destinystrings | YOUR EXISTENCE IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT ICE CREAM

Who: Nano Shinonome and anyone who wants free ice cream
Where: Amagi Inn lobby
When: Sunday afternoon
Summary: Nano's perfected a recipe for sea salt ice cream and wants to share
Warnings: Action brackets? Action brackets. Also, first thread is backdated to Saturday and locked to Xion.

Ever since Nano's memories got all jumbled up with Xion's, she's been trying to recreate a very specific taste that she can still faintly recall: the salty-sweet taste of sea salt ice cream. Apparently it was important enough to Xion that the taste remained on the tip of Nano's tongue too, and she thought it would be nice if she could figure out how to make it here in Hinoto-Ri to share not only with Xion, but with all of her friends. So today, after some taste testing and the Xion seal of approval, she's finally ready to reveal her creation to the world - and what better venue than the Amagi Inn, considering that Nano's now a co-manager there and that half the place's staff is already composed of people intimately familiar with the taste. On Sunday morning, after she's finished getting everything ready, Nano sends a message out to the COMPs of everyone on the Visitor network:

Today there will be an ice cream social at the Amagi Inn. I'm trying out a new recipe for sea salt ice cream, and thinking of adding it to the inn's summertime menu. Everyone is free to come and try some!

Once the guests have arrived at the inn, there will be a small reception area set up in the lobby of the inn. Nano is there, wearing a pink kimono and eagerly waiting with an ice cream scoop and bowls to serve the guests. She also has a number of sea salt flavored popsicles in a mini freezer that she borrowed from the Ichiban Market for the occasion, and to help keep the ice cream nice and cold while she waits for the guests to show up to try some. Otherwise, it's just a nice little social event where everyone can get a cool treat and relax a little while they mingle with the other Visitors looking to beat the summer heat.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh no she was crying now he ought to have expected it and steeled himself against this inevitability, but Atsuro, too, is feeling the weight of the situation. His whole life, he had wanted friends -- the love of his friends to fill in the void he constantly felt, the presence of his friends to fill the gap left by the ones who were supposed to be there for him. He had sought them out at every opportunity, and he had treasured them, and he had clung to them.

Now somebody had offered to give him more than he could ever have asked for, and he... He had come up empty. It would have almost been a relief to realize that he had thought of Nano the same way she thought of him, to be able to reciprocate. But he had not, and... He felt almost as disappointed that he hadn't been able to find this within himself. As Nano cries, he lowers his head and swallows hard. He half-raises a hand to his eyes before he realizes he would be poking himself with a popsicle.

Love was a strange thing. The desire to be with someone... Was there any more to it than that? If he was honest with himself... wasn't that something he already felt? Could it really be because of her that he hadn't been able to find what he had sought in his heart?

...But he had spoken what he has truly felt, and there is nothing more he can do. When he speaks again, his own voice is slightly choked, and he has to clear his throat a few times before he can be intelligible.]

Of course, Nano...! I... I wouldn't want to lose you because of something like this.

[A slight pause.]

You... still want to be my friend?

Of course I do!

[It comes out a little louder than she'd intended, and she blushes in embarrassment, but at least she's looking him in the eye now, hands clenched into tight fists in front of her chest.]

You're very special to me, Atsuro-san... I'd never want to lose you either. You were my first real friend here. You helped me so many times, and made me feel like I really belonged. You've always been there for me, whenever I needed it... sometimes even when I didn't know I needed it, or even if I didn't ask.

[She's getting a little rambly, and starting to recognize it, so she takes a moment to shake her head before continuing.]

I could never throw all of that away. Never.

Ah...

[He finds himself unable to respond to this outburst at first, flushing red as he hears the sincerity pouring from Nano's heart. Nothing he had ever done was out of the ordinary for what he would do for any of his friends, but from Nano's viewpoint... He catches now, what he had missed before, and it is the significance of that phrase - like I really belonged that he finally begins to comprehend. The moment she had revealed her 'secret' -- She had been afraid of being rejected, and he... he had never quite understood.]

Thanks.

I'm... happy I could be there for you. I really am. It means a lot to hear you say that.

[A slight pause now before he shakes his head, a slight smile on his lips.]

You don't ever have to worry about losing me as a friend, Nano. I promise.

[Every act of kindness Nano has experienced since coming to Hinoto-Ri has been too special to her to even put into words. It might just be common behavior for her friends, but every single time it's touched her heart. Smiling and clasping her hand over her heart, she takes a deep breath as she tries to calm herself down.]

...Thank you, Atsuro-san. I'm so glad to have you as a friend.

[And now, she will cautiously approach him for a hug. She can be just a little selfish after all of that, right?]

[If she didn't want a hug, he probably would have tried for one (although he might have changed his mind asking a girl you just rejected for a hug was not proper protocol he didn't think). Regardless, Atsuro smiles and...

Pauses.

...And drops the half-melted popsicle into the trash receptacle before stepping forward to respond. He gently slides a hand around her back, patting her softly once.]

...Nano?

Whoever you end up with will be a really lucky guy. ...I'm sorry it can't be me.

[Nano allows herself to linger there for just a moment, arms wrapped shyly around Atsuro's midsection as she rests her head on his shoulder. She pretends for just a single fleeting moment that he said yes, and that this is their celebratory hug. But she's careful not to let that line of thought run away with her, and pulls back after a few moments.]

...Thank you, Atsuro-san.

[Smiling genuinely now, she nods, raising a hand up to wipe the few stray tears away from the corners of her eyes.]

[He steps back, too, and now that his hand is free, rubs slightly at the corners of his eyes. ...That had gone better than he could have expected. She had understood - And he hoped, too, that it meant she would get over her crush in time. Brief infatuation with the first person here who had wanted to be her friend... That was what this was, in the end.]

Do you... think you want a little time alone?

[Nano's still learning how to be human, and maintaining close personal relationships is the most important part of that to her. While she has no idea how to behave after being rejected or how to get over a crush, the one thing she does know is that Atsuro is very precious to her, and that she'd do anything to keep him as a friend. Somehow, it will probably work out.

All the same, Nano nods back at him.]

Yes, I think that might be for the best... I have a lot of work to do tonight before I go home.

[And probably a little more crying to do.]

[He is perfectly cognizant of what that actually means. Atsuro takes a few steps back with a faint, lingering smile.]

OK. I'll... see you later, then.

Have a good night, Nano.

Good night, Atsuro-san. Please be careful on your way home.

YOUR EXISTENCE IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT ICE CREAM

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