10- "But the ice cream comes for free with a main course. Didn't you read the menu?"
Mai took a tiny peek above the menu in her hands, her chocolate brown eyes staring right at Naru who was sitting right opposite of her.
She gulped and looked down at the menu again. The alien letters and words were already making her world spin, but even if she couldn't read English words, numbers were definitely not a problem. The cost of most dishes here was making her stomach swirl uncomfortably.
"Naru." Mai whispered.
He flipped the menu, his eyes fixated on it. "What is it?"
"Are we really eating here?"
Naru glanced up. "Are we not?"
"What are all these things?" Mai hushed before hiding behind the menu when a waiter walked passed them. When there was no one around to hear her embarrassed confession, she continued. "I don't understand anything here!"
"I'll be really surprise if you do, actually." Naru shut the menu with a hand. "Do you not want to eat here?"
The food looked tasty when Mai took a couple of peek at the food on other customer's table, but the portion was definitely not worth the money. She could buy a whole lot of groceries and whip out a decent buffet meal with the money they (Naru) would pay for the food that they were about to eat. But still, this was the first time she was here at such a high class restaurant... and with Naru...
"So?" Naru quirked an eyebrow.
"No." Mai gave a defeated sigh. "I don't want to."
"Fine." He stood up. "Let's go."
Mai followed him out of the restaurant, feeling her cheeks flushed as she quickly lowered her head. It felt a little humiliating to take up their space and leaving without ordering anything, not to mention, their table was reserved.
"I didn't know Masako has such taste." Mai drawled after they exited the grand building. "Really? She always wanted to eat here?"
Naru didn't reply, but continued his way down the streets as she strolled beside him.
She sighed at his silence and recalled the past events that lead to this moment. It was like a normal day, filing of papers and making of tea. What made it different was when Naru suddenly came to her desk and stood domineering over her like he was about to eat her.
"Are you meeting anyone tonight?"
"Uhh... no?"
"Good. Come to this place with me."
"Where? A new case?"
"Dinner."
She almost died when she googled the place where Naru told her. She wasn't expecting such development out of the blue and never did she thought that this day would ever come. He further explained it was because Masako couldn't make it for their dinner date, so Naru asked her along instead since the seats were already reserved and it was hard to get one in the first place.
If Masako couldn't make it in the end, Naru could simply not show up at the restaurant. Wasn't he great at this? Doing his own way without a concern of others. Why did he have to make the effort and ask her to replace Masako's presence?
Sometimes, Mai just didn't get
"Where do you want to eat then?"
Mai's thoughts were snapped and she was flung back down to reality. She blinked, casting a glance over at her boss. She thought they were on their way home or something, since this dinner was off. After all, it was her who said she didn't want to eat there.
"We're still eating?"
"Is there something wrong with it?"
She shook her head. "I... didn't think you would still want to eat." 'With me...'
"I'm a human, Mai."
"I know that." She mumbled.
"So where do you want to eat?"
They were already walking into another district, one that Mai was more familiar and comfortable in. Shopping malls and fast food chains started appearing along the streets and Mai tapped her chin. Her face immediately lit up when her eyes caught upon a family restaurant not far from where they were.
"How about that?" She pointed. "It looks nice."
Naru followed her finger, his gaze settling on the same building as her. "Fine. Let's go."
Mai nodded her head. This was the first time, literally the very first time they would be dining together, at a place like that. Heck, there was actually a tons of things that Mai hadn't done with Naru. (Nothing beyond what a normal assistant or friend would do, of course.) Watching a movie, riding a bike, eating ice cream... Mai shook her head vigorously, trying to swallow the laughter. It was weird to imagine doing those things with Naru, of all people.
"What's so funny?"
Even if she tried to hide her laughter, she couldn't help with the smile that was already etched on her lips.
"Nothing."
When they entered the restaurant, a cute waitress guided them over to a table next to a window and left them the menus before leaving to do her work. Mai pat on her sofa seat, closing her eyes as she felt her shoulder eased from tension. This was the perfect environment she wanted to eat.
She picked up the menu happily and glanced over at the words that she understand more clearly than anyone. "Hamburger steak, pasta, pizza..." Mai hummed and flipped to the next page. The price of the food made her eyes less painful too.
