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Penelope thanked the waiter as he departed, sipping her ice water to soothe her suddenly constricting throat. This restaurant was... fancy. Not that she had never been to a fancy restaurant before--she had!--but usually she went with her parents for a function. Today she had come at the invitation of someone else, someone no less dear but someone with whom she was used to seeing in more casual settiings. Her familiarity with her hostess was the only reason she wasn't more nervous, and she smoothed her napkin out over her lap.

"You really didn't have to do anything special for my birthday, Harper," she said for what must have been the third or fourth time to her teal-haired friend, but she truly meant it! Birthdays were not treated with much ceremony in Penelope's family, aside from a small gift and a cake. Why would her 18th birthday be any different? The idea of someone taking her out as a treat just for her was a truly moving gesture.

Penelope had dressed up for the occasion, carefully selecting something that would be 'fun' without being too dressy. The feel of the shoes selected with Paris's help reminded her of how lucky she was to have such friends, and that prompted her to reach over and squeeze Harper's hand. "But... I appreciate it, really."

There were few things more sacred than a teenager converting into a young adult. It was like watching a newborn fawn take its first steps, or perhaps the smallest flower finally bloom, opening its petals and exposing its sweet pollen for the ever eager bee to dive right in. Richard Moreau was the bee in this situation, 'buzzing' around patiently and biding his time for a certain little flower to blossom, and Richard could be a very patient man. Sometimes.

But, good things came to those who waited. For Richard, it was only a few days wait, nothing compared to waiting at the DMV or blood test results, both of which he had to endure recently. But those few days were definitely worth the wait- he'd rather wait a few days to pursue a fresh, new adult, than to spend those days in jail and then the lifetime of walking up to his neighbor's house and declaring themselves a sexual predator (or, worst case scenario, closing his shop due to children).

Yes, Penelope was worth the wait. And it would seem that tonight, all of his patience had paid off, and lady luck seemed to not only be smiling upon him but practically showering him with kisses as well. Penelope had brought a friend! This was certainly unexpected for Richard (not the fact that Penelope had shown up, as he was already aware, though he'd never reveal how he knew), but it was a good kind of unexpected.

'I half wonder if she's up to bat,' Richard thought with a rather hopeful smile, as he peered at them from a few tables away. His current 'date' had disappeared, something about powdering her nose though he was certain that was lady talk for 'I'm leaving', and honestly, he didn't really care. She ate her meal, she took her belongings, and if she was that dull with conversation, then she wasn't worth taking home. Where one door closed, the other opened, and this door could have EASILY have been a double door. 'I'll let them get settled in. No need to rush this, Richard.'

So, the ever patient Richard waited, looking over the dessert menu and keeping the two well within his line of vision. Perhaps he'd treat them to some wine... that was just the kind of mood he was in this evening.

"I'm not sure yet," Harper said as she poured Penelope some cider from the table bottle. The night was taking a bite out of her savings, but it was worth it for a friend like Pene to have a proper birthday with some luxuries. They were beyond friends, really - fellow soldiers in a war that had taken them to hell and back, if hell was in space and full of monsters. And it was, once.

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure. It's like I can understand all of these words, but I can only picture half of them being food. Then I realized I was reading the coffee selection for 5 minutes. How much café can there be?"

This is what happens when you go to RestaurantFancy.com and just keep calling down the recommended list until someone has an opening. At least it was bound to be good, whatever they ended up with!

Penelope took a sip of the cider once her friend poured it. As she had hoped, it was cold and sweet, and she savored it slowly. She rarely got treated to anything special, and pear cider definitely counted. The girl could think of no one better to celebrate a rare quiet moment with than Harper. Harper had seen her at her best--and at her worst--and was friends with her despite it.

Yet, for all the battles they had fought together--from cupcakes to ambushes--this menu was proving to be quite a challenge in its own right! Penelope knew no Italian, and the menu form this very authentic restaurant was only presented in that language. She knew some basics--different pastas, a couple of sauces--but how could she make sure she avoided anything with beef? The girl chewed on her lip thoughtfully, "I know what you mean. Maybe we could call a waiter to--"

The sudden appearance of a familiar face and likewise familiar voice made her glance up from her menu, and her surprise was nothing but genuine. "Oh... Mr. Moreau! Good evening. I hope you and Baldwin are well!" Some of her nervousness returned, given the way their last meeting had ended. Penelope brushed some of her hair behind her ears, wanting to go back to just figuring out fancy food with Harper. However, courtesy dictated that she not just ignore him. Maybe the conversation would end quickly and they all could go back to their respective evenings.

Stretched a hand to indicate her friend across the table, she made hasty introductions, "Mr. Moreau, this is my best friend, Harper. Harper, Mr. Moreau. He and Baldwin go to the same doggie park where we take Minotaur and Brown."

