A Night To...Remember?

[Martine Laurent]

Martine stood in front of the mirror, trying to decide between dresses. The red dress, perhaps, looked far too forward for a first date, but was the blue dress pretty enough? Sighing, Martine pushed her hair back out of her eyes, looked at the shoes she would wear - some black heels - decided on the dark blue, and hurriedly dressed. The plain dress would have to do. It suited her eyes more, anyway.
Quickly applying some lipgloss, Martine looked at herself in the mirror again, and decided how she looked would have to do. Hopefully, Nicolas would appreciate it. Hopefully he would appreciate her. She wasn't sure what sort of impression she had made on him, but she suspected it was somewhat positive. He had asked her out, after all. Pacing, Martine wandered downstairs to the front door, nervous and anxious about how the night would pan out.

((laaaaame. sorry.))

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas had left the Auror office shortly after finishing up his share of the paperwork for the day and submitting it to Scott in the hopes that he'd be able to do more actual auror work over the coming week. He hoped that Scott might tone it down a bit on the paperwork, too, but his hopes aren't too set on that happening. Once he'd left the office he ensured he had the slip of paper Martine had handed him in the Atrium before he returned home to clean up before meeting Martine.

Nicolas changed out of the garb that he usually wore to work into a slightly more dressy set of robes. Still not nearly as showy as dress robes, but obviously nicer than his usual robes. Slipping his wand and the slip of paper into the pockets of this new set of robes he quickly grabbed a cloak, which he draped over his arm, before apparating for what he hoped to be about a block away from the address Martine had scribbled on to the piece of paper.

Taking a look at his new surroundings Nicolas glanced about the area. He honestly wasn't entirely sure he was in the right place so he looked for a sign post to indicate he had at least landed on the right street. The nearest signpost indicated that he was on a street perpendicular to that of Martine's. Relieved, and growing a little more anxious for his date with Martine, he walked in the direction of the address on the paper in his hand.

Approaching the house Nicolas pushed aside all the thoughts that had entered his mind during his walk - whether she had just agreed because he'd taken her out of the office for the day, or because she thought it'd be something to do but really having no interest in him. He was fairly certain, even if just from the way she'd behaved in the Atrium, that she was just as - if not more - interested in him as he was in her. That being said, he also knew she was an auror and it was possible that what he'd observed wasn't the entire truth. Whichever way things were in reality - he would find out tonight. He stepped up to the door and knocked on it a few times. After having knocked, he quickly realized he was empty handed and drew his wand - he quickly conjured a bouquet of flowers before quietly slipping his wand back into his pocket and waiting for Martine, flowers in hand.


(Meh: Decent RP > Lame RP > No RP)

 

[Martine Laurent]

((I am soooo sorry. Seriously, Martine is the hardest of my characters for me to actually get in to character and RP with her, because I haven't even pinned her down yet. ))

Nervously smoothing her dress for the fifth time, Martine nearly shrieked when she heard a knock at the door. Admonishing herself for such silly behaviour - you're an Auror, for crying out loud - Martine nervously opened the door and smiled when she saw Nicolas standing there, holding flowers. "Good evening, Nicolas," she stated, beaming at the older man. For a couple of years, her determination and training towards becoming an Auror had quite gotten in the way of her social life. But now she was an Auror - a paper-shuffling one at that - Martine was very much willing to resume socialising and relationships. If this turned out more as the latter than the former, anyway.
"Would you like to come in for a moment?" Martine asked, politely. She wasn't quite sure where they were going, for she had left that to Nicolas to decide.

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas smiled as Martine opened the door for him and he caught his first glimpse of her out of her workrobes and in something much more flattering. Truly enough, even in her robes she was stunning - but the blue dress she now wore brought out her eyes and made her look even more lovely than Nicolas had ever seen her. "Good evening" Nicolas replied, "You look stunning this evening." He added as Martine beamed up towards him and offered him to come in side. He accepted the invitation and entered Martine's home.

