Another Time [Tomomi/Cecil]

Cecil looked between his dish and the server, grinning wide. This...smelled goood. He couldn't lie, he was looking forward to this. "I think this'll be just fine."

As the server leaves them to their food, Cecil glances to Tomomi. "This looks good...now we just have to see if it tastes good."
Carefully cutting into one of the steak slices so thoroughly coated in sauce, he takes a bite, and proceeds to sink back into the booth as the flavour hits. "Mmmmm..." His eyes shut as he takes the moment to savour it, an incredible satisfaction flowing through him, before he opens his eyes and looks over to Tomomi. "It passes. It's good. Dig in."
Taking a swig of his lemonade, Cecil starts working the rice into the dish meticulously, creating a great intermingling of rice, sauce, meat and pepper before starting to dig into it with renewed vigor. "Mmmm...! Oh god, that's good..."

Not even bothering with his usual nod of affirmation, Tomomi moved to take a bite of his own, starting with some of the peppers in the sauce and scooping up some rice with it before taking a bite. His eyes watered slightly from the flavour. Swallowing the bite with a gulp, he let out a smile. "Yeah... Yeah that's good." He replied, before recalling the menu. "And for the price... Oh goodness is it worth it for sure."

At that, no more words, as the boy began to eat as if he were a critique, savouring every bite, while every now and again having some of his water to help the food go down as he took his time to enjoy his meal. The time for conversation had passed for the moment. The time for enjoying life and good food was now. Every flavour standing in strong, bold colours, yet complimenting each other perfectly.

Delicious.

Now, as much as it didn't really look like that was what he was doing, Cecil was savouring his meal just as much, if not more than Tomomi was.
...it really, really didn't look like it though. Cecil had gotten two bites into his plate before starting to tear through his meal at a rate of knots. The opposition that stood in the way of conquering this meal mattered not as he engaged in his brutal conquest of this Chinese cuisine, inflicting utter devastation upon his dish without mercy or restraint.
Had this been another time and another place, the foodstuffs might have been spared the full force of his consumption, but it had made the grave mistake of being a delectable dish placed before a hungry man.

It never stood a chance.

Scarce minutes later, Cecil sat back with a satisfied moan and took another swig of his lemonade, a war-torn plate bearing nary a scrap the only evidence anything edible had ever existed here.

Unlike Cecil, Tomomi was a fairly slow eater. Each bite was taken slowly and seemingly methodically, as if there were some mad strategy behind each bite and choice. In reality, Tomomi's style of eating could be considered similar to the stereotypical princess, trying to keep up an appearance of manners while eating, no matter how much he enjoyed the food, and taking some sips of his water every now and again.

After a bit, Tomomi had finished his own food, his plate seeming relatively clean despite the type of food that had been on it. Smiling, Tomomi nodded, speaking up to break the post-food silence. "That... Yeah, um... That was nice." He declared, before rummaging into his pocket, counting out change before handing it to Cecil. "This is for the drinks, since... You know, I said I would."

Cecil ended up waiting for a bit as Tomomi finished, his ruthless approach to eating leaving him done with his meal at least a good minute or two in advance, leaving him to bask in the afterglow of a good meal freshly consumed.
As Tomomi speaks up, he seems to jolt as if snapping out of a trance, before giving an awkward chuckle. "Yeah. It was."
He watches as the boy goes rifling through change, and accepting the offering. He'd still rather have just handled costs himself, but...whatever made him happy, really. "You definitely did. Just gotta get paying and get moving."
With a nod, he downs the last of his lemonade, winces (he should really stop doing that), and exits the booth, heading to the front to settle the bill. It was definitely a cost within his means, and one that was respectable for the price as Tomomi had noted before...but he still couldn't help but mourn the fact he couldn't just eat there as he pleased. That had been one satisfying meal.
...he'd have to see if they did takeaway. He might, just might, be able to talk Dad into giving the place a try sometime soon.

