The bakery-cafe is an all-around nice place, and it's a favorite of Infinity students-- right now, it's after school, so there are other students around. Mamoru got handed off to Usagi and Kunzite after his last class, and since he was still feeling comparatively amazing thanks to the timely prescriptions given by Dr. Izono and thanks to how amazingly he's sure he did on that damn test, he's insisted on coming here instead of going home right off the bat.
"And anpan and odango and daifuku and dorayaki and we'll get Zoi some crepes and also maybe that entire ganache monstrosity--" the twelfth-grader's saying, one arm around Usagi and one arm up on Kunzite's shoulder, getting a lot of his physical balance from steadying himself on the two of them as they make their way in.
Usagi doesn't mind being a provider for balance, especially if it also doubles as a nice snuggle.
She's listening to all the food he wants to get, mouth watering and eyes large, and she nods after each one.
"And don't forget pastry things with cream in them and and and maybe some chocolate truffely things and and and--"
She is, of course, getting ahead of herself. She's not even sure they have any of those there, but she's bouncing at his side because Mamo-chan and food! And maybe if she annoys him enough for one, Kunzite will let her give him a hug!
'Pastry things with cream in them' are, oddly enough, not going to be a problem. Transport might be a problem, but they can straighten that one out. Seeing Mamoru be enthusiastic about something is enough of a rarity the last couple of weeks that Kunzite is not about to try to temper it.
Even if that something is 'flirting with Usagi copiously via sugar and baked goods, while Kunzite is a captive audience.' It's not like that general theme is new, even if the particular (ahem) flavor might be.
"I hope you're not expecting me to remember the entire list," he notes aloud anyhow. Yes, that's a plural 'you.' He's pretty sure he'll be able to keep track of 'ganache monstrosity' at least.
(If Fiore turns out to be able to animate flowers made out of frosting, though...)
The bouncing is hilariously cute, if not the best for balance-- it just makes Mamoru kind of snortlaugh and give Usagi a little slack in which to bounce more effectively, while not letting go. "Definitely truffle things, and not the mushroom kind, that would be mean," agrees the upperclassman. "And ffff you don't have to remember it all, Usa can remember it all, and besides, lots of pointing can happen. Ah! Melonpan too, Usako!"
They get to that space between display cases/counter and seating section, and Mamoru squishes them both briefly and slips his arms away to sort of ooze into a chair, still grinning. "And coffee, or... no no, iced tea, unsweet." He's close by, certainly, and definitely within near-instant lunge distance; most of the Infinity students present are giving him a respectable berth, since his health over the past year has been the stuff of varying degrees of wild rumor.
Usagi leans over to look at Kunzite, tapping her finger against her temple. "I have a photographable memory when it comes to food." Usagi gasps and does another little bounce! "Melonpan! Yes!"
Mentally, she goes over all the food choices! She counts off on her fingers as she thinks and only stops to gasp at the request for tea. "Um, o-okay."
It threw her off enough that she had to start all over.
Hmm, a bakery. Natsumi doesnt really need food to sustenance, but she loves the smell and the taste of it, even if it wont really give her energy she can use to sustain herself. All the same, she should really be focusing on collecting energy, but....Wait, wait? Who's THAT? And who's the girl he's snuggling with! Dammit, that two-timing...Grrr!
In a flash, Natsumi changes her mind and marches right into the bakery-cafe, glaring at the odango girl, smiling sweetly at 'Darien' as she purposefully walks towards him. "Hello, Darien! Fancy bumping into you here again!" Odango girl and white haired guy are barely given a glance.
Photographable. Photographable is definitely accurate, as long as it's a quick enough exposure to catch her midair. That hair is a potentially lethal weapon when she's bobbing like that. "I'll get him the tea," he tells Usagi. "You deal with the rest." Tea is drink, not food. Also, 'unsweet' may be causing important neurons to cease to fire in dismay.
On the other hand, that puts him up at the counter when Natsumi walks in. The word 'Darien' is enough to catch his attention all the same, glancing back over his shoulder. He doesn't look the same as when Natsumi saw him last time - the white hair is distinctly short, not as eyecatching as before. Somehow he doubts that's why he doesn't catch her attention as much as Mamoru.
Well. How much trouble can he get in in the time it takes to get him iced tea?
How much would Kunzite pay not to have to find out the answer to that question?
