Can you feel the love tonight?

[highprofilerichkid]

Characters: EVERYBODY
Date: 14 February
Location: Anywhere
Situation: It's VALENTINE'S DAY! Flowers, candy, love notes, dancing, and dates... Maybe you don't have Valentine's Day on your world, but plenty of the foreigners do, and those who have found love on the turtle will be happy to tell you all about the holiday. Some of the more enthusiastic foreigners may even try to play matchmaker with their unattached fellows...
Warnings/Rating: Lovey-dovey nonsense, smooching, romance, and maybe people getting a little frisky. It is Valentine's Day, after all. Further warnings will be added if anything gets really steamy.



No plans for the big day? Feeling a little lost? Well, why don't you:

• Build a snowman together! Embrace your inner child.
• Give your lover a big box of... chocolate? Well, there's technically no chocolate in Keeliai, but maybe a kedan confectioner can whip you up something close enough. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you could go to a candy shop together and experiment with the local sweets.
• Go dancing and engage in some pan-galactic cultural exchange. Teach your partner one of the beloved dances of your home universe, like salsa, or the foxtrot, or the electric slide.
• Baby, it's cold outside. Maybe you should stay in for the day. Cook a meal together, light some candles, drink the most expensive alcohol you can afford, and take some time to appreciate each other's company. Nothing says "romance" more than fancy wine and a candlelit dinner for two.
• What better excuse to take a chance on romance? Ask out that person you've had your eye on.
• Set up your friend. You're satisfied with your relationship or lack thereof, but somebody you know is pining, so get out your bow and quiver and cupid wings and find them a potential sweetheart. What's the worst that can happen? Don't answer that.
• No date? Grab a friend and go out to a fancy dinner with each other to celebrate Singles Awareness Day. Platonic love is important too!

Comments

Wasn't there supposed to be a double date thing happening?

[raavashing]

Wan had never really done a 'date'. Not in the proper sense of the word. He'd hung out with Zuko and spent time alone with him, but it had never been done with a sense of purpose or a planned activity and meal before. It had always been less formal. Less like it was a ritual of courtship. Calling it a 'date' made Wan feel like he needed to make sure he didn't screw anything up because then Zuko might decide he didn't want to keep Wan as his boyfriend. Which, of course, made no logical sense whatsoever, but Wan had grown up with dating as a formality tied to courtship in preparation for marriage. It was a pretty big deal. Almost like he was agreeing to really consider marriage to Zuko. Which... yeah, he'd asked to think about it, but thinking about it and actually taking steps toward it were two very different things.

So when Wan showed up at the small restaurant they'd agreed to meet at for this, he was Nervous (with capital 'N'). He was also dressed very differently than usual. His regular, threadbare and well-worn winter clothes had been replaced with something that, while not brand new, was clearly newer. The kedan's choice of dress was similar enough to What wan was familiar with that he'd managed to find something in the same simple style he preferred. But he still felt out of place in the clothes since he's bought them just so he has something a little nicer to wear for the date. They were also very Fire Nation in color. Mostly brown with some red and not-quite-gold yellow trim. The only thing that remained from his usual winter wear were the cloth wraps around his feet since he still didn't have shoes.

Wan entered the restaurant and quietly made his way through it, looking to see if anyone else was there yet.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene had dressed nicely for this. Well, he usually dresses nicely, or as nicely as he can, but he'd stepped it up just a bit for this date. Black and gold, as was his usual custom, but a very nice tunic all the same.

Dates. Ugh. Ooh. The entire concept still gave him the willies. And this...double-date thing gave him the double-willies. No, more than that. Super-willies. Yes. No. This is stupid.

Gene took a deep breath and tried to force down the anxiety. He'd only been on a couple of Actual Dates with Tony and he still wasn't sure he liked the custom.

Ah, and there was Wan. He waved a little awkwardly as the other man approached. "Hey."

Nice. Nailed it.

[lordhotman]

Zuko showed up a couple minutes later, also wearing something out of the norm. Wearing his usual clothes just didn't seem right for a date. So when his Uncle had heard about the supposed double date, he had no lack of help, and went shopping. Thankfully, the Kedan seemed more willing to sell him things now.

When he walked in, he was wearing something similar to what he once wore in the Earth Kingdom. Not very elaborate, but nice. Though this time the color was mainly a deep dark red with gold trim in a style that was popular among the Kedan. His Uncle had also offered to do his hair, which Zuko quickly assured him he could do himself. It was pulled back into a simple top knot.

When he saw the other two, his gaze lingered on Wan for a few long moments, a smile on his lips. Yes, he noticed the change and he liked it.

"You look... nice."

Oh yeah. Gene is there too.

"Hey."

