1075/Relative Values of Okay

Relative Values of Okay
Date of Scene:	20 February 2016
Location:	Jadeite's Palace
Synopsis:	Makoto comes to visit Mamoru with lunch and uncertainty, and Mamoru convinces her that passing grades are the best way to flip off the Dark Kingdom and by god he will help her get them.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Makoto Kino

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Well, he certainly looked like he was okay, in the leadup to Nephrite's purification-- and then he was gone for a bit, and then there was stuff going on, but honestly the stuff going on was, while relevant to everything, not spectacularly so to Nephrite and Makoto's personal business, and he was still alive afterwards--

--but it's not until the next day that Makoto can catch Mamoru alone. Well, Endymion. Whoever. It's a good question, isn't it? The boys were calling him that, but Usagi didn't seem sad. He was in the armor-less version of his Prince henshin, not the tuxedo, but when they rescued him he dropped henshin right down to Mamoru's school uniform--

--but that was something he'd worn even as Dark Endymion, so really, who knows?

He's in a t-shirt and jeans at the moment, clothes Usagi brought him from outside, and he's where people can find him if they need him: back in Jadeite's place, sitting on the porch and leaning against a post, small brown-and-white cat curled up in his lap and e-reader in his hand. The glare from the sunlight reflects off his glasses, obscuring his eyes; there's no tension in his posture.

Makoto Kino has posed:
As for Makoto, well - she's had plenty of things going on to distract her, to say the least. And perhaps she's deliberately hung back up until now, letting Usagi and Mamoru have some space and some time they both no doubt badly need.

But the next day, after all of the hue and cry at and around Nephrite's palace has more or less settled, Mako descends the steps of the abandoned house and crosses into the tranquility of Jadeite's palace, coming up the path from the temple steps with a picnic basket in her hands.

When she sees Mamoru, she heads towards him, but stops a few yards away in the overlap between 'conversational distance' and 'generous personal bubble' and stands with uncertainty written all over her face and posture.

"...Hi," she says at last, after a moment or two of hesitation.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Mako-chan!" says the boy, honest cheer in his voice as he glances up, and the reflection leaves his glasses with the new angle. His eyes are blue and warm, the weight to his gaze that caused Rei to accuse him of actually being royalty present, but lightened, obscured. He turns off the e-reader and sets it down, then gently moves the sleepy cat off his lap so he can stand up. The cat protests mildly, then resettles in a patch of sunlight nearby.

When he unfolds and steps off the porch, he has a hand out, but doesn't move to touch: it's an invitation, not an impending intrusion. "I can't actually tell you how excited I am you brought lunch, I think we'd both get embarrassed. Are you okay?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
The welcome wipes away most of Makoto's uncertainty. She smiles warmly and comes the rest of the way to meet him; when he offers his hand, she shifts the basket off to her side to free up a hand to reach out in return. "I'm sure Usagi-chan's been bringing you things, too," she says, and her smile turns a little self-deprecating, "but there's no substitute for home cooking. I didn't figure you'd complain very much."

There's a very brief pause before she answers his question. "I'm okay," she confirms after that moment of hesitation. It's mostly even true. She's definitely better than she was around this time a week ago, and that was probably still doing better than several people - Mamoru among them - can claim now. 'Okay' is kind of relative. "What about you? Or... maybe I should let you have some lunch before I ask that, huh."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The hand taken means that Makoto gets pulled into a hug, quick and tight, which is not something Mamoru would have done before all of this. The hand taken means that Makoto gets a brief flash of warmth and presence, mingled with the sensation of being faced with a hastily-erected facade designed to interact with people, and the only hint of what's behind it is the incontrovertible knowledge that his affection for Makoto is real and true.

Endymion lets go and steps back, smiling crookedly as he gestures toward the grass: it's nicer to sit on for picnics. "There is absolutely no substitute, you're right. And eh, before lunch, during lunch. I'm not the same, but that's all right -- none of us are. There are a lot of things I need to work through, but they can wait until everyone's safe."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako's eyes widen in surprise when he pulls her in. With her hands occupied she can't hug him back the way that she'd like, but she leans into it gratefully. The contact is reassuring, even if not all of the feelings that transfer through it are.

