paixaorpg | Lessons in romance. [Active]

"Nervous" was not generally a word in Flonne's vocabulary. No, today she was excited. She was going on a date with Laharl - her first! This was wonderful! She was all but skipping with excitement as they neared Porfavore's - she'd never been there before, either! The map said the food was really good, though - Laharl's hand gripped tightly in hers. "Come on, Laharl-san! We don't want to be late!"

That particular worry was assuaged as they rounded a corner and the restaurant came into view, Mia and Godot waiting out front. "Mia-san!" Flonne called, recognizing their pictures from the journals and waving her free hand. "Godot-san! We're here!"

Well look at you sweat and listen to that pulse, throbbing like a Riverdance drum, Godot had been mentally taunting himself as he waited outside with Mia. Between small talk with her and the everpresent thoughts that squirmed through his head-- yes, he was indeed holding her soft hand again, after all this time-- there was a nagging and brutally sarcastic voice he recognized. Look at the tiger now! Nervous as a middle schooler! Is this what happened to the great Diego Armando, the Ladykilling Lawyer of Los Angeles? So stunted he cannot think to even touch his lover without seizing in fear?

No, he mentally retorted, he was just... rusty.

"Ah, an angel's fallen out of the wires and into our presence, Kitten," he said, gesturing at Flonne and her date. "At last we meet in the flesh! And you must be Laharl," he added on with his usual (unsettling) grin in Laharl's direction. "So pleased you could join us."

Nervous was the one thing Laharl was not. Mostly he looked unhappy as he followed behind Flonne, his hand in hers, looking almost like he was being dragged along. If not for letting Flonne hold his hand, one might think he didn't want to be there at all.

A date. Didn't they have other things to worry about? Ugh... This was so not his... thing. Flonne seemed happy though... sigh.

He hoped this thing wouldn't last too long. Laharl would be happy getting it over and done with as soon as possible.

A date. How did he get talked into this?

"Uh, yeah... That's me," was Laharl's half-hearted reply.

Dear God, they were even more adorable in person. And small. And young. Mia might have squealed and started pinching cheeks if she were more like her sister Maya.

Instead she smiled, letting go of Diego's hand to offer hers for handshakes. "It's nice to meet you in person, Miss Flonne, Mr. Laharl. I'm Mia."

Flonne had to all but drag Laharl over to the cafe, but she chalked it up as his natural reaction to things like this - he was still new to love, after all - and smiled happily up at Mia. "It's nice to meet you too, Mia-san!" she caroled, letting go of Laharl's hand to return Mia's handshake. "And you too, Godot-san!" She turned and smiled up at him, wondering if the visor on his face was a special item - maybe it made him a Prism Ranger! Ooh, she'd better not ask yet - she wouldn't want to blow his secret identity. But maybe that made Mia a Prism Ranger too! This was all so exciting!

"Well, I must admit I'm not familiar with the night life around here, but I've gotta compliment the choice for the evening," Godot said, swishing around the dredges at the bottom of his usual coffee cup. He'd of course already been inside to sample the brew-- it was nothing fancy, but it had a beautiful homestyle taste that was tough to find at a commercial establishment, and he could certainly appreciate that.

"The secondhand soldiers tick by in their merciless march, robbing us slowly of time spent together," he added somewhat cryptically, offering Mia his hand again. Yeah... same as always. No big deal. "Shall we?"

"Overlord Laharl," the demon mumbled in correction, folding his arms when Flonne let go of his hand. He hung back though when Mia offered her hand, letting Flonne do the shaking. In fact, it appeared Laharl had even taken a bit of a step back.

It figured Mia was one of those types. That made tonight all the more complicated.

Laharl turned to stare at Godot. He had not a clue what he'd just said. He was as bad in person as on the journals. Great. At least the last part he understood well enough. "Yeah... sure."

Mia smiled back at Flonne. "You can just call me Mia if you want." She knew -san was an honorific, though Flonne certainly didn't look Japanese. She noticed that Laharl was hanging back--maybe he was shy--so she simply smiled at him and took Diego's proferred hand again.

