A night to remember

Clothes were everywhere as the room had become a closet on its own. It had been a race against time to find something and make it on time. Luckily, he’d managed in time and was already waiting at the designated spot.

The clothes he wore were not anything special, a simple dark jeans and a white dress shirt instead of his usual full black attire. His hair fell loosely over his shoulders, safe from the front parts that were tied in a small ponytail to keep the locks out of his face.

Míngzé had forgotten all about the blind dates he had signed up for. Only when he received a reminder did he remember. Another sign that he should not make decisions late at night. Without the reminder he would never have shown up, leaving whatever person he was paired up with waiting.

It was safe to say he’d wished they’d gotten another location. While this rooftop was not nearly as dangerous as the one back home, it did not keep him from feeling a bit uncomfortable. The idea of taking one step too many and falling off lived in his mind. Which is exactly why Míngzé refused to get up once he found a place to sit and wait.

His cane lay on top of the table, yet he wondered if it was a good idea. He was perfectly capable of pretending to make eye contact and he did not want to make his date feel uncomfortable. With the thought of playing pretend in the back of his head, he grabbed the cane and hid it on his lap.

As he waited, he found himself drawn to the lights that illuminated the rooftop. They were at least pretty, but not enough to keep his nerves at bay. Míngzé tapped his foot non-stop, wondering if this had been a good idea. Running away now would not be fair and was out of the question. All he could do was endure this.

More than once a thought crossed his mind. When he was still home, then on his way here, when he was in the elevator and even once he sat down. Why was he here? There was so much he still needed to do, important things. But what was he doing? Going on a blind date.

Míngzé rubbed his eyes as a sigh escaped his lips. It was only one night. It was fine. This might be a good thing, a moment to clear his mind and forget all his troubles. For one night only.

Someone was approaching and quickly he lowered his hand, taking the effort of standing up to greet whoever it was. Míngzé could not remember the last time he went on a date, to go on one with some unknown person felt like a huge step. Nerves were rushing through his body and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Stupid.

When someone spoke up, Míngzé opened his mouth, only to close it again like a fish out of water. “Lamar?” he eventually managed to force out. He knew that voice. Of course, they had seen each other only a week or so ago. This must be a joke, right? But no.

“Fuck— no, me neither,” he agreed as he stood there, not knowing what to do next. “This is a bit strange, isn’t it?” An awkward laugh followed. Why did it have to be someone he knew?

There was a healthy blush on his face which stood as a stark contrast to his otherwise pale skin. If only he could disappear out of view. “I eh— well, sit. I think we’re having dinner.” Míngzé sat down, glad for the support it provided.

Almost immediately someone came, filling their glasses with a white wine after telling them which one it was.

They were in some kind of weird limbo, not quite strangers but also not familiar enough to be considered friends. As strangers they would be having a true blind date, were both needed to get to know the other. As friends they could see this as a stupidly fun situation to laugh about in the future.

Right, the location. Míngzé turned his head. Where there should be a beautiful view, all he saw were the city’s lights. It was not the same, but looked nice nonetheless. “Can’t say I wouldn’t have preferred something closer to the ground,” he said with an awkward laugh. The fact remained; he would not get up any time soon.

A simple question was asked, yet one he could answer in so many ways. “Good,” Míngzé settled on. “Busy, but good. Found a new job recently.” Talking about himself was one of the hardest tasks. He tried, every time he tried, but it was so very hard. “How about you?” Talking about others however was much easier.  

Once they got served their wine, it felt like the date had truly begun. Carefully Míngzé reached out, letting his hand trail the table until his fingers hit what felt like the bottom of a wine glass. His long fingers curled around it, lifting the glass. “To a good night?” One that would hopefully not get even more awkward.

Míngzé waited for Lamar to clink his glass before bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. It tastes just like the wine he already had before. What did he expect anyway?

Holding a conversation has never been one of his strong suits. Feeling the pressure of an upcoming silence, he quickly took yet another sip. “I’ve never been much of a wine drinker,” Míngzé confessed when lowering his glass again. Hopefully the food will arrive soon.