Nicolas glanced about his surroundings for a moment before returning his attention to Martine, "These are for you." Nicolas offered, handing Martine the flowers - he was tempted to joke about having just conjured them, but figured it likely wasn't the best idea to admit to having given so little forethought to things. He waited patiently as Martine dealt with the flowers then, as she returned, he offered to help her with her coat. "I have a reservation for us at 7:30." Nicolas began in a cheerful tone, hoping the evening would go well and based on his past experiences with Martine he trusted it would. "So if you're all ready, we can be off." Nicolas offered Martine his arm and a borderline-foolish smile at this point, having decided not to tell her where they're be going until they got there and forcing her to side-along apparate with him if she intended to get there at all.

[We need to speed up this RP like mad... because Kingy is going back to Hogwarts for Y8 so we need to work out what's happening with them there, too.... MSN?]

 

[Martine Laurent]

((I was all prepared to go to bed then I remembered this. Ahaha.))

"Thank you!" Martine exclaimed, beaming as she gratefully accepted both the compliment and the flowers, and quickly rushed off to place them in a vase, as well as double-check her appearance in the mirror. Satisfied that she looked fine, Martine returned, allowing Nicolas to help her with her trench coat. Playfully, she scowled as Nicolas refused to tell her where they were going, only when they were supposed to be there - but life was full of surprises, she supposed. As long as she wasn't going down Bleak Street, she'd be happy. Anywhere would be fantastic, as long as it was with Nicolas. Smiling again, Martine closed her eyes as Nicolas apparated them to their destination, opening her eyes after a moment - side-along apparition wasn't exactly the most pleasant of experiences, and while she had gotten used to it, she still preferred regular apparition. Head spinning a little, Martine looked up to see that they were standing in front of quite a nice restaurant. "Well, this is impressive," Martine commented, winking at Nicolas. The two of them walked in together and were shown to a table by the window.

((aurgh, you know how much I hate having to godmod? Sorry. ))

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas checked to ensure that Martine was still all in one piece after apparating them both to the restaurant. He was normally quite good at apparating, and bringing along others with him, but first dates set him a little more on edge than usual and magic seemed to do whatever it felt like doing if Nicolas wasn't in complete control of his emotions. Pleased that Martine seemed to be all accounted for (he didn't figure splinching her would have been a great start to the evening) Nicolas nodded as she spoke, "Yes, it's pretty nice, the food is excellent and the service better still." Nicolas began, starting to walk with Martine in to the restaurant, "It's also the best reservation I could manage with such short notice." he added with a grin - it having been only that morning that he had been so happy that Martine had gone with him on his assignment and that afternoon that they'd met again in the Atrium and arranged the evening. Today seemed to be one of Nicolas' better days, and he smiled at the thought.

Nicolas hung his cloak by the entrance to the restaurant and helped Martine take her coat off, then hung that for her as well. He smiled quietly to himself once more as his eyes rested momentarily upon Martine. Nicolas checked his robe pocket for his wand, as was second-nature for him whenever he took off his cloak, then they were shown to a table by the window. Nicolas helped Martine with her chair, pushing it in slightly after she was seated, then took the chair opposite her. Casually picking up his menu Nicolas spoke to get some conversation sparked, "So, how are you liking New Zealand thus far?" He asked, feeling it was far enough from the subject of their work that it would utterly destroy the night.

 

[Martine Laurent]

"My apologies," Martine muttered, when Nicolas mentioned the short notice. "Impulsiveness, you know," she added, as an attempt to explain. Her actions had been somewhat...rash, today, and she probably looked like a little girl with a crush. But Martine was twenty-five, not little at all, and it wasn't really a crush...well, it was, maybe, but crush sounded like something third, fourth and fifth year girls at Beauxbatons harbored. Not twenty-five year old Aurors.