"It shouldn't have to," she says regretfully, turning towards the direction of his gesture. "But I guess that can't be helped right now." And then Makoto closes her mouth before she can go any further down that road, focuses herself on unpacking the basket out on the sunlit lawn until she can smile without it feeling tight around the edges. "I'm really glad you're back," she says, quiet and earnest.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh my god so am I," Mamoru says fervently, dragging a hand rapidly down his face as he takes his glasses off, folds them up. He hangs them off the front of his t-shirt and laughs, shaking his hands out, then shaking his head. "I have so much school to catch up on, it's going to be a hard sell not to get held back. I mean even aside from all the evil, this whole business was really inconvenient."

He's only half-teasing. It's a real annoyance he can cling to, even if it sounds insensitive or ridiculous. "I thought of it last night, of all times, and it's been hard not to obsess about. I'm half tempted to try and take the exams without having been in class, but it'd tank my GPA even though I know I'd at least pass."

Okay, that is in fact straight-up Mamoru. So is the hand that slinks out to grab a piece of something before Makoto's finished unpacking.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Hey!" Makoto protests, but she does not actually smack his hand so he's allowed to get away with - well, there's a lot to choose from. It's mostly the Japanese-style home cooking that is Mako's idea of comfort food, so there are rice balls and anpan and bunny apple slices, along with some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, to go with the actual multi-level lunch bento and thermoses of soup and tea.

Despite the lack of a refrigerator, Mako's not really worried about leftovers. She's pretty sure Usagi or Jadeite or both of them will be along to help with that.

She does totally make a face at him over what she's doing, full of affection. "Sorry, I can't give you much sympathy about that. I don't even want to think about exams right now." It is safe to say that Makoto has not been studying.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The result is a hand briefly holding anpan before the anpan is in his mouth, and then Mamoru's giving Mako a getting-away-with-murder smugface around it as he chews and as she finishes unpacking. Nomf nomf nomf.

His eyes crinkle up at the corners as Makoto makes a face at him, and then he swallows and says cheerfully, "That, I can help with. If you want to come here to study. I'm trying to get some done while you guys are in school-- maybe I can get away with only having to repeat a term, or skipping ahead and then cramming it into summer vacation..."

He's as pale as Rei right now, and has been. At least that looks reasonable for him having been unwell, if that ends up being part of the excuse for missed school. It's just that for some reason, it looks even more off than it would have before.

Once everything's unpacked, Mamoru's automatically got a cookie in his mouth and is reaching for the soup thermos and a cup, eyes on Mako. (Nomf?)

Makoto Kino has posed:
With everything properly laid out and accessible for picnicking, Makoto takes a rice ball herself, hesitates over it for a moment. "...If it wouldn't be a bother," she says, after seeming to come to a decision about it. "You know what a terrible student I am, even when someone's trying to help me. I don't want to--" She stumbles over the words a bit, trying to find the right ones. "--to ask too much, or... be in the way."

It's the usual polite disclaimers, but there's real anxiety in her eyes that she can't keep from showing, despite the smile that lingers on her face. Looking down, Mako bites into the rice ball before she can keep talking any more.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Here's where Mamoru leans across the food, actually taking a moment before stuffing his face any more -- the rest of the cookie is in his other hand -- to gently rest fingertips against Makoto's wrist. It's reassurance, and it's also so she can tell beyond the shadow of a doubt that he's not lying. "It would help me a lot," he says quietly. "I love all of you, all of my friends. I love Usagi with all my heart, and she's been helping me so much; I love my brothers and they've been giving me support where they can, even before they're completely free. But--"

His fingertips slip off and he sits up, finally picking up the thermos and pouring himself some soup in one cup, then setting out another for tea. "I'm stuck here for now, where Beryl can't find me. I love these places, they feel right, but I know why they feel right, and it doesn't help my sense of what's real, what's now. I want to get back to where I'm connected. I want to touch the world. I want to be able to see with my eyes, and hear with my ears, all the things that helped me stay sane all the years that I didn't know who I was. Laugh if you want to, but school was a big part of that."

