she knows what he's thinking. [break][break]

and she knows that he's amused. hence, she eyes him as he glances at the drinks, and a hue of pink comes to her cheeks. nevertheless, she turns her attention back to the song list, then takes a quick gander at their surroundings. she hums. [break][break]

".. I've never been to this kind of place, before." she idly comments, and she can't help but wonder why he brought her here.

Calix Nikolau

☉

He glanced over at the sound of her voice, all while a corner of his lips tugged up slightly and instinctively. He shrugged softly. ”It’s probably been years for myself, honestly,” he chuckled, briefly peering back down at the menu with a hum. ”Last time I did something like this was probably, like…before my service, honestly…”[break][break]

Humming a bit louder, he tapped his fingers against the laminated sheets of the pages and texts before him before lifting his head to eye her again. ”I’m kinda surprised you haven’t at least been, though~... he added in musings, tilting his head and raising a brow. ”Some companies and stuff like that like to come to places like this, right? Team bonding events and things like that?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

the smile shrinks at the sound of work (and memories of devon rush back, like a stain she'd rather cover up. the image has been tainted by silph, and that damnable fernando) and she lets out a soft hum of distaste. following up, she nods and leans, slightly, to take a better look at the pages ".. there were quite a few, yes." back when she didn't often interact with her other employees, when she hadn't the passion to run the family business (and maybe that's why she failed).[break][break]

"i never.. participated in them. work demanded too much from me." but talk of devon was starting to put a damper on her mood. what did people do when they were starting to feel down? ah, that's right "... i can see you and your son having a small karaoke machine back at home. he seems like the kind who would enjoy it~" [break][break]

they shift the topic.

Calix Nikolau

☉

…Ah, that’s right. Company talk was a bit of a sore spot, wasn’t it?[break][break]

It was something he learned about her a while ago, but rolling the conversation along was somewhat instinctive for him in casual settings. Although her smile faltered lightly (and he absolutely caught it), his smile remained its ongoing size and even softened slightly at the sight of it. His lip quirked gently as he looked towards the pages again, nodding.[break][break]

”Honestly? Yeah, I could see that~.” Her unspoken wish had been to move along, and he would embrace that request with open arms. As if replacing the drifted parts of a smile that dwindled upon her lips, his own seemed to broaden at the thought, and he glanced towards her from the corner of his eye. ”Although I’m not sure how quiet the house would be if we did get one…” he mused, clicking his tongue. ”He’d probably use the damn thing every day… Wouldn’t get a wink of sleep ever again~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

"he's lively enough, so i don't think the house would be quite for.." she pauses, thinking, pensive "for a few weeks?" or maybe she's overestimating the kid's energy. still, the thought brings a smile to her face, and she giggles softly. in he meantime, she picks up the tablet with the song list, and casually scrolls through it, looking to see what tracks they had to offer. [break][break]

still, though.. there were quite a few songs. though she's not so much confident in her singing, it would be a shame to come here and.. not enjoy it. she moves closer, holding the tablet between them "do you see anything we could try singing?~"

Calix Nikolau

☉

A sarcastically amused groan of a sigh left his lips at the thought. ”Weeks? God, try months...” he laughed, grinning a wry grin as he clicked his tongue. ”Literally. Restless. Nights…”[break][break]

He turned his head towards her partway into the response, and though he noted her moving closer, he hadn’t said much; rather, he welcomed it while simply leaning closer, himself, in order to get a closer look at the tablet. He hummed in thought.[break][break]

”Mmmmn… Honestly? Off the top of my head, nah…” he mused, raising his brows while peering up at her from the corner of his eye. ”How about you? If I know it, I’m game to do a duet for whatever you pick~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

"it's.. a bit of an old song, mmn." one that she hasn't heard in a while, but one that's stuck with her for a good while. she takes the remote, then selects the song from the screen with a small smile on her lips. an a little different, because she's not so good at.. singing stronger songs. her voice can't do that.[break][break]

eventually, she moves to put the tablet on the table and holds a microphone in her hand, instead. then she passes the other one to him, with a small smile on her lips. the first couple of notes start to play, with its soft piano. "a slower song, i hope you don't mind~.." [break][break]

and when the lyrics appear on the screen, she parts her lips, and softly sings.

Calix Nikolau
song

☉

Honestly speaking, he was curious about what song she’d end up choosing in the end. Thinking on it more, he hadn’t quite delved into what sort of music she liked in a conversation, so to glance towards the screen and watch her pick the song she did was a pleasant and curious surprise as he pursed his lips with a smile, as well as a seeming smile in approval.[break][break]

”Old but gold, honestly,” he hummed, eying her with some degree of amusement while taking the microphone she held to him. For the sake of the song, he trailed off for the most part; only humming softly along in recognition as the song, itself, began to play.[break][break]

By no means was he the best singer, but he definitely did intend to try his best.[break]
And he did try his best through the time he sang.[break][break]

…It just so happened, however, that the time was shorter on his end. In the beginning, he joined her. He sang— but as time went on (and as he was able to hear her voice for a longer and clearer time), he’d absentmindedly trailed off in favor of simply eying her and listening contently.[break][break]

Admiration, accompanied only by a softened gaze and an absentminded smile of affection.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

she's enjoying herself. [break][break]

it's been a while since she was able to sing and, for once, she feels more at ease, haring the piano play over the speakers in the room (though loathe is she to hear her own voice, the music thankfully drowns out what she perceives to be horrible singing. his own voice compliments hers as well, which makes it bearable). calmer, soothing music like this is what makes her happiest, especially when it's accompanied by someone she's only recently started holding closer to her heart. really.. she doesn't know when it started. she doesn't know why it started. [break][break]

.. but she's happy. [break]
and she's learned not to question what made her happy.[break][break]

it's easy to lose yourself in music - it's the case for many people. daphne is no exception, so she enjoys singing and getting lost in the notes as she sings, even going as far as to not catch when calix trails off in the song to eye her - to admire her, the same way she's admired him a good amount of times. the blonde woman sings until the end, of which she's left listening to the piano peer out, with the same, calm smile to her lips. "ca--" she starts, only to meet with his eyes when she turns. [break][break]

she'd get lost if she hadn't realized that he was.. eyeing her, with more affection than she knows what to do with. her cheeks flush a pink, as do her ears, as she lowers the microphone and pulls the tablet back up. "w-we can.. find another song to sing." she tries to avoid eye contact, and she doesn't understand why she's bashful. he has this effect on her.

Calix Nikolau
song

☉