Thai Thani (Restaurant)

It took a few minutes to walk there, but it was close enough to not work up a sweat. It was a quiet little place and Toris liked it instantly. It smelled good too. He turned to Ivan with a smile.

"Is Thai food okay?" He asked, he hadn't had any in ages, but he knew it wasn't for everyone.

Ivan looked over the place with an appraising eye. It was small and simple, yet spoke of hidden delicacies.

"I have never had it. Is it like Chinese?"

"Mm," Toris hummed in thought, "Some dishes are, but a lot of them aren't. If you want I can point out the similar ones."

He pulled opened door, a tiny bell ringing as he did. A waiter greeted them and directed Toris to an empty table near a large window. Inside the food smelled even better and was starting to feel hungry as the waiter passed out menus. Toris ordered water straight away and then the server turned to Ivan expectantly.

"Any tea vould be nice" He smiled at the waiter who took a small step back before nodding furiously and hurrying off. Ivan frowned and tried to see his reflection in the laminated pages of the menu. Was his smile that terrifying? After a few unsuccessful moments he decided to use the menu for its actual purpose.

"Is this any good?" He showed his menu to Toris and pointed to a dish called Kung Op Wun Sen.

Toris leaned over to take a look, the name didn't look all that familiar but the description did, "Ah, I think so. It sounds good at least."

He made up his mind to order something simple, the fried rice, in case Ivan didn't like it. Then he could switch so the other wouldn't be stuck with a dish he didn't care for. The waitress came back with drinks and quickly set them down, then hurridly asked if they were ready to order. Toris looked to Ivan.

"Ah...I vould like this" he held up his menu and pointed to the dish in question.

"And could you make it spicy? Thank you." He handed the menu to the waiter and sipped his tea. Ivan had had worse but he had no right to complain. At least it was somewhat drinkable.

The waiter turned to Toris expectantly, pen poised over his pad.

"Fried rice, with chicken," Toris informed the waiter. He gave a pleasant smile and handed his menu over. The waiter nodded and then left, promising to return with the food soon.

"So, um, what do you like to do?" Toris asked trying not to let an awkward silence develop.

"Do? Vell....I played hockey and lacrosse in Moscow...but vhat I really like to do is dance." He blushed and toyed with with the empty tea cup. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his pastime is was just that he would rather keep it to himself.

Toris laughed, a soft one. He simply hadn't expected it, and to think... when the other first stepped into the dorm he had been afraid Ivan would be violent. But no, Ivan liked to dance. Toris couldn't lessen his smile.

"Dance huh? What kind of dancing?" he asked and took a sip of water.

The waiter returned with their food, and Toris was impressed with how quickly it had been prepared. Then again there weren't many people in the restaurant at the moment.

Ivan thanked the waiter and was thankful for the momentary distraction. This was completely embarrassing...he could lie of course but what was the point? Toris was his roommate and would find out sooner or later.

"Umm...vell...In moscow...I vas a principle dancer vith my partner..." He continued to stall...

( Toris should never see him play hockey. It'll ruin his image )

The bell on the door made a faint tinkling sound as Ludwig held it open for Roderich. He had to admit the place smelled fantastic. Very foreign from the traditional German dishes his mother liked to prepare or the typical fast food joint that would smell of burgers and possibly sanitizer for the tables.

"I think there's an empty table over there," he said, pointing to one near two young men who seemed to be deep in conversation. "And it looks completely fish-tank-free, so I think you are safe." He hoped the other man didn't mind a bit of teasing.

((hey guys. hope you don't mind us crashing your chat here. Roderich and Ludwig needed to eat and Roderich isn't a fan of going to a cafeteria))

'Hmph.' Roderich shuddered, but smiled. 'Sea creatures. Nasty, slimy things.' he glanced around the restaurant. 'It looks nice, doesn't it? Let's sit down, then. I wonder if those two are students?'

"They might be," Ludwig said as he sat down in the booth, glancing over the menu. "A lot of this sounds very good. Some of it a little strange. I've not had much in the way of real Thai food."

He looked down the list and saw curry, dishes with coconut, cashews. A few sounded very interesting and intrigued his palette, which was so tired of pork and sauerkraut, not to mention the potatoes. "Anything on there appealing to you at all?"

'Green chicken curry is pretty good. I had this coconut jelly once...' Roderich said, browsing the menu. 'That was a bit odd. I think I'll go for the curry; you?'

(When I say jelly, I guess you'd say jell-o? Cultural differences...XD)

"I was thinking curry as well, but the red," Ludwig answered. "My mother is German, born and raised, so this is a bit of a stretch from what I get each day." He perused the menu a bit. "I think I'll get some form of noodles as well." He set the menu down and looked to see if a waiter or waitress would stop soon.

'I thought you might be German. The name was a clue,' Roderich said with a smile. 'I'm Austrian. But I was raised speaking English, obviously. Wovon Ihre Mutter ist?' He hadn't had much occasion to use his parents' mother tongue, so it was quite a coincidence to get a German roommate. He wondered where Ludwig's mother was from, as he'd visited Germany many times in his childhood. 'What about something to drink? I'm parched.'

