand up for myself--and things just sort of evolved from there. But yes, I do enjoy dancing, still, even if my tastes have changed.”

"Ballet is very graceful and helps one maintain an excellent posture," agreed Yumi, looking and sounding delighted. "I'd imagine you're very useful in a fight as well! It's a pity that I didn't have any siblings, but I was always interested in kenjutsu? I had an uncle who was an instructor until he retired and taught me what he knew, in private lessons. I think yours is the more practical application. I would have to resort to breaking one of these chairs apart for a leg, to hit someone with it."

He winked at her and took another sedate sip of his coffee, looking very much like he'd never do such a thing. Only he would. And he has. Sad fact.

“How often do you go out to dance?” he questioned.

“Oh, I was just out at a jazz club this past weekend,” she said, remembering her impromptu sort-of-date with Thor. “I know a couple places that do salsa or ballroom or swing dance classes on a weekly basis, but I don’t always make it every week, with my work schedule. At least not at the moment.”

She shrugged her shoulders. There were just too many people falling ill for her not to be busy. “I guess I sort of alternate between the dojo and the dance floor.”

"Given the things you do, then I think that is to be expected," Yumi replied with a nod in the affirmative. "You must be incredibly busy with all the people who are sick. Moments where you're able to do something for yourself, other than dancing or coffee breaks, must be few and far between. You'll probably breathe a lot easier when all of this is over."

Tessa nodded. She was incredibly busy this time of year, with illnesses more prevalent in general, even without the outbreak of a frightening new strain of the flu. “Provided I am still breathing when this is all over,” she quipped, showing crossed fingers. “So far, so good.”

"I'm going to hope that doesn't happen to you. But if it does? I hope you turn a flattering shade of blue," Yumi said in his most reassuring way, because it wouldn't do if one turned an unflattering hue of purple or a hint of blotchy red. "I would be sad if that happened. You've been delightful company so far, and I want to redecorate your apartment with charming little accent pieces and move your furniture around, so you have good chi flow throughout."

In Yumi’s mind - not that he knew anything about feng shui - bad chi flow might clog the pores or cause something equally atrocious.

“Thank you,” Tessa said, trying to keep a straight face. “That’s very sweet of you.” Both for him to wish her to die as prettily as possible, and to offer his help. She knew he meant well by it. She hoped she didn’t die any time soon, though. “Is it...appropriate to ask if you would like to see my apartment before you decide how to redecorate?”

Yumichika smiled brightly, because - to him - it was the highest form of compliment to wish one to not look like a trainwreck when dead happened. Of course, he didn't want anyone to die soon or anything! Just not be found with their head in a toilet or anything terribad like that.

"You're quite welcome," he replied, finishing up his coffee and setting the cup down, like it was made of the most fragile glass. "And I would love to see it and get a feel for the floorplan. Do you prefer simple but tasteful, or a few interesting conversational pieces? I doubt you want me going on a furniture buying spree and wanting to replace every little thing. I can definitely work with what you have."

Tessa knew how unpleasant death could be. She could appreciate the sentiment.

She smiled. “Well, right now, my decorating is pretty simple. I wouldn’t mind a few interesting pieces, but I suppose it depends on the piece. But I’m sure once you get an idea for the size and feel of the space, we’ll be able to work something out. When would you like to come by?”

"I'm free any time, since I have nothing else to do." Yumi placed the fingertips of one hand against his chest. "Whenever you'd like. My work schedule is pathetic lately. Not only because of that terrible economic downturn, but because of cold and flu season."

“Well, how about I give you a tour when we finish up here?” Tessa suggested. “That way you can get a feel for it right away, and if the inspiration strikes, you’ll have something to keep yourself occupied with between jobs?”

"That would be wonderful. I'm all done with my coffee," he agreed, but looked entirely willing to wait, since there was no need to rush. "That's such a good idea, since that way I can keep my eye out for some nice decorative touches while I'm on other shopping excursions."

He lived to shop. Sad but true.

“All right then.” Tessa finished the last sip of her beverage, and stood to collect herself. “Shall we?”

"Of course. Lead on!" Yumi grinned, excited at the prospect of a home decorating side project.