#interactions; felix and bella 005

[manybcdthings]

beekman hotel

felix ranstrom and isabella belcourt @rviner

It wasn't the done thing to be draped around one another on an evening like this. Or any event for that matter. But, Felix knew given the weight of the night that he would have to make do with small stolen moments with Bella. Fleeting seconds of passing affection. He didn't mind, as watching her was as endearing as being close to her even if he knew which he preferred. The more he watched her however, the more he could see her on a slight high alert, practically waiting for when she might be needed.

"I have a serious question." Felix began, hushing his tone when there was another tiny moment of their paths crossing. "I was talking to Seraphina and she made me paranoid about something." he continued, despite there being absolutely no infliction of genuine concern in his voice. Just pure amusement as he grinned. "Check for me, quickly." he added, leaning down to steal the briefest of kisses. "Can you still taste yourself?" his grin lit up with pure mischief as he laughed, recoiling to dodge Bella's reaction and he waved a hand in apology. "That wasn't actually my question." he added once composed enough through his laughter. "I was going to ask about our hyperactive pixie child, because I tried to give her a few minutes away from here but she just talked about beheading and sharks." he then tilted his head. "Which...is not as bad as it could be, I guess." another wave of his hand. "Actually, I lied, none of those were my question. My question was, when will you take a few minutes to not be in therapist mode?" and yet another wave of his hand, Felix finding amusement in even that. "I lied again. I have two questions. I saw you and Oskar, so is this where you tell me how you've realized he's the charming one? I knew this day was coming."

[manybcdthings]

town

felix ranstrom and isabella belcourt @rviner

He waited for Bella, as promised. All due to their earlier conversation that left him with a nagging thought. It wasn't just her stubborn and determined support that struck him, but a simple statement that was muttered so quickly, it could have easily been ignored. As soon as he saw her, Felix moved with deliberate steps to meet her half way within the quiet street, a sly glance thrown at his watch. "Thought maybe the Vikings got you again." he teased, as the hour pushed closer to midnight. He was about to speak further when a sudden hesitation gripped him, his eyes darting between hers. "…you mentioned something earlier, I didn't have the chance to reply." he continued, his tone it's usual dryness even as he reached for her hand, fingers intertwining as he guided her along.

"Last night wasn't technically a date." Felix cleared his throat as he repeated the statement she made, the one that prompted this entire situation. Though, the night had certainly ended like a date, Bella's words had clearly impacted Felix enough to try for a little decorum. Glancing to her as they walked, he waved his free hand towards the closed bar. "A while ago when I was..." when he couldn't sleep, and he treated a walk through the town as a medicine. "I saw two Cross wolves sneaking out of the bar. I don't think they even lock it." he added as a shrug accompanied his words. It seemed there was a hint of embarrassment, uncharacteristically taking hold of him as Felix led them to the building. Years worth of materialism rearing it's head, or perhaps a nagging reminder that everything he did had to be of worth.

"Not the best...first date but I guess it's either this or a watch shift together." he muttered, before a frown moved over his mouth. "Shit. Maybe that would've been better because you're a tree-hugger?" Felix added, having to wrap his self-doubt into a sarcastic tease and offer Bella a smirk. He quickly nudged open the door with his shoulder, keeping hold of her hand and surprised at how easily it swung open. "Oh...yeah they don't even lock it." Was he nervous? Hand finally slipped from Bella's as he moved to the bar. "We could just take a bottle and go to...where there's trees." his dry and level tone might have sounded out as it usually did but...he was nervous.

[manybcdthings]

"That's a very biased source of information, though." Felix pretended to muse in response, but his grin grew over his lips again as Bella explained her very specific distaste for nature shows. However, his expression was full of endearment and a chuckle left at her expense. "No, it's only anxiety inducing for you. The predator and prey know the drill." he nodded, teasing her with a dry tone. "And so do...most people watching it." Felix added. He didn't move away from the poke of a finger to his face, if anything his smile stretched further and allowed his dimple to be a fully fledged target for the affection. "Pretty boy was not on the list of compliments I ever thought I'd receive, but thanks." he remarked with a laugh, the sound growing at the vivid imagery of them both balling their eyes out together. "Very romantic. Very Kafoevsky."

If anything, Felix wished he plucked up the nerve to interject when he saw Oskar and Bella speaking to one another. Instead, he knew any actions would be held against him but he also knew that Bella was more than capable to navigate the icy domain only a Ranstromen could create. Felix offered her a smile with a quick and diligent nod for the resolved discussion. He attempted to consider her next words, wondering if he would feel any differently about her or them if he was a personal side project for her brilliant mind. Instantly, Felix shook his head with a clear conclusion. "Isabella, you could tear me apart and stitch me back together all wrong and I'd still thank you." he declared with a wry grin, dropping a brief kiss to her forehead.

But with curiosity piqued about the flickering shadows, Felix was quick to follow her lead. "No, it wasn't very funny. Just funny." he quipped and took several quicker drags from his cigarette to be done with it and head inside. "Right behind you." Felix stated, throwing his unfinished cigarette to the ground, immediately stepping with Bella before a tsk left him sharply. "Oh for God sake." he griped without any true frustration, remembering her subtle ramblings for how birds peck at cigarette ends and die. "You subconsciously make me more conscious, it's terrible." Felix declared, plucking up the cigarette to discard of it properly.

END.

"The thing is, you can. Because I'm telling you." Bella counters with another laugh which promptly cuts off with the shake of her head, her finger pointing in faux warning. "That is entirely different. I don't want the predator to starve and I don't want the prey to die. It's high anxiety for everyone involved and I can't take it." she stresses before she's laughing again, and her once warning finger pokes at Felix's dimple with affection. "Yeah, pretty. You're very pretty, Felix." Bella insists with a much softer tone despite a grin on her lips. Both of them give one another the same look of mischief to his remark, Bella squinting her gaze teasingly. "Well, if you ever feel the need for a good old cry afterwards, just show me a browning leaf apparently, and we can do it together."

The smile she offers Felix is more genuine in the next moment, a little nod of her head to show his words have helped quiet down the faint nagging in the back of her mind. "Yeah it was the most relaxed grilling I've ever had." she laughs before meeting the topic with more seriousness. "Good." Bella then confirms, using her thumb to gently swipe away the light stain of lipstick from his cheek. Felix's question causes her to pause, but only for a moment before a shrug lifts her shoulders. "I get what you're saying but..." Bella pauses again to truly mill through the thoughts. "It wouldn't feel very nice for you? If the person you're with just saw you as a curiosity they can work out and piece together." which was her one and only concern.

