New Year's Eve/New Year's Day

[velesdonnersen]

[As usual, if it weren't for the crazy elements, Tarvek could just curl up and adore Mayfield.  Now, he's invited Ilsa out. He's wearing his best suit, and he's taking a Mayfield Risk: he's taking her to dinner, and to a restaurant afterward

Comments

[ooeeooahah]

[ Though the phrasing is not what she would of chosen, she knows what he means by it. Ilsa knows why he chose the restaurant, because even though she could do better. He had said he wanted her to relax, the idea was she didn't have to cook. Even though it was nice to have a night out, L'Déplaisant lived up to its name. ]

I do appreciate the effort, 'bibi. Are you sure you want to be in a crowd at midnight?

[ Her eyes dance as she sips her wine. ]

[velesdonnersen]

I want to be with you at midnight, and nothing else matters.

[Considers] Liebchen, if I could, I would take you to *my* Paris. We'd dance, we'd got to the music halls, we'd eat true, first class French food, and after... I would go anywhere you wanted. We could dance in the streets, or slip into a little hotel, or what you wish. Here...

Here, love, it's still what you wish.

[ooeeooahah]

I think we'd best be somewhere secure at midnight.

[ It's mostly said in jest, but with Mayfield, you never know. ]

Tell me, does your world have the tradition of the first thing you do in the new year setting the tone for the rest of the year?

[velesdonnersen]

(Amused) My world is like yours, love: huge, with a lot of traditions. But, yes, that's one of them.

[Smiles, anticipating.]

By the look in your eye, Ilsa, you know what you want this year to involve lots of.

[ooeeooahah]

Convivial conversation, of course.

[ She raises an eyebrow at him. ]

[velesdonnersen]

[Flutters lashes.] And plenty of social intercourse, no doubt.

I've... I've made a reservation at the hotel. If...if you'd like. Few if any drones, and none "ours." Privacy. A chance to just be alone.

If you'd rather go to either of our houses I don't mind at all. But I thought that you might enjoy the change. And someone else making the bed and washing the sheets.

[ooeeooahah]

Privacy would be definitely appreciated.

[ She chuckles as she toys with the dessert. ]

Good thing I told the house-mates not to expect me until morning.

[velesdonnersen]

[What a happy boychick! He smiles, and the first fine traces of smile-lines show around his eyes. He's young, and hasn't had much reason to smile previously, so they're not very deep yet...but the glitter in his eyes and the sudden upturn of his usually sober mouth override his built-in scowl. He gestures to the waiter to start preparing the check, and enjoys the sweetness of the cherries Jubilee, even if they are a bit sticky.]

I told the Not!Betty that I had a social engagement I couldn't afford to miss. That was enough for her.

I do wish I could take you to Paris, love. Or to...to...Well. It's gone, now, at least in my world. But it would have been wonderful to bring you to Castle Sturmvoraus. I'd have had the lightening moat lit just to celebrate your arrival.

[ooeeooahah]

[ Her smile is promising. ]

There's places I'd like to show you as well. Okinawa during Obon, Austin during Oktoberfest, Calle Ocho in March... Montreal, once the statute of limitations is expired.

[velesdonnersen]

[Regret tinged with irony colors his reaction.]

And such a shame neither of us can manage to travel there...much less both of us.

[Head drops a bit.] I...I don't think I want to go home to stay. But there's so much to miss. Things that were part of my life.

Maybe... maybe someday we'll have all that, and Mayfield, too. [He smiles, wondering if she'll catch a quip he's caught from Quin.]

[ooeeooahah]

[ She lets the slightest thread of comforting emotion wrap around him, the most she can get away with in a public place such as a restaurant. ]

We get out, there's a good chance we can travel. Maybe even to several home-places. Something to look forward to, 'bibi.

[velesdonnersen]

[Smiles, and nods, recognizing the touch of her talent.]

Yes. You know, if we can travel -- really travel, to more than one universe -- I'd be tempted to go exploring. I was never free to be a...(sniggers)... A Gentleman Explorer!!!! back home. I think Gil got the chance, but I was tied to Sturmhalten. Between worry over Anevka, and Father, and all the plots, and the simple risk of being bred to be Storm King in an Empire ruled by Klaus Wulfenbach...

I didn't get around much.

But it would be wonderful to find the sort of perfect, hidden land they write about in adventure stories. A Lost Land, or a Hidden Utopia.

We could live there, and just go to our home worlds for love. Yes?

[He finishes his dessert, dabs quite elegantly with his napkin, and nods the waiter over, check in hand. He pays with a flourish, leaving a princely tip.]

Onward to privacy, schatzi?

[ooeeooahah]

Definitely.

[ She makes a note to introduce him to bucket lists, later. For now, she contents herself to walk near him, rather than the manner she would at home, with her arm around his shoulders. ]

[ Still, decorum is observed outwardly - while she walks along with her hands on her purse, another thread wraps around him, a teasing sensation that is not quite ticklish.... ]

[velesdonnersen]

[Anticipation prickles up and down his spine, and he blushes, and almost stumbles, sending her an amused -- and steamy -- glance.]

I shan't manage to drive, if you continue, my dear.

Tease, if you wish... but do make sure I can get us to the hotel safely.

[He opens the door of the convertible for her. The roof is up -- it's still chilly. But heaven forfend he take her in less than his finest chariot.]

[ooeeooahah]

[ She chuckles, suppressing the little bit of worry. It still might leak through, but she's watching the area without seeming to be vigilant. Once he's in the car, and they are away from eavesdroppers, she asks the question teasing around the edges of the conversation. ]

So, you arranged things for us to be private, without the rumor mill grinding fine... checked in this afternoon, and then we don't cause a scene in the lobby, right? Anything I should do to make it easier?

[velesdonnersen]

[He so wishes this were not so stupidly complex. But he's absolutely nothing if not a capable planner and undercover operative. He gives her an amused look.]

Of course I've set things up. We have separate rooms. They're connected, but I've firmly requested the doors be locked, and have made something of a stink about it. You are there as Mrs. Spengler. I'm there as myself. We shall arrive together, but I shall let you go up to your room while I flirt with a remarkably boring drone bar waitress. I shall then proceed up on my own.

If you wish to add a level, you may wish to linger at the check-in desk, while I "abandon" you... and grumble about my manners and the waste of time you had to spend over dinner discussing upcoming cases.

Will that do, love, or have you other ideas to add to the illusion?