When he stepped out of the restaurant, it was with a smile on his face and a slightly less full wallet. "...weird. Not sure why I'm thinking about it now, but...guess I didn't need to worry as much as I did when I was thinking this all out."

Stepping out of the restaurant at the end of it with Cecil, Tomomi looked out ahead of him, as if with a new perspective. He felt... Lighter some how. And not only in the sense that his spare money was now gone and his pockets were lighter. No, he felt lighter of spirit. It was the first time he got to talk about such a thing with someone after all. Cecil's a good friend. To Tomomi, and that recent voice in his head, there was no doubt about it.

Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, Tomomi smiled. "Hey, um... Thanks for that. As nice as the food was, I... Think I really needed to be able to talk to someone about that. So, thanks. If ever you need to talk face to face, I'd like to be able to do the same for you."

Offering a genuine grin, the boy nodded to himself. "You'll have to come over to my place at some point. It's not the best or most brilliant, but, I've got a games console, so, we can play games and just generally hang out if you... You know, if you want."

As the words left his mouth, Tomomi's normal panicky state returned, forcing him to add an extra "Oh, but uh... You don't have to if you don't want to."

Cecil simply looks over, and shakes his head at the thanks. As far as he was concerned..."It's nothing. Just something you do for a friend when they need it..." He pauses, then lets out a soft laugh. "Not that I'd know, I guess. Still. Just something I felt like I should do...though I'll remember that if I need to talk about something."

He continues to listen on as Tomomi makes his statement and fumbles over it, a look of understanding washing over him as a sense of familiarity washes over him.
Was this what he looked like to everyone else?
"Relax. I do want to sometime." He points to Tomomi. "But you've gotta stop by my place as well. Dad and Rydia are probably going to wind you up to no end, but I don't doubt they'll make the visit special. Hell...if he doesn't order takeaway, Dad might take cooking seriously for once. That's always a sight to behold."
He pauses, his face scrunching up in thought. "...I wonder how far overboard he'd go in this case...probably be enough leftovers to make a feast of the next day..."

Tomomi listened intently as Cecil spoke, and reassured Tomomi that he'd enjoy hanging out. Hearing it was a relief. The boy had a smile on his face, as he had for a while, and it was nice. As Cecil finished, Tomomi let out a slight giggle. The image that Cecil gave from the description was something he found amusing.

"I look forward to it." He replied simply, keeping a grin upon his face. "So, um... When you want to meet up, you have my number, and also we both go to the Academy, so, um... I look forward to it!" He declared, giving his friend a big thumbs up. "I'm warning you now though, my place isn't exactly... Luxury, so... Don't get your hopes up on that I guess?" He gave a laugh, before taking a look around, then facing in the general direction of Little Tokyo. "So, I'm off this way. I'm guessing you live somewhere else, so, see you later?" He asked, waiting for a reply before walking off with a wave and smile.

[Exit]

Cecil's expression relaxes as he gives Tomomi a brief, confident nod. "Me too. And seriously - it's fine." He grins. "I'm sure I'll manage to find a way to luxuriate anyway. I'll find a way to live like a king there even if the place is on fire." He raises an eyebrow, and the grin twists up into a smirk. "It's got the most important feature for such a thing - they're standing right in front of me."
"See ya, Tomomi!" Happily, he waves Tomomi off before pivoting around and starting to make his own way home, plugging his earphones in and turning his attention inward as he starts to come down from his high.

I think that went well, don't you?
You know you are asking yourself that question.
And you know you're the one who'll be able to give me an honest answer to that. So you think so, or not?
...yes. That went well.
And?
You are extorting yourself for the things you wish to hear...
At least this time it is not for empty platitudes. Very well.
A revision of our interactions may be in order, if my actions are provoking outbursts such as that at crucial moments where they can less be afforded.
You're seriously only concerned about when I snapped instead of why?
...forget it. Glad I'm listening to myself for once.
Know that this is only to create a less detrimental approach. Expectation remains the same.
Of course...
Yeah, I get it. You're not gonna stop.
So...how do things go from here?