1412/Noodle Incident

Noodle Incident
Date of Scene:	14 April 2024
Location:	Okujoo Ramen
Synopsis:	A group of hungry mahoujin eats ramen together after a fight.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Jadeite, Adrien Agreste, Makoto Kino

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's a deliciously chilly spring evening, and after that fight, nobody really especially wants to leave. Especially not when -- after slinging a laser beam -- Tuxedo Mask said he'd get everyone ramen at this rooftop place that Inai-sensei liked which was actually pretty good!

It really is a rooftop place, and the boy in the actual cape has left his actual cape and mask on, and gloves even, and the point is they got there by jumping and everyone there assumed these cosplayers took the elevator, and there's something chilly about that too.

It's a lonely world on the other side of the camaraderie, just outside the warm glow of the hanging electric light bulbs above them.

"I got everyone, right? Nobody's hiding any injuries?" Tuxedo Kamen asks a little anxiously after their orders have been taken. They're all a little scuffed, it was a proper fracas, but the prince was on the case. And on their cases, just in case.

Jadeite has posed:
"We're fine," and Jadeite barely manages to not say 'my prince' after it, but it's a close call. "And we've been fine, and if anyone is not fine after this, that's on them and not on you. It is time for us to celebrate our glorious victory, after all!"

Besides, Tamaki could eat a horse! Or noodles. Noodles are also good. He just has to be ready for when the receipt comes and snag the honor of being the one to pay. He has non-tracable cash, it'll keep their identities hidden. It's fine.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Purr-fect here," Cat Noir pipes up with a broad grin as he finds himself settled among the table of friends and allies with only the smallest bit of guilt that he can't really share his real identity with them. The fight went well, and he hadn't needed to use Cataclysm so he was still in henshin with little worry of his time running out. He'd just owe Plagg some cheese later to make up for the extended transformation time after running around fighting.

Plucking up the disposable chopsticks with the clawed fingertips of his gloves they're clapped between both hands to roll briskly until they snap apart as they're supposed to.

"Thanks for letting me tag along. I'm honestly starving after that. Besides," he adds with a rather broad grin that flashes his teeth. "I've been told I need to be socialized more before I turn feral or something."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter stretches her arms up over her head, rolling her shoulders a little as though working out some last post-combat kinks. "I'm fine," she assures Tuxedo Kamen. "Not even scuffed." She glances around the little ramen joint, feeling rather self-conscious about doing this still in henshin... but nobody really seems to be paying them all that much attention, or at least no more than you'd expect a group of cosplayers at a ramen joint at night might draw.

Relaxing a little, she turns her attention back to their own table, and eyes the others with an amused expression. "Maybe a bit outnumbered, though," she quips.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I have no idea how you managed not to get scuffed, but-- outnumbered?" Tuxedo Kamen asks, mystified. But Jadeite with his 'not on you'... the prince gives him a crooked smile, knowing how close Jadeite came to saying it, and appreciating that he didn't. It's better than some things he could call him, but my goodness. He reaches under the table with his foot and gently steps on Jadeite's for a second, that crooked smile ticking up a notch for a second before foot goes away and the prince's attention's on Chat Noir.

"You're perfectly welcome! Also, I never apologized to you for being all jealous and whatever when Usagi was stuck as Sailor Eclipse. I, uh. I was Hematite. If you didn't know before."

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite kicks Tuxedo Kamen's ankle lightly. lightly, mind you! But it's still a kick. What was that for??

"I'm told feeding cats is a good way to socialize them," he jokes to Cat Noir. "Besides, the more the merrier! And if I did anything foolish as Jadeite, this is - probably a good way to fix it?"

not that he, ah, would remember. But just in case!

"Well, you are the one 'prep' to our three goths, given our outfits," he quips to Sailor Jupiter with a grin.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"You're not outnumbered, Sailor Jupiter. We're just lucky enough to be in your lovely company!" Cat Noir assures with a wink cast toward the taller senshi. It's all said oh-so-easily in an attempt to reassure her as well as just being, well, him.

