Paris. When Mamoru had texted her last night with 'how do you feel about Paris', Kyouko had been pretty sure he was joking. Like, she had just given him some annoying news, he was like 'Tokyo is trouble, how do you feel about Paris'- an off the cuff joke. 'I'm in', she had said. Joking.
WELP. Turns out the Prince of the godamned Earth doesn't joke about things like jaunting halfway across his dominion on a lark when he feels like he needs a break, and it turns out that when one of his Shitennou says she'll go, there's no getting out of it. Well, truth be told Kyouko didn't protest too hard. There was definite appeal to the idea. It's just.. Paris. In France. In Europe. Kyouko has never been more than 100 miles from her hometown, let alone outside Japan. Let alone to another part of the world altogether.
It's wildly intimidating for her. She is used to being in control, to knowing her territory, to being able to survive. At least Mamoru would be there, and likely Kunzite and also Naru- people she trusts. That makes it easier. And hey- maybe it'll even be fun. Maybe it's a chance to leave behind the considerable baggage in her life and be somebody else for a day- a tourist.
Perhaps it is for this reason that Kyouko has chosen to dress a little uncharacteristically. She is normally a very practical clothes gal- t-shirts, tanktops, jeans, that sort of thing. Sure she owns skirts, but they seldom make an appearance (outside of her henshin outfit, anyway.) But today, for Kyouko, it's a cute ruffled skirt which ends just above her knees, red stockings, and a button-up long-sleeve blouse with a collar. She even has a little purse clutched in one hand. She even has a little makeup on. In fact, she may be thinking of this rather like a Date- Naru is there, after all. I mean, so is practically everyone else she knows, but hey. It can be a Group Date.
Similarly un-Kyouko-like is the way she clings to Naru's arm, once they arrive, wide eyes peering about them. "So this is Europe, huh.." Her uncertainty showing through in her voice as she walks alingside her girlfriend, holding tightly to the other girl's arm as if she expects the savage Europeans to suddenly try and drag her away for being Foreign.
There are so many ways that Naru has next to no self confidence, and in many of them.. she's not /exactly/ wrong. She is new to her magic, and she's still getting the hang of tactics and fights and how to make all of that work out better than it has been lately.
There are also ways that Naru is confident and comfortable and dealing with the normal world, even in a foreign country, is easy for her. She even speaks (badly) a little bit of french. She's navigated Paris by herself before, and this time she gets to show some of her favourite bits to Kyouko.
Not the hours in the art gallery bits, she /likes/ Kyouko.
Naru leans in to drop a kiss on Kyouko's cheek. "This is Paris. Europe is about as specific as calling Japan, Asia." She explains and then gestures. "C'mon, you'll be more settled with some pastries in you."
Keeping with tradition, and twice makes a tradition, right? Usagi's hair is down. She's wearing the same pink coat from last time, too. It doesn't do much to keep the chill from her legs. Neither do the white stockings. But hey! She's in Paris and she looks cute.
Luna's head pokes out from the purse, taking in the scenery and enjoying being a purse-cat. Today she's just a normal kitty owned by a normal - if not eccentric - girl.
Usagi's just come out of a wig shop. Though it grows slower when she's not depressed, she still needs to trim it down once a month, and several months worth of ten to twelve inch shanks of hair adds up. (Some longer because she's sometimes lazy! And because some of it's left over from when she did have to cut her hair every day.)
Virgin well cared for blonde hair fetches a pretty penny. Or Euro!
And of course, selling hair is hard work. Pastries! (And some fancy pate for Luna.)
She spots Naru and Kyouko at the same little bakery Endymion had stalked her to last year. "Hi!"
She waves her arm and trots over to them, signature odango missing and hair nearly brushing along the slush. She bumps into a few people and apologizes in broken French. (Apologies for bumping into people are essential when one is clumsy! For everything else, there are translator apps!)
Fortunately, there aren't too many stink eyes!
Kyouko has lots of self-confidence in her own realm. She is, however, bad at being a fish out of water. Though she does have enough spirit to snap lightly back at Naru, "I know it's Paris, I just meant.. I ain't never been to this part of the world before, that's all.." She subsides with the kiss to her cheek and the tempting with pastries. "Pastries would certainly help." Of course, there's almost no situation when pastries don't help.
She doesn't relinquish her hold on Naru's arm as they proceed down the sidewalk though, her eyes having a sort of slightly-wide, mildly shell-shocked look as she peers around. It's not even that everything here seems very strange to her, though the buildings and people do look distinctly 'foreign'. It's more just the knowledge that she is on the other side of the world from home that she's having a hard time processing.
"There are so many gaijin." She whispers to Naru- forgetting, it seems, that she is the gaijin here.
Then she hears a call and turns to see Usagi trotting towards them. She nearly doesn't recognize the girl for lack of odangos, but heck, that might go two ways with her dressed like girl. "Hey, Usa-chan." She says, with a smile. She too, by the way, is mildly regretting the decision to wear a skirt simply for the reason that it is 37 degrees in Paris today.
There are some distinct advantages to speaking a language that you can be fairly certain almost no one on the sidewalk can understand, and the ones who might are more likely to think they've misheard if there's oddities.
"Yes, love." Naru points out with a flicker of a smile. "We are in /their/ country, not the other way around." She gives Kyouko's arm a squeeze. "I found the transition easier when there was a thirteen hour flight involved, cause by that point, you are basically so grateful to be out of an airplane that everyone here could be purple and you wouldn't care."
"Hey Usagi!" Naru lifts her free hand to wave to Usagi as she nudges Kyouko in that direction. "Croissants? I'm getting a chocolate croissant and you can't have any." She declares to Kyouko pre-emptively staking her claim on the buttery pastry.