"We can sit outside, if you're all up for it?" she suggested, indicating the tables outside the bakery portion of the restaurant.

"That's okay, Mia-san," Flonne responded with her ever-present smile. The honorific was a sign of respect, after all. There was only one person she'd drop it for, he knew it, and she wasn't about to make it public yet.

She raised a quizzical eyebrow at Godot, still completely confused as to what exactly he was trying to say, but definitely not missing the fact that he wanted to hold hands with Mia. Ooh, he really did care about her. That was wonderful!

"Outside sounds great," Flonne replied. "Doesn't it, Laharl-san?" She turned to look over at her date and smiled.

"A meal shared with friends is always better shared under a beautiful sky, after all," Godot reasoned, and since he was closest he chose a table just beneath an awning stretching off the side of the restaurant-- how strange to have an awning when the skies were covered with domes. It might have just been for charm.

And charming it was, the little tables covered in Tuscan-style fabric with delicate silverware neatly tucked into cloth napkins of some color he couldn't determine. He pulled out a chair for Mia and if Laharl knew what was good for him, he thought, he'd be watching and doing the same for Flonne. It was Godot's duty as a man to teach a younger fellow how to properly function as a gentleman in the presence of a lady. "Three more pots of that beautiful coffee, I think," he announced, handing out the menus stacked on the table like he was a card dealer in Vegas. "Now let's see what we're in for before we settle in for the small..."

The menu was blank. To him, at least. He managed to hold back a very ungentlemanly swear word. "... talk," he concluded, and knocked back the rest of his coffee.

"Outside huh? Sure... fine. I don't care," Laharl agreed. He didn't really mind or care where they ate at all. It worked fine for him.

If Godot had been sending any 'Pull out the chair for her' vibes, the young Overlord missed them entirely, probably straight over his head by several feet, in fact. He did nothing of the sort, merely picked a chair, furthest from Mia, and plopped down in it, assuming Flonne would probably sit in the chair next to him.

Geez, what was with this guy and his coffee? Well, whatever. Picking up the menu and opening it before him, Laharl concentrated on that, trying to figure out what he wanted to eat.

The menu looked like typical cafe fare, sandwiches and wines and pastries and cakes, and Mia gave it an idle glance through, looking up when Diego abruptly paused in the middle of his sentence, looking down at the menu.

"Something wrong?" she asked, and then she looked at the menu again and noticed this time that the text was red. Mia sighed. "It's starting to seem like red is the official font color of Paixao," she said dryly. "Can I get some tea?" she added to the pale-haired waiter who appeared at the table. "And a pot of coffee. What do you guys want to drink?" she asked Flonne and Laharl.

Flonne had long since become accustomed to Laharl's manners (or lack thereof), so pulling out her own chair - the one closest to Laharl, of course - and seating herself didn't bother her in the least. She did find Godot's manner towards Mia incredibly romantic, though. They must have really been in love.

She had taken her menu and had been happily engrossed in it - just look at all the different kinds of cake they had here! - for several minutes before she noticed something was up. "Is there something wrong with red?" she inquired. Hopefully not, as she was wearing quite a bit of it.

She brightened at Mia's question. "Lemonade, please!"

Oh, the boy needed help... clearly as much help as Godot could give him.

And what was it with this place and the color red? It was obnoxious, to be sure... but as long as there was an extra pair of eyes then it really wasn't that big of a deal. Godot impatiently set down his cup and began tapping his fingers against the tablecloth. "Well, the world comes in many colors, Angel, one for every melancholy soul who dwells in it. And some colors just don't show up for some people," he explained in a manner which suggested he thought it made perfect sense.

When the waiter arrived, he sat back to let Mia do the talking, but interjected-- "Two more pots of coffee, my good man. The finest you have."

Laharl scanned the drink section several times over. Ugh... nothing he liked, as usual, but then again Zombie Juice wasn't something he expected to EVER find here. Really, he had no idea what to chose, but finally settled on something. Sort of.

