WHO: Kendall Broadmoor & Nona Pepper
WHAT: Sharing a table
WHERE: A busy little street cafe
WHEN: MAHHH tonight?


It was ridiculous how busy this tiny restaurant was. Logically it made sense, it was a small place with the best food on the block and close to the pitch. Being as a game let out not too long ago, obviously there would be standing room only. All Kendall wanted to do was eat some delicious food and get back to his room for an early night.

But no. He had to wait twenty minutes in line for his food and then after he finally got it there were no empty tables. Empty seats, yes but he didn’t know any searching the faces of people, he realized that he didn’t know anyone here. His stomach let a rather loud grumble. He knew he should have gone with Thomas, this is what he got for being stubborn and insisting that he had to eat here. Scanning the room for options of seats, Kendall noticed his options were limited. Table in the corner with what looked like a homeless man folded over half the table, side booth with two turkish players, one of which he was quite sure got a black eye from Wadcock, or the corner booth with a pretty brunette that was no doubt waiting on a date. Well then.

“Excuse me. Sorry,” Kendall said approaching the booth. He took one more once over of the restaurant to make sure he hadn’t missed an empty table. “I know you are most likely waiting on someone, but do you mind if I sit here just for a few minutes? The place is packed and if I’m honest, this is the best option for empty seats. I won’t be long.”

Nona was growing rapidly tired of the crowds she had to elbow against in the stadium, and sought refuge almost immediately after the game. She'd tossed out a harried invitation to anyone who might be in a position to join her, be it Saoirse or her brother, but she didn't expect either of them to be coming, what with their respective duties. It was just as well; Istanbul was a beautiful city, rich with history of both the Wizarding and Muggle kind, with plenty of things to do to keep a bright, intelligent witch such as herself occupied.

Why she was instead literally rubbing elbows with what appeared to be half the city in the hole-in-the-wall cafe she'd mistakenly assumed would be a quiet place to unwind before beginning her exploits of the night, she couldn't say. With her hair in its usual topknot and a richly purple scarf that she'd aggressively haggled for this morning wound around her person, however, she was a small beacon of calm amidst the craze of patrons. This serenity was in no small part due to the cup of rich coffee she was current sipping, and the half-eaten revani in front of her.

Also in front of her, and looking delicious in his own special way, was a man. A man, however politely, requesting to impinge upon her hard-won (well, hard-won was giving the diners she'd given the cool staredown to entirely too much credit) solidarity. The pleasant glandular tingle she experienced in the presence of any good-looking male disappeared. Nona was about to send him, just as politely, on his way, when she got a second, better look at him, and decided it might make her easy, but she was quite swayed by eyes as nice as his.

She blinked a long, slow, evaluating blink at him and tilted her head to one side. "Yes," she said finally. "I suppose you might."

Kendall rubbed the back of his head, half certain that she was going to just send him on his way. Forcing him to eat standing or outside in the snow. Not that he would entirely blame her, some stranger just coming up and asking to join her out of the blue. He gave her a small half shrug and tried his best not to pout while he waited for an answer. It felt like the longest minute of his life standing there awkwardly waiting, but then she agreed and for the first time in a long time, it felt like things were finally going his way.

“Thank you,” he said emphatically sliding into the booth and putting his plate down. “A true hero, you are. I definitely owe you.” He dug his fork into his food, which he wasn’t quite sure if it was rude or not, but he did promise her he would be quick. And he was starving. He was at least dignified enough hold back the groan after his first bite. The food was delicious and very much worth the wait and fighting the crowds. Not to mention he really lucked out when it came to dining companions.

“Is it safe to assume you are here for the Eurocup as well?” Kendall asked a few bites in, feeling it was safer to converse now that the threat his stomach might grumble mid sentence was gone. There was no way he was going to just sit there and ignore such a pretty lady for the sake of food. Not only would it be rude, it would be stupid.

In truth, Nona would have been perfectly content to merely stare at him, but that would undoubtedly have caused the wizard a bit of discomfort. Not that the prospect bothered her, of course. She set her cup down and propped her chin on one fist, watching him in unabashed interest as he attacked his food. One of the reasons (really, the only reason) she had consented to sharing the table was because she found him pleasing to look at, so look at him she would.

Probably enjoying herself a little too much, Nona barely caught the question he asked her. "Hmm?" she asked, blinking rapidly. "Oh. Oh, yes, I am." She stabbed at her cake thoughtfully. Although being back in Britain was essentially like a new field assignment, since she hadn't spent any significant time there since she'd left school, Nona had to admit that she missed the sights and smells of truly exotic places. When Ireland had advanced and both Saoirse and Octavius had urged her to spend a week or so (ostensibly to watch the matches, but really), her arm hadn't needed much twisting. It was a bit more difficult to jaunt off than usual, dealing with Saoirse's and her small menagerie, but she'd managed. Pig the flying pig and Gebhard the outrageously irritable goat were in the care of her brother Tim, and Ocelot the ocelot was napping quite contentedly in her hotel room.

