Day 28: The Twin Pine Restaurant

[ham_fisted]

[ from here ]

The detective almost crushed the slip of paper in his hand with excitement. He hadn't eaten the miserable breakfast that'd been issued to every patient, too miserable himself to actually realise he was starving. Not that he had the slightest idea why; wasn't like he'd done anything strenuous last night, unless gathering enough courage to leave his room was a method of training.

Whether it was knowing another officer was here - one just as confused as he was, at that - or the fact he was breathing fresh air had eased his nerves, wasn't a concern. Gumshoe now understood he was hungry. And one of these fancy coupons presented him with a free meal, no strings attached. Wasn't difficult putting one and one together, in this instance.

"Hoh, and I thought the outside was impressive!" He grinned, gazing admiringly about the restaurant's interior.

Comments

[bulletofjoy.livejournal.com]

JJ let out a snort of genuine laughter, one of his first since his arrival here. Someone else might've questioned just how inappropriate it was that he was enjoying himself in such a situation, but that wasn't really JJ's style. He was happy and so was Gumshoe, and he wasn't going to complain about either of that.

He was about to answer Gumshoe when one of the waitresses approached. She held two menus in her hand and with a cheery, "Oh, you boys must be new in town," led them to a table inside.

JJ sat down and fiddled with the corner of the menu. "I have to say, this would make a good case to talk about back home, don't you think? It's like a really great mystery."

Which was the way JJ preferred to think of it. Something...fun, right? Even if it really wasn't. But he'd rather not look at it like that. Too depressing and JJ hated feeling depressed.

[ham_fisted]

"Afternoon, ma'am!" Gumshoe happily greeted the waitress, following her as she showed them to their table. He flipped the menu open, index finger helping him keep his place when JJ spoke. He glanced over at the other man, considering the outlook.

"I guess so," he sighed, shrugging. The only mystery here was the question of why on earth he'd been signed up to a mental institution, and whom by. "Except we're in the middle of it."

He practically flinched when he gazed at the lunch list once more, suddenly assuming a very serious tone as he called for service, passionately slamming a hand on the table top.

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/244463.html?thread=17865711#t17925615).]

Hikaru and Kaoru walked to the restaurant arm-in-arm. It attracted them a few stares here and there, but nothing they weren't used to.

Hikaru knew that he was supposed to be Kaoru right now, so he made sure to stay in character. Everything from his mannerisms to the way he walked were exactly perfect. It had to be. Even though no one else could tell them apart, it was important to him that he be as true to Kaoru's image as he possibly could.

And he'd had a lifetime of practice.

The inside of the restaurant was kind of kitschy and cluttered, but it seemed like a five star compared to the "Tasty Burger" he'd seen down the street. Plus, it had an A in the window. He was familiar enough with American restaurants to know that this place was, at least, clean. Not like he couldn't sue if he got food poisoning, of course, but it was comforting not to have to think about rat droppings in his food (or whatever).

Kaoru was him right now, so he'd let him be the assertive one.

[hangenki.livejournal.com]

Kaoru led 'Kaoru' over to a secluded little corner and sat his brother down. He picked up the menus and passed one to his brother.

"Let's see if they have anything we like. It's a little sad this place, isn't it? Like it wants to be a decent but... it can't afford it. Plus it's in the wrong area... Everything here's so dull."

[ol-canucklehead.livejournal.com]

[from Main Street (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/245151.html?page=2#comments), in a round-about kinda way.]

Stepping through doorway, Logan took in the sight of a very homey, very cozy looking restaurant, just like one would expect to see in any small American town. Too perfect, he thought, gotta be jus' another part o' tha whole grand illusion.

There were four other patients here that he could see, standing out like sore thumbs in horrendously mismatched clothing. Two of them appeared to be identical twins. Strange tha' they'd both end up in this mess. Or maybe not...

