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Felix and Noriko - JP's Party, Saturday
Felix and Noriko find themselves taking a breather from the dinner out on the patio at the same time. Felix hits all the right spots for Noriko.
Noriko tugged her tie a little looser as she slipped away from the others and headed out to the patio. The clothes JP had lent her were a big too big on her, but, she felt, could not possibly clash with the place as much as she already did on her own. She didn't fit in places like this anymore, hadn't in a couple of years. She still knew how to behave (there had been dinners with Westerners now and then, back in Tokyo), but it didn't feel like her, and she hated going through the motions.
The cold hit her as soon as she stepped outside, and she wished again, not for the first time, that she could just light up and keep herself warm that way. She shoved her hands in her pockets, taking a few steps on the deserted patio, before she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned sharply around to face whoever or whatever it was.
Oh. That redheaded kid. Felix, she thought?
"Felix, right?" she checked, remaining where she was instead of coming closer.
He had his coat buttoned up tightly and a dark but fine scarf wrapped several times around his neck and chin, and he appeared to be trying to conceal himself behind a decorative potted evergreen, but that red hair was unmistakeable, and even in the semi-darkness his mis-matched eyes were unearthly-looking. For a heartbeat's span, he just looked at her, and then nodded, easing out from behind the plant.
"Noriko," Felix remembered. "Um, they didn't send you out to look for me, did they?"
It was only two years of not laughing at street kids' attempts at discretion in order not to set them off that allowed Noriko to keep a poker face at Felix failing to hide behind that plant.
"Nope," Noriko assured him. "Really not. I just wanted some fresh air. Not really my scene in there," she added with a tilt of her head in the direction of the lounge.
When Noriko said that, Felix ducked his his head, maybe a little embarrassed. "I think it's kind of beautiful. Everything's all kind of... sparkling, but warm. And everything tastes really good." The question of why, in that case, Felix was outside with his coat and scarf on went unanswered.
"So you wish it was your scene," Noriko figured, any kind of judgement absent from her voice. Only explanation for his presence outside and his statements, if you asked her, although she would rather hear it from him than keep working on an assumption.
"Yeah, I guess," Felix agreed, with a crooked small smile. "Everyone's dressed nice and talking and having a good time. I'm just... not quite sure I'm using the right fork and putting my napkin in the right spot, you know?"
"I'm not dressed nice, and I'm pretty sure western napkin customs are different from what I'm used to," Noriko wryly answered, and went quiet for a couple seconds. "That mean you're not having a good time?" She might not be up to date with Western social and dinner etiquette, but kids talking around something she was more than a little used to.
Felix's eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly. "No, I'm having a great time, really. It's kind of... breathtaking, I guess. I just needed to get my head back on straight." He grinned more brightly, and joked, "It was feeling kinda crooked."
"I know the feeling," Noriko stated, more to herself than to the kid. She was pretty sure she'd have to take a pill before the evening was over. "Don't let me keep you if you wanna head back inside," she added for Felix's benefit, her tone as close to friendly as it generally got with someone she'd only just met.
"Not just yet," Felix answered, casting a glance toward the windows that showed the cheerful party inside. The grin softened to a small smile, watching his friends have fun. "I guess... you 'n Jean-Paul must be pretty good friends, if you came to a place like this for him?"
"Speedsters unite, I figure," Noriko answered, looking back inside until her thoughtful gaze settled on Jean-Paul. She still didn't get why or how he'd warmed up to her this quickly. People usually didn't. Then again, he wasn't most people. She looked back at Felix, lips quirked into a half-smile. "He's been helping me with that, actually. Handling the speed." It was the half-smile that said it was more than that.
Felix bit his lower lip and glanced around quickly. No one seemed to be on the patio, but you could never be certain, and after Elaine Dupree... Felix didn't want to say anything that could make anyone suspicious. Of course, he was on the verge of acting kind of suspicious, himself.
"Thing about Jean-Paul," he ventured, "is he treats everybody the same unless you give him a reason not to. He doesn't seem to care if you're rich or not, or where you come from, or what you can do. Guess that's why he's got so many friends, huh?"
"One of the reasons, anyway," Noriko answered, shifting on her feet slightly. "That and the food, at least," she added, corner of her lips twitching up into a half-smile. Better make a joke out of it than say too much about Jean-Paul. It was instinct more than a conscious decision, especially since he'd been a street kid, too.
"There's always good food when he's around," Felix agreed, trying on a little smile that echoed Noriko's own. He leaned to peek back in the window, and noted with some trepidation, "There'll probably be dessert. I'm not sure what most of them even are."
"As long as you don't have any allergies, I say taking chances is the best way to handle food," Noriko answered, with wry determination that really meant that she was joking. Mostly. Well, by now Felix had seen her eat; it was serious business, in its own way.
Noriko was more serious about food than most teenage boys Felix had met, though she seemed more interested in quantity. Maybe that was a speedster thing? "Close my eyes and point?" he suggested with a small laugh.
"Pretty much," Noriko answered with wry amusement. "That or eenie meenie miney mo, anyway."
Felix laughed for real, lovely and lilting even if he kept it quiet. "Can't let the waiter catch me at it. You'll cover for me?"
Well, that was better, and put a half-smile on Noriko's lips. "You know it." She glanced back inside to see one of the waiters carrying in a tray of cakes. "And I think that's our cue."
"Ooh," Felix agreed, rubbing his gloved hands together with actual determination. "Okay. We can totally do this. I mean, there's less forks now than we started out with."
"Honestly, I'm half tempted to eat some cake with my hands just to see the look on the waiter's face," Noriko answered as she moved back towards the French doors and pulled it open, holding it for Felix.
Giggling, Felix gave her a playful little bow, and then moved to step inside. "Shit, I'd like to see that," he mumbled, dropping back into quiet reticence as he moved back into unfamiliar territory.