Comparing that restaurant and this restaurant, it explained a lot about why she couldn't communicate with Masako sometimes.
Mai glanced up from her menu casually before she noted the frown on Naru's face. She blinked and looked down at the menu again. 'Are the food here not to his liking?'
"Umm..." She began. "Are you alright?"
Naru glanced up hastily and straightened his posture. "I'm fine. He muttered before lowering his gaze at the menu and looking back at her again. "What are you eating?"
"I'm guessing pasta."
"Which page?"
"Oh, uhhh, page 4."
He flipped to the said page.
"Which one?"
"Bacon and cheese pasta." Mai licked her lips. "I think the restaurant recently opened, that's why they don't have any pictures or illustrations to show the food, but bacon and cheese pasta is my favorite."
"Bacon and cheese pasta..."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Have you picked a choice?"
"I'll take the same as you." He shut the menu.
Mai wouldn't expect him to raise his hands to order in such a place. So instead, she took the initiative to get one of the waiter's attention. Well, that was the least she could do, as a sign of appreciation that he compiled to her request and decided to eat here for her.
.o.
"Look at the cheese!" Mai exclaimed. Her fork twirled and twirled as the long strands of cheese was pulled from the plate and up high. She gave a strong heartfelt laugh, one that was bigger than her before she stuck the huge chunk of melted cheese in her mouth.
Naru wriggled in his seat, uncomfortable that he found himself intrigued by her childish behavior. He picked up his utensils and began digging in.
"How is it?" Mai spoke, mouth half-full.
"It's good."
"I know right!" She beamed. "I should take Ayako and the rest here one day. Keiko too."
He silently ate his meal, only to stop certain times when Mai's rambles and spoken out thoughts were something he didn't agree on. He didn't know how it ended like this, and how he ended up here, but he was glad it happened. A tiny part of him did.
Masako always find grand places for dinner, and one of the great example was the restaurant they both left. It was nice, and it gave him a slight nostalgic feeling like he was in Britain. Still, that didn't give him any feeling of comfort and easiness when the person across him was Masako. It wasn't like he wanted to dine with her in the first place. It was simply blackmail.
Naru didn't know why he asked Mai along. Dinner was something he needed, of course. But there wasn't any valid and justifiable answer for himself to know why he decided to get up his seat and walk to Mai's desk to ask for her time to this dinner.
Unconsciously, he twirled his fork in a circle and coil the cheese around the utensil. Naru blinked when he realized what he was doing and scowled inwardly.
"You're copying me." Mai chuckled. Damn it, she managed to catch what he was doing. If only she was just as observant as she was now during cases, that would prevent a lot of troubles from always happening to her.
He flicked his gaze over at her. "No."
She gave a smug smile. "Oh, don't be shy."
"Your nonsense is getting out of hand."
Mai laughed.
This was the comfort that he missed, something he would rather die than ever saying out loud. The setting was nothing compared in Britain, but it was enough to give him the feeling like he was home, and not a thousands of miles away. And he wasn't just home, Gene was here with him too.
It scared Naru how similar Mai was with Gene, although the former was so much louder. He tried to draw a line between them, a line that separates two different worlds. Naru didn't believe in heaven, but if he had to believe it just so he could imagine Gene to be somewhere in this universe, he decided heaven would be the place. Mai belonged on Earth, and that was where he was too.
"Naru."
He blinked, glancing up from his almost empty plate and realized a waiter was standing by their table.
"Do you like chocolate or strawberry ice cream?" Mai continued.
"Neither."
"How about having two different flavors so we can share?"
Naru noted how Mai was practicing selective hearing whenever she heard something she didn't want to. Of all things, she just had to learn the bad parts from him.
"I don't want any."
"But the ice cream comes for free with a main course. Didn't you read the menu?"
Of course he didn't. He couldn't even read pass the front cover.
"Whatever you want."
"We'll go with chocolate and strawberry." Mai told the waiter.
She wiped her hands in glee once the waiter went ahead with the order. "Ice cream has always been my favorite."
"Just a while ago, you claimed that bacon and cheese pasta was your favorite."
Mai blushed. "Well, all kinds of food has been my favorite."
Naru shook his head.