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Date Night Italiano; Cypher
Topic Started: Jan 27 2010, 06:54 AM (785 Views)
Wolfsbane
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January 25th, @ 7 pm

Doug and Rahne had made a whole day out of a dinner date, catching a mid-afternoon movie first (Sherlock Holmes, as Rahne hadn't seen it yet). And now it was time for that dinner.

She was having quite a fun time, and even more of one since she got to spend that time with Doug. She had missed him over the time he disappeared into his various projects. He was an interesting conersationalist, funnier than he gave himself credit for, and despite his occasional awkward clumsiness (or perhaps in spite of it), was charming in his own unique way.

Rahne herself was letting her hair loose tonight, so to speak, as the rather short length of her hair didn't allow her to tie it up to begin with. She thrilled to the scooter ride, silly though it may have seemed. It was surprisingly quick, and there was a time or two where she threw her arms out, using her fairly strong legs to hold on tight to the bike, and let out a fairly loud and elongated "Woo Hoo" before quickly clamping her arms back around his shoulders. The cold air didn't bother her, hardly effected her aside from slightly rosier cheeks.

Before too long, they arrived at the restaurant, "Mama's Ristorante". It was fairly busy, but that was typical for a Monday night.
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
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So far the date was shaping up pretty well, at least as far as Doug was concerned. He didn't think that Rahne was 'faking it'. She seemed to genuinely be having a very good time.

Having been an avid Sherlock Holmes fan (in print), Doug had to suspend a lot of notions to buy into the Sherlock on the silver screen. Not that it was a poor performance or anything less than entertaining by any means. But somehow the book never quite translated no matter what it was you were watching.

Except perhaps The Lord of the Rings.

And now they were in a nice Italian Restaurant. The lights were dim and the room seemed largely lit by the soft glow of candlelight. Doug admired how the light seemed to get caught up in Rahne's fiery hair and he loved how when she turned to smile at him as the host efficiently escorted them to their table there seemed to be dozens of tiny candle flames reflected in her sparkling eyes.

This was definitely not a family restaurant. Mostly there were tables for two spread through the middle of the main room, and a couple of areas set off to the side for larger groups to meet in a somewhat private setting.

Tonight it seemed was more for couples.

After they were seated, Doug gently touched the host's arm. "Vi preghiamo di darci un minuto a guardare sopra il menu. Vorremmo che due bicchieri di vino in attesa."

For a moment the host just looked at Doug unblinkingly. Doug coughed and cleared his throat. He honestly hadn't even realized he was speaking Italian.

"Sorry," he said to the man. "Could you start us out with a couple of glasses of wine?" He looked at Rahne. "That is, if it's okay with you."
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Wolfsbane
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Rahne gently slipped into her seat and unfolded her napkin onto her lap. She took a few moments to absorb the ambience. They really did a nice job setting this place up, and it was refreshing to go to a restaurant where there were no families with small children, no crayons and coloring pads at the tables, gentle, soft Italian music playing in the background - a place where two young adults could have a quiet, pleasant evening together and enjoy the other's company.

Rahne couldn't help but smile as Doug began speaking Italian to the waiter. The poor guy probably didn't even speak a word of the language. No, looking at his face, he was clearly confused by the words coming out of Doug's mouth. If it were anyone else spouting flawless Italian, Rahne would be surprised. But language was Doug's specialty, his bread and butter. Or perhaps bread and olive oil, considering where they were. It was impressive nonetheless, but certainly not surprising.

"Oh, yes. That'd be lovely. Yuir house Merlot f'r me, if'n ye dinnae mind," she said with a small smile and a polite nod.

"They really clean up nice f'r the dinner shift. 'Twas a much brighter place at lunch. The lights were up, the curtains were open, no candles... I quite like this better. Though I suppose it was good for the lunch shift to be as it was. I mean, if Dani and I had a candlelit lunch with dimmed lights an' romantic music playin', there might be some talk, right?"
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
Unregistered

The host nodded at Rahne after she placed her order, gave Doug one last haughty look and with an almost imperceptible roll of his eyes headed off to relay the message to their waiter. Doug knew that it wasn't too uncommon for these people to be a little bit on the snooty side, therefore the reactions didn't really surprise him too much.

Glancing around the room nonchalantly as Rahne made her observations, Doug nodded. The place looked great, though he had no real point of reference to compare it to.

He smiled. "Oh there would be talking all right," he admitted. "Probably mainly amongst the teenage men." If two of the female teachers hooked up at Xavier's there would be much talking going on for sure. Probably much fantasizing too.

