Miniature Golf, But Big Friendship

"As long as you don't try to pull my glove off feel free to grab my hand if you need it," he smiled at Ezra. He was going to make it a point to let Ezra be the one to decide when to hold his hand and when to release it. Really, personal space wasn't a thing that bothered Tadashi at all. Maybe that was the part of him that as a cat loved to be petted. In human form that wasn't so appropriate but being close to people didn't bother him.

"I'm glad you like it! Most of my clothes are white, black or grey though. Even before I went colorblind that was kind of what I picked out the few times I went shopping."

He chuckled when Ezra talked about 'fashion sense'. "You know, I'm pretty sure I can't help too well with fashion. I took my sister Shiro with me shopping and I think everything I bought was stuff she picked out for me." He giggled at the memory of her just laughing and shaking her head before telling him to hold on while she went and grabbed things for him to try on.

"I think you look really nice in what you picked to wear today Ezra. But really you should just dress however it is comfortable for you. I know Asteria has taught you a bunch of things about being polite and stuff, but...." he trailed off as he realized something. He shouldn't be telling his friend what to do. Certainly not telling them to go against what their guardian was teaching them. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. If Asteria is teaching you to dress and act a certain way it's rude of me to tell you not to do it. I guess i've just never done fancy stuff so I don't really get it all."

His life had been decidedly not fancy. He was a cat that had been born in an alley. Adopted by a fairly poor old man and then taken into the care of a woman who ran a small cafe by a train station before coming to the island.

Tadashi continued talking idly about clothing and even brought up a somewhat funny story about the first time he washed his laundry here on the island. He had been drawing so much since he had finally been allowed to do it without having to hide it from people that his gloves had been really coated with graphite and charcoal. He had thrown his gloves in with a big pile of socks and other white clothes and... well it was a bit of a mess. Since then he hand-washed his gloves.

They walked through the city, going across several more pedestrian crossings. Each time Tadashi let Ezra hold his hand as much as they needed to. He even was adjusting his pace so that he tended to be between Exra and the road most of the time. Whatever he could do to keep his friend comfortable.

It wasn't too much longer before they approached the minigolf place. There was a big old pirate ship right out front and various other pirate-themed decorations. Apparently the owners had taken that theme and run with it, perhaps as an homage to the island's foundation as a pirate haven originally. Or maybe it was just because the theme was fun and gave plenty of ideas for cool little things on the course. "Are you ready to learn how to play?" Tadashi excitedly asked Ezra.

When they got close to the entrance Ezra stopped the two of them and Tadashi could tell that what they were saying was important to them. He had been trying to be nice and not cause a problem between Ezra and their guardian but they were right. It was also wrong for Tadashi to pretend he didn't have opinions that seemed to differ quite a bit from Asteria's.

"Ok Ezra, you're right. Friends are supposed to be able to just be themselves around each other. I don't know if i'm really the best person to tell you how 'normal' teenagers do things but i'll do my best. I promise to be honest with you about my opinions and do really think you should wear or do things that you enjoy- not just what people tell you to do," he said and looked a little sheepish at having been confronted for censoring himself. But after he finished his smile returned. It was a relief that he could just be himself.

"Come on then, lets go get our balls and clubs and stuff," he said as he began cheerfully leading the way to the little shop at the front. At the counter he fished some money out of his pocket to pay for two balls, two clubs and a round of 18 holes. If they wanted to go again they could decide that later.

Tadashi didn't know what colors the balls were of course, so he just picked a sort of dark-ish one and gestured for Ezra to pick one too. "Most people pick out a color they like. Pick one you want to use and then we'll get you the right size club."

With that Tadashi walked over to the rack of putters of different sizes. The easiest way to pick one was to pick them up and see if the length makes it easy for the person to swing it. Tadashi figured he would just have Ezra come over and help them try out the different lengths to see which felt right.

Tadashi didn't know he had upset Ezra by paying for both of them. He had just done it without even thinking. All he saw was the very minor frown Ezra made. Tadashi was worried he had done something wrong, but couldn't figure out what it was. Then Ezra had seemed to move past whatever it was so Tadashi decided it was probably best to not ask about it unless the frown came back. He really wanted Ezra to have a fun day/

However Tadashi was also very busy getting the two of them ready to play. He was pleased to see that Ezra had picked a... light-ish colored ball to use. It would make it much easier to tell the difference between them- something he had forgotten might be an issue until then. Had Ezra done it on purpose? If not then it wasn't a big deal, but if so then it was a really nice gesture.

"How about you stand right here and ill get a couple so we can see which one fits your height. You're about the same height as me I think so it should be pretty similar. Just maybe a little shorter or longer for comfort." With that he put his own ball in his pocket, grabbed a couple putters and stood the first one up next to Ezra. He shook his head as he saw it was much too long. Someone must have put it back in the wrong spot. The second one though was the same size that Tadashi used himself. He held it up and it seemed a decent fit.

"Ok, now hold the club like this, he explained as he demonstrated it the best he could, and we'll see if it feels too long or too short when you swing it a little bit." Tadashi then offered the club for Ezra to hold. It didn't occur to him that Ezra still had their ball in one hand.

Tadashi watched as Ezra tried to hold the club and it took him a moment to realize they still had the golf ball in their hand. Oops, he forgot to have them set it down somewhere. Fortunately they slipped it into their pocket and the issue was solved.

Tadashi wasn't an expert but it looked to him like Ezra was holding it more or less the right way. "I think it's the right one for you too, let's go ahead out to the first hole." He smiled and gestured for Ezra to come with him towards the door on the other side of the building.

Outside they found themselves in what was very much a cheesy pirate themed course. It looked like it started on a section with planks of wood for walkways and unnaturally blue water surrounding and in between the various holes. Hole number one was pretty straighforward with just a simple right hand turn towards the end.

"You put the ball here in one of these little spots," he explained as he walked Ezra over towards the start of the hole. "Do you want me to help you do the first swing or do you think you've got it?" He stood there in case Ezra wanted help but he also didn't want to be in the way if his friend was fine on their own.

"Ok, sure. I can go first and show you how to do it. No promises it'll be good example though," he giggled thinking about how many times he'd probably be fishing his own ball out of the water before the day was done.

He put his ball in the middle divot, turned sideways to get ready, and lined up the little center line of the putter with the ball. The way that hole was set up he figured you were supposed to hit the ball at an angle so it bounced around the corner towards the hole. Tadashi pulled the club back a little bit and then *click* there was the sound of the putter striking the ball and it wend down the green, bounced off the side wall and... hit the corner by accident and rolled back out into the bend in the course.

"Oops," Tadashi laughed and then smiled at Ezra. "Well I guess I showed you how to hit the ball anyway, Maybe don't pick the same angle I did though."

The hole was technically a par 2, so needing two hits wasn't that bad.