Makoto Kino has posed:
She looks up again at that touch, eyes widening a little with the beginning of a question - then sits quite still as Mamoru speaks, until he's finished.

And she does laugh, but quietly, and not at the idea of school being an anchor. After all, isn't that part of what keeps her getting up in the mornings to go even though there's nobody at home to make her? Not in quite the same way, but - Makoto can see his point.

"...Sorry," she says. Still smiling, a little shamefaced now, but the anxiety has eased again. "I want to help, but it's hard to know what the right thing to do is... or if there's even anything I can do, except show up with food now and then." She gestures with the bitten-into rice ball. "Since that's how you feel, then - sure. I'll bring my homework and we can both despair over my grades together."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"There's no reason to be sorry," Endymion says with a bright laugh, kind-eyed but terribly amused as he lifts his soup in salute, "and it's another big way of flipping the Dark Kingdom off, isn't it? All this stress and heartache they've been dishing out, and you'll still make it to ninth grade. Welcome to Chiba Cram School, located in sunny Jadeite-land, accompanied by a fuzzy lazy cat and, no doubt, Zoisite trolling from a safe distance. Bonus points if we can get Usako to participate too; she and Zoi make an excellent floor show."

He sips his soup with an almost comical delicacy before picking up a rice ball and impolitely shoving the whole thing in his mouth at once.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto almost sputters at that, and makes a very wry face. "I've seen that floor show," she points out. "I'm not sure I want an encore. I didn't even know Usagi-chan knew some of those words."

She lifts the remains of her rice ball in an answering salute, smiling back a little more easily than before. "I won't say no to anything that flips off the Dark Kingdom, though," Mako comments before polishing off the rest of the onigiri.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's the prince's turn to look abashed. He has the grace to swallow before he comments, "Sorry to say, she may have learned some of them from me."

He lifts a level out of the bento and starts to eat that, adding, "Zoisite was incredibly impressed, which probably means he will be looking for an encore. At least it won't be as violent as the one I healed him from when you guys went to get the key from his place. Just lots of her cussing and him laughing and ducking."

Makoto Kino has posed:
There's a little 'mf' sound around Makoto's mouthful of seasoned rice. She waits until she's finished chewing and swallowing to speak. "I was kind of hoping the swearing would dial down once we got you back."

She reaches to pick out an apple slice, regards the bunny-ears she cut the peel into with a noiseless sigh. "Well, I guess Zoisite just kind of has that effect on people," Mako allows, absently turning the slice over in her fingers before biting into it so that she's not biting the bunny's head off. That would just feel a little too weird right now.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Zoi cultivates that effect on people," Mamoru says affectionately, getting ready to stuff more food directly in his mouth. "Everyone's got at least one friend who does that... I mean, I used to make you want to punch me all the time. I could go back to doing that if you wanted," he suggests, straight-faced and earnest. And then so much food in his mouth, omg.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'd throw something at you but it'd be a waste of good food," Makoto observes with a laugh, and eats the rest of the apple slice.

As she's chewing on it, she pours herself a cup of tea out of the thermos. "...I'd really rather you didn't," she adds once she can speak clearly again. It's a ginger tea blend this time, rather than her favorite rose tea - mild, but warming and invigorating nonetheless. She curls her fingers around the cup and smiles lopsidedly. "I've kind of lost my taste for punching people who are supposed to be on the same side as me." As though she ever had a taste for it, particularly.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I won't," Mamoru tells Makoto seriously, but one corner of his mouth turns up. "But if you totally stop getting the urge to throw things at me, there's probably something seriously wrong and you should get Ami to check my head for mind control or internal bleeding." Then he waves his hands around for a second and pours himself more tea. "I'll try to stop being kind of disturbing, though. How about give me a rundown on what you last remember covering in your classes...?"