Plaisir D'Amour {Lilly}

[Rickie Connery]

Oh god he was so nervous, why had he gotten himself into this mess again? Oh yes that’s right, he wanted to be normal again but was making a fool of himself with a pretty girl really the way to go about it? Rickie was more than nervous actually, he was terrified. The days leading up to his date with Lilly he’d been jumpier than normal, a fact that had gotten him into a lot of trouble at work. He’d even punched an old friend in the face because he was nervous; at least that’s what he told himself. The thought of Post Traumatic Stress was suppressed from the young man’s mind.

To distract himself Rickie paced back and forth in his small room at the Three Broomsticks. He checked his reflection in his bathroom’s small mirror and for the third time that day he proceeded to change what he was wearing. Nothing seemed to look good, or date worthy. All he had was casual, scruffy, baggy clothes and his military dress uniform. He was hardly about to wear his formal uniform out so a pair jeans and a black jacket would have to do.

While the man was busy worrying about what he was wearing he didn’t notice that the clock was crawling towards the time to meet Lilly. A quick glance told him he was late which set his heart racing even more. ”Oh shit,” he swore as he raced out his door, down the stairs and through the busy pub.

”Medic!” he heard it far off and desperately Rickie raced towards it. “Please help me!” Where was it coming from? All the sounds around him, the sounds of battle, were drowned out by his beating heart and thoughts of urgency. Already he had a syrette of morphine ready to go held in his lips as he sprinted over the artillery churned ground. At last he arrived to where he swore the cries for help were coming from but there was no one there, wait there was a girl. She didn’t belong on the battlefield and she certainly didn’t look like she needed help.

A splitting headache signalled the shift from flashback to the present. Rickie was mortified to see he was standing outside Madam Puddifoot's cafe and so was Lilly. His face flushed bright red and he stood awkwardly, hoping desperately that she hadn’t noticed his frantic searching for the phantom injured soldier. ”Hey, uhh, Lilly, hi,” he stammered with a sheepish smirk. ”Do you want to go inside?”

[Lilly White]

Lilly hugged her multicolored satchel to her chest while leaning up against the wall of Madam Puddifoot’s. Her sketchpad was safely tucked away, not out as it usually was. She had brought it with her as a good luck charm, and also as an excuse for being there should Rickie not show up.

Lilly had spent the last week experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions. Half the time she was drifting around in a dream state - unable to believe her luck at actually getting a date with a guy as nice as Rickie. The other half was spent stressing and worrying over every little detail and everything that could possibly go wrong. It could rain, it could flood, it might snow, pumpkins might start falling from the sky… Lilly’s list was practically endless.

She was also concerned about what exactly happened on a date. Rickie, being the kind good looking guy he was, had probably been on heaps of dates before, while she knew next to nothing about them. What should she wear? How early should she arrive? Should she arrive late? Should she wear make up? Nice jewelry? Fancy clothes? Lipstick? High heels? A new outfit?

The end result was a very stressed out Lilly White. In the end, she had decided on a bright, floral summer dress and had turned up 10 minutes early (just to make sure she did not seem too eager). However, she soon discovered that being early had its problems. Such as nervously awaiting the arrival of Rickie and getting odd looks from other couples as they entered the café. Oh, the embarrassment she would feel if she was just left standing there for hours on end. She had gotten the right day hadn’t she?

Every few minutes she would look up from ferreting around in her bag to as inconspicuously as possible glance around in hopes of spotting the tall, lean form of her date. Of course, being Lilly, these motions were so obvious that a blind person could practically have seen them.

Finally, just as she was about to think that she may be standing there for weeks, she spotted Rickie approaching. She breathed a silent sigh of relief, and checked that she had everything she needed with her. Her own as quick as possible appearance re-assessment caused her to not even notice Rickie’s slightly erratic behavior, and still managed to look startled when he said hello, despite her knowing that he was coming over.

“Hi…ello,” she replied, mixing her words. What a fantastic start to her first date. “That’d be wonderful,” she replied in response to his offer, thankful of a distraction from her weird behavior.

“Oh, it’s lovely isn’t it?” she exclaimed quietly as she stepped through the door. How could a girl like Lilly not love it? The colour scheme was so very pink and floral - and overall it was a quaint and cozy room that most definitely held a romantic atmosphere. She fell in love with it instantly. She smiled happily at Rickie over her shoulder, wondering where they were going to sit.

[Rickie Connery]

Oh thank God, or whoever was out there. Either she hadn’t noticed his erratic behaviour or she was choosing to ignore it and it was something Rickie was thankful for. Though how she’d missed the pen hanging out of the corner of this mouth was anyone’s guess. Before Lilly turned fully to greet him, the young man quickly discarded the biro and tried his best to look as nonchalant as possible. The last thing he wanted to do with the girl was lapse into anymore abnormal, fucked up behaviour. For the first time since he’d gotten out of hospital he’d found someone that was willing to give him the time of day and he was determined to stay as sane as possible with her.

She did look slightly startled and at once that got the man worrying. Going into damage control he quickly said a quiet, ”Sorry.” Already he predicted rejection; that she was going to give up on the date then and there but no, he was wrong. At once Rickie’s pale face lit up when she agreed to go inside, it was a small victory but he’d take it. The interior of the coffee shop was just as he remembered it from when he’d been a student. This wasn’t the first time he’d taken a girl to Madam Puddifoot’s but all the other times seemed so far away, like they occurred in a different lifetime.

”It is rather lovely,” Rickie agreed with a fervent nod of his head. Other couples, mostly students, were strewn all over the place. The young man was torn between finding a more secluded corner or a table out in the main part of the shop for he and Lilly. ”This table looks alright,” he gestured to one near a window before holding out one of the chairs for the girl to sit. For a moment he hesitated, unsure what to do and feeling more than a little awkward. ”What do you want to drink?” Rickie asked eventually, cheeks a deep crimson colour.