i keep on running toward the fire

And if you feel like night is falling
I wanna be the one you're calling

He'd almost forgotten that they were taking turns, perhaps expecting a follow up question that never came. But as she turned the tables gracefully back to him, he smiled, gesturing with his free arm. "My turn will have to wait, because we're here." The Miana Pool was as picturesque as ever as the sun slowly dipped closer to the horizon. It was not quite sundown, which was perfect for his purposes.

He carefully extracted his arm from Hotaru's grasp, leaning down to set his basket on the ground. Opening it revealed a variety of items that, when taken together, revealed that their secret destination had been a beachfront picnic. George pulled out a single lily - he'd considered a rose, but he'd always had a preference for the former - and offered it to Hotaru. "If you'd be so kind as to hold that?" he asked with a quirked brow. He had every intention of sending her home with it, after, but for now, it would make a nice centerpiece for their picnic.

Pulling out a quilt of excellent craftsmanship, with fine needlework in a pattern around the edges, he shook it out and laid it down before rapidly arranging an array of sandwiches, salad, and sweets. He hadn't known what she liked, so he went with a little bit of everything. "Ah, here's a question for you: do you prefer red or white wine?" Whichever she chose, he would pull from the basket alongside two wine glasses, leaving the other bottle for later.

With everything set, he extracted a small vase, filled it with water from a flask, and held his hand out for the lily, sitting the flower in the middle of the quilt and the array of food. Then he looked back at Hotaru with a crooked grin, offering his hand. "Join me?" he asked, very much aware that she could choose to leave at any moment, that perhaps he could have misjudged her tastes, that perhaps he'd gone a little overboard in his attempt to be romantic. It had been a while, after all. Maybe women didn't like sunset picnics on the beach anymore.

'Cause I believe that you could lead the way

George