Does it surprise you to find that I'm laughing? (houseofleaves) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-05-14 11:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, avatar aang, toph bei fong |
Who: Toph + Aang
What: Wining and dining
When: 5/10
Where: A fancy restaurant
Rating: Low-ish. Toph swears a lot
Status: Complete
Toph hadn't really been kidding when she'd said Aang kind of confused her. It wasn't because she thought him sneaky or even heavy-handed about things -- in fact, it was quite the opposite. He just… went along with stuff. Basically whenever. So unless his idea of enthusiastic was just saying "yep," it was really hard to tell if Aang actually wanted to be around or not.
It was really hard to deal with that when she also was considering how she might just want to eat his face a little bit, and so she decided to up the stakes a bit. Fancy dinners were meant to be romantic -- or at least have so many courses that you were forced to just sit and have conversations. So that's what they were going to do.
She had it on good authority that her short black dress looked positively awesome with her pink hair. She wasn't nearly girly enough for heels, and so had refused to give up her shit-kicking combat boots. She was pretty sure that looked cool, too. And ever since she'd hung out with Nate, and he'd actually let her see through his eyes for that while, she had a pretty good idea of what cool actually looked like. She was definitely it.
She stood outside the restaurant, dwindling cigarette between her fingers as she felt cars driving past, people walking back and forth -- all the Earth was hers to know, these days. She loved it. She glanced up at the feeling of someone too ridiculously light on his feet. "Aang," she greeted, before he had the chance to speak first.
In spite of his own confusion at that seemed to him like a sudden shift in their relationship--or at least the definition thereof--Aang had taken the time to really dress nicely for Toph. It wasn’t that he objected to defining their relationship, just that he was a little shocked that Toph wanted to make out with him when he half expected her to punch him in the face for saying something stupid every fifth word that came out of his mouth. So maybe he put a little extra effort into getting gussied up, to make up for it. The well-fitting, black suit he chose, with a bright blue shirt and contrasting black-and-blue tie looked dressy, while still showing off his fun-loving side--with the added bonus that it would complement Toph’s brightly colored hair--and he’d tamed his own locks a bit so they wouldn’t stick up in weird places. And he grinned when she recognized him before he ever opened his mouth.
“Hey, Toph! You look dangerously beautiful tonight.”
Toph didn’t know why she couldn’t want to make out with someone just as much as she wanted to punch them for being stupid. Frankly, she thought it was a bit of a fluke if she had to choose one over the other, and refused to stand to reasoning that she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too. She was, after all, kind of used to getting what she wanted.
She grinned too, flicking her smoke away from the both of them and giving a pose that wasn’t particularly ladylike, but was playful -- hands on jutted hips. “Thanks, Aang,” she said, amused. “You look good, too.” Okay, she didn’t really know that, but she’d like to guess he did.
“Thanks,” he said, “I feel good.” And the suit wasn’t even all that uncomfortable, so that was what mattered, right? He resisted the urge to make a bad joke about how pink and blue make purple, and instead moved to stand at her elbow--knowing by now that she would be able to sense his location. He was kind of a fidgety guy, at times, and even if he stood perfectly still, he had a feeling she’d be able to find him by his heartbeat or his breathing.
“Shall we get a table?”
Toph’s fake vision was basically the best thing that had ever happened to her on a long term -- and although it was clear she was still getting used to it, she seemed more practiced every time she left her house to socialize. Gone was that stupid walking stick, and now she had a decent ability to at least be talking in the right direction.
She tilted her head to the side to not-really glance at him. “Yep. Well. I’ve got one reserved, anyway.” She gave a vague gesture with her hand and lead them in. That was cool, too.
When she said she’d reserved a table, what she really meant was: that back room? Yeah, that was completely theirs.
Aang headed for the entrance, pausing to grab the door for her--not because he didn’t think she could do it herself, but just because it seemed the date-like thing to do. He’d let her take care of checking in with the hostess, but by thunder, he was going to be attentive. Or die trying. Hopefully not actually die, but it was always a vague possibility.
It was. But at least it’d be a noble sort of death. Or... chivalrous anyway. That had to count for something. Toph snorted with amusement -- it was always funny to watch how much he moved around -- like he could never quite stop, even when he meant to.
After a moment of ‘oh, yes, Ms Bei Fong’s and ‘this way pleases’, they were seated in a large back room, completely devoid of any other soul. Which was awesome, because now they didn’t have to hear other people talk about what Toph might consider ‘really stupid shit’.
Aang followed along like a dutiful--if curious--puppy, trying not to gape. A private room? That was something, all right. “So,” he said, finally. “You really went all out, huh?”
