Dinner Dates

[ziggyplayedguitar]

[Continued from here]

It took Ziggy all of the three hours to get himself together. Wearing a fabulous new dress he headed to pick up Evie in his signature red limo. Of course, he had to bring a bouquet of flowers. Ziggy might not be masculine but his father impressed upon him to be gentlemanly, even if he was feeling feminine. It's a quick text when he pulls up out front, more than ready for a flirty night out with a good friend and sushi.

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[4hearts]

Evie had finished dressing and styling her hair a few minutes before she'd gotten her text, and had been spending the time in her studio just off the kitchen, working on adding some trimmings to a commission. When her phone buzzed, she grinned, checked her mirror one last time, grabbed her bag, and headed for the front door.

She caught sight of the gorgeous red limo from the front window before she stepped outside and smiled, reminded of Mal's custom purple one. Red was definitely more to her personal tastes.

"Oh my gosh, that dress looks even better than it did earlier. It really suits you." She'd had yet to see Ziggy wear anything that didn't flatter. Even so, it was the confidence he had that elevated his outfits from simply beautiful or stylish to perfection. She enjoyed spending time with him because he was so comfortable in his own skin. "Also, this car? Gorgeous. Love the color." She grinned.

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Ziggy offered his hand when she got to the open limo door, the driver had of course come around to open it.

"I could say the same. Your curves look stunning in it." Sure he was flirting a little, he always was when he truly liked someone. Even platonic friends got his flirtatious side more than the arrogance.

"Nothing better than red." He smiled at her and then offered her the flowers he had stowed away on the seat behind him. "Unless it is blue for the right person."

He was a flatterer but she deserved it. He liked her upbeat style, creativity, and openness. She was the kind of person he tried to surround himself with when he had the options.

[4hearts]

She took his hand with a warm smile. "Thank you!" This was part of why she liked corset dresses so much. She could always make a corset work to her advantage.

She blushed, and her smile turned into a grin at the sudden appearance of the flowers. "Your taste is impeccable, as always." She took the flowers and inhaled deeply. Perfect.

"So tell me about this sushi place we're going. Super-traditional, or modern, or somewhere in between?"

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As the door closes and they start moving, Ziggy turns his attention toward Evie.

"Traditional, rice paper private rooms and floor seating but the food is avant garde Japanese. The reviews say it is like Kohaku in Tokoyo."

He's excited to try it and have a good friend along. "I raided my dad's wine collection for the byob."

[4hearts]

She smoothed down her skirt as the car pulled away from her curb, and looked up as Ziggy spoke.

She's seen traditional Japanese architecture in books, never in person, so this evening was going to be full of new experiences. Evie has never been one to turn down trying something new. How else would you figure out what you did and didn't like? "Avant garde? In what way?"

She raised an eyebrow when Ziggy mentioned the wine. "Oh? What did you find for us? Plum wine? Sake?"

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"No menu and integrating other flavors. This place uses South American chillies and tomatoes in their fare." Ziggy is equally excited about the prospects. "Eel is in season so they are preparing us something special."

Ziggy shrugs. "I don't know. My dad picked them out. He does like Sake and he's visited Japan a lot to work with thier space agency."

[4hearts]

No menu? This place was definitely fancy. "Sushi with chiles and tomatoes? Interesting." Her eyes lit up at the mention of eel. "I cannot wait to try whatever they serve. I have yet to try an eel dish I dislike."

Evie had tried plum wine once, at a dessert tasting, but never sake. "Based on what you've told me about your dad so far, I'm going to assume he has excellent taste, and has given us something amazing."

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"No reason to go ordinary if I have so much money." He really didn't know what to do with all the money he had, most days, and it had sent him down many dark roads. Some, like his cocaine usage, lingered.

Ziggy laughs at her comment. "My dad was a high class alcoholic for years. I think he's drank his way through the entire world."

[4hearts]

She nodded at the sentiment, even though it was difficult to relate. She'd grown up with almost nothing, and it was only in the last few years that she'd been able to earn anything for herself. Granted, the amount she'd earned had surprised everyone, including herself, and she still wasn't sure exactly how it had happened when she was doing the same thing she'd done her whole life - sewing outfits. She was just happy she could afford the mortgage on her starter castle, and afford to treat her friends as often as she did.

