It's NOT a date... (Arc/Lani, Private-ish)(NSFW)

Phoebe tensed up instantly, not so much that it hurt her muscles, but enough that she visibly froze. It took her a moment to collect herself to tilt her head and lock eyes at him, surprised to find him so close in addition to suddenly touching her hair. His observation was correct and it had, indeed, gotten duller, almost paler. Now it was deepening just a slight bit, though only at the roots.

"Pa... Pardon?!" She managed to pipe up, almost squeaking.

"Huh," Jay said, letting the lock of hair drop as he himself sat back down. "It actually changed colour," he said, almost as if he hadn't just done any part of what he just did. He'd never seen that. Strange colours were everywhere, but even his Chameleon niece couldn't change her hair colour whether that be on purpose or otherwise. He had a smile on his face, apparently glad to have found out something new about one of her forms, and also seemed to be ignoring the upturn her voice took at his strange actions.

His actions only made the darkening color spread further from her roots, until her locks returned to their original vibrance. She still seemed flustered, and only just composed herself when the waiter came by, turning on the glass top burner in the middle of the table, thus forbidding them from further reaching across the middle table, as they had been. With him, he had salads that he set in front of each of them before pulling a bottle from his apron and refilling her wind.

"Some for you, sir?" He asked Jay, acting oblivious to their exchange but the slight smirk on his face gave him away.

"Please," Jay said, giving the man a small nod. He didn't much mind the obvious expression on his face, and he returned his attention to Phoebe. The vibrant hues of her hair were back, and he was glad to see that he had somehow made that happen. At least he assumed he did, since it didn't look like she was doing it herself.

He poured both of their cups generously before giving them a gentle reminder that the stove top was hot. He'd be back in a few minutes to start their cheese fondue for them, but for now he left them in peace, or at least a relative of such.

Phoebe was gently stabbing her fork through pieces of salad, nibbling at it absently as she did so. She didn't say anything once the waiter left, but she was back to an awkward smile at best.

"I feel like I'm going to have fun learning about all of your forms," Jay said, smiling, while he made sure to get a bit of each of the ingredients of the salad on the end of his fork; might as well make the first sample as complete as possible.

She shifted in her seat, a bit uncomfortable with the statement. No matter how much she may trust him with her secrets, she wasn't used to revealing each of her forms to people. Phoebe liked to keep at least one of them held back, for a plethora of reasons.

"In time, anyway," Jay seemed to pick up on it. He wasn't going to make her show him anything, just, he figured that each would happen eventually; and he wouldn't push if she truly didn't wish for him to see. He shut himself up, after that, by enjoying the salad.

Phoebe ate almost dainty in public. That wasn't to say that she was a slob at home, but she ate even slower, more carefully at the restaurant. Still, she managed to have the salad finished before the waiter came back with a tray and strangely lidded pot. Unscrewing the top and sliding the pot from the container, he began combining the ingredients for the fondue for them, one by one. Honestly, it was mostly cheese with some wine, but Phoebe still seemed enthralled, watching eagerly. Once they were combined and stirred, two wooden cutting boards were set out, one for each of them, piled with an assortment of breads, vegetables, and apples. Beside Phoebe's, he put an extra bowl of apples and handed them the forks they'd use for the pots.

"Everything seem good to you?" He asked, more to Jay, as Phoebe was already diving three pieces of apple on each of her forks into the cheese. At once.

As far as Jay went, as far as actions went he did most things how he liked even if the way he liked them were sometimes steered by etiquette. He was proud of all he was, and putting on airs just wasn't something he liked to do. The fondue, on the other hand, he watched being prepared with interest. This was how she liked it, so it would do to take notes. He could copy it well enough, and he might just have to go ahead and keep it as something up his sleeve. 

"Yes, thank you," he said to the waiter, nodding once again with a polite smile. He did observe, that apparently she was fond of apples in at least this case.

Once she was satisfied with the amount she'd coated the apples in, she pulled them out one by one and happily popped each one in her mouth, one at a time, finishing the first before moving on and so forth. Closing her eyes and smiling wide, she savored each of them, indulging first before proceeding to do likewise with different breads. She seemed almost to have forgotten that Jay was there, or at least she wasn't acknowledging him anymore.

