It was almost an entire month when she had not seen King. And she wasn't sure when she would see him again after that quest they had done. She stood in a clothing store, daydreaming about options and other thigns but mostly daydreaming about being able to date again. Well again was a bit of a weird thing but she had not dated since she left Orchidia, and most of that were fiascos anyway. She simply had given up but now, her mind kept lingering on a person and she didn't want that. She wanted to not hold on, on silly thoughts like she was her little sister. She shook her head when she heard someone say miss all the time as if it was a buzzing in her ear and she stared at the lady next to her, "Can I help you with something?" as she still stood in front of the same dress, she shook her head again and turned to the woman, "No thank you. I will just look around." which she did before quickly leaving the store before it came too awkward. She had decided to redo some clothing from her wardrobe as some didn't fit anymore or didn't fit her personality that much as she had hoped.

But here she stood in front of this little boutique with still empty hands because she had not bought anything. Something felt wrong, normally Phoebe would have no problem with shopping at all. She sighed, what would be a better option to do. She wondered if she should get something to drink or simply return to her hotel, roll up on the bed and not do anything else anymore for the rest of the day.

Winter was much more beautiful than King had expected; the freshly fallen snow that laid on the ground, covering the trees and the rooftops of the houses. The cold was nothing like he imagined, freezing and biting into his skin yet, he loved it. It was his first time experiencing the winter season and he enjoyed everything about this kind of weather, the satisfaction of being the first to make an impression in a blanket of freshly lain snow, the subtle crunch underfoot as he strode forward and the best bit of all – the sight of low hanging shafts of sunlight illuminating the sparkling whitened scene before him. The snow fell in flurries of heavy wet flakes as they touched his skin, melting slightly during the day, only to refreeze at night, making a thin crust of ice.

Walking in the middle of the road was a young man dressed in a thick white hoodie for the season, accompanied with some black pants. Unaccustomed to the weather, he was almost shivering from the cold and his hands felt like they were suffering from frostbite. The man trudged through the snow, impatient to get back home and sip a warm tea, although he wished he could’ve stayed longer to enjoy the snow. Golden optics involuntarily glided around the area and the first thing that caught his eye was a convenience store settling nearby. Any sort of warm drink should be sold at a store, he thought, and quickly headed over to the building without any hesitation.

Being a greedy man, he bought two cans of hot coffee for himself and strutted out of the store, satisfied with his purchase. Right beside the store was a little boutique, where women preferred to spend hours inside the little building thinking about what clothes they should buy. It was then, a familiar face caught his attention through the window and he would find herself staring at Phoebe inside the said boutique. As he made his way inside the store, he could feel the luring gazes of female employees on him but, his eyes were only fixated on where Phoebe was located.

”Are you struggling to decide on a piece of clothing?”

There was a patch of snow on top of his silver mop – one that he had failed to notice earlier, when he was sauntering through the streets of Magnolia.

Phoebe was so lost in her thoughts about staying in the shop or leaving, holding on to a piece of silk from a scarf that she had not even noticed that someone came in and that everyone was basically staring at the person. She was so caught up in her frustration of shopping; most of the things didn't fit and if they did she didn't like them and she let go of the scarf and turned around, looking at the ground with the frown and thus she only noticed someone talking to her when she heard a voice. She looked up, now noticing the women in the stand to stare at King. Which she absolutely didn't want, no one was allowed to look at him like that but her, right? Actually she had no right as well. She shook her head lightly for she had not said anything, "Well yeah basically. I can't find anything I like." Although well King was here that made it something she liked.

She could only stare at him while trying to point out that she would have to do something else, to herself. It was rude to stare and it made her look ridiculous. "and you came here to do what?" and she felt a sudden fear in her stomach, as if something was dropping, "Pick up a present or so?" She kept her voice as steady as she could, because she was imagining that she had no right at all and that she was just one of those women in this shop that stare at King, be mesmerized by him being a handsome being but having no chance at all.

King couldn’t help but smile at Phoebe’s struggle at picking out her favourite choice of scarf, and it was almost the same for every girl. He was never a picky one regarding to clothing and thus, never had trouble with shopping although, he does tend to select ones that might suit his taste. Being a Desiertian of a wealthy family, he would normally wear expensive traditional clothing of his country; robes and turban, albeit now that he had moved to a different country, he has learned to adapt to its clothing and so far, he was loving the style. Phoebe seemed curious as to why he was here and to be honest, he had no reason to be at a boutique – but he does now.

