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Aha...m-maybe. [He closes his dorm door behind him.] But...I think they'll be okay in the mug. I wouldn't really...have much use for a vase after they die...

[He starts walking towards the exit, slowly so that he doesn't get too far ahead of Kokichi.]

In retrospect, maybe I should have put them in one of my flasks instead...they're deeper and it's not like they're getting any other use right now...

[Kokichi keeps pace with him, smile becoming something playful as he winks.]

I bet I could give it some use.

[It's not like he's only allowed to give you flowers once, you know.]

[Shuichi stares blankly at him for a moment. He's...what possible use could Kokichi put his flasks to? He's not a chemist, and magic is dead anyway oh wait he's talking about the vase, isn't he?]

[Yeah, he's probably talking about the vase. Meaning he's probably implying he'd get him more flowers...]

[What happened to not having to commit to anything, Kokichi?? Shuichi flushes a little bit and hastily looks down at the floor.]

R-Really, Oma-kun, it's fine. I thought you wanted to enjoy the festivities in town? Looking for a vase would just take time away from that, s-so...

[Kokichi laughs a little, the sound light and happy.] True, I did say that, huh?

[He moves his hand, hesitates a moment, then takes Shuichi's hand.]

Though first, are you hungry? We can eat before we do any wandering around. I heard Candlenights foods are reaaaaally good!

[Kokichi will find it easy enough to take Shuichi's hand, since both of them are just hanging loosely at his sides. Though when he does so, it causes the detectives cheeks to flush even darker.]

Um...I c-could eat, sure.

[He's not the only one blushing, but Kokichi still does his best to act totally natural.]

Let's go get dinner then! I think they have a general feast for Candlenights, buuuuuut I saw some cute little restaurants that should be less crowded to visit. So I'm gonna treat you to one of those!

[Because he knows Shuichi would be more comfortable in a less crowded environment. And the one he has in mind, he thinks, will probably have more food that the detective favors. So he starts leading the way with a gentle tug on his hand.]

M-mm...okay.

[He's not wrong...less crowded environments are preferable to something like a feast when it comes to Shuichi. So he allows himself to be led away without a fuss, though keeps his eyes on the ground as they walk.]

[Don't think Kokichi doesn't notice that. As they walk, he takes side glances towards him, just trying to gauge how Shuichi's doing or feeling, how comfortable or uncomfortable he may be...and while he doesn't do anything about the fact that he's keeping his eyes on the ground, he does try to make this less uncomfortable and awkward.

Because it's probably pretty awkward for the detective. He's sure that Shuichi doesn't feel even close to the same way about him, even if he agreed. This date was a mixture of wanting to enjoy the experience and wanting to try and see if he could catch the detective's eye at all, even a little...to see if it would ever be possible.

And so, he does what he does best. He talks to fill up the silence!]

Oh man, so I was looking around the other day to find a good place to eat at and ended up running into one of the guards. You know, those big cats?

[It is kind of awkward, yeah. But not as awkward as it could be. Because while he definitely does not feel the same as Kokichi...the leader is a very dear friend. It's not like he hates him or anything. In fact, now that Maki won't be around as much, if at all...he's probably the closest friend Shuichi has.]

[The detective looks up a little as Kokichi speaks, meeting his eyes for the first time since they left his room. His cheeks are still faintly pink.]

Um...yeah, I've seen them... [From a distance. He hasn't really spent any time in New New Aspen, even though the Moonbase is so close now.] What happened?

Well I wanted to pet it because who doesn't want to pet a cat? And, by the way, that was a great idea. They're suuuuuper soft, I highly recommend it. But I ended up getting distracted from restaurant quest because after a little bit of petting I started walking away and it saw the belts on my pants.

[You know. The dangling ones that sway when he walks?]

Guess what happened.

[Shuichi can't help but smile a little. Oh no...he thinks he can see where this is going.]

The cat started chasing your belt?

[Please don't tell him you got pantsed in the middle of the street by a cat.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:04 (UTC)

It did! Very successfully. [Shuichi might notice, now, that Kokichi is not wearing a pair with belts on them.]

It caught one of them in it's mouth and started trying to kill it, as cats do, and just tugged that leg out from under me. I fell flat on my face! And then it proceeded to lift me up in the air by my leg while trying to play with it!

[He's laughing as he retells the tale, clearly too amused by the experience, even if he ended up a little scraped up.]

I had to actually cut it from my pants to free myself.

[He did notice, though didn't think anything of it because he kind of figured it was because Kokichi was trying to dress nice.]

A-ah-- [That's actually a much less funny ending than he was expecting! And even though Kokichi is clearly okay and is laughing about it himself...Shuichi can't. He just looks worried.] Are you alright?! That sounds terrible...

[It...did make the situation less awkward though? So Kokichi did succeed in his goal, just...not the way he was presumably aiming for.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:22 (UTC)

Hah? [There's a moment of surprise on Kokichi's face before he giggles and waves his free hand.]

Don't worry, Saihara-chan, I'm fine! I mean, I totally thought I was gonna be cat food at the time, but just a few scrapes in the end, nothing to worry about!

[It may not have gone the way he expected, but that doesn't bother him any. Shuichi's unpredictable and he likes that. Plus...it'd be a lie to say that he doesn't like the detective worrying about him.]

M-mm...if you say so...

[He can't really argue the point, the evidence speaks for itself. Kokichi looks perfectly fine, he clearly didn't sustain any real damage from the attack. It just sounds kind of horrifying to be dangled upside down BY THE LEG by a giant cat.]

[It wasn't that horrible. It made him a little dizzy and totally ruined a pair of his pants, but it was an okay experience Shuichi. You should try it some time.]

Nishishi, I appreciate the concern though! It's nice to have someone worried about me for once.