The flicker of shadows bring a halt to the entire moment, Bella blinking to register what her eyes have witnessed as a second quick flash of darkness moves over them. "Really weird." she mutters, her lips tugging into a clueless frown and a thoughtful one as she glances back to Felix. Her expression quickly deadpans to his humor, even if she laughs. "That's not very funny." Bella comments, fighting her grin as she taps his arm. "Hurry up, nicotine fiend. We should probably tell someone about that." she points, already making steps to the door. "It might be nothing but better to be safe than sorry."

[manybcdthings]

"The thing is, Isabella. I can't exactly be sure." Felix returned with the same tone and grin. "I've seen you get stressed at Animal Planet so a browning leaf moving you to tears isn't much of a reach." he decided without any context nor discussion as he chuckled. Bella's teasing kept a grin on his face even if Felix's brows quickly quirked in a playful confusion. "Well, that didn't answer my question at all but pretty!?" he remarked with complete amusement which promptly grew into a laugh about the writer. Felix couldn't even disagree, his grin reluctant but evident as he decided to lean into the joke. "Who's to say I haven't? Before I met you, I made very questionable choices." but amusement didn't linger as the topic shifted to the atmosphere of the event. Felix wasn't quite as in touch with his empathetic side, and trusted Bella's far more than his own. What he would place as a simple heavier aura, she could perhaps read with more depth.

And truthfully, it all became a second thought to him when facing what he knew all along. That Oskar just simply couldn't help himself to stir a pot. While Felix took lazy and slow drags from the cigarette, his eyes swept over the Belcourt witch in both appreciation but curiousness. As if trying to see if his brother's remarks had made any lasting impact beyond her questions. "Well, nothing ever is said outright." Felix commented, leaning slightly to accept the gentle kiss Bella placed to his cheek. "I don't feel like a project to you." he insisted but all sarcasm and teasing had left his tone for the more serious discussion.

"I'm curious, though. Would it be a bad thing if I was one?" Felix offered an alternative perspective, gaze searching Bella's before he then shrugged. "I just mean in the sense of, there's worst projects to be. I wouldn't exactly think you were some evil mastermind for trying to make me happier." he added with a slight grin. The expression grew even further as Bella began about an article, Felix's interest piqued as he pushed himself from the wall, ready to peer over her shoulder to read it. But the blip of a shadow was so quick, an absence of light flying over their heads and instantly pulling his attention.

"Uhhh..." Felix blinked before he looked back to Bella, only able to offer her a clueless shrug. "No, I definitely saw that. That was weird." he remarked, free hand hovering near her back. The next shadow was just as fast, but perhaps being aware allowed Felix's senses to prickle further. "What are the odds of two shades shadowstepping in the same places?" he didn't know enough about it, however and there was a quick frown on his face. "Maybe it's a dead Ranstromen coming back to warn me about being a project."

"The thing is, Felix…" Bella's voice drips with a playful superiority, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "I know that you know that I don't cry over things like that." she teases him back, laughter bubbling up as she imagines him confronting her mother about teary birthdays. Bella isn't surprised that Felix finds a way to pry into her thoughts with his ever inquisitive and musing ways but Bella scoffs teasingly to him. "Well, you're always thinking about a lot of things, Felix. All the time, constantly. In that very pretty head of yours." she quips, tapping his cheek lightly with gentle affection.

Her grin widens at the mention of the tablecloth, breaking into laughter now she knows it will nag away in the back of Felix's mind, and hers, for the duration of the night. "Well, I know you love him but I'll be honest, Kafka seems like he might have cried after sex. Not sure that’s the complete comparison you want." Bella's laughter echoes with amusement that tapers off as she considers the heavy atmosphere around the guests, an inexplicable weight. "I think everyone meant well, but no one realized it’d feel so overwhelming." she comments, her tone balanced and fair.

Bella's chuckle softens at Felix's retort, but her smile stays bright as she steps closer, drawn by his beckoning. She watches him take her hand, his touch gentle, the kiss to her knuckles sparking another laugh. As he raises her finger to his cigarette, she conjures a flame with a flicker of magic, lighting it for him without question. Her eyes lock on his as he speaks with a warmer smile curling her lips at his reassurances. "I mean, all of-" she mimics his erratic gesture in the air, drawing a dizzying path. "Is part of it. Even if I wanted to say something, I wouldn’t." she laughs, rising onto tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"It wasn't said outright, but I think he suspects I’m treating you like a project." Bella admits honestly and with a shrug. "But, I don’t care about other people's opinions. I care about what you think. I don’t want you feeling like I’m trying to piece you together into what I think is healthy." her smile softens but is sincere and Bella's head tilts with appreciation at his words. "Thank you. I love you for so many reasons, but especially for not making me need to be to therapist mode." she tells him with sincerity because Felix can always tell when her mind starts analyzing and gently nudges her back. Bella will always appreciate him for it, perhaps more than she's been able to previously express.

"And this totally contradicts what I just said, but I found an interesting study I think you’d li-" Bella reaches for her clutch, her words cut off instantly as a shadow sweeps overhead, darkening their surroundings for the quickest of seconds. Her gaze snaps upward, eyes narrowing with confusion. "Did you see that?" she looks to Felix again, her head tilting to the other side now. "It wasn't a light or something was it? That was definitely a shadow...a shade?"

[manybcdthings]

The sound of Bella's laughter always felt like a jolt of caffeine, invigorating and infectious. It was light and buoyant, a sound that lifted a whole room. "I'm fine with that. I'll allow it." Felix teased, adopting a faux aloofness he knew she’d see right through. He kept the banter going, humming with exaggerated disbelief. "Hmm, I don't know. I can see it vividly. Maybe a bit of a leaf browned or something, and you were inconsolable." he goaded her with a grin. "I will make a point to. Very first thing I say to Nadia when I see her: 'Excuse me, but did Bella ever cry before a birthday?' I’m sure that won’t make me look like a sociopath."

Felix's head tilted with genuine intrigue as Bella sidestepped the topic of his brother, a playful smirk still tugging at his lips. "Oh, this just got interesting. What am I thinking?" he pried teasingly, momentarily distracted by Bella's laugh and her gesture towards the slightly off tablecloth. Felix frowned, his gaze meeting hers again. "That's going to annoy me for the whole night now. I wish you never mentioned it." he admitted honestly, but his frown quickly morphed back into a grin as Bella was already implementing their new phrase. Felix fought back a laugh, tsking. "Psycho-Shining." he agreed, ready to embed it into their shared lexicon.