Chopsticks poised he stirs up the noodles in the broth to get a good mix but doesn't yet dig in. That was steaming hot.

His grin only grows deeper at the apology from Tuxedo Kamen. "Ah! I hadn't known, no, but that does explain a bit. Don't worry though," he assures with a flippant wave of his hand to brush aside any possible ill feelings. "There's no need to be jealous. I think you're just as cute as she is."

Jadeite's joke is met with a chuckle. "Very true! You'll have me eating out of your hand in no time. This is how you catch strays you know."

Rather than digging in right away he pauses to reach behind him to pull out his collapsed staff from where it had been tucked into the back of his belt. A button his hit on it flipping open what appears to be a little screen that he then aims at the ramen bowl. "Just a sec. Got to send Naru-chan some 'noods," he jokes.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Jupiter laughs a little at Jadeite's comment. "This might be the first time I've been called a prep," she replies, "but hey." She'll let that stand as the explanation for saying she's outnumbered, in any case, and busy herself snapping apart her own set of disposable chopsticks.

She falls quiet for a bit, listening to the guys tease each other - until Cat Noir makes that last remark and has her rolling her eyes expressively. "Really?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Laughing at Cat Noir, Tuxedo Kamen waves his own chopsticks around in return. "Careful, I might call your bluff."

What??

He grins at Jadeite like the cheshire cat at the light ankle-kick, catching the kicking foot between his own and just holding it still for a second. "I am SO GLAD you are out of your goth phase," he says fervently before letting Jadeite's foot go. Then he and Makoto basically have the same reaction to Cat Noir's texting announcement. "Oh, come on... you should send them to Adrien too so he doesn't feel left out."

Jadeite has posed:
As Chat Noir goes on about how cute Tuxedo Kamen is - well, Jadeite's smile doesn't break, but his shoulders stiffen and his foot hooks around Tuxedo Kamen's.

He shoves a bite of ramen in his mouth before he can say something reckless - it's good ramen, hot on this chilly night, very good - ugh, his heart is pounding out of his chest now! Calm down!

"I suppose we're very lucky you're eating out of our hands," he quips. "YOu shouldn't make Adrien feel left out."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Moi? Bluff? Never! I may tell a tail or two," oh god was that another pun? Chat Noir presses a clawed hand to his chest as he solemnly intones, "But I speak the truth!"

Either he's completely situationally unaware or he's trying to ease things just a bit by leaning over toward Jadeite to mock-whisper, "YOU agree with me, right? Besides," he adds while sitting up properly again and finally, FINALLY going for his chopsticks. "I think your hands are already a bit full with that tall, pale and handsome guy you hang out with usually, as well as your lady."

He does sit up straighter after with a little, perhaps slightly nervous chuckle, as he fiddles with the staff communicator a moment more. "No one's getting left out. Naru-chan's just the one usually up at this time. She sends her love and hopes we're all okay, by the way."

Makoto Kino has posed:
The Cat gets a suspicious side-eye from Sailor Jupiter at that 'tail' thing, but she doesn't comment on it. She tugs her bowl of ramen a little closer, breathing in the steam for a moment before she looks up to glance between Chat Noir and Tuxedo Mask, then to Jadeite and back. "I was going to say to quit teasing," she remarks lightly, "but at this point I'm not sure I can tell who's teasing who any more."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"My hand to the gods of trickery and deceit, I would never tease," Tuxedo Mask says, twisting his chopsticks in one hand and vanishing them, then pulling them out of the air in the other hand. Prestidigitation or magic?? Does it matter? He's looking at Jadeite with wide eyes behind his mask, lightly tugging against Jadeite's hooking of his foot-- and then his eyes start dancing. Is that how it is?

It's almost daintily that the prince starts to eat his ramen, managing somehow not to slurp at all. And once he's swallowed, he says lightly, "Should I tell Kunzite you're flirting with him in absentia? I could even text him right now."

Jadeite has posed:
"I'm glad you know that m - that Tuxedo Kamen is part of a matched set," Jadeite says primly. "He's very handsome, which is why he's so lucky in love."