She's close enough to just hear 'thirteen hour flight' and comes in gushing. "Oh, I loved the plane! The flight attendants were so nice! When they weren't too busy they let me watch them prepare stuff! And they had a bunch of good movies!" She gave a sad sort of sigh. "I kinda wish we could have flown here again. Oh well."
Then she perks up! "Oh, croissants sound yummy! They also make really good eclairs!"
Kyouko would have literally gone insane on a 13-hour flight. Literally. She probably would have leaped out of the plane (she could probably survive this, even if the very notion might kill Naru).
"Right, right.." She says to Naru, with a slight self-deprecating chuckle at the thought that they are in another country. Still so very weird.
She blinks at the talk of chocolate croissants and eclairs.. pausing (though still attached to Naru-arm) and peering at the items in the window of the bakery they stand outside. She can't read any of the labels. So weird. She points at something that looks like it positively oozes some sort of apple filling. "I'll have one of those!" She says.. then ahems, side-eyeing Naru. "You'll order it for me, right?"
Then she adds, to Usagi. "You should show us where you got me that awesome coat last time you were here."
"I can't say that I /loved/ the plane." Naru considers a little. "I didn't mind it through. I did a lot of drawing and dozing and reading. It was boring, but not too bad." She laughs softly. "If we'd flown, we wouldn't be back in time for school tomorrow."
Naru tugs Kyouko's arm gently, to head into the bakery. "Yes, I'm ordering for you. Possibly for Usagi as well if you two get a table for us. What do you want to drink?"
Usagi perks up! "Oh, yay! Here!" She hands over a small wad of Euros. "Can you see if they have something for Luna?" There is a meow from her purse. "And oh oh! Hot cocoa! Extra whipped cream! Maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon!"
And then Usagi is pulling Kyouko to a cozy table. She chooses one side, of course, giving the couple their own side to snuggle up on. She sets the purse on the table and Luna crawls out to hide in the chair between Usagi and the wall.
Kyouko heaves a sigh of relief, as if she actually thought that Naru would force her to try and order when she doesn't speak a lick of French (or even English, beyond a smattering of words picked up from TV and slang). She perks up in an almost comical reflection of Usagi at the mention of hot cocoa. "Hot cocoa would be amazing!" She enthuses, perhaps suddenly making Naru feel unsettlingly like she's dating her best friend.
Luckily the doppleganger effect is passing, as Kyouko strains to give Naru a kiss on the cheek in thanks while Usagi is pulling on her other arm, stretching her out for a moment until she successfully lands the smooc hand then allows herself to be dragged across the shop to the booth.
She settles into the side across from Usagi, by the window, peeking across to see Luna crawling out on the other bench. "Hi Luna." SHe greets, with a small grin.
There is no fear that Naru might mistake who she's dating and she leans into that kiss upon her cheek. Which makes her smile.
The shop keeper is oddly relieved to be facing a single japanese schoolgirl rather than a trio of them, and the ordering involves a mix of terrible french, almost passable English and a lot of charades, including pointing. Plenty of pointing. Ultimately, money is exchanged for goods and there's 2 hot chocolates, one coffee, an eclair, a croissant, an apple pastry and a tunafish sandwich on a tray. And a bottle of water. The likelyhood of Luna wanting coffee is slim.
Naru is careful as she navigates it back to their table and distributes out treats to sustain them for the rest of the day. "I know we're planning on shopping some, and then I want to show Kyouko some touristy stuff, what are you hoping to do, Usagi?"
Luna meows a hello to Kyouko. She's gotta stay in character!
In the middle of tugging and pulling, Usagi'd forgotten to answer Kyouko about the coat. "Oh, I know right where that is! And maybe the shops and things are having sales again!" She hopes so! "I can show you guys!"
And Naru's back! Luna hops onto the table and meows at Naru in appreciation, a kitty grin and closed eyes showing a happy kitty!
Usagi shrugs as she helps distribute things. Luna scoots the top layer of bread off her sandwich and starts delicately eating the shreds of tuna. "Oh, I'm not sure! Last time I wasn't in the best of moods. There was a lot of stuff I didn't do! Maybe the Loovray!"
Kyouko, proving that Naru does indeed know her pretty well at this point, looks much more settled and much more herself (skirt notwithstanding) with an apple pastry and a hot cocoa in front of her. She grins toothily as she attempts to pick at the gooey treat and transfer portions of it into her mouth without getting it on her nicer-than-usual shirt.
"This is fuc-" She pauses, looking around. High-class today, Kyouko, remember? (even if nobody here speaks Japanese). "This is effing delicious." She amends, and no doubt somewhere Kunzite facepalms. Soon her fingers are sticky and she might have a hot-cocoa mustache, but the shirt is clean and she is looking very much more relaxed.
"The what-ray?" She asks of Usagi, peering at her curiously. "I wanna see the Eiffel Tower. And I want crepes. And french bread!"
"I was here by myself when I was last here." Naru comments as she sips her coffee, relaxing into her seat and leaning ever so slightly into Kyouko. She watches Luna pick delicately at the sandwich and glances to ensure that no one at other tables are about to freak about the cat on /their/ table. "So I spent /hours/ at the Louvre." She apparently can translate out of Usagi. Years of practice.
"I didn't go see the Eiffel Tower though, so I do want to go see that." Naru giggles softly at Kyouko's amendment in her speech patterns. Because so many people followed the japanese, totally. "France has good food. Weird food and sometimes /tiny/ portions.. which was fine when I was here last, cause I didn't eat much yet. Hunh." That thought clearly wandered from internal monologue to external and she shrugs. "Crepes.. oooho. yes. Crepes."
