Shinobi and Nathan, Monday evening
Sep. 27th, 2004 06:05 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsShinobi comes along to lend his good taste to the search for the right diamond for Moira's ring. Nathan doesn't want right, he wants perfect.
Nathan got out of the car and shut the driver's door behind him, tugging with a frown at the collar of his shirt as he peered at the next on their list of diamond stores. "This is turning into a more complicated proposition than I thought," he groused, his eyes flickering to Shinobi as the younger man got out of the passenger's side.
"What, besides the riddles left for her on the journals by other people, or just that?" Shinobi mused, looking towards Nate with an innocent smile as he closed the passenger side door.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at him. "No, I actually meant the extensive shopping," he pointed out, a smile tugging at his lips. "You'd think it wouldn't be that hard to find a damned diamond in this town." Well, he had already found several, the smaller stones for the ring, but he was still looking for the centerpiece. "Or am I just overly picky?"
Shinobi's smile turned into one of unmistakably fond amusement. "It's an engagement ring, Nate," he pointed out reasonably, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "If there's anything you're allowed to be picky about, it's this." He paused, and added, "Well, and the wedding ring itself."
"I just want it to be perfect," Nathan muttered as the doorman - the store had a damned doorman, that was cute - opened the door for them. "No point in having the perfect setting if you don't have the perfect stone."
"And people wonder why we get along," Shinobi chuckled, inclining his head gratefully to the doorman as he followed Nathan inside. Oh, this felt good - the place reeked of money, it was so comfortable.. "How shiny a rock are we talkin'? Keep in mind, you can outdo it with the wedding ring later."
"I'd sacrifice size for color and clarity, to be honest. Moira's not the type to go googly-eyed over a huge rock, and it can't be too big, given the setting..." Nathan smiled rather tightly at the sudden appearance of an elegantly dressed woman who sized them both up with a quick, assessing look. "We're looking for a center diamond for a tension setting ring. As I was just saying to my friend, I'm more interested in color and clarity than size."
She nodded. "Right this way, sir," she said, waving at them to follow her.
"Clarity, we can do," Shinobi murmured thoughtfully, dropping into step alongside Nathan as the woman lead them both along. "Maybe a nice, simple emerald cut or something like that?"
"It almost has to be either round or oval-cut," Nathan said. "To fit in the setting properly." The woman gestured for them to take seats in front of one of the cases, and Nathan sighed, his eyes flickering around the store. He felt distinctly uncomfortable in places like this.
On the flipside, Shinobi felt right at home. "It'll be perfect," he promised, patting the older man on the shoulder as he settled into one of the indicated seats. "If it means a custom order of some kind, we'll do a custom order of some kind."
"I'm sure we'll have something suitable, sir," the woman said with a brief smile, turning to the cabinets behind her. "Can you give me any guidelines for size?"
"One carat," Nathan said after a moment. Too much bigger than that would mess with the angles of the setting too much, and given how much he had fiddled with the platinum to get it just right...
"We have some very nice round-cut stones around that size," the woman said, a little more kindly. She removed a black case from the cabinet, then turned around with it, opening it for them.
You knew you'd seen too many diamonds in one day when they failed to impress, Nathan thought, peering down at the diamonds in the case.
Shinobi leant over to eye the diamonds thoughtfully, absently rubbing at the nape of his neck before pointing out two of the stones. "These two look nice, but that may just be me," he murmured.
The woman immediately removed each from the case to give them a closer look. Nathan let his perceptions slide downwards so that he could get a look at them on the molecular level. Many of the others had looked nice to normal vision, too, but they'd had flaws. And he wanted something perfect.
The one on the right had a couple of nasty flaws, but the one on the left.... Nathan tilted his head, regarding it more carefully.
With a curious tilt of his head, Shinobi glanced between Nathan and the two diamonds, a vaguely amused smile tugging at one corner of his mouth when he realized what the man was doing. He'd laugh, if he wasn't positive he'd do the same thing, were he capable of it. "See one you like?" he asked lightly, glancing between them again.
