Bertie could hardly believe that he actually got a sweet, beautiful person to go on a date with him. To a nice restaurant no less. This was no lunch date! This felt... Almost official in a way. Brynn Ellis had always been kind to him, though she was in a lot of ways, busier than he was when it came to work. She threw herself into her career, and into helping werewolves. It was admirable. Next week was going to be a tough, busy one for her.

He wasn't going to get his hopes up for a relationship! If she decided after this date that she'd rather just hang out with him as friends, so be it.

In a lot of ways, Bertie felt like he was in the game late. Many of his classmates from Hogwarts who had been in his year were married and had kids. Some even had children who were nearly old enough to attend Hogwarts. His cousin Audrey's kid, Linus, was already in his second year. To be fair, she was a single parent whose love life was much more abysmal than his own.

Bert had dressed in his nicest burgundy dress robes. The gondolier was preparing the boat for him, Brynn, and another couple who were waiting to get to the restaurant. Ascendio Italiano floated above the water-- many people arrived by broom, but those who were uncomfortable with that method of travel usually took one of the boats.

Besides, he had taken great care to look nice! He didn't want the wind to muss up his hair.

"Soooo." He looked over at Brynn, grinning nervously, "You haven't been here before either, right?" A jarvey began to scream at the gondolier as she threw it off the boat.

Brynn had started to suspect something when Bertie mentioned that he'd be treating her to this meal. She'd been flattered, and a little bit embarrassed – she'd been chatting casually when she'd mentioned the cost, and definitely had not been subtly begging for a handout! Then there was this. Here. This moment. She was looking at the other couple who stood waiting for the boat. They were adorable, and clearly on some sort of date, and she smiled at the promise of possibility that lingered between them - and then she stepped back and tried to picture Bertie and herself from the cute couple's perspective. There was Bertie, all dressed to the nines in a perfectly dapper set of dress robes, and Brynn herself, in a dress she'd pulled from her closet and almost hadn't worn because she'd agonized for an hour over whether or not it was flattering. It was floral, with accents that matched the color of Bertie's robes so closely one might think they'd planned it.

Were they adorable? Check.

Did a promise of possibility linger between them? Check.

And he'd offered to pay for the meal.

The combined evidence sent a shock of pink straight to Brynn's cheeks as she stood, rolling around restlessly on her kitten heels. This was a date. This was absolutely a date.

She was so very, very embarrassed.

But still she smiled, because embarrassment was not always a bad thing – in this case, it was more about being caught off guard. Frankly, she was flattered that Bertie wanted to take her out somewhere nice. She just wished she hadn't been so myopic, and so quick to assume that nobody was considering her a romantic prospect. She would have prepared! She was in the entirely wrong head space! And now, for no good reason (because this was Bertie Hughes), she was nervous. Nervous because of Bertie! Ridiculous! And true!

She was about to answer his question – about whether or not she'd ever been to this fancy establishment – when the sight of the Jarvey caught her off guard, and instead of responding, she chuckled. She chuckled because the sight was ridiculous, but also because she wasn't sure this could get any more absurd. “Oh, heavens,” she remarked, remnants of the laugh on her lips, “It's like I haven't left the office!” She gave her head a shake, self-consciously pushing a piece of wavy blonde hair behind her ear.

“But I haven't been here before, no. I've never been to Slandermouth at all. I never quite understood the appeal,” she admitted, smiling a sheepish, closed-lipped smile, which was bursting at the seams. “But everyone I've spoken to about it has told me that this restaurant is absolutely fantastic,” she added, always striving to end with a positive statement... even if she was a touch concerned about just how difficult it was going to be to get within nibbling distance of the meatballs.

"Slandermouth is..." He hesitated, "Fun?" Bertie did enjoy going to the town, but he wasn't so certain he would have wanted to live here. The town was weirdly proud of the lack of gnomes, but the tradeoff was the overpopulation of jarveys. "I don't think they allow jarveys in the restaurant, thankfully. I think a lot of the local businesses shoo them out for us. Plus, Ascendio Italiano is floating on the water, and jarveys are not the strongest swimmers."

The gondola was ready, and he got in easily before offering an arm to help Brynn. Soon they were on their way. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the restaurant was so close. "I'm sure this restaurant is good.  My cousin Audrey swears by it, and she's the pickiest person I know." Bertie looked at Brynn nervously, not wanting to leave any space for awkward silences.

"Uh, and here they have some really fun festivals in the town square, if you'd like to go sometime..? There's plenty of handmade crafts... That sort of thing."

“I think it's common practice that most restaurants don't allow creatures inside,” she informed him, a twisty smile lingering near the very corners of her lips, as if self conscious of itself, “It's a practice I tend to agree with, especially when we're discussing jarveys,” she chuckled. Brynn was definitely the kind of woman who was propelled by her empathy and sense of justice, and had a tendency to look at things from more than one angle without even thinking about it... but there was no little voice at the back of her brain trying to convince her to give jarveys their fair shot. Were gnomes that awful, really? In this battle, Brynn knee precisely which side she was on.

She was, however, trying to give the benefit of the doubt when it came to her feelings about this quick boat trip. By the time Bertie was helping her onto the gondola, her face had already paled considerably – except, of course, for her cheeks, which were a shade of pink never before seen in nature. She was relying on him to steady her far more than she would admit, her ankles shaking before she'd even stepped properly into the boat. ”Heavens,” she whispered under her breath, sitting down and securing herself as quickly as she could manage. This felt like first year at Hogwarts all over again – there was the same nauseous rocking, and the same lingering nerves regarding what was to come. She knew that she was fine, but she was still on edge. This is what she got for agreeing to a night out with an auror. He may have been one of Britain's best and brightest, but he was a little more daring when it came to restaurant selection than Brynn ever would have been. She wouldn't say a word, however. She was sure the place was lovely.

Brynn was, admittedly, having trouble making conversation while on the gondola – her eyes kept flicking back toward the restaurant, as if willing the vessel to move faster. She was practically holding her breath! She was listening to Bertie, however, smiling that warm smile of hers in his direction and attempting to remain present. “I'm not picky,” she assured him... except when it came to the mode of transportation, she was realizing, but she hoped that didn't show.

It probably did. But she hoped it didn't.

She didn't realize that she still had a death grip on his arm.

“That sounds lovely,” she smiled at his mention of the festival, “It sounds perfect for you! And oh – oh, are we here?” she asked, sounding just a little too happy about that, relief washing over her whole body. “Oh, fantastic! That was quick! Heavens!” she exclaimed, tightening the vice grip she had on Bertie as she stood, eager to be rid of her sea legs.

They got out of the gondola-- or rather, Bertie tripped out of the gondola but caught himself. He tried to make it look smooth by running his fingers through his hair and standing up straight as if it had never happened. The auror shot Brynn a grin that looked more nervous than confident and suave, and led her into the restaurant.

"Hughes, party of two." Bertie said, and the hostess led them back to a circular table, adorned with a white tablecloth. The environment was jarvey-free, full of people dressed nicely and leaning over their tables to speak. He caught a few couples holding hands across the table. Suddenly, expectations for himself were... Too high. When he sat down across from Brynn, the look in his eyes was frozen in panic.

"You-- you look lovely."  His eyes darted down to the menu and he skimmed the items. "Do you want an appetizer?" Bertie picked one at random, "Mussels, do you like mussels?"