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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.

Comments

[insteadofwords]

She reaches for his hand and he takes hers, curling his fingers around hers and squeezing gently. Happiness bubbles up in his chest and he can't contain the smile that spreads across his face.

"What did Pascal think about staying home this evening? I don't want to end up on his shitlist or anything."

[fatesdesign]

"Oh, he's fine staying home," Rapunzel assures Keys, leaving her hand in his as she takes another sip of wine. "He likes to stay home on his own from time to time when I go out. Did you chameleons are not really all that social? Pascal is kind of a special case." She giggles a little and sets down her glass. "In more ways than one. And he knows that I-- well, I need alone time sometimes."

She blushes a little, because there really are only certain things that she doesn't want him around for. "He likes you, Keys. He's just protective."

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He tries not to think of the connotations of Rapunzel needing alone time and it's not enough -- he feels his cheeks flush. He squeezes her fingers, taking another sip of his wine. "Yeah. I...guess he'd need to know that." He smiles at her. "Hey. I'm almost as worried about his good opinion as I am about Sweeney's, okay? They mean a lot to you. I don't wan to screw this up."

[fatesdesign]

"The fact that you care so much means a lot," she admits, taking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "To me and to them. I know they're an unconventional one, but they're my family."

Their food comes then and Rapunzel lets go of Keys' hand as she straightens up, clasping her hands under her chin and gasping in excitement as the plates are set down in front of them.

"This looks so wonderful. Thank you," she tells the server, grinning at her as she leaves and then looking at Keys again. "I'm just now realizing how long it's been since I've had a nice meal like this."

[insteadofwords]

"Well, I get family," he says. "If we were back home, you'd have my sisters to meet, so...I guess I can deal with Pascal and Sweeney."

The food looks -- and smells -- amazing, and Keys finds himself grinning at the way Rapunzel reacts to it. ""Want to do half and then swap?" he asks.

[fatesdesign]

"I do hope that they'd like me," she says sincerely. She would love to meet his family, but that isn't possible. She doesn't want to linger on the topic, not when they're having such a nice time, so she's glad that the food comes out at just the right time.

"Oh, I doubt I can eat that much," she says with a laugh, but she nods as she reaches for her fork, digging it into the noodles on her plate and twirling it slowly. "But yes, we can swap."

Lifting the bite to her mouth, she cups her hand under the fork and takes a big bite, eyes widening as she chews and lets out a pleased hum. "Okay, that's amazing."

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"They'd like you more than they like me. Definitely."

He takes a sip of his champagne, picks up his knife and fork. He's about to take a bite but then he gets sidetracked watching her taste the pasta. He actually blushes, faintly.

"I love how much you love food," he confesses.

[fatesdesign]

"Oh, I don't know about that," she replies, but she's quietly pleased by the sentiment. Halfway through slurping up her pasta, she realizes that Keys is staring at her and she blushes, nose crinkling as she finishes the bite.

She lifts her hand to shield her mouth as she chews, then wipes at at the corner of her lips with her thumb. The comment makes her giggle a little, and she looks up at him from under her lashes as she sticks her fork back into her pasta.

"My meal options growing up were severely limited," she tells him with an easy shrug. "I still can't get over how many options there are here. I made myself sick a couple times when I first got here. I had never had anything fried. Never had ice cream."

[insteadofwords]

He also loves when she blushes like that, but he keeps that to himself.

"Wow. Seriously?" He digs into his own food, carefully cutting the portion in half first so that he doesn't accidentally eat too much like an asshole. "Yeah, no wonder you just want to try everything. What's your favourite flavour? Of ice-cream?"

Part of him sincerely hopes it's not bubblegum.

[fatesdesign]

"No electricity, remember?" She says, smiling fondly at his disbelief. "It never even really got cold enough for water to freeze. The tower was high enough that I could see snow in the distance sometimes."

She takes another bite as she ponders his question, and licks the corner of her mouth before answering. "I actually really like vanilla. It's complementary to pretty much anything, you know? I can add in whatever I'm in the mood for, like brownies or candy. What about you?"