"Mmmph," Nathan said, bending a little closer to the diamond in question. It glowed, a steady white glow very different from the one on the right, which had jagged edges to the glow it was giving off. "Definitely the best I've seen today."
"You have excellent taste, sir," the woman complimented with another slight smile. "That would be the highest-quality stone of the lot."
"He has a good eye," Shinobi said approvingly, and not at all amused, no. Really. Just pretend the grin wasn't there. He settled back in his seat, comfortably folding his hands in his lap. "What do you think, old man? Want the shiny?"
Nathan eyed him darkly - or rather, eyed the sparkling blue shape he knew was Shinobi. Damn it, he would really like it if his vision would stop getting stuck when he did this. "Nicely put, junior," he said wryly, then turned back to the diamond, trying to envision it in the setting as his vision faded back to normal. It really was about the right size. And the color was very nice. No flaws, either... "May I?" he asked the woman, who nodded. He reached out, picked it up and gave it a closer look. He imagined the feel of the setting around it - and smiled finally. "I think we've reached the end of our ridiculously long shopping trip, Shinobi," he said, setting the diamond back down carefully and nodding at the woman. "I'll take it."
"Very good, sir. Let me just package it properly for you," she said with a fractionally brighter smile, picking it up and turning away again.
#You do realize we have no idea how much it even costs yet,# Shinobi thought towards Nathan, glancing at him out of the corner of one very amused eye. #You're very cute when you're trying not to be giddy at the nice salesperson. Go on, bounce a little.#
#You may not know how much it costs, but she projected the exact price as soon as I showed interest in that specific stone,# Nathan sent back mirthfully. #She's currently gloating about her commission.#
#She's gloating quietly, so I think she's earned it,# Shinobi sent back, with a sound reminiscent of a chuckle but slightly off, since it was just in his head. #I should probably be good and not eye any rocks when I have no real use for them, huh?#
The wistful edge to that thought was impossible to miss, and Nathan smiled a little as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed over his credit card. #Have the urge to eye them anyway, do you?#
#They're pretty, shiny, and expensive,# Shinobi thought reasonably, content to sit back and be 'silently' pleased with the successful end to the shopping trip as Nathan paid for his pretty, expensive rock. #Of course I want to eye them.# He paused briefly, and added more seriously, #And I'm a horrible sap and hopeless romantic. But I think you knew that already, given how giddy I was at the prospect of coming along today.#
#Really? I thought you were just coming along for the comedy value of watching me intimidate the nice diamond-salespeople,# Nathan sent back in a gently teasing tone. The woman came back with the boxed diamond and the credit card slip, and Nathan signed it, after a pause to remind himself which identity he was using.
#She doesn't seem very intimidated,# Shinobi sent back in a similar tone, allowing himself a quick grin.
#Hush. It would be bad for my reputation if I went shopping and didn't leave at least a few traumatized clerks in my wake.# Nathan smiled at the woman. "Thanks for your help," he said aloud.
She smiled back, looking almost sincere this time, and bade him and Shinobi good afternoon. Nathan inclined his head towards the door, and he and Shinobi headed back out to the car.
"You feel like grabbing something to eat before we head back to Westchester?"
Shinobi couldn't help but laugh, casting a brief, wistful look over his shoulder as he followed Nate out. "You mean you don't want to run straight home and start playing with metal?"
"I've still got a few days," Nathan said without thinking. "Anna and Billie aren't arriving until Thursday..." He stopped, giving Shinobi a narrrow-eyed look. "That's a secret, by the way."
"Shan't say a word to anybody," Shinobi promised sincerely, crossing his heart with one hand. "You're working your arse off to make this special, I'm not about to go spoil it for you. Since we have time, in that case.." He beamed hopefully. "I think I saw an Outback Steakhouse between here and there. If we can phase out the gaudy 'Australian' decor, I rather like their food."
"I am feeling rather carnivorous at the moment," Nathan admitted. "I think it's the shopping."
"Let's go play with the really big steak knives, then," Shinobi replied cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "And since you just bought a bloody diamond, I think I can get away with saying the food is my treat, so go nuts with it. Bring home enough for the rest of the week, if you want."
