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rapunzel

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He gives their first date a lot of thought. He talks to people. He does research. Finally, he manages to settle on a little Italian place that's got great ratings and reviews, that's fancy without being overbearing. He wants to give Rapunzel a chance to dress up, if she wants to. He doesn't have a suit made by her, yet, but he goes shopping again and finds a dark suit and shirt combo that he thinks works.

He's inexplicably nervous as he climbs the stairs to her apartment and knocks. In his hands, there's a bouquet of flowers, carefully chosen -- he'd gone with wildflowers in pinks and purples, flashes of yellow. They'd seemed more fitting for her than something more formal.

God, he wants this to go well.

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"I know you will," Rapunzel assures him, turning her hand to offer her palm up to Keys. She likes the casual touches, and wants to encourage that.

"Oh, gosh. That's a tough choice." She looks down at the menu again with a thoughtful frown. "Tiramisu sounds far more decadent."

She offers her palm and he immediately threads their fingers together.

"Decadent is a good word for it," he says, pushing his glasses up into his hair with his free hand. "Tiramisu it is."

Rapunzel smiles as Keys takes her hand, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as she glances up at him from under her lashes. It all feels very romantic, holding hands over a candlelit dinner, and she sighs happily.

The server comes and they give their dessert order while still holding hands, and Rapunzel smiles at Keys again, warm and a little teasing. "Are there any plans for after dinner?"

"If it was warmer, I'd say we could for a walk along the shore," he says, stroking his thumb against her skin, his eyes fixed on her. "Or we could go dancing, but then there's the leftovers. So I figure, I'll just walk you home." He smiles. "If I play my cards right, maybe you'll invite me in for coffee?" He squeezes her fingers. "Just coffee."

"Some other time," she says in regards to a walk on the beach, because that sounds lovely. Keys is staring at her in a way that makes her cheeks flush a little, and she smiles at his reassurance.

"You can come in for coffee," she tells him, biting her lip before lifting her glass to her mouth to take a small sip. "We could dance at my place. I have music and a floor."

"We can do it all summer long, if that's what you want," he says, because he definitely intends on still being around. She blushes and so does he, his eyes flickering away from hers, stilll holding her hand, his thumb still stroking against her skin.

"And that sounds perfect. Deal."

"I like that plan," she says coyly, smiling at him again. There's no telling how long they sit there like that, staring at each other while holding hands, but eventually their server arrives with their desserts. She sets the plates down and Rapunzel's eyes widen at the size of the slab of cake, giggling a little as the server tops off their glasses with the rest of the wine and takes the bottle.

"Thank you!" She says to the woman, and then covers her mouth with her hands for a moment, stifling a laugh. "This is a truly ridiculous amount of cake. We should have gotten one to split."

"Holy shit," says Keys, laughing a little as he picks up a fork. "Yeah. We...we might definitely be taking home leftovers of this too." He nudges her knee with his. "Hopefully we can work up an appetite with that dancing, right? Go for seconds?"

"Oh, definitely," she says with a laugh. She's laughed more tonight than she has in a long time, because she's having fun. Being with Keys is fun. Polishing off half of a bottle of wine helps too, but yeah, it's mostly him. "A perfect midnight snack."

She cuts off a small piece of cake and takes a bite, eyes widening as she stares across the table at Keys. It's delicious, and she makes a pleased sound as she raises her hand to cover her mouth as she chews. "Oh wow."

The sound she makes, the look on her face, might be one of the sexiest things Keys has ever seen. His face flushes and he directs his attention to his own dessert, taking a mouthful and, a second later, making a very similar sound himself.

"Jesus Christ," he says. "That's good."

"So good." Rapunzel stares at his face as he savors the dessert, a little distracted by how nice he looks. It makes her bite her bottom lip and she has to tear her gaze away to take another bite of her cake, chewing slowly and then leaning forward a bit.

"Let me try a bite," she tells him, cheeks flushing slightly as she parts her lips expectantly, waiting for him to feed her a piece. "I'm curious."

She does something like that and Keys realises that controlling himself, behaving himself, until she's ready? Is going to be a struggle. He's up for the challenge, though, no matter how difficult it might get.

He clears his throat, scooping up a forkful of dessert, making sure it's got cream and sponge and all of the good stuff before he leans in and looks at her expectantly.