“Not really,” Toph said, because honestly, she hadn’t. She just considered herself bitchy enough to not want to deal with other people when she was on a mission. And be not mistaken, she was on a mission.
At least now Aang was reasonably certain he knew what that mission was. Which was to get in some serious face time. He figured it was fair game to stare at said face, and really take it all in. Up until tonight, he’d been quite sure that she would have given him a concussion for even suggesting that he might have thought about kissing her. Apparently, it was time to rethink that.
“It’s a nice restaurant.”
Who wouldn’t wanna make out with a guy that gave the gift of werehedgehog romance novels? Aang clearly wasn’t giving himself enough credit.
Toph made a show of looking around even as she scooted her chair in. “Is it?” she asked. “Well, I guess it should be. It costs enough.” She sounded a little bored by that particular detail though.
"Does it?" Aang parried with a hint of sarcasm, "I would never have guessed." He rested his elbows on the fancy table cloth, and his chin on his hands. "So what's good to eat here?"
“I guess,” said Toph, who clearly had money to spare and couldn’t be bothered with things like price tags. That’d be way too much effort. “I dunno. Read the menu,” she said, flipping her own open and holding it up expertly, as if reading it. Not helpful that it was upside down, probably.
“You don’t know?” Aang asked, incredulous. “You’ve never eaten here before?” He shrugged, and opened his own menu. “What sort of things do you like?”
“I probably have. With my family.” Toph considered it for a moment, but then shrugged. She couldn’t remember one way or the other. Her family was always going somewhere stupid for dinners. “Chicken? Pasta? Whatever really. Pick what you like.”
“Hmm....” Aang looked over the menu. “The Duet of Petit Filet Mignon and Half Lobster sounds like it could be tasty.” Somewhere in the back of his head, he was aware that his dream-self was morally opposed to the eating of tasty animals, but he had yet to feel convicted to change his diet. “Or...yeah, they do have Pan Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast.”
Toph had no such issues with eating meat, and did it rather happily. “Anything with chicken and steak?” She asked, leaning over a bit to rest her cheek in the palm of her hand. Lobster was all fine and good, but it sure was a bitch to eat what with all that shell and nonsense. “How old are you, Aang?”
“Oh, there’s lots of options when it comes to steak,” Aang said, reading off the list. 12 ounce Black Angus. 14 ounce Prime Rib-eye. Pan-seared Dry Aged Filet Mignon. Beef Tenderloin Medallions. Châteaubriand for Two. And the aforementioned chicken breast. He glanced up at Toph’s question, and tried to read her face.
“Old enough. Why?”
Toph nodded her way through his reading, and then rose her eyebrows with a curious little expression, there. What an evasive answer, the little brat. He was lucky he was a table length away, really. “Why? Because I was going to ask if you liked wine or not.” She wasn’t technically old enough to order it, but that hardly mattered in a place like this with a name like hers.
“Oh, well, in that case, I like Riesling,” he said, “And Malbec. Though I dare say Malbec would go better with steak. Riesling tends to be on the sweeter side, and better with desserts.” Showing off a little? Maybe.
Maybe. A little bit. Toph’s grin was nearly predatory at that. She wasn’t one for fancy nonsense, but the fact that Aang knew more than he was letting on was always a bit of a delight. “Red wine is an acquired sort of taste,” she pointed out, but ordered that anyway when the waiter came by, as well as one of the steak options he’d listed off for her earlier.
“Why, so it is,” he said, with a shrug of his shoulders plus a vocal equivalent of such. “My uncle usually cracks open a bottle of something, on Friday evenings. Especially if he’s been guest-lecturing at the university. He’s supposed to be retired, but sometimes I think they forgot to tell him that.”
“Oh?” Toph realized quite suddenly that she actually knew very little about Aang, beyond the obvious things. And that he was the Avatar, but that was neither here nor there in this world, not really. Probably they should fix that, huh. “What did--er does?-- he teach?”
"Philosophy, theology, and world religion," Aang said, "And he keeps a bonsai garden in the back yard, all these little trees that he prunes while he thinks about life, the universe, and everything. I don't think I've ever caught him actually talking to them, though, so that's probably a good sign."
“Maybe,” Toph said, amused. She turned her head when the waiter came back with their bottle of wine, pouring each a glass and then leaving the bottle before leaving again. “I’ve heard that talking to plants is supposed to be good for the soul or some shit.” So elegant, our Toph was.
“Well, I sit out there with him while he prunes, and he talks to me, but he’s looking at the trees, so...it’s hard to tell sometimes.” Aang picked up his glass and swirled the wine slowly. “I don’t think it’s any secret that I talk to animals, so...I can’t really talk.”
