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[Oh! How gallant.

Rei settles in and sets aside her purse, scooting her chair forward and studying the menu quickly.]

It wasn't here when I first showed up. I just saw it when I was out driving and investigated. It's pretty decent. I made Mami come with me to try it out the other day.

[When Mami had helped her pick out clothes for this date, in fact.]

Do you have a preference for what kind of meat? Or...actually are you vegetarian?

Oh, huh. Well, I guess the town's always changing.

[ Maybe the restaurant will go away next month. Gwen hopes not. It would be nice to have somewhere that could be Their Place™. ]

No, I definitely eat meat. No real preference, except I'm kind of sick of the smell of fish after feeding Jeff so much of it.

Good. Then...

[When the server approaches, Rei orders in Chinese. Beef that's not too spicy, and the server nods and slips off.]

...We'll get beef. It's a bit richer, but...this is a birthday thing. So, we should go all out.

[Scooting a little closer, she takes a quick glance around the room to make sure they aren't being watched by the horrible locals, and slips her hand to Gwen's under the table.]

Thanks for this, by the way. I don't have many birthday traditions, but dinner with someone I...think is important...is one of them.

[ Gwen's eyebrows raise. Since when does Rei speak Chinese? Will the wonders never cease?

But then they're holding hands under the table, and Rei could be speaking Klingon for all Gwen cares. She's just so happy. ]

Well... I'm glad you think I'm important enough to warrant rich beef.

[ Is she blowing it? She's probably blowing it. ]

[Since she was little. Rei's a polyglot, Gwen. The wondrous little talents she has may be a steady source of surprise.

Fingers tighten in a reflexively reassuring way. Gwen is not blowing it.]

You're more important than any beef.

[She's happy too. If the unreserved smile is any indication, probably happier than she's been in a long while.]

Deerington is a horrible town, but since I came back, you've been a reason to not feel bad about being here.

[Is she being too sappy? She's probably being too sappy.]

But...hey do you have any traditions for your birthday? And when is it?

[ As Rei's fingers squeeze her own, Gwen squeezes back. Her girlfriend(???) is officially too smart and too nice and too cool. ]

Oh, you actually, uh. Missed my birthday. It's in December. But the only traditions I ever had about it were sort of New York centric. Going out to see the decorations in Central Park, getting some sushi or pizza from our favorite places on the Lower East Side.

[ She smiles. ]

I wish I could show you authentic New York pizza. You're probably used to much better sushi than New York has, but the pizza is... [ chef kiss gesture ] ...unbeatable.

[Her girlfriend(!) is just trying to keep herself from smiling so hard her head starts floating away. Gwen's little articulations are honestly kind of adorable. Almost like someone out of a comic book.]

Well, maybe we can find a recipe and try and make our own. It's still authentic if a New Yorker has a hand in making it, right?

[Just a thought!]

Honestly I don't think I've ever had good pizza, though, so I wouldn't know the difference. I know a lot of people love it, but it's not easy to find good places in Tokyo.

[She doesn't look terribly hard though. It is also a radically different culture.]

Man, I haven't tried making a pizza from scratch in a really long time... Yeah, we could try that! If we mess it up we can just order from Pete's. The pizza there's not New York pizza, but it's not bad for dream Maine.

[ Not nearly floppy enough pieces to be called New York pizza.

The server comes back over to serve them some drinks, and Gwen slips her free hand to take a sip, keeping her other hand holding Rei's under the table. ]

Are all our dates going to involve food? First a picnic, then hot pot, now pizza?

[Rei takes her own drink, sipping it and laughing softly.]

They could. Now that you point it out, we've definitely talked about food a good bit. Though, I suppose that may be because food is an easy thing to discuss. And I have no problem admitting I'm a little nervous.

[It's safe, everyone likes it, and everyone needs it. And they have preferences, too, which makes it universally simple.]

I'm certain we'll find other things to do. I mean, we can always go hiking together out in the national park, or swimming. Or just stay in and play games or something. So long as we're together...

[Her head droops a little, but her smile remains, even if it turns a bit sheepish.]

Honestly, I'm not sure what people do on dates. Do you have ideas?

Hiking yes. Swimming, maybe not. I, uh... [ Man, this is an awkward way for this subject to come up. ] I sort of have metal bones now?

[ Might as well just say it, get it out in the open. ]

But I dunno. Any of those ideas sound like fine dates to me. I just like spending time with you.

oh? Like Logan? That sounds helpful.

[Awkward? That doesn't sound too awkward to her. Rei is happy to learn it, and so smiles.]

And I agree. I'm not the biggest fan of swimming anyway, it was just a suggestion in case you did.

[She looks down at their hands with an embarrassed smile, happy but unsure.]

Honestly the activities don't matter. You're fun to be around.

[ Gwen's face lights up. ]

Oh, hey! I didn't know you knew Logan. But yeah, exactly like him.

[ She shrugs. ]

I could take or leave swimming. Don't really miss it now that I can't do it.

Oh. I knew a Logan from before. He's not here anymore. I have met another Logan here. But we aren't as close.

[Rei laughs softly. That had been a silly conversation. And shifting to talking abouta friend was good.]

The one I knew before taught me about tracking and hunting. And...some other skills that aren't so nice. Things it's good to know when you can't use your powers.