Being described as romantic and depressing would be an insult coming from anyone else, but from Bella, it was endearing. At least to him "Well, as long as I'm more Kafka in the bedroom and more Dostoevsky everywhere else, I can deal with that." he quipped, watching as Bella changed his new nickname while his hand waited patiently for hers. As soon as they were in the courtyard, Felix reluctantly let go of her hand to retrieve his cigarette packet from his pocket. "Like a Louisiana swamp, yeah." he remarked about the event's atmosphere. "Maybe everyone is finally realizing that wearing a mask only works for some things and not others." he added with a chuckle, mumbling around his cigarette.

Bella's question followed, and Felix gave her a curious glance before responding almost immediately. "I've never had a thing for my therapists, so no. Otherwise, mine and Finn's friendship would be very complicated." he joked lightly before beckoning her over to him by the wall with a quick wave. Once she was close enough, he took her hand, planting a soft kiss over her knuckles before lifting her finger to the cigarette he took between his teeth, waiting for her magic to do the honors.

"Isabella Belcourt," Felix then said, letting his tone lift slightly as if making an announcement. "You're not a therapist-girlfriend. You don't try to lead me to water. You definitely don't try to make me drink it. You walk with me while I figure out my own way there. Even if you know the quickest and easiest route, you let me…" he waved his hand in the air, drawing a chaotic path before taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling the smoke away from her face. "Which is mainly a testament to your patience." Felix grinned at her. "You're a kind, intelligent, and understanding person, and I love you for those things. They just so happen to be why you're also a good therapist. That's the only crossover." he exchanged a more knowing look with Bella. "That was the conversation, hm? With Oskar?"

Felix's quick retort brings a loud, uncontrollable laugh from Bella. She tries to suppress it, but it bursts out, interrupting her mid-sip. "Psycho-Shining is gonna be a thing now, you know that, right?" she says, eyes sparkling with amusement. Once her laughter subsides, she looks to him with appreciation for the humor. Finally taking the sip she needed to abandon, Bella hums and shakes her head slightly. "No, I've never cried before a birthday party." she tells him, waving her free hand slightly. "I might be offended if you don't believe me, but I mean it. Unless there was something from when I was a kid, but you'd have to ask my mom." another chuckle escapes despite her effort to stifle it.

Bella's smile softens as the moment shifts from Felix's sharp wit to his gentler side. She nods reassuringly, a light tsk escaping as he reads her mind. Navigating both caring, therapist-mode is easy to her, but he's right. As he often is. "Probably not in the way you're thinking." she admits lightly and without elaborating, knowing Felix's goal is to distract her from such a topic in the first place. Her hand squeezes his on her shoulder, another smile spreading across her lips. "I wasn't thinking about a million things!" she insists, laughing. "I was actually noticing that one tablecloth is different from the others. They must've thought no one would notice. Just that one, for some reason." she points out the culprit cloth, the slightest difference in shade that catches her eye.

Playfully, Bella rolls her eyes as Felix insists but her smile is genuine once her gaze settles back to him. "Fine means fine in my world," she quips with a small chuckle. "If it really was a terrible conversation with Oskar, I'd say something." she reassures him, knowing he never truly lets anything go. Just like his distaste for couple pranks, his commentary bringing out another laugh from her. "I don't think it's all like that. I mean, there's an element of…" she trails off, glancing at Felix with a coy grin of admission. "Okay, fine. I agree with you." she mutters, knowing he'll never let that go either. "But!" her free hand raises. "Not completely, so. Psycho-Shining?"

Felix keeps her laughing as they escape the event, her grin widening at his play on words. "I like that, actually. It suits you. Depressing but romantic." she's already reaching for her phone to change his contact name, chuckling to herself before noticing his hand waiting for hers. She instantly entwines her fingers with his, nudging the door to the courtyard open with her hip. "Only if I focus on it, and I haven't." she answers about the evening's atmosphere, frowning in thought. "But maybe? I think there's just something that's… off? I don't know. Feels close." Bella shrugs, their hands slipping free from one another so Felix can fetch his cigarettes. She takes a moment to glance through the courtyard, a natural glance taken upward to the skies. "Do you think I therapy you, then?" her question peeks and she only glances to him once it's already said. "If I'm in therapist-mode so much, do I feel more like a therapist than a girlfriend?"

[manybcdthings]

"I think Aileen Wuornos would be very offended at that statement." Felix arched a brow at Bella, his attention moving back to the whiskey but he couldn't keep a straight face at the sound of her laughter. It immediately brought out his own, and he gently set the bottle down a little further away from their glasses. "We don't really need it." he said through a chuckle, but returned to giving Bella close attention when she continued. The grin was back on his face, a slight nod moving his head because none of her viewpoints surprised him. He would still stand firmly on his previous stance. She had a kind face, she emitted kindness. "Is this just all pointing to the very obvious and age old discussion that bad people are able to do good things?" he teased lightly. "Or, actually. You don't think they're internal factors either?"

Another chuckle escaped him and Felix tilted his head subtly in a faint gesture of thanks. "That's a relief. I suppose I don't find you insufferable either." his smirk was just a flicker until her apology and Felix made a dramatic roll of his eyes. "I knew what the army was when I enlisted, Bella. Before you get all...compassionate and sympathetic." he reminded her of the reality in a very Ranstrom characteristic but a very Felix grin. "Because, funnily enough, I'm a bit of an existentialist myself. Not so much Nietzsche, he was a little too dramatic for me. German, I guess. But, Sartre was more my speed. Bad faith: acting uncharacteristically out of desperation to evade the responsibility of freedom." Felix shrugged simply, as if he spoke about his own life from a removed perch but there was Bella's laugh again, bringing out his own quickly. "Okay!" he mimicked her raise of hands in apology. "Calm. Isabella, this is a civilized discussion." Felix grinned again, fighting his own chuckle. "And I said how that's it's own philosophy. Because we can't escape it. You're just creating your own philosophy, really."

