rekindleme | oh god i have no idea what i'm doing.

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oh god i have no idea what i'm doing.

Who: Shinju and Pilouette
Where: The Zoo & possibly elsewhere...
When: VALENTIMES. Afternoon sometime.
Summary: Cute nerds go on a date.
Warnings: Awkwardness and some flipping out, probably.

Shinju's been alternating between extremely anxious and reassuring himself nothing bad will happen for the past several days. It's just the zoo, somewhere he's extremely familiar with, and he can even point out some things he never would have known before. But what if it just ends up being quiet and awkward? What if something happens with the animals? Well, he just has to remember the kinds of things they've been talking about all this time and start a conversation again. They've known each other for a while now, it'll be fine. But what if...

And so on, and so forth.

Thankfully the weather's lightened up a little today, only a fine mist falling instead of the downpour that's been going on for a while. He's a little glad that Pilouette decided on the zoo, even despite the cloudy weather--he would have paid for wherever they went, of course, but he'd wanted the ticket he'd gotten her for Christmas to be useful. After they take a look around, Shinju's picked out a place to have dinner, as well as a few surprises he hopes that she'll like. Cue yet more anxiety over that.

In any case, he's arrived at Pilouette's door--just down the hall from his--in something casual but not too casual: a button-up shirt with thin stripes and a dark pair of jeans, his dark wool coat and green gradient scarf over it. He takes a deep breath before knocking, reminding himself that everything will turn out fine. He hopes.

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Whether he guessed it or not, Pilouette doesn't know, but she's been pretty anxious about it herself. She told him she's never dated anyone before...but she's never even been on a single date, period. She's nervous and excited about it all at once. This is big for her and she's really hoping it goes well. She had decided on the zoo because of how familiar they both are with it; she figured it would give them a lot to talk about. All she has to do is be cool for a little while...or at least less uncool. If she can do that, things will be fine.

She had spent the last two hours leading up to their date picking out what to wear. Since they were going to the zoo, she figured she shouldn't dress up too much. Still...should she wear something cute? Or maybe something a little more grown up? Maybe something in between? Should she straighten her hair or make it extra curly? She may be making it out to a be a bigger deal than it is, but...well, this is Pilouette, after all. After much debate, she decides on something simple; a plain white blouse and a dark red skirt with black leggings. Over that, she wears a reddish-pink coat with a matching scarf, along with her false glasses and the pink butterfly necklace Shinju gave her for Christmas. She figures that this is the best occasion to wear it. She begins to double check herself (Keys? Check. Umbrella? Check.) just before she hears a knock on her door.

"Coming! J-Just a second!" she calls. She finishes making sure she has everything in her purse before scuttling over to the door. Her hand on the doorknob, she stops for a moment, nervously takes a deep breath and does her best to smile through her anxiety. As she opens the door, she gives Shinju a little wave. "Hi! Um, s-sorry for making you wait like that!"

Shinju hesitates in his own anxiety after Pilouette opens the door, just staring at her for a brief moment before actually looking, hand going to the back of his neck. The fact that she's wearing the necklace he got her makes him feel a little flustered, though in a decidedly happy way.

"H-hey," he says, moving his eyes to her face as he smiles brightly, regardless of everything else he's feeling. "You look really nice."

Pilouette's smile grows just a little wider, despite her nervousness, pleased that her efforts paid off.

"Oh! Um, thanks! I mean, I just thought it would be nice to wear something a little different than usual, you know?" she replies. She can at least pretend that it was effortless, right? No one needs to know about her lengthy apparel-choosing process. "But um, you're really good loo- I mean, looking good, er, nice! You look nice, too!"

Pilouette starts to turn a little red, her smile still plastered on her face. Their date hasn't even started yet and her coolness level has already plummeted.

"U-Um..."

Edited 2015-02-18 09:35 (UTC)

He glances away and lets out a quiet, almost nervous laugh at the combination of the slip up and the compliment. He has to wonder if it would be too egotistical to think that was what she really meant.

"Thanks," he replies, looking at the floor before turning his attention back to her and stepping to the side. "So, are you ready for the zoo?"

He just tells himself that things always start off awkward. It'll get better as it goes along.

It hadn't been what she meant to say, but...well, she can't deny that she thinks Shinju is pretty good-looking. Her face still a bit pink, Pilouette steps out of her apartment, closes the door behind her and nods.

"Totally ready! I've been like, really excited about it!" she says with a smile. She really means it, too. Not just because she hasn't been to the zoo much lately, but because it's their first date as well. Going on a date for the first time is supposed to be a big deal, right?