Usagi's eyes and mouth go wide. Ooooo, Kyouko almost said a naughty!
She nods at Naru at the correct pronunciation, mouth too full to answer Kyouko directly.
"There's also the artisan stalls. Sometimes they're on the bridge, but I'm not sure if that's an every day thing."
She sips her cocoa and uses the saucer under it to pour some water for Luna. Little ripples float across the surface as that tiny pink tongue laps rapidly.
Kyouko drops f-bombs like it ain't no thing under normal conversational circumstances, but they're in France and she's dressed up, so she'll talk like a lady and just say 'effing' today.
"What's the Louvre?" Kyouko asks, peering at Naru, because she might have corrected the pronunciation but nobody actually told her what it is, and she's not the type to be up on foreign art museums, even world-famous ones.
She looks mildly horrified at the notion of tiny portions.. but then grins as the idea of crepes seems to hit home, at least.
"For like, jewelry and stuff, and clothes?" Kyouko asks Usagi with mild interest at the notion of artisan stalls. There have to be some souveniers bought if they came all the way to Europe, after all.
"One of the biggest museums .. anywhere really." Naru explains to Kyouko as she finally gets to eating her chocolate croissant. "Apparently it has more than art in it, but I spent the whole day in there, and barely scratched the surface of European art. I could probably spend a week in there and still want to spend more time." She grins to Kyouko and adds. "And I figure that you'll be crawling the walls bored out of your skull in the gallery in about fifteen minutes and I'd rather spend the time /with/ you, so more Louvre another trip for me."
Naru seems just quietly confident that this is not going to be her last trip to Paris, she's got time.
"Jewlery, clothes, little knick knacky stuff." Naru oohs softly and nods to Kyouko. "I found a couple shops I want to show you too, when we get to shopping."
Usagi shudders at the memory of those tiny portions... Thank goodness for vending machines and bakeries!
She nods with Naru's assessment of the stalls. "Pretty much a bunch of everything. I got the girls some handmade jewelery from one stand."
Kyouko isn't usually the jewelry type, but she seems vaugely interested- knick knacky stuff means there might be something cool and offbeat she could get as a reminder of the trip, and the sideways glances she is giving Naru indicates a possible sneaky desire to buy her girlfriend something- a desire which is probably not so sneaky due to Kyouko's lack of ability to be sneaky about anything.
"I would go to a museum with you." She says, haughtily, completely not addressing the fact that while she would go, she would absolutely be crawling up the walls in boredom after fifteen minutes- at least until she found the room with the arms and armor, which would probably occupy her for a while.
"Have you seen Mamoru and the guys?" She asks Usagi curiously. Everyone had split up shortly after they had arrived, although there had been talk of possibly getting back together for dinner. Because a big group dinner in Paris would be fun.
"Mmmm hmm mmmm." Naru answers noncomittally on the notion of Kyouko accompanying her to the museum. A fact which she has no doubt would happen, but there's more fun to be had for both in other places.
Naru licks chocolate off her fingers as she relaxes, letting Kyouko ask after the boys while she goes digging into her satchel for her sketchbook. Because of /course/ she brought her sketchbook to Paris. She takes a sip of coffee and then notes. "I might be willing to go up the Eiffel Tower if I don't completely freak out at the very idea when actually looking up at it. I bet the view is /amazing/."
"I'd suffer through a museum if Mamo-chan wanted to go, too!" The huehuehue is implied.
Usagi shakes her head and pulls out her phone. "Nah, I wandered off to sell my hair." Because having a subspace pocket full of about twenty or so feet of hair isn't weird... "I had to go to a few places so they wouldn't look at me too weird, but. Mamo-chan's been texting me silly pictures!" She preens a bit, happy with the ridiculous images now on her phone.
Luna looked up from her sandwhich and sighed, speaking quietly. "Usagi dragged me to four different places to sell her hair."
Usagi tilts up her nose. "What? Virgin hair goes for a lot! And its not like I can sell it all at one place! They'd think I cut off people's hair!"
Kyouko is finally getting around to cleaning the pastry bits off of her fingers and wiping her mouth, having realized if she's not going to curse in public in Paris, she probably shouldn't look like a slob either. "We should totally go up. I'll henshin and take an awesome picture from the very top." She grins to Naru, not above teasing over the girl's fear of heights.
Then she looks at Usagi. "You sold your hair?" She asks, looking mildly off-put.. then mildly jealous. She recently lopped off a ton of hair herself, and she never even thought to sell it.
THen her eyes narrow. "How did you convince them it was virgin hair?" She asks, s ounding suspicious.
Someone is blocking his location because he's a jerk and he's on the approach with two partners in crime. That someone's hesitating in front of the cafe because he remembers it. That someone reaches out hands to the boys flanking him to reassure them that it's only a memory, and he's about to get the opportunity to fix it, so it'll be all right.
Then this someone boldly pushes the door open ans swaggers in. Big black rayban sunglasses obscure his eyes, his hair is spiked, and his clothing is a very scenester type of outlandish: a leather jacket studded with grommets and small spikes, sleeves pushed up to reveal full sleeve tattoos; a slightly shredded black t-shirt with the London Calling guitar-smash album cover on it, with chest and neck tattoos visible through the slashes and above the neckline; a heavy-linked and padlocked chain necklace hanging down over the front of the shirt, piercings up the sides of both ears and a pierced septum and a lip ring; knuckle tattoos that read 'LOVE' and 'JU-ST-IC-E'; fairly tight leopard-print pants and a studded belt, and mid-calf scuffed Doc Martens.
He literally swaggers into the shop and his gaze scans it judgementally, and then his gaze lands on the girls at the table. He smirks like he looks like he thinks he can go home with all three, and approaches it. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi c'est soir?" he practically purrs at them in a low and grindingly sexy voice.
