Fly Away to a Cafe

[halfbread]

Who: Everyone who wants in!
What: The V-Day Café! (Yes, that's what we're going with, no, you can't make WWII jokes.)
Where: The Big House
When: Valentine's Day, mostly evening but various times
Warnings: I have no freakin' clue, it's probably going to depend on individual threads

At 6:00 sharp, the doors are officially open on the first ever Camp Half-Blood Valentine's Day Café. The two biggest rooms on the first floor of the Big House have been turned into dining rooms, one decorated in a much more traditionally "romantic" oeuvre for couples and the second into a relaxing place to hang out just among friends. Both rooms are serving the same menu, and both have a good number of tables set up to accomodate visitors. As people finish eating, the waiters and waitresses will roll around a dessert cart for people to make selections from. Enjolras will be incredibly reluctantly providing serenades in the romantic dining room with some assistance from Cosette, while Chiron's boombox has been borrowed and tuned to the local pop station for the casual dining room. Have fun, everyone!

Comments

[ensared]

That hits him hard and Gale catches himself staring at her in surprise for a moment, not sure what to say. Thankfully, a distraction is provided when they're asked about orders, and he asks for the chicken as well, with potatoes and carrots, hoping for a small reminder of home.

Lydia would help save his family again, huh? With any luck, the need would never arise, but Gale knows better than to count on that. There are few people that have expressed such a sentiment to him, though, and all of them have been in the Fifth. It's strange, but... refreshing, in a way, to hear that from an outsider. And a Greek, at that, when they'd been taught that Romans and Greeks could never get along. They've proven that wrong already, more than a few times.

But he has to tune those thoughts out, because Lydia's speaking again. "In a natural way," Gale echoes, the meaning almost lost on him. His brow furrows as he thinks it over. "I... Yeah, I guess you're right. What's that got to do with it?"

[lefthandedgenius]

"If you were really under amokinetic influence you'd think I was perfection." she points out quietly. "Completely without flaw. You'd do almost anything for me without question, and while you might not be blind to my flaws, you'd ignore them instead of calling me on them." She nods, more to herself.

"I think that's the trick." she says softly. "Can you see someone and care about them, flaws and cracks and all."

[ensared]

He nods along as she speaks, the stories and his own experiences watching friends fall under the influence of amokinesis easily lining up with Lydia's explanation. He's seen guys risk their own lives because the object of their affections told them to.

But, as she's saying, Gale doesn't feel that need to please. He knows Lydia isn't perfect, and he doesn't want perfect. They've had a few problems before, and he's never failed to make it quite clear how he feels about them. It's hard to shake off such a deeply ingrained suspicion so easily, but the logic of it is too solid to refute.

"Maybe you're right." He knows she is. She's a smart girl, on par with the children of Minerva here.

[dandylicious]

Courfeyrac has nothing if not impeccable timing... And charm. After explaining his plan to Cosette, he grabbed her hand, pressed a kiss to it in thanks, and tugged her out to the secret table. She would have to start, but as soon as they were several feet away from the table, he gave her the signal to go ahead...

And he would join in when it was appropriate. He'd let her decide if they would just hang off to the side, crooning "I See the Light" at each other, or actually go up tableside to them.

[lefthandedgenius]

She studies him sidelong a moment before taking a bite of her chicken. "I guess it's up to you to decide if I'm worth it." she says with a small smile. She makes no case for herself otherwise.

Courfeyrac's appearance has her peering in that direction. "Ah," she says softly, "I think we may have our culprit. I wonder what he's up to now."

[impetueux]

Cosette lets herself be led, smiling and laughing as she follows Courfeyrac the whole way back to the table. It's probably a little straightforward, but if she's already interrupting their dinner, then there's really no reason for dithering about; she picks a spot close enough where they're not outright violating their personal couple space and gives his hand a quick squeeze before taking a breath.

"All those days, watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in..."

