Starlight (Kojiro Nanjo)

Chapter Six: Cat Got Your Tongue?

"Cat got your tongue?" The white haired woman spoke up with a smile.

Her innocent giggles seemed to echo throughout the restaurant as Joe's head continued to spin. So many thoughts running through his mind, and yet, he couldn't manage to find a single word to say. He found his palms growing sweaty as she stared toward him with big pale blue eyes, awaiting any sort of response he could muster up. He was nervous. Not only that, nervous about a girl. Which wasn't something Joe was used to at all.

"Guess so." Cherry hummed, approaching the two of them and leaning a hand against the counter. "Wasn't sure if you were going to recognize her or not, but it seems I had little more faith in you than I should've. My mistake."

Joe wanted to bite back with some snappy remark, but he just couldn't. Too distracted by the woman in front of him. She noticed his unwavering gaze and let out an uncomfortable cough, trying to bring the man back to Earth. Which worked well enough. Taking notice to the way his posture relaxed and his eyes briefly met the floor, before tightly knitting together and sending a subtle glare to Cherry.

"Who the hell let's a lady pay for dinner?" Joe finally retorted, not taking much notice or care toward Cherry's prior comment. "If you take a woman out on a date, you're supposed to treat her."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, you dopey gorilla." Cherry's eyes narrowed. "And I did pay for my own meal, she just brought the money up to see if you'd notice her."

"Of course I noticed her. From the moment she walked in through the front door, I saw her." Joe replied with an angered expression on his face. "Just couldn't be sure, and I didn't need to make myself look like a fool to figure it out."

"Mission was not accomplished. You always look like a fool." Cherry retorted with a snort. "And this isn't a date of any kind. Just two friends enjoying one another's company."

"Hey, uh." Hoshiko's nervous voice spoke up, trying to stop the two men from escalating the situation further. "The whole point of a disguise is to not be recognized, so it's totally fine that you couldn't tell. No hard feelings, or anything."

Joe's heart began to settle. Hands no longer twitching now, he didn't as anxiety ridden as he once did. Her soft tone alone could calm a room full of people, he was sure of it. She was like a tranquilizer, or a lullaby. Gentle, slow, comforting and beautiful. When he looked to her, he swore he saw stars. How fitting that feeling was.
And at the same time, when had raced her before, he didn't feel like this at all when he looked at her. When she soared through the air above him, his heart started to hammer against his chest. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, he was so excited. She was exciting and dangerous and fast. How odd it was to know that those two people were in the same body.

"I will admit, the food was pretty incredible." She complimented, a warm grin returning to her face as she thought back to her meal, pressing a gentle hand to her stomach. "I had such a great time here with Cherry."

"Well, I'm glad, dear." Cherry replied with a genuine smile. "Hopefully the ape didn't ruin it too much."

"If you're gonna eat at my own damn restaurant, you can't complain about seeing me."

"He's got a point." Hoshiko chuckled, earning subtle rosy cheeks from Joe that nobody had taken much notice to. "I do have a question for you both that I had been meaning to ask.. it's about, uh."

"Go on." Joe beckoned, the two men nodding, understanding exactly what she was hinting at.

"Basically, how do you keep it such a secret?" Her voice began a whisper as she spoke, afraid someone could overhear their discussion. Though the few people that still resided in the building hardly paid half a mind to three adults conversing at the counter. "You're both so relaxed in public, even when speaking with one another. Nobody ever even bats an eye. How do you do that?"