voidseeing | Appointments Post

[Elizabeth sighs and blows one of her bangs out of her eyes.] I said I was spending the night baking with friends. Female friends.

[Which... wow. Elizabeth is so glad she's here and not baking. Gai's suit is, mildly put, delicious. And he smells lovely too. After a moment of appreciation, she smiles apologetically and holds up her bag.] I couldn't leave in my dress though. Can I borrow your bedroom...?

[That's such an innocuous excuse (baking? Really?) that he can't help but give a soft laugh as he steps aside to let her in, glancing down the hall first to make absolutely certain that she wasn't in fact followed.]

It's not exactly "borrowing" if we're both going to be making use of it later.

[Then, as if he hadn't said that at all:]

Take as much time as you need. The bathroom is just next to it if you want to put on any makeup.

[~~Woah, hold your Bucking Bronco there Gai. She ain't gonna be your Shock Jockey just yet.~~]

[Elizabeth looks a little flustered by Gai's pointing out the elephant in the room, but she bites her lip and manages to look only a little awkward.]

Fifteen minutes, that's all I need!

[Elizabeth stretches up and puts a kiss on Gai's cheek before heading for the bedroom. ...where she spends about thirty seconds just... staring at the bed before she starts getting dressed. At least she has all the necessary underwear on, she just needs the outer layers. And hair. And makeup.]

[Gai, meanwhile, will just grab a book from the bookshelf and settle down on the couch to read while he waits. Okay, more like pretend to read, because his brain isn't really processing any of the words on the page. The sentences could be "Hamburger hamburger hamburger" for all of the attention he's paying right now.

And he's totally not sneaking glances in the direction of his bedroom over the top of the book, either.

... is fifteen minutes up yet?]

[Nope, and by the time she's done it's more like thirty five minutes. Because Elizabeth has never actually put up her short hair into something elegant before. Also the lipstick doesn't cooperate for a little bit there, but eventually she's ready. The last thing she does, and she hesitates to do it, is take off her usual choker. She's sorry she lied to Booker and Robert, and she says as much to the bird as she sets it down on Gai's sink and replaces it with another necklace.]

[She checks everything one more time, pushing the train of persimmon-colored fabric behind her, then drifts back out into the living room. It's immediately obvious why Elizabeth couldn't escape her apartment dressed for the date, no one goes out to visit friends looking like this. Really, she looks more like she's dressed for an opera than a date, but it's one-hundred percent what she wanted to wear.]

[Elizabeth stands in the doorway to the bedroom with her hands folded in front of her, just watching Gai and waiting to see his reaction.]

[It's on one such glance over his book that Elizabeth steps out, only this time his eyes don't drift back to its pages. Instead, they remain riveted, widening slightly as he looks her up and down, just taking the outfit in. Now he sees what she meant when she said something that would "slide right off of her," because that dress certainly looks like it would do just that.

But... it's beautiful. Beautiful, and elegant, and she looks beautiful in it, and he knows that staring isn't polite but he can't seem to pull his eyes away from her right now.

She really does look like a woman. For a brief moment he wonders how she could possibly feel that she couldn't compare to the bikini-clad women on the beach-- in his opinion, she's far more stunning than any of them.

And his opinion is probably very obvious on his face right now, even though he hasn't yet said a word.]

[Yes, Elizabeth is picking up on the idea that Gai approves. His silence is speaking volumes.]

[It's more fabric than a lot of the dresses Elizabeth saw at the clothing shop, and she may look a little overdressed, but it's clear from the way she carries herself in it that the dress is doing things for her confidence levels like nothing she's worn before.]

[She rustles over to Gai and gently takes the book out of his hands, considering he's not reading it anymore.] Now we're a pair. [Reaching down, she smooths a hand over Gai's lapel as though trying to get a wrinkle out. But really, she's just marveling at the close fit on the suit. And tails, she hadn't expected tails.]

[Smiling, Gai catches that hand in one of his own. The smile gets a little more mischievous as he stands; once upright, he brings her hand up and brushes his lips against the back of it, keeping his eyes on her the entire time.

Somehow in this process his other hand has acquired a carnation - where exactly it came from is a bit of a mystery, but then again, Gai is a man who usually has no fewer than two knives hidden on his body at all times - which he tucks neatly into her hair behind her ear. He'd been wavering on what color to go with, but now he's glad he chose the pink, as it goes well with that dress.]

You look beautiful.

[If Gai is trying to get Elizabeth to swoon before they even leave the apartment, he's succeeding.]

[Elizabeth blushes and smiles coyly as Gai kisses her hand, feeling a little light-headed and giddy from the gesture. It's so romantic, and yet Elizabeth can almost feel her body temperature rising as she keeps her eyes locked with Gai's. There's definitely a heat there, which Elizabeth instantly attributes to Gai being ridiculously attractive. And probably the occasion, too.]

[The flower is a surprise, but Elizabeth looks thrilled by it and turns her head so Gai can position it how he likes. This was exactly the sort of thing she did in Columbia in her conservatory. A flower was perfect right now.]

[Two simple gestures, and Elizabeth is falling faster than a clumsy man off the side of Columbia. This evening is already everything out of her fantasies, and maybe more.]

Thank you, Gai. [She smiles, fingers brushing lightly over the carnation.] I'm sorry, I should have said something when I came in. But I suppose I felt too plain to speak to such a handsome man. [She grins up at him and squeezes his hand lightly.]