"I'd tell you to fuck off if I didn't want to answer. But don't think you're safe from the family trauma questions." he warned her teasingly, waving his hand to dismiss the opportunity of evading the topic, Felix could almost laugh at himself. But he was surprisingly comfortable with the conversation, more so when he was around the bar and sitting face to face with Bella. It allowed him to study her closely as she talked, but disallowed him from hiding the faint smile over his expression. His brows raised to her stance and Felix feigned surprise. "We agree on something? Well, that's no fun, Bella. Have to fix that." he whispered dramatically, taking the opportunity to see how he could push the limit of their conversation as his hand lifted to her face gently. "Do you not feel lonely sometimes? Or even the slightest bit of hopelessness that there are not many people in this world that think the way you do?"

"I did assume that, yes. But, the killer being a man is the most realistic part of the whole scenario." Bella grins until a laugh bubbles from her when Felix motions to the whiskey. "It does! I didn't want to say anything!" she admits in laughter, her hand moving over her mouth momentarily and when it lowers, her grin remains. This time, it's a thoughtful expression to his question. "I don't really think bad can cancel out good, no. But that also means that I don't believe good can cancel out bad. How a good deed happens is separate to me than the deed itself. Someone might have to do an awful thing, in order for a good thing to happen. There's that, too."

Appreciating Felix's rare show of candor, Bella's expression shifts from contemplation to respect. Neither of them need the details of war to understand what his words imply. "I clearly don't think you're insufferable, Felix." she tells him sincerely, her lips twitching with a gentle smile. "But for what it's worth, I am sorry. Truly. For things you've experienced when really you were just wanting...an escape." her words are far more sincere then, caring for the gravity of the topic. It's broken when Felix relays his favorite Philosopher and Bella laughs again, rolling her eyes playfully. "I've literally said!" she expresses with sudden passion and laughter. "I literally have said loads of times, I never ever disagreed with Nietzsche. I just also don't agree with him entirely on everything. Pinch of salt!" she defends herself with amusement in her tone.

Her laughter becomes a small chuckle, her hands moving in a quick shrug. "We don't have to, but it'd defeat the point of the game if we can pass things." she encourages, but Bella is pleasantly surprised that Felix doesn't retreat from the topic. She also didn't realize that she wished for him to be closer until he joins the seat beside her, shuffling with her stool and giving him a soft smile once their gaze meets again. It's the most he's ever told her, but none of it is surprising. "I can see how you thought you needed structure to live purposely. They're synonymous in that way. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself." Bella grins then. "No, I do see it that way." she says, expecting him to be just as surprised at the agreement. "I don't think it's the only way, but it's a way. It makes sense. If you have a goal, structure helps. And I believe a goal can be a purpose."

[manybcdthings]

"Well, that's because I'm explaining something and my name is Felix." he couldn't fight the grin as he made the statement which gave way to a mischievous chuckle. "Okay so, we're both actually saying the same thing but differently. Which seems to be something we just do. Very cute. But, circular." he deadpanned before his head gave a subtle nod in the direction of Emine. "Both metaphors refer to you know what, so let's tomato-tomato it. Or, Psycho-Shining it." Felix decided for them with a smirk but he couldn't deny that Bella made a fair observation. As she often did. He waved a hand in a polite gesture of resigning himself from any further comment. "That's true, so I'll follow your lead. Anyways, now I'm curious about what you might have cried over before your birthday party." he moved along, as Bella never seemed hysterical with her emotions yet certainly had them in abundance. Something he considered a gift, truly.

Felix met her gaze with a more sincere expression, offering a nod that was both in agreement and a slight relief. "Okay, good." he commented simply. "I know you can but I don't think that means it doesn't play on your mind." Felix offered his opinion freely but there wasn't a judgment in his tone for his observation. A small smile flicked over his lips when he witnessed Bella's eventual relief, his hand coming up to squeeze her shoulder as a final mark of relaxation. "You're more than welcome. You look adorable when you're thinking about so many things at once but I'd like to actually see you have fun." as much as any could be had at the event. The sense of grief was certainly lingering through many of the guests, and he supposed that was the exact thing Bella could pick up on.

Although, Felix was convinced it was his brother that managed to instill a sense of tension over Bella, studying her features as she answered him. Oskar had a remarkable talent at making others feel the discomfort he obviously did himself, so much so that Felix was convinced it was a curse he used rather than his actual personality. "Fine means a lot of things, Isabella." he mused as they escaped the atmosphere of the evening. "I refuse to even comment because it will start one and I truly abhor couples that prank each other. Like those awful videos people find hilarious. It just screams 'we haven't genuinely made each other orgasm for our whole relationship and this prank is in lieu of genuine affection.'" he stated his opinion easily, giving Bella a grin.

"I do appreciate it, maybe our lungs can grow black together. Which makes the whole thing more Kafka now. Maybe call me Kafoevsky." he laughed before the sound trickled away as soon as the door closed behind them. Felix wasn't going to mention how he suddenly experienced the lift in his own aura, glancing over his shoulder as Bella stole his thoughts into words. "It might be something to do with the death." he commented with a dry sarcasm, his hand lifting for an obvious request that hers returned to it while they left the hotel. "Doesn't earthy stuff make you all empath-y, anyways? Maybe you're picking up on some subtle vibrations."

Bella blinks at Felix's correction, mirroring his grin within an instant. "You're Felixplaining." she comments teasingly. "I know Psycho. I just don't think it was an accurate metaphor. Shining is better." Bella corrects his correction with a slight laugh but her hands wave as if to air through the conversation. Not to be dismissive, but instead with a confident hopefulness. "It's just because tonight is a little weird, okay? Kind of like a birthday party starting when you've only just finished crying about something." not that she can personally relate to the situation, but it's a universal one otherwise there wouldn't be that great Lesley Gore song. A coy smirk flicks over Bella's mouth at Felix's reaction to the play on words, offering a quick but innocent shrug. "In fairness, Emine would find Emintervention hilarious, so."

A long sigh deflates Bella's tense shoulders in the next moment, one of pure relief as she dispels the lingering sense of being on high alert. An appreciative smile is given to Felix, a look of gratitude that she hopes he can read behind her eyes. "I just want to make it known that I don't think anyone is my responsibility, by the way." Bella clarifies quickly before sipping her champagne. "There's a big difference between caring and being responsible, and I know how to navigate it." she adds, raising her brows in a quick challenge to him before her smile returns. "But thank you. I was feeling a little...on edge." Bella has no problem admitting as such, even if it might have taken a few moments to draw it from her.