Mamoru's giving Usagi a look that really should be apologetic for sending her all off-balance, but it's not, not at all. Even as Kazuo's saying he'll get the tea, Mamoru is literally winking at Usagi. "Between you and the pastries, I need something unsweet, don't I?"
The last couple of words of this are talked over by 'hello Darien', and Mamoru trails off at the end, slowly turning his head to regard Natsumi. He pushes up his glasses. "Ginga-san," he greets her neutrally, but doesn't get up, and doesn't actually move much. He's also more pale than he was last time she saw him, and the shadows under his eyes are darker. Politely he adds, "How are you?"
Kunzite to the rescue! She doesn't have to worry about drinks! "Can you get me a hot chocolate?"
And then her cheeks are so pink and she's trying to bite back a big, beaming smile as she rocks in place. "Well, when you say it like tha--"
Thrown off kilter again. She mouths 'Darien?' at Mamoru, the name causing a niggle in the back of her brain but nothing more at the moment.
"Is this a friend of yours, M..uffin?"
Natsumi smiles sweetly at Darien, continuing to ignore bun-head and whitehead over there. "Oh! You remembered my name! I'm soooo flattered!" she blushes lightly, glancing around for a free chair.
"Mind if I join you?" she asks, narrowing her eyes as she notices..Bags under his eyes. And why is his skin looking so pale? "Oh? What's this? Looks like you havent' been sleeping well..Are you feeling okay? Perhaps I can buy you some hot chocolate!"
Then bun-head calls him...Muffin?! And she shoots a cold glare at her. "And who are YOU supposed to be?"
Someone's managed to forget the inconvenient part of their last encounter. Well. That's perfectly all right. Usagi's a grown teenager, she's more than capable of fending for herself. Kazuo, as close to the picture of innocence as he's physically capable of getting, puts in the orders -- unsweetened and sweet alike -- and puts his attention on two things. One, on keeping tabs on the situation around Mamoru without getting caught. Two, on trying very hard not to look almost as amused by that as Nephrite is by unlikely reality shows.
"No," Mamoru says honestly to Usagi, glancing over to her. "She saw me fall off the roof outside some cafe Kazuo and Daisuke met her in and decided I should date her. I told her I had a girlfriend, but I guess she didn't believe me or something?" Then he looks back up at Natsumi, and his gaze falls on where she's looking, and he realizes she's looking for a chair.
Immediately he stretches out in his chair and puts his feet up on one of the chairs next to him and props himself up with a hand on the seat of the other chair next to him. Nothing like a ridiculously tall teenaged boy for taking up more space than should actually be legal. "That's my girlfriend," he tells Natsumi matter-of-factly, "Bunny. She's supposed to be queen of the world, but at the moment she's just queen of my heart~~"
Codeine. He is on codeine for the phenomenal amounts of rheumatoid arthritis his allergy to xenofloral infestation is producing. This has the side effect of causing him to display a stunning lack of social filters.
"And you remember Kazuo, right? My best friend? He's getting me iced tea, so no thank you on the hot cocoa, though the offer is appreciated."
Usagi straightens a bit at the new girl, looking offended! So rude!
But of course, her Mamo-chan is very sweet, and it shows even better when he's all drugged up. She blushes and twists about, barely fighting back a giggle.
To Natsumi, she simply says: "We have a bond that spans lifetimes."
And then she brushes past the girl and hovers a bit, ready to ward off unwanted touchings! "And yes, he's feeling better, but it's better if he doesn't have any undue stress."
Hover hover. Proclaiming cuddleship to not just Natsumi, but everyone (aside from Kunzite) in the cafe.
Natsumi stares blankly at the seat next to Mamoru as he puts his feet up on it. "What!? Why are you..." but thankfully, she finds another free chair and sits as close to Mamoru as she can, inspite of annoying bun haired brat over there, grr! "Bunny? That's really your name? What kinda name is that?!"
She quietly glares at Usagi, continuing to mostly ignore Kunzite, although she does smirk at his haircut. "Woah, what happened to your hair?!" Seh makes a face, apparently not liking it much.
Finally back to Mamoru, she smirks, "Heh, Queen of the world? Seriously?" and she just laughs, "Yeah, I remember Kazuo, although he looked better with the long hair. Anyways.." She yawns, realizing the time. It's about time she started stealing energy. "Guess I should get going. Maybe next time we can meet, just the two of us!" and she bats her eyes at Mamoru before getting off and leaving.
