Jett strived to make his dates close to perfect. He figured if he was going to take someone out and spend money on them, he might as well enjoy himself. As to whether his definition of perfect was the same as theirs -- that was very up for debate.
He dressed up in a nice dark suit with a silken undershirt and drove to pick Versa up. Fuck, Jett was even polite enough to go to her door and knock, then open the car door for her.
Somewhat acidic, he'd asked if Mia was home or if Versa had even mentioned the date to her. That was before they were in the car, where his mood lightened again.
"You like French cuisine? I know a nice French restaurant." He paused, then eyed her outfit over, face straight as ever. It could be described as practiced neutrality. "You look beautiful."
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Versailles stared at herself in the mirror, rubbing on the red stud earring in her left ear. Human ear. The fox ears were hidden by the glamour inside the earrings. If she was going to have fun, she wanted to do so without being judged for having two sets of ears. It'd been years since she'd last dressed up this finely.
God, why was she even dressing up for Jett? He was an asshole, and always had ulterior motives. That wasn't an optional thing with him. At the very least, she'd managed to keep it from Mia.
The fox girl was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of Jett's truck pulling up. She took one last look in the mirror to make sure her look was perfect before opening the door for Jett. He looked handsome. He was clearly still an asshole, as evidenced by his inquiring about Mia, but at least he was a pretty asshole that was being gentlemanly and bringing her out on a nice date.
"I made sure she wouldn't be home. I haven't told her or Nim. Hopefully neither finds out."
Why did Mia still hate him so much? Jett could be an upstanding citizen if he wanted to. Not that he would.
"French cuisine sounds wonderful."
She watched as he eyed her outfit, hoping she'd found something good. He didn't look very impressed, but she doubted his compliment was a lie. He didn't stand to gain anything by flattering her.
"Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself."
God, why was she even dressing up for Jett? He was an asshole, and always had ulterior motives. That wasn't an optional thing with him. At the very least, she'd managed to keep it from Mia.
The fox girl was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of Jett's truck pulling up. She took one last look in the mirror to make sure her look was perfect before opening the door for Jett. He looked handsome. He was clearly still an asshole, as evidenced by his inquiring about Mia, but at least he was a pretty asshole that was being gentlemanly and bringing her out on a nice date.
"I made sure she wouldn't be home. I haven't told her or Nim. Hopefully neither finds out."
Why did Mia still hate him so much? Jett could be an upstanding citizen if he wanted to. Not that he would.
"French cuisine sounds wonderful."
She watched as he eyed her outfit, hoping she'd found something good. He didn't look very impressed, but she doubted his compliment was a lie. He didn't stand to gain anything by flattering her.
"Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself."
Or Nim, she'd said. OR NIM. Hell, Jett wasn't aware Nim lived with them, too. Wow. The plot thickens. That was actually fucking hilarious, but he just made a thoughtful hum and nodded.
"Didn't know Nim lived with you two," he said but gave no more comment on it. Instead, switching smoothly to their choice of food.
Once starting the drive to said mentioned the restaurant, by way of conversation, Jett said, "cool. French is a particular favorite of mine. Better than Italian for a first date."
He winked when she complimented his appearance. From neutral to smiling all in one second. "How about you? You got a favorite?" He made some small talk with her until they'd reached their destination.
Again, Jett rounded the car and opened her door for her, gently resting a hand on her inner elbow to walk with her into the building. It was decorated in golds and blues, light and airy, with a large domed ceiling and a massive chandelier hanging from the center of the building.
The two were sat in a private, side room away from the chatter of the main lobby and the hustle of the kitchen. Jett had pulled Versa's chair out for her. He'd promised to make this night enjoyable.
"How have you been, Versa? Work going well?" Ugh, there was nothing worse than small talk, but that was how conversations were started in normal society.
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"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fond of French cuisine, but traditional Russian dishes are a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. I'm not Russian in any way besides name, but it's what I grew up with."
The small talk was nice. For a moment, stretching forward to lean on the dashboard so she could see his face, she forgot how much of an ass Jett was as a normal human being. To actually talk, like normal, civil citizens, and not as a scientist or a detective's intern, or as the roommate of a raging fire goddess. To forget how much of a criminal Jett was, or how the date had strings attached. Ignoring those societal roles, Versailles was much more open to the conversation, the happiness showing in her eyes and the way her ears were always pointed towards Jett.
At the restaurant, the fox-girl waited for Jett to open the door for her. She'd learned while working on Deidrich's case that it was rude to open doors yourself when someone was trying to be a gentleman. Versailles flinched when Jett touched her arm, but gradually relaxed into it.
Walking into the restaurant was like walking into a fairytale ballroom, complete with domed ceiling and massive chandelier. it was much fancier than she'd been expecting. She definately felt a little underdressed, leaning in close to Jett as the host led them to a private room.
"I'm doing better now that most of the corn maze stuff is gritting cleared up, but now all these protesters... One would think they would stop once they realised just how costly this all is, but...." Versailles let out a heavy sigh. "Centuries of religion probably don't care about property values. What about you? You've probably got lots of work now that protesters are acting out."
