The Island of Lanai, Wednesday Early Evening

[glacial_queen]

So, back on the Causeway, Warren had mentioned a few things: crepes, boat rides, sunset, and sweeping Karla away unexpectedly. Warren being Warren, he'd managed to combine all of those things at once.

Responding to a message telling her to meet him at the hotel's dock, Karla was greeted by a male introducing himself as Captain Chiba, who escorted her onto the deck of his yacht Serenity. On the far side, hidden by the cabin, was a table set for two, with Warren already waiting. Soft music played, and there was a platter of crepes on the table between their place settings.

"We should be on the open ocean in plenty of time for sunset proper, young sir," Captain Chiba reported. "And at Lanai soon after. Until then, the deck is yours."

[For one please! NFB and all that jazz]

Comments

[wwiii]

"Thank you," Warren said, with a little smile and a nod toward the Captain as the man turned and made his way off-deck. Then, of course, seemed like as good a time as any to turn his attention to the lovely lady that had just stepped onto the yacht.

"And good evening, Karla." Chivalry absolutely was not dead, tonight. He was standing, and greeted her with a smile, and a small bow. His wings were hidden, of course, so it lacked what would otherwise have been a sweeping gesture in greeting, but hopefully the crepes would make up for that. "Thank you for joining me, tonight."

[glacial_queen]

Karla was still doing her most attractive impression of a fish, slightly gaping at everything--and casting covetous glances at the crepes, it was true.

"Warren?" she asked, and would absolutely return that smile as soon as she finished her slight turn to look around. "What...?"

And emotion was clawing its way up from her stomach, trying to fight its way through the shock of her surroundings. She wasn't quite sure, but it felt a lot like...glee.

"This is wonderful," she breathed, finally getting that smile out.

[wwiii]

"You like it?" There might have been a tiny bit of eagerness in Warren's voice, and in his expression, for that matter, as he reached to pull her seat out for her. "I know, it isn't all pineapple, but I figured maybe we ought to warm up to that, first."

[glacial_queen]

Karla sat, pleased that she'd gone on instinct and worn something a little dressier, even if it was ridiculously short by her standards. But surely no one would blame her for stacking the deck a little in her favor?

"Warming up to pineapples?" she teased lightly, as the ships engine's began to run and they cast off. "All these crepes, I might not have room left!"

Oh, Karla. You little liar.

She couldn't stop smiling--grinning really. Even if this had been the extent of their evening, it was so much more than she could have hoped for, right now. "I can't believe you went to all this trouble for crepes!"

[wwiii]

"Well, you know me. I'll go to some pretty crazy lengths for a good crepe," Warren laughed, in that soft huff of his. "And you don't have to worry about the pineapple," he added. "If you're full, I'll happily deal with them myself."

It would be such a hardship. Truly. But somehow, he would persevere.

[glacial_queen]

"Crepes, pineapple, and sunset over the water," Karla murmured, still looking about in awe. "It's like you distilled everything I'd hoped to experience here. Warren, I can't thank you enough."

For doing all this. Hell's fire, for just thinking about it. For wanting to spend time with her, and putting effort into making it perfect, and just being...here. With her.

"Being here, with you, is the best part. Even better than crepes."

[wwiii]

"Better than crepes," Warren echoed.

He liked that. It softened his smile a little as he pulled up his own seat and made himself comfortable in it.

"I know the school kind of beat me to the punch with this whole Hawaii thing, but if this makes up for it, at least a little, then I'm glad."

As if the dinner was all he'd planned. Honestly, Karla. This was Hawaii, and he was inspired. And filthy rich.

[glacial_queen]

And creative!

"It does," Karla said earnestly, turning towards him. "More than just a little. After all, the trip only got us here. This is the best part of my trip so far and this is all your doing."

Another sailor came out with champagne in an ice bucket and two flutes, a cut strawberry in the bottom. He expertly popped the cork and filled their glasses halfway, leaving the open bottle resting in the bucket on the table. "Dinner will be served in an hour, to coincide with sunset," he said, smiling, before heading back down into the galley.

"I guess we should start with the crepes," Karla said. "It wouldn't do for them to get cold."

[wwiii]

"It really wouldn't, would it?" Warren was biting his lip a little, ducking his head slightly, because... that was just what you did when you were grinning, right? "I mean, even if I hadn't told the chef to be ready to bring more out at a moment's notice, we wouldn't want to waste these ones."

Really, now. Warren understood who it was that he was feeding, here.

