Kingsley "Too Soon" Shacklebolt (shackalack) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-10-07 00:15:00 |
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The atmosphere was pleasant, after Kate Proudfoot had gotten a few drinks into her and loosened up slightly. In the end she had gone not with the red halter dress Elle had suggested - she simply wasn't ready for that - but she had not gone with a turtleneck either. The blouse she wore was long sleeved, but feminine, and while the sleeves were sheer, and you could see the scars underneath if you were paying attention or standing close enough, they kept them from being immediately obvious. There had been, unfortunately, nothing she could do about her neck and shoulders, but she had known Elle was right about Kingsley. Besides which, it was not as if he had not seen her at work every day for the past few weeks. She'd been nervous enough that she hadn't ordered much to eat, but now, dinner finished, and a final glass of wine in front of her, she felt much more comfortable and confident. It was Kingsley after all, and she was used to him, and it was comfortable - even if she had done the ridiculously uncomfortable thing of asking him on a date. She wondered vaguely if this was a date - shouldn't they have already determined that? - but in reality she was not certain it mattered. It was nice to just be out of the office and out of her flat, and with someone that wasn't Elle or Hestia or one of her girlfriends. "So have we gotten to the part of the evening where we're getting drunk, yet?" She asked, feeling remarkably calm - probably it was the wine - and referring back to the conversation they'd had in Higgs' journal. The conversation that had started this entire crazy evening. "Think so," Kingsley replied after a sip from his wineglass. "We've already done the part where we drink wine an' don' get drunk." He set the glass down and glanced around the restaurant, glad he had remembered about the place. He'd gone on a date here once, finding the wine better than the company, then promptly forgot about it until he sat down to think of where they could go. The place was fairly busy, full of young professionals, a few groups of uni students, and the occasionally group of senior citizens, and most tables had only wine and the occasional appetizer. Their dinner had been good - excellent perhaps - but the real focus of Beggar's Banquet was the wine, as indicated by the fact that the dinner menu was one page while the wine menu was four. Kate looked nice, he thought to himself. The scars were still so unfamiliar that it was hard for him not to notice them, but he did his best to not look at them. It wasn't too hard to make himself look at her face, really, since that was nicer looking than her shoulders and neck. And no scar could change the way she looked in that pencil-skirt, so really, how much did it matter? "That colour looks real good on you," he complimented, "don't know if I already mentioned." Males, as a rule, tended to think a good looking woman looked either "nice" or "real nice," and Kingsley was no exception, but his mother had made it a point to teach him how to compliment a woman. He knew they liked to be complimented on things they had control over, such as clothing or jewelry, rather than things like their face (even if he thought the face was prettier than the clothing, which was often true) because it was complimenting the choices they made rather than just that they were lucky enough to get genes that made them pretty. He'd also been taught real well how to be a gentleman (though likely nowhere near pureblood manner rules, but that was just nutters), from opening doors to making sure to pull Kate's chair out for her. "An' 'ow d'you like this wine?" Kate gave him a quick smile and held up the glass she had in front of her. "It's quite amazing, Kingsley, and thank you," she added, feeling as if the choices she'd made were at least acceptable even if she could hardly completely cover the injuries that she'd sustained at Hogwarts. She wasn't certain what on earth she'd been thinking, but the evening had thus far been pleasant enough. "I suppose I can have another glass or two, in order to help accelerate the getting drunk part of the evening," she gave him a quick giggle. Perhaps with her calm feeling, she was also just slightly tipsy. Not truly, but enough to feel very calm. She raised the glass and took a sip of the wine, enjoying the taste. It was really nice, and it was nice to be on a date, even if it had been one of her blurting things out in a ridiculous way sort of events. She wondered if Kingsley had really wanted to come or if he were just humouring her. She supposed it didn't really matter, because it wasn't as if this were a real date. "Do you think we should order more? Kingsley gave her A Look. "Should we order more wine? Should we order more wine?" he goaded, "Who d'ya think I am?" He winked at her, grinning, as he raised his hand to get the attention of the waiter. They luckily didn't have to wait long, and Kingsley ordered another bottle (pinot noir this time) for when their first ran out. "So....." he said, grinning at her as he held out the bottle of wine to pour her more. "Going out with Kingsley isn't so bad, innit?" Kate laughed at Kingsley's tone and felt more relaxed than she had for a while. Whatever else might have been happening, Kingsley was a good friend, and whether or not he