Friday evening, NPC Bistro

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter led Victor into the restaurant, one he'd heard had good Italian food and gave his name to the maitre d'.

The restaurant was lit in a manner that some might call atmospheric, and others might just call dim.

After taking their seats and being handed menus, Walter smiled at Victor. "Something a little fancier than Deb's tonight. Does this count as our first date or have we already done that?"

[ooc: open for other diners, too]

Comments

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"I think we accidently did that the night we went rollerblading, but this can count, too." Victor said, smiling back. When he looked at the menu, however, his eyebrows raised.

"Yikes. I'm glad you're paying."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter shrugged. "I may be paid 1940s wages, but my wages are also being paid in the 40s. You'd be amazed what sixty years worth of interest will do."

He chose not to consider any of the many paradoxes inherent in his bank balance.

"This can be our first official date, then. You can't have official dates accidentally."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"Okay, we'll go with that. Oh, and speaking of banks, I found out today that my old school is giving me an allowance. It's a pretty good one, too. Then again, when the owner is one of the richest men in the universe, I'm sure a couple hundered dollars can be spared every week. That's why I went and got new stuff today. I even got some movies, so if you wanna watch one later, we can.

"So what about you? What happened with you today, besides the Pup thing?" Walter could probably guess that Victor was grouping Alucard under "the Pup thing".

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Nothing exciting. After what happened with Pippi last night, I didn't want any extra excitement.

"That's quite a school you went to that they're giving you an allowance. You've mentioned it before. Tell me about it. I want to know about your friends and your life there."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"Well," he began, setting down his menu for a moment, "I used to go to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which is a private school in Salem Center in New York. It was made for mutants to have a place where they could learn to control their powers and be around other mutants. Mom and Dad sent me there because some people in my hometown were giving me trouble for being a mutant. I stayed there for about a year, until...something happened, and I was told I could come here."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry your family had to send you away for that." It wasn't surprising, just messed up. He considered asking what had happened, but Victor hadn't volunteered, and considering the things Victor hadn't pushed him on, it didn't seem right to push.

"But I'm happy you're here. Very happy." He shrugged and smiled gently. "I'm selfish, I suppose."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor raised an eyebrow, then turned back to his menu. Walter hadn't asked about what had happened, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Was Walter just respecting his space, or did he just not care?

"How are you selfish?" he inquired, looking over the dinner choices. The teenager in him screamed for a simple pizza, but if Walter had taken him to a fancy Italian restaurant, he was going to have a fancy Italian meal, dangit.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"You had to have left friends, and I know you've said good things about some of your teachers. It's selfish for me to be happy that you're here and not with them."

He glanced down at his own menu and vaguely wished ordering some wine would be less problematic than it probably would be.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor twisted his mouth and looked at Walter. "I don't think you're being selfish. It's not like you'd force me to not see them or anything. Coming here was my choice, and staying here is my choice."

He sighed and put down the menu again. "Look, not to mess up the mood, but I want you to know why."

A deep breath.

"My teacher died. He was more than my teacher, actually...he was my best friend. He was there for me when I was confused and scared about being gay. He taught me a lot of stuff about life, too. He was a superhero, and he died during a battle on the campus. I...I couldn't handle it, so the Headmasters told me about Fandom High. I figured I could come here until I was ready to go back."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter set his own menu down and looked at Victor very seriously.

He really was no good at all with words of consolation. People died. It happened. It wasn't a good thing, but it was a fact of life.

But Victor wasn't like him, and what he liked about his boyfriend was the very thing he was no good at.

Not wanting to open his mouth and say the wrong thing, he reached out and took Victor's hand. He cared, he just didn't know the right way to show it.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor squeezed Walter's hand, grateful for the reaction. So he does care...

"I'm a lot better now, though. Actually, I had a talk with DEATH that really helped me out. I'm glad...Jean-Paul is somewhere in peace."

He gave another squeeze. "I don't think I'm ready to go back, though. I think I wanna finish this term, at least, and then decide then. I like this place a whole lot better than Xavier's. I can actually walk around in public without anyone pointing and laughing. And I met this one guy who makes me feel really good," he added with a smile.

"Alright, I told you about my school. What about yours? Arthur took care of that, right?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"After I went to Hellsing, I didn't go to school. Arthur brought in tutors, but mostly I've just learned the things that interest me. I don't know much about science, but I know a lot about bookkeeping, for instance."

