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

[wordtechgodhood]

"Hmm," he hums, mischief sparking in his eyes as he looks at her. He's sure she'd like to hold him to something else, too. Maybe he'd let her. He skims his thumb over the backs of her knuckles.

"Maybe I do, but envy is a powerful thing, y'no." There's nothing like nonchalant boasting, really. Especially when you don't exactly mean it. "And you're the only person here who can say Dave Strider is their boyfriend."

[ospreyed]

"Ha fucking ha," she smirks, rolling her eyes. "Don't forget, I'm the one here that has boys tripping over each other. So you managed to beat them all out. Congratulations to that." She raises her water glass to him and takes a sip. She wants real champagne.

"But neither have much room to complain. I get to see your eyes whenever I want." And yes, Dave, she'd love to hold you to other things. And hold other things.

[wordtechgodhood]

He raises his glass in return and doesn't care to point out that while she slept with several of those boys none of them managed to claim her as their girlfriend.. and he hasn't even slept with her yet.

Or maybe that's what she means. He's not going to ask.

"You got it. Just, you know, warn me if you're gonna swipe my shades in broad daylight or some shit." He pauses to sip his water. "I still wanna be able to see when I'm thirty."

[ospreyed]

Yes, that is exactly what she means. But it's better if you don't ask.

Besides, there's nothing wrong with sleeping with a few boys at camp. And getting handsy with more than a few more.

"I can do that." Woah, is she compromising? Yes, yes she is. "What's wrong with them, anyway? They're amazing."

[wordtechgodhood]

That would really be debatable, but it's not for Dave to debate and certainly not right now when she's sitting across from him talking and looking all pretty and so on.

"Wrong with them?" He actually looks a bit perplexed by the question, as if he's never had it phrased that way before. "Nothing's.. wrong with them.. I guess. It's the freaky colour. I'm photosensitive."

[ospreyed]

It's simply the life she was born into, in addition to being a very loud cry for help and attention.

"So you were just born with them? They're beautiful. Stunning, even." She finds herself squeezing his hand. "Don't let it go to your head or anything, but you're pretty damn handsome, Strider."

[wordtechgodhood]

"... Heh."

Dave smiles awkwardly, face tinging pink as he looks away from her and rubs a hand around the back of his neck. Teasing was one thing but genuine compliments were something else entirely.

"Uh.. thanks."

[ospreyed]

"Now who's blushing?" She says, nudging his calf with her foot under the table. It's nice to know she genuinely has that power over him, though.

"But you're welcome. I don't just let any random looking guy call me his girlfriend. You gotta be hot."

[wordtechgodhood]

"Not me. Definitely not me." Definitely not him wow you must be seeing things, Ep. He rubs the back of his neck and it's not for a distraction, he just.. has an itch, that's all.

"Nice to know I live up to your aesthetic ideals. That's my year made right there."

[ospreyed]

"I'm starting to think you're a worse liar than I am," she says, grinning at him across the table. Such blushing, Dave. "Maybe I'll let it go, just this once."

She took a sip of her water.

"Then again... You didn't exactly let me get away with it..."

[wordtechgodhood]

"Whaaaat? I totally let you get away with it." He hadn't pointed it out to anyone on any of the other tables, after all, and he totally could have done that.

"You can't be mean to me, I took my shades off for you."

[ospreyed]

"I'm not mean to you," she says fondly. "You're probably the only person here I haven't been mean to."

[wordtechgodhood]

"It's an honour," he tells her, an amused smile quirking at a corner of his mouth and making his eyes glint. "But it's just one more reason for people to be jealous."

[ospreyed]

"Oh, I don't know about that. you haven't really lived until I've made you regret being born."

[wordtechgodhood]

"I think I'm living plenty," Dave retorts, moving his hand to tangle his fingers with hers, stroking his thumb over the soft part of her hand. "I'm dating the most exciting girl in this place."

[ospreyed]

She blushes again, keeping her eyes trained on their hands, as if that would somehow make it all better.

"I can't say you're wrong on that one. Everyone else here is boring compared to me. I'm shrouded in mystery."

[wordtechgodhood]

Yes, good, when she's blushing he knows that what he's doing is working.

"I wouldn't go that far," he retorted with a smirk. "But you keep me on my toes."

[ospreyed]

"Maybe you wouldn't, but I would." She grins over the table. "Good. 'cause when you let your guard down, that's when I strike." With... whatever. Like being mean or something.

Damn it, this dating thing is hard.

[wordtechgodhood]

"That's fighting talk," he teases, running his thumb over her knuckles. Dave doesn't think she's doing too badly, but what does he know, anyway.

"I'd ask if you've got the stones to back it up but, uh. I know you do."

[ospreyed]

"Damn straight."

Eponine presses her lips together, glancing down at her plate. "Dave... Thank you."

[wordtechgodhood]

"Huh?" Blink blink. He tips his head down to try and catch her eye.

"What are you thanking me for?"

[ospreyed]

"A lot of things. Putting up with me, mostly. I'm a fucking handful with about five tons of baggage to go along side. It just means a lot to me, that you see past it and care about me. I'm not used to people actually, y'know. caring."

[wordtechgodhood]

"Y'no," Dave says, drawling out the end vowel as he continues stroking his thumb over the back of her hand.

"There's more people to care about you than you want to let yourself think. You just gotta let them."

[ospreyed]

"Why? They're all going to leave eventually. You, too, Dave. But I'm trying not to think about that. I'm trying to just enjoy this. Being with you. You're the first guy who has ever actually appreciated me. As me. It's weird."

[wordtechgodhood]

"Don't think about it bein' weird." Dave flashes her a cheeky half-smile but there's a hint of nerves around the edges. He's still feeling this out as much as she is.

"And I'm not gonna leave you, okay? Not if I can help it."