was interested in anything else, or even whether or not she was, it was nice to go out with a man who actually seemed to appreciate spending the time with her. "Oh I don't know," she gave him a teasing grin as she held out her glass so that he could fill it for her. "Another glass of wine, and I'll be able to tell you for certain." She raised the filled glass in a bit of a toast. "To the nicest bloke in the Department, who likes to drink wine to get drunk, but that is a perfectly valid lifestyle choice. Just one that some people choose not to make." Kate was rambling and she shook her head at herself and repeated the original sentiment. "To the nicest bloke in the department." The glass Kingsley held up twinkled as it caught the reflection of the lights in the restaurant. This was slightly embarrassing to him (as it always was when someone said something good about him), so he'd have to come up with something for her too. "An' to the prettiest bird in th'room, an' I'm not just sayin that 'cause you look th' best in skirts, even though s'true." He clinked his against hers. "Cheers." Kate laughed as he brought up her skirts and she shook her head as she took a drink of the wine. "Oh, I see, you just agreed to go out with me because of my skirts, didn't you? Did you really want to just date my skirt? I'm guessing it would have been a lot less expensive," she smirked. "Doesn't eat hardly anything at all, most unlike me in that regard. But you'd have a very difficult time getting it drunk. It can hold it's alcohol..." She was feeling vaguely tipsy and she wondered if what she was saying was making sense. She thought that probably it did. A chuckle escaped from Kingsley's lips that he had been trying to hold back. "'Course not," he assured her, hoping that his laugh hadn't made it sound like he was lying. Because he wasn't. "Skirt 'asn't got personality either," he pointed out. "An' I couldn't put up wif that for too long, I reckon." He took another drink, waiting for her reaction. Kate giggled. It was a very girlish giggle, that told her she was definitely tipsy. "'ow do you know my skirt hasn't got personality?" She raised her glass at him. "It might have tonnes of personality. It might be so personality-ful that you would find me dull and lifeless in comparison. It is quite the skirt! Of course," she giggled again. "It might be too much personality for you. How much personality can you handle, Kingsley?" His eyebrows shot up and he rested his chin on his fist, trying to be suave. "Oh, I can 'andle quite a bit," he said, an implication of... something hanging heavily in his words. "'But the real question is, Kate Proudfoot, 'ow much can you 'andle?" Kate giggled, "Oh, I can 'andle quite a bit," her words were beginning to slur a bit more than she usually liked for them to and with a second giggle, she put her glass down on the table, a little harder than she intended and it sloshed slightly, but thankfully, not over onto the table. She glanced at it, thinking it was odd for it to have reacted so violently to her simply setting it gently on the table. "Splish splash," she said with a laugh. Kingsley was really attractive, she thought to herself, staring at him. And she was pretty certain that she was falling beyond tipsy and into possibly inebriated. And she wondered whether this had been such a brilliant idea - then again, Kingsley was hot, and she hadn't had sex since Pepper.... was she actually considering sex with Kingsley? Did she really want to become Kate "slept with half the DMLE" Proudfoot? Her thoughts were a little more jumbled than they normally would have been. "You're a nice bloke, Kingsley." "An' you're bit pissed," he laughed, finishing off his glass of wine. "'Ow 'bout we 'ead out of 'ere after I finish this?" He couldn't deny that he wasn't slightly inebriated as well - or, he could but he'd be lying and Kingsley tried to be an honest bloke. There was a bit left at the bottom of the bottle but it seemed as if Kate had quite enough, so he poured the rest (about half a glass) into his own goblet and drank it down real quick. He signaled for the cheque, which came right away - whether it was luck or good service Kingsley wasn't sure, but the waiter would get a good tip anyway. "'Bout ready?" he asked, already behind Kate to help her with her chair. Kate gratefully accepted Kingsley's assistance. She felt more giddy than she normally did, and suddenly of the desire to simply have him back to her place and maybe have a rather long snog on the sofa. Normal Kate would have probably thought this was a rather dangerous idea, but Tipsy and pissed Kate tended to have precisely the opposite thought. "I 'ink I am," she said with a giggle, waiting for him to pay the check, and after he had done so she linked her arm through his, leaning rather heavily on him. "Wat next then?" Well, she could probably use some water, he thought, and he probably could too. It was only a Monday, after all, and it wouldn't do to be completely hungover at work the next day. He hadn't had quite too much to drink, but wine always got him in the worst possible way if he failed to rehydrate well. "Prob'ly should get you back to your flat," he said, though since he was slurring his words he had somewhat dropped the word "you" so that it wasn't quite audible. "Reckon?" "Yep," she agreed easily. "It's in Hogsmeade," she said unnecessarily, as Kingsley had picked her up and obviously knew where she