[closed] quiet in the library

[imusntrunaway]

Date & Time: April 3rd
Location: The library
Characters: Nageki and Shinji.
Summary: A ghost bird and a teen pilot attempt to friendship.
Warnings: Cookbooks.

[Shinji arrives on time like he said he would--5 PM, and not a minute later. When given a time, place, and directive, he can be startlingly efficient. He had made sure to bring a little extra money with him. He doesn't think that the meet-up would last too long, but in case Nageki wanted to get something to eat--or if they parted ways before the hour--then he'd be able to buy a meal for the night.

He doesn't see anyone when he enters the library. He wanders the shelves, realizing that this might be a little harder than he thought since he has no clue what this Nageki looks like. Hopefully there won't be anyone else here...

As Shinji searches, he occasionally pauses to look at some of the books. To his surprise, there's a section with some cookbooks. He'd been thinking of adding a new dish. This quail cookbook looked promising...]

Comments

[inutile]

...S-- sorry. [he mutters it, sounding wholly embarrassed even if he doesn't colour much. he's still focused on trying to find the right way to fix his social faux-pas.] I didn't mean to... it's just...

[this would probably work better if he wasn't staring at the table. eye contact still unnerves him a little, especially in a tense moment like this, but Nageki can't help thinking Hiyoko would definitely disapprove if she saw him right now. he's pretty sure any of his friends, especially Kaworu, would disapprove. even though, that doesn't mean Nageki should have to conform to their expectations, they are a lot better at this than he is, so maybe he should make a better attempt by looking the other boy in the eye.

looking at him does make Nageki feel a little bit guiltier. whether it's mean of him or not, he can't help privately thinking that it's easy to see for himself what Kaworu meant by Shinji being a boy with a miserable and lonely heart. Shinji's tired and saddened demeanor probably doesn't fare any worse than his own, though, so Nageki knows he would never say it. in many ways, Shinji isn't at all what Nageki was expecting to see in someone he's quite sure Kaworu is in love with -- but Kaworu is best friends with Nageki, and reminding himself of that certainly does wonders to put his judgement back into the proper perspective. Shinji being... like this, really shouldn't surprise him at all.

he fumbles for words during a pause just long enough to be completely uncouth in Nageki's mind, and when he does finally manage to say something it's not nearly worth the wait.]

The book. [he finishes lamely, entirely aware that Shinji probably has no idea what he means at all if Kaworu's never spoken about him -- and according to Kaworu, he hasn't. Nageki doesn't have any obligation to explain, but he doesn't want this meeting to be any more awkward than Nageki already tends to feel while socializing this way. coming out and saying "I'm a sentient bird and that book is really gross to me and I am offended on behalf of my quail friend" in a way that doesn't sound half as ridiculous might be even harder than just shutting up, though...]

[imusntrunaway]

[Shinji can't tell if that change in expression is a good or bad one. He's nervous enough already, certain that he's messed up the conversation with... whatever he did to inadvertently offend the other. So he stands there awkwardly, waiting for a reply. Silence is something he's comfortable with on his lonesome. In a conversation though... it only served to remind him how much he hated talking to people sometimes. At least the frigid atmosphere from earlier has thawed somewhat.

When he hears the apology, he blinks in surprise. Oh. So. This was Nageki. He isn't sure what Kaworu (he can't think of anyone else who would pull this stunt) was thinking when he convinced Nageki to contact Shinji. They aren't off to a very good start already...

What Nageki says next only leaves him even more confused.]

... do you mean this book? [He holds it up, so that the cover's facing him. He isn't sure what's special about it. It's just a cookbook.]

[inutile]

[as much as Nageki enjoys silence, there's something incredibly unbearable about a silence with such abrupt and uncomfortable tension. it makes Nageki convinced, simultaneously, that Kaworu made a terrible decision in coercing Nageki to do this -- he should know better than anyone that Nageki is terrible at making conversation, and even worse at being friendly. he doesn't really know how to make friends, not when it's something that usually just... happens to him, whether it be by chance or by the pursuit driven by somebody else. Shinji really doesn't look like the type to be the pursuer in a friendship, does he?

he diverts his eyes away from the cover when Shinji holds it up, but he nods anyway, enough to be seen behind his curtain of hair. how does he begin to explain something that sounds completely ridiculous, even to himself?]

It startled me. That's all.

[imusntrunaway]

[Unfortunately, Naegi's answer doesn't clear matters up. Startled... by a cookbook? Shinji tilts his head, confused. He glances down at the cover, then back at the other boy. Reading people is hard--Naegi seems to be one of the harder ones.]

... oh, I'm sorry. [Even if he isn't sure what he's apologizing for.] You're... a vegetarian, aren't you? I'll put this back.