juststopped | for Krem

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krem

for Krem

It isn't the first time she's ended up somewhere she didn't necessarily intend. In private, she's done her fair share of crying over Flemming - she misses her daughter like a part of her, even after so many years - but in public, she's decided to put a brave face on it. After he'd delivered her to her apartment, Krem had told her that he'd be happy to take her for dinner, once she felt more settled. Adaline's done a little bit to make the apartment her own. She's gone back to the place that Sam bought her and put together a capsule wardrobe that's a sad shadow of her guest room back in San Francisco. She is, in short, trying. And that has to count for something.

It's the middle of the afternoon when she texts Krem.

Dinner would be nice - Adaline.

They arrange to meet at a place that Adaline's walked past a few times. It's not a particularly showy place, but she does make an effort, putting on a dress with a full skirt that reminds her of something she might have bought new in the fifties. She does her hair and make-up. She considers heels for a long time and then decides to wear them anyway. Krem strikes her as someone who doesn't lack for confidence, quiet though it seems to be.

She's a little late when she steps into the restaurant, shrugging out of her coat to let the hostess check it for her.

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"A loaf of bread," Krem said, quite simply and without any particular hesitation. He smiled softly and the effusive confidence he'd had for just a moment eased back to something a bit more sheepish. "And we could make the meal to fit between the two together?"

One of Adaline's eyebrows quirks and she can't help the pleased smile that blossoms across her face.

"Is that you asking me out again?" she says. "Just so we're clear."

Krem smiled, still a little soft and sheepish, and he let himself have a sort of private laugh at his own expense. He sipped his wine, and nodded, minutely.

"If you'd be interested in having dinner together a second time then, yes. I'm asking if you'd like to have dinner again some time."

Adaline pretends to think about it for a second, taking a sip of her wine, brushing a tendril of blonde hair back from her face. She tilts her head, studying him for a moment, wondering if it's possible to make him blush.

"I think I'd like that," she says.

His smile grew wider, a bit more confident again, and he nodded. Internally, he told himself that it was only dinner; this was friendliness, politeness, and nothing more. She was lovely, and he could appreciate that. But he had to be better than he'd been over the past months, and that meant caution first before tumbling head first into anything silly. And dinner was going very nicely.

"Any thoughts on dessert yet?"

"Chocolate," says Adaline, without a hint of hesitation, draining the last of her wine, very aware that that's her second glass. "And more alcohol. I'm definitely not ready to go back to that apartment, yet."

It feels unbelievably lonely without a dog. How long as it been since she was without a dog?

Krem looked at the bottle they had, and laughed softly; they'd mostly finished it off, and he doubted it would have matched well with something chocolate, at any rate. He poured what remained of the bottle into Adaline's glass, since she'd just finished, and hummed as he polished off his second glass as well, happy to be only a moment behind her in their cups.

"Chocolate it is, then. I might have their sommelier recommend something to go along with whatever you pick, though, I'm honestly dreadful with wine pairing."

"Am I keeping you?" asks Adaline, knocking back another long swallow of her wine. She feels warm, loose, relaxed. It's not a feeling she's particularly accustomed to. But nobody knows her here. Here, there's nothing remarkable about her at all. "It occurs to me that you might not be quite as unwilling to go home as I am."

"No," Krem assured, shaking his head as he finished up his plate of food. He laughed softly, a bit embarrassed that his thoughtfulness had been taken for boredom. "No, not at all. I'm having a lovely time. And I'm glad to help you occupy yours, as well."

"I'm having a lovely time as well," she says, setting her glass down with the stem of her glass. She blushes a little, turning her face to the side. "I don't mean to make that sound unexpected."

Krem shrugged a little, not the least offended by the way she phrased it. He smiled, just admiring the way that the light looked on her for a moment, that she had agreed to coming out with him to dinner in the first place. It was all, as they had both said, lovely.

"You know, honestly," he said, and laughed a little. "I haven't a whole lot else to compare to. The going out to dinner part. It hasn't been a part of my, uh. Repertoire. I've mostly just run into friends at the bars or cafes. I haven't been...out much."

"Oh, well, now we have to go out again," says Adaline, feigning concern, leaning across the table to squeeze his hand as though she's reassuring him. "You could be having a terrible time and you wouldn't know it until you've got something to set it next to."

"I definitely know I'm not having a terrible time," Krem said with a bright, cheery deference to her mock concern. Her hand was still just as soft as it had been when they had met; he hadn't imagined that. Boldly, he turned his palm up under her hand on his, and let his fingers brush her wrist.