[glacial_queen]

Karla was going to take that as an invitation to start moving some off the central platter and onto their plates, offering Warren a few first before happily piling them on hers.

"I'm pretty sure that wasting these crepes would be a crime against cooking everywhere," Karla said, eyes fluttering closed as she took her first bite. Yup. Just as good as she remembered. Possibly better. She'd need to eat more to tell. "And we can't have that," she sighed happily.

[wwiii]

"Absolutely not," Warren agreed. "Especially not after the chef went through all that trouble to make these exactly how I told them to."

Really, it was a wonder that Warren hadn't told him to include gold leaf or something. He'd gone all-out, here.

"So, this is the best part of the trip so far? You know, we've barely even gotten started."

[glacial_queen]

"My trip's been pretty low-key, so far," Karla said, deciding to forgo a napkin to lick the chocolate off her fingers. This decision had less to do with any attempts to be seductive and more to do with how good the chocolate was. "The most active thing I've done so far was get into a pillowfight with Raven yesterday morning. Other than that, my vacation has consisted of reading and napping on the beach and getting food and drinks at the bar."

So...pretty much exactly what she needed.

"Sookie said it was like the administration knew we'd need this, after dealing with the children last weekend."

[wwiii]

"Especially you," noted Warren, with another bite to his cheek to kill the grin some. "How many did you have? About half of the ones on the island?"

[glacial_queen]

And look, more facepalming. It was like a reflex now, anytime someone mentioned her hordes of children.

"A billionty-nine?" she groaned. "Six and a half more than I was ready for? Mother Night, that was unfair."

And now she was drinking more of the champagne. Also a reflex when discussing the children. "They were all amazingly cute though. Kayla and Nommy even had little slits in their shirts for their wings." D'awwwwww. "Did Nommy ever tell you his real name? I never got it out of him."

[wwiii]

Warren shook his head, laughing a little as he toyed with the rim of his champagne glass, idly.

"He didn't," he replied. "I think he was convinced that if we didn't know his real name, we'd never be able to give him a proper lecture if he did something wrong. He had no-full-name immunity."

[glacial_queen]

Karla had to laugh along with him at that. "He was remarkably well-behaved for someone with that kind of immunity," she said. "His sister must have been keeping him in line with threats to reveal it if he got too bad."

She finished her crepe with a slightly wistful smile. "They were adorable, though. Their wings were so tiny."

[wwiii]

It took every last ounce of Warren's self-control to keep him from just breaking into a fit of giggles, then and there.

"They fluttered," he replied, as if he found that to be simultaneously the most adorable and the most hilarious thing ever.

He was allowed. He had more than enough wingspan to be able to judge by.

[glacial_queen]

"Don't laugh!" Karla protested, grinning hugely. "They were very proud of how well they could fly! Even if Nommy had to be told--repeatedly--that he was still too little to carry Henry and go flying by themselves."

[wwiii]

"He got his mother's sense of ambition," Warren decided, laughing anyhow. He was a rebel, that Warren. "And probably her cheeks, too."

Nommy had very nommy cheeks. This much was fact.

[glacial_queen]

Karla's hands flew up to her cheeks. "Does not!" she said, laughing. "I never had cheeks like that! If anything, he has his father's cheeks, just like he had his father's wings and hair and charmingly crooked grin."

[wwiii]

"Charming, is it?" Warren was now demonstrating that grin. It was the thing to do, in this situation. "Fine, he inherited my grin. But if you think those cheeks are mine, clearly you haven't looked at yourself in the mirror when you really, really start to smile."

Because, honestly, Warren kind of found himself wanting to nom on Karla's cheeks on occasion, too.

[glacial_queen]

"Very charming," Karla said, throwing a grin Warren's way. "It was one of the first things I reallynoticed about you." Though she'd liked to think he wore it more often now. "I liked it. Right from the start."

[wwiii]

"I'd say it ran in the family," Warren offered, "but I don't think I remember my Dad actually smiling like this, much."

Come to think of it, Warren really didn't remember his father doing much smiling at all.

"So, what do you think? Is Nommy going to be swarmed by girls when he's older, if he doesn't learn to reign in that grin in public?

[glacial_queen]

"Of course!" Karla said, laughing. "That's hardly a question! But I have a much more interesting scenario for you to contemplate. Picture the throngs around Kayla when she's older."

That little girl was far too pretty for her parents--any version--to be comfortable.

[wwiii]

Warren took a half-second to picture just that.

And then very immediately made up his mind.

"There will be no throngs. There will only be me, standing between her and every guy in the universe."

A beat.

"Ever."