Minato didn't have long to wait. Yukari entered the shop ten minutes later, pleased that she was just a little bit early. She liked the extra time to get herself together, but thinking back on it later that night, she knew she should have expected Minato to be there before she was. He had that weird habit of showing up right when you needed him. He was easy to miss too. Yukari lingered near the counter after ordering and glanced around the cafe in hope that she would catch sight of his him or his trademark headphones.
Although he hadn't been watching the door with his usual hawkish intensity, Minato noticed Yukari almost immediately after she'd stepped inside. She had a way drawing attention to herself, a way of commanding an entire room without necessarily realizing it. Yes, the atmosphere of the place had definitely bumped up a notch or two with her arrival.
As she began looking around, presumably for him, Minato stood to make his presence better known.
And there he was. "Figures you'd pick a seat way in the back, Minato-kun," she said once she was closer to the table Complaining aside, Yukari was glad for the privacy. It felt--cozier? intimate? Something like that. She slipped into the chair opposite Minato, grinning at him like a cat who'd finally cornered their prey.
Yukari's words elicited a small, wry smile. Minato reclaimed his seat and inclined his chin in greeting. "Hey," he softly answered back, folding his hands upon the table. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" His gaze briefly roved over her, matching her appearance to the mental picture he had stored. Yukari's features were maybe a little more mature with age, but she looked for the most part identical to when he'd last seen her. It put him at ease.
"That's got to be the biggest understatement I've heard this week," she said with a mock beleaguered shake of her head. "It's been...what, a couple of months? Time's starting to fly by, huh?" And for all the time that was rapidly slipping through her fingers, Minato looked just the same as he had at Gekkoukan, right down bangs in his eyes. Yukari could remember one thought that she'd pushed away at his death: Minato would be forever 17. At the time it felt horridly morbid, but looking at him now, she wondered how close to the truth she'd been.
"Sometimes I look at the calendar and can scarcely believe the date," Minato admitted, readjusting his posture. Shoulders that seemed so narrow as a result of perpetual hunching over were actually quite broad when relaxed. "Of course, it's easy to lose track of time when you travel. I've been moving from place to place these past few months, it's all become a bit of a blur..."
The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention and Minato leaned back just in time for their waitress to appear and deliver their drinks. "Thank you," he graciously told her, reaching across the table to touch Yukari lightly on the hand. "Would you like a pastry or something to eat with that? It could be my treat..."
Friend or not, such an intimate gesture left Yukari blushing and flustered for several seconds before she stammered, "N-no, I've got it." It was only after asking the waitress for a strawberry muffin that she moved her hand to her lap. "What kinda independent girl would I be if I let a guy buy everything I wanted, huh?" she joked in an effort to divert attnetion from her still red cheeks.
"A stubborn one," Minato quipped, delicately sweeping a stray granule of sugar off the edge of the table with the side of his hand. He himself had ordered a simple glazed-chocolate cake doughnut. "But that's nothing new, now is it?" Minato cocked his head to the side, regarding her with a carefully neutral expression. Only playful his inflection gave away the fact that he was completely teasing her.
"... It really is good to see you. How have you been doing?"
Reply
As she began looking around, presumably for him, Minato stood to make his presence better known.
Reply
"Well, hey, stranger."
Reply
Reply
Reply
The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention and Minato leaned back just in time for their waitress to appear and deliver their drinks. "Thank you," he graciously told her, reaching across the table to touch Yukari lightly on the hand. "Would you like a pastry or something to eat with that? It could be my treat..."
Reply
Reply
"... It really is good to see you. How have you been doing?"
Reply
Leave a comment