Taking his napkin, Doug spread it out on his lap and looked up at Rahne. "This spring, assuming we get some time off from the curriculum for spring break...and assuming no megalomaniacs try to conquer the world...I was thinking we could take a trip to Muir Island."

Immediately he realized that he was assuming too much. The two of them taking a trip together would also imply a lot of intimate things. "It's just something I thought of," he added hastily.

He wondered if she thought he was assuming they would be closer than they might actually be.

"I just really have wanted to go there with you," he said sincerely. "And I know you get that homesick puppy look whenever someone mentions it..." He pointed at her. "Yeah, that one."
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Wolfsbane
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"Teenage men... that's an oxymoron, right?" Rahne said with a small chuckle. "I suppose it's good I'm nae much one f'r controversy if I can help it, then. I mean, I'm sure it'd be funny to start a rumor like that, but it's nae really somethin' I'd find funny for too long."

"Really?" she asked, eyes going wide and a small smile spreading across her face, steadily growing into a grin. A trip back home? Well, the Institute had become home, but Muir will always be a home to her as well. As he had predicted, that expression of fond reminiscence came over her face.

"It sounds absolutely lovely, Dougie," she said, snapping back into the moment. "We could stay at the village inn, see what they're doin' with the old Research Centre, maybe even show you around the place if they've left it empty."

She was getting excited, gesturing with her hands as she spoke, her words coming a bit faster than usual.
"The isle itself is quite small, really, only a few hundred people, but it's got nice ferry service to the rest o' Scotland, so we could do some touristy stuff too. Doug, we absolutely have t' do this. T' hell with what anybody'd think about it."
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
Unregistered

"Teenage men... that's an oxymoron, right?"

Doug conceded, with only the barest roll of his eyes. "Okay Miss Technical...but I definitely think a little prank like that would come back to bite you in the end." It was a little funny to imagine though he admitted.

If Doug was a little more teenage he might actually be trying to picture it right now himself.

But no.

On to Muir.

Rahne's expression was about as perfect as Doug could have hoped for. Her eyes went wide and he could see the genuine joy shining in them as she asked him if he was serious. He only nodded, returning the smile with only a slight effort to try and suppress it.

"It sounds absolutely lovely, Dougie," (Rahne) said after a moment. "We could stay at the village inn, see what they're doin' with the old Research Centre, maybe even show you around the place if they've left it empty."

This was perfect. As the waiter showed up and dropped off two glasses of wine and a basket of bread sticks, Doug listened to Rahne planning the whole thing out.

She had this real quirky way of trying to say everything in one breath when she got excited about something. His eyes went to her hands which almost seemed to be shaking as they gestured frantically about all of the things they could do there.

He wanted to just kiss her.

Blinking, Doug agreed. "To hell with them," he concurred with a smile. The waiter had sat silently for a moment while Rahne spoke, but Doug had waved him off for a few seconds to think before ordering. "So...spring break is coming up. I can probably find us a pretty sweet deal on some tickets there...we could maybe even get an extended leave and you can show me 'round some o' t' rest o' Scotland," he added with a perfect Scottish lilt.

Ripping into a bread stick with a smile, Doug winked at her.
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Wolfsbane
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"Oh, it definitely would. 'R worse, it'd bite Dani, an' that would nae be very fair t' her, either. I mean, I'm sure there's already some talk about how the two of us became fairly good friends after a very short amount o' time."

It was true, after all, that Rahne and Dani Moonstar had gotten to a point where after only a short time of knowing each other, they behaved much like long-time friends. They ran the feral class together, they met socially, sometimes just the two of them - the fairly unique telepathic bond the two shared through the interaction of their mutations accelerated the "getting to know each other" process to the point where they already knew each other quite well.

"But aye, on to Muir indeed. Now, the only way t' get t' Muir directly from here would either be by boat or helicopter, assumin' of course that the Centre's landing pad is still intact. I mean, they may have busted it up to make room f'r more sheep grazing, f'r all I know."

She paused as he busted out his impeccable imitation of her accent, and smirked, lifting her right eyebrow and glancing at him sideways.
"Teasin' me now, are ye?" she asked, the expression on her face hinting that she didn't really think she was being teased, and if she did, she wasn't taking offense.