A fear of heights. Míngzé contemplated the idea before he shook his head. “It is different for me,” he decided to say whilst trying to come up with a way to explain it. “It is more that I know the roof ends somewhere and that there will be an abyss waiting. I don’t know where or when the roof will stop and the idea of taking one wrong step is scary.” The first time he entered a rooftop, he’d stuck close to the wall, hoping it was far enough away form the edge that he would not fall. He would never have done it alone either. “But I assume this rooftop is quite secure with no way of tumbling to my demise,” Míngzé laughed softly, an attempt to make light of the situation.

“A new café which opened its doors one month ago I think. It is called ‘Tales and Brew’.” It did not feel like a place Lamar would soon visit, but maybe he could spread the word to others he knew. “Understandable. A lot of sick people during this time of the year?” Míngzé inquired. Everyone needed a break from work every now and then.

Asking for mere water during this dinner seemed like an unfit move. A hum echoed in his throat as he gave it a thought. “Surprise me.” A dangerous thing to say, given his low tolerance for anything alcohol related. One could say it did not exist. A fact better left a secret. Míngzé was not looking forward to the after effects, the knowledge that even walking would be a problem and how he might not even make it downstairs on his own.

The base of the wineglass rolls between his fingers, slowly but steadily, an indication of the nerves still present.  “I must ask, how is the view?” While a life without vision was one he grew accustomed to, there were things he missed out on, having to rely on others for that knowledge. He could still enjoy it, albeit differently than those around me, when given a description.

Somewhere to the side, he could hear movement, perhaps the waiter gathering his things, or people preparing their meal. The sound was muffled as his attention went to Lamar.

Lamar assured him that the place was indeed secure. It made sense, the organization did not want people falling to their deaths during one of their dates. “I’ll hold you to that.” Not that anything could happen. Míngzé was not moving away from his seat unless it was to go home again. Nothing would get him to stand up and walk around the rooftop.

“Please do, it's a really nice place and definitely worth your time.” If he could spread the word by telling people about this place, he would. Kieran had helped him a great deal after all with this job, so he wanted to do something in return. However small it might be. “I hope so too.” People often got sick during these months and he could only praise himself lucky that he did not. Although he probably should’ve seen a doctor when his arm got burned. It might’ve prevented the ugly scarring.

Beautiful. That was the word used to describe the view with. Míngzé hummed softly as his gaze drifted off to the world below them. A silence settled over him, as he contemplated asking more. He probably shouldn’t. It was not worth it and would make things only more uncomfortable than they already were. Beautiful. A meaningless word really. It told him nothing.

Míngzé was glad when music started playing. It broke the silence, gave them something else to talk about and he could ignore his previous conflict. He recognized the music immediately and an almost pained laugh escaped. “Of course they have to play something like this.” Míngzé buried his head in his hands. Because they just had to play romantic music during a blind date. My heart will go on. It was so awkward that it was painfully funny.

Not even a minute later, they received their new drinks, together with their first dish. Ravioli of king crab with a Parmesan cheese sauce, they explained. Their plates were beautifully decorated and the dish itself was small, leaving enough room for more to come. They had even used edible flowers as decoration.

Míngzé grabbed his cutlery, but did not start eating right away. “It sounds good.” Why did it have to be dinner?

The music made everything so much worse. During moments like this, Míngzé was almost glad he was unable to see the look on the other’s face. It was bad enough as it was. He lifted his hand and rubbed his eyes. “They really didn’t have to go through all that trouble,” he sighed. At least the organization did their best to make this the best possible scenario for a date.

Help was offered, but Míngzé shook his head and softly laughed it away. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” In other words, accepting this help would only make the situation even more awkward in his eyes. There was no way he was going to ask this man to, for example, cut his meat. No, he would do it himself, even if it would take a bit longer.

He grabbed his glass and took a sip from his wine. “So tell me, why did you apply for this whole blind date thing?” Míngzé asked as he turned his gaze towards Lamar. Using his knife he found everything on his plate. As he took his first bite, he hummed. “This is very good.”

The music in the background did not make the situation any better, but at least it was nice. Míngzé tried not to think too much about it. “I do, for almost a year now, if you don’t count all my pokémon.” It was something he was proud of and did not want to change. Change meant failure.

Míngzé nodded a few times as Lamar spoke to let him know he was listening. Another sip from his wine and he noticed it was almost empty. “If you ignore the awkwardness, it is not going too bad.” Which was far better than a bad kind of awkwardness, where silence was all consuming.

