Esmeralda dances to the rhythm of the tambourine (changewillcome) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-17 16:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, esmeralda, kitty pryde (shadowcat) |
Who: Esmeralda and Kitty
What: Friends doing friend things of the super late dinner and clearing the air variety
When: 13/14 September 2016
Where: Random steakhouse
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
A whole day passed where Kitty still didn’t know if this was a date date or just their usual hang out, and she didn’t actually want to clarify for fear of making things awkward. She was pretty sure Esmeralda had mis-read the ‘i really like you’ or had just chosen to ignore it. Still, she dressed up a little more nicely than usual in a skirt and a blouse with strategically open buttons. Then she applied some make-up, wrangled her hair into something manageable and good looking that wasn’t ‘pony tail or hanging wildly’, and got in her car to go pick up Esmeralda.
There weren’t too many places open this time of night, but there were enough that weren’t Denny’s and Kitty had found a little steakhouse open late. It would be good food, not too fancy, and not expensive. She generally didn’t want Esmeralda feeling uncomfortable and her penchant to splurge on friends was something she was fighting in this case. She pulled up to the Court of Miracles. “God, just give me a sign if I’m barking up the wrong tree on this?”
It had been an interesting day. More dreams, leading to Phoebus declaring that there was nothing for him in Paris and that despite the hardship he would face in joining her and the rest of the ‘gyspy family’, he would go with them. It was… well, she didn’t know. Dreams were confusing and while she could brush them off, she also couldn’t deny that some things had a tendency to have more of an effect than others. But as always, she didn’t let it influence her day.
Find a dance workshop. Do some errands. Dance. Serve drinks. Dance. Serve drinks. And the last dance of the night. She almost forgot that she was meeting with Kitty after but thankfully when she’d gone down to her room below the Court to change, she noticed the note she had left for herself as a reminder. It was slower by that time, she wasn’t needed for helping with serving or behind the bar as it was middle of the week so she knew it wouldn’t lead to any sort of argument with Clopin.
Quickly throwing her hair up into a ponytail, and then digging around for something to wear…. Okay a vest over a tanktop and then jeggings, one of her wraps tied around her waist (she had to hid her money purse and dagger after all) and flats. And back up the stairs, only to meet the questioning look.
“What, I have a life.”
“Be careful.”
“Aren’t I always? Wait, don’t answer that… I’ll be back later, promise.” Grinning, Esmeralda waved and then left the Court, noticing Kitty and going over to her. “Hey.”
Esmeralda's schedule was becoming easier to understand. While she couldn't just drop by and tell her to 'hop in we're going adventuring' or whatever, if she knew what times were generally slower she could make an appearance.
Once in awhile she came in, had a drink, left a tip and went on her way. Kitty grinned as Esmeralda approached. She liked the outfit. "Hey!" She got the car door for her. "How was your day?"
It wasn’t that hard. Basically once it was time to open officially, Esmeralda couldn’t do anything until closing or close to as it was dependent as always on how busy it was. Yes it was daily, but she didn’t mind it. It was better than what she’d be doing in Paris and it was who her people were.
Blinking as she noticed how Kitty was dressed, Esmeralda looked down at herself.
“I feel underdressed suddenly.” Which wasn’t always a bad thing but as she didn’t know what this place was which Kitty had in mind for dinner…. But honestly if it was open this late at night? Esmeralda didn’t see it as being fancy. Oh well. Getting into the car, Esmeralda strapped in and then waited until Kitty got in to answer. “It was fine. Yours?”
“You’re fine, you look great,” Kitty assured her. “If I was going to take you to a fancy place I’d warn you ahead of time. It’s basically a local’s equivalent to Outback, only open later.” She winked, then got into the car herself. Fighting down nerves, she started to drive. “Pretty good. Spent most of it on teleconferences. Boring. Was better when I skyped with the kids and my dad in Chicago after work.”
Outback. Right…. Yeah, Esmeralda had no idea what that place was either so all she could do was nod. But at least she would have been warned were it a more dressy affair. Which wouldn’t make all that much sense for friends anyway. Oh well, perhaps Kitty had just wanted to dress up more than usual. “Sounds that way. But it’s good you got to skype with the kids and your dad.”
“It was nice. I’ll always want them here but with all the things that keep happening it’s probably safest for them to remain far far away.” She’d promised Xi’an she’d take care of them, and she was. It had just been harder than she’d expected. Kitty glanced at Esmeralda, then returned her eyes to the road. She always liked driving at night better than the day. Few cars, and it was kind of relaxing. She needed the relaxing, her stomach was in knots. “You know I forgot to ask, is a steakhouse okay with you?” She had a couple vegetarian friends but she’d never stopped to ask Esmeralda.
“I can understand that.” Mostly. Those she cared about were already in the area, and there hadn’t been anyone left behind in France that she missed terribly. The most one could assume would be her mother but given the two had been separated for a decade beyond the brief run in that had solidified Esmeralda’s decision to follow Clopin to America… well, those who mattered to her were already here. “It can be rather dangerous here.” From what she had seen in a few months time, but it was enough to get the idea. And then the question about food, which caused her to shrug her shoulders. “It’s fine.” Gypsies weren’t that picky. They had their traditional foods, some of which was on the menu at the Court of Miracles, but nothing specific that could or could not be eaten.