"Kitchen fire," the 'white-haired guy' tells Natsumi as he transfers unsweet tea and hot chocolate to their recipients. "No other casualties, fortunately, and that one will grow back."
Well, no other casualties except the hatching youma. That one doesn't count.
He studies Natsumi's retreat thoughtfully, then says aside to Mamoru, "That seemed to go more politely this time. Perhaps I won't need that crowbar after all."
Mamoru's mouth opens and shuts, and he drops his feet down off the one chair and straightens up in his own so he's not occupying the other one, too. He just shakes his head, taking the unsweet tea and sipping for a moment, eyes slightly narrowed and on the door even after Natsumi leaves. "Yes well you were both here and I was even more rude," he tells Kunzite, then absently slings an arm around Usagi's waist where she's hovering. He cranes his neck up to look at her as he puts his tea down. "Melonpan? Also she says she's into 'space botany'. Naru's joining her club. Maybe you should, too, she goes to your school. I think she's in your class."
Usagi bristles and her hair practically archs in her disdain. "There's nothing wrong with my name, it's cute!" Trying to convince Usagi otherwise would be as impossible as trying to convince her Mamoru has the IQ of a potato.
Twitch, twitch! "Kazuo-kun looks gorgeous no matter what length his hair is! Don't you go trying to make him feel bad!"
Augh, this girl was pushing all her buttons.
And then! She reaches the breaking point! "You'll have to get through me, first!!"
Augh the nerve!
Then she blinks. She thanks Kazuo with happy smiles and fluttering eyelashes and sips her cocoa before setting it down. Good timing, too, because then she's being snuggled by a Mamo-chan!
Her eyebrows furrow together. "She's in my--?"
It's not an offence to Natsumi that Usagi hasn't noticed her. Even with the codeine, Usagi's been overwhelmed with worry for Mamoru's state of well-being.
Instead of mentioning this, because he likely already knows darn teleporters, she leans down and gives him a smooch. "Mamo-chan, seriously. There's a reason I didn't take care of your plants, and it's not just because Mako-chan's better at it. My thumb is black, not green."
Mildly bemused, Mamoru just sort of absorbs the fact that Usagi's yelling after the shut door. He placidly sips his tea while everyone stares, which may actually say a great deal more about his current state of social dgaf than anything he said to Natsumi. In fact, he might be hiding a smirk in his iced tea. The world may never know.
When Usagi finally blinks and processes what he said, then leans down to kiss him, he smiles lopsidedly at her. "Space botany, Usako. Like Xenian flowers. She's suspiciously interested. Claims it's about seeds in meteoroids and stuff when pressed. So I think a black thumb is an especially good trait to have in that club-- and Naru's joining to investigate, so could probably use the hand if things go pear-shaped."
Usagi sighs and sifts fingers through his hair and strokes his face. "Well, I guess it gives me an excuse to hang out with Naru-chan more."
Then she kisses him some more, and it's peppered between words. (Gotta get her shmoop on when he's not so self concious! Though not too much, because she doesn't want him to think she'd just do things Publicly to him that he doesn't like! That would be sad!)
"Okay, I gotta (smooch) get our food (smooch) order in, and if you think of anything else you want (smooch) just give me a shout?" Smooch!
Reluctantly, she pulls away! Only to return once or twice for a couple more smooches before dashing to the counter and rapidfiring her order at the barista.
That reaction to the hot chocolate prompts several tactics for dealing with Usagi to be developed on the spot and put away against future need. They're undoubtedly nothing new to Mamoru, but Mamoru has access to a more effective set. For the most part, Kazuo lurks with his own coffee, watching the door. On the off chance that Natsumi wanders back in while Usagi is still cuddling with Mamoru in ways that make conversation difficult. Really.
He is not smiling in any way that anyone but Mamoru can catch. This is increasingly more difficult; he suspects that Usagi also has some method of cheating.
"That club is going to make your name business more difficult," he observes, as Usagi is taking her turn to overwhelm the staff. "What are you going to do when she works it out? Claim it never happened?"
