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[whiteas]

WHO: Weiss & Zuko
WHAT: A date!
WHEN: Friday, August 15th (backdated)
WHERE: A little Sichuan restaurant in Attleton Gate
WARNINGS: None?

[ Ever since the party, Weiss has been in a surprisingly pleasant mood despite certain circumstances. The party had, frankly, been exhausting. But fun! However, it wasn't what had put her in such a good mood for the week following it. What had was the fact that she was excited for Friday and her date with the guy who she kind of thought was kind of cute and totally had managed to escape any prying eyes (she hoped) to go meet him where they'd agreed.

Except, you know, she may have come a bit early. And possibly stood out waiting a little early in a dress in white instead of cream and a pair of fashionable boots (just in case she had to move-- the heels are nothing to her). Beneath the dress was a red petticoat-- just enough to give the dress a little oomph and protect her in case she needed to do any flips for whatever reason. Though her Genessia pendant was in a little purse (for whenever she needed it), she had a small necklace around her neck, matching the accent from her petticoat. Her usual hair crown accessory was where it always was, her hair tied back in her regular style.

Weiss opened her bag as she took her scroll out to check what time it was to see how much longer she would be waiting. She absolutely wasn't going to let Zuko be the one waiting on her. That much she had decided beforehand, but.. Well, she was getting impatient now, even if it was completely her fault. ]

Comments

[whiteas]

You're the one responsible for impressing me with tea.

[ If he starts writing things for her, she's probably going to make him do calligraphy for her whenever she needs something nice. ]

[banishment]

Challenge accepted.

[ as long as you find him a good brush and an inkwell. a pen would probably baffle the hell out of him. ]

As long as you follow through on your promise to show me what a film is.

[whiteas]

Let's finish this date before we worry about the next one.

[ So far Weiss was considering it mostly positive, though. Considering that her relationships with anyone don't tend to go smoothly, that little hiccup with the whole 'btw my sister might try to kill you for dating me' bit was honestly not the worst that could have happened. ]

So what exactly did you order?

[banishment]

Okay. I can do that.

[ zuko points to a sign in answer, hanging high over the entrance to the kitchens. yu xiang rou si may not be the restaraunt's most popular dish, but it is their special of the day. but of course, it reads "魚香肉絲," which zuko can read just fine, along with what it contains: 豬肉, 竹筍, 大蒜, 姜, 紹興酒, 辣椒, etc. of course, he doesn't know that weiss can't read a word of it. ]

[whiteas]

[ Weiss turns her head, her face falling when he points to the sign of equally confusing jibberish. ]

If I didn't know what it meant when you said it, what would make you think pointing to a sign in the same language would help?

[banishment]

You can't read that? [ obviously not, prince obvious. ] Pork, peppers, garlic, and ginger, for the most part.

[whiteas]

We're all from different worlds. I can't read every language from every world.

[ Weiss leans back in her chair, her hands folded in her lap now. ] I'm a very fast learner though, if you want to teach me some eventually.

[banishment]

We'll save that for our third date, provided Azula doesn't kill us first.

[ dinner, movie, and learning chinese. that's the plan, apparently.

their waiter returns, setting their drinks down in front of them. he vanishes to check on their food. ]

[whiteas]

[ Weiss takes a sip of her water once it's at the table, putting it off to the side. ]

Learning a language doesn't count as a date unless you're planning on having dates with me nearly every day.

[banishment]

And what if I am?

[ something of a bold question, spoken over the rim of the tea cup he's holding up to his face so he can savor the tea's aroma. ]

[whiteas]

Then you're going to have to ask nicely and some of them are probably going to have to be at the library or the arena.

[ It's not like she wants to ruin romantic time but she, for one, is not going to get behind on her studies. ]

Possibly shopping. Confidence will get you a lot [ unless you're Jaune ] but you are going to have to keep up with me.

[banishment]

Shopping? I don't think I've ever been shopping just to shop. [ really, he hasn't. ] We went through them, sometimes, but we always had attendants who knew our measurements and what we wanted and liked to go inside and get things for us. It wasn't exactly proper for us to get out of the palanquin in the shopping districts. Not that I haven't shopped before for things like food and clothes after we went into exile, but that was more necessity and less want and desire.

[ a shrug, a sip of his tea. ] I can do shopping. And I can do the arena, as long as you promise to spar me.

[whiteas]

Then it's about time that you discover the freedom of getting to buy whatever you want with your own money.

[ Of course, she has a lot less money here than she does in Vale. ]

I'll promise to spar you if you promise to go to Vale with me next time I need to buy Dust.

[ At this rate they're going to have an entire year of dates planned out before they even have their food. ]

[banishment]

Vale, as in the Vale from your world? [ oh, right. if the gates for it exist... ] I can do that. I'd like to see it, actually.