He is not looking at Tuxedo Kamen. He is eating his noodles. He is being SO normal about this.

And having defused the flirting, in his opinion, he lets Tuxedo Kamen's foot go and relaxes. "I think if you averaged Chat Noir and Kunzite out, you'd get an average amount of words spoken per minute."

So. Normal. Normal jokes! It's fine!

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"What? No. Why. No!" Cat Noir's face reddens singificantly at that. He KNEW Kunzite after all. Kazuo. Whatever name he was going by, and he *had* maybe flirted with him as well a bit jokingly before, but mostly Kazuo had been around when he'd been being *very stupidly embarassing* with Naru. If anyone knew Cat Noir wasn't slick, it was Kunzite. And Naru. She seemed to like it though.

More importantly it finally seems to click that they had all suggested he also send the photo to Adrien, and while he covered smoothly (so smooth) now he's... not sure. "Why would I bother Adrien with noodles anyway I mean that's Naru's guy and uh oh I should eat these before they get cold."

So saying he ducks his head down to slurp up some noodles with rather impeccable manners in spite of actually rushing to stuff his face so he'll just SHUT UP now. Augh. Chrono had been right, it HAD been awhile since he socialized properly as Cat Noir.

Except now he has to pipe up, "I have been told I can be a chatty catty."

Looking to Jupiter he chuckles awkwardly, "You're as wise as you are lovely and I should take your advice."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"All things considered," notes Jupiter, gathering noodles with her chopsticks, "I'm not sure an oath to gods of trickery and deceit is the most believable..."

She's bending over her bowl when Cat Noir turns the charm on her - however unintentionally it may be - and Sailor Jupiter's face immediately turns bright pink at being called lovely. She very hastily stuffs her mouth full of noodles, trying to pretend she's not blushing. "Mf."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"A chatty catty and a 'cheeky kitty', I've heard, who dipkissed Naru when we went to rescue her and Hinoiri," Tuxedo Mask points out cheerfully. "I just figured you were in a relationship with both of them, I'm sorry I seem to have assumed incorrectly. But your romantic entanglements are absolutely none of my business-- which is why I'm all up in them now." He leans an elbow on the table and grins at Jadeite, then. "Kunzite talks plenty," he says, "you just haven't spent enough time with him in this life yet. He's much less grouchy too."

A quick pat-pat on Jupiter's shoulder when he sees her blush, and he has this completely harmless thing to say before shoveling more ramen in his own mouth: "It's so you know what you're getting. It's like a double negative, right?"

Jadeite has posed:
A dipkiss? Well, if all three of them were on board with it... Endymion wouldn't be joking about it if anyone was upset with it, so Jadeite will simply take his prince's lead and turn the tables. In a friend way! Everyone was friends here! If Jadeite's tense that's on him.

"There's something in the water that lets the blondes go wild," he says, absolutely aware of the irony in that statement. "Or is it something about tomcats?"

And his face does soften as Endymion smiles at him. "Well, he'll start talking to me when he's ready. I can wait. Something about blondes, and all."

And he faux-whispers to Jupiter: "He's always been like this."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
*GULP* Cat Noir lowers his chopsticks back down as he just swallows the entire mouthful he'd taken ending in a small fit of coughing as he grabs for a napkin instead. Red-faced and looking vaguely guilty he glances at the trio around him uncertain.

So much for being stealthy! There was so much going on and he'd gotten her to relative safety at the time he thought he could get away with it. His free hand lifts to rub at the back of his neck as he suddenly feels more his age again. "You, ah... You saw that, huh? I thought we were far enough away."

He goes quiet a moment, cat slitted eyes darting up then back down as he considers what to say. "I know I'm kind of a flirt, but I don't take things that far as a joke. So you know."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Woo. The vibes around this table right now sure are something. Jupiter slurps loudly as she finishes downing that mouthful of noodles, the way you're supposed to; her eyes widen at the talk of Cat Noir dipkissing Naru, but her mouth's still full, so she just makes a wry face at both Tux and Jadeite while she chews.