He declined to converse with any of them for now, preferring to eat alone. Within seconds of entering the joint, a fresh-faced, attractive young girl in a clean white apron approached him. "Hi there! Table for one, sir?" He grunted an affirmation in response and followed her as she led him to a quiet corner and handed him a menu, leaving him to it for the time being.

He studied it carefully, but had already made his mind up almost instantly; the newspaper clippings proudly displayed in reference to their country-fried steak had sold him straight off the bat, it was just the kind of hearty meal he was looking for.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

[[From Wicker Street (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html).]]

Rein entered the Twin Pine behind Raine and alertly scanned the room for any sort of hidden danger. It wasn't the town that she was worried about so much as the patients... the run-in with The Bride at the beginning of the excursion hadn't helped her paranoia on Raine's behalf in the least, and she was currently making a minor spectacle of herself with her swings between cheerful banter and bodyguard-type behavior towards the half-elf.

But no assailants were spotted lurking in the shadows. Instead the familiar faces of the twins from the aid club, Raine's friend (acquaintance, anyway), and the man from the second of their groups last night greeted her, along with a scattering of new faces that were probably a mix of patients she didn't know and locals.

She tugged Raine over to Logan's table. Only he was eating alone of those she knew, and while there was a chance (slim, in her opinion) that talking to the locals would prove informative, she had a greater responsibility to her fellow prisoners, even if all she had to offer was a conversation over a meal.

"Would you mind if we joined you?"

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

((coming from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=17991627#t17991627)))

Kratos followed Leon leisurely up to the restaurant entrance, starting a bit in surprise as the younger man stepped abruptly to the side after opening the door. The surprise was gone in an instant, however, replaced with a faint smile. It seemed as if old habits died hard, and Kratos couldn't blame Leon. He would have done the same had he been in that situation.

And then Leon had held the door open for him. Therein was another slight shocker, and Kratos paused slightly, blinking in surprise. Wasn't it usually men who held the door open...for women? Perhaps the young man was simply being respectful? Or was he simply a bit misinformed in the ways of etiquette? Kratos wouldn't have been surprised if it was he and not Leon was mistaken; however, an open door was an open door, and he quickly recovered, striding past Leon into the restaurant with a brief "thank you" as he passed.

The interior was...cozy, to say the least. Not being used to restaurants in the slightest, Kratos felt slightly uncomfortable amidst all the tables and waitresses floating around. Stepping to the side after entering to allow to Leon to catch up, he looked around. A good corner table would be nice- at the very least, it would be secluded, giving them some privacy.

[for-marian.livejournal.com]

Leon had no more experience with restaurants than Kratos did, so he paused awkwardly after following Kratos inside. Shoving his good hand in a pocket, his other hand still hidden in the overlong sleeve of his sweater, Leon looked around nervously. There did seem to be other patients in here, already sitting at tables in pairs or alone.

"Do we just... sit anywhere?" Was it like eating at another person's home? Leon had never really done that, either, though. The staff members looked busy, and that made Leon especially reluctant to ask one for help.

[heartcrown.livejournal.com]

Once inside the restaurant, Kairi peered silently around the small room with wonder. The place didn’t look all that bad, so she figured they would at least be able to eat and then go on their way without a bother.

Turning to give Axel a curious expression, the once princess crossed her arms over her chest. “So, where do you want to sit?”

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

"Just because my skin and hair are more soft and fair than yours doesn't mean you should get jealous about it. Some people were just born more beautiful." Axel shot back with a playful sneer, patting Kairi's head lightly before entering the aforementioned restaurant. The redhead's question came as a peculiar one, one that left Axel laughing lightly despite himself.

"That isn't for us to decide." He remarked, and just as he did so a waitress walked over to them, gracing them both with a warm smile before she began to lead them towards one of the empty tables near the window. The place was still pretty vacant, but the Nobody guessed that everyone else was just off doing their own thing. Those muffins must've had enough fiber in them to last for at least most of the day.