”No,” He paused, a smile still lingering on the features of his face. ”I saw you through the window. I thought I should greet you.”

Chuckle.

”Hm, I’m not getting a present for anyone, but would it be considered one if I buy something for you?”

Ivory hues glided across the stand, as he searched for a suitable piece of cloth until he found one that he particularly liked. It was a classical scarf with black and grey plaids that anyone could possibly have, but he was one who liked simple things – just like Phoebe’s personality. He rested the two cans of warm coffee on one of the shelves and taking the cloth from the stand, he gently wrapped it around Phoebe’s neck. ”What about this? Do you like it?”

Scarf:

She didn't know why King was here and she was so desperate and curious to know that she wanted to figure it out so soon as possible that she simply became bold enough to ask. Which wasn't the best tecnique especially if you didn't want to know the answer basically, or well she would want to hear one answer and.. oh he said no, exactly the answer she wanted! Her eyes looked at his to make sure he wasn't lying as he simply stated that he had seen her and came to greet her, the lilac orbs looked at the smile on his lips before turning back at his eyes with a surprised but happy look in hers, she didn't well yes she did know why it made her happy but she wasn't sure what it meant and she shouldn't make herself crazy.

It was good that he wasn't looking at her directly as he continued to talk, she had asked if he was getting someone a present, men usually weren't found in this boutique and if they were they would sit on a chair looking grumpy. She opened her mouth to say anything and looked at the others in the store and smiled happily yet she was still surprised but it felt like a little victory, "Me? Oh well I would say so if you intend it to be a present."

While she was answering he seemed to be looking for something, she had no idea for what as she couldn't see but he turned around with a scarf she had not seen, as she had been looking for one which he apparently had noticed in the short amount of time he had been inside and she looked at it and at King, hoping the blush wouldn't be that obvious, "I really like it." She said with a soft tone of her voice because she was so surprised that this was really happening.

”Perfect!”

The young man exclaimed when Phoebe showed admiration for his choice of style. King wasn’t the best in fashion, but he knew how to dress himself properly at the very least and somehow, people tend to say that with his good looks, it wasn’t difficult to choose clothing for himself. He gently tightened the scarf around Phoebe’s neck, keeping her warm and at the same time, making sure not to strangle her in the way. His attention drifted towards to the employee that stood close to them, to ensure that their customer was provided with care and needs. ”I’ll have this one, please.” He finished his sentence with a smile and the employee would nod and escort him towards the counter of the shop to pay for his purchase.

The woman at the counter somehow seemed grumpy from the looks of her face, exchanging glances between him and Phoebe. The features on her visage displayed a hint of jealousy towards the dark-haired woman and though, he wasn’t necessarily taken, he was blindly attracted to the woman that he had met a few months ago. Due to this, King had even refused to seek out any other woman – his little flings that he gained after his arrival at the country and so far, he had lost all contact with them – mostly because there wasn’t any attraction towards those women anymore, but who knows when his hobby might return?

King rolled the jewels over the counter to pay for the price; the amount more than enough to what was needed. ”Would you like a can?” He lifted up the can of warm coffee and almost forgot that he had been holding two of them the entire time. If not, he would just leave one at the counter for the employees as a reward of their service while he sipped on his drink.

”Do you have any plans after this?”

The question was directed at no other than Phoebe and he was curious of her response, mainly because he had wanted to spend time with her and see if they could further improve their relationship – that is, if both of them had mutual feelings for one another.

Apparently King was very happy that she liked it so much and she looked at him with a surprised look before turning her lilac eyes back on the scarf and held a little piece up to look at the colours some more She was standing so close to King that she didn't know exactly what to say, and still surprised it was actually happening, she had a good blush on her cheeks but it wasn't all that visible just a slight mroe pink appearance. She looked up when she heard King talk again, but not to her to the woman that apparently was closer to them than Phoebe had noticed at first.

She didn't want to be left behind, if she had not been paranoia, she would be sure that this woman had glared at her and at King, to him in an admiring fashion and to her with a jealous look and she didn't want to leave him alone with such a woman. She had absolutely no right but she wished she had, she took her purse from the stand where she had dropped it and quickly followed on her bright red heels. She would simply wait for King to be finshed, but it felt weird to see him pay for the scarf that she was wearing and she still had no idea what she had to think from it. She had met King a couple of times and when they bumped into each other they most of the time spend the whole day together and talk a lot and so on. They still haven't had that romantic dinner with wine, something she had suggested with a laugh and she wondered, while looking at King shortly while he was paying if that perhaps would happen tonight?

