Cafe Fina, Sunday

[mistressofblack]

Lulu... wasn't one for Valentine's Day.

She was, however, one for the business opportunities offered by Valentine's Day. As such, she'd spent a bit of time before her shift today conscripting the dishes (and a few of her dolls) into setting up some subtle, tasteful Valentine's-themed decorations. Cafe Fina was, as always, the best casual-upscale

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[living_endless]

Didi eyed the menu hungrily as she watched for Jono, blue rose ever-so-casually tucked into the twist she'd pinned her hair up in.

He'd told her he loved her last night, and gotten her flowers. She hadn't ever had a birthday before, but she was fairly certain this one would be at the top of the charts even if it really was her seventeenth.

[furnaceface]

It wasn't that Jono was really big on being fashionably late or anything. And anyhow, it was only a couple of minutes past when he said he'd meet her here and all. It was just that... well, he'd had to locate her birthday present in among all of the other things strewn about his side of his room.

One might imagine how that could be problematic.

//Alright, so they did have black ones,// he said as he stepped up to the table, nodding down at her pleasantly, //I confess. But they were really just a very dark red. Hardly convincing as black at all.//

A beat, and then he was pulling up a seat and sitting down across from her.

//Good evening, luv. Happy birthday.//

[living_endless]

"The blue shows up more in my hair," Didi volunteered, patting it (and checking the bobby pins were still there). "I like it. It's unique."

"And thank you," she added. "I feel much, much older."

No, she didn't.

[furnaceface]

//Amazing, th'difference a day makes, innit?// He was doing that smiling thing again. With his eyes.

Seventeen? That ought to make him feel good and ancient come his own birthday, when he would be turning nineteen.

//Yer look lovely, though. I think the blue suits yer.//

[living_endless]

Well, seventeen or an age measured in millennia.

Didi liked seventeen.

"I should put my hair up more often," Didi said, feeling a pleased blush spread over her face. "And thank you. You look absolutely wonderful, too. And it seems like we picked the right restaurant."

[furnaceface]

//It certainly looks that way,// Jono agreed, looking around, impressed.

... Okay, so the dishes earned a brief raise of his eyebrow, but he'd certainly seen stranger since coming here, so he wasn't going to react much more than that, really.

//Yer going to have to let me know if th'meal measures up to the atmosphere,// he decided, pleased with the restaurant so long as Didi was.

The Pepper Shaker skittered over to the table, gave them both a deep bow, and then introduced himself. (Yes, as the Pepper Shaker, and also, how could he be of service tonight?)

[living_endless]

The dishes were sort of cute! Really!

"Hello, Pepper Shaker," Didi said with dignity. "You know what, bring me the special? And with a Coke to drink."

Once he was back to the kitchen, she reached a hand across the table and playfully asked, "So what do people talk about on Valentine's Day, anyhow?"

[furnaceface]

Jono's hand reached out to meet hers halfway, and he found himself doing that smiling thing again.

//Horribly soppy things,// he shared. //Typically with terrible poetry involved. And then if yer toss in some ridiculous love song or two, yer pretty much all set.//

[living_endless]

"That's what this place is missing," Didi nodded firmly. "Strolling violinists playing love themes from popular movies."

She squeezed his hand. "So I got unsigned flowers. Somebody was all mysterious."

[furnaceface]

//Somebody might've been worried if yer didn't know who they were from,// he replied, tracing the contours of her thumb with his own as she squeezed his hand. //And that somebody got a dozen from you, and so really, he almost feels cheap.//

Almost! But not quite. Because it wasn't as though the roses were all that Jono had gotten for her, after all.

[living_endless]

"I'll let you pay for dinner," Didi said, not entirely joking. "Anyhow, I kind of got the idea it was you from the way the card called me 'luv.' Nobody else does that, y'know?"

She'd gotten two other unsigned flowers, but she wasn't sure she wanted to bring that up for further discussion.

"I liked sending you flowers, too."

[furnaceface]

//And I liked getting them,// Jono decided. He'd pretty much already resigned himself to pay for her dinner already. It didn't make much sense to take her out for her birthday, and then make her pay for her own meal, after all. //I did get yer something else, of course. Not just to make up for my being a cheap bastard when it comes to Valentine's flowers.//

Because it was her birthday. Duh.

[living_endless]

"Yeah?" Didi leaned forward even more, smiling (and probably flashing some cleavage. Ahem.). "Birthday card? A cake?"

[furnaceface]

... Well, if Jono wasn't going to eat the chowder, he was certainly going to drink in the view, thank you very much.

//Close,// he replied, holding up one finger for a moment once he managed to return his attention to Didi's face, where it probably belonged. He rummaged about in his coat pocket for a moment, and then almost proudly held an envelope toward her.

Tickets. He'd gotten ambitious.

[living_endless]

Didi's eyes widened briefly as she looked over at the envelope, before taking it and shaking it lightly.

"It sounds like .... very small playing cards?"

[furnaceface]

//Very small ones,// Jono agreed, looking amused.

Relatively expensive ones, at that.

//I set out this week going, 'now, what in th'world would Didi appreciate more than anything else,' and it hit me like a bolt of inspiration. Of course! Gambling.//

Not even close.