Glass -- New York, Friday Night

[killingsoftly]

They'd given them a park facing room, which was more than Devin had hoped for. He brushed his fingers over the cool glass of the doors, then stepped outside on the balcony, letting the sounds of the city wash over him. He took a sip of whiskey, smiling to himself as he watched the warm early evening light warm the buildings and the tops of the trees. It was warm and the air conditioner in the room kicked on in protest of the open door, but he just let it run, listening to the sounds of Warren in the room behind him.

Even now, the heat from their little game still lingered, flushing his cheeks. The whiskey in the glass was cool, but not cool enough. He was cursing himself that they only had one bed, but when he'd booked the gig, and the room, he hadn't expected Warren to be coming. He figured he'd be pursuing his other gig while here, but then the invitation spilled out and here they were. He wasn't coming down off a high. He'd slept a lot the last few days. He'd been eating. He wasn't fragile and out of it, and sharing that bed was likely to test his resolve to the limit, especially after the teasing.

He wasn't likely to sleep much.

But he didn't want to push Warren. The flirtation was delightful. The game moreso, but he was the one who wanted it to be more than just a game, not Warren. He had to remember that part and not push, no matter if that "later" teased at his memory. He slid fingers over glass and imagined briefly it was skin, then pushed those thoughts away. He could behave.

"Our reservation's at six." He called back over his shoulder, straightening even as he kept his gaze fixed on the people scurrying below, drinking in the life of the City. "We should probably leave by 530. It's just around the corner, less than half a mile. Walk or cab?"

Comments

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin grinned a bit. "Well, yeah..."

The restaurant was just a little bit off of the street, with an awning over the door.

"And we're here."

The interior was pleasantly cool, the wood warm hues that lent it a soft golden glow in the late afternoon sun.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

Warren looked around, by now more accustomed to the idea of acting like a rock star, all the grandioseness of the area and the pride of the city.

He took his cue from Devin as they went in, falling a half-step behind.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin gave his name to the smiling hostess who took them right to their seats.

Their waitress was there quickly as well, smiling. She had a cooler with ice in it and a bottle of wine.

"Welcome to Swizz. My names Marisa and I'll be your server tonight." She set the wine on the table, as well as two glasses. She glanced at Devin. "Would you like me to open the wine now?"

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

Warren's eyes widened, but only slightly as he took his seat, straightening just a little out of instinct. Trying, and succeeding for the most part, to look at least a little older. Less young kid in the big city, more calm young man in control of his life.

Not that control was something he'd had since they'd gotten to the hotel room. But as long as nothing really bad happened, he didn't really mind too much.

He glanced at Devin too, curious about the answer.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin nodded and she poured him a taste for his approval, which he gave. Just the right hint of sweetness to compliment the dinner choices.

She poured him a full glass, then one for Warren. She looked tempted to ask Warren for I.D., but she looked back at Devin and just smiled and didn't.

"Our pre-theater menu's streamlined so you get your choice of two items for appetizer and four for dinner, and then we'll bring you an apple tart for dessert. Appetizer choices are either soup or mesculin salad and for dinner you can go with our traditional raclette or cheese fondue. We'll bring sausage and vegetables to accompany etiher of those. Or we have chicken cordon bleu or salmon."

She smiled at them brightly again. "I'll give you a minute to decide and then be right back."

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

Warren gave him a wide-eyed, mock-startled look. "Well. Raclette or cheese fondue. 'cause, unless it's really good, I can get chicken cordon bleu or salmon a lot of different places..."

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin chuckled. "Yeah, I think that's pretty standard, though their chicken cordon bleu is some of the best I've had outside of Switzerland. I think I'm going for the raclette." It had the potatoes.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"Then I'll go for the fondue," he said, and stopped right there before the usual comment about sneaking some off Devin's plate came out. It wasn't something he normally said to Devin.

He took a sip of the wine to cover it, made an impressed face. "Mm!"

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin smiled. "I'm glad you like." The waitress came back over.

Devin grinned at her. "We're going to have one raclette and one fondue. I want a salad to start....'

He glanced at Warren inquiringly.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

Warren nodded, "So will I..."

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

She smiled at them both.

"I'll have those salads out in no time, then."

And then she was gone.

Devin shook his head a little, smiling. "She's...efficient."

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"She is," he chuckled. "But if they're dealing with the pre-theatre crowd, they're probably dealing with a lot of people who have somewhere to be at a specific time. They probably screen people for this hour pretty carefully, train them to be efficient."

Warren shook his head. "Yeah, I used to work in food service, does it show?" Wry, ironic.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin laughed a little. "I've heard it's a good experience to have. Makes you appreciative of those in the service profession if you've been in their shoes."

He sipped his wine, leaning in a bit though he didn't touch Warren.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"It does do that," he admitted with a shrug.

His eyes going slightly wide again as Devin leaned in, lips parting for words that he ended up not saying.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin's eyes flicked unwittingly to Warren's parted lips, but then he looked back at his face with a more casual smile.

"So, have you seen the Holy Grail movie?" Innocent question, but he'd lowered his voice as close as they were. It made people look, smile a bit.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"A couple times, yeah," Warren smiled, leaning forward a little the way he'd used to at school, hair down over half his face again. "We used to do a lot of Monty Python at home."

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin reached up and casually brushed his hair back, tucking it behind his ear with a grin, twirling the red just a bit. He wanted to see Warren's eyes.

"The musical is supposed to be exceptionally amusing."

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"So I hear," he said.

Blushing just a bit at Devin's touch. His eyes slid down to the table, then back up to Devin's.

"I'd wanted to see it ever since it came out, but ..." He shrugged. "Anyway. Thanks."

So awkward. He couldn't think of things to say.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

"Of course." Devin shrugged a little. "I haven't seen it yet, either, though I've wanted to."

He sat back when the waitress brought their salads, giving them a little smile.

"Ground pepper?" Devin nodded his assent.

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

Warren nodded, too. Spicy was his thing, anyway. Enough to keep him distracted. Food was a good distraction.

He was, he'd decided, being wined and dined. By Devin. He thought about asking, decided against it. The words 'is this a date' kept coming to the surface, but it was a silly question to ask.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin smiled at him a little, starting on his salad.

"I know you said Sky High wasn't big on the arts, but was there a local theatre or anything that put on shows?"

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"Not really..." Warren poked at it for a bit before pushing things away again, resuming a more normal posture. "Well, there was. But it was small, and they always only had certain times that they were rehearsing or holding auditions or putting on shows. We didn't get to it much."

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

Devin nodded. "My grandparents never went to Dublin while I was growing up, but my mother would take me when she came to visit. It wasn't often though, but we always went to the theatre if we went to town. She couldn't bear to miss it."

[firebugwarren.livejournal.com]

"Did she used to go?" Warren asked, curious. And something else that was on the tip of his tongue.

[killingsoftly.livejournal.com]

"As often as she could. She knew a lot of the actors by name and they knew her. She'd take me backstage to meet them, sometimes."

Which would often be when he'd lose her for a while when she got distracted by a shiny.