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

[somatophylax]

"Since you put it that way, maybe I should tell him. It's not every day that an opportunity for this sort of food presents itself."

Hephaistion led her inside and to a table where they absolutely didn't have to see anything about the couple's room. This was a day he was treating his good friend to good food, and nothing else needed to matter. However, he was still making a show of it and pulled out her chair for her. She's still a beautiful, charming girl. It wasn't her fault the boys here were too dumb to notice. Dora and the gods knew how hard he'd tried to appreciate her in that way himself, but alas. For now, Hephaistion just wanted to keep her smiling. And food was an excellent reason to smile.

[justdora]

"Only if you let me pick off your plate."

But Dora was glad for it. It might not be the valentines that was hyped up in media so often, but it was what she had... And she was thankful for it. "Sooooooo.... I saw you got a valentine....."

[somatophylax]

"Please. Isn't that what 'dates' are for? What's mine is yours." He winked at her with a smile. Of course she can pick off his plate. That's one of the great things about going out with someone, getting to try everything.

He coughed out a short laugh at mention of his very public invitation, looking away a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I suppose the whole camp saw that, didn't they? I do not believe Arthur is capable of much in the way of subtly."

[justdora]

"Oh perfect! Because I was totally gonna steal off your plate anyways," she teased back.

Leaning forward on her elbows, she wagged her eyebrows at him. "No, very the opposite of subtle. That's exciting, though."

[somatophylax]

Hephaistion rubbed his face with the palm of his hand before responding, chuckling, "I must admit I was surprised. I've never been asked out like that before, and I thought for sure the invitation was going to be for that friend of his... Merlin, I think, is his name." He squinted in thought for a moment. "It's strange, but it's not like I'm not flattered." He shrugged.

[justdora]

"So it totally came out of left field?"

Dora knew very little of the two boys, but she also hadn't expected him to ask Hephaistion... Regardless, she was still smiling as she nudged his hand with hers. "It's cute. I'm glad for you."

[somatophylax]

"We've sparred. We ride. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but he's a good guy. Reminds me a little of a couple of the guys I knew back home. Honestly, I suspect an ulterior motive, but that could just be me over thinking it."

Hesitating, he finally asked, "Would it be terribly rude of me if I wanted to meet with him after our dinner?"

[justdora]

"What do you mean, ulterior motive?"

She won't hesitate to smack a bitch if she has to. It's what straight girlfriends do for their gay boyfriends, if necessary. Still, she smiled and shook her head at him. "Not rude at all. Totally the point of having a valentine, I'd think."

[somatophylax]

"If I'm right, it's something that's none of my business. No need to fret. Otherwise, it's another friendly date."

Hephaistion took both her hands in his and leaned forward enough to kiss her knuckles. He squeezed her hands before he let them go. "I already told him you were my girl and my top priority for today. I promised you food and the delight of my company," he grinned, "and nothing was going to interrupt that."

[justdora]

"Yeah? Well, if he's an ass, I'm not afraid to give him a piece of my mind..."

But then he took her hands and she smiled a little bit, unable to keep herself from giggling as he kissed her knuckles. Yes. Very unfortunate that he was oh so very gay. "My hero. How did I get to be so lucky, really?"

[somatophylax]

Laughing, Hephaistion leaned back in his chair. "And I'm modest, too, don't forget."

The mental image of Dora coming to his rescue against Arthur was a pretty amusing one, he had to admit. He wouldn't require it, but it was sweet to offer. "If Arthur is more of an ass than he normally is, you will be the first to know, so you can tell him off. Promise."

"But let us get down to business, shall we? The food smells good, and it would be a shame to waste much more time."