"Let's get going!"

"Great."

Now that he's certain she's ready to go, he holds out his hand to take hers. Maybe it's a little cheesy of him, but he can always blame it on the touch quota. Well. Most of it...

"I'm excited too. I'm glad the weather let up a little today... Most of the animals should be willing to come out, I think."

A tiny spark of anxiety returns as she takes his hand. She tells herself that they've held hands in the past and that it's not so different than it was before...but it is different, to her at least. Really, she's still getting used to the idea that she's someone's girlfriend. Still she does her best to relax, as she smiles at the good news about the zoo.

"Awesome! Oooh, I can't wait...!" she replies. "Hey, like, since you've been working there for a while, I bet you know all kinds of stuff about the animals, huh?"

Shinju looks a tad sheepish at the suggestion, but he hopes he knows enough to provide some interesting conversation about them.

"Some things, at least. I don't know about all kinds... I mostly work with the amphibians and aquatic animals, so I don't know much about the others."

He's grateful about living in a building with an elevator now, especially when it's been so wet lately. Going up and down stairs every day multiple times isn't exactly his idea of a good time, and he doesn't even have shoes that are hard to walk in. Plus living there meant he could be a little closer to Pilouette.

"Well, even so, I bet you still know way more about those than I do. Actually, I bet you totally know more about the zoo in general. As many times as I've been there, I still don't think I've seen all of it..."

Though, that's probably because every time she goes, she spends most of her time looking at that crocofish. She told herself each time that she would take a look at something new, but...she usually didn't. It's part of the reason that the zoo is still such an exciting place to her. Suddenly, something occurs to her that she hadn't thought of before. Even if she finds the zoo exciting...

"Since you work there, it's probably just like, every day stuff for you, right?" Pilouette asks, tilting her head thoughtfully. "But, it still sounds like kind of a fun job."

"There's still plenty we can both learn about," he says with a shrug as he steps into the elevator. "And going to the zoo to have fun is definitely different from going there for work, believe me. I do like working with the animals, but it's nice to not have to worry about being responsible for them. I guess it lets me relax a little."

Animals were a lot easier to deal with than people, he thought, but that didn't mean they were completely stress-free to deal with. It was kind of like going over to a friend's house and playing with their pets--you could pet them and have fun, and not have to worry about feeding them or cleaning up after them. But that wasn't the only reason he could still enjoy the zoo; dates just made things different.

"Plus, it's different when you're there. I tend to have more fun just because you are."

"Really?"

She had never thought she was an especially fun person to be around. Actually, she had kind of assumed she was rather uninteresting. Not that she thinks Shinju would confirm it if she said as much; she's sure he's too nice for that. Still, it makes her pretty happy to hear him say he has a good time with her. As the elevator descends, she lets out a pleased little giggle.

"Me too! I mean, um, I always have fun with you, too. Like, I always really look forward to spending time with you, you know?"

Even as nervous as she was about today, she was still pretty excited about it.

"Of course. Your enthusiasm is contagious, you know?"

He was kind of the opposite of a cynic--he enjoyed seeing other people enjoy themselves and be happy, because it kind of gave him hope even in situations where he felt there was nothing good left. Now was one of the better situations he'd been in, of course, but that didn't mean he appreciated Pilouette any less.

"I'm glad to hear it. Good thing, since we're dating, right?"

It wouldn't be much of a relationship if they didn't enjoy being around each other.

"Oh! I guess that's true...!" she replies with a bit of sheepishness. "We might not be dating at all if we didn't like hanging out, huh...?"

Or they might not have been friends in the first place. She's glad that they met and that they've gotten so close, but the idea that by some chance they might not have makes her feel, for the very briefest of moments, a little uneasy somehow. Still, she does her best to ignore that feeling for now and push it out of her head. Today is a day for them to have a good time and she's going to do her best not to ruin it. Besides, they did meet and there's no changing that. As the elevator reaches the first floor and the door opens, she scoots just a little bit closer to him and holds his hand just a little tighter before giving him another smile.

Edited (minor edits) 2015-03-08 10:57 (UTC)

"Probably," he says, not seeming concerned. "I know a lot of people go on dates without knowing anything about the other person, but I don't really know if that's my thing. This way you've already figured out you like the person."

He grins at Pilouette when he feels her hand and leans against her for the moment they're waiting on the door, though he stops himself from doing what comes to mind and kissing her on the cheek. He isn't sure if it's the right time for that just yet, so instead he steps out of the elevator and changes the subject.

"So, what did you want to look at first?"