[ good thing the waiter just showed up to set their food down in front of them. zuko thanks the waiter and reaches for the chop sticks. there's a fork sitting on the napkin near his forearm, but he honestly has no idea why a utensil that looks like something that doesn't usually leave the kitchen is doing at a table. ]

[whiteas]

Yes. But no firebending in the stores.

[ Absolutely not. She doesn't want to die.

Either way, when the food gets there, Weiss is definitely reaching for the fork. She has no idea how to use chopsticks and has never needed to learn how. Which is probably why she's staring intensely at Zuko and waiting for him to use them to see if she can figure it out. Of course, to try to make it look like she's not just painstakingly awkwardly staring at him, she's folding her napkin on her lap while she does. ]

[banishment]

What, you think my answer to everything is to firebend at it?

[ not that he didn't do that at times, but still. the chopsticks sit easily between his fingers as he plucks at his food with the ease and skill of someone who's used nothing but since childhood. ]

[whiteas]

Do you really want me to bring up the balloon again?

[ Her assumption at this point is just that his instinct is to go new thing + fire = ????

..Yep, she's going to absolutely have to practice using chopsticks in the safety of her own home so that if Zuko ever actually asks her why she doesn't use them when they're out on a date (which she's hoping he doesn't today) she'll just be able to say she prefers her world's traditional utensils but she's skilled with them too. All she has to do is get through today without him asking and there won't be any question about how impressive she is.

Not that it's helping much as she puts a bite in her mouth and it's much hotter than she thought it would be and her incredibly pale skin actually looks like it's turning pink around the ears as she tries to stifle taking a deep breath and look as calm and neutral as humanly possible. ]

[banishment]

[ he glowers at her halfheartedly, because she has a point with the balloon. sometimes curiosity mingled with his pyrophile lifestyle. it was hard to deny that, especially when she'd already seen evidence of it. were toph here, he would be willing to put money on her doing the same thing with her earthbending. ]

Are you okay? I told you it was hot.

[ at least he isn't asking about why she isn't using the chopsticks. on the contrary, he's rather fascinated by her use of the fork. that at least explains what it was doing on the table. he's wondered that about restaurants for a while now, too timid and afraid of looking uncivilized if he spoke up and just asked someone. ]

[whiteas]

And I told you I can handle a little heat.

[ It did have a good flavor, even if she was presently counting down how long she would have to wait before she could drink half of a cup of water that it wouldn't be incredibly obvious that it was because of the how spicy the food was.

It probably looks like she's trying way too hard to hold this in. Her eyes are even watering a little. Only a little! ]

[banishment]

It's okay if you can't. Here. [ zuko reaches out and wiggles his fingers in a near come hither fashion. steam rises off her food and into his hand. ] I can only take the heat off. As for the spice... [ he reaches for the sugar shaker. ] Sprinkle some sugar on your tongue. That usually helps.

[ he's not belittingly her. not at all. he's fully aware of the fact that fire nation food is too much for some people, that it's an acquired taste and not big with those from other nations. as a kid, there were dishes that were too hot for him to handle, but the sugar trick usually helped him make it through meals without fleeing the table or dissolving into a pathetic mess of unprincely tears. ]

[whiteas]

Sugar..?

[ Weiss didn't want to admit defeat. She also didn't want to have to down a bunch of sugar just to get a meal down, so she wasn't sure if she was going to take that sugar from him. Even if she was sure that he was just trying to be nice, she could be stubborn at times. Sometimes it took her hours to get over her own pride; Weiss didn't exactly have hours in this case. She shook her head and took a drink of the water. ]

I can eat it. It tastes good, even if it's a.. little spicy. [ There was obvious hesitance in her voice as she chose her words like she was trying to protect her dignity by picking her words delicately. Besides, she'd never get used to it if she let him baby her. ]

[banishment]

[ zuko sighed, deciding to leave her to her own devices if she was determined to push her tolerance for spicy food. he couldn't exactly berate her for her stubbornness. no, that would be a case of the pot calling the kettle black given how stubborn he was himself. ]

If you say so.

[whiteas]

[ ..Maybe if she just puts a little bit of sugar in her water while he's not looking it'll be fine. Why didn't aura take care of food spice? That should definitely be something it should do. ]

Do you eat this all the time?

[ She's taking another bite, though a smaller one this time. ]

[banishment]

[ he noticed the bite was smaller, but opted against bringing attention to it. ]

For the most part, yeah. [ there's a pause while another bite is placed into his mouth with the chopsticks, the prince knowing better than to talk with his mouthful. ] Why?

[whiteas]

Because even if it is a little spicy-

[ She's partially convinced that by the time she finishes this meal she won't be able to feel her mouth for a week. Weiss gives him a little smile thouhg. ]

It's pretty flattering to know you wanted to share something similar to your home with me, if you eat this kind of food all the time.