nexus_crossings | Time-sensitive question how flirt girl

It's been some time since Thor has sought the Nexus for advice. Which is not to say that he's not a regular visitor, but he's felt relatively assured in his day-to-day life enough to feel that he has a good handle on what he's doing with himself, or at least that his struggles are routine and need little guidance to overcome. Today, apparently, this is not the case.

One might be forgiven for assuming the glass bottle in his hand is beer at first glance, but on closer inspection it seems to be a cream soda instead. It's not what he wants, but just having a drink in his hands seems to be a comfort, making it easier to think. The little picnic table is off to one side off the main Plaza, its benches warmed by the summer sun as it overlooks a small koi pond. Thor's one good eye stares through the glinting fish rather than watching them, lost in thought.

What's he supposed to do now?

Is this even a good idea? What happens once a few decades pass? What if he decides not to risk it, and she leaves? Should he even be seriously considering putting himself through this again? He doesn't even know his own heart yet, what if he ends up stringing her along without meaning to?

Those are the questions he keeps to himself, but there are more yet to ask. He picks at the soda label with his prosthetic fingers, metal lightly tapping against the glass.

"How do you realize when you're in love?" Not quite getting to the point, but Thor is honestly not even sure where to start on this one.

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Situations are hardly ever simple. When it actually came time to have their first real date, Minoru was polling the entire plaza for ideas. In some ways, it helped. In some, it really didn’t and the date had plenty of awkward stumbles they both laugh about now.

“Yeah…” he repeated, mulling it over.

Presumably, Thor’s potential love interest probably wasn’t an empath. (Empaths were cheating, right?)

“I guess, when you’re comfortable enough to be completely open and share who you really are with them, no holding back… I guess that’s love.”

That's at least the gist of it, Thor can agree. So where does that leave him, then?

"Then my next problem is how to date someone who takes fright at calling it such," he admits with a frown.

“Oh, that one’s a lot easier!” Minoru grinned. “Just find a different word you both like!”

He was speaking from experience here too. Compared to figuring out how they felt about each other, deciding that they were dating and what to call their relationship was remarkably straightforward.

“It’s a little easier to call Ziggy my… um… girlfriend now. But at first, I was the one who was all weirded out by it. So, we used koibito instead.” It was a Japanese word, he explained. It was gender neutral, and basically meant partner. It didn’t carry any expectations about sexual activity, the way - at least to Minoru back then - that boyfriend and girlfriend did.

Thor blinks, not quite doing a doubletake. "It makes that large a difference?" he asks, sounding rather out of his depth.

“It did to me.” He admitted.

Ziggy was, as he stated earlier, his first romantic relationship. And there was a lot about traditional relationships, especially where physical contact was concerned, that fell wildly outside of Minoru’s comfort zone. And he willingly admitted that it took a lot of trial and error, a lot of discussions and a lot of compromises to figure out exactly where that comfort zone was.

“Having someone care about me enough to make sure I felt comfortable with the words I wanted to use for our relationship… I think it went a long way to actually being comfortable in a relationship.”

Thor considers that, rubbing at his bearded chin. "So, not a 'date.' Courting is certainly not either, if not worse."

Well, this has given him an interesting problem to chew on, anyway.

“Well, whatever you both are comfortable calling it.” Minoru nodded. “And that’s something you can find out together.”

Which was really what it all boiled down to. Today’s answer might be different than tomorrow’s answer, and that was okay too.

"If she'll speak to me of it." That's his biggest concern right now. If he tries to discuss things and she's not ready, will he push her away without meaning to? How is he meant to behave as he always has, knowing this unspoken thing lies between them?

Thor shakes his head and takes a sip from his soda. "'When is a date not a date' sounds like a terrible riddle to solve."

“You won’t know until you try.” Minoru encouraged.

He knew, though, that it was a lot easier said than done. When he was in Thor’s position, the last thing he felt comfortable doing was talking to Ziggy. And yet, that was the very advice that Tom offered, more than once. When he finally did take it (and they both finally opened up about their feelings and set good boundaries with each other), he couldn’t believe it took him so long to do it.

“It’ll end up being easier than you think it’ll be.” He added. “Believe me. And talking about it is the only way to make it stop being a riddle.”

Ah, apparently he's not been clear. Which is probably understandable, given his turmoil and distraction. "I have tried," he clarifies, shaking his head. "But I suppose she needs time first."

He hopes.

If she decides to refuse to speak to him about it for the rest of her days, there might be little he could do. Just thinking about that possibility hurts more than he expected it to.

Minoru nodded at the misunderstanding. He thought quietly for a moment.

“Then… I guess, for now, just be there. Be open. Really be open and there for her. And when she’s ready to talk about it, you’ll probably both be in a better spot to do it.”

He sincerely hoped that it would work out for Thor in the end.

Time-sensitive question how flirt girl

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