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"I always forget," he admits. When he's with her, talking to her, they have so much in common -- they fit so well -- that it's easy to forget the fact that they grew up in places that were so wildly different. He blushes, faintly, reflexively, when she licks her lips, and he disguises it with a sip of his wine and a bite of his own food. "Mint chocolate chip," he says. "Is definitely the best flavour. Objectively."

[fatesdesign]

"Mm, it depends on how it's made for me," Rapunzel admits as she takes one last bite of the pasta. "Sometimes the mint tastes too fake. But real mint? I'm all for it."

After eating about a third of the plate, she realizes that her hunger already feels pretty satisfied, so she sucks the tines of her fork clean and pushes the plate forward a bit. "I'm ready to swap when you are." Her eyes dart to the bread and she grabs a piece, dabbing it in the sauce. "Okay, now I'm ready."

She grins at him and then takes a bite of the bread, shifting her hips in her seat in a happy little wiggle as she reaches for her wine.

[insteadofwords]

Keys takes another bite of the food in front of him before he juggles the plates, leaning to set his in front of her before he snags the pasta. He studiously doesn't watch her react to what she's eating because, if he spends too much time thinking about it, he gets onto the subject of how she reacts to other things, and he's honestly trying really hard not to think about that.

"Shit," he says, grinning, his eyelashes all but fluttering. "This is good."

[fatesdesign]

"I told you!" She giggles at his reaction and then takes a bite of the other dish, which is almost just as good. The server comes by and refills their wine glasses, and Rapunzel thanks her before taking a sip. She feels loose and warm, charmed by good food and better company, and she slowly rubs the side of her foot up and down the inside of Keys' calf.

"Make sure to save room for dessert," she tells him, tipping her glass at him. "I bet they have amazing desserts."

[insteadofwords]

"I bet they do," says Keys, lifting his own wine glass. He puts it down, twirling pasta with one hand while, under the table, his other just grazes against the curve of her knee.

"We can always get the leftovers boxed up for you to take home."

[fatesdesign]

The touch to her bare knee startles her a little, not because it's unwelcome but because she's still not used to it. She smiles at him, soft and private, and then perks up at his suggestion.

"Really? You don't want them?" She takes another bite and while a part of her feels like she should insist that he take them, the thought of having such nice leftovers for lunch tomorrow wins out. "Okay, I'll take them. I do have a busy day tomorrow."

She takes one more bite and looks at his face as she chews, a warm expression on her face as she nudges the plate away. "You're very sweet."

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She startles, but then she smiles and he doesn't jerk his hand away. He strokes her bare knee with his thumb and then he shifts his hand back to the table, reaching for his wine glass.

"Busy? What are you up to?" He takes another bite and then sets down his fork.

[fatesdesign]

"I have a few deliveries coming into the store, and a few different fittings," she says with an easy shrug, reaching for her wine again. "Normal kind of busy, but it'll be nice to have something good for lunch."

Their server comes to drop off a dessert menu and take their plates away to box up the leftovers, and Rapunzel glances at it before looking up at Keys again. "How is everything at Barton going?"

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"Yeah, it's good," he says, eyes skimming down the dessert menu. "I still think I know more about Game Design than the professor I'm TAing for but, whatever, right? It's an easy cheque."

His fingers, he finds, are itching to touch her again. "I like it better than my old job, anyway."

[fatesdesign]

"Hey, you seem to be adjusting really well," Rapunzel assures him, because he sounds like maybe he's a little unfulfilled. "I'd say that you found a pretty good starting point, but there's room to grow."

She smiles encouraging at him, and then stabs her fingertip down onto the menu. "I'm leaning toward the flourless chocolate cake."

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"Yeah, you're right. I'll figure it out." He reaches across the table, idly brushing his fingers against hers. "I...am torn between tiramisu or...the lemon meringue pie. What do you think?"

[fatesdesign]

"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."

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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."

[fatesdesign]

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?"

[insteadofwords]

"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."