Ion wouldn’t call herself a conversationalist, herself, but she still wasn’t usually this bad at finding something to say. Even at the beginning of all of what happened on Ra Ciela, she had somewhat been able to talk to Tabou, Nay.. It was a little silly that she was so nervous.
But, uh. It.. That. Her first date. Her first real one, with a living human being instead of a monitor on wheels, or Earthes. When they had gone on dates in the Dream World, she had gotten over her nervousness quicker because the interaction was barred by the monitor and the limited things he could say over Interdimend. She was more equipped to traverse emotional grounds… Ion felt a little lost. Her normal setting had been switched around.
“S-sure… It’s fine, I can wait.” She awkwardly smiled at him in return. It was a new thing for both of them. Keep reminding yourself of that, and perhaps the embarrassment would fade away. Words would probably flow better once dinner was ready and they were able to talk while eating. Yeah.
Her stomach grumbled in hunger as she noticed the scent of food after he was gone long enough for her immediate panic to fade. Was that… Nikujaga? Her favorite food, the stew that reminded her most of her mother. He was making it for her?
He.. He remembered. They hadn’t talked about it more than that one instance, and it was when she was in her Genometrics. But he remembered… Take deep breaths. Don’t let yourself tear up at this venture, Ion!
Quickly walking over to the couch placed near the wall, she buried her face in her hands and exhaled slowly. Ion was.. Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the kindness she was being shown, even if they had only met once in person before. To have someone think of her so fondly, taking the time to remember what her favorite food was.. She couldn’t say that Delta, the one who originally offered that dinner so long ago, would remember. (Then again, Delta didn’t remember much, anyways…) But he did. Takuya remembered. Takuya’s warmth.. His good intentions, they were the same. The same as Earthes.
Finally getting a hold of herself, certain she wouldn’t cry if she raised her head, she did just that and looked around the room. It was a rather common family-type room, obviously lived in by more than one inhabitant. She was kind of curious about who Takuya’s roommates were, but no one else was home for now. It seems to have been a few minutes….
Quickly wiping her face with her hands (just in case), she got up and wandered over to the hallway. The kitchen… Ah, there it was.
She poked her head in the doorway, glancing around to spot Takuya working away on the food. “.. Can I help? I can set the table..” She didn’t really want to be left alone in the living room anymore.
“Huh?” He turned, looking surprised for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. “Ah, sure. Sure, yeah. I’ll just be a minute, this won’t take long.”
To say Takuya was feeling anxious was an understatement. Anxiety permeated every action he took, even if he hardly showed it.
It was unfamiliar. All of this was. It was almost funny when he thought about it. All the enemies he’d faced, all the emotional hardships he’d endured, the entire political minefield of Ra Ciela--and the most terrifying thing to him was helping to set up a dinner date with his partner.
... Why? Why was he so afraid of this? The both of them had wanted this for so long. Being blocked from one another by reality itself, only able to converse through restricted means... This meeting should have been a dream come true. Instead, he felt. Nervous. Overwhelmingly nervous. It was easy to play the heroic white knight when all she had to talk to was Earthes. But in-person? Fearful little pricks kept poking and prodding at him. His appearance, his mannerisms, his personality--what if she wasn’t interested in any of it? What if, when all was said and done, they just weren’t compatible?
Just be quiet and focus on dinner, Takuya...
He shoved it in the darkest, most sound-proof corner of his mind as he made his way over to the newly-set table. It didn’t take long for them to set up their servings, and before long, they were both seated and eating.
With his cooking now on the line and awaiting judgement, he could only ask her one question...
“So, how is it? I’ll admit, I never tried making this before recently, so...” He hadn’t yet touched his plate. The anxious lump in his throat wanted to see what she thought first.