It was expected to be asked the same question. Before he answered he took another bite, giving him the time to think about it. “To live a little?” he said, one corner of his mouth pulling into a slight smile. “I mostly wanted to try something new, something I’ve never done before.”So far, it wasn't horrible, but it didn't feel like something he would do again. At least now he could say he had done it and it was another story to tell.

“To be fair, I can’t remember the last date I’ve been on.” That’s how long it has been. Three years at least. Míngzé felt around with his knife, only to conclude he had finished his plate. Safe for perhaps a few bits and pieces.

This whole dating thing was not going too bad, not that he could view it as a date given that he knew the man in front of him. The alcohol already in his system helped to make the whole conversation go smoother. Although it would’ve been fine without it.

How many pokémon did he have, a straightforward question but he was not completely sure. “Four so far, although a fifth one snuck inside my home. I don’t even know what it is exactly but it lives with me now I guess?” There was a thoughtful expression on his face. This new pokémon was quiet and easy to forget about, but it was there. Somewhere.

“If I’m not mistaken you have them too, right?” That whole night in the woods felt like a distant memory, but he could vaguely remember the pokémon Lamar had brought with him. Not that he had any idea what species they were.

A chuckle escaped when Lamar confessed he had the same problem. “Look at us, both too bad at this to do it ourselves,” Míngzé said amused. Dating had never been one of his strong points, especially not after his ex. But it was fine.  

“Besides going on blind dates?” He hummed as he tapped with his finger on the table. “To be fair, it's not something I've given much thought to. Whatever comes on my path? A lot of people would probably say skydiving, or whatever, which sounds very dangerous.” Or perhaps it was the idea to fall down into nothing. An endless abyss. A shiver ran down his spine. Yet the idea was in a way exciting. “Is that something you would do?” Míngzé raised an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.

Míngzé found the smaller glass of whisky Lamar had ordered earlier, but he didn't dare to drink it right away. Instead, he swirled the liquid around.

While Míngzé had some basic knowledge about pokémon, it was not great. When Lamar started explaining which one he had, he only received a questioning look. Oshawott, Popplio— these were names he had never heard. The other two were from Cerynia and had been on the news a while ago. It was the only reason he knew of them. “I’m afraid I have no idea what half of those pokémon are,” Míngzé said with a somewhat awkward smile. He did not think he was good at training his pokémon to listen, and he felt like this was prove of that.

“Oh? How so?” It sounded like there was a story there and now he was curious. It was better to hear someone else's story instead of talking about himself. It was so much easier.

No skydiving, but rather normal diving. A shiver visibly ran down his spine as he shook his head. “That’s going to be a no for me. Me and the ocean are not friends.” He’d gone back once because his goal was stronger than his fear, but he would not go again willingly. Traveling sounded better. Míngzé raised his brow when Lamar mentioned that he knew the basics of most languages. “Nà hěn liǎobùqǐ.” It was not as fluent, both because he barely used it and he had to keep his tongue form getting into a knot. A small grin lay on his lips as he took a sip, wondering if the man would understand him or not.

Amused he raised an eyebrow. People were often careful with what they said, sometimes too careful. Míngzé shook his head. “Don’t worry, you can still show me, it’s just a bit different.” He shrugged. Unless people made him aware of it, like now, he did not even notice.

While they were talking, people came to clean up their plates, brought new glasses and cutlery and then left. A soft laugh escaped when Lamar told him about his failed attempt. “It’s probably more difficult than it sounds.” Míngzé knew he would not be able to do anything of the sort.

Míngzé blinked in surprise when Lamar responded. That was not what he expected at all. “Ow,” he said a bit lost for words for the moment. The other drink Lamar had ordered before found its way to his hand again. It was tilted, nearly spilling its contents. “Not what I expected.” The language was difficult and few knew how to speak it.

He brought the glass to his lips, but before he could sip, Lamar continued. “Family,” he started. His accent was not perfect and he was not fluent, but it was good enough. “I was born in Cerynia, but I still have a lot of family left in Fènghuáng. My parents also did not know the common tongue when they first came here. Even now they are pretty bad at it.”

Finally he drank, his sip a bit too large. The taste was something else, strong and powerful, but the burn going down his whole chest was the worst. Nothing like the things he’d tried before. Coughing was unavoidable as he placed down the glass. Tears burned in his eyes from the coughing. “Fuck— sorry—” And here he thought he was finally used to it.