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Luz stepped through the glass door, looking around mischievously as the door’s little bell rang out.
“Table for two, please.” Brown eyes glance back towards her uncomfortable-looking partner. Luz was surprised Amity even agreed to be taken along on this...date? No, she wouldn’t consider it a date. Just an outing between acquaintances.
“Of course, right this way,” the waiter says monotonously, looking tired as all get out. Luz waits for Amity to catch up with her before grinning and grabbing her hand. “Don’t you worry,” she reassured, taking note of Amity’s hesitance and stiffness, “I work here part time. You’re safe with me.”
Amity glances down at their intertwined hands, feeling the tension fade slightly. She still wasn’t very comfortable with this whole ordeal, but it was nice knowing Luz was concerned for her at the very least.
The pair sat down at the cushioned red seats, and Amity clasped her hands together with a hesitant and forced smile after she got a good look around.
“Luz, you said we’d be going to a restaurant. What is this?” she asks in a strained voice while gesturing around the area. Of course, Amity was used to fancy places that aren’t nearly as casual or...brightly colored...as this place. This was also the first time she was going out with anyone not tied with her family. Ever.
“A restaurant, of course! Maybe not as fancy as you’re used to, sweetheart,” she pauses to grin and stick her tongue out between her teeth, “but this is my world. Welcome to it.”
Amity narrows her eyes at her, clenching her fists to keep her temper in check. Luz had always been arrogant and overconfident, but calling her sweetheart?
Just as Amity was opening her mouth to tell Luz off, Luz had turned her attention towards the menu on the table and began talking.
“Well, princess, whaddaya thinkin’? Burger? Hot dog? I mean, there’s not much else that’s edible here.” She snorts, clearly amused by her own joke. Amity rolls her eyes, not caring enough for Luz’s terrible humor to even try and act like it was funny.
“I’ll pass. Not that hungry.” In fact, Amity WAS hungry. She was absolutely famished, but nothing in the world was going to make her give into this...street food.
Luz shrugged, her smile fading slightly. “Suit yourself,” she says, sounding like she was about to continue but stopped once the waiter came up to their table.
“So what’ll it be, ladies?”
“Oh! Uh, just a plain ‘ol burger for me, Paul. You know me, never tryna get too much in my system... Actually though...you don’t mind adding some pickles to that- and ooh, onion too. Maybe some extra ketchup, wait no...mm, yeah, extra ketchup is good. Y’know, uh, maybe no pickles tonight?” This constant back and forth lasted a good minute, much to Amity’s irritation. She just wanted to get this night over with. She didn’t even know why she had agreed to this. She had infinitely better things to do, and-
Amity looked up sharply, being drawn out of her thoughts by the snap of Luz’s suspenders.
“So, darling, are you ready for a good time?” The woman said in a sultry tone, and her face was rightfully smug, knowing exactly the reaction this question would garner. And oh, did it garner quite the reaction. The pointy-eared witch took a moment to comprehend the suggestive undertones, then her face lit up like a flame.
“Wh- I..Luz! You little-” Amity shot up to her feet, knocking the table slightly. Luz’s grin only widened, and after a quick run of her hand through her short, fluffy hair, she leaned sideways and under the table to pick up a saxophone that had been deliberately placed there for this exact moment. Amity didn’t even have time to react before Luz let out an evil chuckle.
“Get ready for your world to be rocked, querida!”
Luz brought the brass instrument to her mouth and promptly began belting out “What’s New Pussycat” with worrying confidence and bravado. Amity, having been around the block a few times, knew the song, but was too slack-jawed and awestruck to register quite what was going on in front of her. Luz, with her brows scrunched tight and her eyes trained on the saxophone in focus, to the few people in the diner turning to look at the sudden start of music.
As Luz went on in a fiery passion, Amity attempted to restart her brain. Was Luz...serenading her? Well, of course not. They weren’t outside. But she couldn’t help but be suspicious that Luz brought her here for this purpose and this purpose only.
------
“Luz, you better SHUT your MOUTH before I give you a shiner!” Amity practically hollered, holding her hands over her pointed ears.