[dandylicious]

Courfeyrac remained at that reasonable distance from his sister, grinning when he noticed she caught sight of them. But all of that kind of stopped being relevant when Cosette started singing. He'd have to remind her later just how beautiful of a voice she has, because it entranced him right away...

And he nearly missed his cue. "All those days chasing down a daydream, all those years living in a blur.... All that time never truly seeing things the way they were."

[ensared]

"I think it's worth a shot," Gale decides, smiling back. No one ever could say he's not willing to take a risk. And if it defies how things are supposed to be, or everything he's been told it's supposed to be, all the better.

Following Lydia's gaze, his eyes narrow as it's revealed. He might have known it'd be Courfeyrac. No wonder the guy had thrown a fit when he'd seen Gale's clothes earlier; this is all his idea. He doesn't recognize the girl next to Courf at first, and he's wondering just what they're planning now when -

"Are they singing?" he asks, incredulous. The song isn't one he recognizes right off the bat, though the rhythm sounds vaguely familiar.

[lefthandedgenius]

Lydia does not reply, because her hand is pressing to her mouth to suppress her urge to giggle as she watches and listens to Cour and Cosette perform. Yes, no doubt who the culprit is, now.

She inches her chair closer to Gale's, giving the pair her attention, or at least most of it, because she leans against the tall young man and murmurs, "It's adorable, though."

They do have lovely voices, and clearly Lydia is delighted without being wide-eyed about it.

[impetueux]

Cosette perks up when she hears Courfeyrac chime in, pleasantly surprised by his voice; he may not be a child of Apollo, but she's frankly pretty impressed. She's still a little wonder-struck and blissfully dazed that she almost misses her cue as well.

"And at last I see the light..."

She's still belting her verses when she glances over at Gale's face, and has to use all of her willpower to keep her airflow steady and not laugh.

[dandylicious]

Courfeyrac wasn't about to claim himself the best singer, but he was proud of his decent enough voice. He couldn't look at Gale and Lydia, though, without wanting to crack up at his expression... So why not use this chance to serenade Cosette?

"And it's like the fog has lifted... And at last I see the light..."

Oh, and they were still holding hands, so he just gives hers a little squeeze, smiling brighter yet.

[impetueux]

Cosette notices his attention turn to her, and starts blushing furiously, still smiling as she sings.

"And it's like the sky is new...And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted...All at once, everything is different, now that I see you..."

Major life goal accomplished, she's basically become a Disney princess.

[ensared]

There is definitely something more going on here than the two of them simply being serenaded as part of a surprise date. If Posy were here, she'd be squealing in delight right now.

"Looks like they're getting into it," Gale murmurs thoughtfully, pressing back lightly against Lydia. He likes having her against him like this, he realizes in mild surprise. Most of his focus is on the duet before them, however, intrigued that they've gone to such effort and almost a bit embarrassed that they had. But he can't deny that they sound amazing.

[lefthandedgenius]

Lydia is staring at the pair for a moment, her mouth curving at the corners. Is there a little thing between those two? Maybe. Maybe it's just the performance. But she's definitely getting a little buzz.

Of course in relative terms, having Gale lean against her - because he wants to, not because he's compelled to (she believes it, she believes it so hard) is just about the most heady thing in the world.

She has to close her eyes for a moment and let out a breath; this is the closest feeling to a contact high that Lydia's ever had. Opening them once more, she continues to watch the pair, smiling and happy to applaud them enthusiastically when they finish.

[dandylicious]

Hey, Courfeyrac lives to make dreams come true. Actual Disney Prince Courfeyrac. Or something like that. Finishing the song with Cosette, he smiled even more, before glancing back at his sister and her date. Mission accomplished.

Squeezing Cosette's hand, he gave a slight bow when Lydia began applauding them.

[ensared]

Gale doesn't clap, or smile, really. But he does nod at them both with a slight curve upward at the corner of his lips. The performance isn't quite his favorite style of music, but they're obviously both talented, and he can appreciate that. Not bad, Courfeyrac. Not bad at all.

