Telepathic Timebomb
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He sensed the hesitation at the question of spicy. Maybe it wasnât a good idea. Hell, maybe none of this was really a good idea, but here they were willing to give it a shot. If Merlin could then maybe he could too, right? What would be the harm in trying?
Ty smiled, accepting the offer. âOkay.â He placed their order of the three rolls - volcano roll, a caterpillar roll, and an order of salmon nagiri. He thought about trying to figure out where they were headed - they had the chemistry to continue on. But was it to early for that? Ty thought yes. He could still enjoy the company of Merlin without wanting this date to be more than just the two of them hanging out.
"So, have you gotten a chance to explore more of New York since youâve been here?"
Merlin smiled congenially at the waiter in thanks as he turned to walk off. This food sounded a little risky to him - volcanoes and caterpillars and Philadelphias - but by this point he had learned that when eating out most dishes were not as threatening as their names suggested.
"Yeah, I've done loads of exploring. Mostly getting lost. I just wander around and... take things in. It's a bit overwhelming, really." The sights, the noise, the smells, the people, the unimaginable crazy science that people from his time and never dreamed of - it was simultaneously frightening and fascinating. "I like parks. I'll go looking for them and just sit and relax. Until I have to worry about finding my way back, that is." He grinned sheepishly at Ty. "Taxis are helpful, though. But they usually smell weird. And sometimes the drivers are a bit... dodgy, you know what I mean? You're basically entrusting a total stranger with your life, that's ridiculous. Well. Not that they can drive fast enough to get into much of a wreck, not in the traffic here."
This was said with an odd measure of confidence coming from someone who had only recently been introduced to the concept of cars. The unfortunate explanation of this knowledge was that Merlin had figured out how to operate a television, and from there had discovered the wonders of something called "Netflix". He felt like this media stuff was really educating him about this time. When he got in a cab the first time after watching several action movies, he'd been disappointed upon questioning the driver to discover that he had seen exactly zero car chases in the city. Nor had he seen any alien attacks, though he did claim to have seen Iron Man once.
Merlin's gaze fixed in a far corner as he thought back to some of his conversations with various cabbies. "Are you supposed to talk with the taxi drivers? I'm never quite sure, some of them seem a bit cold about it, but I feel so rude just sitting there all silent." He looked back at Ty, and had to fight to keep in a burst of laughter upon realizing how much of a rambling tangent he'd just gone on. He felt light, his thoughts darting around like too many fish in a small bowl, jumping to get out. It was a nervous feeling, but it was a good feeling. He offered Ty a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Bit off topic there."
