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 Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:28 pm
Who: Cesc & Zurine
When: January 2016
Where: Tetsuya's, a fashionable Japanese restaurant in Gambino
Weather: Cool and clear
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Cesc waited outside Tetsuya's, the cold winter air rifling through his hair. He tugged at his shirt, at the sleeves of his sweater, and wondered if he was dressed too formally for the occasion. True, a red plaid shirt beneath a beige, autumn-patterned sweater was not terribly formal, but it wasn't a three-button-placket raglan shirt, and that step up seemed to mean that he was dressing up. It was a warmer day than they’d had recently, and he was happy for the break from the deep chill.
And while Tetsuya's, filled to the brim with fashionable hipsters and well-dressed foodies, was a cause for dressing up, Cesc didn't want Zurine to feel that he had.
Because he'd acted like a moron when she'd grown, and it was of paramount importance to him that she feel comfortable tonight.
Which was achieved by... not dressing up.
Cesc ran his fingers through his hair and bade himself to shut the hell up.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:44 pm
Though Zurine had never wanted to think that she was terribly vain, it turned out that she could be just a little bit, -maybe-, just a tad bit vain. She liked looking nice, and for their date that wasn't a date, she was going to look lovely. As a result, she was not as early as she had intended to be, and when she arrived, Zuri's cheeks were softly flushed in a pale blue and her eyes were wide with sheepishness. She wore a pale ballet-slipper pink dress with an empire waistline, the bodice and tiny cap sleeves lacy and the heavy satin skirt swung loose around her hips, in a way that would have been just past modesty if she'd had anything below the hips. Her hair was loose, and the wind had disordered the blue strands as she'd hurried to avoid being -too- late.
"Sorry I'm late," Zuri said, a little breathless, smiling as she approached, settling her wings and attempting to look composed. "At least I don't think I'm too late..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:45 pm
Finally, after what felt like an eternity--at least long enough for Cesc to check his phone more than once--Zuri made her arrival. Immediately, the tension melted from Cesc's joints upon seeing her. He wasn't more dressed up than she was, and he at least, in some way, matched her much more than he would have in a baseball tee.
She was well-dressed as ever, her hair as glossy and her eyes as bright as was her usual turnout. It did Cesc's heart good to see her looking so full of health, so vital and free.
"Don't even worry about it," said Cesc with a smile. "You look beautiful."
He wasn't sure how to greet her, exactly, but he went with what felt natural: a quick hug and then letting go to open the restaurant door for her. "I hope you're hungry," he said as they went into the atrium.
The restaurant was dimly-lit and swanky. The noise of conversation and chill background music was loud enough to encourage putting heads together and speaking intimately. There was a sushi bar and alcoves of black marble tables, chic waitresses in black, and two tattooed bartenders making cocktails behind a glass bar. There was a huge metal fish hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by round paper lanterns that hung at various heights and were lit in various colors.
There were not, Cesc noted, a ton of tables that lacked a couple. Hands were held, fingers lingered on thighs, and heads stayed together, even at the four-tops. It was clearly a place people went to impress and enjoy each other.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:46 pm
The hug was comfortable, as it had always been, and Zuri would have snuggled into it if it had lasted long enough. Still, she wasn't overly disappointed when he broke away, eager to get inside and see what the place had to offer. After the delicious tasting menu she'd had a the bakery, there had been no ill effects on her stomach, which was wonderful and new, and she had found in herself an absolute delight for tasting food.
Though Zuri had never quite been in a place like this, she managed not to look too out of place -- her eyes widened and she looked around, for sure, eyes narrowing a bit in the dimness. It looked upscale and nice, and she was eager to experience it, curious about what delights the place had to offer. "This place is really nice," she whispered, floating a little closer to Cesc than she perhaps needed to, a cool hand resting on his shoulder.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:48 pm
"It really is," murmured Cesc, and absent-mindedly, his opposite hand went up to hers and squeezed it gently. He floated forward to the dais, where a blonde woman in black pants, a black shirt, and an open, loose kimono-style cardigan was standing at the ready.
"Welcome to Testuya's," she said with a faint, welcoming style. "Do you have a reservation?"
