(no subject)

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei is waiting at the end of the Bar, as he told Mac he would be when they fixed the date for their, well, date. He's dressed in his usual black suit-and-sneakers ensemble: it's to be a casual-dress outing.

Comments

[q_in_training]

...Wow, she wasn't actually expecting that to work. Awesome.

"I think this could be arranged." Serene. And then, with full sincerity, "Seriously, thank you so much for this."

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

Seimei smiles warmly. "I'm very glad to see you enjoying yourself. And I will be glad to help you in your quest to upgrade your computer." He concludes with a chuckle.

[q_in_training]

"And what a noble quest it will be," she intones, before almost immediately breaking into a snicker and diving back into the array of laptop parts.

The plan, as she explains to him, is both simple and elegant: get parts to suitably upgrade a MacBook Pro, actually buy said MacBook Pro, then trade in her PowerBook here.

"I've had it for five years," she finishes up, matter-of-factly. "I'm loyal, but sometimes? It's a tenuous and conditional loyalty."

Especially in the face of all this, because, seriously.

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"Ah, good idea. Although I don't know if you'll void the warranty that way." Seimei shrugs. "Although if something happens, I can bring your computer here and they will fix it." He leans over and whispers, "Do not tell Steve Jobs."

[q_in_training]

That gets an amused snort. "If I ever wind up on a first name basis with Steve Jobs, I just might be able to die happy." Waving a dismissive hand, "Anyway, I've done worse to get my warranty voided."

Beat.

"Pretend I didn't say that."

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"Say what?" Seimei asks with a great big helping of feigned innocence.

[q_in_training]

"Exactly."

Mac shoots him a mischievous smirk, then catches sight of a promising-looking display and says, "Hey, I think that might have stuff -- "

Twenty minutes later, she has an armful of equally promising-looking items, ranging from hardware to accessories to a few choice bits of software, and is trying extremely hard not to add anything else to her collection. She's kind of failing.

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"You'll use up all your hard-earned bar credit if you're not careful," Seimei warns her over his shoulder from where he's talking to the shopkeeper at the counter. "You are also making Nibu-san nervous."

[q_in_training]

"Yeah, I know," she says with a resigned sigh, reluctantly fishing out a package to return to its proper place. It's followed by an apologetic (and nervous) smile toward the shopkeeper. "Um. Sorry? I'm not -- seriously, I'm not going to steal anything or -- "

It's just the shiny.

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

Judging by the shopkeeper's reaction, he thinks this is very funny.

"Nothing like that!" Seimei says. "He thought you were going to buy the whole store.

"I'm going to put down a deposit with him, which I will get back when I bring in your old components," Seimei says.

[q_in_training]

"Not until I win the lottery, dude," she tells the shopkeeper, flustered but laughing. "But I think, um -- " She looks down at her haul. "This'll keep my addiction soothed for the next six months, so it's a good start. And, cool -- " that's to Seimei, " -- as soon as I get it cleaned up and transfer all my files, it's all yours."

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"Very good," he says. "Once you and I have settled up with Nibu-san, there's a decals shop not far from here. And there's also one with lovely casings for people who build their own computers - for PCs, but it's a nice place to browse even if you aren't into that sort of thing."

[q_in_training]

"Hey, I respect casing artistry in all forms." Plunking her purchases on the counter, "Even among the heathens."

It's just solemn enough to be clear that she's joking.

Within a few minutes and a few exchanged pleasantries (in Japanese, she thinks, with the same giddy disbelief as before; I'm actually speaking Japanese), they're exiting the store, Mac swinging a pair of bags and looking for all the world like the cat who got the canary.

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

Seimei wisely stops back home with Mac's numerous bags before they continue on their adventure. After visiting the shops he mentioned (and a few more), they go to a gaming cafe and join in a few rounds of multiplayer games. They end with dinner at a small sushi restaurant that's been in Akihabara since before the Pacific War: the old woman who runs it remembers when the Electric Town was just a black market for electronics, vacuum tubes and radio components.

At long last, tired from their excursion and filled with good food, they return to Seimei's house, this time through an alleyway, and then Milliways.

[q_in_training]

This is probably one of the best night's Mac's had in...

Well. A while. And it's kind of hard to put into words what a relief that is: that not only was it an awesome night, but an awesome night with somebody she barely knew.

That's even rarer.

She fidgets with her bags a little, and her smile is shy but grateful. "Thanks for all this. Uh, again," she says. "I had a really great time."

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"Ah, good. That was after all the point of the whole exercise." Seimei lifts her hand and kisses it. "I hope that we might do something like this again some time. If I can find something to top Akihabara. And if you're willing, of course."

[q_in_training]

"Oh, um -- "

All Mac does for a second is blink at her hand, awash in an unexpected and pretty freakin' strong wave of guilt. When she looks up to meet Seimei's eyes, there's another second where, just for an instant, Sam's standing there instead.

Her smile's suddenly gotten a lot more hesitant.

"Sure. Um. As -- " Why should this matter? Nevertheless, it comes tumbling out: "It's cool if it's a friend thing though, right?"

(A friend thing. God, what is she, thirteen? And it's not like she and Sam are even --

(God.)

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

Seimei sighs melodramatically. "I suppose it means I will have to pine away for you," he says, obviously not serious. "I'll have to decide whether to exile myself in a faraway province and compose sad music and poetry, or shave my head and become a Buddhist monk."

Realizing that Mac might not actually find this funny, Seimei takes himself to more sincere ground. "It's all right. Your friendship would be much valued. Although, of course, if you should ever decide to change your mind..."

[q_in_training]

Despite her nerves, Mac rolls her eyes good-naturedly at his melodrama; at the next, though, the uncertainty fades into something very much like relief.

"We'll see what happens," she finishes, smile firming up as she shrugs. As she readjusts her hold on her bags: "And I'll see you soon."

[yinyangwizard.livejournal.com]

"I hope so. Remember to bring me your old laptop for Nibu-san, and I will be sure to get it back to him."