There's actually two different Logans here now. Same guy, different universes. Different points in the timeline.

[ She shrugs. Just more Creepsville weirdness. ]

That's definitely a big Logan thing to do. He's real nice, once you get past his grumpy exterior. He gave me a hug, when I arrived on Krakoa back on Earth-616.

Yes I met one of them. He's not the one I met before. He seemed about the same age, but I know he's...well, I know he's old.

[Very, very old. Interesting, that. He'd been nice though, and his Japanese had been impeccable.]

Are you on the same...superhero team? That is how things work in your worlds right?

Oh, yeah. A healing factor will do that for you. He's deceptively old. And the other one is even older, or at least looks older.

[ A healing factor that's stopped working will do that for you. ]

Me and Logan? Ohh, no. He's way above my paygrade. And besides, I only started being a mutant a few months ago. They wouldn't let me be on the X-Men.

Oh, I knew that. The one I knew was...well, I saw his ancestral home in a dream. Or I guess it was more a shared nightmare. He helped me kill a dream copy of a monster from my past, and I helped him kill a man...mutant...he called Sabretooth.

[That had been a pretty intense experience overall. Sabretooth was tenacious, and at least as dangerous as Tiger's Eye had been. Funny that they had cat-named antagonists.]

...They should let you join, Gwen. They are missing out.

Oooh, you fought Sabretooth? That guy's rage levels are ridiculous.

[ But of course Rei came out victorious. Gwen would have no doubt.

At the compliment, Gwen blushes and starts fussing with the napkin in her lap. ]

Eh, I've done the team thing. It doesn't always work out so great. And I'm definitely not a big enough name to be on a team like the X-Men.

[ If they won't let Wade join, then they definitely wouldn't let her join. And he's way more of a mutant than she is. ]

He was pretty angry, yes. Less angry when I buried him under an entire wing of a mansion.

[That whole thing had been an experience.

Her sympathetic look fades to understanding and her hand squeezes tightly.]

As long as it's working out for you, then.

[She's say more, but now the hot pot arrives. Carried out and set in front of them on the burner at the middle of the table, with several trays of various stew vegetables and beef to put into it. The servers bow and depart...]

Okay. Now we just add what we want. You've done this before right?

[ Gwen can't help but chuckle at the mental image of a mansion crashing down on top of Sabretooth. ]

Okay, yeah, that'll do it.

[ She's in much better spirits when the food arrives, pulling back in her seat so the servers have better access to the table. As soon as they're gone, she leans forward with a hungry grin on her face. ]

Yeah, once. A long time ago. My parents took the whole family out when my grandma was visiting, for my mom's birthday.

[ It had started out as one of the happiest nights Gwen could remember with her family. Of course, then she had gotten way too antsy at the table and her dad had scolded her in front of the entire restaurant, but... Rei doesn't need to know her baggage. ]

Wonderful. Then, add what you like and stir it in.

[Rei leans forward and puts in some of the vegetables she likes, and all of the meat. It's hot broth already, and there's a few base veggies in there too. It's not complicated at least.]

Then we let it stew for a few minutes to cook the meat and we can just go for it. This is...definitely one of the best possible dishes for an evening out like this, I think, since it's all about sharing and making it together.

[That had been a big reason why she'd chosen it.]

It's like a big melting pot of things everyone involved likes.

[ Gwen leans in, looking at all the different veggie options, before picking up her chopsticks and picking some to add to the pot. She struggles a little bit with the chopstick hand position, but overall for a white girl, she's not too bad. ]

That's... a really nice way of thinking about it. [ She smiles at Rei, then goes back to watching the broth boil. ]

This is gonna taste so good...

[Rei can't find fault with it at least. Gwen is a white girl, after all. she has an excuse.

Leaning over the pot, taking a sniff, she nods before sinking back.]

...Yes, it is. It's been too long since I had the chance to share something like this with someone special.

[Hehe.]

This place wasn't here when I came the first time. It's new. And I kind of like the feel of it. The lions out front seem...ah. Almost real.

[ Rei's leaning over the pot, and Gwen's leaning over the pot.... Their faces are already so close, it would be easy to--

--Yup. Gwen leans in that extra few inches and grabs a quick smooch from Rei's lips. Who cares what the waitstaff thinks. It's Rei's birthday. She deserves as may kisses as Gwen can give her.

Once it's over, she sits back in her chair, looking pleased with herself. ]

I'm lucky to be able to share this with you.

[ Remembering the rest of what Rei said, Gwen glances at the front door and the lion statues beyond it. ]

...Yeahhhh, wouldn't surprise me if those things come alive every now and then and try to eat unsuspecting passers by.

[Rei's eyes go wide when she realizes what Gwen is doing. It's not out of line at all, but it is completely unexpected. A little flustered, she slides back into her seat and brings a hand up to touch her lips, a dazed smile touching her features.

A kiss on her birthday? And thankfully not where the staff can see? That's both scandalous and amazingly welcome at the same time.]

...I think it's the other way around...

[She murmurs, gladder than hell that this crush as grown to full bloom.

Then she turns to the Fu-lions and regains a bit more sense.]

They wouldn't. I feel good energy coming from them. They're guardian lions, things meant to filter out negative spiritual energy and defend a building against evil.

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