(That German's probably off, it's hardly my specialty >>

Toris waited patiently for Ivan to continue, though the other seemed a bit reluctant. He hoped he hadn't touched on a nerve, and he was about to apologize and tell Ivan to forget he'd asked when the door opened to reveal a rather intimidating blond and a bespectacled companion. Toris looked down at his food even as his nerves clamped down on his stomach.

The blond was tall and looked like a no non-sense type and the other instantly made Toris feel underdressed. And they hadn't even said anything! Toris tried to calm himself.

Ivan looked from the new couple to Toris and frowned. He looked nervous...why was he nervous?

"Vell....I dance Ballet if you must know...." He waited with baited breath for the laughter to start. It always did. Even his sister laughed. Though he was seven at the time and hockey to ballet was quite a huge jump. Ivan twirled noodles around his chopsticks and pushed the food around on his plate. He should have said hip hop or something...

"She was from Berlin originally," Ludwig said, "though she moved around quite a bit. My father was stationed in Germany with the air force in Ramstein. That's where they met. And your German isn't too bad, to my ears. Kind of strange that we are getting to room together, with your connections to Austria and my mother's to Germany."

When the waitress came to their table, Ludwig ordered just a large glass of water and the red curry chicken with noodles and the rice that normally came with the meal. No one could ever argue that Ludwig starved himself.

'Oh, really? I have family in Berlin,' Roderich replied after placing his order- a noticeably smaller one than Ludwig, he wasn't a big eater. 'Moved there during the war. My grandfather was in the army...not that that's anything to be proud of, of course, considering...of course, my father decided to become a composer, just to get away from all that. And I'm the result.' He laughed quietly, gesturing to himself. He knew he came off as a bit over the top, and found the whole thing slightly amusing.

"I understand that feeling about the war," Ludwig said. "I had family on both sides in that one." He looked down at the table. "Family get togethers used to be very awkward until that generation started getting older. Apparently, my American great-grandfather took one look at me and told my mother, 'You must be very pleased. A blond-haired, blue-eyed Aryan. It would make your homeland proud."

He flicked at the paper tablecloth. "He was part of the groups that went into the camps so... can't blame him, but it isn't as though everyone knew what was going on. Most of my mom's family really didn't. Though my great-great uncle was gestapo. I don't justify that or him at all."

That war had been ugly, and he hated that it had divided his own family until the family members became senile or died off.

'...Ouch.' Roderich winced at the Aryan comment. 'I suppose there's nothing anyone can do about the ill-feeling between older generations, not after that. But there's also no reason to repeat past mistakes. My father swore he'd never involve himself with the military, my grandfather's stories left such a terrible impression on him.' He sighed, resting his chin on his hand. He'd heard the stories himself, told to him in a flat, weary voice by his grandfather. The old man had once wanted to go into music, but he hadn't had much chance after the Anschluss.
'It must have been difficult for you, having such opposition in your family.' Roderich said quietly, realising that he'd probably brought up unpleasant memories for Ludwig. He wished he hadn't said anything. 'But this isn't a very palatable discussion for the dinner table, is it? Forgive me, I shouldn't have brought it up.'

"You didn't know," Ludwig said. "And like I said, I had family on both ends of the spectrum, which gives me a different perspective of some things. As for the military, I'm honestly still debating whether or not I decide to enter. So many in my family have been military men."

He noticed the waitress coming with their drinks. He thanked her and took a sip of his own. "With your interest in music, is there a strong musical or arts background in your family? My own mother plays clarinet and oboe in orchestras when she gets the chance, but sometimes there just isn't a symphony or orchestra near enough for her to actually play, what with my father still in the air force."

It was easy to tell when they were in a city with a strong arts background. Ludwig's mother seemed to come alive whenever they were.

Roderich silently sipped at his own drink, musing on Ludwig's comment about entering the military. On the one hand, he didn't think it was a particularly sensible career choice, but on the other...he would look good in the uniform, at least. He dismissed the image, nice as it was, to concentrate on answering the question.
'Well, I was born in Vienna. It's famed for its music, after all. My mother is a concert pianist, although she plays a lot of other instruments. Her father was an architect, though. I've been playing pretty much everything since before I could walk.' Roderich smiled, and shrugged. 'A lot of people think pushing your children into something from such a young age isn't good for them, but I've always loved it. Hey, if your father is in the air force, I suppose you've moved around a lot? Ever been to Austria?'

"We visited it once," he said. "When my father was stationed again in Germany, we took a trip to Vienna while my mom played with the symphony. I've lived all over the United states, a few places in Germany, Tokyo and Azores Portugal, though I don't remember Portugal much. I was three when we left there.

"What about you? Have you traveled much? Because, if you're like my mother with aspirations for the symphony orchestra, I'm sure you'll have to travel with whatever group you would end up with."

He took another drink and enjoyed the other man's company.

((sorry i didn't reply. for some reason, I wasn't getting e-mails about updates.))