Behind the Unthinkable Image, Kazuo looks ... more or less like Kazuo. Black wool coat. Scarf matching the hints of red trim. Dark slacks rather than jeans. Long white hair worn the way it always is. Expression that suggests that he might just possibly be here for a secret mission to track someone and take them into custody, and if so, that person is doing their best to embarrass the hell out of him at present.
It is exceedingly unlikely that anyone is actually noticing anything he says or does right now.
Zoisite is hanging back, trying very hard to not look like he's going to bust his gut laughing. This fails utterly when Mamoru asks his question in French, the slighter of Mamoru's 'partners in crime' doubling over in helpless peals of laughter. As opposed to Mamoru's ridiculous hyper-punk getup, Zoisite is dressed every part the classy androgyne. Wearing a decently warm peacoat in a relatively neutral color helps that, as does the subtle makeup he's wearing.
Just because he's not overtly trolling like his Prince does not mean he's not still trolling them himself.
He sits down, shaking his head at Mamoru and letting out a small, wheezy chuckle. He has to wipe at the corner of his eyes delicately and starts humming... something. It might even be caused by what Mamoru just asked, if you know the reference.
Usagi shrieks at Kyouko's question! "No no not like that!" So many helpless giggles to cover the furious blush on her cheeks. "It hasn't been bleached or dyed or anything is what it means!"
And then there's a shadow over her. Her eyes widen at the sudden intrusion and she looks up at...the sorta scary guy.
And then! Indignant Gasp! She's seen Moulin Rouge! (Of course she has.)
Indignant, enough so that she doesn't notice the two who came in behind him, she stands, chair scarping on the floor. Unfortunately, she doesn't know how to curse in French...the closest she can come up with is an entirely different language that a certain someone taught her while bored. "Che cavolo!" She pulls back her fist and aims! "Vai a fare un bagno!"
She doesn't know what cabbage has to do with anything, and, well, the guy smells nice, but ordering someone to take a bath seems to at least get the intent across and is stronger than telling him to get lost!
There is a blink from Naru as she watches the trio arrive and then there's another blink. And possibly a third and Kunzite's assessment that no one is noticing him is basically perfectly accurate. She's only half noticiing Zoisite for the moment /too/. She is starting to giggle, though, her expression one of utter delight and she manages to set her coffee down without incident.
Which is a mercy as that's about when Endy comes up with that perfectly accented French line and Naru might have dropped her mug if she hadn't as she starts to laugh harder. She mostly gets a handle on her giggles to be able to get back to just a smirk, an utterly mischievious smirk and a broad wink in return.
And then Usagi gets all indignant and aiming a fist and she scrambles to reach for her to not start a brawl in a cafe..
Kyouko is about to ask Naru if she can get another pastry or something, when.. this guy in the most 80s outfit she has ever seen walks up to their table and says something in the local gibberish. Mamoru (not to mention everyone else present), gets to see another miracle-Kyouko's eyes slowly widening in what can only be described as comical panic. Look, she's not the type to let anybody intimidate or push her around, but it's a combination of being in an unfamiliar place, in clothes that make her feel slightly less tough than normal, and that all-consuming panic of being addressed in a language which you do not understand even a tiny little bit.
"Uh.. ah, um," Eyes darting, cheeks suddenly burning, she all but hides behind Naru (who luckily is sitting in the outside seat of the bench.) "Quick, tell him I'm gay!" She hisses urgently, then stammering, "I-I mean, that we're dating and I'm.. y-you're.. you know what I mean! I don't like leopard-print!" She's shaking Naru's arm. "I'm not available!".. a beat. "..and neither are you!"
And then Usagi is acting the tough one, getting up, and Naru is laughing, and Kyouko just looks so confused and she looks at Zoisite. And then she slides down and hides under the table.
The sorta scary punk guy just starts getting this shiteating grin as Usagi stands in a tower of indignation -- the Italian insults earn the chortling Zoisite a raised eyebrow -- and then her arm pulls back to sock him, and he takes a second to admire her form but critique the fact that she's telegraphing her moves, and as her punch sails forward and Naru starts scrambling up, the boy's hand flashes up impossibly quickly right before Usagi's punch lands.
Fist to palm as the boy catches her hand and wraps his long fingers around it, and at the same time, his other hand's coming up to pull down his big sunglasses to reveal ocean blue eyes, sparkling with mischief.
Fist to palm contact, and he stops blocking himself psychically from Usagi and his Shitennou, and that shiteating grin gets even more full of troll. "Odango Atama," he says in Japanese, in his normal voice, "I am super flattered. And equally pleased that you're willing to take such boldly confident steps. But that was totally Italian, we'll have to teach you cussing in a jillion languages."
And then he turns that sidelong grin at Kyouko and Naru. "Naru-chan your girlfriend is adorable. Not as adorable as mine, but definitely adorable."
"If Kyouko decides to punch you," Kazuo says to Mamoru, "I am not getting in her way." He rests his hand on the back of Zoisite's seat for a moment, surveying the assemblage, making certain that murder is not about to be attempted before he risks trying to find a chair he can fold himself into. It's always a question, with this group.
"...Is this how she was toward you when you guys first met? Calling you a cabbage and telling you to take a bath?" Zoisite asks between snickers, resting his chin on his hand. As if he wasn't the one who taught Usagi those things in Italian. "There is a shared border," Zoisite says lightly to his prince. He peers down at Kyouko under the table and grins.
"I'm pretty sure you're safe from him, and I know he knows your relationship status." Though Mamoru just made that statement utterly redundant. Though the crippling laughter doesn't give the impression of it, he's perfectly willing- and able- to defuse a situation if need be. Probably with less drama than if Kunzite did it.
