RP: My heart is pounding yes yes yes.

[rar_hestia]

Date: January 20, 1999.
Characters: Hestia Jones, Percy Weasley.
Location: London
Status: Private
Summary: Hess & Percy go out for dinner.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rar_percy]

Percy got ready in front of his talkative mirror, thinking that this was all happening very fast. Not that he and Hestia had done more than a bit of snogging, but he'd found himself craving her company and thinking about her almost nonstop. He didn't question it, for once, and just decided to make the most of his luck. Yes, he was lucky that a woman like Hestia- compassionate, beautiful and witty- wanted him. Wanted him nearly as much, if not just as much, as he wanted her. Who did he know, perhaps besides Bill with his lovely Fleur, was as lucky

[rar_hestia]

Hestia smiled to herself when she heard the knock on the door. She smoothed her hair down before answering it, taking in the sight of Percy in a sweater vest. Merlin, he looked good.

"Hi," she said, leaning up to kiss him. "You look very handsome."

[rar_percy]

"Hello," Percy kissed her back, smiling. "You look quite lovely yourself," he said. He allowed his eyes to drift down, enjoying her skirt and stockings immensely.

"Are you ready? I hope you like Indian food," he said, offering her his arm. "Or like trying something new."

[rar_hestia]

"Thank you," Hestia said, her cheeks warming as Percy's eyes moved over her. Well, he seemed to like what he saw, so it was alright.

"Indian? I love it!" Hestia said, pleased. "Just the other day I was craving Rogan Josh, you know." She grabbed her handbag and her cloak and then took his proffered arm. "All set."

[rar_percy]

Percy didn't know what Rogan Josh was, but he figured the important part was that he was trying. It sounded like another man's name. He frowned slightly to himself and Apparated them to a safe place that he had found on Thursday. It was a dark alley, the cleanest he could find near the restaurant. He didn't want her shoes to get dirty, or anything.

"This is the one part I dislike about traveling to Muggle London. It is just not that dignified," he said, looking around to get his bearings before taking her hand in his and leading her out to the main street. They were across the street from the Sweet Lime, so Percy started to cross when a large black vehicle, not unlike his dad's old Anglia, came hurtling toward them, beeping loudly.

Percy gasped and pulled them both out of the way. There were some snickers from the sidewalk, and Percy smiled apologetically to Hestia. "All right?" he asked, a bit shakily. "Is there a safe way to do this?"

[rar_hestia]

"No. Not unless you walk or take Muggle transit. I think the Ministry should put pressure on the Prime Minister to initiate a clean up program of the alleyways, don't you?" Hestia said, shuddering and clinging a bit tighter to Percy when she saw a rat scuttle by. Merlin.

They headed out to the sidewalk and Hestia was looking for the traffic light when Percy stepped into the road, pulling her with him. A few seconds later, they were back on the sidewalk. "Follow me," she said kindly. Percy looked a bit shaken and she paused, leaning up to kiss him gently. "Don't worry, Perce. I don't expect you to be perfect at everything. Let me handle Muggle transport, okay?" She asked softly, stroking his cheek. She didn't want to offend him, or have him think she thought him incompetent. "Besides, you make up for your lack of Muggle knowledge very well in other areas," she whispered in his ear, kissing his neck so he'd know exactly which areas she was referring to.

[rar_percy]

"Maybe I'll mention that to Mrs. Tonks," Percy said, turning his nose up slightly but didn't mind it at all when she held him that much tighter.

Percy accepted her kiss gratefully. "You can handle the Muggle transport," he parroted, not wanting to let his ineptitude kill them or worse, break the statute of secrecy. "I'll learn."

He blushed scarlet at her whispers, but couldn't help but grin a bit proudly when she kissed his neck. He felt better already. "Then you lead the way," he said, motioning towards the restaurant.

[rar_hestia]

"Good," Hestia said. Mrs. Tonks would definitely not put up with dingy alleyways, she thought to herself.

Hestia smiled back, relieved that she hadn't hurt Percy's pride. She led them down the block to a traffic light; she'd save the lessons on the delicate art of j-walking for later. Once they'd crossed the street, she took a good look at the restaurant he was leading her to. It looked very posh, not the sort of place she'd normally go to.