The small talk was nice. For a moment, stretching forward to lean on the dashboard so she could see his face, she forgot how much of an ass Jett was as a normal human being. To actually talk, like normal, civil citizens, and not as a scientist or a detective's intern, or as the roommate of a raging fire goddess. To forget how much of a criminal Jett was, or how the date had strings attached. Ignoring those societal roles, Versailles was much more open to the conversation, the happiness showing in her eyes and the way her ears were always pointed towards Jett.
At the restaurant, the fox-girl waited for Jett to open the door for her. She'd learned while working on Deidrich's case that it was rude to open doors yourself when someone was trying to be a gentleman. Versailles flinched when Jett touched her arm, but gradually relaxed into it.
Walking into the restaurant was like walking into a fairytale ballroom, complete with domed ceiling and massive chandelier. it was much fancier than she'd been expecting. She definately felt a little underdressed, leaning in close to Jett as the host led them to a private room.
"I'm doing better now that most of the corn maze stuff is gritting cleared up, but now all these protesters... One would think they would stop once they realised just how costly this all is, but...." Versailles let out a heavy sigh. "Centuries of religion probably don't care about property values. What about you? You've probably got lots of work now that protesters are acting out."
"Makes sense. Culture has more effect than ethnicity, besides, nothing to be guilty about. Russian food isn't bad."
When Versa flinched from his touch, Jett immediately let her go and held up his hands in a sign of surrender. He didn't seem bothered. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you, you know. That would be way rude on a date." Jett only touched Versa again when she leaned into him once they were inside. He placed a hand on her lower back.
He ordered them an expensive bottle of wine after inquiring about her preference. "People who are afraid don't care about property values, and fear breeds hatred." When the wine came, Jett tested it before offering it to Versa to see if she approved of the choice. "Oh yeah, business is booming with all the rallying. I'm just on the "wrong" side."
Jett rested his chin in one palm and leaned forward, a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye. "See, CAE thinks if they make a big enough fuss, or hurt enough of the scary Demons, that their demands will be met. Thinking about it objectively, it's fucking insane and wrong. Sick. But, imagine if your kid was the one to die in the maze?
"Gabriel Baltimore is clean in the eyes of the law, but he's scary, and everyone knows he's not an upstanding citizen. Sure, his daughter was in the maze. Rationally speaking, there's no chance in any Hell that Baltimore would have let her go in there if the symbol was on him, least of all without some form of warning."
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Versailles sipped the wine she was offered, nodding to show her approval. Jett had fine tastes.
“Does it count as the wrong side? From their point of view you’re on the good side. And if nothing else, you’re a damn good lawyer.”
Jett was an awful lot more pleasant when he was talking about things that he enjoyed. Or perhaps he was just… playing nice because this was a date. At this point, Versailles didn’t care. He was charming, and she was trying to forget that her life had problems. A wonderful distraction, ignoring that he wasn’t exactly a good person to her roommates.
“I know they have their reasons, and in a vague sense I guess I understand but they honestly just sound like extremists with all their complaints. To be fair, my aunt was an extremist who tore apart animals and preserved their parts to make freaky murderous mutations, and screamed herself hoarse the second she lost sight of me so.” Versailles tapped her fingers on the table. “I think it’s a reasonable comparison.”
“Does it count as the wrong side? From their point of view you’re on the good side. And if nothing else, you’re a damn good lawyer.”
Jett was an awful lot more pleasant when he was talking about things that he enjoyed. Or perhaps he was just… playing nice because this was a date. At this point, Versailles didn’t care. He was charming, and she was trying to forget that her life had problems. A wonderful distraction, ignoring that he wasn’t exactly a good person to her roommates.
“I know they have their reasons, and in a vague sense I guess I understand but they honestly just sound like extremists with all their complaints. To be fair, my aunt was an extremist who tore apart animals and preserved their parts to make freaky murderous mutations, and screamed herself hoarse the second she lost sight of me so.” Versailles tapped her fingers on the table. “I think it’s a reasonable comparison.”
"No," he answered her question. "Not unless you're going by the views of the general public. Everything is gray, Versa. Everything."
When they had ordered, and their food arrived, Jett took a bite, though he already knew what he meant to say. He laughed a little at Versa's comment and nodded.
He hummed. "They are extremists. But my job is to look through other people's eyes. They're extremists, but they don't see it that way, and I would be a poor lawyer if I said that to them, or in court." Jett sighed wistfully.
"Look at me, on a date and talking business and myself. See, that's a good way to ruin a moment." Jett grinned at her, apparently unabashed that she might have been put off by the talk.
He could see by her body language and engagement in the conversation that she was anything but put off. Rather than doing the polite thing and asking about her job and any interesting finds she might have encountered, Jett went for the interesting thing.
"Is it uncanny? Learning that someone as antagonistic as me can be enjoyable? You know I've done terrible things, but here I am sitting across from you and pleasantly discussing careers."
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