“I could tell you stories,” Kitty said. “One time San Francisco got attacked by a giant robot from my dreams.” She parked, and rubbed her palms on her pants. She was glad Esmeralda was fine with the dining choice but had the sinking suspicion she was in one of those miscommunication comedies. “There’ve been a couple of times where people started bursting into song, like in a musical. Though that’s a little less dangerous.”
Thinking about musicals, something started to click in Kitty’s mind.
“And here I thought things only happened in Orange County when strange things happen related to the dreams.” As if that weren’t bad enough in trying to maneuver. But to know such things could happen all over? That was a bit more upsetting. Apparently it didn’t happen often but that was something she hadn’t expected. Then discussions on people randomly singing. “Less dangerous but probably embarrassing for people.”
Kitty pinched her nose at the memory. “Epic,emotional sing off with someone I had a major thing for. Got rejected to the dulcet tones of heavy metal.” It really had been embarrassing, though now the memory was more or less bittersweet. She’d hooked up with Gaz two years after the singing, only for Gaz to up and leave her like half the people in her life did. Friend or lover. But she didn’t want to think about that.
She laughed a little. “It’s funny now. The singing. The robot not so much. We don’t really see things happen outside the county all that often.”
Esmeralda could only grin in amusement as Kitty recalled the memory of having to sing and having a sing off. “Well, that’s awkward.” Because really. Rejection could be awkward enough. Add in the musical aspect. “At least you can laugh at it now. Music, obviously.” Because somehow Esmeralda couldn’t see robots attacking San Francisco as being funny at any point in time.
“Yeah.” Kitty smiled wryly. While she could make jokes about robots that was more or less more like ‘oh we’re being attacked, it must be tuesday’ rather than actual attempts at humor. Her smile softened a little at Esmeralda’s grin, before she caught herself staring. “I’m in the mood for some delicious meats.” She grabbed the door. She’d asked Esmeralda out, it was the polite thing to do.
As Kitty grabbed the door, Esmeralda just quirked a brow. Really, she could manage her own door. Though Kitty had gotten there first so it probably meant nothing. She hoped it meant nothing. “I am looking forward to seeing what they have.” Because really, she had no actual preference. Americans had a different style of cooking in general, so seeing what this steakhouse was about would be interesting.
It smelled delicious. They had numerous different ways to cook steaks, and Kitty had heard that the cajun style was really good, so she was thinking about that. “I checked the menu online. They’ve got some good choices.”
She followed Esmeralda in. Like most steakhouses, the lighting was subdued. Despite the hour it wasn’t totally empty. She held up two fingers. “Two please.”
“Table or booth?”
“Booth will be fine.” It would leave her feeling less exposed.
Nodding to register that she had heard what Kitty said, Esmeralda looked around. Well, there being people there despite the hour was always a good sign. It meant that the food was good at any rate. Well. In theory, it could have been one of the only places open as well. But based on what she could smell? It was probably the former and not the latter.
And a booth. That worked. So long as Esmeralda could get out easily, that was all she cared about. So following the waitress to the table, Esmeralda slid in and smiled in thanks as she was given a menu to peruse over.
If the place had felt off to Kitty, she would have taken Esmeralda to her backup pancakes and breakfast place. She’d been Prepared. She looked at the menu herself. The cajun steak still sounded appealing and the prices were a lot better than she’d expected. “While I’m sure it won’t match the cooking of an old friend with red eyes, I’m going to have to go cajun. It’s a cooking style from the south-east, particularly Louisiana. Lots of pepper and garlic. Though if I ever told fourteen year old me I would like something like that she wouldn’t believe me. ”
She glanced at her friend over her menu. Hiding behind the menu was safe.
One could never be too safe, it was in her blood just as much as the dance and music and moving. Even as Clopin had reminded her to keep her guard up, it had been unnecessary for even as she went about her life, moved about the city, she was always aware, always ready to defend herself. It was second instinct. So she was doing that, even while going over the menu. Which… there was certainly a lot of options.
“Food in restaurants are very rarely as well done as one who it is native to.” There was a reason that the Romani food they served at the Court of Miracles was unique. It was theirs. The only ones who worked there were Romani, had come over with Clopin. They had the American drinks and food, of course they did. But it was part of the package.
“I think I will try the lemon pepper chicken option.” It certainly seemed interesting.
“That’s true. You don’t usually get someone who lives and breathes the specific kind of food to cook in a place like this. You can have passion, but without immersing yourself in it you’ll be missing something intangible. But that’s probably the same with most things.” Kitty nodded and set her menu down. A big crux of her problem was that she knew Esmeralda often had people who just wanted her for her looks or because she could dance, and she didn’t know how to make it clear that she was attracted to her but that wasn’t why she was her friend. She didn’t want to ruin a friendship she really valued but she also wanted to know if there could be more and yet she felt like she was rushing headlong into a wall and wasn’t really looking forward to that.
