Who: Steve and Marlene Where: Dex's Diner When: Continued from here What: First date Rating: Low Status: Complete
After a brief (and surprising!) discussion with Marlene on the network, Steve had arranged to meet her at Dex's Diner. He'd given himself enough time to shower, shave and fix his hair before making his way over to Commerceport. She seemed like a nice girl and hey! First impressions mattered.
Rather than go inside the diner he decided to wait outside, dressed simply in jeans, a plain white tee and a jean jacket. He shifted from foot to foot, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.
Well, give Marlene credit. After a quick pep talk from Lily, she decided to go all out. Why toy around and hope he noticed she was interested in this being a date, when she could just wear something that "two pals hanging out" would most certainly NOT wear? So she quickly changed out of the baggy jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing, and in their stead now wore a short black skirt with matching heels that showcased her legs perfectly, and a pretty yellow blouse. Her makeup was on-point, and quite frankly, this was the most effort she'd put into looking good since before Emme broke up with her. "Well her there, handsome... been waiting long?"
Steve blinked stupidly at Marlene for a good few seconds before his brain caught up with what she'd said. "I, uh... suddenly it doesn't matter. WOW. You look amazing." His was proud of how he'd styled his hair, but geeze, he really should have put more effort into his outfit. He smiled brilliantly. "Like, I'm 'probably gonna stare at you the entire time' amazing."
"Well then, I consider my outfit a success." She said with an impish grin, leaning in to hug him gently. She was indeed smiling... although her eyes still betrayed how sad and broken she still felt inside. "Thank you SO much for meeting up. This is honestly the first time in months that I've actually WANTED to do anything other than lay around in my pajamas watching the telly."
Steve was surprised by the hug, but was quick to return it. 'Telly', how cute is that?, he thought. "Are you kidding? I should be the one thanking you. You have no idea how incredibly boring my life has been lately, Marlene." Remembering that they were gonna eat food he said: "Oh right," and opened up the door to the diner, gesturing for her to go inside first: "M'lady."
"Boring would be preferable to the utter rubbish my life has been lately." She said with a bitter chuckle, before catching herself and shutting up. She was not going to let herself ruin this. "Sorry, like I said: it's been a rough patch. So..." She said, giving a bright, surprised smile when he held the door for her, "Tell me about yourself. I'm dying to know everything about the person who finally got me out of the house to do something other than drink."
"Oh, there's not much to say," Steve admitted with a blush when he followed Marlene into the diner. He made a mental note to ask about Marlene's rough patch once they got better situated. When they found a table he made a point to pull her chair out for her. That was what you did on traditional dates, right? OMG, it's a date! "For a couple of years my life was really weird until I came here. Otherwise it was mellow." He rubbed his chin. He'd shaved but he still felt scratchy. "High school, pep rallies. Stuff like that. Something tells me that your life is much more interesting."
"Well... I suppose anyone from my world's life would seem interesting to a muggle. No offense, I don't mean it as an insult. Just, most of you are so shocked by the existence of magic that it's almost kind of sad."
She smiled at him, almost swooning when he pulled her chair out. It'd been so long since anyone acted like they WANTED to be out with her... She'd forgotten how wonderful it felt.
"But... even compared to most others from my world, my friends and have lived... quite the adventure."
"Who are you calling a 'muggle'?" Steve asked with an amused laugh. Still. He kind of got what she meant when she mentioned magic. He took a seat opposite her once he knew that she was situated.
"So... you're a magical creature, then?" He looked at her thoughtfully. "Not a creature. Wizard. Witch!" See, he got there eventually. He wasn't exactly the brightest bulb on the porch sometimes (or so he thought anyway). "Wow. Well, maybe you could tell me about those adventures sometime?"
"Anytime you'd like. If not tonight, maybe on our second date? Or third perhaps?" Marlene grinned playfully, making it clear that she was enjoying herself and definitely wanted this to happen again. "And, yes. Technically, using the proper terminology, I'm a witch. But people also use 'wizard' as a non-gender-specific term. So, honestly, you're right either way." She rested her chin on her hand, looking him over with a soft smile. "I'm not entirely sure what surprises me more: the fact that you're making me feel like myself again, or the fact that you're even single to begin with."
She already wanted a second date? Whoa. Steve brushed a hand over his hair. "Well, either way I'm happy that we're here together now." He shifted closer, resting his forearms on the table between them, gazing at her. "So tell me more about yourself, Marlene." He made a sweeping gesture with one hand. "Setting aside where you come from or why you've not felt like yourself." That felt like too heavy a thing to bring up just yet. "What're the things that you like? What do you with your free time? Who are your favorite people? Simple stuff."