"Eh... some kinda soda? I donno... whatever doesn't suck," the demon finally said, hoping they'd bring him something decent. If they didn't, well, he'd just give it to Flonne or something he guessed.

He had no idea what they were blabbering on about when it came to colours and not showing up, so just ignored that part of the current conversation completely.

Mia smiled tolerantly at Diego's adding yet more coffee onto their increasingly coffee-filled table. She hoped Diego would be the only one drinking in--the kids seemed too young for that much caffeine.

"Lemon tea, if you have it?" Mia asked the waiter, who nodded and headed off. "It's mostly club sandwiches and cakes, Diego," she added. "You'd be safe going with chicken or something like that."

She looked at their companions curiously--she had definitely seem some stranger people since she came to Paixao, but she wondered where they came from. "What kind of world are you from?" she asked Flonne and Laharl both.

Flonne blinked in confusion at Godot's words. This wasn't the first time his phrasing had thrown her for a complete loop, but she was determined to figure out what he meant this time. She thought hard, silently mouthing the words as she ran them through her head again and again. The world comes in many colors...And some colors just don't show up for some people... She looked back at Godot, ready to admit defeat and just ask him what he meant, when she finally realized what color his visor was. Maybe...just maybe...he meant he couldn't see red?

She'd opened her mouth to ask when Mia's words completely derailed her train of thought. Diego? Who was Diego? Maybe he was - wait, was Mia talking about Godot? But that made no sense! She thought his name was Godot, not Diego!

Circuits thoroughly fried, Flonne simply did the best she could. "Die- um...Godo- um...Diegodot-san, did you mean you can't see red?"

The coffee had sufficiently distracted him from noticing when Mia casually let something slip he'd rather keep hidden. She used to do that when they were dating, too, wait to drop bombshells until he was deep in the dance with a beautiful dark lady.

It wasn't until Flonne blurted out some baffling combination of the two that he finally noticed-- and midway through a long sip of coffee, too, choking and spitting out a fine brown mist that was luckily pointed away from anyone else.

"Ang-" he coughed and quickly grabbed a napkin, awkwardly mopping up. "Angel, sweetheart... s'pronounced Godot," he corrected, voice the slightest bit shaky. Well, this wouldn't end well. Mia would probably give him that look she always used on him and emphatically insist that Flonne call him... ugh. Pseudonyms weren't as easy to use as the movies always made them seem.

"But," he recovered quickly, "Well-deciphered. I'm afraid I'm a little visually impaired regarding colors... red in particular."

The Overlord just looked between the three, not exactly sure what they were going on about, beyond Flonne was being easily confused, as usual. He was pretty numb to her antics these days... well, almost. Either way, he saw no reason to comment on the current situation, returning to the question Mia had first asked.

"We're from the Netherworld," Laharl replied then decided to be a little more specific, "My Netherworld."

Mia nearly burst out laughing at Flonne's version of Diego's name. She may not have approved of the pseudonym but she had to admit that was unintentionally hilarious, and ducked behind her menu momentarily to hide her grin, lest Flonne be even more confused by her sudden amusement.

She did indeed give Diego a meaningful glance when she put the menu down, but didn't insist on Flonne using his proper name. If Flonne went on calling him 'Diegodot-san' that would be absolutely fine with Mia.

"Netherworld?" she echoed, turning her attention to Laharl before she started grinning again. "What kind of world is that?" She certainly had her guesses--now that she thought of it, if Flonne reminded her of a little angel than Laharl most definitely brought to mind a little demon.

Flonne squeaked loudly in surprise and nearly toppled off her chair at the sudden spray of coffee. Only with a lucky grab at the table's edge was she able to keep seated. Well, she certainly hadn't expected that to happen. "B-but Mia-san said-" she started, then stopped herself. She really shouldn't argue - it wasn't polite, and it was his name, after all... "Okay," she finished softly, picking up her menu once again and hiding behind it. She hoped she hadn't made him mad at all...she hadn't meant to, at least...