It wasn't too long before they were each handed a menu, and Axel was pretty quick to lift it open and check its contents.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18056139#t18056139)]

This place looked pretty fancy by pirate standards. But Usopp had plenty of experience with eating in fancy restaurants... well, at least he'd eaten lots of meals at Baratie, and that counted, right?

He glanced around. Judging from the fashion styles, all the other customers were fellow patients. Usopp paused awkwardly at the doorway for a moment, then decided to go ahead and pick out a seat for himself by a window. The restaurant wasn't that crowded, it should be fine. Though he did feel a little awkward, since it seemed like nobody else was eating alone...

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

The fried fish basket was tolerable, but it wasn't easy to taste the fish under all that batter. Eating Sanji's cooking had spoiled Usopp for seafood... well, for any food, but he'd been really craving seafood and it hadn't occurred to him until after he'd eaten that what he craved was, specifically, seafood prepared by Sanji. Usopp knew he didn't have a cultured background like Sanji, Robin or even Nami to appreciate fine cooking, but he knew what tasted good, and what tasted just 'okay.'

This place was a step above a tavern that just happened to sell food too, which was more along the lines of his usual dining experiences in towns. And he'd finished his plate. But it wasn't satisfying, aside from the fact that his stomach had been nearing empty and now it was full. Usopp headed back out into town, remembering the path to the spa he'd been thinking of entering earlier.

[back out here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18056139#t18056139)]

[jurisfictional.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18061515#t18061515)]

Thursday couldn't help but smile slightly as she and Dairine stepped inside. There was something disarming about the place - something that reminded her of home - and while she knew she had to be on her guard, surely she could relax a little for the briefest of moments.

"Where do you want to sit?" she asked Dairine.

[wiz-kid-redfive.livejournal.com]

Dairine shrugged. It looked like almost any family-owed restaurant in any part of the country. Some of the patrons looked up at them for a second, registered them as visiting patients, and half-smiled before turning back to their food. Dairine hated that, she hated being patronized. She'd rather be a prisoner outright than thought of as mentally deficient in any way.

"Window seat?"

[notmyfather.livejournal.com]

(From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18099147#t18110411))

Even just looking through the door of the tavern, Valyn was struck with how different it seemed. It looked cluttered and...well, he didn't want to say worn, but it certainly wasn't up to the opulence he was used to. And he'd never been in any of the common public houses, so had nothing else to compare it to.

But it smelled like food, and even with breakfast, Valyn found himself hungry.

"It's...quaint," he said, holding open the door for the other two men.

[valyns-shadow.livejournal.com]

"Forget quaint, how difficult do you think it will be to get ourselves a table and some food within the next few minutes?" Shadow asked, stepping inside the restaurant. His stomach growled and he walked over to one of the women waiting tables.

"Excuse me," he started, giving her a charming smile. But the look she gave him was a bit short as she pointed to a sign next to him.

"Ah, Seat Yourselves. Well, they could have made the sign bigger."

[broken-exorcist.livejournal.com]

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18111435#t18111435)]]

Allen was relieved when they entered to see that unlike the other place, this was a real restaurant, not some... giant unmoving food cart. He could smell the varied scents of things cooking in the kitchen and sighed happily to himself. He just hoped they could catch the attention of the waiters or waitresses and get served quickly. He was starving!

It seemed they were to seat themselves, so he found an empty booth and sat, picked up a menu and flipped through the items. The coupon said free lunch, but did that mean there was a limit to how much he could order? In that case, he should probably get something with a bit of weight to it, see if there was something that came with a lot of food.

Once he'd decided, he looked around anxiously for the server. "Do you know what you want?" he asked Rinali.

[boot-i-licious.livejournal.com]

It was obvious that Allen was starving. She had almost forgotten the kind of appetite her friend carried with him, thanks to the symbiotic relationship he carried with his innocence. How selfish of her not to even think of that! She picked up a menu as well and quickly spotted something that looked appetizing. It didn't take long...she wasn't all that picky of an eater. She nodded once. "I'm ready. Are you?"

