Post by Lucas Lightner on Oct 11, 2016 23:43:19 GMT -5
Alone time.
Between coming to Japan with Luna, and meeting countless Quincy, Lucas experienced a very severe shortage of private time. When he found himself talking with yet another Quincy, constantly wondering when the last time he had so much as smiled at a pretty girl that he wasn’t trying to bring into the Order, he knew that he needed a breather. A single night away from all of this, away from the compass-left in his bag in the hotel room—and away from everyone else around him. If he were a younger man, he’d go looking for a cute Japanese girl to get to know.
Instead, he elected for something even more relaxing than that: a nice meal in a quiet, dimly lit restaurant.
Japan or not, the idea of steak wasn’t lost. He managed to find in Tokyo, among other things, a nice steakhouse with lovely décor, thickly-clothed tables, cute waitresses who knew their stuff, and an abundance of silence save for the white noise of conversation around him. It was slightly later than most ate dinner, which left him in a very open space, a decently sized slab of meat already sliced into diagonal strips in front of him, and then halved again. Next to him, a half-full glass of water sat with condensation rolling down it and nearly invisible, half-melted ice cubes floated near the top.
On a night like this, taken for himself and himself alone, Lucas decided that he could afford to take his time. Normally, the lack of company would have bothered him, but not tonight. It gave him time to reflect, to be himself, to focus inwards instead of outwards.
He got to take a long, deep breath, and not worry about anything.
“Mister Lightner?” A quiet, feminine voice interrupted his closed-eye chewing with near-perfect English. He set the shining utensils down on the perfectly white, porcelain plate, hardly a master of chopsticks, and smiled at the young woman that had approached. “Is there anything I can get you?”
Lucas just waved, “Oh, no, no, thank you, Kirishima. Everything’s excellent, just what I needed.”
All of this time in Japan now and he still wasn’t used to addressing people by their last names. Regardless, Kirishima gave him a short bow and a beautiful smile. She was a brunette, like any of the girls here, with soft features; but she wasn’t overly girly, to his relief. And she was wearing a primarily black, vested uniform, but no heels—just flats. Her hair didn’t quite make it to her shoulders and, despite how thick it looked, there wasn’t a hair out of place.
When she walked away, Lucas found himself alone again. There was something itching at the back of his mind when Kirishima left, like he was on the verge of noticing something, but he hardly paid it any attention. There was a good meal only a quarter finished, right in front of him, and a night left to enjoy, all to himself.
After all, he probably just imagined it.
*****
507 Words
@amaranthine
Between coming to Japan with Luna, and meeting countless Quincy, Lucas experienced a very severe shortage of private time. When he found himself talking with yet another Quincy, constantly wondering when the last time he had so much as smiled at a pretty girl that he wasn’t trying to bring into the Order, he knew that he needed a breather. A single night away from all of this, away from the compass-left in his bag in the hotel room—and away from everyone else around him. If he were a younger man, he’d go looking for a cute Japanese girl to get to know.
Instead, he elected for something even more relaxing than that: a nice meal in a quiet, dimly lit restaurant.
Japan or not, the idea of steak wasn’t lost. He managed to find in Tokyo, among other things, a nice steakhouse with lovely décor, thickly-clothed tables, cute waitresses who knew their stuff, and an abundance of silence save for the white noise of conversation around him. It was slightly later than most ate dinner, which left him in a very open space, a decently sized slab of meat already sliced into diagonal strips in front of him, and then halved again. Next to him, a half-full glass of water sat with condensation rolling down it and nearly invisible, half-melted ice cubes floated near the top.
On a night like this, taken for himself and himself alone, Lucas decided that he could afford to take his time. Normally, the lack of company would have bothered him, but not tonight. It gave him time to reflect, to be himself, to focus inwards instead of outwards.
He got to take a long, deep breath, and not worry about anything.
“Mister Lightner?” A quiet, feminine voice interrupted his closed-eye chewing with near-perfect English. He set the shining utensils down on the perfectly white, porcelain plate, hardly a master of chopsticks, and smiled at the young woman that had approached. “Is there anything I can get you?”
Lucas just waved, “Oh, no, no, thank you, Kirishima. Everything’s excellent, just what I needed.”
All of this time in Japan now and he still wasn’t used to addressing people by their last names. Regardless, Kirishima gave him a short bow and a beautiful smile. She was a brunette, like any of the girls here, with soft features; but she wasn’t overly girly, to his relief. And she was wearing a primarily black, vested uniform, but no heels—just flats. Her hair didn’t quite make it to her shoulders and, despite how thick it looked, there wasn’t a hair out of place.
When she walked away, Lucas found himself alone again. There was something itching at the back of his mind when Kirishima left, like he was on the verge of noticing something, but he hardly paid it any attention. There was a good meal only a quarter finished, right in front of him, and a night left to enjoy, all to himself.
After all, he probably just imagined it.
*****
507 Words
@amaranthine