Thus far, his plan was working out quite perfectly, and how could it not? Normally it would have been awkward for a grown man such as himself to approach such young looking ladies, but he knew at least one of them to be on the field of play, and with any luck, so would her little friend. Both ladies held a certain beauty about them and while Richard wasn't normally one to make assumptions (out loud, anyway), he suspected that Penelope's company was either a good friend, or... perhaps something more? No, much too soon to be making that kind of spectulation, Richard thought, but that didn't mean his imagination wouldn't go to such wild fantasies. He just needed to keep those in his head for the time being.

The time for pleasure was later, but for now, he felt he needed to work into both of their good graces, and the best way to do that was to pour out the charm. He kept his true intentions, and the birthday card he had picked up after Penelope left, to himself for now. "I remember our time in the dog park as though it were yesterday... you know, Baldwin noses his way around in search of you, Penelope. You've spoiled him with that bacon of yours."

He gave a polite bob of the head to Penelope's friend, Harper, and he tried to keep the hungered glint out of his eyes as he addressed her. "The pleasure's all mine, Harper. Brown, is that another dog of yours? Should I hope to be seeing this Brown and its lovely owner at the dog park anytime soon?"

A date in the dog park. While the dogs romped around in play, he'd be getting some romping of his own... he fought down the dirty thoughts, but he could not stop his grin from widening at that thought. He couldn't help where his mind went at times.

A small, mannered laugh escaped Harper's lips at Baldwin's apparent fall to debauchery via her friend's exploits with bacon. That sounded like Pene, all right! The maroon-eyed girl practically retreated into her napkin, so Harper stifled any further snickering. It was no great loss, for she didn't feel quite so jovial as Mr. Moreau continued, anyway.

"Ah, yes, Brown is mine," she answered, blushing. Harper did have a healthy femanine side that enjoyed hearing compliments now and again; however, the blush not only stemmed from there. "I suppose we could run into each other - you and Penelope already have. Brown doesn't get out to the park as much, though," she continued, pushing through the sorta odd, what-could-be-construed-as-flirting. It would be bad form to jump to conclusions about Pene's dog park acquaintance, especially with only a few lines between them.

Harper's attention was drawn back to her friend, who looked rather pleased with herself as she lowered the menu. "Did you find anything in English?"

Penelope opened her mouth to protest Mr. Moreau's pulling up of a chair, but when he reached his hand out for a menu, she placed hers there for him. "If you could just give us an idea of the sections? I think I might have found the poultry...if chicken in italian is, in fact, pollo? Anything would truly be a help."

While he was distracted by the menu, the birthday girl attempted to lock eyes with Harper once more, this time for a different reason. Contrary to popular belief, Penelope was not so naive as to not recognize romantic advances when she saw them. The older man was clearly flirting hard--with the teal-haired girl sitting across the table. Harper was dressed to the nines, and such atention was thus understandable. The dark-haired girl simply wanted to be sure her best friend actually objected to said attention before she spoke up in protest.

Discretely moving her hands to her lap, Penelope put her plan into action. Popping open her clutch, she slid out her phone. Glancing to be sure their red-headed guest was suotably distracted, she risked appearing rude to text a short message: Are you okay?

Texting during dinner was a glaring faux pas at home, uch less in a fancy restaurant like this one. If Penelope had claimed the breach of etiqueette did not make her nervous, she would have been lying. She was not used to subterfuge either. But she had to do something!

His plan was working like a charm, but so was theirs. The menu that was in front of him worked as a perfect distraction from their little texting game, though there could have been a parade marching outside his line of vision and he'd likely ignore it in lieu of the many wicked thoughts that were floating about his head at the moment. What did he care if someone was texting in a restaurant and being extremely rude to himself and the other patrons of the establishment? He was too busy reading a menu and thinking about the possibility of the threesome that could have waited for him afterwards.

Maybe if he worked some magic, he could get his original date back into good graces and add a little extra to this deal? He stopped that line of thinking before it could get too far, though. Best eat what was on his plate first before diving into dessert.

Unaware of the passing of letters beneath the table, so to speak, Richard did his duty to help them decipher the menu, keeping it up and erect before his face and unknowingly allowing them to continue their scheming. "Now, let's see what we have here. There's pollo so that's chicken, so all of these are supposedly clucking good. Hmmmm... carne? Beef! It's all coming back to be slowlyÖ but if either of you liked beef, make sure you stress that you'd like it medium rare. Anything else and it'll come back charred- trust me I know from experience. Now... Venito... Venito... I swear I know this oneÖî

He racked his brain, giving them a few more minutes before dropping the menu and looking towards the two ladies, not immediately noticing either of their cellphones. ìThis is embarrassing. Seems I'm a little rustier than I thought..."