tushanshu_logs | Can you feel the love tonight?

Entry tags:

Can you feel the love tonight?

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, give me a minute." Gene's dressed nicely, favoring a black Chinese-style tunic with gold trim, surprising literally no one.

He ducks into their room, combing his hair very quickly to make sure he looks his best, before turning back to Tony. "Ready when you are."

Tony is not surprised, but he is impressed. The tunic looks good on Gene. Really good.

While Gene's combing his hair, Tony grabs a jar, fills it with water, and gently places the flowers in it. It's not very elegant, but he'll find something nicer to put them in when they get back. He sets the bouquet on the coffee table, grabs his coat and other winter gear, and joins Gene by the door.

"Let's go!" And he gives Gene another bright smile.

"Lead the way," Gene says, fetching his coat and shrugging it on. This leg of the date scenario - oh God, a date, a Valentine's Day date, it's still weird to think about - is in Tony's court, and he's both excited and apprehensive about it. Nonetheless, he still manages to smile back at Tony.

At least the flowers look nice in their new home on the table, humble as it is.

Tony bundles up in coat, gloves, and scarf (no hat - he spent, like, five whole minutes on his hair!), and takes Gene's hand. The afternoon sun is shining brightly when they step out of the hotel, but the temperature is still frigid. Tony takes a deep breath and exhales a cloud of fog. "Heh." He grins.

"Okay, the restaurant is about a mile and a half walk. It's really nice." It's really expensive. "You'll like it." He very much hopes so. He gives Gene a quick kiss on the cheek, and starts walking.

"I'm sure I will," Gene says, and hesitates. After a moment walking, he reaches out and takes Tony's hand. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Right. Anyway, it's a good and socially acceptable way to share body heat ~~'cause y'all know they're not wearing gloves~~.

This is weird, still, going on a real date in public. But he thinks - he really thinks - that he might even get used to it in time. And as they walk, he's smiling. It's small and faint, but it's genuine.

Tony smiles when Gene reaches out to take his hand. He sneaks a sidelong glance, and is glad to see that Gene is smiling too.

Though the streets are a mess of ice and dirty slush, there is enough undisturbed snow on trees and rooftops and windowsills to add some nice sparkle to the scenery. Tony's happy walking hand in hand with his boyfriend through the frosted-over city, and he doesn't say anything for a while.

They've been talking a lot, recently, about a lot of really serious stuff. Sometimes it's nice to just be with Gene, and not feel like he has to say anything. That's odd, for him: normally he can't stand the quiet, and will do whatever he can to fill it up with conversation or music. Maybe Gene's starting to rub off on him.

Contrary to Gene's usual preference of the general state of affairs, the quiet is actually making him a little nervous. But he's been a lot more nervous overall lately, more anxious, more afraid. Not of Yunxu or Heojin or Zanru or the Snakes or anyone who styled themselves the rightful ruler of Keeliai or a chunk thereof - far from it. But it's been nearly two weeks since that awful, disastrous day, since the confession and the return, and what he's most afraid of is Tony - or the lack of him - and the storm he knows is inside his own head, ready to roll over him at a moment's notice.

With no small amount of effort, he batters the fear and anguish back, the emotions that had come rolling in with even the brief thought of their visit to Milyn, and takes a couple deep breaths. His smile, small as it is, hasn't wavered - the deep breaths could just be mistaken for enjoying the chill air. He knows he's always been the more melancholic of the two, but that doesn't mean he can't at least try and let himself be happy.

He squeezes Tony's hand as they walk, just once, to be sure that Tony doesn't mind the quiet.

Tony returns the squeeze, and inches closer to Gene as they walk. Maybe he should have arranged to have them picked up by a rickshaw or something so they could snuggle together on the way there. (To preserve body heat, of course.) Oh well. It's not a very long walk.

Tony keeps a brisk pace, because it's cold, and because he's hungry and more than a little bit nervous. He makes the occasional casual comment about something they're passing by, just to keep the silence from becoming oppressive. He doesn't want Gene to think he's in a bad mood. The last week or so has been rough, but he's genuinely looking forward to tonight.

It takes them about twenty minutes to reach the restaurant. It's in the Fire Sector, in one of the higher-end shopping districts, and as soon as they step inside it's obvious that it's a very nice establishment. Tony gives his name, and as the hostess is checking his reservation, he turns to Gene with a hopeful 'so what do you think?' smile.

Edited 2015-03-03 06:31 (UTC)

There will be plenty of time for snuggling later! Never you fret, Tony.

Gene's been responding to Tony's observations, occasionally offering one of his own, but he's largely keeping his own responses monosyllabic. Not on purpose - he's just brooding, which is an awful habit that he needs to get out of. So he tries to force himself out of it when he notices that's what he's doing. Partial success?

The restaurant is very nice-looking, the decor ornate, and Gene remembers just how much he'd missed living in the Fire Sector. Not that their room in the Hotel wasn't nice, but it lacked the finery found in Fire.

He smiles back at Tony, all approval. He's nervous, but excited now, too.

With Gene's approval of the restaurant selection, Tony relaxes. Everything is going well so far.

They are quickly seated and given menus. Tony starts looking over his, mostly to be polite, since he can't actually read it. It's in Kedanese, which he has not applied himself to mastering just yet. Maybe he should get on that.

He looks over his illegible menu at Gene. "You know Fire Sector food. What's good?"