This time, he was sure his flush showed on his cheeks a little, for how warm they felt. The waiter came and collected their plates for them, and Krem requested a bottle of wine that would go with whatever Adaline ordered for dessert.

Adaline's spent a lot of time avoiding casual touches over the years, avoiding wanting to let anyone in that much. Krem turns his hand and his fingers brush her wrist and Adaline shivers, just a little. A flush of colour rushes into her cheeks, mirroring his. What is she doing here?

Adaline orders a chocolate cake based pudding as well as fruit. She doesn't pull back, doesn't take her hand away, even though she pantomimes giving the waiter her full attention.

The waiter recommended a tawny port to go along with the pudding, and Krem, smiling softly, nodded. He'd had port before, and imagined that it would be a good compliment. He internally complimented himself on his ability to split his attention between the lovely woman across from him and the waiter handling them so professionally; enough, at least, to not make a complete ass of himself.

"I feel it's only fair to say," Krem said when they were left alone again, "that I just got out of a relationship, recently. So. Friends is...a good thing, right now. Not that I was assuming this was--that this was anything beside--but..."

He stumbles and Adaline feels something tender for him, right then. She nods, squeezes his hand and then takes hers away. She smiles, though, to show that she's giving him space rather than chiding him.

"Friends sounds perfect to me," she says. Distance has always served her well, after all.

Something about the distance was blissful and wondrous and still just a little bit heartbreaking, like looking at the moon and the stars, or a particularly beautiful piece of fine art. Krem fidgeted with his wine glass a little, now that his hand was free. The back of his tongue burned with a sudden need to outpour with a hundred overly personal things, none of which needed saying in the slightest. So he kept them in, and sort of laughed at his sudden sheepishness.

"I feel like something just changed, but I'm not sure what it is," she says, leaning her chin into her hand. "I...there was someone that I left behind, too. So. I understand? If that helps?"

"I--no, I don't think so," Krem said, shaking his head reassuringly. He smiled again, just as soft as he had throughout the rest of dinner, no less bright for being gentle.

"I'm sure that you left someone behind. Was that your husband, or someone else?" He was aware, after the words were out, how terribly personal that question was, and he shook his head, laughing a little and flapping a hand. "I'm sorry, that was rude. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

Adaline makes a thoughtful sound.

"Direct, maybe, but not rude," she says. "My husband's been dead for a long, long time. I'd....met someone new. Opened my heart." She shrugs. "That makes me sound like a silly girl."

"No, no that doesn't sound silly at all. And I'm sorry for your loss--even if it was a long time ago." He doubted it could have been that long ago; she had a young face. If she looked after herself as well as Dorian or Vivienne did, she might be ten or fifteen years his senior at most, but he doubted that.

"It's always good to love again, even if it's hard," Krem said, a bit cautiously. Dorian's advice about hope sort of rattled about in his head, and Krem reminded himself that he ought to let himself do his healing first before anything else.

The waiter arrived with the chocolate cake pudding and fruit, and the new bottle of port wine. There were two spoons for the pudding, and Krem smiled a bit cheekily at Adaline.

"Did you intend to share that? I wouldn't want to presume."

"Thank you," she says. It might have been a long, long time, but that doesn't mean his sympathy is any less valuable to her. Her hand itches to reach out for his again; she picks up her wine glass instead. She prefers not to think about Ellis, so she nods, but then she turns her attention the dessert in front of her.

"Well, I don't know if I like you that much," she teases.

"Oh, that's fair," Krem said, nodding somberly. He filled up their glasses with the port, humming at the rose-amber color of it, a good sort of sappy color almost. It smelled sweet even just from the bottle. "You'll have to tell me if it meets expectation, then."

He did steal a blueberry out of her collection of fruit, though, grinning cheekily as he tossed it in the air and leaned back to catch it in his mouth.

Adaline makes a small, delighted sound when he catches the berry and then she picks up a spoon and tastes the chocolate. Her eyelashes flutter. The sound she makes is borderline obscene.

"You definitely have to try that."

Krem smiled, sipping the port. He was unduly impressed with himself for not sputtering or blushing too heavily when Adaline made that noise. For a moment, he merely stared at her across the table, lower lip bent in to catch between his teeth discretely.

He reached over and picked up the spare spoon, grabbing himself a bite of the chocolate.

It was awfully good chocolate.

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