As soon as Felix huffs and tsks, Bella fights her laugh while watching his quick little show of dramatics. Amusement crosses her features within an instant, brows quirking as she grins. "Oh, I see how it is. One rule for one, huh?" she teases with a chuckle, giving a playfully subtle shake of her head. "I'm being honest, Felix. The conversation was fine." the Belcourt then insists with a more sincere note of reassurance, and another squeeze of their joined hands which has become a silent way to convey three simple words. "Mm, that sounds like you think I'd win them." Bella muses coyly, chuckling away to herself as they retreat to the doors. "Okay, Dostoevsky." she snickers to Felix's declaration. "I hope you acknowledge that passive smoking is more dangerous and yet I do it willingly." the quip is given just seconds before she slips through the door, immediately feeling an ease from the moment it closes behind them and the voices of the evening muffle into nothing. "God, it's...I'm not crazy that it feels intense in there, right?"

[manybcdthings]

As Bella spoke, Felix's gaze rested upon her with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. His narrowed eyes weren't from skepticism, but rather a deep appreciation for her intellect and passion. He couldn't help but smile as she became animated, finding her enthusiasm endearing and infectious. "Well, firstly, you just assumed the killer was a he. Which-" chuckled as he refilled their glasses, a few more drops of whiskey each and he studied the bottle quickly. "This really tastes like shit." he muttered as an side, returning to the conversation with a grin. "Which is offensive." he continued, smirking to her. "So, in the mind of Isabella Belcourt, not even heinous crimes can negate good? You care more about the act of good happening rather than how it happens?"

Despite his usual guarded nature, Felix set aside his defenses. To the best of his ability. He accepted the discomfort of the topic, a rare moment of vulnerability. "I'm not ungrateful for how it helped, though. Because, if you think I'm insufferable now you should've known me before." he added with a grin. "But yeah, the rest of it was as terrible as you imagine and not really the best place for someone who doesn't see the point in things at the best of times." he finished with a shrug but Felix's interest in Bella's perspective was palpable. He watched her intently, hanging on her every word as if seeking enlightenment. Purpose had always been something he struggled with, a root of most of his issues if he had to admit it. Her insights prompted genuine laughter from him, a rare occurrence that even Felix noticed about himself. "You're going to hate me for this but…not believing purpose is inherent and is something we create the idea of...that's…Nietzsche." his grin widened as he told her. "I really wasn't just calling you a Nietzsche girl because I had nothing better to do. I could see it a mile off."

Bella's question about his link between structure and purpose gave Felix pause, but he met it head-on even if it prompted out a slightly awkward laugh. "Oh, shit, wow okay. Well, that one's easy. My family." he answered, taking a hesitant breath before continuing. "And if we're going there already, I'm gonna need more of this." he added, gesturing with his glass before a sip. Dutch courage, even if he didn't particularly like the Dutch. "Actually, I'm coming over there." Felix then gestured to the seat beside her, delay tactics and also pure selfishness for no longer wanting a bar between them. He didn't speak again until he was settled on the stool next to her, nudging it closer to hers. "I was just raised by people who viewed success as purpose, and obviously success can only really be obtained by structure. And I mean success in the most literal sense, too. Titles, wealth, power to a degree. None of that happens without structure, so I kind of…tried to rebel against structure and then that bit me in the ass." he shrugged, giving her a more vulnerable grin. "I don't think structure and purpose are the same thing now but I think you can make a purpose happen with structure. I'm guessing you don't see it that way."

Bella can't help but notice the softening of Felix's expression, always finding herself drawn to his intelligence and the depth of his thoughts. "Well, I approach things with epistemic humility, Felix. I don't know what else to tell you." Bella chuckles, her tone light as she playfully shrugs. She wonders if he sees his intellect as both a blessing and a burden, a thought that has lingered in her mind for a while. How he finds meaning in deep discussions, but how exhausting it must be to constantly see the world with an analytical view.

Bella has no issues with prying questions, she's always been an open book but she knows that Felix is far more guarded with his thoughts. When he begins to dissect her answer, she grins, feeling a sense of anticipation building. "Not enough variables." she retorts, her grin widening. "Because, here's the thing." Bella continues, leaning in with a newfound intensity. "I think good and bad overlap and co-exist too. Parallels that sometimes cross. The good act itself of someone being fed that needed food still happened, even if something bad then happened to the same person later on. And as for the killer in your situation, that's a way bigger subject. He might not have had good intentions, and he might not have been a good person. But an actual good act happened that day." Bella chuckles as she shrugs, uncertain if her explanation will satisfy Felix's curiosity, but there's a soft smile on her lips as she looks at him.

When it's time for Felix to answer, Bella listens intently and her eyes never leave his face. She nods in understanding, able to see now why Felix is so passionate for a discussion about purpose. It's something he's struggled with. "So… it was a way out." she murmurs softly, compassion entering her tone, and when he comments about nihilism her laugh bubbles quickly. "I believe people have a purpose in the sense of possessing it. Like it's an external thing to grasp, not inherent. If that makes sense." Bella chuckles again, throwing her hands up in an animated shrug. "I think it...flowery words aside is just another word for motivation and finding something that means something to us. And...it changes. A person who dedicated their life to playing sports would consider that their purpose, but then an injury could make them dedicate their life next to coaching kids instead." she looks at Felix with a subtle smile before taking a sip of her drink. "No more army questions from me but, you said structure and purpose was help. Why do you think structure and purpose are synonymous?"

[manybcdthings]

"Okay...woah. No." Felix laughed out at Bella, and despite his expression softening as he watched her there was plenty of amusement in his tone. "That's not how philosophy works, and I know you know that. That isn't even what our Austrian friend meant by a pinch of salt. That wasn't even a direct quote of his, either. And that is definitely not how language works." his chuckles lingered, and Felix fell into the bit with ease giving a serious nod to Bella's words. "Perfect. A perhaps clears everything up, no more mixed signals."

He watched her with interest as she spoke, the typical instinct of noticing each detail in her mannerisms and inflection of her tone. "You don't have to worry about that now. I'm going for a different kind of unsettling. Not, where's my hug but more where's your trauma stemming from, you know?" Felix grinned, but returned to a watchful gaze as Bella graced him with a reply. He couldn't control his expression from shifting with her words, from intrigue to curiousness and amusement.