Rapunzel boldly meets his eyes as she opens her mouth to take the bite from the end of his fork, then flushes and lowers her gaze as she chews. It's lighter than her own dessert, with spongy cake and a strong coffee taste, and she nods happily as she sits back in her seat, lifting her napkin to dab at the corner of her mouth.

"That's very good," she tells him, then cuts off a small bite of her cake and leans across the table, holding her free hand under the fork in case it topples over. "Your turn. Fair's fair."

The eye contact is intense, and Keys finds himself blushing as Rapunzel eats the cake. She has to know how hot that is, right?

When she offers him a bite of her cake, he leans in and takes it, and he makes sure to hold her gaze when he does it, his fingers brushing against her knee under the table.

It's possibly the single smoothest thing he's ever done.

Rapunzel is so focused on Keys' mouth that it's a surprise when his fingers suddenly touch the inside of her knee. Her breath hitches a little and she blushes, straightening up a little and putting the fork in her mouth after he's taken his bite, sucking it clean before setting it down onto the table.

"I think that I'm full," she says decisively, looking up at him from under her lashes. She polishes off the rest of her warm, feeling loose and warm-- a little tipsy but not drunk. She feels wonderful, actually. "Are you full?"

The little hitch of her breath makes him think that, maybe, he's misjudged, but then there's the look on her face and the way that her eyelashes flutter, the ways he sucks on the fork that's just been in his mouth.

And then she looks at him like that. He feels his face heat slightly.

"Yeah," he says. "I think I am. Shall we get this boxed up while I get the check?"

“Yes, I’m ready to go,” she tells him, nodding and signaling for the server and asking her to box up the desserts and bring them the check.

Once she takes the plates away, Rapunzel turns back to Keys with an excited, almost coy smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“This was a very good choice,” she tells him, reaching out to touch the back of his hand.

She touches the back of his hand and a little electric shiver goes straight through him. It's doesn't seem to matter how many times it happens; the feeling is still the same.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he says, turning his hand so that he can curl his fingers around hers. "I... Yeah. I'm having a great time."

“Good.” They stare at each other for a long moment, and Rapunzel feels a charge in the air, something like static electricity. Maybe it’s just the sparks between them.

She doesn’t look away until the server brings their check and a neatly packed to-go bag, and Rapunzel thanks her before looking at Keys with a wry smile.

“I don’t suppose that you’ll let me pay half.”

"I absolutely will not let you pay half," says Keys, picking up the check and glancing at it before he shifts his butt in his chair so that he can get at his wallet. "We can argue about who pays next time then but this one? Is absolutely on me."

He nudges her door with his. "It's my pleasure, honestly."

And it is. No matter what else the evening holds.

“Okay, I won’t argue,” she says with a pleased smile, biting her lip as she watches him sign the receipt. She stands up and pulls her coat back on, shifting her hair over her shoulder and picking up the takeout bag.

“Thank you,” she adds sincerely, almost eager to get out of the restaurant. She wants to be alone with him, even if the thought makes her nervous. But it’s a good kind of nervous that makes her feel warm, with butterflies in her stomach. “Ready to go?”

"You're welcome," he says, and doesn't offer to take the bag, even though his fingers kind of itch to. Once he's in his coat, he slips his hand into hers before they step out onto the street.

"Honestly," he says, as they walk towards her apartment. "I think this is the best date I've ever been on."

It’s now even chillier outside, especially after the warmth of the restaurant, and Rapunzel shivers and presses in close to Keys’ side, holding onto his hand tightly as they walk. The words make her smile, cheeks flushing as she looks up at him.

“It’s not over yet,” she promises, feeling that same flush of excitement. No, she still doesn’t think that she’s ready to have sex yet, but she wants very badly to be kissed. “You still owe me a dance.”

When she shivers against him, he shifts position, letting go of her hand so that he can slip his arm around her and tugging her in against him instead.

"I definitely haven't forgotten," he says. "Believe me."

It isn't a long walk back to Ocean View, and once they're back in her apartment, Rapunzel enthusiastically greets Pascal and cuts him a teeny piece of chocolate cake from the leftovers. This seems to mollify him, and he gives Keys a nod before curling protectively around his little dish of cake. Rapunzel laughs and kisses the top of his head, then takes off her coat and kicks off her shoes as soon as she's back in the living room.

"Here, give me your coat," she tells Keys. "I'll hang it up for you."