Edited 2015-03-07 05:36 (UTC)

Oh, it is hard for Gene to resist the urge to tease Tony for not really knowing the kedan language yet. But he names a couple items of varying tastes. And be glad you weren't the guinea pig for these, Tony. Gene's been here long enough to know what tastes good and what won't make him sick upon consumption. It had been a long, bitter series of trials.

The waiter comes by, and they order, and Gene quite subtly implies to the waiter that they'll tip handsomely if their food is brought to them untainted. Perhaps an unnecessary precaution, but with the anti-Foreigner sentiment these days, you really could never be too careful. That taken care of, he turns back to Tony and smiles, feeling a little better about the whole scenario.

Tony almost doesn't catch the little hint Gene drops at the waiter - it takes him a couple seconds to realize what Gene had been implying.

Tony wouldn't have thought that sort of thing would be a problem at a place as nice as this, but... he has to admit, Gene's life experience probably makes him a better judge of that. Sad but true. That's a grim note to start the meal on, though, so Tony chases the funny look off his face and tries to pretend he didn't notice.

"Should we... order wine or something?" They're underage at home, but that doesn't matter here. Wine is a classy thing people drink at fancy meals, so that's appropriate for a Valentine's Day date, right? "...I've never done the whole Valentine's Day thing before."

Hey, better safe than sorry. Or struck ill with some sort of food poison. (Well, Tony would probably get out of it unscathed due to Extremis. Gene, on the other hand...well, he is only human.)

"...huh. Neither have I," Gene admits, thinking about it. Truth be told, Valentine's Day had never been a part of his experience even peripherally. The magic of globalization had meant that he'd known of it, but he'd never found reason to participate. "You want to order wine, we can order wine."

"I even missed out on most of the elementary school candy exchange, after Dad took me out of school," Tony muses. "I used to get really jealous every year when Rhodey would come home with a bag full of candy, so Trish started sneaking me some when Dad wasn't looking." He grins at the memory. To be fair, he could usually wheedle candy out of Trish on any day of the year, but it felt extra special on Valentine's Day.

"Yeah, I guess we could get something. Just... not the most expensive bottle on the menu, okay?" He laughs like it's a joke, but, uh, seriously, Gene, he can't afford that.

Gene is briefly struck with horror at the thought of a tiny, hyperactive Tony hopped up on the wrath of a thousand Hershey bars. It's too terrifying to contemplate.

It goes without saying that he never did the cards, or the candy, or any of it at all. A decadent Western holiday; taboo in Zhang's household.

So he just grins back as Tony recounts the memory. It sounds like a good one. He tries to ignore the talk of Howard; the subject's still raw, for him. "I'll get us something nice. But not too nice." Like you're a damn sommelier, Gene. Regardless, he picks out a mid-range bottle that seems to...maybe?...pair well with what they ordered, and flags down their waiter to request it.

Yes, Tiny Tony on a sugar rush was something to behold. His dad probably only put up with it because he'd crash hard a couple hours later and not be a nuisance for the rest of the day.

"Sounds good. If I ever get my job back for real, we can get the nicest one," he promises with a chuckle. He's still not used to being not rich, and he's a little bummed that he can't treat Gene to the best Keeliai has to offer. But this dinner is putting a serious strain on his finances already (not that he'd ever admit that to Gene).

"That is, if we even like wine," Gene says with a bit of a laugh. He prefers to keep himself clearheaded. Though what the hell - tonight is a special occasion. He can break his teetotaling ways for that.

It's cute that you think you're going to pay for this without a fight, Tony.

"I like wine. You know what is gross, though? Bourbon." Tony makes a disgusted face. "But wine is nice. I haven't ever had it here," he admits, "but it's probably not all that different."

It could, in fact, be very significantly different, but he's trying to be optimistic.

"I haven't had much of it," he admits, "and I've never had bourbon."

He thinks for a moment. "I can't imagine that it'd be too different, if it still translates to us as 'wine'. But who knows?" And Gene smiles at him, a little bit. "We're trying a lot of new things today, it seems."

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, I like trying new things. Especially with you."

His smile turns cheeky: he totally intended that innuendo, and is very pleased with himself about it.

Gene grins at him. "Oh, good. So do I. And I'm certain we'll be trying a few more, before the day is through."

Hey-oh!

He smirks and has a sip of his water.

"I can't wait," Tony says, while unsubtly making eyes at Gene.

Actually, his plans for the night are less raunchy than he's making out: given the recent shock their relationship had gone through, he'd opted to focus on cuddling and affection rather than wild, uh, experimentation ~~sexperimentation~~.

But he's glad that Gene is in a good enough mood for this kind of banter. That has to be a good sign, right?

It's just as well, really; for all his overconfident joking, a lot of it is a front. It'd take a lot for Gene to be comfortable getting as intimate as he's implying after their rough patch. But maybe affection is just what the doctor ordered.

The waiter returns with a starting dish. Apparently you can't escape starter salads even in another dimension. Although the edible foliage usually isn't quite so...pink.

Tony loves the pink salad. It actually makes salad interesting. He attacks it with gusto. He's especially taken with what appears to be bright coral-colored Romanesco.

"Pink fractal broccoli!" he holds it up on his fork, looking delighted. "This place is great. I wish we could afford to eat like this all the time."

Gene's digging into the salad as well, a little less intensely - but he has to admit, it is pretty good.

"How does that stuff even grow?" he asks idly, examining some on his own fork. Fractals sure are weird!

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