He knew they'd fall at the first hurdle of this game. Or, it wasn't exactly falling. Bella struck so many chords within Felix's thoughts, he simply knew that one topic would seamlessly lead to another. And just as predicted, her words, while admirable sparked a quick smirk on his lips. "Oh wow. Interesting." Felix responded genuinely in a small laugh. "We're definitely going back to the purpose thing, that...is fascinating but I'm-" he waved his fingers towards her temple. "So, if somebody gave food to someone on the street during the day, and then killed that exact same person by night...you don't think the good has been negated?" he challenged with a small smirk. "Not even a little bit?"

Felix knew he would have to reap what he sowed, accepting a returned question that dug around where he didn't like to pry, even with his own thoughts. He deflected at first with a laugh. "Great. Straight to the army. Kind of broken a rule a little bit but." he tutted, cocking his head to the side. It was an answer he didn't actually have to think about. "I knew the kind of help I needed. And most of the time, help is structure and purpose." he grinned. "The army was the best..." No, wrong. "Easiest option to get that, because of my brother. So," Felix shrugged to her, tense but also accepting of the nature of this game. "But it was the wrong sort of help. Because, I failed to really consider that perhaps joining something that statistically hands out PTSD like herpes, wasn't the smartest thing. Oddly, seemed better than the alternative at the time." Felix could laugh, even if it was deflection. "This is why I really want to know why you don't believe in a purpose? Like...nihilism by any chance?"

"Mm-m." Bella shakes her head. "I'm a Wittgenstein girl, apparently. Which means I take it with a pinch of salt, and that's the salt I choose to pinch. Which is basically what philosophy is anyways." she shrugs, smug as she looks to Felix with nothing but a playful tone in her words. "Same with words. And undeliberately is a word now. It means the opposite of deliberately." she grins, a perk to her demeanor and even more so when she can see that Felix has eased from the slight tension. "Felix." Bella copies his tone, giving him a sharper look that hints with mischief. "Perhaps." she teases, her answer more than evident with how she props her elbows to the bar, eagerly leaning to the conversation.

She's never seen eye to eye with his cynicism but she's always understood it. And the modern dating world can definitely make a cynic from an optimist, Bella laughing with a quick nod in agreement. "For women, twenty questions was just a way for guys to ask sexual questions that they thought weren't obvious. Which...somehow seemed worse than the obvious ones." Bella mutters in disdain, and despite not seeing eye to eye with Felix, she has always noticed the way he thrives in a meaningful conversation, or debate. Which is why his suggestion is immediately met with a nod, Bella chuckling at the rules and taking a sip of her drink to prepare herself. "Unsettling questions. Got it. What could go wrong?" she laughs then, setting down the glass to give Felix her undecided question.

Her eyes search his for a moment, her nod subtle as Felix delivers the question. She twirls the cup around in her hold, pondering for a moment. "I...don't think it's possible to negate an actual good act itself." is her first answer. "Even people who would film themselves giving food to people on the streets. It...they still did a good act, and their intention not being so good didn't stop good from happening. People got fed that needed food." Bella shrugs. "I don't think it's a purpose either, and I don't think I find purpose in it. I just want to do it." she thinks it's as simple as that, or the concept is as simple. "In a weird way, I don't really believe in purpose. But...that feels like another discussion." she offers Felix a smile then, taking a sip of her drink as she contemplates her own question, already feeling hesitancy to ask it. "I...y-well, you said to me the army helped you but you also hated it. Is that-" she grimaces. "Is that because the help you needed was different? Did you...not really know the kind of help you needed? You never really said why you hated it."

[manybcdthings]

"It was a little bit funny." Felix grinned to her and the same smirk acknowledged the little musing tease about his infamous commentary. He only gave Bella a playfully pointed look in response at first. "No, Isabella. Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock. And your reference is terrible because Stephen King didn't even direct that first Shining movie." Felix remarked swiftly, the smirk remaining over his features which only dwindled when Bella's observation rang true. He wondered, fleetingly, if she indulged in his escapism purely because it wasn't considered the right time to do anything else. Which in turn made him wonder when the right time was. "Well, she can't carry on talking about sheep, Bella. Something has to be done." Felix said, before hearing Emintervention and shooting the Belcourt a look. "Now is the time you decide to play around with words? What's wrong with you?" he teased her with a playful look of shock at the pun and a slight chuckle escaping him.

Silently, Felix began a small countdown in his head for when Bella would release the tension she was battling away with by herself. At this point in his life, he had seen avoidance in a whole manner of scenarios. Avoidance wasn't just dodging emotions with a pile of cocaine, or artfully skipping around conversations with a clever twist of words. He could see it in others, how different it looked from person to person and often times as clear as day. But more importantly to Felix, he could see when Bella was trying her hand at some deflection. He met his glass to hers gently, gaze fixed more on reading her expression before he grinned at her show of relief. "There you go. Was that so difficult?" Felix mused with a hint of sarcasm. "You were, so let's not because it gets exhausting. She's an adult, and also no one is your responsibility. Not even me. Are we done?" he offered another grin but accompanied it by squeezing their now joined hands.

It was suddenly amusing to Felix how seamlessly the moment switched and despite having all the confidence for cutting through Bella's deflection, he couldn't control the childish huff when she did the same to him. But, he also knew it was pointless to deflect around her. Which was why he tsk'd. "Well, since we're both being brutally honest now, I don't believe you." Felix quipped, even if the smile he gave Bella was affectionate and soft. "But I have to say, I'm rather impressed that you're trying to cut through my bullshit while also bullshitting. I respect it but I don't like it." Felix added as a challenge, knowing Oskar was far from a comfortable conversation especially with anything regarding their current stagnant bond. Bella's remark prompted a genuine laugh from Felix, and he was already using their joined hands to gently lead them to the doors. "I'd rather not get in a prank war with you. I think people that use pranks as a love language are emotionally stunted and feel uncomfortable expressing themselves." he stated with a smirk. "I could literally chain smoke until my lungs were black, so yes." Felix added, his hand moving to the small of Bella's back to guide her with him.

"That's not funny." Bella deadpans, even if a slight grin twitches at her lips and she offers an apologetic touch to Felix's arm. Her gaze drops as his touch gently neatens her necklace and the nudge to her chin brings out a quick laugh as she glances up to Felix, wrinkling her nose with a soft smile in thanks. "You often do, yeah." she muses teasingly to his remark, a glance given to Emine again and slight frown replaces her smile. Even if Felix manages to quip about a painful topic, Bella's glance slides back to him with, at first, quiet judgement. "Do you mean a Shining moment? Because...that was Stephen King." she mutters the correction but only with the faintest grin. "I think plucking away someone's safety foundation isn't a good idea." Bella reverts to the more serious topic, sighing slightly. "Indulging it isn't good either obviously but, now's not the right time. Honestly, it's...too fresh. Maybe in a few more weeks we can have the intervention. The...Emintervention."