She was a bit pushed out of her daydream when she figured out King was talking to her, "Oh I would love to, thank you." did he buy this knowing he would bump into her or was she taking his second cup? Did people buy second cups? It was nice to have a warm coffee especially if she would exit the store soon, with a new scarf and warm coffee, she sure would stay warm. Which was never really an issue for the fire mage but she tried to blend in like a normal person.

"Not really, after this I gave up on shopping and now I have a good reason to why, did you have any plans?" afterall he had said he entered the boutique because she was there, did that mean he had time to spend time with her?

Tea has always been King’s favourite – until he moved to Fiore. Coffee was somehow, more popular in this country than Desierto and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it made him change his taste and now, he was a genuine coffee lover, to the point that he would consume it multiple times a day and thus, two cans of coffee in his hands. It was something about these drinks that made him addictive; the taste, and especially in cafes. The aroma of coffee being roasted was something he had fallen in love with and how intricate it was – the different levels of taste and value. Though he had very little knowledge concerning to coffee, it didn’t stop him from having one.

Once the item was paid for, they would exit the store, only to be greeted by the sight of freshly fallen snow once again. He could never get sick of this season, no matter how freezing it may be and for someone who came from a country that was summer all year round, it was a very rare and precious sight for him. Patches of snow crunched beneath his feet as his foot broke the afternoon’s crust and his breath steamed before him like a banner. There were only a few civilians in the streets now, perhaps it was due to the cold season that made people reluctant to get out of their homes.

”Oh, I was wondering – if you wanted to spend time with me today.”

His words were honest and blunt; he had no purpose of hiding his intentions, he didn’t see why he should and King truly wanted to spend time with Phoebe for the day. It wasn’t often that they would run into each other after all. If Phoebe was busy, which, of course was understandable, he wouldn’t push it any further but it wouldn’t mean he would stop trying to get close to her. King had always been a straightforward guy, and perhaps, that personality of his made him able to approach people easier.

"Do you have anything in mind that you'd want to do?"

When Phoebe stepped out of the store there was a breeze immediately pulling on her hair but she felt a bit warmer with the scarf as well as the coffee cup in her hands. The fire mage definitely had no trouble with cold, since her fire magic kept her body on a nice warm temperature but that didn't change that she understood what cold meant, it didn't completely heat up her body as if she had a fever, she bet the point of her nose was cold as well. There was barely anyone left on the street and it probably had to do with the fresh batch of snow and the fact that it was getting around the time that people would hurry home for late lunches and so on. She wondered if her father and Mary were doing well but she wanted to shake that feeling off and turned to look at King as he spoke to her again.

She didn't want to be surprised because it happened more often when they bumped into each other that they would hang out, it didn't happen frequently but when.. "I definitely would like to hang out with you." okay that did sound way too eager and now she felt embarrased for having it said in that way. But she wasn't sure if King would notice, was it her or did she see a fierce look in his eyes, perhaps it was just the blunt way he asked her to spend time together, or she saw fire everywhere as fire mage.

He asked her if she wanted to spend time together and asked her if she had anything in mind, had he nothing planned was it really just coincidence? She wasn't sure what to think about it, on one hand she liked it that he asked her, "Nothing really, I remember we said before we would drink wine somewhere and that never happened but there are no ideas popping in my mind now." She said honestly, she also had not expected this of course.

His eyes would light up in excitement once Phoebe declared that she was willing to spend the day with him – not in any kind of way, but simply, just hanging out together. Right? Phoebe didn’t seem to have anything that she wanted to do for the day and neither did he, but when did he ever had plans? King was never the type of person to specifically plan out things that he’d want but, he would rather go with the flow and just enjoy himself for the rest of the day, which wasn’t really a smart idea and probably the reason why King has been so unproductive these few days. He doesn’t care about much other than having fun, yet, he needed money to do so and thus, it was the only reason that would make him take quests.

”Would you like to go eat somewhere?”

Having lunch together didn’t seem like a bad idea, it was almost afternoon and King was starting to feel hungry as well. It was then the brightest idea came to his mind. ”How about, we call this a date?” He wasn’t sure if Phoebe would agree to the idea and he wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t up for it. King chuckled and absently ran her fingers through his hair to hide his embarrassment.

