Written for this prompt from the Quinn/Artie Forum:
"You're going to eat that?" + Romance
"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Quinn said, as they sat down at their table.
"What?" Artie asked, wheeling himself into place. "Are you kidding me? This is the WORLD FOOD FESTIVAL."
She stared at him. "Did you see what was on that platter over there? Artie...I think those were insects!"
He nodded. "I know. I'm kind of excited about this whole thing. I couldn't believe it when my aunt gave me the tickets...do you have any idea how expensive this sort of thing is? We never would have been able to afford this!"
She grinned. She hadn't really wanted to go to the World Food Festival, but he had been so excited when he'd invited her, that she couldn't turn him down.
"Just promise me, you won't eat anything that's still alive," she said, grimacing.
He shook his head. "Obviously. I don't think I could do that."
"How does this work?" she asked. "I'm confused."
"They bring stuff around, and you take what you want to try," he said, pointing towards a waiter that was circulating around the tables by the entrance. "I think the thing I read at the door said that they have over fifty different things to try. Isn't this great?"
"Yeah...great," she said, not entirely convinced.
As the first waiter approached, she tried to figure out what was on his tray. As Artie helped himself to a bit of...whatever it was, she read the card on the tray.
"Um...no thanks," she said, when he offered the tray to her. "Artie!" she hissed, as he was examining the small pile on his plate. "Those are ants!"
He grinned. "I know. I've always wanted to try this. They're dipped in chocolate."
"I'm never kissing you again!" she said, as he placed one in his mouth.
He grinned. "Of course you will. They're actually not bad! Want to try one?"
She shook her head.
"Come on, Quinn! Live a little!" he said, holding out one of the ants to her. "I'm pretty sure it's not as bad as you're imagining it!"
"No, Artie!" she said. "I refuse to eat that."
"Pleaaaase?" he said, holding it out again. "Just try it. I promise...it's not that bad. I wouldn't give it to you if it was."
Reluctantly, she took it from him, and placed it in her mouth.
He waited, anticipating her reaction.
After she'd swallowed it, she grinned. "Ok, so that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just ate an ant!"
He grinned back. "Told you so! Want some more?"
Before she could answer, he put about half of what he had on her plate.
"I wonder what's next?" she asked, as the next waiter approached.
"Artie...are those...?" she asked, her eyes widening.
He nodded. "Deep fried tarantulas, according to the tray. Will you try it?"
She shook her head. "No. Definitely not," she said, turning to the waiter. "Are you going to be bringing anything non insect-related?" she asked.
The waiter smiled. "Certainly! We've got everything set up in courses, so that all the insects are being served now. I believe the next course is fruits and vegetables."
She grinned. "That sounds great!"
After the waiter left, Artie held out the tarantula. "This tastes kind of like onion rings," he said. "At least...I think it does. It's kind of hard to describe."
She laughed. "I cannot believe you're eating a giant spider on a stick."
"But deep frying makes everything ok!" he said, grinning at her. "Try it!"
"Get that thing away from me!" she said, pushing her chair back slightly. "And deep frying does not make everything ok!"
He laughed. "Fine. Your loss."
When she saw the contents of the third tray, she felt her stomach jump a bit.
"Artie...are those...what are those?"
"Grubs of some sort," he said, after the waiter had left. "I've heard that these taste kind of like peanuts. Or something like that."
"It looks like...I don't even know," she said. "I feel sick. You're going to eat that?"
He nodded, placing one in his mouth, and chewing. "Not bad. Want to try one?"
"Artie, I'm going to be sick if you don't get that thing away from me RIGHT NOW!" she said. "Isn't it time for the vegetables yet?"
As if on cue, their waiter approached the table. "Dulse, miss?" he said, holding the tray in front of her.
"Is that like cabbage?" she asked, taking a little bit.
"It's a type of algae," the man said to her, as Artie scooped some onto his plate. "Very high in vitamins and minerals!"
She stared at it. "...Algae?" she said to Artie, once the waiter had left. "Um...eww?"
He laughed. "Just try it..." he said, putting a bit in his mouth. "Or...don't. Oh my gosh. Oh, ugh!"
She laughed. "I'm just going to let you try everything first from now on!" she said, handing him a glass of water. "That bad, huh?"
He laughed again. "VILE! Isn't this place awesome?"
She grinned. "What is that smell?" she said, as the waiter approached for the fifth time.
"Durian, miss?" he said, holding the tray in front of her. It looked innocent enough, but the smell made her think otherwise.
"Do you know if that tastes anything how it smells?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
He laughed. "People either love this, or hate it," he said, as Artie took a small piece.
She indicated that she'd pass on it...she knew if it was good, Artie would share. She watched as he cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
"Um...interesting," he said, swallowing. "Do you want to try it?"
"Does it taste anything like it smells?" she asked, trying to read on his face whether it was good or terrible.
"Um...I don't know," he said. "It's not something I would ever buy."
"I'll pass," she said.
He laughed. "I'm really glad you came with me tonight, Quinn," he said, grinning at her. "Despite the fact that you've spent most of the evening completely repulsed, you're having a good time...right? You're laughing a lot, and I think that's usually a good sign."
She grinned. "I'm having a fabulous time! It was worth coming just to watch how excited you are about all of these things. And...I wasn't going to tell you this, but I ate something before we came, just in case. I read the website and had my suspicions that there might be some...interesting things here."
He was about to say something, when the waiter arrived again.
"Capybara?" he asked, holding the tray in front of them.
Artie grinned. "Try this, Quinn," he said, taking some. "I've heard good things." He watched as she placed a small amount on her plate.
He watched her face as she tasted it. "That's actually...not bad," she said.
He laughed. "Yeah, a close second to the tarantula."
When the waiter returned with a tray containing some sort of brains, Artie caught his eye and gestured for him to skip their table before he even got there. He didn't want to try them, and he was pretty sure Quinn would be seriously unamused if a tray of brains showed up at their table.
Throughout the remainder of the evening, they tried many things, including bat, haggis, whale, rattlesnake, and alligator, along with a selection of things that Quinn didn't care to remember what they were called or where they came from.
When dessert was brought around, Quinn stared at it.
"Artie, are there grasshoppers in this jello?" she asked, poking it with her spoon.
He nodded. "Looks like it."
She grinned. "I'm game if you are."
They watched each other take their first bites.
"Not bad," Artie said, moving a decorative nasturtium off of the jello. "But I am not eating flowers."
Quinn burst out laughing. "You just ate all those different things, including a tarantula on a stick, and you won't eat a flower?"
He grinned. "Just kidding," he said, placing the flower on top of his spoonful of jello.
"You don't have to eat it," she said. "I was just teasing you."
He grinned again, shaking his spoon so the flower fell off. "Good, because I am not eating flowers."
"I don't know what your problem is!" she said. "It's just food!"
He laughed. "I'm going to say that to you the next time I offer you my tarantula on a stick and you say no!"
She grinned. "I'm really glad we came tonight."
He nodded. "Me too. Maybe this can be our thing every year."
"Yeah...maybe," she said, grinning. It wasn't exactly her idea of a good time, but he clearly had a good time, and she decided she'd just have to go along with it, because it made him happy.
A/N: QUARTIE FICATHON NOW IN PROGRESS! All the fics that have been posted so far are AMAZING, and anyone reading this should go read them all!
Or...better yet...join us and write some! Details can be found in the Quinn/Artie Forum, or you can PM me!