"I'm supposed to be rooting for Ireland."

He barely even registered the fact that she was staring at him, too focused on his food and stealing glances of his own. He had the sudden desire to see smile or hear her laugh. He had forgotten what it felt like to be single and want to smile and flirt with a pretty girl he just met simply because he could.

Kendall couldn’t suppress the grin at her phrasing. ‘Supposed to be.’ Clearly there was room to sway her opinion. He was a proud member of the English team, even if he wasn’t spending any time playing. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel the crushing defeat against Ireland when they won in the tie-breaking shoot out.

“Ireland? That could be trouble, as I am supposed to be rooting for England.” He smiled as he took another bite of his food, the corners of his eyes crinkling just a bit. He leaned over the table slightly. “Perhaps, I could convince you to switch allegiances?” he asked conspiratorially, raising his brows just a bit.

England? Well, wasn't that sticky. Her brother's former girlfriend played for England, if Nona remembered correctly, which she was about seventy-five percent certain she did. Quidditch did put her to sleep when it wasn't right in front of her and particularly bloody, after all.

"That might be a bit difficult," Nona hid a smile behind her cup. "As I am insistent upon winning."

She had gathered that there was a lot of drama concerning this recent tie-breaker between England and Ireland, but the particulars of it had escaped her. Not even the theory and science behind Quidditch could catch her interest. But that indifference, Nona decided, made her life substantially easier, as she then had no qualms about blindly supporting Saoirse in whatever team or endeavour she performed for. For a person who cared so little for the sport, she was certainly surrounded by enough fanatics of it in her life.

But presently, she had no intentions of cheering for England, as Saoirse and even Iwan would murder her, and they were the two people she let influence her indifferent feelings at all. That didn't stop her from being intrigued or playing along. Thoughtfully, she set down her cup and tapped a finger against her chin, eyeing the man with amused speculation. "What will you give me if I do switch?"

Kendall smirked as he finished the last bite of his food. “Oh I think it will be rather easy, as I have it on good authority that England will be winning,” he said before putting the edge of his thumb in his mouth to lick off some of the sauce that he managed to spill. The game between them and Ireland had been close. So close that it could have easily been them. Next go around, they wouldn’t lose. “So if you are insistent on winning, its a wise choice to switch teams.”

He hummed slightly as he pondered her question. Obviously it was going to have to be something worth while, as he already owed her for letting him impose on her dining space. “But I suppose I could give you something anyways,” Kendall drawled out, “But it would because I want to do something nice for a very nice, very pretty lady. Not to bribe you to support England. I’m not sure what I would have to offer. Dinner doesn’t seem worthy enough. Perhaps an after hours tour of the pitch?” he offered. “I can almost guarantee you’ll see at least one player without a shirt.”

Kendall leaned back in his seat shrugging a shoulder. “Although, such things might be a bit boring.”

Her eyebrows shot up high, not just at his abundant confidence in England, but also at his off-the-cuff offer, though she preened at being called pretty. The most appealing part of his proposition, Nona was unashamed to admit, would be the shirtless players. But she admitted it could be quite cool, mucking about where Wizarding sporting history was being made; she just wondered how that was going to happen. Should she condescend to switching allegiances, after all.

"And how exactly," asked Nona, folding her arms and laying them on the table as she leaned forward, "can you manage an after-hours tour of the pitch?"

As she sounded much more interested than wary, being that the man sitting across from her had proposed something that could be tantamount to burglary, it was not as much of a deterrent as it might, and perhaps ought to have, been.

Kendall wasn’t quite sure he was ready to reveal that he was technically on the English team. Being a reserve wasn’t something he felt he should be boasting about. He wasn’t even quite sure he wanted to be boosting that he played for Kenmare at the moment. They had a terrible follow up year to their championship. He tilted his head to the side.

“Well, I can’t very well tell you that, now can I? All the fun would be lost when the air of mystery is taken away.”

It was a gamble, relying on the hope that she would find it intriguing, and not entirely creepy that he expected her to just up and agree to go with him. He reached across the table turning his hand up, his fingers barely brushing her arm. “So that just leaves the question, are you up for an adventure?” He asked giving her a charming smile. “Or would you rather have a typical Eurocup experience?”

Likely, she should say no.

Of course, she'd definitely done stupider things in her life than go off half-cocked into the night with a complete stranger.

Likely, that made this no less stupid, or no more of a good idea, but…

She was restless, and she was curious, which was almost always a disastrous but interesting combination for all parties involved.

And when a fit man with nice eyes offered up an adventure in an exotic city, one did not have to possess her admittedly superior intellect, or much more than warm pumping blood, to know how to answer.

Nona angled her head up cockily, surveying him through slanted eyes as she smirked. "Well," she drawled, "they do tell me adventure is my middle name."