It had never happened before; to feel so shy and embarrassed, it was almost as if he was like a little child. Most of the time, King would just quickly ask a girl out and get the job done with almost little to none feelings involved, but of course, he had to pretend to enjoy even if he wasn’t, just so he could spend time with the girl for the night. Silly, wasn’t it? But perhaps, it was also the reason why he wasn’t emotionally attached to any females, until now that is.

Phoebe noticed the excitement look in his eyes but again she thought she was making it up. It wasn't that she didn't believe in herself as being a nice and perhaps pretty looking person but to think that the one you had a crush on would like you back, was a step too far even for Phoebe. She thought about it when King asked her if she wanted to go eat somewhere, Lunch was always nice so she nodded, "Sounds like a plan." With a happy smile on her face she wondered what would be a good place to lunch, especially since well she had been in Magnolia long but she most of the time simply picked up food. Would this include a wine? Or was that just forgotten and she shouldn't have mentioned it?

She had looked away from him, lost in thoughts to figure out a good place but she quickly turned her lilac eyes back on King.. "D-date?" She couldn't believe his ears, did he just ask her out on a date, "But I'm not dressed for a date. I'm oh.. I eh.." She definitely wanted a date but this rambling needed to stop. She either would have to hurry into one of these stores to get a better dress.. which was weird to say for a girl that was almost always wearing dresses and heels but this wasn't her perfect date outfit! She was wearing black boots, not too high a heel and not interesting and this green of the dress didn't fit with anything else, it was dark and because of the winter it was a closed up collar around her neck and.. "Sorry, I panicked but if you don't mind me not being completely dressed up, I absolutely won't mind to call this a date." Perhaps she slightly saved her day, personality and the like but she still had this little bit of panic state for she would have worn a different dress but it was like this and she wouldn't say no to King no matter what she was wearing or so she guessed.

Upon mentioning the outfit, King looked down at her own attire; a hoodie and jeans, which definitely wasn’t the perfect outfit to go out on a date. ”You always look stunning Phoebe,” he began and he meant those words. ”If you wish, we can go shopping for our new outfits to prepare ourselves.” He wanted to change his clothes as well, he certainly wasn’t going to turn up with casual clothes on a date and King originally planned to impress Phoebe as much as possible for the rest of the day.

Hopefully, this will work.

King absently glanced around the area and he happened to lock his attention to one of the most famous clothing stores in town. ”I heard that store is really popular. Do you want to check that out?” He pointed at the particular building by the corner. It was large and quite colourful, and it surely did live up to its popularity; no one could possibly miss the sight. King didn’t know anything about women’s clothing, nor about Phoebe’s choice of fashion, so he decided to do shopping for himself while the dark haired maiden was busy picking out her clothes.

King approached the building and thankfully, it was open during the hour, otherwise it would have been very embarrassing for him to have made the suggestion. There weren’t many customers inside the building as he glanced through the window, most likely due to the fact that it was still quite early before people would flood into the store to buy presents for Christmas and beautify themselves with these on-trend clothing.

Her pale cheeks couldn't help but turn red as she simply had not expected him to say that. She used to be so good in keeping a neutral face but when it came to King, she was hopeless. "T-thank you." she muttered, looking away because she was embarrassed because of her own reaction. She couldn't simply get a compliment from him or turn bright red, such a great idea Phoebe. She had gotten better at the none teenager act and yet she was making it worse now. But his second phrase was a good one, "Yes please. I would like to." where to fix her make-up!? She had a lot in her purse or well, the needed things, if she was in a changing room she could fix that.. especially the mascara.. Oh got she was stressing too much. She took a deep breath.  

While she was trying to stop herself from freaking out it seemed that King had found a good store and she looked at it and tilted her head a little, oh that was great. "Yes, let's go there." She followed King shortly after that and headed to the female department and looked through everything. She had no idea and pulled a little on the scarf that she was wearing, which made her realize that she had a vague idea what King liked. Something simple, not too much ado about it, same as her and she hoped she was right. She just had to find the right colour that would do something special.

After going to what felt like a thousand dresses, she noticed one that she absolutely liked, she wondered if it would show too much skin but she was sure that it was fine and took it and headed quickly to the changing rooms. She didn't want King to be waiting on her for too long.