"Well... I love dancing, reading, learning new magic.." She sighed, trying not to lose that smile as she thought of her 'favorite people'. "A group of us from home are all here. Remus, Sirius, James, Lily... and Emme." She said, tone dropping a bit as she said her ex's name. "And what about you? Obviously I'd like to hear how you answer those same questions..."
Steve frowned at the drop in Marlene's tone. She must have had a falling out with Emme. (Oh Steve, you precious creature). "I've got two left feet, but that doesn't stop me from dancing," he told her. He thought about his answers with a frown. "I like meeting new people. Exploring the towns. And I guess my best friend is Dustin. He's a great kid. Smart. So smart."
"Oh, I adore Dustin. Emme's his guardian, so... for a while there I saw him a lot. Such a sense of humor on that kid." She laughed, shaking her head. She tilted her head, thinking as she looked at him. "I'm surprised you can't dance. You've got an athletic build, I'd have guessed you were very agile."
"It's my greatest shame," he told her with a cheeky smile. "I guess maybe I was just dancing with the wrong girls." He shrugged. He didn't mean for that to come across so romantic. It was just how he felt. The waiter made an appearance and he offered for Marlene to order her drink first before ordering one of his own (a chocolate milkshake of all things).
"So, I'm dying to know (and no judgement, I promise)... how did you get to be such close friends with Dusty?" She asked, genuinely curious as to how this older, handsome, clearly athletic young man became so close to a nerdy (though admittedly hilarious) kid.
Steve chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Would you believe that he adopted a pet that turned out to be a monster?" He thought about that. "I mean, he must have raised it alright since it didn't eat us, but... Dustin enlisted me to try to find him. We ended up bonding. Talking about girls, hair products, that sort of thing." He pouted. "I didn't have the best, well," he started again, "I didn't surround myself with good people before we met. So I think that getting to know him and be his friend has made me a better person." Yes, he considered himself friends with someone who was a lot younger than him. Brothers from another mother and all that.
Bless her, Marlene smiled SO brightly at that... "That's precious. And completely understandable. Sometimes, people can change your life regardless of the differences. I'm guessing you gave him plenty of advice about girls, since I can't even imagine you being without one for very long..." She said, casually reaching over to place one hand atop his own.
You'd be surprised, he thought. Since coming to Galador he'd hit quite the dry spell. Still. That was probably not something he should bring up. "Are you kidding? I'm surprised that you wanted to go out with me at all. I was sure you'd have someone." Steve thanked the waiter when the he reappeared with their drinks, his eyes widening at the mountain of a milkshake in front of him.
"If we're being completely honest here? I did. For a while.My best friend, actually. Emmeline Vance." Annnnd that explained why she knew Dustin so well... "We began dating after Emme's girlfriend fell for someone else. And dated until Emme fell for someone else. Trust me... once you've watched the person you love tearfully admit they cheated on you? It doesn't exactly make you want to get back into the dating game anytime soon. And by the time I did... I think my sadness was a turnoff to a lot of people."
It took a few seconds for Steve to digest that. She'd been with a woman? He blinked, thought: 'Oh. Okay' and that was it. "Well, no one's ever really happy 100% of the time," he pointed out. "Still. I'm sorry. Emmeline clearly made a mistake there."
Marlene could see the surprise on his face, and couldn't help but giggle. "Before I go any further, yes, I'm bisexual. I technically lean more toward men... but Emme had been my biggest crush since childhood. And thinking of her was what got me through the horrors I suffered right before showing up here. But thank you. I think that would feel like lip service from anyone else but... I believe you. I was just, honestly, taken with you the moment to replied to me on the network."
"Well, I consider myself very lucky then." Steve didn't consider himself anything special anymore. Maybe back in high school when he was Steve 'The Hair' Harrington, where his looks got him far. Here? Not so much. "If I can even bring a smile to your face just once then I consider my day a success." He was still smooth, even when he didn't mean to be.
"Mm. Well... you might have to work a little harder, love." She smirked, a bit of her old sass coming back as she felt herself cheering up. "Because if you want that smile to last, I'm fairly certain there's going to have to be a kiss involved at some point." She actually stunned herself as she spoke, realizing that this was the first time since the breakup that she actually had a libido.
Steve had been idly playing with his straw when she mentioned kissing. He stopped dead and blinked at her. "Would you consider now an appropriate time?" A teasing smile spread across his face. "Or should I make you wait?"
"Now would be... very much appropriate." She said with an impish grin, It felt good to actually feel like a sexual being again. To feel wanted. Not like a burden, or an albatross hanging around someone's neck. "Because that way, if it feels right? It gives us plenty of time to have a few more."