A stupid question. Allen was probably going to order half of the items on the menu and still be ravenous. This wasn't a buffet like the institute offered. Still, it was quaint and pleasant, and had a nice interior compared to the mess hall of the institute yesterday, or even the cold walls of the Black Order.

[to-a-boy.livejournal.com]

Eventually L.A.'s stomach led him to the Twin Pine restaurant, and he reluctantly decided to abandon his plan to escape. For the time being, anyway.

The country fried steak seemed to be their specialty. L.A. thought he might as well order it. It was certainly a change of pace from tacos....

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18244299).]

Rukia pushed open the door, glad to get out of the chilly autumn air. There were papers covered in... something stuck to the windows; they looked like newspaper articles, so Rukia took a quick glance at the dates. They ranged mostly from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st, by the Western system of years.　It wasn't necessarily useful information, but you never knew when it could come in handy.

Rukia spotted Allen and his friend, Rinali, sitting together, but they seemed to be having a serious conversation. Still, she waved, then took a seat at a small, round table by a window. She wasn't sure how to hail a server, so she waited to see what the other patrons were doing.

"What do you want to get, Ururu?" she asked, handing the girl one of the menus on the table. That, at least, was normal.

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

Ururu had a lot of things on her mind as she walked with Rukia-san, following the woman and sitting across from her. Unlile the Shinigami, Ururu didn't see anyone she knew, so she was silent until she was handed a menu.

"Thank you." Ururu looked over the strange descriptions, doing her best to understand as much of them as she could. Chicken was safe, wasn't it? Chicken and rice, both familiar, and she saw a picture that showed both. "That." She pointed to the item, nodding slightly to herself. She would like it.

"I don't know if I'm weaker." The girl hadn't forgotten the question Rukia-san had asked her earlier. "I haven't tried anything hard yet. I hope I'm not too weak." Ururu looked down at the table, a new worry added to her growing list. "I have to be able to help."

[screwthegods]

[From here]

Homura was rather glad to see the restaurant when it came into view, and even happier for the warmth inside; crisp air was nice, but in moderation. He held the door open for Rangiku, letting the woman enter before motioning to the tables.

"Anywhere you'd like." The politeness came easy, Homura feeling a strange mix of ease and awkwardness with Rangiku that he couldn't quite place. But he didn't let it show either, his motions as confident as his smile, patient as Rangiku chose their table.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku inclined her head and smiled when the door was held open for her, accepting the rather gentlemanly gesture. It was always nice to be treated in such a polite manner.

She paused for a moment, looking around the place carefully. It wasn't really the type of place that she was used to eating in. Finally, she pointed to a table in one corner where she could see people coming in and out, but couldn't easily be seen. She couldn't help being wary.

[mister-radio.livejournal.com]

He hadn't been kidding when he said he wanted some lunch. A man could only live on microwave meals and soup for so long, after all. And besides, people tended to gather in restaurants.

Snubbing a cigarette under his heal, he slipped into the Twin Pines, grabbed a menu, and slid into a seat in the corner. He pulled off his headphones and dropped them on the table in front of him, and once more set the pack of cigarettes out in clear view.

He didn't want to spend his lunch by himself, after all.

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/244549.html?thread=18258757#t18338885), because they're ninjas like that.]

The restaurant was actually pretty crowded, making maneuvering the wheelchair a difficult task. One of the teenage girls who seemed to be waitressing (Kenshin couldn't help but think of Tae and Tsubame) waved their attention over to a sign that told them to "seat themselves."

Unfortunately, the only unoccupied tables didn't seem very friendly to Kenshin's wheelchair.

There was a booth over in the corner that would work pretty well. But it was already occupied.

Kenshin looked up at Kenren. "Do you think he would mind if we joined him?"