Evie laughed as well, amused at the idea of a 'high class alcoholic'. "If we'd had wine on the Isle, I think that would have been my mom, minus the world travel." She shook her head, pulling herself back to the present. "Does he have any particular favorites? Either liquor or countries."

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"Something we don't have. There's a very mildly alcoholic drink my mom's people make." Ziggy sighs. "Dad is trying to get his addiction under control but I know he spent a lot of time in Japan and was born in Britain."

[4hearts]

She nods. Addictions are tricky things. She's seen some of the most feared pirates in the world brought low by dependence on rum. She's also seen how difficult it's been for M to give up her reliance on magic, even with Auradon at peace again.

"So you've acquired your fondness for Japanese style and cuisine from him."

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"My father didn't think I would ever see Earth so he taught me everything he knew." Ziggy was glad for that and he had always had a a good relationship with both of his parents. "I know eight languages and I'm working on more."

Ziggy always felt a little antsy in cars. They weren't the most comfortable so he takes a moment to glance out the window. "Part of the reason for Japanese is that it doesn't cause problems. I can't eat all human foods so things that are simple but well prepared work best. Researching the cuisine made me fall in love with the aesthetics of the culture too."

That was the reason for a lot of the kimono style clothing and floral prints Ziggy often chose.

[4hearts]

Her eyes widened. "Eight languages? That's impressive. We didn't really have much need for more than one on the Isle. I think it'd be fun to learn more. Didn't have time in school to take any classes, though. I had too many other things I needed to pass to graduate."

She smiled, listening to him talk. It made perfect sense to her mind. Learning about an aspect of culture often led to a better appreciation for the aesthetic, at least in her limited experience. "Fresh fish is one of those things you can eat, I'm guessing. We ate a lot of it on the Isle, since it was one of the few things we could have fresh. Mostly shark, but sometimes we'd get eel or flounder. Even if it's a couple days old, it was way better than half-rotted apples or stale bread." She shook her head at a memory. "You should have seen us when we first discovered sugar."

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"It was different for me. I had three languages spoken around me as a child." Most humans didn't have that in their early life. "I just had my parents. I don't really understand the stresses of being in school. I never was or had to choose between subjects."

He supposed his experience was kind of like being homeschooled by very scientific parents. There were probably humans that were raised with something close.

Ziggy laughs pleasantly at her comment. "I didn't have any Earth food until two years ago. It's been a lot of trial and error for me about what I can eat. There's not really a guide to tell me. Booze, candy, sugar, drugs, animal fat, potatoes, everything was new."

"I've got a good handle on what to avoid now but there's still so much food to try."

[4hearts]

"School took a lot of getting used to. I was homeschooled for most of my childhood. When I finally went to Dragon Prep, it was a huge shock for me. And I'd barely gotten used to it when we were chosen to come to Auradon."

She grins. "Most of what you're describing was new for me two years ago, too. The Isle didn't exactly have a lot of variety, or fresh foods. There is so much to try, and one of my favorite things is introducing an Isle kid to a type of food for the first time. The pure delight watching someone eat a strawberry or peanut butter.... It's a good reminder not to take things for granted."

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"I wouldn't be the same person if I had to go to school." Ziggy thought about it but he liked the life he had. "I'm very close to my parents because of how I learned."

Ziggy looks back to her and chuckles. "At least the human food should be safer for you. I wanted to like candy but it makes me so sick I felt like I'd rather die."

[4hearts]

"I wouldn't be, either. I wouldn't have learned to cook or clean or sew if I'd had to go to school like everyone else. I wouldn't be able to do the thing I love most. My mom, though.... All the things she taught me were so that I could marry a prince if I ever got off the Isle. We had a better relationship than some of my friends did with their parents, but it still wasn't the best thing." She shrugs. She's had years to make her peace with her mother's particular eccentricities.

"As long as no one discovers any allergies or underlying conditions." She nods in sympathy about the candy. "We ate ourselves sick on candy on the ride to Auradon. Chocolate, rock candy, peanut butter cups. We'd never eaten anything like it before, and you didn't pass up food on the Isle." Not unless mom decided she needed to lose a little weight, but that wasn't a topic she wanted to explore.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"I spent most of my life with my mother, not that my dad abandoned us or anything. I understand why he wanted to go home. I learned a lot from my dad before he left, and then my mother and her cousin." Ziggy laughs quietly. "Dad still had to spend the first months after I arrived teaching me how to be 'human' enough to pass."