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony arrives soon after Zuko. He, too, is dressed sharply - even more so than he had been for his Valentine's Day date with Gene. He also looks a bit flushed, as if he'd had to rush to get here. He... may have panicked a little and spent longer than he'd intended picking out clothes. This double date thing is new territory for Tony, and he'd been uncertain about the etiquette involved.

But now that he's actually here, his nerves settle a little, and he smiles brightly at the other three boys. This will be fun. He likes Zuko, and he's curious to know more about Wan. And even if everything goes awry and the whole thing is horribly awkward... at least Gene is here.

"Hey, Zuko. Hi Wan." He waves at the other couple, then walks up to Gene and kisses him on the cheek. "You look great," he says, with a warmer, gentler smile that is for Gene alone.

"So, is everybody ready to eat?"

[raavashing]

With how well dressed the other three were, Wan's own clothing - however clean and 'newer' they were - were distinctly out of place. He was most obviously the poorest of the four. And while that wasn't usually a concern, he'd tried his best to dress nicely and fit in with the expectations. It made him more nervous that he'd clearly fallen short of his goal. Zuko's compliment was welcome, but it felt hollow under Wan's self-consciousness.

Still, he smiled. It was a little strained from nerves, but it was a smile all the same, "Yeah. This is a nice place you picked."

[wrathfulkhan]

"Hey," Gene said to Zuko when the other boy showed up. He wasn't at all offended by Zuko's ignoring him in favor of Wan; he'd do the same if it was him and Tony, to be perfectly honest.

His cool demeanor was utterly shot to pieces when Tony walked in and kissed him on the cheek. He tried to keep from grinning like a fool, and was not even a whit successful. "Thanks. So do you," he manages to say, with an approving look at Tony's outfit. It looks good on him. It'll look even better on the floor of their room, knamean.

[lordhotman]

Zuko could tell that Wan was nervous and self conscious. And to be perfectly honest himself, he was too. He also wasn't used to this whole double date thing. This was new for him too.

So when Tony entered and gave Gene his attention, Zuko stepped over to his own boyfriend and reached out to take his hand, squeezing it in reassurance. It would be okay. He didn't really care what Wan looked like, just so long as he was there with him.

Tony's question though didn't go unnoticed. "Yeah. You've been here before? What do they have?"

[highprofilerichkid]

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Tony says to Wan and Zuko, and smiles self-consciously at Gene's compliment. He's looked around at how the others are dressed and reached the opposite of Wan's conclusion. "Though I think I may be a little overdressed..."

But Gene is grinning, which is a rare and amazing occurrence, and Tony decides that making Gene happy is far more important than worrying about what he's wearing.

"I don't remember the dishes, but everything's good," he tells Zuko. It's all, you know... kedan food. They put it in front of him, and he eats it. He hasn't exactly made a study of kedan cuisine.

Anyway, they'll see the menu soon enough. Now that they're all here, Tony waves down a hostess, who directs them to their reserved table.

[raavashing]

Wan sat down on one side, scooting in so he was on the 'inside' of the booth seat that the hostess took them to. Zuko could take the isle seat, and Gene and Tony could sit opposite them.

...or were Wan and Zuko supposed to sit opposite each other? Was that how it worked?

Wan froze up as he sat down, worried that maybe he had chosen to sit in the wrong spot. What if he'd just screwed everything up? He was already underdressed, he couldn't have another strike against him!

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene, meanwhile, slid into the booth opposite Wan with utter confidence, despite the fact that he was also Highly Inexperienced at this dating thing. Act as if ye have faith, and faith shall be given to you, or something.

And don't worry, Tony, if you're feeling overdressed, Gene will help you with that later. He'd say as much, but, you know, other people. He was still barely comfortable getting into that kind of talk while they were alone. In front of Wan and Zuko? Forget it. But he smiled at Wan, trying to buoy his spirits. The man looked a good bit shell-shocked, in point of fact.

[lordhotman]

Was it obvious that they were all kinda inexperienced with this date thing? ... Yes. It was. And Zuko could see that. But it made him relax a little, because he at least knew he wasn't the only one. Wan's nervousness though was also becoming more painfully obvious. So Zuko slid into the same booth and sat next to him. Reaching down to take he's boyfriend's hand.

But when menus are finally placed in front of them, it's a welcome distraction. And hopefully it would get Wan's mind off of things and stop being so self conscious.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony shouldn't have worried. He's obviously way more experienced with dating than any of these goofballs. Back home he'd actually had a real girlfriend for a few weeks! That probably puts him one entire significant other ahead of everyone else.

He sits down next to Gene and beams at the other boys, trying to at least pretend he knows what he's doing. Just like he's currently pretending to read the menu. He can't read much kedan, but he's eaten here a couple times, so he can make a little sense of it.

"Let's get an appetizer. Does everybody like onions?" He'd made the thrilling discovery last month that this place serves a very close approximation of an Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion.