The look in her heavily made-up eyes seemed to imply that her subsequent behavior was waiting on the answer to that question.
"We do," answered Cesc with a smile. "Two for Rhede Ryan?"
It was a habit of Vivi's to make reservations under Shepard's much-easier-to-remember name than her own, LaCelle, and certainly rather than Rhedefre's blended name. The hostess's eyes dropped down to the anchored iPad behind the dais, and a smile blossomed across her face as she saw the name appear.
"Oh, of course, there you are," she said with a nod. She collected two menus--iridescent-backed menus that seemed to be made of fish scales--and motioned for them to follow her. She sauntered to a table in the far back corner, just beyond a silk screen that cordoned the entire section from the rest of the restaurant, with one seat on a long, cushioned bench. It seemed that, if one chose, two could cuddle together on that bench and enjoy the meal. Certainly, Cesc noticed, others couples in the area were doing the same.
He swallowed, his mouth a little dry.
The hostess set the menus down and smiled. "Enjoy," she said.
"Of course," said Rhedefre, and after a moment's hesitation, took the seat opposite the cushioned bench.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:50 pm
The quiet, tasteful elegance of the restaurant was quite unlike any Zuri had ever visited, as Phiel wasn't really the type to go to fancy places. She couldn't help the fluttery little thrill in her chest, the excitement of not only trying something new, but of doing so with Cesc -- of spending time here in this fine place with her favorite person.
Her friend, Zuri reminded herself as she moved into her own seat, making herself quite comfortable on the padded bench. She would certainly not have minded following suit with all those canoodling pairs, cozy and close, but her delight remained the same. The uncertainty that remained between them was small in comparison to her interest, her dark eyes sliding over the room to take in the decor before settling back on him, and she smiled at Cesc across the table, one hand resting on it with a pretty, twinkling forget-me-not blue ring on one finger. "I'm really glad you're here with me," Zurine confided softly, "or I'd feel very out of place."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:52 pm
Cesc smiled as he took a menu and oriented it toward himself, opening to the first page. Vivi and Shep had told him sternly not to look at the prices and to just enjoy for himself and Zurine, since it was a celebration, but that took an extra effort from the stag. But, as his eyes went up and met Zuri's, and he saw the pleasure and excitement that she felt, he reconsidered.
She deserved this. She really did.
"I agree," laughed Rhedefre quietly, looking around. "Being alone here would be..." He shrugged. "An exercise in feeling lonely, I think, yeah?"
His eyes ticked down to the menu. He did not stomach meat of any kind, although a bit of fish now and then wasn't too much of a bother. Fish--he was certain Zurine would like fish. "Have you had any fish before?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:54 pm
She took up the menu as well, fingers absently caressing the bright fish-scale texture of the cover. It would have been very lonely here alone -- standing out like a sore thumb among all the couples, and she was grateful that wasn't the case as Zuri let her attention go to the lists of foods they had on offer. She didn't quite know what she liked or didn't, but she was excited to find out -- and thus far she hadn't found anything she disliked.
"I haven't ever tasted fish, no," Zurine admitted, laughing softly. "Phiel loves watching them too much to eat them. But I have no such qualm. Although I have no idea what to try!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:55 pm
Cesc focused on the menu instead of the spread and flow of Zurine's fingers over the menu. He noticed, briefly, that she wore the ring he'd given her as a present, and the sight of it somehow curled electricity through his chest. He smiled with pleasure, although he wasn't sure exactly why. It was just nice to know a gift was liked, he supposed.
"I think you'd really enjoy it," said Cesc. He scanned the menu, still smiling--(stop it)--and then spoke up as he saw a few selections. "Why don't we start you off easy? I'm going to get a vegetarian roll--the one with the tempura butternut squash and carrot and stuff--and some agedashi tofu, it's good. We can also get maybe something like this roll with the scallops, shiso, tobiko and tuna? And maybe this one with the shishito peppers and the salmon."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:02 pm
The dazzling array of rolls was a bit baffling -- she couldn't imagine what all of them would taste like, having no real reference for half the ingredients. But the ideas were tantalizing -- the thought of eating raw fish was somehow appealing to the owl part of her nature, and she could imagine it smug as anything, fluffed and white. "Those sound good," Zuri agreed, smiling. "Honestly, I'm at your mercy on this...! You know exactly as much about what I'd like as I do. Although the salmon sounds really appealing."