All she got in return was an awkward grin around the mouthpiece of the saxophone and a quirk of the woman’s eyebrows. She was halfway through her third playthrough of “What’s New Pussycat'', and already the other customers were looking very annoyed. At the second time she had begun the song, Amity felt like she wanted to sink into her seat and disappear forever, but in spite of it, she stayed sitting up and glaring at Luz with the most halfheartedly irritated expression.
Luz, on the other hand, was chugging on like a trooper, determined to get through at least 5 times playing the song. Unfortunately though, her energy was running out. What with everyone in the diner staring at her like she was the devil and the one person she actually wanted to enjoy this glaring daggers at her, it was hard to keep going. Luz wasn’t a self conscious person (or so she told herself), but man, nobody, especially not Amity, was liking this. In fact, one or two customers were getting up to leave. She decided that maybe, just maybe, she’d stop. Only because Amity was really starting to look like she was going to follow through on her promise to give Luz that black eye.
Something tapped Luz’s shoulder, and she whirled around, startled, almost whacking her saxophone into Paul and their--or, Luz’s-- food. Luz tapered off her playing with a couple of weak squeaks and began with an exclamation of “Oh, jeez, I’m so sorry!” Taking one hand off the saxophone and slapping it over her mouth, she mumbled, “I’m really sorry, oh man-”
“It’s fine, Luz,” interrupted Paul good-naturedly, adjusting the tray before it fell. “No worries. Although...you might want to quit with the sax. Cook’s in the back ripping his hair out because of it. That’s why your food took so long to get out here.”
Luz shuffled backwards and sat back into her seat, risking a glance at her date and seeing a face that was no longer annoyed, but actually rather amused.
“What? What’d I do?” Luz asked in an oblivious tone.
“Nothing!” Amity responded quickly in a high voice, holding back a laugh behind her hand. As much as she hated to admit it, she found the human rather funny (even if she wasn’t trying to be).
Luz huffed and sank down further into the bright red seat, muttering, “Fine, ser así, no me importa,” under her breath.
------
Amity folded her arms and tucked her chin into the collar of her leather jacket, shielding herself from the cold air that was blowing by the diner entrance. “Well. That was…” she began, golden eyes flitting over to her date.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Luz interrupted quickly. In her hands was the saxophone, glinting in the light of a nearby streetlamp. She turned and looked at Amity with a halfhearted smile. “Sorry for messing up your night. Didn’t mean to.”
Amity hesitated before answering, thinking on what she wanted to say. “It’s...it’s fine, Luz.” After a moment of silence, she spoke again. “Are you okay? You looked kind of hurt after you stopped playing. What happened?”
Luz gripped the saxophone tight, glaring at the ground and biting her lip. “Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just...part ways.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “Thanks for joining me.” Turning on her heel, Luz walked away from Amity and the diner, bringing a hand up to her face to wipe away forming tears.
Stupid. I should have never brought her here. Why did I think she’d enjoy that? She’s part of the goddamn mafia, for goodness sake. She’s never gonna like me now, not after-
Her thoughts came to a halt when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and she turned around rapidly, bringing her own hand up to hit whoever was there.
But, she stopped short when she saw who it was.
Amity began speaking promptly. “Come on now, don’t be that way. At least let me say goodbye.” She smiled slightly after that, and glanced back at the diner before whispering, “I didn’t hate it, you know. You’ve got some talent with that dumb instrument.” She then pulled Luz into a hesitant impromptu hug.
“Aw...thanks,” Luz mumbled into Amity’s shoulder, patting her date on the back rather awkwardly. Then, she said in a teasing tone, “I’ll have to take you out again, if you liked it that much-”
“Don’t you dare.” Amity’s interruption was sharp, but good natured, and she followed it up with a quiet chuckle. Then, she broke their embrace and stepped away from Luz. “Seriously, thank you for tonight. I think I needed a little break from…” She gestured vaguely with her hand. “You know. Crime.”
Luz smiled wide, and nodded. “I bet you’ll be happy going right back to busting asses, though. I’ve never taken you for the domestic sort...” She trailed off into an awkward and almost palpable silence, and Amity stared back with a slightly reddened face.
“You overestimate me, Noceda,” The green-haired witch finally said in a soft voice. She took a few steps backward in retreat, then turned to walk away, leaving Luz standing alone under the gentle light of the dim streetlamp.