Chapter Text
Finral tossed another shirt aside. It landed on the corner of his bed, then slid rejected to the floor. Too heavy for Raque's heat, he'd be sweating like a pig in seconds. Some people could pull that off-
-Yami-
-but Finral wasn't one of them. He was a stylish gentleman, not a muscled hunk. Disheveled was not a good look on him. He'd looked like a hooligan after his attempt to use Oni to get a date. Never again.
Finral held up another shirt, looking at himself in the full-length mirror he'd ported in from base. The rented beach house only had small mirrors in the bathrooms. A real oversight, in Finral's opinion. Surely everyone-
Luck hurtled down the hallway past Finral's door, cackling, with a swearing Magna hot on his heels. Something crashed to the floor, probably a vase. Marx was definitely not getting that deposit back.
-surely most people cared about looking good on vacation.
Finral did, and it had paid off. Updating his choice of swimwear had caught the attention of several lovely young ladies on the beach. Including Suzette.
She'd smiled at his compliments, dark eyes sparkling like the sun on the waves, and called him cute. He'd even gotten extra points for his earrings when it turned out that she was an apprentice goldsmith curious about jewelry trends in other parts of Clover. When he'd asked if she had the evening free, she'd said 'yes' and that he should try the seafood while he was in Raque. With that encouragement, he'd easily been able to segue into inviting her out to dinner.
(Finral really hoped Suzette was right when she'd said there were no bad restaurants in Raque. But he'd picked the most expensive one from the tourist pamphlet, so it had to be good. Had to be.)
Now he just needed to keep making a good impression.
He'd had the presence of mind to ask Suzette's favorite color. Unfortunately, it was yellow. While a perfectly lovely color, it looked awful on him. Hopefully she wouldn't mind a nice green.
...Finral did own things that weren't green, contrary to Vanessa's teasing. But he liked it. Cool tones looked good on him, and he'd learned years ago that blue and purple could make the wrong impression in poorer areas. Not that Raque was remotely poverty-stricken, but it was habit.
He was thinking in circles again. Outfit. Finral needed to pick an outfit. A perfect outfit for a perfect first date, because Finral was determined that this time, he was going to get a second date. Suzette was pretty and outgoing. She hadn't even been put off by him being a knight of the Black Bulls. And she'd giggled very charmingly at his pickup line. 'If I build a sandcastle, will you be my queen?' It was one of his better on-the-spot improvisations, if he did say so himself.
Finral should come up with more, actually, since she'd liked it. Couldn't have too much of a good thing, right? Right.
Still holding up the shirt, Finral smiled winningly at the mirror and tried, “I don’t know which is prettier today: the sea, the sky or your eyes.”
Immediately his inner critic- a voice that unfortunately sounded a lot like Langris- drawled, Perfect for a date with blue eyes. Aren't hers brown?
Not that one, then. The shirt wasn't good enough either. Finral dropped it, grabbed another one to hold up, and tried again. Going for cheeky, he winked at the mirror. “I was looking for treasure and I think I found some.”
I'm sure she'll love being downgraded from queen to treasure.
“Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I swim by again?”
Did you forget that you already met her and actually landed a date for once?
Finral threw the shirt away harder than he'd intended. It hit the far wall and caught on a picture frame. The long sleeves swung wildly, knocking the frame off-kilter as the shirt slid to the floor in a heap. Finral sighed, and went to adjust the frame. The watercolor inside was a solitary figure walking along the shore.
A hollow ache settled in his chest. Mouth tight and jaw clenched, Finral turned back toward the mirror. He wasn't going to blow this. He wasn't.
The secret to a perfect date was preparation, after all. Every past mistake just needed to be accounted for. Finral picked up the next shirt and held it up.
Once he'd decided on clothes, next up was contingencies for drink spills and other blots to his carefully-selected wardrobe. Vanessa, of course, had him covered there. A collection of small vials, neatly labeled with the specific type of stain they removed: milk, blood, wine, grease, rust, grass, and mud (with a cheeky note of, 'Not Oni-proof', as if he needed the reminder). None of them were completely full, because Finral had the worst luck in Clover, but at least he'd only needed the blood-remover once. With that settled, he looked over the other emergency kit.
Finral didn't have any food allergies that he was aware of. That was no reason not to plan for a nasty surprise. He hadn't known he was allergic to nickel until that mission where he'd been paid in counterfeit yul and his hands had broken out in hives. Red, itchy skin wasn't something he wanted a date to see. Thankfully a quick check confirmed that the anti-allergy potion in his bag was still within the apothecary's recommended use-by dates, and ready to go if Finral (or, worse, Suzette) turned out to be allergic to something on the menu.
Lastly, the other possible complication when dating a wonderful young woman like Suzette: an ex-paramour. Specifically, an ex who was not happy about being an ex, and would take offense at seeing their former girlfriend on another gentleman's arm. Finral hated confrontation, but luckily his knight robe was usually enough to make the unwanted third wheel back off. One of the rare occasions where the reputation of the Black Bulls played to Finral's advantage. If it wasn't, then Finral would take his cues from the lady's reaction.
If she was annoyed and summarily dismissed the jerk, all was well. If she had only been dating Finral to make the person she was actually interested in jealous... well, then Finral would do his best to make a graceful exit stage left and be happy for the reunited couple. That had happened more times than Finral really wanted to think about.
If she was afraid of said ex, however, then Finral would port both himself and the frightened lady elsewhere post-haste. Usually Mount Anahu. It was quiet and the fragrance of the moon flowers was very soothing. He would offer her a chivalrous shoulder to lean on, and a sympathetic ear to her problems. Then Finral would try to work out if the ex was someone a responsible knight should report to the city guards. Thankfully, that had only happened once.
Fully dressed and packed, Finral took one last look at himself in the mirror. Smiling as winningly as he could, he said, “I had a wonderful evening! Would you like to do this again sometime?”
This time, he would get a second date. He just had to stick to the plan and do everything perfectly.