"We'd have t' get airfare t' Stornoway, 'tis the closest place to Muir, an' then take a ferry to the island. But the ferry's free o' charge, so that wouldn't be a problem."
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
Unregistered

Rahne pointed out the obvious in that Muir itself was only accessible by helicopter or ferry, and Doug only nodded. He hadn't really thought that far ahead to be honest, but it was good to know he was going with someone who knew the lay of the land.

God, seriously? I'm going on a vacation with Rahne?

It almost threatened to freak him out a little. Not too much...it had been his idea after all. But just the fact that it implied a lot of things about their relationship and where it was headed.

They were making plans. Plans that involved the two of them. Together. In the future.

Yeah, he was reading too much into it.

Smiling at her when she commented about his teasing, Doug tried to look innocent and purposely failed miserably. The waiter was back, and Doug hadn't even flipped open his menu.

"What do you recommend?" he asked Rahne before getting a chance to comment on her remarks about the trip. Glancing down he saw the typical lasagnas and spaghetti choices. He saw mushroom risotto, swordfish a la Siciliana, purim manicotti and many others.

Doug's eyes roamed over to the soups and appetizers. "I think I'll definitely start off with some pasta fagioli."
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Wolfsbane
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Rahne hadn't gone through her menu either, but she'd more or less decided what she wanted before she'd even arrived, so it wasn't an issue.

"Ooh, well, I think I'll just start off with a Caesar m'self, sir," she said with a small nod of her head. "Oh, and th' tomato basil soup, yes."

The waiter jotted down the orders, looking to Rahne as if expecting her to add something more.

"No, no, that was it f'r me, I mean f'r appetizers, that is," she said with a smile. She never was one to stick to that general rule most young ladies seemed to stick to when on restaurant dates. She most certainly was going to order an entree and she most certainly was going to eat it.

"Alright, so I got a pasta fagioli for you, and a Caesar and a tomato basil soup for you," the waiter repeated the order back to them, and Rahne nodded affirmatively. "Your appetizers will be ready in about ten minutes."

As the waiter left, Rahne returned her attention to Doug.
"So... this is exciting," she said with a wide grin and a slight lift of her eyebrows. "Muir's nae much f'r big fun, but it is a very nice, quaint little island. Very rustic."
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
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"Rustic," he echoed with a smile as he savored the word. Doug loved words, and rustic was a very good one. It was rough and unrefined, and most decidedly country. "That sounds like exactly what I want."

He'd been to places like Paris which were highly westernized. The big cities often had that touristy appeal where they wanted you to feel somewhat at home though while walking around in a foreign city.

The real flavor for being in a foreign land lay in their small villages. The rustic parts of the country were the best. Even better when you had a native tour guide as it appeared that Doug would.

Taking a bite of bread stick, Doug studied Rahne's face carefully while chewing it. They were extra heavy on the butter and salt, and the bread just fell apart in his mouth after a short time.

There was a few moments of silence between them before Doug decided to say what was on his mind. "Is there anyone you'd want to visit on that side of the pond?"

He had a suspicion that he might know the answer to that, but decided it might be good to let Rahne answer it.
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Wolfsbane
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"Then that's exactly what ye'll get," she said with a small smile and a nod of her head. "Nary a McDonald's or a Wal-Mart in sight. But th' rock climbin' is absolutely fantastic."

Rahne reached forward and grabbed a breadstick, breaking it in half and allowing the steam to waft up into the air for a moment before swirling the half in her right hand into the dish of olive oil and cracked pepper before taking a bite. That's the way to do it.

"Visit?" Rahne asked, thinking it over for a moment. "Well, last time I saw mum, she was doin' volunteer triage work in Latveria. If'n yuir willin' to stop by Oxford University, we can visit her for a wee bit... though I'm afraid I might lose both of ye in the midst of all the science."

She chuckled lightly, lifting her wine glass up and swirling it around, allowing the bouquet of the red to release before drinking it. She really could imagine it, Moira getting into the details of whatever little science project she was working on and Doug getting so wrapped up into it that Rahne just faded into the background. It tended to happen whenever scientific minds got together, she noticed.
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
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Cypher
Unregistered

"Oxford?"

Doug's gaze went distant for a moment as he thought about it. That was one place he'd actually always wanted to visit. "There are so many influential and famous people who were alumni of Oxford," he said absently. "Poets, philosophers, kings, scientists, men of faith..."

He leaned back in his seat as a random tidbit was pulled up from his nearly photographic memory. "Home is where one starts from."

Catching himself, he looked back at Rahne and smiled, letting it serve as an unspoken apology. "T. S. Eliot," he said. "One of the random quotes that sort of stuck with me for some reason. He had a lot of them. Witty. Insightful."