[Certainly at least some of it can be attributed to the incredible intensity of Gai's eyes, something that isn't even a conscious choice on his part. They may not be glowing right now, but there's something about their color that makes them look almost lit from within. When focused on her... well, that's probably not helping the rising temperature or the lightheadedness at all.

The flower was a gesture he'd agonized over for a while; at first he had worried that it might have been too much, but when he sees that delighted expression on her face as he tucks it into her hair, he's pretty sure he made the right choice. This isn't like trying to impress some rich business owner's wife at all. He wants every bit of this to be heartfelt and genuine.]

I'd say I'm the one who should be worried about being seen next to such a beautiful lady. People might not even notice that I'm there with you.

[He gives her hand a squeeze back, then dips to brush his lips against her forehead.]

[Yes, that's no doubt part of it. Elizabeth reasons that she could probably get lost in Gai's eyes, they were so intense and held so much emotion. It's hard to tear her gaze away, but she supposes she can bear it if Gai is kissing her forehead.]

Oh I'm going to have to shoot sharpened looks at all the other women in the room. [She splays her fingers on Gai's chest and stretches up for an actual kiss.] ...especially if they've seen what's under this coat.

[Gai meets her halfway in a soft, languid kiss that he's deliberately keeping from getting from getting too passionate-- he did promise her dinner first, after all. Though with her hand on him like that, he is getting tempted to ask for another raincheck...]

You're in luck, because right now that and everything else are for your eyes only. You can indulge in it as much as you'd like tonight.

[It's just a simple sentence, but there's a heated promise behind it for later. Whatever she wants, he'll do. All she has to do is ask.]

[Yes, it's best not to get too tangled up now. Elizabeth just got into her dress, after all, and did want to have a quiet romantic dinner with Gai before he...]

[...before he let her indulge. That simple sentence is starting to weave interesting patterns in Elizabeth's mind. But dinner before dessert.]

The same goes for you, you know. [She shifts until she can curl a hand around Gai's elbow.] I've never, ever let anyone this close before. I want it to be you, and only you.

[He hold out his arm just a bit to allow it, like a proper escort. He'd promised her a real date, and a real date is what she's going to get. With no drunken singing this time. (Even if it means he has to toss any offenders out himself.)

A nice, quiet dinner and a chance to just talk, get to know each other better. Because while they'd shared a great deal of themselves with each other, those were all the sad, tragic parts of their lives. Gai wants to know what she likes, what she enjoys doing, the things that make her happy.]

I mean it when I say that I'm truly honored. It's a gift I'm not going to take lightly, and if there's one thing I promise, it's that I'll make it worth it for you.

[Elizabeth goes pink again, and she can't keep her eyes on Gai's she's so flustered. But a good flustered. A very... excited flustered. But dinner first, of course dinner first.]

Of course it will be. I'll be with you, that's enough. [She smiles up at Gai again after collecting herself and rests her cheek on his arm.] So where are we going?

[Right. Dinner first, and one that he doesn't have to worry about trying to cook, because that would be a surefire end to any romantic evening.]

Seventh Heaven. It should be a bit less boisterous than Good Spirits, and the food there is excellent. The chef can make just about anything you ask for, as long as it's something that uses standard ingredients.

[He then raises his free hand to rest it atop hers and takes a step forward, indicating that they should probably head out to the restaurant now before temptation gets the better of them.]

[Yes, that is a good plan. Because while Elizabeth isn't really one to initiate preemptive date-end, she would follow Gai's lead all the way over the edge. She walks with him, getting a little thrill from the mental image of the two of them together. Picturesque elegance...]

I'm glad I made Booker and Mr. Lutece dinner, then. I don't think I could pass you off as my 'female' friend if they saw us.

[That earns a quiet chuckle as he turns to close and lock the door behind them. Maybe he could get her to pick it again on the way back in, that was kind of a turn-on...]

You'd be surprised how many times I've been called "pretty boy" before.

[Well this is an 'Ask and Ye Shall Receive' sort of night....]

Well you are very pretty. But still a boy, and thus the alibi falls a little flat.

[He'd be disappointed if it were anything but.]

After the beach, I don't think I could fake that part to anyone.

No, I don't think so. [She laughs, maybe a bit more than she should but she's never really seen such a... exemplary piece of man. No Gai wouldn't be fooling anyone.]

I don't see how being called a 'pretty boy' would be an insult, though. It sounds more like a compliment.

[Ah, Elizabeth. You still have much to learn about the world and about expressions such as that-- not that he blames her at all.]

Most men don't take very kindly to the implication that they're somehow feminine. As if something like that affects their masculinity in the slightest.

[Gai, on the other hand... his hair is longer than hers, so it's pretty clear that he doesn't care much about that kind of thing.]

Hm. [It's a little strange to Elizabeth, but then again the separate bathrooms in Battleship Bay also confused her. But at least Gai gave her an actual answer instead of Booker's 'That's just the way things are'.]

But you're not most men? So I can say you're pretty? [She grins.]

You can say just about anything you'd like as long as you mean it as a compliment. I'm not picky.

[Was that a wink? It might've been.]

[And maybe that wink makes Elizabeth giggle.] And what if I don't mean it as a compliment?

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