"I get what you mean. I don't think I would be into blind dates, either." After all, who wants to end up stuck hanging out with someone you might not even like? Definitely not for her.

When he asks, Pilouette takes a moment to think, tilting her head from side to side. What does she want to see first? Well, naturally the crocofish, but she can wait for that this time. She would ask what he wanted to see, but...well, he did ask her first. It takes her a few more seconds before she answers.

"Maybe...the bird exhibit. I don't think I've been there since that first day the zoo opened."

"Sounds like a great place to start to me. There's always a lot to look at over there, and I haven't been in a while, myself."

Shinju knows which is Pilouette's favorite, but he wasn't certain if she wanted to see the crocofish first or save the best for last. He'll have to see if she likes any of the things in the gift shop... but for now, a walk through the misty city to get to the zoo.

"I don't know a lot about the birds here, since they're on the opposite side from where I work," he admits. "The one that sticks in my mind is that cat owl we saw when the pet shop opened."

"Oh! Oh, I remember that little guy!" she replies, her eyes widening a bit with enthusiasm. "Like, as totally weird as it was...the more I think about it, the more I think it was actually kinda cute, you know?"

Now that she's thinking about that cat owl, she's getting excited all over again, a bit of bounce making its way into her step. Though she had visited the bird exhibit before, she hadn't spent too terribly much time there and the idea of seeing something new and exciting with someone else, especially someone she liked so much, had her forgetting her nervousness, if only for a little while.

"Oh, hey...we should remember to try and take some pictures today, just like we did that one time at the butterfly exhibit."

"Really?" he said, genuinely surprised. It was still a little creepy to him, but not so much he'd avoid them if Pilouette liked them. "Well, I think they have a few other ones like that. Animals that look like a mix of ones we're used to, I mean."

There are certainly a lot of things here that they could never hope to see at home, which makes pretty much any zoo visit worthwhile, as far as he's concerned. Either way, he's glad to see Pilouette's usual enthusiasm replacing the anxiety she seemed to be feeling, and it helps him relax a bit as well.

"Of course. I'd want to make sure I don't forget anything from today."

"Yeah, yeah! I've seen a couple other ones, but it's still like, really exciting whenever I see one I haven't before!" she replies. "Plus, even if they're not the same...it's still nice to see animals that are like, kind of like the ones back home, you know?"

They were both new and strange while being oddly familiar. When he agrees about the photos, Pilouette pulls out her phone. She figures that if she's going to get some pictures, she may as well start right away and aims the camera at him as they walk.

"Hey! Say cheese!"

"Yeah, I get it. It's something we wouldn't get the chance to see otherwise." There were a lot of chances this place gave him that he never would have imagined having back at home, that was for sure. He's grateful for them, especially since he got to meet so many great people like Pilouette.

When she takes out her phone, Shinju gets what she's trying to do pretty quickly. He puts his arm around her shoulders and smiles, wanting to make sure it's a nice picture to start their date.

She's a little surprised when he drapes his arm around her shoulders and smiles as her cheeks turn just a little pink. Pilouette stretches her arm out in front of them and starts snapping photos, occasionally turning her head a little or smiling in a slightly different way trying to get a photo that's just right. After a few shots, she lets out a quiet laugh and scrolls through the pictures for a moment before handing him the phone.

"I think they came out like, pretty good!"

"Great," he replies before looking at the pictures himself--honestly, Pilouette's opinion of them is more important to him than his own, but he does scroll through to see them himself. Even if he hadn't thought they were nice, he probably wouldn't have said as much, but as it is he does like them, and the sincerity is evident in his voice.

"These are nice," he says before handing the phone back to her and tilting his head slightly. "Maybe tomorrow or something we can print a couple of pictures from today? You'll have to send them to me so I can have them on my phone, too."

"Yeah! Yeah, of course!" she responds, excited and happy to hear he likes them. "Maybe I'll buy one of those little photo albums to put the prints into...I've been keeping them in a box for a while."

After all, it would probably be better to have an organized collection of all the photos she's taken. Much easier to go through and recall all those wonderful memories.

"I'll send the pictures to your phone later after everything, but...um, I'll probably end up taking a lot of them, so I don't know if you'll want like, all of them. After all, we'll have a lot of fun today and I totally want to make sure I get all of it!"

After all, Pilouette is the type who likes having physical reminders of her good memories, almost as if she needs proof that they really happened and that she really shared these times with another. Besides just looking at photos makes her happy and the more she has, the better.

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oh god i have no idea what i'm doing.

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cue the awkward pauses and shuffling

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