Dinner Party (Closed to Meg Giry, Faramir, Steerpike) [Forward Dated To Tomorrow]

[seeherwheniwake]

((OOC: Posting this now, since I'll be at work at six tomorrow. ;)))Fantine had been up since very early, cleaning the apartment ten times over, making sure everything was exactly as she wanted it to be. She and Meg had been working on the menu and the food for days, and the apartment smelled of cooking pies, and the rest of the dinner that they

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[not_queertype]

Steerpike arrives after Faramir, clad in a slightly more flamboyant grey suit and bringing with him a bakery box containing a small cake, chocolate with a ganache coating and a small cluster of icing autumn leaves in the center. "I pray that I am not later than the bounds of propriety?" he asks.

[seeherwheniwake]

Fantine is wearing a light blue dress in the style of her time. Her golden hair is swept up, but not severely, a few soft ringlets escaping to greatly soften the look.

When Steerpike arrives, her eyes twinkle and a bright and sincerely happy smile spreads across her face, a bit of color coming into her cheeks.

"You are right on time. I'm so glad you're here! I'm certain my cooking isn't as fancy or well-prepared as what you're used to in your kingdom, but I hope you enjoy it. Meg and I have been working all day on it, and we've both put a great deal of love into the cooking. Hopefully that will make up the difference."

She was perhaps talking a bit much, but her excitement and happiness at seeing him were both sincere and obvious.

[not_queertype]

To his eyes, she looks lovely and soft, easy to look on and almost warming his heart, if he was the type to wear it on his sleeve. "I do not doubt that it will be both savory and nourishing to the palate and the soul," he says. "And I have brought along an offering of my own to be added to the festal board," he adds, offering the box to her.

[seeherwheniwake]

She took the box from him when he offered it, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"Oh, you didn't have to bring anything at all! I am so happy just to have you here," she said as she opened the box.

She was unused to receiving gifts of any kind, even something as simple as a hostess gift, and her face resembled that of a child on Christmas morning as she gasped in delight.

"Oh, it looks wonderful," she cried, and as she was one to act from her heart, as well as wear it on her sleeve, impulsively and almost without thinking she raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

"Thank you," she smiled.

[not_queertype]

"It is an honor," he says, bowing to her. At that kiss he almost leans in toward her, as if letting her know that this touch is very welcome, and he puts a hand on her shoulder for a moment, just enough to be tender, but not too long to be improper.

[seeherwheniwake]

Her eyes warm at his touch, and when the moment has passed, she quickly takes the pastry into the kitchen before returning as quickly as she can.

"Would you like something to drink?"

[not_queertype]

He's likely made himself at home, seated on a chair, his arms folded on the back as he sits sideways on it, leaning back gracefully. But he sits up straighter as she approaches.

"Indeed, I would: I am rather parched after a long day's work," he says.

[seeherwheniwake]

Fantine actually loves that he's comfortable and smiles warmly.

"We have juice, milk...something bubbly called Soda, and beer, wine, brandy..."

Her smile was infectious, and directed at him alone.

[not_queertype]

He returns the smile, in his own slightly crooked way. "A glass of wine would be ideal: I am a man of simple needs," he replies.

[seeherwheniwake]

She nods and hurries into the kitchen to get him a glass of wine. She brings it back out to him and sits in the chair closest his, sipping at her own wine very slowly and daintily.

"You are settling in well to the village, then? I have thought of you much since I first met you when you arrived, and have hoped very much that you would be happy here."

[not_queertype]

He takes a sip from the glass to moisten his throat, then speaks. "Aye, the village and those who dwell within it have generally been kindly. There was one man with whom I stepped off on the wrong foot, but we soon were at ease with each other."

[seeherwheniwake]

"I am sorry that you had that experience, but I am glad that it was properly settled between you," she smiled, meeting his eyes in silence for a moment.

"People have been kind to me as well, and it has been a long time since I have known kindness. I think I shall be very happy here."

[not_queertype]

"I have found that being agreeable to the disagreeable is the best way to approach them: either it puts them at ease, or it annoys them into backing down," he says, with a mischievous smirk.

[seeherwheniwake]

"That is a very good way to look at things, I think," she smiled. "And kindness is always a better way to win friends, anyway. There is no reason to be mean, if you needn't be."

She sipped her wine, her eyes twinkling a bit at that mischievous smirk.

"The person who was cruel to you, why were they so?"

[not_queertype]

"I believe that caught him at a bad moment, when he was troubled in heart or mind by some grievance," he says, lightly. "But we smoothed the matter between us in due time."

[seeherwheniwake]

"I am glad. I do not like seeing those I care about treated badly. I have been treated badly enough myself, and I know how it eats at your heart. Men, perhaps, are stronger than women, but I began to believe the things they said about me."

She worried her bottom lip for a moment, looking away from him and down at her hands, then looked back up at him, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Suddenly, she reached out and put her hand gently on his arm, her eyes imploring, pleading.

"You are my friend, yes? I can trust you?"