Masitda Restaurant, Baltimore, Wednesday Evening

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To tell the truth and shame the devil--a saying Kathy's mom had adored when she was alive--when Dante had suggested that they go out for Korean food, Kathy hadn't expected much. Dante didn't speak the language, didn't know the culture, and his only real introduction to the cuisine was what Kathy cooked at home and the hundred of weird bottle and jars of seasoning she kept in the door of the fridge, next to the more normal bottles of mayo and ketchup and relish. It wasn't that she was expecting it to be bad or anything, but she'd figured something middle-of-the-road, declaring its authenticity by blaring k-pop from the mid-2000s with two kinds of kimchi at most and a couple of sushi offerings to round out the 'Asianness' of the menu. All of which would have been perfectly fine and Kathy would have gone home, full and happy, and not given it another thought.

She realized she was wrong the moment they stepped into the restaurant. It smelled like home, evoking a sense of nostalgia and homesickness so sharp she rocked backwards on her heels for a moment. The table next to them had seven different banchan bowls on one side of it and over the shoulder of another patron, she could spot a menu page devoted entirely to different kinds of kimchi, several of which had seasonal warnings next to them. Apparently this place thought it wouldn't do to serve Yeolmu-kimchi in the middle of winter and you know what? They were goddamn right.

Kathy reached for Dante's hand, squeezing it tightly, letting her grip speak louder than she could right then about how pleased she was with his choice of restaurant for the evening.

[Not for broadcast and for that guy she's with!]

Comments

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"I'm pretty sure I can swing that," Kathy assured him. "Might even try for three if it doesn't make me sound like the world's clingiest girlfriend."

SHE WAS REALLY GOING TO MISS HIM, OKAY?!

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"Oh, if it gets that bad, I'm just comin' home to make sure you get laid," Dante promised her.

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"Just portal in for a few hours, leave me exhausted on the bed, and then portal back?" Kathy asked, refilling his glass. "I can dig it."

Funny how the sex was probably only broke the top five reasons she'd miss him while he was gone.

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"Best way to treat a Kat, right?" Dante said, grinning. "Though maybe I'll stick around long enough to wake Anders."

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"I mean, he'll pout if you don't," Kathy said with am oh-so-serious nod. "And I'm the one that will have to deal with a sulky boyfriend while you gallivant your way through China."

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"Aw, I'm sure you know how to cheer him right up," Dante said, smirking.

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"I might have a trick or two that's been known to be effective," Kathy allowed with a small smile. "But I'll already be putting that to work jollying him out of the realization he's the only one for me to put my feet on when you're gone."

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"Awww, he gets to suffer for once," Dante said, grinning. "Smug asshole."

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"Don't worry, babe," Kathy said, batting her eyes at him. "I'll make sure they're waiting for you when you get home, just so you don't think you've missed out."

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"Eugh," Dante groaned. "How does a girl your size even get so cold?"

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"I don't have all your muscles and stuff keeping me warm, obviously," Kathy said. "Which is why I have to drape myself all over you instead."

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"Or we can just buy more blankets?"

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"But you're so much better than blankets," Kathy protested. "Blankets don't start playing with my tits as soon as I climb into bed." Her grin turned impish. "And they don't yelp and curse loudly when I stick my feet under them."

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"See, you almost had me convinced up to that last part," Dante sighed. "Your tits are great."

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"And I love it when I get into bed first and then you just slide right up to me, dick already getting hard," Kathy said, propping her elbow on the table and giving him a slow, sultry smile. "I like the way it feels when it presses up against me and you don't even say anything, just bend down and pull my nipple into your mouth with your tongue..."

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"And you get so fucking wet," Dante said, his eyes hazy with pleasant memory - and his smirk sharp with plans forming.

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Kathy debated steering the conversation back to safer waters with a well-timed And then I stick my cold feet on you! They were in a restaurant she was already planning on coming back to, after all.

But one look at Dante's face--the gleam in his eyes, that dirty smirk--and all jokes fell to the wayside.

"Which is just another invitation for your fingers," she told him, subtly adjusting her arms to boost her cleavage. "And eventually your mouth."

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"Like I said," Dante said, grinning as he picked up the drink in front of him. "I love Korean."

And slammed back a whole lot of soju.

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"Good," Kathy purred, cracking open the second bottle. "You're going to be eating it pretty much non-stop tonight."

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"Looking forward to it," Dante said, pushing his glass towards her with a wink.

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Kathy filled his glass back up, both hands on the bottle. A drop fell down the neck and she caught it on her tongue, licking her way up the smooth glass and running her tongue around the rim.

"Anything else you were looking forward to tonight?" she asked.

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Dante took his cup back with both hands, watching her all the while. "I can think of a few things with that pretty mouth of yours," he said.

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She noticed how he held the glass and her heart gave a happy little thump as she set down the bottle and picked up her own cup. "But Dante," she said, batting her long lashes at him. "Even I'm not flexible enough to have Korean later."

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Dante raised the glass to her before he drank from it. "Guess you'll just have to settle for white meat," he said cheerfully.

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"For a vegetarian, I seem to go for that a lot anyway," Kathy said, draining the last of her soju and setting the cup back down. She licked her bottom lip, seeking the last few drops. A gesture he was also familiar with in less innocent circumstances.