Usagi blinks as her fist is caught, and then it almost feels like what happens when you're walking upstairs and think there's one more step then there really is.
And then, ug! That name! She puffs out her cheeks and starts pinching at him after he's done talking to Naru. Then the pinches turn to tickles! "I don't know how to say 'you're a buttface' in French, you Jerkity Jerk-faced Jerk!"
But, well, it's impossible to stay mad, or even pretend-mad as she tried to hang onto near the end, when he calls her adorable and is in such a happy mood that she'd nearly punched him.
Luna, probably predicting her seat will soon be taken, scurries under the table and finds a Kunzite shaped lap to sit in.
"I think we're safe, love." Naru comments as she watches Kyouko slie under the table and then she starts to giggle anew. Her attention goes over to Mamoru with a brilliant bright grin. "I /know/ right? And she's going to kill me dead, in my sleep, for giggling at her." The fact that she's still giggling, and peering back under the table again says that she's not /so/ worried about a revenge killing.
"I can see that /Endy/ is having a good time, how about you two?" Naru asks in the direction of Kunzite and Zoisite.
Kyouko does not come out from under the table.
"I'm going back to Japan." Comes her sulky-toned words from somewhere under the wooden surface.
"I get to laugh at this walking disaster zone, so of course I'm having a good time," Zoisite says with a rakish grin and a jerk of his thumb towards Mamoru. "He's hilarious and watching people have no idea what to make of King Ultrapunk With The Weird Accent, let alone two people accompanying him, one of which acts like a hired bodyguard..." As opposed to, you know, soul-deep, no-real-need-for-pay bodyguard. "...And someone who they can't tell if they're dealing with a pretty lady or a very feminine man?" Yep. Snickering.
"But we can't find an excuse to go to Italy and get you gelato if you go back to Japan, Kyouko-chan!" Zoisite's tone is aspartame-sweet and twice as disgusting, artificially chirpy.
Luna's leap into lap is sufficiently expected not to wind up in a horrific accident, thankfully. Kunzite glances down, possibly at her, possibly at Kyouko. Whose assertion he doesn't protest. "She has a point," Kazuo says gravely to Naru. "In Paris, there are no cards. I'm giving serious thought to the possibility of setting up residence and commuting to work."
He may or may not have started petting Luna somewhere in that last sentence.
Mamoru does a hell of a lot of protesting squirming as Usagi starts tickling him, and since she's still standing up, he turns her around as fast as he can, steals her chair, and pulls her into his leopard-print lap with his arms linked around her waist. "You guys can go to Italy on your own," he grimaces, "I am not short-hop teleporting with you, oh my god. Trains for me. Traaains. So next time. Not this time. This is only a day off."
He reaches over to steal something from someone's plate and holds it out under the table for Kyouko to take, and then half cranes himself down-- braced so as to avoid making Usagi uncomfortable-- to whisper, "Also I need to kick Kunzite in the shins so you may want to get out of the way. I'm sorry for calling you adorable."
Usagi is happy with her new seat! She perks and looks up at Zoisite with large, wide eyes. "Gelato?!"
And then...but woe! Gelato? Stay with Mamoru? Gelato? Stay with Mamoru?
This conundrum is repeated softly to herself as she subconciously shifts her balance to remain perched as Mamoru speaks to Kyouko.
Luna purrs on Kunzite's lap and butts her head against one of his hands. She looks at Mamoru from under the table and gives him a slow 'I adore you, human' kitty blink.
Suddenly she gasps and leans toward Zoisite, holding up a small Crown Royal satchel. "I sold a bunch of my hair. I have souveniere money!"
Kunzite's words make Naru close her eyes as she laughs anew, shaking her head. "Now you're just trying to tempt me." She grins as she reaches for her coffee, glancing back under the table again. Where the last of her chocolate croissant has been pilfered to offer to Kyouko. "Hey! That's my croissant!" She frowns a little, although she can hardly protest it's loss. She ate slowly at a table with Usagi AND Kyouko.
"I like the trains too, Endy." Naru comments. "That's how we went to Austria last time, and it was beautiful. Better time of year for looking out the window though."
Kyouko hunches in the rear of the table near the wall. Her face is scarlet. When Mamoru leans down to offer her, as it turns out, the last of Naru's croissant, she hesitates like a timid squirrel and then reaches out to snatch it. Omnomnomnom, it vanishes in a spray of crumbs.
Then, (Heeding the warning about the kick), she slowly crawls her way back up onto the bench next to Naru, although her face is still red and she's still wearing a somewhat sulky expression. "I'm not adorable." She insists, adorably, linking her arm with Naru's and turning her head away from Mamoru with a coquettish 'hmph'.
Only a little spoiled by the crumbs on her chin.
And a glance across the table at Zoisite. "I think two foreign countries in one day is beyond my capacity."
"No, you're badass and tough," Mamoru reassures Kyouko as she comes out from under, after giving Luna an affection little smile (even if it looks weird with the piercing). "Sorry bout your croissant. I can get you another," he offers Naru, then grins about the trains. "Well, you probably wouldn't mind the teleporting nearly as much as I do. Out the windows would be pretty grim around this time."
All this and he seems to have forgotten he was going to kick Kunzite in the--
--nope, there it is. "You're not commuting. Delegate cards to someone else."
Zoisite elbows Kuznite, giving him a mild glower that promises much more doom over this idea. "And leave me to herd our Prince at odd hours?" he hisses, elbowing again.
"Italy's not all that far away, and... well, teleporting ''would' be a bit more convenient to get there... depending on your point of view." He gets up to go get coffee and a light snack.