Despite the weight of the conversation, Felix manages to bring a grin to Bella's lips and she copies his roll of eyes with a chuckle. She tries to avoid acknowledging that tension sits in her shoulders and has been there throughout the night from the moment she stepped foot into the hotel. Alongside thinking of her friends, there's this awful sickly feeling about her father. Faint, but noticeable, as it often is these days. "I've seen you be more delightful, to be honest." Bella teases Felix lightly as she takes the flute of champagne, gently clinking it against his. She lets the soft ding signal the end of her so called therapist mode, slumping her shoulders slightly for effect. "There, see. All gone. Even though I was never in one in the first place." she mutters with a grin, a quiet gratitude that he noticed which prompts her to reach for Felix's free hand for a better moment of connection.

A more genuine laugh leaves her about Oskar, but she can tell instantly how Felix pries for more information, Bella simply refuses to stir an already stirring pot, sighting as she tilts her head at him in quiet challenge. "Felix." she says simply, squeezing their joined hands momentarily. A note of the very foundation of their friendship, long before love. Built on the innate ability to call one another out. "It was fine. He wasn't rude, it was forced pleasantry for the both of us. But he didn't say anything." Bella reassures him swiftly, offering a slight grin which becomes a laugh about the dog. Until Felix's latter statement follows and Bella is there, squeezing his hand again. "That's...quite gross. Remind me to never start a prank war with you because peeing on doors is a lot harder for me to do." she chuckles and tips her flute towards the doors. "Do you want a cigarette? Or are you good?"

[manybcdthings]

"Okay, two things. Your jokes about stoicism and nihilism would be a lot better if you didn't just keep missing the concept of them." Felix laughed, his thumb and index finger coming together in a playful gesture. "And secondly, I don't think tree-witch-bookclub taught you that 'Undeliberately' isn't a word." he added with a smug smirk before a faux-seriousness took over his expression. "Isabella. Do you want to go on the worst first date that I've ever taken anybody on?" he posed the question with sincerity and amusement, fighting a grin from appearing which eventually caved into laughter. "Is that what you think? Now might be a bad time so say I've been laughing at your jokes out of pity." he mumbled through a smirk. Defensive, but only lightly, on Beau's behalf, Felix scoffed out for dramatic effect. "If people actually gave him the chance, he's nowhere near as off-putting as he seems."

Just like that, he was settled to the moment. Even his deadpanned expression had softened as he looked to Bella, offering a curt nod of his head to the toast. Not surprised in the slightest by the optimism she found. "Wonderful. To...that." he teased, feigning a pained expression at her choice before knocking back the first sip of the evening. "Oh yeah, that. And, I just hated the, er...you know that thing when people want to be deep but it's only ever surface level? What's your biggest fear?" he drew out the words in a monotonous tone. "Nobody really cares about the answer. It's all just filler. Same with that...twenty questions nonsense. Hated that." he mentioned quickly, another sip taken from the God awful whiskey.

"Actually. Let's do that. We've done everything the wrong way around, may as well continue a tradition." Felix shrugged with the suggestion. "Everything needs some rules, though so er...we can't return a question we've been asked, we have to ask something new. Because that drove me insane. We can't talk about everything out there." his hand waved to the bar door. "We have to ask the shit that unsettles us to ask and even more so to answer." it was out of his own comfort zone but the thrill of the idea brought a grin to his face.

"I'll go first, if you're ready." Felix took a moment to study Bella's expression, holding her gaze as if the question would form from searching her eyes. "You do everything with the intention of being good, Isabella." he began, tone sincere with a compliment. "Is that what you consider your purpose is, or do you find purpose in doing good? And if that's the case, do you think that somewhat negates the...goodness?" Felix smiled gently, waving his hand slightly. "New rule, we can ask more than one question each turn. Because..." he sought a justification for his intrigue before shrugging. "Well, I mean. That's life, everything's made up."

"Hmm, no. I meant deliberately-undeliberately. There's a subtle difference between that and intentionally-unintentionally." Bella states, able to hear Felix's subtle cue of sarcasm but grinning despite it. It cracks into a louder laugh as he tallies up all his words, Bella nodding in pure amusement. "Wow, I'm impressed that they taught you math at Stoic-Nihilism school. Really kind of them, actually. They didn't just think it was pointless and not worth bothering with." she laughs out as he lifts their joined hands. "If you asked, there wouldn't be mixed signals."

She catches his smirk when they're in the bar, a smug one growing against her own features in response. Bella humming a little laugh as she settles to the bar stool with a content shrug of her shoulders. "Neither are you, but we both find each other amusing enough, clearly." she mumbles but there isn't a single note of sarcasm in her tone. Sometimes she reads Felix's tense demeanor as just a part of his personality. And other times, it hints at something more. A deflection and defense, and then just as she starts to peer closer, it obscures into nothing as if it was never there to begin with. "God, I'm not even surprised you think that." Bella snickers about the wolves, easing once Felix returns with a drink and glasses.

Her brows raise at his laugh, but it brings one out of her own. "Oh, sorry? Are you suddenly...easily offended?" she challenges with a playfulness, her hand reaching for the glass and humming in acknowledgment to the very obvious statement he makes. "Luckily, absolutely nothing about you screams socially avoidant so nobody would ever know." she smirks, this time the hint of sarcasm returning before Felix proposes the toast, making Bella lift her glass hesitantly at the options. "Neither. To first dates during a war...and for surviving it so far." she decides, sealing the quick respect with a clink of their glasses and taking her first sip with a slight clear of her throat after. "I don't like them either, if I'm honest." Bella admits with a sheepish grin. "It seemed like...I don't know, in Washington they seemed like job interviews half the time."

[manybcdthings]

"Oh my God, where?" Felix took an exaggerated yet lazy glance around him at the statement of wolves and he glanced back to Bella with a grin, copying the tilt of her head. He then took it upon himself to take whatever could count as affection through the evening, his hand lifting to fix the subtle twist in her necklace before brushing his finger against her chin as it retracted. "Okay, well, I'm just going to say what everyone is thinking." Felix remarked as he watched Bella glance in Emine's direction, meeting her gaze when she looked back to him with a slight smirk. "I know it's in bad taste to place a bet on how long until she has an Alfred Hitchcock moment but...it's coming, right?"