[lefthandedgenius]

"Thank you, Cour." Lydia calls out from her seat. "And thank you, Cosette." And while they are both fantastic performers and she gives them their due, once done her attention turns to Gale.

"You were saying a moment ago," she murmurs, "That it's worth a shot."

[ensared]

It's then that Gale actually realizes how close they are, as he turns to look back at her. There's still a word of caution about this in the back of his mind, making sure he doesn't forget what he could be getting himself into. But...

"You can't live without a few risks?" he says simply, before leaning in for a kiss. Forget caution. Lydia's proven her point; there's no way for him to refute it, and no reason for him to fight it.

[lefthandedgenius]

And Lydia does so love winning.

Kissing Gale back is a natural thing of course, but there's the extra understanding that's entirely because he wants to, and the only persuasion on her part was entirely mundane.

"When we're finished with dinner," she purrs contentedly when their lips part, "There's something I want to show you. My favorite place in camp."

[ensared]

He raises an eyebrow, intrigued. Now where in camp would a girl like Lydia gravitate to? Gale's favorite place is the woods, of course, and any child of Mars would say they love the arena. But a daughter of Venus?

"Am I allowed to ask what it is, or is that another surprise?" he asks, a clear tone of amusement in voice.

[lefthandedgenius]

Lydia is highly tempted to keep it a secret, but she feels like she ought to give a little.

"There's an overlook not far from the Fireworks Beach." she says. "It overlooks the Sound, and it's my favorite place at night...but maybe not for the reason you think. That will be the surprise."

She picks her truffles for dessert when it's time. After all, she wants to sample her own work. But she doesn't eat them right away; instead she folds them up into a napkin, perhaps thinking to take them to the aforementioned spot and enjoy them there.

[ensared]

'Not for the reason he thinks'? Just where is it that Lydia expects his mind to go? Gale raises an eyebrow, but doesn't ask anything more. He can wait. A surprise could be a good thing.

Following her lead, Gale wraps his own dessert up to save for later. If they're both ready to leave, he'll gladly leave. This place still sets him on edge, just a little. He'll probably never get used to fancy things like this, though with Lydia, he supposes he'll have to try.

[lefthandedgenius]

Of course, someday he's going to bring in a squirrel, stick it in a stew, and expect her to eat it, right? They can both learn to give a little.

Clutching her little makeshift package in one hand she takes Gale's hand in the other when they're prepared to leave and start to make their way to the overlook that offers a view of the sound. Lydia has to be a bit careful in her heels, but she's determined and not willing to let them stop her. But when they get there?

"Can I share your jacket?" she asks. "Instead of doing the melodramatic shiver that is the universal sign demanding a guy give it up for the girl, I think body heat is smarter."

Well, it is February. It's cold, but the view is spectacular. They're far away enough so that the light pollution is minimal, the sky is cloudless, and night sky is filled with stars.

[ensared]

With her hand in his, Gale tries to help her balance as they head up to her overlook. It doesn't take much effort and certainly isn't an inconvenience, and his mother would probably kill him if he doesn't at least try to catch her if she falls. Holding her hand will make that easier, in case he needs to do it. It's practical, but it's a nice, simple touch, no pressure behind it from either of them.

At her question, he cracks a bit of a smile. "I don't mind. Here." To be fair, it isn't Gale's jacket. It fits him surprisingly well, though, so he has to slip his arms out of it to allow for room. He wouldn't mind having Lydia close at all, but he also wants her to be comfortable.

[lefthandedgenius]

There are a few moments where her grip tightens in his hand, but she never actually falls. Once they're situated on the overlook and she's pressed against him, she wriggles her hand between them and points up at the sky.

"Look." she whispers. "You see those three stars? That's Orion's belt. And there..." her pointing finger strays up and to the left Canis Minor," down and to the left, like a vee, "Canis Major."

Lydia looks up at those stars like they're the most beautiful things in the world.