“Do you live with your uncle?” It was like a strange round of twenty questions -- but it kind of had to be done, since apparently neither of the two of them really just volunteered information on their own.
“Yes, I do,” he said, “My parents live in Hawaii, and I grew up there, but we visited a lot. It seemed like a good way to start out in a new state. What about you? You live with your parents?”
“No,” Toph made a face at that, as if the idea of living with her parents was just that bad. “They’re in Beverly Hills. I made them let me move for college. That’s why I’ve gotta deal with Mandy.” He’d met Mandy -- her personal aide, who tended to hover obnoxiously until she put her foot down.
“Right. I didn’t think your place looked very...parent-y,” Aang said, “What about siblings? I’m an only child.”
Toph snorted at that. Definitely not parent-y. Her apartment was pretty big, but it was still only a one bedroom. “Nope. I’m an only child.” Which was almost a shame. She would have done a good job beating a smaller sibling up.
Aang chuckled, picturing a n even smaller version of Toph beating up Toph herself. That would've been hilarious. "I've never really been on any dates before," he confessed, finally, "Except with you." Yes, he was totally counting those as dates, now. "I , mean, I've been out with friends, and stuff, but just as friends."
He facepalmed, even as the words left his mouth. How lame was she going to think he was now?
His embarrassment was nearly palpable, and Toph found that she thought it nearly endearing. Because of that reason, or maybe just because they were actually having a real conversation for once, she decided to throw him a bit of a bone. “It’s okay. Me neither, really. Wasn’t allowed to when I lived with my parents.”
Aang blinked, but then realized it probably wasn’t all that surprising, under the circumstances. He’d heard how overprotective Toph’s parents were. “Well,” he said, making a quick recovery, “At least now we’re on the same page. We can figure out the rest together. Right?”
Yeah, really. If going shopping by herself wasn’t in the cards, dating had really just been right out. Toph had been particularly vocal in her arguments, but even with her abrasive attitude there were some battles she just hadn’t won.
“Guess so,” she agreed, because it only made sense, and there wasn’t much else to do but that. So long as they both wanted to, anyway. She lifted her glass of wine and rose it in a half cheers sort of gesture.
Aang raised his glass, the soft chime ringing in a moment of quiet before he asked, “So, would that technically make this our fourth or fifth date by now, and you’re plotting to get the wining and dining out of the way, so you can get right to the biting? Or are we going to work up to that a little more gradually?”
Toph gave a half snort of a laugh at that, shaking her head before sipping the wine. Red wasn’t her favorite, but she’d been raised classy, so she didn’t really dislike it either. “I don’t think it works so one sidedly,” she pointed out, even though it pained her terribly. Being bossy was just so much easier.
"You want me to bite back?" Aang asked, a hint of humor in his voice. He supposed, if the mood was right, he could be persuaded, but there were some other things he thought that they might want to try first.
Aang really was kind of stupid sometimes. Luckily, Toph found it endearing. And also liked excuses to punch him. “I meant I wouldn’t bite you if you didn’t want me to yet.”
Aang opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again, and leaned over to kiss her on the mouth. It probably wasn’t the most talented of kisses, but he went for it, and didn’t give himself a chance to chicken out--even if he risked getting thrown across the room in more ways than one.
Toph was a little shocked at the gesture in the first place -- but to her credit, she did not immediately bring the wall of the building down on him (although that was something she could do now, and that was pretty fucking cool. But still). She hadn’t really been kidding when she’d said she wanted to make out with him before, so really there was no reason to beat him up. Unless a little playful lip biting counted. Because she totally did that. Along with all that kissing back stuff.
Okay. That kind of biting, Aang didn’t mind so much; especially when the kissing was reciprocated. His face was flushed when he pulled back to catch his breath, and though Toph couldn’t see that, she could probably hear the slight huskiness in his voice when he said, “So...yeah. I guess we’re on the same page now.”
Toph? Looked smug as... a bug on a rug? Oh, no. That was the worst saying ever. Anyway, she looked a bit smug, even as she sat up straighter, gave a tiny lift of her shoulders and a bright sort of grin. “Totally,” she agreed, and they were all lucky she didn’t add a ‘man’ or ‘dude’ on there. “It’s a good page.”
She looked like the cat that ate the canary. Aang grinned back, feeling immensely pleased, and more secure in his position than he had been even moments before. “It is,” he said, “And I have a feeling it will get even better.”
“How could it not?” Toph countered. “We’re both awesome.”