Godot recognized the tone in her voice-- ah, you big dumb lug, he thought to himself, you've upset her. Though Mia apparently thought it was funny. "No big deal, Angel... Men call themselves by many names, the foremost of which the one who echoes their soul the best at that particular moment. I'm no exception." He paused to refill his mug, drinking deeply from it before he continued. "Perhaps sometime I'll tell the story of that name."

He glanced at Mia out of the corner of his visor, which, of course, she couldn't tell... Oh, what was the use? After all, he was the one out of sorts with things, not her.

"I guess I'm in for the club... sandwich," Godot at last concluded softly in Mia's direction. It was probably safe to bet they had those. Accursed red font... he would find the one responsible someday and make them regret it. Ahh, Destiny... she did her best to inconvenience you however possible, even when you were already her noble and devoted slave.

Yet despite it, he was still fumbling and squeezing at her hand underneath the table, feeling as awkward as if it was their first date. His hand stayed steady though, the experienced old hand that had charmed so many other women (who he refused to even think about... ugh, what a dog Diego was) and was trying its best to keep the charm on the one who really mattered. In front of another couple... it was far harder than he'd thought it would be.

Oh, right, the menu. Laharl continued to glance over the items on the list trying to decide what to possibly eat.

"The Netherworld is a realm where demons live, of course," Laharl replied after a brief pause for the other conversation. He then glanced up and over his menu at Mia, arching an eyebrow a little.

"You did realize I'm a demon, right?" he asked. It wouldn't be the first time he'd be mistaken for a human child, although what humans had pointy ears and eyes like his? None that he knew of. And there was really no excuse for not noticing Flonne's not-human characteristic, since she had wings and a tail, for hell's sake.

Edited 2008-02-07 15:02 (UTC)

Mia was a little sorry for almost laughing--poor Flonne looked so confused and upset. She patted Flonne's hand across the table. "Diego used to be his name," she explained. "And he and I go back a long way, and Diego's what I'm used to, so he has to put up with me calling him that, poor thing." She sent a smile in Diego's direction.

She smiled at Laharl too, who, for a demon, was an awfully cute one. "I had my suspicions. I didn't want to come out with it in case it was impolite."

At the touch on her hand, Flonne lowered her menu just enough to see over. "Ohhhhh," she replied, crimson eyes and matching ribbons peeping over the menu's top, looking first over at Mia, then at Godot. "Then...um..." she addressed him, "what would you like me to call you? Is Godot-san okay?"

Catching the tail end of Mia's statement, she replied, "Oh, no, it's not impolite at all!" Eyes closed and ribbons perked - it was obvious that, behind that menu, there was a smile on Flonne's face. "In fact, Laharl-san's proud of it!"

Flonne really did look pale and colorless in person... hmm. But the smile on her face seemed to brighten up her dreary outfit, and he didn't want to chase it off again. "I'd prefer Godot," Godot said honestly, again glancing sidelong at Mia (which she couldn't tell). "But as a name must reflect the soul of the one it's given to, it must also reflect the speaker's soul, wouldn't you agree? You call me whatever you like."

Godot was still holding one of the useless menus, fanning himself with it in one hand as he sipped coffee with the other. He was hurriedly searching for a subject change away from his name just to avoid later awkwardnes... aha. "For being demons, many I've met here have no resemblance to the humans I might have given that particular label. So either you are all fine specimens of demon, or it is humans who've interpreted it wrong. As usual." He smiled vaguely, glancing back and forth between the pair. "So tell us. What's your story? How did the two of you cross each other and yet take notice, like a match lit on the deck of two blind ships on a moonless night?" Ouch. That one was pretty clumsy. Chalk it up to it being a hasty topic.

Proud of it Laharl was indeed. "Hmph, right. Not to mention you don't have to be polite around demons anyways... we aren't polite," he added, before his attention was drawn back to the menu.

