[mp] so blue

Senna had just started to peruse the menu. There was a surprisingly short list of items. Maybe the exclusivity extended to their food selection options as well. She hazarded a guess that she would not be ordering a pizza or french fries like she would've if they'd been at Frankie's and she knew that coming in. But still. The menu was more off-putting than the hostess. Sen wasn't much for salads, but even if she was, why on earth would she want 'champagne poached pears' on it? It sounded fancy, sure, but was it good? She couldn't even begin to guess was 'mushroom duxelle' was or why someone would ruin perfectly good bacon by wrapping it around asparagus.

She was about to start in on deciphering the desserts (there had to be something there she recognized, right?) when her name on his lips made her flick her gaze up to him, sliding between the two of them, a small smile curling up her lips. Not her vibe? She pursed her lips, not wanting him to be right just yet. So instead she said, "You didn't tell me you come here often enough that Ros remembers your wine choice." He hadn't wanted to come, but he seemed familiar enough with this place. Little doubts floated up, running through her mind like the river ran through the restaurant, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with them. She shuffled her legs under the table, crossing her legs at knee as her eyes found the menu again.

Happy now, then? She gave him a one-shouldered shrug, a small smile playing about her lips as she lifted her menu a little, the edges fluttering. "The food has to be good, right? What are you ordering?" She glanced around and the thought occurred to her that she  probably wouldn't be able to charm (bully) Eaton's chefs to make her something off the menu like she usually did at Frankie's. Turning her honey gaze back on him, she perked her brows. "What's good here?"

Harlan shifted, genuinely interested in the harshness (for Senna) that cut her her tone—Ros remembers your wine order. The statement was straightforward enough, he thought, albeit misdirected. Roisin was paid to remember the drink order of every semi-important or quidditch adjacent person that stepped foot in the establishment, Harlan included. A smile crept over his lips as he fruitlessly looked over the menu, running a hand over his jaw in thought.

"I didn't tell you all that much about it, did I?" He wondered aloud. There was a lot he left vague about Eaton's. That was intentional.

"Roisin will know your order after tonight..." Harlan finally conceded, his eyes boring back into the menu despite the fact that he knew exactly what his order would be. As if on cue, Senna asked. "It's all good," There was a striking pain in voice that explained his hesitancy to admit it. There wasn't a single thing she could order that wouldn't be suburb. "Do you like duck?" He caught her eye, his mouth pulling into a grin. Something told him, no, she didn't.

Instinctively Harlan's knee pressed into where it found the side of her leg under the table. "You should get the duck," He hadn't allowed time for an answer, he knew she would hate it.

She shook her head, wondering if he was still intentionally being vague about it. Most likely. And probably just because she was so curious/pushy about it. Except she was here now, wasn't she, and she still felt off. As much as she had wanted him to be wrong about this place, the vibe was definitely unsettling and the worst part was that she couldn't put her finger on why.

Senna's brows perked up at his correction, a small smile playing about her lips. Roisin would know her order too eh? She glanced back the way Ros had disappeared before she looked back at Harlan. "Hmm, not sure if I'm into her like that," she said playfully, thinking perhaps if they had met anywhere else but here with present company excluded, it might have been a different answer. Then again maybe not. She did seem awfully sever. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment before he pulled her back on topic.

Pursing her lips at his less than helpful response, she shook her head immediately. "Duck? No no no, noooo," she was quick on the refusal there, a shiver zipping down her spine making her sit up as she leaned her elbows on the table. "I was a restaurant once where they have ducks hanging in the window, fresh ones, and they chopped its head off right there--" she closed her eyes briefly, the memory flashing in her mind's eye and making her blanch and shake her head quickly trying to dispel the thought. "Haven't had duck since, no thank you. Can't get it's little face out of my mind."

The touch of his knee against hers brought her back out of the past and she licked her lips as she noticed the spark in his blues. "And you're not ordering duck either. What else do you want?" she asked, pressing her leg against his with the lightest of pressures.

In hindsight he shouldn't have diverted attention away from even the hint of jealousy in Senna's tone.

That could have gone somewhere, he thought, as he caught Roisin slipping away from the corner of his eye. Bloody missed opportunity. He knew that she wasn't properly jealous, but the semblance of it left him mistakenly wanting more. That never bode well. "Like what?" Harlan wondered as his gaze flicked back up to her from the menu he hadn't bothered actually reading. He also knew exactly how she meant it, yet still he found himself pushing for her say it.

Less surprising even was the fact that Senna wasn't fond of duck. Something told him she avoided eating anything that was once cute. "That's a pity," His tone suggested otherwise. "You can try mine, then," One broad shoulder raised briefly in thought.

The pressure of her leg on his his wasn't lost on him, but Harlan remained steadfast in his nonchalance, as usual. Of course, though, he pressed back. "Well one of us has got to get the duck..." He set down his menu just as their drinks arrived and he bowed in appreciation to the new face beside them. Aware that they weren't ready, the server stepped away and revealed from a distance, Keough. "Shit," Harlan hissed, ducking his head slightly, hoping to not be seen.

There was no way he could avoid it all night, but he was sure as hell going to try.

"Hmm?" Senna hummed at his question, dragging her eyes away from the menu to meet his gaze. Then she smiled and tilted her head to the side, her eyes glittering as she realized what he meant. Did he really not know? She guessed she hadn't been explicit about it, but she had never hid it either. Then again, he had met Lina and she was pretty sure she had mentioned the nude portraits Lina had taken of her when they were together so.. "I think you know the answer to that," she said as her gaze dropped to his lips for a moment before she looked back at the menu. She was still perusing as her menu, fretting over all the non-duck choices as she smoothed out her skirt and then let her hand drift over to his leg that was pressing against hers. She squeezed his leg lightly then a little harder as he mentioned the duck again.

"Can't you pick something else?" she asked with a little pout as she laid the menu flat. She didn't like this place already and if he was really going to order a cute little duck, she might just go for an impromptu dip in the river in hopes they'd kick her out before he dug into his meal. The river running through the restaurant glimmered in the corner of her eye as if inviting her.

"We don't have to get it," she started to add, sipping at her drink, before she trailed off as Harlan cursed. "What?" she asked as the Captain who was not a small man tried to shrink himself down, which was a ridiculous sight to see but a very curious one too. "What? What is it?" she asked with a laugh as her eyes darted around the room. There were a bunch of other people at tables and they looked vaguely familiar or at least seemed like they should be familiar, but she shrugged, clueless.

Scorned ex lover? Ex wife she didn't know about? Current wife? Heavens, none of the ideas that were rolling through her mind were very appealing, but it did seem like he was trying to hide from something.. or someone. "I'm pretty good at making a distraction if you need to make a quick exit," she offered with an angelic smile. Another list of ideas swam through her head but this list was actually fun. The restaurant's dissonance was pressing at her in all the wrong ways but it didn't seem so extreme anymore as she thought of ways she could shock and awe everyone. Or maybe just him. She leaned in further across the table, whispering. "Want me to flash the waiter?"