Noriko tugged her tie a little looser as she slipped away from the others and headed out to the patio. The clothes JP had lent her were a big too big on her, but, she felt, could not possibly clash with the place as much as she already did on her own. She didn't fit in places like this anymore, hadn't in a couple of years. She still knew how to behave (there had been dinners with Westerners now and then, back in Tokyo), but it didn't feel like her, and she hated going through the motions.
The cold hit her as soon as she stepped outside, and she wished again, not for the first time, that she could just light up and keep herself warm that way. She shoved her hands in her pockets, taking a few steps on the deserted patio, before she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned sharply around to face whoever or whatever it was.
Oh. That redheaded kid. Felix, she thought?
"Felix, right?" she checked, remaining where she was instead of coming closer.
He had his coat buttoned up tightly and a dark but fine scarf wrapped several times around his neck and chin, and he appeared to be trying to conceal himself behind a decorative potted evergreen, but that red hair was unmistakeable, and even in the semi-darkness his mis-matched eyes were unearthly-looking. For a heartbeat's span, he just looked at her, and then nodded, easing out from behind the plant.
"Noriko," Felix remembered. "Um, they didn't send you out to look for me, did they?"
It was only two years of not laughing at street kids' attempts at discretion in order not to set them off that allowed Noriko to keep a poker face at Felix failing to hide behind that plant.
"Nope," Noriko assured him. "Really not. I just wanted some fresh air. Not really my scene in there," she added with a tilt of her head in the direction of the lounge.
When Noriko said that, Felix ducked his his head, maybe a little embarrassed. "I think it's kind of beautiful. Everything's all kind of... sparkling, but warm. And everything tastes really good." The question of why, in that case, Felix was outside with his coat and scarf on went unanswered.
"So you wish it was your scene," Noriko figured, any kind of judgement absent from her voice. Only explanation for his presence outside and his statements, if you asked her, although she would rather hear it from him than keep working on an assumption.
"Yeah, I guess," Felix agreed, with a crooked small smile. "Everyone's dressed nice and talking and having a good time. I'm just... not quite sure I'm using the right fork and putting my napkin in the right spot, you know?"
"I'm not dressed nice, and I'm pretty sure western napkin customs are different from what I'm used to," Noriko wryly answered, and went quiet for a couple seconds. "That mean you're not having a good time?" She might not be up to date with Western social and dinner etiquette, but kids talking around something she was more than a little used to.
Felix's eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly. "No, I'm having a great time, really. It's kind of... breathtaking, I guess. I just needed to get my head back on straight." He grinned more brightly, and joked, "It was feeling kinda crooked."
"I know the feeling," Noriko stated, more to herself than to the kid. She was pretty sure she'd have to take a pill before the evening was over. "Don't let me keep you if you wanna head back inside," she added for Felix's benefit, her tone as close to friendly as it generally got with someone she'd only just met.
"Not just yet," Felix answered, casting a glance toward the windows that showed the cheerful party inside. The grin softened to a small smile, watching his friends have fun. "I guess... you 'n Jean-Paul must be pretty good friends, if you came to a place like this for him?"
"Speedsters unite, I figure," Noriko answered, looking back inside until her thoughtful gaze settled on Jean-Paul. She still didn't get why or how he'd warmed up to her this quickly. People usually didn't. Then again, he wasn't most people. She looked back at Felix, lips quirked into a half-smile. "He's been helping me with that, actually. Handling the speed." It was the half-smile that said it was more than that.
Felix bit his lower lip and glanced around quickly. No one seemed to be on the patio, but you could never be certain, and after Elaine Dupree... Felix didn't want to say anything that could make anyone suspicious. Of course, he was on the verge of acting kind of suspicious, himself.
"Thing about Jean-Paul," he ventured, "is he treats everybody the same unless you give him a reason not to. He doesn't seem to care if you're rich or not, or where you come from, or what you can do. Guess that's why he's got so many friends, huh?"
"One of the reasons, anyway," Noriko answered, shifting on her feet slightly. "That and the food, at least," she added, corner of her lips twitching up into a half-smile. Better make a joke out of it than say too much about Jean-Paul. It was instinct more than a conscious decision, especially since he'd been a street kid, too.
"There's always good food when he's around," Felix agreed, trying on a little smile that echoed Noriko's own. He leaned to peek back in the window, and noted with some trepidation, "There'll probably be dessert. I'm not sure what most of them even are."
"As long as you don't have any allergies, I say taking chances is the best way to handle food," Noriko answered, with wry determination that really meant that she was joking. Mostly. Well, by now Felix had seen her eat; it was serious business, in its own way.
Noriko was more serious about food than most teenage boys Felix had met, though she seemed more interested in quantity. Maybe that was a speedster thing? "Close my eyes and point?" he suggested with a small laugh.
"Pretty much," Noriko answered with wry amusement. "That or eenie meenie miney mo, anyway."
Felix laughed for real, lovely and lilting even if he kept it quiet. "Can't let the waiter catch me at it. You'll cover for me?"
Well, that was better, and put a half-smile on Noriko's lips. "You know it." She glanced back inside to see one of the waiters carrying in a tray of cakes. "And I think that's our cue."
"Ooh," Felix agreed, rubbing his gloved hands together with actual determination. "Okay. We can totally do this. I mean, there's less forks now than we started out with."
"Honestly, I'm half tempted to eat some cake with my hands just to see the look on the waiter's face," Noriko answered as she moved back towards the French doors and pulled it open, holding it for Felix.
Giggling, Felix gave her a playful little bow, and then moved to step inside. "Shit, I'd like to see that," he mumbled, dropping back into quiet reticence as he moved back into unfamiliar territory.