When Shun Met Tatiana

Shun stared at her.

"...what?" he and the waitress both asked.

"...Cheese ravioli?" she repeated, opening the menu and pointing to the picture. "The pastas filled with cheese. Cheese ravioli."

"Oh, of course," the waitress said, trying to smile.

Shun shooed her away. "Nothing for me."

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked, frowning. "What is wrong with the food here?"

"I don't like Italian," he replied, chuckling. "Bad memories."

"You pick the restaurant next time, if you're so picky," she said, shrugging. "Food is food, isn't it?"

"You wouldn't have let me pick this one," he told her, chuckling. "The restaurant I enjoy is, well, owned by my higher ups."

"I trust you," she said, shrugging. "Unless I shouldn't, right? You say you're going to fix my brother's debt, so my best shot is to hope you aren't complete scum after all."

He smiled brightly.

"I'm glad you trust me. I'll arrange for us to get delicious Chinese food next time."

"I'm fine with this," she said, shrugging. "It's not often I eat in a place this nice."

"Nice?" He asked, without thinking. "I mean...forget it. I'll let you enjoy it."

"Yes, nice," she said, raising an eyebrow. "It is expensive and classier than McDonalds."

Shun tried to smile, but it was a bit pained, even for him.

"So...what are your interests?"

She shrugged.

"I like fashion, though I can't really afford it...I don't know what Maxim and I would wear without my employee discount." She laughed without humor. "I also like cooking, I suppose, and reading novels. What about you? Do you do things besides shaking down poor people for their money?"

She sipped her water, her gaze never leaving him.

"I like carving things," he replied brightly, not thinking about the obvious implications.

"...Oh," she said quietly, staring at her glass. "Sorry for asking."

"Let me show you!" he said, taking out his phone. "Here's one of a watermelon I did!"

Shun handed her his phone.

"Oh," she said, pleasantly surprised. "You did that?"

"With my lucky carving knife," he replied brightly. "Look through there, there should be some others. It's a lot of fun, I could teach you, sometime."

She giggled nervously, shaking her head. "Oh no, I don't think I'd be that good with knives...though I suppose it would be a nice centerpiece at a barbeque." She sighed dreamily. "I've always wanted to host a barbeque. It just seems like part of the American dream, you know?"

"Barbeques...are not as fun as you might think," he said, chuckling slightly. "But everyone is entitled to have one, hm?"

"But they're so American," she sighed dreamily. "You invite lots of friends over and eat lots of food and talk and have drinks. It sounds so fun."

As the waitress placed the large plate of pasta in front of Tatiana, she paused. "...You said you were paying for everything, right?" she asked, toying with a strand of her hair.

"Of course. Order anything and everything you want," he insisted. "I'll pay for it all."

"One Strawberry-Limoncello Martini," she said without hesitation. "Heavy on the vodka, if possible."

She then began to dig into her food like a hungry Wolverine, cleaning her plate with astounding rapidity.

Shun tried not to stare, but he had never seen a woman eat like that. Ever. And she was ordering alcohol?

He tried not to look uncomfortable, but he sort of did.