Naru leans in close to Kyouko as she emerges, even if she's polished off the last of Naru's croissant and there's some soft words spoken there. A kiss on the still blushing cheek and she gestures a little. "The last time I was in Europe, I didn't have magic, and trains were the only option. They were a good one. I can't sit and draw while you folks teleport."
"Zoi? Could I have another coffee while you're ordering, please?" Naru calls, because Zoi ordering will require less charades than she did.
"Ow," Kunzite says duly, deadpan as ever. Luna-petting continues without a hitch. Tribute must always be paid. "Very well. No commuting and no trains. Not until sometime suitably more scenic." And, if they're sticking with the trains, sometime they're actually legally in the country. There's no border officials at the palace entrances.
He glances to Kyouko, to Zoisite, to Kyouko again, and manages -- visibly only barely manages -- to keep from saying anything that would get him elbowed a second time. "Of course not," he says to Zoisite instead of saying anything ill-advised about Italy. "Odd hours are Nephrite's job. Which is the real reason not to; I remember how hard Makoto hits."
Usagi squeaks as the kick jostles her. She clutches onto Mamoru's knee for dear life, wiggling back up against him.
"I'll herd the prince at odd hours!"
She's not helping.
Luna turns her attention to Kyouko after extracting her claws from Kunzite's thigh. "You are like the tiny bat protesting touches for you are the night in this moment."
Usagi calls after Zoisite. "Oh oh! Can you get me another eclair? They're yummy here!"
Mamoru tilts his face down into Usagi's neck after she says she's going to herd him at odd hours. He hides his face for only a moment, though, and then he lifts his head again. "Naru, Naru. You can sit and draw when you get there. Those two--" he points at Kunzite and Zoisite, "--are a lot better at teleporting than I am. Plus they actually like it or something."
He doesn't seem to want coffee or an eclair.
Kyouko is finally starting to regain some of her normal color (which is not the same as her hair, thank you) and look a bit more relaxed, shifting a bit on the bench and nodding her head to Mamoru. "That's right. And don't you forget it." Then Naru kisses her cheek and whispers something in her ear, and just a little of the color returns. She shoots the girl beside her a look, which is half warning, half affection.
"What the hell did I do to deserve the lot of you?" She mutters, and it's impossible to tell from her tone whether she is saying it as a good thing or a bad thing.
Probably a little of both (though the smile toying very gently at the corners of her mouth suggests more the former than the latter.)
Naru looks utterly innocent as Kyouko shoots her that look. Innocent. Completely. She grins and gets up to go help Zoisite with the tray of requests for snacks and drinks, returning it to the table.
"So other than shopping which Endy has clearly already gotten to." Naru looks around as she resettles. "Anything else fun I should make sure to show Kyouko. Eiffel tower is on the list already." There's a grin for Endy. "The train is relaxing /and/ soothing, but I'm in no need to go to Italy today. Not even this week. Possibly next week, but I'm ignoring /that/ mental list today. Tomorrow's a whole new freak out."
Usagi's brain blanks when Mamoru hides his face for that moment. She clears her throat and tries to get her attention back on the conversation. (She even attempts a glare and probably fails at that, too.)
Kunzite continues to provide feline tribute, even as Zoi and Naru deal with the tray. (Naru may be able to guess whether Zoi is apologizing for the table or explaining deadpan that he's being held hostage and would like rescue. The others may never know.) "You don't need to herd the prince, Usagi," Kazuo says instead, while taking a moment to experiment with whether earscritching will make up for Luna's momentary need to hold on to her perch. "He follows you voluntarily."
He considers Kyouko for a few moments; decides this is not the time to provide her his usual answer; and looks on to her girlfriend. "I'd suggest Les Invalides, but I'm not sure you'd get her out. Unless it bored her, of course."
Leaning back-- and back and back-- to drag another chair over, and somehow not tipping himself and the not-quite-glaring Usagi over in the process, Mamoru desposits it between himself and Kunzite, sliding himself and Usa over slightly. He makes grabby-hands at Zoisite and his coffee and goodies on his way back, leaving Naru alone lucky girl, and gently-- so as not to spill anything-- tugs the strawberry-blonde over to sit down there. So he can also lean and fall asleep on one of them if he wants.
"I was thinking about that," he announces, "and while I'm dressed like this, you may address me as The End instead of Endy. It seems edgelord enough for the attire."
And then he glances down at Usa and back up at Kunzite and then grins back down at Usa. "He's right, you know."
"I'm gonna take Naru up to the top of the tower." Kyouko says, with a glance to her girlfriend that says this may be a form of revenge for the various goings-on which have caused her distress in the past ten minutes or so (regardless of the fact that Naru was not responsible for most of them.)
She then peers somewhat suspiciously at Kunzite. "What's.. L-Les.. Invalides?" Her pronunciation is awful, but at least she tries. "I don't get bored that easily," She lies.
The stifles as snort as Mamoru declares himself 'The End'. "Alright, but dibs on drums if we're starting a band."
"Les Invalides.. ooh! Good thought Kunzite." Naru looks to Kyouko and then she blinks a moment as the 'taking Naru to the top of the tower' part of Kyouko's words sink in. "Waaaaaiit a minute here. /Picture/.. you were going to take a /picture/ for me." She points out, her own eyes widening a touch. "Picture will be /fine/."
Further explinations on what, exactly, Les Invalides might be has vanished in the fear that her casual offer earlier might actually be taken up.
"The End?" Naru arches a skeptical brow. "Riiiight."
Luna purrs under the ear scritches, leaning up into them, appeased with this offering.
Usagi, more or less cognizant by the time Zoisite is planted, blushes at Kunzite's words and Mamoru's agreement. "But if you follow me and I follow you, we'll end up going in circles."