lived. "An' I've got tea," she added quickly. "Or water if we prefer." She wasn't certain what she preferred, but water would probably be smart. At least, she was pretty certain it would be smart. And possibly also kissing Kingsley. Kissing Kingsley was smart. "I think I should kiss you," she said, her tone decisive, if slightly slurred. "Wat do you think?" Oh boy. Kate was asking to kiss him. Drunk Kate was asking to kiss him. He was instantly in a panic, as she was an incredibly good looking woman, scars or no, but he also knew she was drunk. "Erm, let's just concentrate on getting you back t'your flat first," he said. There, that would give him a bit more time to decide what to do. He guided her toward the fireplace where they Flooed back to her flat, where he set her down on her odd pillow-sofa thing that wasn't actually a sofa and went to get two glasses of water. He could have done it by magic, but this kept him busy and really, sometimes using a wand was just too difficult when he could pour water without thinking. After going through almost all of her bright orange cupboards, he found the glasses and soon was back in the living room. Sitting down next to her he handed her a glass. "Drink this," he instructed, "or you'll feel real bad in the morn." Kate accepted the water and began to sip it, the entire time, essentially making eyes at Kingsley. He was very attractive. She was certain she had never noticed before just how attractive he was, and she had not been lying about thinking she should kiss him. Handsome men should be kissed, after all. "Thanks, Kingsley," she said cheerfully as she continued finishing off the water. "This is good," and she glanced up at him. And he was kissable. "You're very nice Kingsley," she added. "You've been very nice t'night." Kate sat the glass down on her knee and thankfully it was mostly empty or it would have likely sloshed over the edges slightly as she leaned forward to kiss Kingsley on the lips. Oh boy, Kate Proudfoot was kissing him. Kingsley instantly reverted back to 10-year old Kingsley who almost wet himself when he first kissed a girl, but after barely a second he could hear Lalaine Shacklebolt's voice in his head telling him to never take advantage of a woman more drunk that he was. He wanted to point out to his inner-Lalaine that he wasn't planning on taking advantage of her and that it was only a snog, but even before this imaginary-mother could answer, he knew he couldn't continue. She was more drunk than he was, and even though he often felt capable of making decisions like that while intoxicated, he couldn't know if she was or not. He wouldn't take that chance either, since she was, aside from this whole date thing, his friend and his co-worker whose desk he faced and whom he spoke to every single day at work. And he respected her. He pulled away from her, barely a second after she leaned in despite all his inner dialogue, putting his hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. "Sorry Kate," he apologised, "but I can't. You're right pissed." "Oh, but Kingsley," Kate protested vaguely as he pushed himself back. She truly wanted to kiss him and she was wanting him to kiss her. She frowned, and she moved to set the water down on the floor and promptly knocking it over and spilling what little was left over the floor. "Oh shit!" She jumped to her feet, well, wobbled was a more accurate term for what she was actually doing. "Oh, towel. Need a towel!" He too got up, taking his own glass and following her to the kitchen where he set his inside the sink. He grabbed another towel and went to help her clean up. "See what I mean?" Kate sighed as she managed to get the towel in the right place and wipe up the water. Kingsley was probably right, she realised. If they kissed, well, she could kiss, but anything else might not actually be that enjoyable anyway. "There," she looked up at him. Well, that had been awkward, she realised. "I uh," she stood up. "G'night then Kingsley? I really enjoyed our wine..." Great, he thought, now she seemed either a bit upset or a bit brassed or a bit... something, and he was worried about having hurt her feelings. "I 'ad a lot of fun," he told her as he put his arm around her in a half hug and kissed her on the forehead. "Promise." He headed over to the door and shot her one of his goofy grins that she probably knew all too well from the office. "'Ave to do this again sometime, eh?" Kate nodded and gave Kingsley a smile so he would know she wasn't upset - at least not that upset at any rate. "Definitely," she said and managed to give him a bit of a hug, although it was a bit clumsy, which was definitely a demonstration of how drunk she really was. "Than' you so much, Kingsley, I 'ad a good time." "M'glad," he said, opening up the door. "See you tomor'w then," he said with a wave as he stepped outside her flat, Disapparating away as soon as he knew the door was shut. Fun date, even if it would be slightly awkward at the office the next day. Kate set the wards, after two times, and stared at the door for a moment before she realised she just wanted to fall into her bed and stay there until morning. It had been a delightful evening, and it had been a really good time for the evening, but obviously it had gotten a bit awkward, and she couldn't quite think like she thought she probably should have been. With a stretch, she moved towards her bed and collapsed on it and fell asleep very quickly. |