Nathan got out of the car and shut the driver's door behind him, tugging with a frown at the collar of his shirt as he peered at the next on their list of diamond stores. "This is turning into a more complicated proposition than I thought," he groused, his eyes flickering to Shinobi as the younger man got out of the passenger's side.
"What, besides the riddles left for her on the journals by other people, or just that?" Shinobi mused, looking towards Nate with an innocent smile as he closed the passenger side door.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at him. "No, I actually meant the extensive shopping," he pointed out, a smile tugging at his lips. "You'd think it wouldn't be that hard to find a damned diamond in this town." Well, he had already found several, the smaller stones for the ring, but he was still looking for the centerpiece. "Or am I just overly picky?"
Shinobi's smile turned into one of unmistakably fond amusement. "It's an engagement ring, Nate," he pointed out reasonably, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "If there's anything you're allowed to be picky about, it's this." He paused, and added, "Well, and the wedding ring itself."
"I just want it to be perfect," Nathan muttered as the doorman - the store had a damned doorman, that was cute - opened the door for them. "No point in having the perfect setting if you don't have the perfect stone."
"And people wonder why we get along," Shinobi chuckled, inclining his head gratefully to the doorman as he followed Nathan inside. Oh, this felt good - the place reeked of money, it was so comfortable.. "How shiny a rock are we talkin'? Keep in mind, you can outdo it with the wedding ring later."
"I'd sacrifice size for color and clarity, to be honest. Moira's not the type to go googly-eyed over a huge rock, and it can't be too big, given the setting..." Nathan smiled rather tightly at the sudden appearance of an elegantly dressed woman who sized them both up with a quick, assessing look. "We're looking for a center diamond for a tension setting ring. As I was just saying to my friend, I'm more interested in color and clarity than size."
She nodded. "Right this way, sir," she said, waving at them to follow her.
"Clarity, we can do," Shinobi murmured thoughtfully, dropping into step alongside Nathan as the woman lead them both along. "Maybe a nice, simple emerald cut or something like that?"
"It almost has to be either round or oval-cut," Nathan said. "To fit in the setting properly." The woman gestured for them to take seats in front of one of the cases, and Nathan sighed, his eyes flickering around the store. He felt distinctly uncomfortable in places like this.
On the flipside, Shinobi felt right at home. "It'll be perfect," he promised, patting the older man on the shoulder as he settled into one of the indicated seats. "If it means a custom order of some kind, we'll do a custom order of some kind."
"I'm sure we'll have something suitable, sir," the woman said with a brief smile, turning to the cabinets behind her. "Can you give me any guidelines for size?"
"One carat," Nathan said after a moment. Too much bigger than that would mess with the angles of the setting too much, and given how much he had fiddled with the platinum to get it just right...
"We have some very nice round-cut stones around that size," the woman said, a little more kindly. She removed a black case from the cabinet, then turned around with it, opening it for them.
You knew you'd seen too many diamonds in one day when they failed to impress, Nathan thought, peering down at the diamonds in the case.
Shinobi leant over to eye the diamonds thoughtfully, absently rubbing at the nape of his neck before pointing out two of the stones. "These two look nice, but that may just be me," he murmured.
The woman immediately removed each from the case to give them a closer look. Nathan let his perceptions slide downwards so that he could get a look at them on the molecular level. Many of the others had looked nice to normal vision, too, but they'd had flaws. And he wanted something perfect.
The one on the right had a couple of nasty flaws, but the one on the left.... Nathan tilted his head, regarding it more carefully.
With a curious tilt of his head, Shinobi glanced between Nathan and the two diamonds, a vaguely amused smile tugging at one corner of his mouth when he realized what the man was doing. He'd laugh, if he wasn't positive he'd do the same thing, were he capable of it. "See one you like?" he asked lightly, glancing between them again.
"Mmmph," Nathan said, bending a little closer to the diamond in question. It glowed, a steady white glow very different from the one on the right, which had jagged edges to the glow it was giving off. "Definitely the best I've seen today."
"You have excellent taste, sir," the woman complimented with another slight smile. "That would be the highest-quality stone of the lot."