Her nose crinkles. She rolls the new nickname over in her mind and makes a noise of a drawn out 'eh' and looks at him like he's crazy. "I'll call you The Snuggliest instead."
She blinks. "Invaleedses?"
"I can't help but notice that you're attempting to use Zoisite as a human shield," Kazuo notes even-toned to Mamoru. This is clearly unnecessary. Hands are too busy to swat. Honest.
On the other hand, there's Kyouko and Usagi to answer. "It used to be a hospital complex of sorts, a few centuries ago. These days it's largely museums and monuments. I was thinking of the Musee de l'Armee as something that might not bore you too much. One of the best collections of arms and armor in the world; you might find something to interest you there, or something that gives you and Naru an idea of whether she's interested in anything beyond flamethrowers."
"You definitely get drums," Endymion tells Kyouko with a firm nod. And then he's just grinning-- until Usagi decides on 'the Snuggliest' and he looks incredibly put out. "That's not edgy at all," he tells her with what is actually identifiable as a pout. And then he leans forward a little -- not enough to mash Usa into the table -- and peers around Zoisite to eye Kunzite. "I just thought he might prefer to fall asleep on you since he looks about five seconds from it and I'm wearing a kinda spiky jacket."
Then he kisses the top of Usagi's head and just leans his face on her hair for a moment, long and down at it is. Nevertheless, he comes very close to getting the stupid piercings tangled in her hair, and he starts to laugh under his breath. "Okay," he says, lifting his head, "i gotta take this stuff out of my face at the very least, I have no idea how people cope with it long-term."
But that means getting up.
"In a minute."
Kyouko's grin becomes fanged and devilish as she sees the wide-eyed look Naru gives her at the statement about 'taking' her to the top of the tower. "I was going to take a picture for you," She says, her voice now faux-sweet. "But then I thought about how much more awesome and romantic it would be to watch the sunset together from the very top. You know I wouldn't drop you." Yes, sweet revenge. It seems like Naru is bearing the brunt of Mamoru's dividends, but he isn't afraid of standing on tall things.
Laughing then she leans in to murmur something to Naru, with a wink, before glancing over to Kunzite at his explanation of what Les Invalides is. "Oh. Oh! Armor and weapons and stuff? That actually does sound kinda interesting." She says, her tone mildly surprised, as if the notion of something she might like at a museum had never crossed her mind before. "I think I'd like that, actually."
She also giggles at Usagi. 'The Snuggliest'. She considers Mamoru for a moment. "I kinda like it. Would I look good with a lip ring?" She looks at Naru. "Would I?"
Naru reaches to give Kyouko a little poke in the ribs as she gets that oh /so/ sweet smile. "Un /hunh/." She looks unconvinced at the thought of just quite /how/ high the Eiffel Tower is. It's high. And not enclosed. And high. "You wouldnt be able to drop me, because I'd be leaving bruises from holding on." She points out. She also hasn't said no, precisely yet.
"I am /way/ in favour of a museum full of weaponry over going up the Eiffel Tower, just for the record." Naru points out with quick assurance and then erms to Kyouko. "Lip ring? You need earrings first. You're the only one without you know."
Luna flicks her tail lazily on Kunzite's lap. "Needing a shield implies Kazuo's hands are free. They are currently occup---oh prrrr prrrrr prrrrrrrrrrrrrr...."
Usagi's eyes widen. "Hospital?" A chilled shiver! "It sounds spooky!"
However, she tries to bite back a grin at Mamoru's pout. "What about The Snugglenator? Adding ator at the end of things makes them more edgy, you know."
She gasps and looks at Kyouko. "Ohhhh, lip ring! Ear rings, too!" She lowers her voice. "I thought about the belly button thing."
No idea how people cope with those things long-term? "Reconstructive surgery," Kunzite suggests to Mamoru, continuing to maintain the lack of expression. (And the Luna-tending. The problem with Danegeld, et cetera.)
Kyouko's piercing problem is considered. "Sooner or later," he says, "someone will solve that problem. One way or another." He glances aside at Zoisite, and all right, the lack of expression isn't quite maintained at that point. Possibly the image of Zoi cornering with Kyouko with these shall be your earrings now, prepare to bleed just a little is a prompt for affection, from him. Possibly he's -- okay, not actually more messed up in the head than anyone here things, but not getting less that way, either.
Usagi and piercings, however, is a topic he would not be touching with the ten-foot pole he doesn't have. Fortunately silence from him is not unusual!
Mamoru wrinkles his nose at Usagi. "No. Nothing involving 'snuggle' is edgy." But then he glances up at Kyouko and shakes his head. "Tongue stud," he says firmly. Then glances at Naru. Then back at Kyouko. "Plus you can irritate the hell out of Momo by clacking it against the back of your teeth."
Then his gaze sliiiides down to Usagi, and he cranes his neck and slouches to look around at her. "I really don't think you want to get punched in the gut by a youma or Hannah or something with a belly-button ring."
Kyouko blinks at Naru. "I'm the only one without?" She asks, sounding surprised. She glances around, only at this point, it seems, realizing she is literally the only one without earrings. "Oh. O-oh. I.. huh." She considers this, and it's unclear, exactly, how she feels about it, until Mamoru offers his advice. At which point she looks at him blankly, as if trying to figure something out.
But then she grins. "If you think that would irritate Momo, you are severely underestimating her, I think. And I dunno.. I think I could do edgy snuggling." She eyes Naru again. "Like for instance, the sort that leaves bruises because you are being dangled several hundred feet in the air."
Then, almost defiantly. "I think you'd look cute with a belly-button ring, Usagi." And Kunzite gets a Look, because it's true that someone is likely going to jab her full of holes one day. He has a way of saying things that make them sound like threats even when they aren't.