Outfit:

Once Phoebe agreed to go shopping at the mall that King suggested, they parted ways to choose their own choice of clothing. Fingers idly glided over the piece of fabrics that hung over the clothesline, wondering what kind of outfit he should wear for the date. He didn’t want to appear too formal, as it would make him look overly dressed up, and at the same time, he didn’t want to select any kind of cheap clothing as well. Unable to decide, he would wave to attract the attention of the employee by the corner and asked for her opinion. ”What kind of outfit would be good to wear…” he paused, slightly brushing his fingers against his chin as he tried to think of the perfect words to describe his situation.

”Uh, specifically for a date.”

King almost felt embarrassed mentioning the word and part of him couldn’t believe that he was actually going on a date with the woman he was interested in. Almost as infrequent as it may be, a flush of colour rose upon his ears and cheek and he would let out a discreet cough to hide is embarrassment.

”Oh, yes. We have just the perfect one for you, sir.”

With that, the man followed her lead, in which she handed him over a couple of clothes, grabbed from different sections of the store. King selected his favourite clothes out of the pile and once he was all dressed up, he would walk out of the changing room in a plain lilac top, tight navy pants paired up with a black jacket and some ankle-length boots. Truthfully, he wasn’t disappointed with the entire look; it was neither too fancy nor shabby, but somewhere between, just the way he liked – simple. Seconds plodded by and his curiosity of Phoebe’s outfit would increase by each passing moment, as King absently wandered around the place while he waited for his date.  

Outfit:

While Phoebe was wearing the dress in front of the mirror, she kept turning around and around. It was rather short, especially for the winter. Now she was a fire mage so it would absolutely not bother her but what would King think? She really liked the dress, the colour and not too open and yet not too stuffy, sometimes she would wear dresses and shirts with high neckline but not now. She had to.. did she actually have to show off? He already asked her on a date.. oh well better to show her good side even more. That still meant that she would show off her pale long legs and that still didn't fit in the picture, nor did her bright red shoes fit with this dress.

She quickly changed back to her own clothing and headed to the department for stockings as well as black heels. Or would black make it too much, no black was fine. She didn't even have black heels so it would be okay to buy them. There! She had everything and went to pay before turning back to a changing room and actually change in the right set of clothing because well that's why she had bought it. Whens he finally was done she headed back to the entrance of the store, wondering where she would meet up with King again, because in her hurry to find better clothing, sh had not asked anything about a rendez-vous point.

But when she walked towards the entrance, hearing only the tick of her own heels because she felt so embarrassed. This day turned out far different than she had expected and it sure wasn't disappointing. She looked at the black heels that she was wearing, they were pretty, with a bow on the back of the top. She looked up and noticed King immediately, which made her stop walking. Had he looked good in the clothes he normally wear, he sure made an impression now. "Are you waiting for someone special?" she said with a teasing tone in her voice, it was definitely not what she wanted to ask, she had wanted to ask if he was waiting for her for a while or not.. but fine. Perhaps it went well.

Jewels rolled across the counter as King paid for his own outfit while the woman behind the counter attempted to ogle him. The man simply shook his head and walked away, searching for Phoebe until his pair of golden eyes landed on a familiar figure. Dressed in a rather short lavender playsuit, he loved how well it suited her – not to mention, her obsidian natural curls settling on her shoulders and near her chest. For a moment, King was stunned; his mouth slightly gaped open and frozen in spot as he absently let his eyes graze over her body up and down. After finally realising that it was probably inappropriate, the young man blinked repeatedly and immediately averted his gaze.

”Are you waiting for someone special?”

”…Yeah,” he almost lost his breath looking at the woman in front of him. ”Yeah.” King repeated.

God, how much of an idiot am I. Act cool! The man reminded himself and casually slipped his hands inside the pockets of his pants. ”You…you look absolutely gorgeous,” the words finally escaped his lips, after a slight stutter, which he found extremely embarrassing and could be seen from a soft blush upon his cheeks. ”Shall we go?” King offered his hand towards Phoebe, so that she didn’t have any trouble walking and especially with heels, her feet would probably end up hurting by the end of the day.

The restaurant that they headed next was a cozy one, but also, fancy at the same time. ”Sorry, I couldn’t get a better restaurant since most places only accept reservations. I promise I’ll take you to a better one next time. I hope you don’t mind.” The man stated with an apologetic tone as he only wanted their first date to be the best for Phoebe. The place was lit with warm-toned lights, mostly suited for dinners but this wasn’t an entirely bad idea either. It wasn’t too crowded – just the way he preferred, so that he didn’t have to worry about other customers disturbing their quality time.