"He has a good eye," Shinobi said approvingly, and not at all amused, no. Really. Just pretend the grin wasn't there. He settled back in his seat, comfortably folding his hands in his lap. "What do you think, old man? Want the shiny?"
Nathan eyed him darkly - or rather, eyed the sparkling blue shape he knew was Shinobi. Damn it, he would really like it if his vision would stop getting stuck when he did this. "Nicely put, junior," he said wryly, then turned back to the diamond, trying to envision it in the setting as his vision faded back to normal. It really was about the right size. And the color was very nice. No flaws, either... "May I?" he asked the woman, who nodded. He reached out, picked it up and gave it a closer look. He imagined the feel of the setting around it - and smiled finally. "I think we've reached the end of our ridiculously long shopping trip, Shinobi," he said, setting the diamond back down carefully and nodding at the woman. "I'll take it."
"Very good, sir. Let me just package it properly for you," she said with a fractionally brighter smile, picking it up and turning away again.
#You do realize we have no idea how much it even costs yet,# Shinobi thought towards Nathan, glancing at him out of the corner of one very amused eye. #You're very cute when you're trying not to be giddy at the nice salesperson. Go on, bounce a little.#
#You may not know how much it costs, but she projected the exact price as soon as I showed interest in that specific stone,# Nathan sent back mirthfully. #She's currently gloating about her commission.#
#She's gloating quietly, so I think she's earned it,# Shinobi sent back, with a sound reminiscent of a chuckle but slightly off, since it was just in his head. #I should probably be good and not eye any rocks when I have no real use for them, huh?#
The wistful edge to that thought was impossible to miss, and Nathan smiled a little as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed over his credit card. #Have the urge to eye them anyway, do you?#
#They're pretty, shiny, and expensive,# Shinobi thought reasonably, content to sit back and be 'silently' pleased with the successful end to the shopping trip as Nathan paid for his pretty, expensive rock. #Of course I want to eye them.# He paused briefly, and added more seriously, #And I'm a horrible sap and hopeless romantic. But I think you knew that already, given how giddy I was at the prospect of coming along today.#
#Really? I thought you were just coming along for the comedy value of watching me intimidate the nice diamond-salespeople,# Nathan sent back in a gently teasing tone. The woman came back with the boxed diamond and the credit card slip, and Nathan signed it, after a pause to remind himself which identity he was using.
#She doesn't seem very intimidated,# Shinobi sent back in a similar tone, allowing himself a quick grin.
#Hush. It would be bad for my reputation if I went shopping and didn't leave at least a few traumatized clerks in my wake.# Nathan smiled at the woman. "Thanks for your help," he said aloud.
She smiled back, looking almost sincere this time, and bade him and Shinobi good afternoon. Nathan inclined his head towards the door, and he and Shinobi headed back out to the car.
"You feel like grabbing something to eat before we head back to Westchester?"
Shinobi couldn't help but laugh, casting a brief, wistful look over his shoulder as he followed Nate out. "You mean you don't want to run straight home and start playing with metal?"
"I've still got a few days," Nathan said without thinking. "Anna and Billie aren't arriving until Thursday..." He stopped, giving Shinobi a narrrow-eyed look. "That's a secret, by the way."
"Shan't say a word to anybody," Shinobi promised sincerely, crossing his heart with one hand. "You're working your arse off to make this special, I'm not about to go spoil it for you. Since we have time, in that case.." He beamed hopefully. "I think I saw an Outback Steakhouse between here and there. If we can phase out the gaudy 'Australian' decor, I rather like their food."
"I am feeling rather carnivorous at the moment," Nathan admitted. "I think it's the shopping."
"Let's go play with the really big steak knives, then," Shinobi replied cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "And since you just bought a bloody diamond, I think I can get away with saying the food is my treat, so go nuts with it. Bring home enough for the rest of the week, if you want."
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Date: 2004-09-27 08:14 pm (UTC)Ack! *flees* You mentioned the Bad Place! *goes to find solace in -real- Australian-ness* ;)
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Date: 2004-09-27 08:19 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-09-27 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-09-27 08:24 pm (UTC)