For a short while, Jay found himself to be enamoured with Phoebe's apparent happiness in tasting the cheese-covered apples. He smiled weakly, simply watching, until he suddenly remembered that he had food of his own. He left himself flustered, blushing just a little bit, as he cut apart an apple of his own.

ooc: Everything's in bite-sized pieces



ic:

Phoebe seemed content to just keep eating cheese-covered, bite-sized morsels. She probably should have been talking, what with this technically being a date (though she would never admit it). Still, she was rather distracted with the appetizer, which was just step two of their four-course dining experience.

"Phoebe, you really are a bit of everything," Jay said, skewering a few pieces of apple and preparing them as she had done. He was a little behind, thanks to his little distraction.

"Hmmmmmm?" She hummed out before finishing her mouthful and swallowing, only to address him more properly, "What do you mean?" The witch inquired, settling down for a moment to sip at her ice water, providing her mouth a welcome relief from the heat.

"You're intriguing. You're beautiful. Sexy. And now, you're showing me adorable. You just looks so happy right now..." Jay said, shaking his head a little from side to side. He popped one of his own apple pieces into his mouth, not taking the time to savour it but finding the taste pleasant nonetheless. "It's almost not fair."

She frowned at him, and had to fight herself to not nearly pout at him as well. Phoebe enjoyed using her looks and the like to her advantage, to lure people in with them. This time, she wasn't doing so intentionally, now, making his opinions all the more genuine. Normally, she would have preened herself for the attention. Now, it made her somewhat awkward. "I'm just eating." She said, trying not to sound upset, though it certainly came out as confused.

"I know," He said. It made no difference. It wasn't the eating, but the way she looked while doing it. He started trying the various items available. The food was enjoyable, but the company made it, he found. Even after a while of eating in relative silence, he spoke again. He wasn't trying to make sure to be heard this time, saying so to himself and not minding if she heard than saying it specifically to her. "I hope I'll be able to make you make that face myself all the time..."

She heard him, she certainly did, but she also made a point to pretend that she didn't, even as her face went more red. It was common enough for people to fall in lust or even in love with her, but Jay? This boy had it bad and she was uncomfortable with the notion that the feeling was mutual. She liked to ignore it.

Seeing the change in her complexion, he smiled faintly and probably flushed himself a little bit; if it wasn't the heat of the fondue doing so, of course. At this point he'd tried out all of the things currently there and was slowly working on the total.

As was likely expected by the fact that she was given a separate bowl of them, Phoebe seemed to take particular interest in the apple pieces, and finished those off well before the rest of the treats. Even then, she ended up not eating all of the bread, leaving it off to the side in case Jay wanted them or she could take them home later. All the while, she was talking specific care not to do anything apparently "cute."

That was somewhat expected. The only guarantee so far seemed to be that she would be difficult and do everything not to be true to herself. Jay didn't quite eat everything he had, either. He had no idea what to expect, after all, besides knowing that chocolate was coming up in some capacity.

Once the cheese, inevitably, ran out --- and no matter how much she tried to save room for the main course, she couldn't not finish the cheese --- their waiter came back with the same metal container for the pot, securing it in place. He'd be back shortly with the rest of their things. If Jay thought she had a bit of an indulgence problem here before, he was about to be extra surprised with the main course, in no small part because she never really knew exactly what she was in the mood for, let alone what he might want...

All Jay could do was wait, and while waiting, it was obvious what he'd be paying all his attention to. He sat there, having moved some of the things in front of himself to allow him to lean against the table again, simply observing.

With the cheese taken away, or what was left melted to the pot, she was back to resorting to her notes, which had been pushed aside to allow room for the food. With nothing but the company, the wine, and her notes, she set about searching through the notepad, shaking her pencil in the hand that was turning pages while she idly drank her alcohol. "Would you be interested in another... extraction, sometime?" Phoebe asked, her tone detached enough that it was evident that she didn't have any viable leads, if only at present.