He didn't let go of Victor's hand when the waiter arrived to take their orders. His tastes were fairly simple and he ordered pasta primavera and a salad. He didn't feel like going through the hassle probably needed to get an American to serve him wine with his meal.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor wanted to look at his menu one more time before he ordered, but there was no way he was going to pass up a "gay in public" moment. Instead, he chose what he had thought looked good: Stuffed Chicken Marsala with a Caesar side salad and a vanilla Italian Soda to drink. After the waiter left, he leaned across the table and asked in a low voice, "You'll have tot tell me if this food is authentic or a cheap knock-off. Did you get to travel much in Hellsing?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I saw most of England, but the Great War got in the way of most travel."

The leaning across the table to talk to each other thing was getting old. Walter got up and changed seats to sit next from Victor instead of across from him.

"And as long as the food is good, I won't complain about its authenticity. The company's good, so the food is secondary."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"What was the Great War?" Victor asked, not at all objecting to the closer quarters. He barely even noticed it when the waiter brought his drink.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Almost all of Europe - hell, most of the world - was involved in the war." Walter frowned. Had it not happened in Victor's world? Lucky for them if it hadn't.

"Germany led it, but they weren't the only bad guys." He began to explain the history behind World War II up to his time in 1944 when things were still going.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"Ooohhhh..." Victor said. "World War Two! Well, I won't spoil for you what happens in my world, because the same thing may not happen in yours." He turned his head and noticed his drink. After a satisfying sip, he looked back to his boyfriend and offered him a drink.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter leaned over and took a sip. Not bad.

The arrival of dinner created a lull in the conversation. Date or not, food is a compelling distraction for Walter.

Besides, he hadn't planned on going to sleep early and would need the fuel.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Without asking, Victor stole a little bit of Walter's food. Because, y'know, boys in love do that.

"So," Victor began, restarting the conversation, "do you have a Secret Sibling yet?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Yes, but it's a secret. Sort of. I think I know who it is. She's left me goblin repellent and a cookbook. What about you?"

Walter returns the food theft favor and grins. He could get used to this. And it's rather nice to have a boyfriend who eats real food, too.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I just found out today that I have one. He or she or it or whatever left me a laptop earlier. It's really cool! I called up one of the teachers from my old school and he helped me set it up."

He cut up a bite of his chicken and held it up for Walter to bite if he wanted. "Did Arthur ever teach you about computers?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter smiled and bumped his leg against Victor's under the table. Rather than leaning over to take the bite, he took the fork from Victor and fed himself before handing the fork back.

"I'm not sure there even are computers in my time. The information packet for the school suggested a laptop computer, so I went into the NPC computer store here on the island and let the guy in the shop choose one for me."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor scowled when Walter took the fork from him, but it was a playful scowl. "Don't like anyone to feed you?"

"If the computer works for you, then the guy knew what he was doing. If you need any help, though, I can always call up Professor McCoy."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Call me a bullheaded John Bull if you must," Walter said unrepentantly and grinned. "If we spend much more time together you'll have me eating out of your hand, though."

He cocked his head. "Professor McCoy is from your old school? Does he teach computer classes?"

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Okay. That time Victor and the mun blushed.

"Yeah, but he does a lot more. He's one of the smartest guys in the world, actually. No joking. He's famous all over for the stuff he's invented and the books he's written. I think it's part of his mutation. The brains, I mean. Not the fame." He took a few bites of his salad, finishing it off and washing it down with soda.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter was rather enjoying the reactions he could get from Victor. He made a mental note to see if it was possible to get some Cary Grant movies, maybe he could pick up some tips on being suave, because it was terribly fun to see Victor turn a pink shade of green.

"Do you want to have dessert here, or...?"

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor swallowed. The dream involving the ice cream shop flashed through his mind. "Um...maybe we could get something to go?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Sounds like a brilliant idea."

Walter caught the waiter's attention and asked for the dessert menu. "Did you have something in mind?" Hopefully something quick, he thought as he glanced over the menu.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"Um..."

He couldn't believe he was asking this.

"Do they...happen to have anything frozen? Like some sort of ice cream? Or something that won't melt before we get home?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"We have gelato." The waiter pointed to the section of the dessert menu with an extensive selection of flavors.

Walter ordered tiramisu to take along, probably as a post-dessert dessert. That thought made him blush in a very happy sort of way.

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor grinned when he saw his boyfriend blush. "And why are you so happy?" he asked with a teasing expression.

[ooc: room post up (http://anole-x.livejournal.com/4657.html?view=80433#t80433) for whenever]

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I'm just looking forward to dessert," Walter answered with a smug grin. His grin didn't fade at all as they received their desserts, settled the tab, and left.