"Uh, sure," Thomas quietly muttered, before shaking his head and speaking louder. "Yeah, I would love to." He smiled, his white teeth a stark contrast to his deep skin. "A-are we going to go now. We could it's just a little dark y'know, or we could go in the morning, but really any time is good."
Orion blinked. She didn't expect him to actually say yes; most of the time people ignored her. "Whenever works for you is good. I don't have to work until tomorrow evening. . . um, if you want Clefairy to stop licking your ankles you can just tell her to stop."
"Well- uh… it's kinda dark right now, but I can pick you up in the morning?" Thomas reached down to stroke the cat once again. "You have my number… right? I mean I could give it to you again- no that's weird, but uh yeah. I can get Lillian to watch over Kara for the day. Kara may be old enough to take care of herself but she won't just because she can." He rubbed his neck and laughed. "But… uh- I'll see you tomorrow? I'll pick you up at 9 if that's okay."
"Alright. Okay. That sounds good." Orion pulled her sleeves down to her hands. "Um. So. Tomorrow, then?"
(scoot)
(Hi! Sorry school and life has been kinda rough recently. I havent really been responding to any rps but Im trying to respond to them all tonight. Sorry to keep you waiting!!)
(don't worry about it! i didn't know but it's not a big deal. take all the time you need)
"Yeah, tomorrow!" Thomas smiled and turned to the door. "I- um… See you then!" And with that, he left.
Orion went to sleep with her cats at her feet and a plethora of thoughts in her head. As usual, it took an hour and a half to fall asleep. And she dreamt of nightmarish things with long legs and claws that chased her in her sleep. This wasn't out of the ordinary; usually, this happened every night.
Thomas woke up the next morning with Kara jumping right onto his chest. "OOF!" He wheezed, pushing the smaller and younger girl to the floor. "Kara! Was that necessary?!" He scolded, though his voice was the same smooth tone as usual. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as Kara laughed like a gremlin and scrambled out of his room. He checked the clock, the green digits reading 8:03.
Thomas yawned and picked out a pair of jeans and a simple black button-up. He got in the shower, ready for his… meet-up with Orion.
Orion stumbled into the kitchen, put the kettle on the stove, and showered for exactly seven minutes. She got out, twisted her hair into a haphazard bun, and pulled on a hoodie over a green and black striped shirt. She wiggled her feet into her favorite jeans and let her hair back down to dry. The kettle started screeching in the kitchen, and so did Sir Ben, wailing louder than the boiling water. "BEN!"
The cat fell silent, then started up again. Orion shoved her feet into a pair of steel toe boots and stomped into the kitchen. She scooped up Ben and put him out on the balcony. "Shut up already, you whine bag." She poured the water into a mug and dropped a teabag in too.
It was 8:47 when Thomas left his house, Kara coninuelessly teasing him about his date. Lillian literally had to sit on the child so Thomas could leave the house in peace. He got into his black pick up and drove over to Orion's apartment complex.
It was just after 9 when Thomas knocked on Orion's door.
"Coming!" Orion set her tea on the counter and opened the door. "Hi. You look good. I mean nice. You look. . . Anyway. You can come in if you want."
"I- uh… Thank you! You look great too." Thomas took her offer to enter the home and took a seat on the couch. "So, any certain place in mind that you'll wanna go? I have a couple but if you wanna go somewhere specific that's fine with me."
"Do you like . . .bubble tea? There's a place down the street with the best bubble tea." Orion tucked her hands into her pocket.
"Oooh, that sounds good!" Thomas smiled and stood. "If you give directions, I'll pay."
"Alright. Come on then." Orion opened the door and said, "Just a few blocks to the right."
"Are we walking or driving? My truck's parked outside if we wanna take that." Thomas shrugged and followed Orion out the door and into the hallway.
"I'd prefer to walk. If you don't mind." Orion tugged on a curl of her hair.
"Alright, that's cool with me," Thomas replied with a shrug and a smile. He held the door open for Orion and let her lead him down the sidewalk.
"What's your favorite flavor of tea?" Orion asked, looking at him sideways.
"I like green tea. I'm basic, I know!" He put his hands up in defense as Orion shot him a funny look. "I just find it soothing. But usually I'm more of a berry smoothie type of person."
"No judgment here. I'm not a huge fruit person, however. Here we are." Orion stopped in front of a storefront, the sign on the door reading 'Sakura Bubble Tea.'
"Oh, Lillian and Harley go here all the time," Thomas informed as the duo approached the small little cafe. "They kept telling me I needed to try it sometime, but I never got the chance. Glad I finally get to go here." The man opened the door and held it open for Orion to walk through.
"Thank you." She stepped up to the counter and said, "黒糖ミルクバブルティーをください," to the barista at the counter. The barista nodded and scribbled something down on a piece of paper.
Thomas quirked an eyebrow when Orion unexpectedly began speaking in a different language. "You're bilingual?" He asked, slight jealousy lacing his smooth voice.
Orion flushed. "I was a foreign exchange student in middle school. My parents thought it would help with my social anxiety."
"That's awesome! The only time I've been out of the country was when Kara got us lost on a camping trip and we somehow would up in Canada." Thomas furrowed his eyebrows ar the memory. "I still have no idea what happened but it was an adventure I'll never forget."
The barista asked for Thomas's order and he responded with a raspberry green tea smoothie. The man handed the barista his card and she gave him two drinks in return. "Thank you!" Thomas offered a small nod and led Orion to a small table in the back of the cafe.
"Not really. It sort of traumatized me. All I really got was some limited Japanese skills." She stabbed her straw through the seal on the top of the bubble tea. "Do you like it?" Orion asked, pointing at his drink.
"Oh, dang sorry about that." Thomas took a long sip of his drink. "And yeah, it's really good!"