[He gives his hand a little squeeze.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:51 (UTC)

[Noooooooooo thank you!]

[But Kokichi has kind of brought back the awkward again, his latest comment causing the detective to nod with one of his little stuttered noises of affirmation before looking back down at the ground again, cheeks bright pink.]

[You're welcome? He guesses? Though it seems odd to actually say you're welcome for something like worry...because concern isn't something you should have to be thankful for...]

[And yet he is, since a lot of the time people aren't concerned about him. But he's not going to elaborate on that at all, and instead launches into another conversation topic. This one is about all of the neat points of interest New New Aspen has that Kokichi discovered in his adventures. A little less worrisome, and something that maybe Shuichi would find interesting. He leaves out the fact that there's a cute book shop, since that's part of his plans for the evening though...but the rest is a good way to fill up the time on their way to the restaurant.

And it's a really quaint little restaurant that they enter. He wasn't kidding about less crowded, the cute hole in the wall diner having a cozy atmosphere and not too many people there. They're greeted as they enter and led to a booth seat, handed menus and a cup of water each before being left to decide on their dinner. Shuichi will notice, as he reads through the menu, that there are a lot of vegetarian options here. Most of the menu comprises of dishes made of mainly or only fruits and veggies, with pastas and the like as well. There's a decent selection of tea on the menu and both decadent looking as well as less sweet dessert options.

Kokichi gets himself a soup and an entirely too sweet dessert, plus some tea, and pays for both of their meals. He chats with him more during dinner too, about the food and the town and how much he misses Panta...he does his absolute best to make it a pleasant experience. Even if, predictably, there's some teasing and lying and playing with his food that definitely happens too. But it's lower key than normal. No food fights, no crocodile tears, no grand theatrics that attracts the attention of everyone present...just a reasonable amount of playfulness.

And he holds the door open for Shuichi as they leave, a satisfied grin on his face.]

Man, I kind of hope we stay grounded. The food here's pretty good!

Edited 2019-12-23 01:17 (UTC)

[Of course Shuichi finds information like that interesting, that's just the kind of person he is. So he listens to everything Kokichi has to share without interruption, becoming less tense the longer the conversation goes on.]

[Odd though, that Kokichi would pick a place like this...as far as he's aware, the leader is perhaps one of the very last people to pick a place with a mostly vegetarian menu. Mostly because he seems to very strongly dislike them and would exist solely upon junk food if left to his own devices. Which can only mean that he picked it because he somehow figured out that that's the kind of food Shuichi prefers. Because he's fairly certain he never actually told the other boy what kind of foods he likes. And that's...really very touching, honestly. Not wanting to put too much of a dent in Kokichi's wallet (since he presumably refuses to let Shuichi pay for his own meal when the detective suggests it), he orders a salad and skips on dessert, simply enjoying a fresh cup of hot tea while Kokichi indulges his sweet teeth.]

Mmm...I don't know if I hope we stay grounded but...I guess I wouldn't mind it too much. I haven't...really spent any time in the town before now but...it seems like a nice place.

[He did, indeed, figure that out, having paid close attention to Shuichi whenever they ate together just for cases such as this. And he did, indeed, refuse to let Shuichi pay. He encouraged him not to worry about price, but didn't push it when Shuichi ordered the salad and tea either. Whatever he wanted to do was fine by him.]

It's a pretty nice town. I mean I guess we don't have a whole lot to compare it to just yet, but the food is good at least. Better than some of the stuff Bender-chan serves anyway. [Dumb Panta ruining robot.] But there's a lot to do, too.

[Once they're on their way again, he once more takes the detective's hand. This time with a lot more confidence than before.]

There's a little bookshop nearby, even! Wanna go check it out? I found a couple of good mystery novels and romance books there, and they have these really nice journals and notebooks too. And they have actual quill pens! The kind you dip in ink! It's pretty cool.

[Shuichi laughs softly.]

Do you even know how to use an actual quill pen, Oma-kun? Isn't it a little more difficult than a regular pen? Oh, but...yes, I'd like to see the bookshop.

[Of course he would. Books are his favorite thing.]

I have no idea, but I'm willing to try anything once. Let's go give it a shot Saihara-chan!

[Once again he tugs him along by his hand, but gently and at a pace that he can keep up with. Not that it'd be too hard for the detective since he does have much longer legs, but he's mindful of it all the same. And it really is nearby, not taking the two of them too long to reach it at all. He lets go of Shuichi's hand so he can open the door for him again, the lovely smell of books wafting out as soon as it is.]

After you!

[It's a smaller shop, no shelves upon shelves of literature, but it still seems like it has a decent selection. Near the front is the stationery, including those quills that Kokichi mentioned on display and some very nice looking journals. There's a small area to sit and read in as well, though that's currently taken over by a group of kids who are enraptured by whatever story is being told to them by a kind, older looking woman.]

I don't think they'll just let you try it there in the store...

[But he allows himself to be tugged along anyway, and nods his head with a soft word of thanks when they finally reach the store and enter. He looks around, smiling fondly at the little reading circle going on over there. Cute. Very cute. Though he waits for Kokichi to enter too before actually going to look at anything. It would be kind of rude to just rush off and look at the books on his own...]

[It would be, but Kokichi wouldn't mind it. He doesn't mind that the detective waits for him either, however, and joins him quickly enough. And he can't help but smile at the reading circle himself, either. Kids...his one weakness!! They're so cute.]

So where do you wanna start first? The shop's pretty small so I bet we can check most of it out before moving on to our next activity!

[Really? His ONLY weakness? What about Panta? Sugar in general? The tall, dark-haired boy standing right next to him?]

Um... [He glances around the shelves once again before taking a step towards a shelf full of what appears to be fiction novels.] Over here?

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