Still looking at the menu Laharl replied Godot, "Humans always go around thinking they know better... not all demons look like me, but a lot do. Course, Flonne's not exactly a demon... she's a fallen angel."

Might as well get that explained right there and then. He'd finally narrowed his choice to a burger, and with his choice made he closed the menu, dropping it in front of him, as he gave Godot the oddest stare. Okay, this guy was weird. Not stupid like Gordon or something though... he was smart, Laharl could give him that much, and he sure had a way about speaking, but... he just didn't make sense. Why couldn't he just say things straight instead of making stupid metaphors?

It was really starting to grate on the Overlord's nerves. Of course, that wasn't a hard thing to do to Laharl. He was able, somehow, to get that they were being asked how they met. (What matches, shops and moonless nights had to do with that though, he had no idea.)

"She snuck into my castle to assassinate my old man," Laharl said, nonchalantly, the notion apparently not really bothering him. "Found her standing in my room, talking to herself. Hmph, some assassin..."

Edited 2008-02-14 04:49 (UTC)

Mia sighed inwardly, but kept her feelings about the subject of Diego's name to herself for the time being. Now was certainly not the time to debate it with him; they'd already done enough of that in private, besides. Instead she listened to Laharl, nearly choking on her water at the news that Flonne--sweet, adorable little Flonne--had apparently been an assassin at one time or another.

"I...see. That's very interesting." Mia looked dubiously at Flonne, privately thinking that Laharl was right--some assassin.

Well, it sounded like the name issue had been sorted out for the most part. Flonne only had one question left. "Whatever I like..." she muttered, then looked up at Godot. "Can I call you Diegodot-san?" It was an honest question - the name covered all the bases, after all.

That was quickly forgotten at Laharl's words and Mia's resulting look. "Laharl-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Flonne whined, dropping her menu on the table as her face turned bright red, "That's not all of it! You have to tell the whole story or it doesn't make any sense!"

_{OOC: Sorry that took so long.}

Oh, what was even the point in getting into it? At least "Diegodot" covered all the bases. It had the bonus of making Mia smile and assuaging her ongoing disappointment with his adoption of a pseudonym in the first place. "That's fine, Angel," he said with a grin that was only unconvincing if you looked at the corner of his that was twitching. It actually stung a bit to pronounce. "'Diegodot' it is." He swore he felt his hand tighten around Mia's beneath the table.

He was too distracted by that and the swell of thoughts that came with it to think of anything particularly clever to say, so he merely sipped his coffee and smiled at the tale of Flonne's failed assassination. At last it came to him. "Better to fail at something you wouldn't like to be, rather than to succeed at something you hate," he posited. "That's a good rule, don't you think?"

"...Right," was Laharl's only comment to Godot's response, before he glanced to Flonne. "What? That was basically the jist of it, even if it was some grand scheme to just get you into the Netherworld."

It was still strange to think they'd been roped into some elaborate plan like that. Even now he wasn't really all that sure if it was working... uniting the two worlds. Riiiight.

"Anyways, the Love Freak decided since my Old Man was already dead, to figure out if demons had "Love" too, and I've been stuck with her ever since," he finished explaining. Although, truthfully, he was very glad Flonne had stayed with him.

It was hard to keep from laughing at Flonne's new nickname for Diego. Mia managed to keep it under control, though her lips might have twitched a few times. She tried to focus on Laharl's explanation as to why he and Flonne--a mismatched pair, at least on the surface--were sticking together.

"So has she figured it out?" she inquired curiously.

"Right!" Flonne replied enthusiastically to Godot's statement. Boy, he sure spoke her language - when she could understand what he was saying, that was.

"But it-" Flonne protested, falling silent as Laharl began to talk again and letting him finish the story. At least he told the whole thing this time so it didn't sound so strange. She was itching to answer Mia's question at the end, but Mia hadn't addressed it to her. She sat back instead, keeping an eye out for the waiter and waiting to hear Laharl's answer.

Lessons in romance. [Active]

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