"... What do you mean?" Nic asked, composure still the same.

"Why all this so suddenly?" she whispered.

Nic didn't answer. But after a long moment he shrugged.

Laurel sighed a little, "Fine," she went over and sat back down. "... wait... is this why you were sick yesterday?" she asked, gesturing to the food with a giggle.

In the way Nic didn't say anything, he confirmed her hypothesis. He didn't touch the fresh fruit, just munching away on the tarts.

Laurel tasted everything, clearly very content.

All the fruit and vegetables tasted delicious. It was like he had gone around sampling all of them to find the best quality of each. No wonder his stomach hurt yesterday...

After awhile, Laurel got up and went over to Nic, sitting on his knee. "You really know your fruits," she commented as she ate a strawberry.

Nic seemed a little surprised as Laurel came over, but he didn't stop her. He glanced at the strawberry with a little bit of distaste before finishing up his tart and putting a hand on her knee.

"Oh, try this one!" Laurel exclaimed before trying to feel him a bit of lemon tart that she'd already taken a bite out of.

Nic took a bite out of it, leaving the rest for Laurel.

"You're a really good cook, dirthead!" she exclaimed, flicking the back of his head with a chuckle, "Why've you been holding out on me?"

"... You like cooking," Nic tried to explain.

"Cooking is a lot of work," Laurel replied with an eyeroll before kissing his cheek, "It might be fun to do it together sometime."

It wasn't clear how Nic thought about that.

Laurel rolled her eyes again, "Are you full? I'm pretty stuffed."

Nic nodded.

Laurel paused before playing with Nic's tie again, "So now what?" she inquired.

"... Whatever you want," Nic decided.

"Did you plan anything else?" Laurel asked, curious.

"Don't worry it," Nic told her after a moment.

"But I want to know," Laurel replied quickly, still playing with his tie.

After a long moment, he told her, "There's some wine. And I got the music working inside."

Laurel's smile grew, "You got the music working?" she asked excitedly, "Will you dance with me? Please?"

Nic didn't seem thrilled, but he nodded.

Laurel shrugged at his reaction, "We'll have some wine first," she reassured him, "Where is it?"

Nic reached under the table and brought out a bottle and some glasses.

Laurel scooched over on Nic's knee until she had an arm around his neck and her body was resting against him, "Alright, I don't usually drink wine but I'm sure it's good," she smiled as she waited for Nic to give her a glass.

Nic poured them both a little with one hand as he put his other around Laurel. He handed her one of the glasses before taking the other himself.

Laurel sipped the wine slowly for awhile before leaning over and nuzzling Nic's neck with her nose, "So where's the music?" she asked quietly.

"What kind of music do you want?" Nic asked.

Laurel shrugged a little before sipping more wine, "You choose."

Nic seemed rather clueless. But after a moment he pulled out a remote and turned on a local radio station with a some peppy music.

Laurel smiled as she stood, "May I have this dance, Sir?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Nic got really confused for a moment before shrugging it off. Apparently he wasn't used to the girl asking to dance. But he stood and took her hand.

The music was coming from inside, but they could hear it clearly outside.

"Do you know how to dance?" Laurel asked gently.

"... Basic ballroom," Nic replied.

Laurel looked shocked again, "... B... Ballroom?!" she stuttered, "When did you learn that!"

"At the Yin Long," Nic explained nonchalantly.

"They... Ballroom dance?" Laurel clarified.