She felt embarrassed when she walked towards King, she noticed how he stared at her and she wondered if that was a positive thing or not, she would like to assume so. He didn't look disgusted with her outfit, that was a good thing. She had noticed that he looked her up and down and tried to look away. That was a good thing, perhaps that was why she was able to make a teasing comment.

She asked if he was waiting for someone special and he seemed to be lost for words a little and repeat the word 'yeah' while he looked at her and she got this little blush on her face but also a smile because she definitely didn't mind. He said she looked gorgeous which made her look away as well for a second, "You don't look so bad yourself." She felt so much more secure in her words that she happened to speak without a stutter, but inside her she felt like she was so stupid and embarrassing. Which made her hesitant when he offered his hand to her, but she took it after a short notice. "Yeah let's go."

So she held hands with King, which didn't make her cheeks less red and she looked around her but not at King. She wouldn't be sure how she was behaving as soon as they got the point where they would lunch or so. "It looks very nice, don't worry about it. I like it." She looked around, it was interesting that it wasn't so busy, exactly how Phoebe liked it and she looked around with interest. Guided to the table that would be theirs, "I find it a shame that I have not been here before." she mentioned because it looked like a place she would definitely go to, so she would walk over to their table and sit, while looking around still.

”Thanks,” the man replied, ruffling the back of his head in embarrassment upon receiving a compliment in return. King just hoped he didn’t look too shabby in this outfit, and especially walking beside a stunning woman, he might not be comparable.


The slight metal clashing of cutlery echoed in the hall of the restaurant and shortly after, a waiter approached their table with menus clutched in his hands. Placing each booklet in front of them, the man flipped through the pages, searching for a particular meal that he might enjoy. The restaurant was one that he had never been to before and thus, the foods were quite foreign to him as well, considering it’s been only a couple of months since he moved to Fiore – albeit, he was getting used to the different cultures.

”This is my first experience of visiting this restaurant as well. It was recommended by a friend.”

Truth be told, the suggestion of the restaurant was given by one of his old flings that he would frequently spend time with, but now that he had found a certain person to fully focus on, his desire of fooling around with women had long disappeared – not to mention, he had lost all contact with those whom he played around with. King decided not to bring up the topic of himself and his horrible past history with girls, since it might just ruin everything that he had worked hard with Phoebe. Although he was curious of her reaction to his story, it was possible that she might turn reluctant in entering into a relationship with him, after discovering who he really was.

The man was brought out of his own reverie after the waiter’s voice seeped into his mind, ”Sir, what would you like to order?”

”Uh,” a quick scan over the page until his eyes landed onto a random meal written on the sheet. ”Just Spaghetti Bolognese, please. Thank you,” King immediately shut the menu, allowing the waiter to retrieve it before both of their gazes settled onto Phoebe. ”What about you, ma’am?”

Phoebe looked around and was rather intruged, it was cute, she actually liked it. She looked left and right but not in a way as to make her embarrass herself. She smiled at the waiter and took the menu card as well to immediately open it and check out the dishes that they served. "Your friend has good taste." She looked back to the menu with one short glance at King. She read the list of pasta dishes with different veggies and sauces and so on and the list went on and on. It made it definitely not much easier.

While she was overlooking the dishes and drinks that she wanted with it, she suddenly heard a waiter. That was quick? Or had she been staring at the menu for far too long already? She looked up from the menu card, shortly at King before turning to the waiter and ordering a Spaghetti Aglio with a dry white wine. She noticed that King hadn't ordered anything too drink, "Too early for wine?" She asked with a sheepish smile, did she just make a mistake? She wasn't an alcoholic but if they were going to eat warm food during lunch, she wouldn't mind a wine.

She felt a bit awkward because of the silence between them but there was nothing that she had to say, her mind was blank. She looked a bit away, she had to think about something.

”Your friend has good taste.”

King smiled. He couldn’t tell her that the person was someone he used to be with, now could he? Silence reigned supreme between them as his eyes glided around the area and observed the place. When his friend recommended the place, he was only told that it was one that had great food, but King didn’t also expect the ambience of the place would be so soothing – completely his taste, and he simply hoped that Phoebe would enjoy the place just as much as he did. King was too distracted observing the surroundings that he had barely noticed the stillness between them until he finally broke the ice.

