The Tin-man's Heart (Luther and Darcie)

Luther tried to school his features a little bit but it was clear that he was nervous. He'd asked Darcie out on a date. It had taken him an awful long time to build up the courage to actually ask her but here the day was.

He was waiting for her at a table for two in the most expensive restuarant in the entire hidden village. It had been given five stars by something beginning with 'M'. Luther hadn't paid attention to it, just the stars. I was supposed to be great and for the money you paid it ought to be.

Despite his opinion of his body and his additions, Luther was dressed in such a way that his arms were not noticably more covered than other people's would be. He was wearing an armani suit, a light weight one, but without a tie. It was casual enough for his date with Darcie yet smart enough for the restuarant and his date with Darcie. It was all rather confusing. Either way, he was waiting for her and was getting gradually more nervous.

The time was ticking by after all and he was beginning to look rather strange sitting alone at a table for two.

Darcie happily bounced down the road towards the restaurant in the Hidden Village, she was very happy that she was able t go on a date with Luther, it was her first date after all as she had never been asked out before, so she was all very excited about it.

Hoping that she had not put too much effort into her dressing, as soon as she saw the restaurant her mouh dropped open and she thought that maybe she had underdressed for the venue. Blinking Darcie tried to straighten herself out and she approached the entrance.

Spotting Luther she hurried over to him, feeling a little self concious as she did so. Smiling broadly Darcie sat down and saw that he looked rather worried;

"Hey Luther, sorry if I'm a little late, I was worrying about what I would need to wear." she giggled "You look very handsome tonight, I love your suit."

Darcie's Dress

Luther had picked a table with a view of the door for many reasons. The most important was that it meant he'd be able to tell when Darcie arrived. Other reasons included an in-built sense of paranoia and a desire to know where his exits were.

Seeing Darcie walk through the door stilled Luther's racing heart for a second before a feeling of calm came over him. He smiled back at Darcie and waved a hand, her chair moving out for her with the motion,

"Hello Darcie. It's quite alright, I worry about things a lot it would seem. I knew that you would come though so it's alright." he told her with the same, soft, smile. Of course it was a bit of a lie. He hadn't known at all, that's why he had gotten so worried. He smiled a little bit more, "My suit is quite nice I will admit but nowhere near as lovely as your dress Darcie. It looks stunning... you look stunning."

Darcie smiled happily when Luther seemed to brighten up, it was so nice to be able to see him again, things seemed to be lulling between the two nations now that the Tournament had ended between Hogwarts and Durmstrang.

Sitting down nicely, Darcie couldn't help but note the expensive dress of the other people in the restaurant and she bit her lip nervously.

"Thank you so much Luther, I went out and bought it especially for this date, I had my eye on it a while though so don't you start worrying that I bought it just for you." she grinned.

When the menu's came, Darcie's mouth opened a little bit, and she suddenly wished she hadn't splashed out on the dress, as it would have bought her at least a bowl of soup.

"Wow." she breathed "This is very expensive."

Luther had been busier at the moment than he ever had been before the war. It was odd that at a time when they two countries were brought together by a tournament, the German military was arming itself like never before. If he had to guess, Luther would say that Leon had a plan to end the war in their favour before long.

He chuckled a little bit. He hadn't thought she'd buy it just for him but now that she'd denied it the action seemed a little bit more likely. The lady doth protest too much? Perhaps,

"Well you are by far the most beautiful woman in this room." he told her with a smile and an air of certainty, "As for the dress... well it is pretty. I can imagine you spotting it before."

Luther chuckled a little bit when she commented on the prices. Yes, everything here was incredibly expensive but it was also incredible food from what he'd been told. He smiled,

"Don't worry about the price, just order what you want." he assured her, "This meal is my gift to you. If it makes you feel any better, I have just received a bonus from work that will more than cover our meal."

Darcie smiled happily and she looked over the menu again, it was so odd the way that she had never been to such a posh restaurant before, she had never wanted to spend so much money on something that wasn't going to last more than an hour...

Then again she was living on a professors wage and trying to save up as much money as possible.

"Thanks, I'm saving up at the moment though, I want to be able to buy the flat that I'm living in soon. Its so much better than renting don't you think?" she asked with a happy smile.

Finally her eyes landed on the meal that she thought that she was going to have, and it was something that she would have never picked otherwise, but she was treating herself;

"It doesn't make me feel that much better, but I might be able to pay you back later hmm?" she asked with a grin "I think I'm going to have the duck, what about you?"

Luther had to admit that although the prices were expensive, he had eaten at places where the prices were even higher. The Ministry, when they decided they wanted to impress a foreign dignitary, paid for the most expensive restaurant in all of Germany. It was so exclusive that people making reservations from their 18th birthday celebrated their 21st there instead. He nodded,

"Yes owning the property would be much better I think." he agreed as he sipped at the complimentary wine, which would have been the most expensive wine in other restaurants, "That way you can modify it. Runes, decorations, all of that kind of thing."

Seeing that Darcie was going to consent to him paying, because she couldn't, Luther chuckled a little bit. Deciding on what he was going to have he smirked a little bit,

"Well while you have your duck I think I'll have some steak." he tapped the table twice with his wand and their plates were suddenly filled with the food they'd ordered, "There we go. I hope it's as nice as the price suggests."

Darcie smiled gently and she didn't think that Luther was going to be able to pay this much for a meal, it was almost a quarter of what she would have to pay to buy the house that she was living in at the moment. Laughing a little when he mentioned runic protection Darcie shook her head;

"And you will be the first person there installing the runes for me wont you Luther? Just promise me they wont be visible, I'm having big plans for decorations when I own it." she smiled gently as she thought of her ideas.

When he said that he was going to order some steak, Darcie looked around for a server to try and get their attention, but as soon as the dish was placed in front of her, she blinked and laughed a little bit;

"Wow, talk about fast service!" she joked "It looks fantastic."

Looking at all the different cutlery, Darcie picked up any fork not knowing which one was correct and any knife, and tasted some duck, almost dying and going to heaven with the lovely taste.

"This is fantastic. Hows yours?"

Luther had a very good idea of how to pay for this since he had Leon's okay to do so. It would cover the cost easilly thankfully. He looked a little bit sheepish when she smiled at him as soon as he mentioned runes. It wasn't like he was paranoid. Much. He nodded,

"Of course I will be Darcie. I'll be able to key them in so only people you want inside may enter without harm." he told her with a smile before chuckling lightly, "Well don't worry I can either make them invisible or cover them with spells. You won't even know they're there."

He noted Darice's surprise at the speed of service and couldn't hide his small smile as he picked up his cutlery. Hopefully it was going to be nice as well as fast. Luther began to cut into his steak with the steak knife and chuckled a little bit at the pleased look on Darcie's face as she tasted some of her own food. He smirked,

"Worth the price you think?" he asked before tasting some of his steak. His eyes widened before he murmered happily and swallowed, "Okay... it's definately worth the price."

Darcie smiled happily and she was glad that she had somebody there for her to make sure that she was safe, it was something that she hadn't had a lot of in the past as even though her father and mother were present, they were just as trusting as she, and the house was never locked.

"Well that's great, and I know that after what happened I will feel so much safer with then there, I know that I will be safe with the protections that you put up." Darcie grinned.

Placing some more duck on her fork Darcie had to resist the urge to wolf the food down it was so delicious, she needed to pace herself between eating and she took a small sip of her wine after she had finished the mouthful.

"Oh yes, it is definately worth the price...it's so amazing. I could eat this none stop for days!" she exclaimed.