Felix's eyes then moved in a slow and dramatic roll as Bella twisted his words. "You know that they are mostly interchangeable, Isabella. Don't do this to me." he retorted with a slow grin before his hand raised to signal a slight surrender, Felix then grabbing two flutes of champagne from a passing tray and offering one to Bella. "There. See. I'm just being my delightful self so...snap out of it." he added, urging the Belcourt to have a few moments where she wasn't thinking about everything else

A laugh quickly followed about Oskar and Felix bopped his head with a sardonic nod. "I know, it happens all the time. He manages to just be so effortlessly intriguing, nobody can really compare. Just know I had fun and I'll even toast you both at the wedding." he leaned into the joke despite being curious as to what was said between the two. He could hazard a guess, and was preparing to fire more questions her way before Bella also twisted that into a light jab. Felix's mouth closed, his head tilting again as if offended. "Excuse me, I was not going to ask anything else." he declared, fighting off another laugh. "But...well...actually, did he manage to compliment you and insult you all at once?" he had to get the question out of his system, after all. "The dog!? Bella, please. I have a far more dignified approach to making Oskar's life a misery." Felix scoffed about the object, shaking his head in defiant deflection before he grinned. "Anyways, the only authentic tricks I can get up to these days is...I don't know." he grumbled into his drink as he took a sip and thought. "Pissing on his front door to mark my new territory or something."

Bella's attention moves to Felix within an instant, a genuine but slightly curious smile on her lips. Paranoia isn't something she associates him with, so a concerned crease forms between her brows. She leans to the kiss out of habit but the revelation of his mischief makes her gasp suddenly but quiet. "Felix!" Bella whispers harshly to him with shock over her face. "Can you not? There's wolves here." she gives an embarrassed glance through the crowd before realizing her words, attention back on Felix with a slight tilt of her head. "You know what I mean."

But his concern for Emine mirrors her own, and Bella's attention moves to her friend through the crowd with a thoughtful hum. "I mean...the Greenland shark thing genuinely makes her happy but..." she twists her lips before a grin stretches at the corner of her mouth. "Beheading? Maybe?" she teases lightly before she redirects her focus back to Felix, an elbow gently nudging his arm. "I'm not even a therapist so I can't be in therapist mode." she quips to him instantly. "But if I was, I'd only be able to take a break if you took a break from annoying Felix mode." it's his turn to receive the playful jabs now and Bella's grin grows coy as she falls into the sarcasm easily about Oskar. "Urgh, I don't even know what to say, Felix. I had no idea how to bring this up but, I mean, it's a no brainer. He swept me off my feet. Sorry." she shrugs a hand as she chuckles, but refuses to mention the reality of the draining conversation with his brother. "Is that...is that it? No more questions? Or do I need to find a seat for this exclusive?" Bella laughs then, wearing another grin. "Also, I saw the dog. Don't do it. It will do more harm than good no matter how hilarious it is."

[manybcdthings]

"Do you mean intentionally-unintentionally?" Felix quipped with a smirk, his words dripping with playful sarcasm as he glanced at Bella. Their banter was already in full swing. Her remark prompted him to mentally count the words he uttered, a brief pause in their exchange as he tallied them up. "Well, that counted as four words, so I think the spell has been broken." he declared, a hint of amusement in his tone. "That was fourteen." he added, widening his eyes mockingly in relief. "That's three again. And, so's that. All is well." The difference in him was like night and day, enough that even Felix noticed it. Still a weight on his shoulders, a shadow he couldn't quite outrun but it was lighter. "Oh...you don't want to?" he teased, lifting their joined hands in a playful gesture. "You're giving me very mixed signals."

Bella's comment didn't offend Felix. Months of their back and forth had only endeared him to her further, and he couldn't help to scoff out a small laugh. "Nobody is." he retorted with a smirk, his eyes briefly meeting hers before she mentioned Beau and Stoicism. "You're not funny, Isabella." he shot back as he moved to find something to drink. "And I don't even know why people have a problem with Beau. I think he's great company." Felix added, rummaging until he found a half-empty whiskey bottle. He could hear the soothing note in Bella's words and how it managed to pry him, slowly, from self-doubt.

"Here is fine for me too." he mumbled, plucking glasses from the shelf and placing them between them on the bar. He didn't bother to wind around it and join her at the other side, choosing instead to lean opposite her to mimic the intimacy of a dinner table. "That was...really dark." Felix laughed in a feigned shock at her joke, filling their glasses with only a splash and nudging the closest to Bella. "I hate first dates." he confessed, assuming that much was obvious. "I hate the conversations, I hate the...well, everything about them. So, I'm not too sure what we should toast to." Felix lifted his glass, giving Bella a grin. "To the war, or to first dates? You do the honors."

"Almost. But I deliberately-undeliberately flung some rocks around and it worked." Bella chuckles as she closes the distance, her eyes flickering over Felix with a mix of curiosity and amusement. She wonders what prompted this meeting after her shift and her gaze locks onto his with a subtle smile as he brings up their earlier conversation. "Well, I don't know how you didn't have the chance to reply. You were only giving me three-word sentences." she teases, her tone light as she recalls their exchange. When the specific part of their discussion becomes evident, Bella's glance drops to their joined hands and she follows him to the bar. "Oh, a date." she hums, fully content with the idea but unable to help the sudden playfulness in her tone. "You're kind of meant to ask for one of those? Not...demand one."

Amused about the wolves, she's grinning and peers up to him momentarily. "I guess you're not very original, then?" she quips, a playful glint in her eye as she nudges him. But as he speaks with a hint of negativity, she can't help but furrow her brow in confusion. Is he embarrassed? Bella then worrying if her comments have caused a concern, or perhaps irked him. "I do love trees but...having watch with Beau and then one with you, I think I'd end up quoting stoic philosophy all of the time. And nobody wants that." Bella teases with a soft grin as they enter the bar, but she senses a shift in his demeanor. Is Felix nervous? "Where there's trees...you mean the woods?" her brow arches as she settles onto a bar stool, a hand reaching for the bottle he finds. "Here is more than fine, Felix. I mean it." Bella nods sincerely to him, sensing a need for validation from his mannerisms as she smiles. "Besides, heading off into the woods on a first date isn't really the smartest choice. I don't want to be a Netflix special."