"I.. think I have to side with Endy on this one... there's nothing edgy about Snugglator." Naru agrees and then laughs as Kyouko offers her couple of cents on the matter.
"That, my dear, is not snuggling. Per se." Naru smirks at Kyouko. "That is called 'it's a good thing you heal quickly', I have /really/ good grip strength."
Naru just flashes a smile over to Kunzite at the mention of 'someone is going to fix that eventually' and goes back to drinking her coffee. She adds after a moment. "I suspect if you dont get a big dangly one, it wouldnt hurt much more than getting punched does already."
Daisuke Hansuka had initally came along through the palace with everyone into Paris and then said gravely that 'he had something really important to do'.
He looks down at his list.
'Obtain Authentic Baguette'.
Having completed his important task of obtaining Baguettes all perfectly wrapped that will be turned into all sorts of various bread based dishes later-- he seeks out the others.
He looks around, waves and his eyes lands on... Mamoru. Mouth open.
Mouth close. He walks over to Kunzite and leans down and stage whispers.
"Kunzite, I think you're failing at your job, the /Darkest/ Kingdom obviously got him this time."
Usagi rolls her eyes. "Well, I can't exactly call you--" The rest is lost in a whisper directly in his ear. "Now can I?"
She winces at the thought of being punched -- or stabbed -- with a bit of metal already on her tummy. In? Sort of?
She's about to protest a tongue piercing if only for the couple days spent on not eating a lot of food and she's pretty sure Kyouko's stomach and hers are soul mates.
And then Daisuke walks in. And Usagi blinks at Mamoru. And peers at him. "Actually, I get more the impression that any moment he's gonna burst into song asking if we've heard about the babe."
Walking over to Kunzite is effectively walking over to Kunzite, and Zoisite, and Luna. Fortunately, Zoisite is at least fifty percent asleep leaning against Kunzite, or there might have been another bout of incapacitating and possibly outright dangerous laughter at Daisuke. And Usagi. "It's all right," Kunzite says deadpan up to Daisuke instead. "Sooner or later he'll notice the year on a calendar, and the embarrassment will knock him right back out of the brainwashing."
And then Kunzite makes the tactical error.
He gives Usagi a confused look.
Three things happen in quick sequential order. The first is that Mamoru blushes wildly at whatever Usagi whispered. The second is that he looks over his sunglasses at Daisuke and intones, "You may address me as 'The End', mortal child."
The third is that he looks alarmed at Kunzite and puts his hand over Usagi's mouth.
Kyouko quirks a brow at Naru. "That doesn't make it not-snuggling. It just makes it more Xtreme, like from the 90s." Which was before she was born, for the record.
Daisuke arrives, and Kyouko smirks at his comment about Mamoru. "Don't worry, Daisuke-san, whatever is wrong with his brain is just whatever's always wrong with it. Personally, I would have gone for the zebra stripes."
Naru watches Mamoru blush and leans in to murmur something to Kyouko, with a bright grin and then he's coming up with 'The End' business again and Naru is back to giggling.
There's a blink at the confused look from Kunzite to Usagi and Mamoru can't stop /both/ of them. "You haven't seen the movie, Kunzite? Seriously? This is calls for a movie night. Totally."
Naru snorts softly at Kyouko. "I dont think /it/ becomes edge for being able to hear the wrong spelling in your voice any more than snugglator was edgy."
Daisuke Hansuke places his bag down on the table in front of him and has a seat as he settles down. "Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. He's going to be in that. Until tommrow. THEN maybe it'll hit him." he says with a smile.
"I got bread." he insists. "It's important." he says.
He looks to Kyouko and nods a bit, and then glances by Naru. Then back to Usagi but then Mamoru covers her mouth and he squints.
"Oh was that a movie reference? Which one. Probably haven't seen it." he says.
Usagi eyes widen at Kunzite's expression. Oh joy! Oh gl--URMPH!
Grrrrrrr.
Mamoru's hand gets a slobbery lick, the kind she usually gives her brother to give her own two yen for it. "It's a really good movie, Kunzite, I couldn't watch it a lot when I was younger because it's scary and it's still scary but it's also very good we could watch it if you want!"
She turns to Daisuke. "It's Labrynth. It's by the same people who do muppets but some muppets are reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally creepy!"
Mamoru's hand jerks away, and he wipes Usagi's slobber off on her sleeve, then kisses the top of her head. "Just don't make Neph watch it, okay? Maybe in a few years." Then he starts trying to slide out from under her. "I gotta take these piercings out, or I'll forget or something and I'll be in for a world of hurt."
Once he's free, he makes a show of swaggering toward the men's room.
"Tell me this one isn't a trilogy," Kazuo says resignedly in more or less the general direction of Naru and Usagi. There are two victims now. There will be movie. Nephrite's trauma or no.
Note to self: stock more ice cream.
Kyouko sighs a little bit as she glances out the window, to note the sun significantly advanced from where it was when they came in. She gives Naru a little nudge, as Mamoru gets up to walk away from the table. "If we wanna actually do all this stuff we're talkin' about, and still make it back so you can go to school tomorrow, we probably should get to actually doing it."
On the topic of Labyrinth, she simply says, "Movie night could be fun. As long as it doesn't require us to go to another country again."
"Not a trilogy." Naru assures with a smile and a nod to Kunzite. "It's good! I mean, the effects are kinda dated, but it's clever at least." She does not bring up the singing muppets. There has to be /some/ surprises.
Naru follows Kyouko's gaze out the window and then ahs and nods. "Yes, we should. Okay.. you kids have fun." She slides out from her spot at the table, to be able to collect up coat and satchel. "We're going exploring!"