She couldn't help daintily licking her lips. "I did do a bit of looking up on the computer to see what things might look like, but the taste is something else." She couldn't help laughing softly, her cheeks coloring a bit. "It's silly, but I want to taste everything in the world now that I can do it easily. I keep saving recipes in my favorites. I'm going to become round enough to roll."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:05 pm
"Are you? Is it going to be Zuri, the manatee?" teased Cesc with a grin. He leaned in, his eyes bright. "Well, I don' know what to tell you. We're going to have to get you a hamster ball to roll around in, so all that rolling won't mess up your hair or anything."
Just then, the waitress appeared, and Cesc straightened unconsciously, as though he'd been caught doing something he wasn't meant to. "Can I get you two any drinks?"
"Yeah, actually," said Rhedefre, suddenly feeling a little bold. "A small sake for us both. And some ice water." He looked at Zuri for approval.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:07 pm
"A hamster ball--!" Zuri was caught in the middle of laughing, and her eyes were still sparkling with restrained mischief as she straightened too, not actually concerned with appearing innocent and prim at the moment, but aware that she ought to be. "That sounds delightful," she said, eager to try.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:09 pm
"Alright," confirmed the waitress. She looked up from her pad. "Do you also know what you want, or should I come back?"
"No, I think we know," said Cesc, double-checking with Zurine with a quick glance for her approval before continuing. "We'd like to get the harvest roll, the little mermaid, the captain pepper and some agadashi tofu to start."
"That'll be right out," said the waitress, collecting their menus and stepping away. Cesc smiled politely after her and turned his attention back fully to Zurine. His eyes dipped for a moment, and he straightened his napkin. He'd complimented her on her outfit, hadn't he? Yeah. He was fairly certain he had. And in any case, she'd know. She was so gracefully formed. She must be delighting in that, after the summer she'd had…
"So," he heard himself say, "How's Phiel taking your growth and everything? Things okay with him?"
He looked back up at her, gold gaze on black. He'd meant to ask the question earlier. He wasn't quite sure how to think of Phiel now, not after two running summers of his obtuse handling of his charge.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:14 pm
When the server had gone, all of Zuri's attention turned back to Cesc, and she laughed sheepishly at the question, rubbing a palm up her arm. How was Phiel taking it? It was a complicated question, and one that Zuri wasn't sure she had the answer to. After the events that had led up to her growth, it had been complicated to try and come to a consensus on whether the whole family was Okay, or Not Okay -- it wasn't that they were on eggshells with each other, but Zurine had been left feeling as if something had changed. Mostly because it had.
"Things are okay," Zuri said slowly, her head tilting slightly and her lips pursing just a little, the words drawing out with uncertainty. "They've changed a little, and I think we're all getting used to that... I mean, he he isn't treating me any differently, and I know he isn't angry. He probably thinks he's responsible for what I did. Which isn't the case." Her slim shoulders lifted, and Zuri sighed gustily, shaking her head. "It's nothing bad, of course! You know how he is!" The uncertainty lifted from her features like the sun coming from behind a cloud as Zuri put a smile on it. "Everything changes except him, I think."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:15 pm
Cesc listened to Zurine's response with a quiet sort of intensity, leaning forward on folded arms. He was not surprised at her sweetness or delicacy, how she brushed off the awkwardness and tension that seemed to still exist within her family. He couldn't blame her. For months after his own growth, after all, his own house had been home to it. Sometimes he still felt an extra stiffness between his shoulders when he saw a girl with hair that hung like Jamie's, with a too-wide mouth, or a girl with a hand heavy with rings.
But there was little to be done for that. Only time seemed to dull it all.
"I have to admit," he said, his words careful. "... I was kind of mad at him. I still kind of am, if I'm honest. I'm glad you're not. And I'm glad that things aren't... bad? But still."
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