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Philippe invited Corbeau to this restaurant on their adventure to try every restaurant in Lumiose at least once. Their method: Philippe scoped the place out, made suggestions on what Corbeau would like, and then they had a little dinner date there. Even if it wasn’t a favorite, it was a fun way to check out any new pop-ups and any new entrepreneurs hoping to get a prime location for their restaurant idea. Also, Corbeau may not be with Philippe when he checked them out the first time, but he knew Philippe had a reputation in the food world and surely they would offer him the best dishes to try out first, recommending whatever they’re known for to get his approval.
So, this restaurant didn’t jump out to Corbeau as any different from the rest. Maybe worse than others since Philippe told him to avoid the steak and pasta. Philippe ordered some fancy salad, and Corbeau ordered something that looked more like an art installation than whatever food it was supposed to be.
“Their wine selection makes up for some of their weak points.” Philippe offered.
Corbeau waved down their waiter. “Bring us the two most expensive wine bottles you guys have.”
“Boss.”
“Just let him get it. Right now I don’t even wanna leave a tip—oh wait, did you wanna drink too?” He laughed at Philippe’s annoyed face that followed his comment.
Corbeau pushed his whatever this was over to Philippe to finish. “I think I’ll have wine for dinner.”
His most reliable business partner passed his salad. “This is good. Eat the meat in the salad, you’ll feel full.”
The waiter presented the wine to Corbeau as if he’d change his mind at the last minute and make him get something else. He approved it, and the waiter poured it into a custom glass made just for this place, complete with their logo and everything. Corbeau gestured for the waiter to serve Philippe too, and he did after presenting the other wine to Philippe.
Once that guy left, Corbeau took a sip of something more expensive than everyone else’s meals around them. It tasted of high quality, something both Philippe and Lysandre taught him how to detect, and he offered his glass to Philippe. Philippe exchanged it with his own and encouraged Corbeau to try his too. The one they served Philippe was their second most expensive, and it came from a different region far away from Kalos region. It tasted rich and distantly familiar. He must have tried this before but couldn’t put his finger on it. Since he wasn’t entertaining anyone but Philippe, he just grabbed the bottle to check.
“Unova? Not my first guess.”
“Someone gifted you this one before, I believe. We shared it in the past.”
“You like this one?” Corbeau tapped the one he passed him. “Kalos has the best wine. I’m heavily biased, but I’ve also tasted almost every region’s offerings and stand by my opinion.”
“No, you’re right, Boss.” He loved being told he was right. “Kalos truly perfected wine. I’m not from Lumiose originally, so I have grown up around the vineyards and their precious grapes. They truly treasure their craft.”
Corbeau caught the waiter. “Get rid of this one, and wrap me up another bottle of this for the road.”
“Would you like to take this one with you too?” The waiter offered.
“You can offer it to someone else. Keep it on my bill.”
Philippe caught their waiter before he disappeared.
The waiter nodded. “Oh, would you both like some dessert? I can get it started for you.”
“No thank you,” Corbeau tried to get rid of that guy.
His right hand wasn’t feeling the same way. “Their desserts are as good as their wine. What do you have tonight?”
“Cake. A bold mocha flavored with a local espresso blend, a lovely and delicate red velvet, and a unique coffee flavored tres leches with an espresso powder finish.”
Corbeau shook his head. He just wanted to gossip with Philippe over wine at this point, but Philippe was apparently still unsatisfied.
“We will take the last two, thank you.” Philippe let the guy go.
This happened before. When Philippe wanted to try multiple things, he’d order for Corbeau too. Not too unusual since Corbeau did that with the wine. He sipped the wine and watched Philippe.
“I think you might like it, Boss. They insisted I try their desserts when I came previously, and they have delicious sweets, not overly sugary.”
“I trust you.”
Philippe shyly looked away at that. Ugh, Corbeau loved making him blush. Or was that the wine? Corbeau looked at Philippe’s glass, still just as full as before. Oh.
“Don’t like the wine? I wouldn’t have sent the other one away if I knew you liked it.”
“I’m distracted.” Philippe politely drank a bit.
“By what?”
“You look great tonight, sir. You rarely wear all black, and you smile so much more brightly right after your stylist fixes your hair. You just look very handsome.”
“You look pretty yourself, Philippe. We didn’t have to dress up to get served here, but you came out all dolled up just to have dessert and wine with me. Cute.” He didn’t count their meal as it was kind of a joke of a meal. What kind of restaurant had such awful food that Philippe would order a salad?
Despite the slight blush on his face, Philippe went to talk as they got their cake. He shut up to let the waiter go away first.
Philippe cut through his red velvet cake a couple times with his fork. It humored Corbeau that he’d be so messy with his cake, but he was probably eager to eat it.
“Want mine too?” Corbeau picked out the cookie garnish and ate it.
Philippe squinted his direction. “Try it. I’ll eat it if you don’t like it.”
“I don’t really want it, I’m full.”
“You barely ate.”
“I drank half the bottle of wine already and most of your salad.”
“Just try it, Boss.” Philippe failed to hide his demanding tone
What’s so special about a piece of cake? Just as he cut a small piece to try, ready to pass it to Philippe regardless if he liked it, someone around them squealed. Everyone looked and expected the worst, but it was a young lady, and she was hugging her date and exclaiming that she absolutely would marry him.
Corbeau felt a soft spot for the couple but didn’t want to impose by showing up there. He sent a bottle of champagne to them via their waiter and stole their bill unbeknownst to them. They were smart; they just wine and dessert. Not a bad bill to cover.
When he finally looked at Philippe, he was texting.
“Really, Philippe?”
“Sorry, Boss, a grunt messaged me, and I felt bad leaving them without help.” He finished and faced Corbeau. Something was off but Corbeau couldn’t tell what—there’s the wine, messing with his brain.
“Well, wanna finish this for me?” Corbeau pretended like he ate that piece and passed it to Philippe. Philippe took it and ate it much too quickly.
“Slow down, Philippe. No one’s taking it from you.”
Philippe finished both, chugged his wine and stood up. “I’ll be back, Boss.” He disappeared in the direction of the bathrooms.
Weird, but not crazy. Corbeau took that opportunity to congratulate the engaged couple on their way out to see the ring, a gorgeous amethyst with a brilliant cut set in a gold ring with intricate engraving all along the band. Looked real too, this guy wasn’t cheap. He congratulated them, and let them go on their way all while Philippe still hadn’t come back yet. The guy shouldn’t have eaten so fast, probably messed up his stomach.
Corbeau finished the entire bottle of wine by the time Philippe returned to him, slightly disheveled looking. Corbeau glared at him since this was mostly about their spending their time together rather than eating out, and Philippe was ruining it.
“About time! I was gonna send our waiter to fish you outta the toilet in a minute.”
“Boss, I have a confession.” Philippe moved his chair next to Corbeau’s. “I meant to hide this ring in your cake.”
Just as Philippe went to explain his feelings, Corbeau saw the amethyst ring the other woman had and started laughing so loudly he scared their waiter, Philippe, and the guests nearby. “That lady got our cake and thought her man was proposing?! Oh, Arceus, Philippe, did you go kill him? They almost walked out with my ring! That’s hilarious! You know we paid for their food, right? I sent them champagne! I can’t believe you let me do that! That guy’s gonna be terrified of me his entire life from now on!” He couldn’t stop laughing, and Philippe was stuck waiting for him to breathe to get his answer.