[raavashing]

Wan's hand curled around Zuko's, squeezing it tightly. He forced a smile at Tony's suggestion and nodded. He wasn't sure he could handle speaking, so he remained silent. He couldn't read kedanese, anyway.

At least everyone was sitting down and no one seemed upset by his choice in how to sit.

i am so sorry for the link in this tag

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene nodded. "Yeah, I like onions." He liked all sorts of weird pungent food. Blame his upbringing. But at least it will never reach the dizzying, worrisome heights of the pimento garbage fish.

He kicked his legs a little bit, somewhat antsy and self-conscious.

You should be sorry. MEAT PINEAPPLE?!

[lordhotman]

"Sure, onions are good."

He too couldn't read Kedanese so he would just take Tony's word that the good here was good. Let's hope he doesn't let them down.

Despite his own self consciousness, Zuko shouldn't be worried either since he has been on one date before and even had a girlfriend once. So he focused his attention on making Wan feel comfortable. He squeezed Wan's hand back, rubbing his thumb across his boyfriend's knuckles.

/traumatizd whispering/ bleu cheese mousse......

[highprofilerichkid]

A waiter comes by and takes their appetizer and drinks orders. Then they're left alone again, and everyone's still sitting around awkward mostly-silence. Time to jumpstart some conversation. Tony's not exactly a master of small-talk, but he'll do his best.

"So, how are you guys liking Valentine's Day?" he asks Zuko and Wan. This is a slightly-belated bonus Valentine's Day date, so that seems like a good place to start. "Do you have holidays like it where you're from?"

[raavashing]

Wan shook his head in a subdued manner and replied in a soft voice, "There weren't any festivals for anything like this in the city I grew up in. Or in any of the cities I visited after I was banished from it. We celebrated stuff like the Solstice and the New Year. A good spring after a hard winter. Things like that."

He relaxed a little as he spoke, enough to admit, "Actually, I'm not really sure what the point of Valentine's Day is. If people are in love, they shouldn't need a certain day of the year to show it."

[wrathfulkhan]

"Wasn't it something to do with a saint that was killed?" Gene offered. You're right, Gene, but now is not the time. "Anyway, it somehow turned into a celebration of romantic love. I'm not entirely sure how or why. It's just one of those tradition things, I think."

Pause.

"And an excuse to eat a lot of candy."

[lordhotman]

Zuko nodded his agreement with Wan. They didn't have anything like this in his world, not even in his time, and especially not in the Fire Nation.

Though Gene's comment brought on an obvious stare.

"You guys celebrate love because of a dead guy?"

That... was kinda weird.

[highprofilerichkid]

"Don't all saints have to get killed? I thought being a martyr was one of the prerequisites."

He shrugs at Zuko's question. "We celebrate a lot of stuff because of dead guys. One of the world's major religions is really into the whole dead-guy thing. Kinda weird when you think about it, actually." Also, there's cannibalism. Christianity is fun!

"Anyway, now we just eat a lot of candy. I don't even know what Saint Valentine died for."

[raavashing]

Wan looked from Gene to Tony. Then from Tony to Gene. There were a few things said just now that were not things he felt he could leave alone.

Cannibalism. Christianity. Saints. And how candy and celebrating love was tied into them.

He was going to start with what he hoped was the simplest question, "What's a saint and why do they have to be killed?"

the culturally-shenist muse has no idea what's going on. the religion-nerd mun is headdesking.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene shrugs. "Don't ask me. Not my religion. Though I'm sure it has something to do with serving God, or...something." Astute. Guess who skipped World Religions class to go supervillaining? "I guess people don't like that. Or didn't. That religion kind of came out on top. Anyway, they're supposed to die and get a special reward in heaven for doing God's work. Probably."

[lordhotman]

Zuko is looking just about as clueless as Wan. You can probably tell by the blank look on his face.

"I don't get it," he says at last. And... that's it. There really isn't a whole lot of religion and stuff from their world. At least not in terms of a single God or anything like that. People do worship the spirits, but Zuko's never really been all that into it. That's more of an Avatar thing.

[highprofilerichkid]

"I don't get it either," Tony says, totally blasé about his religious ignorance. "Religion never makes much sense. But as long as I get candy out of it, I'm not complaining." Priorities.

"So, what are your... season festivals like?" Tony doesn't know anybody who celebrates holidays like the solstice in his world. That's, like, old-school pagan stuff.

[raavashing]

If worshiping spirits was an Avatar thing, it came long after Wan was an Avatar. He didn't understand any of the religion stuff.

But the solstice festivals, that was something he could talk about.

"Well, in the city I grew up in, most of our festivals were ones where everyone was supposed to show up in masks or barter for a mask at the festival. There would be food, people putting on plays, displays of brightly colored dancers, that sort of thing. They'd go all night and it was pretty fun."