A little nervously, she took her seat. There was something a little awe-inspiring about Nicolas, the fact that he was such an admirable Auror, mostly. Not to mention the fact that he was quite attractive, and in general a really great person. Taking a deep breath - this is a date, not a job interview - Martine looked up at Nicolas, smiling gently. "Oh, I love it!" she responded, enthusiastically. "It is so beautiful, and there is such a lovely community here. It has its dark side, of course, but if I did not acknowledge that then I would not be an Auror. But it is a lovely place. I hardly miss Belgium, except maybe the chocolates," she added, with a sly grin. "You do not sound like you are from New Zealand, I think. How long have you been living here?" Martine asked, out of curiosity. A lot of people around did not seem to be native to the country, many people in the magical community seemed to have emigrated from England or America. It was odd, but Martine did not question it. Didn't she, herself, move here from Belgium?

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas nodded, glad that Martine was enjoying New Zealand so far. He offered a small laugh with her comment about the chocolates and was almost taken off guard by her question regarding his own coming to New Zealand. "Well, I came here from the United Kingdom nine years I think it was, now. Mostly to escape the UK and what it constantly reminded me of. I suppose I still technically live there, though. Sure, I have a house here - but I definitely consider my home to be in England and I doubt very much that that will ever change for me." Nicolas admitted to Martine. Their conversation continued on, mostly jovially - though some points were quite a bit more serious than the others. More often than not they would pass over those bits quicker than other parts. The garçon came by with their orders and they continued to chat over their food, bnoth seeming to enjoy the company more than they were the food (a compliment to the company, to be certain, and no offense to the food ). Once they'd both finished their meals Nicolas set some money down on the table for the meals and the service before helping Martine out of her chair and walking with her to the doorway. He helped her put her trenchcoat back on, smiling all the while, before he draped his cloak over his shoulders and opened the door for them into the starlit night.

 

[Martine Laurent]

Martine found herself very much enjoying the date. Nicolas was wonderful company, and conversation between the two of them flowed naturally. So much so that Martine barely noticed what she was eating - only that it was delicious - as she was more focused on the man opposite her. Martine couldn't believe her luck in the fact that she was actually having this date. Only this morning had they gone out to apprehend a Death Eater, and now she was sitting in a nice restaruant with him, having dinner. What a day, Martine thought, quite content.

After they had finished, Martine and Nicolas made their exit and began to walk outside, in to the beautiful night. "So, I guess you move between the UK and New Zealand a lot?" Martine asked, referring back to an earlier point of conversation. "It must be something of an inconvienience, yes?"

 

[Nicolas King]

"A fair bit." Nicolas conceded, though he hadn't returned home in a fair while. He was sure Verney was keeping the manor in order and he hadn't had much of a reason to return home as of late. "When I have to go home it's not so much of an inconvenience, I enjoy the UK quite a bit, I don't know anybody there anymore - but I enjoy it nevertheless. It's just so magical and well established - very much unlike New Zealand is at times." Nicolas explained as best he could. but he knew his explanation fell short. Maybe it was just because he grew up in England that he felt so attached to it, but whatever the reason was the simple fact remained that he preferred the UK.

 

[Martine Laurent]

"Understandable," Martine said, nodding her head. She had very little reason to return to Belgium these days, apart from occaisionally visiting her parents, but she never stayed long. She saw going home as something of a failure to herself. It was not until she could hold her head up high, proud of herself and of her efforts, that she would consider actually going home. But Martine quite liked New Zealand. She did not know many people around, but it was very pretty. Not as pretty as Brussels, perhaps, but still nice in it's own, quaint way.
The conversation continued on, so much so that they completely lost track of time and before they knew it, they were outside of Martine's place. "Well, thank you for a wonderful evening," Martine stated, earnestly. She had really enjoyed herself and really liked being in Nicolas' company. "I will see you at work, then," she added, leaning forward to give Nicolas a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight!" she said sweetly, before turning and heading inside, feeling quite content.