Doug took his glass of wine in hand and swirled the golden liquid around in the cup as he looked down into it. It occurred to him briefly that he might be broaching sappy, but he was caught up in the moment.

Isn't this what you wanted? Don't let reason betray you this time.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to recite a small bit.

"Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .
Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'
Let us go and make our visit."

He let the words ring out for a moment before saying anything else. "That isn't the whole of it, but it seemed appropriate for us right now." Doug took another sip and smiled at her. "And there is no way that you could get lost to science," he said in correction.
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Wolfsbane
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"I honestly hadn't figured ye for a poetry buff, though I guess it makes sense," Rahne said, fairly impressed that he was reciting lines from memory. "I mean, poetry's just language at its most beautiful, after all. Polished up and made nice an rhythmic."

She paused a moment, thinking over what she'd said. "Well, good poetry, that is. Bad poetry's just rubbish. Though it may surprise ye, but I find the best poetry I've read is Langston Hughes, t' be honest. I know we're supposed t' be very patriotic about our own country's literature, and us Europeans are supposed t' look down our noses at everything American, but there's something truly magical about Hughes's work, very raw and honest and heartfelt."

She took a small sip of her wine and smirked a small little smile. "Though I'm afraid I never memorized any of his stuff," she said with an apologetic shrug of her shoulders.

But as he claimed that it was impossible to get lost in science, Rahne,a eyebrows lifted as she shot him a very skeptical look.

"So I can quote ye on that next time I come to drag ye out o' yuir fortress o' solitude? Or when Dr. McCoy vanishes for hours at a time in his laboratory? Or when my mum goes on and on and on about a project she's workin' on, completely forgetting about everyone else in the room?"
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cypher
Unregistered

Things were going about as good as Doug could have imagined...being their first 'official' date where they were out of the school and on the town together. Whether it was preplanned or not, they had almost all of the romantical ingredients in the mix. There was wine, candlelight, soft music...Doug was even reading poetry for crying out loud.

Trying to reassure Rahne that she could never take second fiddle to any academic endeavor didn't quite go over so well. He went still when she leveled that look at him. The one with her eyebrow arched up in disbelieving scrutiny and her lips disappeared into a thin line. It was a look that was only a few degrees away from mild violence, by Doug's estimation anyway.

"So I can quote ye on that next time I come to drag ye out o' yuir fortress o' solitude?"

Doug stammered. "Oh, about that, I-"

"Or when Dr. McCoy vanishes for hours at a time in his laboratory?"

"Well, he has a lot of-"

"Or when my mum goes on and on and on about a project she's workin' on, completely forgetting about everyone else in the room?"

Busted.

Doug looked up. "Oh look, the food's here," he said cheerily. He studied her face while the waiter set the plates down, trying to keep a smile on his lips even while the waiter put freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the dishes. Finally he left, and Doug was forced to say something.

"Look, I see you've had a lot of...experience with this subject," he said to her earnestly. "And I know that sometimes I can be a little...distant." He reached across the table to grab her hand. "But the thing is," he said looking into her eyes, "I'm just a hopeless case."

He was kidding. Kind of.

Doug shrugged and then smiled.
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Wolfsbane
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"Well Doug, I'll just say this much," Rahne started as she glanced over at the waiter as he brought their food in. And with such good timing too, as she was very hungry.

"If I dinnae think it was worth it, I wouldn't be here," she allowed herself a small smile as he took her hand in his own. She squeezed lightly, very lightly considering that she was a tad bit stronger than her size suggested. "So ye vanish from time to time. That just means I'll have t' come an' get ye every now and again, that's all."

She unfurled her napkin roll with her one free hand and placed it on her lap, and watched as her plate was set in front of her, and for that brief moment, eyed it with a predatory gaze, but soon snapped out of it. This was not the place for licking one's lips and diving into a meal with canine gusto.

"An' yuir not entirely hopeless. I mean, ye managed t' put this together without me pokin' an' proddin' ye, right?" she paused a bit, picking up her spoon and taking a small sip of her soup. "Not t' mention yuir very cute an' that goes a long way."
Posted Image

[size0]Say the dog and butterfly,
in the air they like to fly.
Dog and butterfly.
She knew she had to try,
and she float back down to the warm soft ground,
laughing - she don't know why,
but she had to try, she had to try.
Dog and Buttefly.


Avatar by Natalie, signature by Olga. My graphics set is complete again! Thank you so much!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
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