”Oh, yes. Wine is perfectly fine.”

It has been a while since he last drank, despite being an alcoholic, since he was gradually trying to get rid of his addiction. He wasn’t sure what Phoebe would think of him if she had found out, and he didn’t want to ruin any bit of the progress he had made between the two of them. ”What have you been doing recently? Busy?” It was a random question that emerged into his mind, though to be honest, he was slightly curious of what her activities were in her casual day. There were many things that King was intrigued about, such as her hobbies, her favourites and perhaps, if there was anyone that she might be interested in, but he was certain that all his questions would be answered – eventually.

How could something be so different while it had been happening before. She had seen King more often and they had talked normally and now it was called a date and suddenly; she didn't know what to say. She had even ordered wine and felt a bit awkward about that because King hadn't ordered anything. But she liked wine with pasta so she should see it as; he better get used to it right? She simply asked it, if it wasn't too early according to him but he said it was fine. Which made her nod, sha had nothing immediately else to say. She wondered what she had already told him, what she had not said at all. Those topics were mostly easy; she had said she was from Orchidia. She had not said much about her family.

She was still thinking, she even frowned a little when she heard King asked what she had been doing recently, which made her think back. "Nothing interesting really, I try and find jobs here and there and go around, I mostly go out for a run in the morning." She frowned, yeah that summoned it up a bit, "I thought about going back home. See my father and sister. We used to be so close." she stared at the table to not show King how she felt, "I think I actually hurt my father by telling him I wanted to travel alone." Which made her feel a bit guilty as she had done the last couple of days and sometimes there were days that she didn't thought about it and other days she had almost packed all her stuff already and was out of the hotel, and she would change her mind. She was tough enough not to run home.

King located both of his elbows on the desk while he waited for his order and clasped both of his hands together. ”Morning exercise is always good,” he chimed, a smile creasing upon the corner of his lips. ”Has it been long since you went back home?” King had never thought about returning home, but perhaps, he should. Despite how he didn’t have much affection towards his parents, they were still his family and their well-being concerned him every now and then. To be honest, he did truly miss his homeland. Fiore was so different from Desierto – in a pleasant way – nevertheless, the sandy areas and dry lands were something that he grew up to.

It didn’t take long until their meals were finally delivered on the table. ”Have a lovely meal,” the waiter placed the plates in front of them and the delicious aroma of the sauce immediately wafted into his nose. Steam rose off from the plate and it could be seen that the food was freshly cooked, which was to be expected. With that, the waiter shuffled away quietly to tend to rest of the orders.

King didn’t hesitate one moment to devour into his meal before grabbing his fork and twisting it onto the plate. The noodles coated with rich sauce neatly rolled around the cutlery and placed it inside his mouth, as he savoured the taste of the food. It was his first experience of trying a spaghetti and so far, it was splendid. The young man was somewhat glad that he had taken advice of his comrade, and it was certain that King would pay a visit to the restaurant once again.

”How’s your dish?”

The blonde man would casually chat as they dug into their main courses and before they knew, time had passed relentlessly. His plate would be left empty and spotless; clearly showed how much he enjoyed the meal and hopefully, Phoebe would feel the same. Once they were all done, King would take the responsibility of paying all of their meals, since he had more than enough – a rare moment for a man like him since money never used to last long on himself. The quests he had taken had been giving him plenty, and thus, his plan of taking Phoebe out on a date was successful. King would escort his date back home and only wished that they could possibly see each other again soon.

Phoebe smiled a bit when King agreed that morning excercise was good, than he asked if it had been long since she had returned home and she thought for a couple of seconds, "I think I have been here since the first of August or around that time at least." She remembered August vividly because of her encounter with Regis. Who she had told no one about, it had been a strange day and a strange conclussion of the day.

It wouldn't take long for their meals to arrive and she tried to keep a conversation going on while trying to eat but in the end the food would distract her too much since it was very tasty. She wanted to know more about King that thing was for sure. But she already got a date with him, she had not thought he would ask her out in that way but it sure made her excited about it.

At the end of this date King brought her back to the inn where she was staying, as a real gentleman. She thanked him for the pleasant day, the scarf of course. She decided to be brave and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She headed into her room not much later, hoping she would see him soon again.

Exit.