Men were easier, she should try dating men again. Her water arrived and she took an overly long sip. Word-vomit was a very real and dangerous possibility.
“That is basically it. Also the culture. It’s a different atmosphere.” Which also had an impact. In a place where there was a variety of styles, you did not necessarily have all you needed or it was just that. One choice in a sea of thousands. When it was your culture, there was more to it. “But I would think it would be similar to most things.”
Taking a sip of her water, Esmeralda’s eyes narrowed some as she looked at Kitty. She was definitely distracted. Troubled even.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’d believe it.” Kitty put her drink down, darting her eyes. “Uhm.” She leaned back, shoulders sagging. “I just...I’m...Okay so I really kind of overthink things a lot of the time and I need to tell you something. It’s just been eating me up a little because I don’t want you to think...” She stopped, remembering that little thing called ‘breathing.’ But she’d gotten this far and maybe Esmeralda felt the same way. “But I like you. I like like you. You’re amazing.”
Esmeralda hadn’t meant to make Kitty feel awkward, but given she could tell that something was troubling her, it had made more sense to just ask. So she let the older woman speak, get out what it was she needed to say as she set her water down. She’d had a feeling that was it, had hoped she was wrong but there it was. “That explains the dressing up.” It was more a statement of fact than anything. But it was one more thing that fell into place. Why Kitty always got flustered while Esmeralda just got confused. Then the text for the dinner. She had tried to express that she was just interested in the friend aspect but clearly she had failed on that.
“I’m sorry.”
Because she was. While she had never really been interested in anyone (she never had time, really) but she also knew it couldn’t be easy. She couldn’t quite tell if she recognized Quasimodo’s feelings in the dreams, but she could see it here.
It certainly hadn't been anything that Esmeralda had done on purpose. It was just who she was and how she approached the world. There was a lot to admire and sometimes that admiration could evolve. Really quickly when physical attraction was involved.
I'm sorry. That wasn't what Kitty had hoped to hear. It wasn't a heart-ripping-out moment, but it still hurt.
Kitty tried to search for words, but she felt like she'd been deflated. She let out a long breath. "Okay. It's okay." She gave Esmeralda a smile. Which was probably more mature of her than about half of her relationships.
It was easy to see as Kitty deflated, but really it was better to just…. Get it out in the open then let it fester with a lack of communication and confusion. Because that could have made things infinitely worse later on. Still, the mood had quickly changed and Esmeralda wasn’t quite sure on what to do or say now.
Pressing her lips together, Esmeralda just waited to see how Kitty would eventually respond. If she needed to walk back to the Court, she could. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t defend herself.
Well. Kitty at least handled it better than Frollo, though she honestly hadn’t expected it to go that bad. They had a foundation of friendship. Admittedly not that long and Esmeralda well knew people could be fickle. But that didn’t mean she’d been too worried it would go that poorly. So all she did was return the smile. She had no idea how the rest of this would go, but for now, just seeing how the night played out.
"Aaaanyway." Wallow later, salvage friendship now. "We have delicious meats coming." She was going to need chocolate cake for dessert.
"I wanted to ask you something else though. Completely unrelated to uhm. Previous. Revelations. Which we're totally cool right?"
Okay, well at least it seemed things were going to be okay. Esmeralda still felt bad but if the friendship could be salvaged, she’d like that. While she had Grantaire and by extension Jehan, as well as people she met here and there, it wasn’t like she wanted to lose a friendship. But yes. Food was to be had. And the question.
“Of course we are!”
That was a relief that Kitty opened the door that they would still be friends since it was clearly in her hands at the moment.
“So what is it you’d like to ask?”
“If there anything I can do to help with the Court? Like I get that you guys don’t want to accept charity, but I still want to help. I know a little what it’s like to be an outcast from society based on accidents of my birth.” Kitty was a little relieved. She’d think about other things later, but it felt like a dam bursting. It was out in the air, and she knew how Esmeralda felt. She could accept that.
“Like help with repairs if you need it. I know some people who’d be happy to volunteer too, I know where to get some materials and the like. Or even spreading word of mouth.”
As a general rule, it was just better to get things like that out of the way. Because really, it would only have grown worse and more complicated and upsetting if it wasn’t out there and miscommunication continued to happen. Still, she should have expected the question on if they needed help with the Court.
“Really, we’re fine. We have a handle on those things.” It wasn’t a matter of charity. Not really. But they took care of their own, outside help? No. They were customers, but that was it. “I mean, we always appreciate word of mouth but I would not consider that help or anything?”
“All right.” Kitty had just wanted to put that out there. It was in her nature to help. To quote Captain Kirk, the three most beautiful words in any language were ‘please help me.’ There was nothing wrong with needing help. And if anything happened she’d still want to help, though she could get the idea of wanting to keep it in the family, as it were. At least she could let people know of this place with great food and dancing and music.