"This looks nice, Perce," she said, eying the minimalist decor that seemed to be all the rage in the Muggle world. "Have you eaten here before?"

[rar_percy]

"No," he said, sheepishly, after holding the door open for her and giving the hostess his name. "I saw it the last time we were in the area, and thought it'd be nicer than the same restaurants in Diagon and Hogsmeade. And, it's Indian, which is new. For me."

He had wanted to impress her. With his luck, she probably preferred a small pub instead of this posh place decorated with bright colors in attempt to appear Indian. The hostess motioned for them to follow her to a table, where he had another flower waiting for her- a tiger lily this time. The bright orange and black flower had reminded him of her for some reason. He had wondered at the time if he was overdoing it, but he had set the precedent with the flowers earlier and had to follow through now. Plus, he liked the way she smiled when he gave them to her.

[rar_hestia]

"Oh!" Hestia said, a bit excited. "I get to introduce you to a new food again, then, don't I? You realize you'll have to start introducing me to things, now. It's only fair," she teased.

Hestia followed the hostess to a table where there was a beautiful tiger lily sitting at one place. She looked around and didn't see flowers on any of the other tables and then looked up at Percy, feeling her heart do a little dance in her chest.

"It's beautiful," she said, when she'd taken her seat. She trailed a finger over one of the petals. "Thank you."

[rar_percy]

He smiled. "I don't know what I could introduce you to. The Ministry canteen, perhaps? Or my mother's meatloaf," he said, trying to make his voice sound teasing when in reality it was honest. He was somewhat of a creature of habit, and the places and things he liked on a daily basis were probably pretty boring to her. He'd have to think about that one.

They sat down and Percy opened his menu, looking up when she said the flower was beautiful. He felt some of his wounded pride return for having gotten that right, and he smiled. "You're quite welcome. It reminded me of you," he said, and then promptly regretted doing so. He looked down at his menu again.

[rar_hestia]

"I didn't really mean food, Perce. Although I would like to get to know your mother's meatloaf. Other stuff," Hestia corrected with a smile.

Hestia flushed slightly when he said the tiger lily reminded him of her. "Really? That's...thank you." Hestia said. She took his hand and kissed it gently, wishing she could put how she felt into words. The tiger lily was delicate and beautiful, exotic and fragrant and lush. If that was the way he thought of her, it was an incredible compliment.

[rar_percy]

Percy hoped he wasn't flushing when he nodded with a slight smile. "Right. Well, I can do that, I think," he said, thinking that he wasn't doing very well tonight. At least she liked the flower.

He know he flushed when she kissed his hand. "You are welcome," he said again, and took off his glasses to briefly wipe them on the cloth he kept in his pocket. It wasn't necessary, but if gave him something to do with his hands. He replaced his glasses. "I think I am going to try the Sweet Lime drink, as it is the restaurant's namesake," he said, having looked down at his menu and picked something at random. "Although, it looks horribly alcoholic. Maybe not."

[rar_hestia]

Percy was flushing in that very attractive way of his and Hestia bit her lip while she watched him clean his glasses. He had lovely eyelashes.

"Yes. Oh but they have nice looking fruit juices. Mango and such," Hestia pointed out. "I'm going to get the Rogan Josh. It's in the lamb section," she said, so he could find it if he wanted to read the description. "Should we get some starters?"

[rar_percy]

Percy looked at the rest of the drinks, nodding along. "We can get a starter, if you'd like." He turned the page to the starters to look them over. "I'll trust you to pick one out for us?"

"Maybe I'll try the eggplant curry... Bengan Bharta," he said. The server came then, and they placed their orders, Percy only struggling a little bit through the lemonade that was called Secunjawi.

"So how was the rest of your week at work?" Percy asked when they were alone again. He wondered if their Monday lunch had a lasting effect on her like it had him.

[rar_hestia]

"Sure!" Hestia said. "Oh that's good, I've had that before," she added when Percy told her what he was going to order.

She ordered them some vegetable samosas, and ordered herself a Mango juice to drink.

"It was good, but long. I admit I found myself counting the days until today," she said, smiling shyly at him. "But Neville came by and dropped off the plants while I was out. The children seem to really like them."