"Well," she says once she's swallowed, "I imagine that Naru-chan was fine with it, or I'd have heard something from Usagi-chan. Which means it's between you and her."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You are an enormous flirt," Tuxedo Kamen says surprisingly gently to Chat Noir, setting his bowl down for a moment. Then he nods emphatically to Jupiter! and looks back at the Cat to say, "I had been going to give you some kind of shovel talk, but I know Naru better than that. I'm trusting you with her because I trust her. I just don't want Adrien to get hurt either, he's a really good guy. That's all."

And he steps on Jadeite's foot again. Still lightly. But this time it's accompanied by one white-gloved hand curling beneath his chin, and his blue eyes behind the mask focusing brightly on Jadeite. "Like what?" he asks innocently.

Jadeite has posed:
All thought drains from Jadeite's head as Endymion catches his chin with his gloved hand. All sensation narrows to the feeling of warmth radiating through soft fabric. (and the shoe, of course.)

"<Incorrigible>," he says in English. "Which means neither god nor man could stop you from doing whatever you wanted."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"It's not *quite* like that," Chat Noir has to admit though he can't outright just say it. It's moments like these that are really frustrating. "Naru and I are okay with it, and ... Adrien knows that she has someone else she likes, too. Same with me." He has to add because otherwise it's just confusing. "But we're not entirely a menage e trois!"

Of course he slips into French on that. It was so easier than trying to explain a trio in Japanese. There wasn't really a proper translation that didn't require a lot more explaining so far as he was aware.

"Just uh. Figuring things out I guess?" That's probably the best he can do. "No one's getting hurt though."

Hopefully that's all that's needed to explain. He's rather grateful when Jadeite and Tuxedo Mask focus on one another. It's now his turn for his eyebrows to jolt upward, and he looks toward Jupiter with a little tip of his head toward the pair like 'you seeing this?'

The sly feline smile returns.

"Sooo, when are *you* two going to start dating?" Nudge. Nudge.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"That's the important part," Jupiter agrees. "That nobody's getting hurt. The rest is details." She doesn't get it - not really - but she doesn't have to. If Usagi and Mamoru and Kazuo are fine with what they have, and if Naru and Adrien and Cat Noir are, then it's not anything that Makoto has to understand herself.

She definitely pauses when Tuxedo Mask does what he does. Catching Cat Noir's glance her way, she raises her own eyebrows in response. Yeah, she's definitely seeing this.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Thumb. Thumb brushes across the front of Jadeite's chin, and Tuxedo Kamen leans just a little bit closer, his elbow still on the table. "<Incorrigible,>" he repeats, and he sounds entirely too amused. "Accurate. Princes do what they want, right?"

And then he slowly turns to Cat Noir and Sailor Jupiter, eyebrows up. "That's between Jadeite, Sailor Moon, and Kunzite, isn't it? It's certainly not my call."

Then he lets go of Jadeite's chin -- yes, only now -- and pats the side of his guardian's face, and picks up his bowl of noodles again and goes along eating them like none of that just happened.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite remains frozen; the only way to tell he's not a statue is by the way his cheeks are blossoming red. It takes him nearly half a minute to shake himself out of his stupor.

"A menage e troi is very well and good, and if everyone in it's having fun, then there's nothing to criticize. And my prince does do as he pleases...."

There's no holding it back this time. The phrase is loose.

"I 'am' tryin not to be a homewrecker, you know," Jadeite says and picks up half a boiled egg; it slips through his chopsticks and splashes back into his bowl, sprinkling soup on his face.

Being. So. Normal.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir glances between the pair again. Once, twice. Then he leans over toward Jadeite with his voice dropping, "That's not a 'no' I hear. I'd say talk to them about it, buddy." A thumbs-up is given encouragingly along with another of those bright, cheerful grins. He could encourage what he saw after all!

With the attention off of his own relationship to give encouragement to the two making moon eyes at each other, he sits up seeming far more his usual self again. So much easier when it wasn't his problem.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Oh boy. Sailor Jupiter is very definitely and very visibly staying out of this completely; not even looking across the table now, she turns her full attention to her ramen.

Nomf.

Sluuuuurrrrp.
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