Delicate Love

"Oh, uh, sure," Shiori mumbled. She couldn't afford to eat, not to mention she was fussy like a child when it came to food, but Penny made her want to be better. In all ways. "Ya won't get in trouble if ya leave early, right?"

"That guy been buggin' ya?" Shiori asked as casually as she could muster. Inside she was angry, and frustrated that in her absence she'd allowed some creep to make Penny uncomfortable. Though more than her disgust for the man, she felt disgust for herself. For a brief moment, she'd thought that Penny might be returning the guy's attention and felt... Jealous.

Shiori bristled, and her voice got more harsh sounding than she intended. "Is he really that bad?" she growled. Now, she hated herself even more. "I'll help ya get both," she offered boldly, letting her anger make her confident. "Or if ya don't want, I'll be ya bodyguard. Be more effective once this heals," she added, patting her arm in the sling and wincing.

There was a lot of information conveyed in those few sentences that made Shiori feel uncomfortable. The yet was very telling, as if Penny had had such things happen to her in her past. Such horrendous things that Shiori couldn't even come to comprehend. And then she mentioned Shiori getting her a taser or pepper spray. Well, she was such a nice person, and she did really need them. "i-I'll get ya the pepper spray," she mumbled, looking away. "Easier to use 'n... Uh..." She muttered cheaper under her breath. As she was flat broke, she didn't want to spend too much on something she was giving away. She was tired and a little grumpy, and this normally led to her misunderstanding what others said into something more negative.

So... Penny didn't want her to buy it for her after all? Just get it for her? Shiori felt better about that. "C-course," she said, perking up a bit. "I don't know how much they are, but I know a couple places to get 'em, so I'll check for ya. 'Kay? In the meantime, don't... Uh." She was going to tell Penny to stay away from the creep, but when they arrived at the cute little destination, Shiori didn't feel like talking about sad things. This was a happy place.

Shiori didn't recognise this smell as a grandma smell, only thinking of it as sweet and warm more than anything else. It made her feel drowsy. She smiled lazily at the old woman who greeted them, and nodded her head a touch. If this was a happy place for Penny, then Shiori could get behind having a good time here too.

Shiori looked gingerly at the menu, and cringed somewhat. This was all bespoke food, made by hand and with love. As quaint as this place was, it came with a hefty price tag. Probably to pay for all that travelling they'd done. It made sense, though, but still... "Uhh, wh-what'd ya recommend?" she asked, pretending to take the whole menu in.

So when Penny went to a restaurant that supposedly had cuisines from all over the world... She went for grilled cheese? Huh, Shiori thought she was well-read. "Then I'll get that too," she said, figuring that'd be cheap enough even for her. Besides, she knew what grilled cheese was so it wouldn't taste gross.

Shiori's eyes widened a bit. Now that was a promotion she could get behind. As much as it made her want to try some of the more expensive, exotic foods on the menu, she did still like the sound of a plain ol' hot cheese sandwich. "I'll have the grilled cheese," Shiori mumbled, not making eye contact with the spry old man. "P-please," she added. Penny would like politeness.

Shiori just shook her head, and handed the guy the menu. She didn't want to over-complicate things and maybe not like it. Cheese and bread was tasty enough for her.

Penny did get a lot of food for such a neat looking woman. Shiori found that... Incredibly endearing. She was about to say 'I can see you like food', but even she realised that sounded insulting so kept that thought to herself. "Smells great," she commented, breathing in deeply through her nose. "I ain't had grilled cheese since school. They weren't great chefs but they knew how to put a crap ton o' cheese on everythin'."

Shiori took a small bite too, weary that it might be hot. Ugh, she couldn't remember the last time something she ate tasted this good. She closed her eyes and savoured the first bite, not noticing a string of cheese was connecting her mouth to the rest of her food.

Since they were eating the same thing, Shiori didn't need to share, even if Penny's had garnishes. Shiori nodded, and finally noticed the string of cheese from her mouth to her food. How uncouth and embarrassing, she thought, breaking the string and stuffing it into her mouth hastily. "R-real good," she mumbled. "Thanks for takin' me here. Ain't be somewhere so nice in... A while." It was a lie. She'd never been somewhere so nice.