Mamoru's laughing by the time Usagi finally pulls away, and laughs harder when she dashes back. By the time she's ordering and Kunzite is questioning, he's taken his glasses off and is wiping his eyes with his jacket sleeve, still snickering. "Nah," he says, shrugging a shoulder. "I'll tell her the truth. No one can ever claim I was leading her on. I'll say like, 'I gave you a fake name because you don't know the meaning of the word 'no' and I was hoping you weren't actually stalking me and would fixate on someone else.'"
Usagi has to repeat herself a couple of times, but that's to be expected. Eventually, she's able to pay, and she's all sunshine and rainbows through the barista's apologies. (It's not her fault Usagi can talk a billion miles per kilometer!)
Usagi gets back to the table in time for the last bit of the conversation.
All serious eyes, she looks at Mamoru. "Do you want someone to make sure she doesn't keep stalking you, Muffin?"
"Honesty as at least a reasonable policy," Kazuo agrees easily, and inclines his head to Usagi as she returns.
And then takes a drink of his coffee more to conceal his expression than anything else. He is certain that what he is thinking of is not actually what Usagi is suggesting. Certain.
But the image of Usagi lurking in a dark alley, lying in wait for Natsumi, trying to make her enormous eyes acquire the same dangerous glitter as Kyouko's, a sharpened blade composed entirely of sugar hidden beneath her (pink) trenchcoat...
"I'm tired of people thinking they're entitled to me," Mamoru says, and maybe it's a little defensively, because he knows honesty that sharp can cut. But she's persistent beyond his already-established boundaries and his already-manifested rudeness, and there's a sort of angry helplessness behind his eyes that underlines exactly how much of a stressor it is, especially in light of the Fiore situation and the mess they all just got out of by literally dying.
It's just... then what Usagi just said actually processes, and he puts his iced tea down very quickly to avoid taking the sip he very nearly did. "Mamo-chan will suffice," he manages to get out, sounding slightly strangled, trying so hard not to laugh. "Um."
He kicks Kunzite under the table.
"I would, yeah, but leave the destroying to Zoi, he's really effective at taking the results of doxxing and applying them to rumors and mailing lists, when necessary. And I don't think it's necessary. But you can give her a good talking-to if that's what you were planning on?"
Usagi is, of course, unaware of Kazuo's amusing mental image.
And actually...she does have a pink trench coat.
Instead, her eyebrows are drawing together even as her eyes are softening. She hopes she's not on that list. At least, she never thought she was. If anything, there's a mutual sort of entitlement.
She bites her lip, though, and suddenly she's trying not to smile. "I was preserving your secret identity, Mamo-chan."
But really, she's just all beams because of the reminder that he prefers it when she calls him Mamo-chan. Warm gushy feelings!
"Don't be sorry for being a jerk when people don't take the hint." She moves Mamoru's leg off a chair and deposits it on her lap as she sits to enjoy her cocoa. Then she's smug. "If people can't handle you when you're a jerk, well then, who needs them, anyway?"
Kazuo says nothing about Mamoru being a jerk and the handling thereof. He's just been kicked once already. Coffee. Yes. Coffee.
(Coffee means no-one knows when you're contemplating murder. Though in Fiore's case at this point it's probably considered justifiable.)
Mamoru regards his leg on Usagi's lap for a moment, eyes Kunzite with suspicion bordering on cracking up, and then tilts his head back and back and upside down over the back of the chair to see if anyone's coming with a giant tray of sweets yet. He has to fumble really fast to catch his glasses before they fall off his head, and almost overbalances. Then he says it for Kunzite. "If people can't handle me when I'm a jerk," he says cheerfully, "then... I'd say they could only deal with me when I'm sleeping, but that's where Seishi first met me and I was a jerk then, too. Let's get the food to go, though, I'm getting tired."
Usagi makes a show of rolling her eyes. "Oh yes, you're a total jerk, twenty-four seven."
Who knows? He may be when she's not around. But regardless of that, his jerkinosity is severely limited when she is around, and that's the data she's going by. Very scientific!
Her tummy growls as the smells of the cafe and Mamoru's suggestion intermingle. She sniffs the air, eyes closed as she tilts her head back. "Okay, but if you fall asleep on the way home, I'm still gonna nibble through everything."
"He needs to keep up with the rest of us," is Kazuo's response, as he pushes to his feet to go implement that to-go suggestion. Girlfriends get priority on sitting and trying to eat the bakery smells. Best friends get to carry the monstrous to-go package. Usagis get to raid the monstrous to-go package en route. It's the way the world works.