closing u p ::michael/open::

[minister]

Michael smiled after Victoria kissed him, noticing that she had turned her charm on a bit. He appreciated this; Victoria often calmed him after a stressful day at work, but for once, Michael was relatively at ease. "Do you have any idea what you'd like to eat?" he asked after a moment, opening up the menu and looking through it a bit. Michael had been here a few times before, but he had yet to consistently select something he loved. The food was great, but Michael could never decide exactly what he wanted.

[victoria]

"I'll probably just have a salad and some soup," said Victoria. Whenever they went out she didn't eat very much, restuarant food was notorious for the amount of calories. Victoria liked to watch her figure, she was proud of herself for looking the way she did at forty-one, even if her half-veela heritage had something to do with it. She had yet to get any wrinkles, and had only a few strands of grey in her hair- but they were mostly unnoticeable because of the platinum blonde colour of the rest of her tresses.

[minister]

Michael nodded in reply, he had figured Victoria wouldn't have very much to eat. He doubted she really needed to watch her figure too much, owing to her heritage, but Michael wasn't about to try to change Victoria's ways. "I haven't the foggiest idea what I should get," Michael said with a small chuckle, flipping through the menu.

[victoria]

Victoria looked at her husband over the top of her menu with her pale blue eyes. "Whatever you want dear, you deserve the best," said Victoria, smiling a bit before looking back at her menu, in spite of already knowing what she was going to order. It was no secret that Victoria loved her husband, she just wished that they were able to spend more time together.

[minister]

Michael smiled at Victoria's comment. "You flatter me, dear," he said, though he was unable to contain his smile. At last, Michael found a meal that sounded especially delicious. It was steak, served with some sort of vegetables and bread. Michael decided that he would order that; he hadn't gotten it on previous visits and it sounded good to him.

[victoria]

Only a few minutes had passed before a waiter came up to their table. True to the atmosphere he was dressed nicely, having an air about him as if he had been in his profession for a very long time. He offered them a fine aged wine, which Victoria politely accepted. It seemed only fitting to her to have wine with dinner. That probably came from her schooling in Beauxbatons.

[minister]

Michael accepted the wine as well, figuring he might as well go all out on this dinner with Victoria. Michael thanked the waiter and then turned to Victoria to allow her to order her meal first. Michael had decided to be on his best behavior tonight, though he was usually a gentleman anyways. But he figured he owed to Victoria, after being home so infrequently, to make her night perfect.

[victoria]

"I'll take the house salad with the light Italian dressing," said Victoria, then quickly glanced at the soups, "and a cup of the tomato bisque soup." The waiter nodded as he wrote down her order and then turned to Michael after tucking her menu under his arm. She folded her hands neatly on the top of the table, smiling softly at her husband.

[minister]

Michael gave Victoria a small and then turned to the waiter. "I'll have the steak, cooked medium, please," he said. "Also, the vegetables and garlic bread on the side." The waiter nodded and Michael thanked him before turning back to his wife. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. Michael hadn't been this content in ages; he realized he needed to take Victoria out to dinner more often.

[victoria]

It had been all too long since the two of them had had much fun together, the both of them were so very busy. Truth be told Victoria had been thinking of retiring as editor-in-chief, or perhaps just stepping down to the reporting job she had held for so many years before advancing, but wasn't sure if that would solve the problem. Michael spent so many hours at work, far more than she did. Granted, Minister of Magic was a demanding position, but she got lonely waiting for her husband until the wee hours of the morning, and then having him turn around and leave before she had even gotten up. "We ought to make more time for ourselves," Victoria said.

[minister]

Michael sighed slightly; he had figured that his long work hours were bothering Victoria as well. "I would like that," Michael said, then frowned. "I just don't quite know how I can take more time off of work without an international crisis occurring." Michael was exaggerating, of course, though he did feel like it was his responsibility to be on the job, working more than anyone else to ensure the safety of the wizarding world. It was certainly more difficult than even he had originally anticipated.

[victoria]

Victoria smiled a bit at her husband's humour, but her pale blue eyes portrayed a bit more of a frown. She had known when her husband won the election that it would come with a lot of work, but it was much more than she had been bargaining with. Sometimes Victoria swore that the ideal candidate for minister would either be single or a widower without children. "Perhaps we're both just too busy," said Victoria, and then paused a moment before continuing, "lately I've been thinking of resigning, not now, but in the next year or two."