Well, Steve hoped that it felt right then. He considered leaning across the table, but instead he stood up and helped Marlene out of her seat as well. Taking one of her hands, he twirled her on the spot and then set his hands on her hips. He gazed at her for a moment before going for that kiss, keeping it sweet and tender.
"Oh... nice touch, Mr. Harrington." She said with a teasing wink, before letting her eyes flutter closed, enjoying the feeling of someone kissing her again... of a kiss that equally wanted on both sides. "Oh, bloody hell..." She chuckled when the kiss broke, "You... may end up having a hard time getting rid of me. I'm pretty sure I'm already completely taken with you."
Steve grinned and swayed them on the spot, keeping his hands respectfully on Marlene's hips. "You know, I'm completely okay with that." He chuckled. It was true, though! He was taken with her already. Her voice, that smile. Oofh. "The day's still young. Why don't we go for a walk somewhere?" He suggested.
"I'd go just about anywhere with you right now." She said, resting her head against his shoulder with a little sniffle. Oh hell no. She was NOT going to let tears happen. Not now!
"Aw, No. No tears," Steve was quick to say. He moved his hands up to her shoulders, going for a hug instead. "Hey," he cooed. "Whatever happened before, it's in the past now. Okay?"
"It is... I mean it." She sniffed, rolling her eyes as she stifled a happy laugh. "I've just been full of so much sadness, so much hurt, so much self-loathing... I forgot how amazing it feels to be happy. To feel wanted." She said, clinging tightly to him.
Any other guy might have been overwhelmed by the tears. Not Steve. He held Marlene for as long as she needed him to. "Well, stick with me and I'll make you happy every day."
"Mmm. Those sound like the words of someone who wants to actually date me." She teased, not actually expecting him to jump onboard that idea so quickly. "Seriously though... just do me a favor? I... really like you. Yes, already. So while I'm sure you're going to take other girls out too, just... please don't tell me about it, yeah? I prefer to keep myself blissfully ignorant about this."
"Who says that I'd go out with other girls when I've got you, Marlene?" Back home he'd been a player, but after Nancy... well, Steve knew what love was, what it felt like to be rejected, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone he dated in the future feel the way that he had after Nancy drunkenly admitted that she didn't love him. That stung. "If you wanna try dating exclusively? Then I'm in."
"Really?" Marlene asked him with a surprised blink. She'd wanted exactly that from the moment they'd started getting to know each other, but she also knew that wasn't exactly... typical. "You have no idea how much I want that." She could feel that he was trustworthy from the moment they'd met... but that was her cue. If she was going to be this guy's girlfriend, there needed to be nothing held back. "I'm gonna need you to be patient with me. If I start to act paranoid, or suspicious, or anything... just help me through it. I just... Emme was everything to me. It was thinking about her that got me through pain and torture the likes of which you can't even imagine. I thought she loved me... and to have her tell me she'd been cheating on me, and was breaking up with me... I've never felt so used or unwanted..."
Steve listened intently and nodded. He'd really grown as a person over the years. He'd realised what it meant to use someone, what it felt like to be used and unloved. He didn't want to feel like that ever again and he certainly didn't want to be the cause of it for someone else either. "I promise that I'll be there for you however you need me to be." He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You won't be alone, or ever feel unwanted or like some kind of burden. Not even for a second."
"Thank you..." she whimpered happily, clinging to him happily. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you feel that way..." She had never been the type of person who needed to feel like they belonged to someone. Who needed to be someone's girlfriend. But in this case? She'd never been more grateful to be exactly that. "I think we're going to be a great couple, you know." She said with a smile, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "We'll certainly be a good-looking one..."
"Oh, we'll make alllll the people jealous," Steve agreed with a playful smile, knowing when it was time to add a little levity to the conversation. "They'll look at you and think 'wow, she's so beautiful, smart, a smile that lights up the entire room', and then they'll look at me and think '...hair goals, 2019.' Boom."
One thing Marlene was a sucker for was confidence laced with humor rather than arrogance. So she was putty in his hands right now. "I feel like I should congratulate you... I felt like I was never going to have sexual feelings about anyone ever again.... and you went and proved me wrong."
Steve smiled brilliantly. "Well, I'm glad that I could help bring you back to yourself in... that way." And there came the blushing! He was such a dork sometimes. He gave Marlene's hand a squeeze. "So, how about that walk?"
It was everything she had in her not to throw herself at him then... but she held herself back. "Yes." She said, knowing that she wanted to do this right, and build this relationship the right way. "I would LOVE to take a walk with you."