Ziggy smiles. "I can't imagine but chocolate tastes good even if I get sick." He's thoughtful for a moment "You know, I don't think my mom's people have allergies. There's human foods we can't eat for digestive reasons but not allergies."

[4hearts]

"We were both the proverbial fish out of water." She stretches a little where she sits. "When my friends and I left the Isle, the first class we had to go to was "Remedial Goodness". And it was really hard for us all at first, because we weren't taught to be good by our parents. And it took a few weeks before anyone other than Ben would trust us or talk to us, like they were afraid we'd make them evil by association. Like evil cooties, or something."

She smiles right back. "It was not our best moment. But, seriously? No allergies? That's cool. If only all of us were so fortunate. Sneezy and his son have the worst time during spring and summer, when everything's blooming."

[ziggyplayedguitar]

She gets a full, bright laugh at the 'evil cooties'. "I think parents think I have rebel cooties. The number of them coming at me about how I can ruin their children for ever if they even hear me sing or talk."

"Mom thinks that it's because the planet her people have been evolving on for a few thousand years is almost completely barren of life. The pathway is gone because there's nothing left for it to interact with." That was the round about way for Ziggy to politely say he might trade the lack of allergies for a living planet for his mother's people.

They were slowing down, pulling into the restaurant's lot. Which was good. High metabolism was problematic sometimes.

[4hearts]

"Ruin their children? That sounds like the parents when we first got to Auradon. How could you singing or speaking possibly ruin children?" It's more familiar than she likes, and she wonders idly whether Ziggy would have been stuck on the Isle with them, if he'd lived in any of the kingdoms that make up Auradon.

Okay, that, she was not expecting. "Barren? Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. That was insensitive of me." Which, really, Evie should know better, given that the Isle itself is practically barren. Skeleton trees and stubborn scrub out beyond the main center of people is all that grows. She's gotten so used to vibrant colors and flowering plants.

She looks out the window as they pull up, and lets out a whistle. "Beautiful building."

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"It doesn't help that they question my gender and sexuality." Ziggy shrugs. "Freedom scares people who want control and fear change."

He shakes his head at her "You didn't know, but Earth is on the same trajectory if we don't change." He thought maybe he should describe more. "War, greed, overuse destroyed the planet."

The appearance of the building out the window brightens his mood. "It is."

Once they stop, Ziggy gets out with the wine in one hand and offers her his hand and then arm to walk inside. The interior decor is vibrant and calm, but they are lead to a private space in the back.

[4hearts]

She can't help rolling her eyes at the absurdity of people. "What does it matter to other people? I know, I know that's a rhetorical question, but it shouldn't be. There is no reason to fear differences." The whole idea of freedom scaring people who fear change hits way too close to home. It's the same type of thinking that kept her and the others trapped on the Isle for so long.

That idea is not a pleasant one, but it's something that needs to be understood, Evie knows. "Something we'll have to work on, definitely."

When they stop, Evie lets him help her out of the limo and escort her inside. If the outside is impressive, the inside is more so. It's beautiful, and she can already see different things that spark her designer's brain. She tries to make note of them as they're led back to the simple, elegant private room.

"This whole place is stunning. If the food is even a third as delicious as the building is beautiful, it's going to be some of the best I've ever eaten."

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"Wouldn't want them to turn gay or stop being girls or boys like they should be." Ziggy rolled his eyes.

Ziggy is happy here and offers up thier booze to the waiter. He's addressing them in Japanese, in part so the food could be a surprise because he suspected Evie didn't know the language.

"I haven't had traditional Japanese in a few months. I'm looking forward to this." Ziggy has seated himself beside her instead of across he like would be more traditional.

"I asked the chef to make something special for you."

[4hearts]

Evie just stares, flabbergasted. "You can't turn...." She sighs. "People are ignorant."

She listens to the language, trying to make sense of it. It's pretty, but that's about all she can glean. So she just smiles politely and lets the sound wash over her until the waiter leaves.

"I don't think I've had traditional traditional Japanese food ever. I've had Japanese, but never in a formal setting like this." Since she doesn't know the customs, she isn't aware that Ziggy sitting next to her is anything out of the ordinary.

"Oh? Do I get a hint as to what it is?"