Best Friends

[notquitedracula]

Character(s): Soma, Mina
Content: Dinner and a show?
Setting: Cafe Ersesat, L7, and then Ceu de Mouraria, L8
Time: Mid evening
Warnings: Boyfriend having dinner with his girlfriend? Kissy faces possible, and whole truckloads of cute.

Comments

[owns_soma]

Mina had considered renting an evening gown for tonight, but instead had her normal miko attire laundered and had spent an hour trying to figure out what to do with her hair-- though she finally decided it was too short to do much but pin out of her face as she usually did. But she got a pair of little red and gold earrings, put a silk-and-gold rose in one of her barrettes, and that made her feel like she was dressed up.

She wasn't as happy as she should have been, springing a surprise dinner-date on Soma. Truth be told, Mina had been feeling slightly off lately, and she didn't like that she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't even as though there were any real symptoms for her to trace back to a sickness, just a slight discomfort. Maybe it's just nerves, she told herself, then realized she was late and ran the rest of the way to the restaurant.

[notquitedracula]

Finally, he said to himself. There she is. Now maybe I can loosen this tie... And, at that point, his thought processes pretty much stopped, replaced by a low, barely audible whistle. She hadn't done much, but the overall effect was startling. Somehow, the image of Mina had become so completely wedded to the traditional miko that she usually was that he could scarcely believe she had in fact done what little dressing up she had. He gave her a warm smile and pulled the chair he'd been standing by out for her, ever the courtly soul.

It wasn't till he sat down in his own chair and had a good look at her that Soma realized that Mina was looking piqued. He'd thought it was the running at first - but Mina was fairly athletic, had to be to keep up with him.

"Are you alright, Mina?" he asked, sounding almost as concerned as he really was. He knew the effects of disease and poison firsthand - had experienced them both many times. It was, shall we say, an occupational hazard.

[owns_soma]

Soma had certainly gone above and beyond the call of 'dressing up nicely', and his courteous-- and concerned-- greeting made Mina smile. He was a friend... a very good friend. She didn't want to see him worried for her sake.

"I'm okay," she reassured him right away, sitting in the offered seat and offering a smile. "Just feeling a little... shaky, that's all."

English was really a confusing language. So many words for so many variations on the basic concepts, and you had to pick exactly the right one or you might not make your point. 'Shaky' meant 'unsteady' or 'unstable', but it also meant 'uncomfortable', since that could sometimes make you unsteady, too.

[notquitedracula]

Worrying for Mina was, unfortunately, something Soma had a great deal of experience with. She was the primary reason he'd gone through that particular slice of Hell to start with.

Smiling in return (though his was a bit wan), he tried to regain that lost aplomb and cheer. "I hope it passes soon," he said, sliding her one of the menus. "It'd be a shame to waste an evening like this. Seems like every time we try to get together for an evening, the forces of evil decide they want to play again..."

[owns_soma]

"Don't say that, you'll jinx us," Mina teased over the menu. "Oh, man, now I remember why I hate eating out so much... everything looks so good..." Including my partner. She hid a blush behind the menu. "What do you think you're going to have, Soma?"

Maybe if she ignored that discomfort, it would go away. In the meantime, lemonade was usually pretty good for an upset stomach, and a nice drink for summertime and friendly dates.

[notquitedracula]

"Mina, I think we're both jinxed by default," he said, grinning. It was true; between them, they probably had the worst luck of anyone in the city.

With a smile that was only slightly wry, Soma gave the menu a quick once-over. "I'm thinking red meat, possibly a steak." Poor Soma; he never -had- gotten used to Japanese food. The years spent in Japan working on his degree had been near torture.

Soma missed the blush only by virtue of having been looking at his own menu; one of those random tricks of fate that seemed to keep them from becoming an actual -couple-.

[owns_soma]

Mina laughed, because it was true. But inwardly, she wondered how Soma could stand it. How unlucky did one have to be to find that he was the reincarnation of pure evil? How did one accept that kind of fate and continue being as innately good as Soma did? What kind of inner strength did that take

[notquitedracula]

Smiling that wry smile, Soma folded his menu. "Your stomach is never in the mood for steak," he chided gently, grinning all the while. "Then again, I never could handle squid, so I guess we're even there

[owns_soma]

It wasn't so much that Mina had seen the physical aspects of what Soma had done as much as it was the attitude he'd done it with-- that almost emotionless paranoia. The way he'd gone from lighthearted and teasing to deadpan in about a second. Her stomach seemed to lurch up toward her throat, then settle back down. She trusted Soma. She trusted Soma, even when he was using powers that threatened to make him a menace to the world and all the living creatures in it. She had to trust him.

Mina put down the glass she'd been about to drink from and wiped her mouth on a napkin, grateful she'd been unable to get ahold of makeup. This might have explained a lot of her queasiness, though, if the water was tainted-- she'd been drinking water all day long.

Maybe lemonade wasn't such a good idea, after all.

[notquitedracula]

It probably wasn't such a good idea, either to drink the lemonade or to call on his abilities. Ever since he had nearly lost control, Soma had been very, very conservative about even thinking of the powers that slept inside of him.

Luckily, the soul he had invoked was not a powerful one. It simply rendered him immune to poisoning. He only wished he could do the same for Mina.

In about the same amount of time it had taken him to notice the impurity of the water, he locked onto Mina's discomfort. His expression changed from bland acceptance of a cursed fate to one of concern so quickly that he would likely have drawn stares, had anyone else been looking.

Extending his arm over the table, he gently covered Mina's hand with his own. He wanted to say something - anything! - to comfort her, but the words would not come. All he could do was offer her silent reassurance and comfort.