Who: Lena Luthor and Dean Winchester When: September 30; Afternoon What: Match-Up! Where: Cafe in town Warnings: None actually! Status: Closed/Completed
Life in Madison Valley was going better than Lena had ever believed it would. Living under such a heavy shadow for so long, perhaps one would think she would be hiding away. That was not who Lena was, though. She had come into this strange town, encountered an alternate universe, learned secrets of friends she held close, and managed to take on quite the demanding job. And she had never felt as relaxed and comfortable as she did here.
Though she could understand and empathize with others who were still distressed with being here, Lena found herself hoping to never return from whence she came. Back home were complications that she was growing tired of balancing. And now, if she returned knowing the things she had learned in Madison Valley, how would things progress?
It was because of days like this where the mind was running rampant with too many what-if’s that Lena wrote in a journal over coffee. While the streets and sidewalks were always busy, it was easy for her to tone most of it out. Ambient noise was something you got use to living in a busy city.
Seated comfortably outside of one of the many cafes, Lena thanked the waiter for her coffee and pastry before setting to work on the journal in front of her.
***
The streets of Madison Valley were usually a quiet place, even with the business, as was the way of smaller towns. Until Dean rolled up anyway, the low rumble of the impala just a little loud, not in a way that was obnoxious but more a soothing sound. Something akin to the purr of a cat, Dean would say, except that he didn’t like cats and his car’s purr was the best sound on the planet no matter what universe he was in.
He pulled over in front of the cafe, cut the engine and stopped before he could get out, noticing the girl sitting on the patio. She looked like someone way out of his league, like she wa the kind of woman who wanted champagne and caviar when the best he could offer was beer and burgers. But she was hot, and out of his league didn’t mean he couldn’t look a little.
He’d cut it out in a second, would go about his business downtown before it got creepy. He always did. But it would be just his bad luck if she happened to look his way in the second he spent checking her out.
***
That feeling that someone was watching her was strong, and Lena pulled herself away from her writing. Fortunately for Dean, it was also when her drink was coming to her table. Unfortunately for Dean, as the waiter walked away, Lena did catch sight of him looking in her direction.
She did look behind her for a brief moment, a brow raised with unexpected interest in his behavior.
“Are you looking for someone?” she asked, almost with a coy nature. Lena already knew the answer. She was positive. “Should I ask around inside?” At least he wasn’t the type to sit with his car running to cause an abundance of noise pollution. She was thankful that didn’t seem to exist here. Hopefully he wouldn’t be the one to change that.
***
“Nope. I’m good.” A little embarrassed at being caught looking, but Dean wasn’t the kind of person to let that show on his face. And he wasn’t that embarrassed. He didn’t see anything wrong with appreciating a hot chick if she happened to be sitting outside like that. “Just taking a second to enjoy the view.”
She was probably way too young, but that had never been an issue for him. He could appreciate and not do anything about it, and even if he did want to do something about it, age still wasn’t really an issue.
It was a lot more about what he could get, and not for a second did Dean think he could get that.
***
“Is that so?” Not wanting to assume, but having a strong inkling just what view he was enjoying, Lena took it upon herself to flag the waiter. It was obvious, then, what she was up to when both she and the waiter looked toward Dean.
“Do you like cream and sugar in your coffee? Maybe a blueberry muffin?” He didn’t look like the scone type. Not at all. Looks could be deceiving, though. That was what Lena always insisted when it came to people not instantly thinking the worst of her.
“Or are you a strawberry sort of guy?”
***
Dean wasn’t really a muffin kind of guy either. He wasn’t the kind of guy hot fancy chicks just ordered coffee and pastries for either. His surprise was obvious on his face as he looked at her, slowly got out of the car, walked around it toward her. Utility jacket and battered jeans were kind of a stark contrast to everything he saw in her, everything he was assuming about her in the process, but she was asking.
“I’m not really an any sort of berry sort of guy.” Doughnuts and danishes and garbage like that were more his speed. “But if you’re offering, I’ll take the coffee.”
Without anything in it, of course.
***
“Coffee it is.” Which was ordered, and the waiter was on their way. “I figured I would offer you refreshment to go with whatever it was keeping your attention. Think of it as popcorn at a movie.” Lena did have quite the sarcastic side to her, though it wasn’t nearly as biting as others. It was one of the many good things Lex had taught her as it proved useful when handling her stepmother, and people in general.
“You can sit if you’d like. I think you’ll enjoy your coffee more than if you’re standing there lurking.” Which the coffee was, at that moment, delivered to their table. Lena thanked the waiter, and slid it across the table towards Dean.
“So, Mr. Vintage-Muscle-Car, what brings you to this little cafe?”
***
He should take exception to being told he was lurking, but for someone who did a lot of lurking he could understand why she’d call it that. He didn’t protest, just took the seat he was offered. He didn’t need to sit to enjoy his coffee, only enjoyed it in the injecting caffeine kind of way anyway, but it gave him the chance to look at her a little more and he could fake that she’d ever actually be interested in a guy like him.
Because she was obviously fancy and he obviously wasn’t.
Dean wasn’t thinking about it too seriously, and it was just a laugh for a minute.
“This froofy place? Not my speed. I was headed down the road. But something caught my eye.” Something being her, obviously.
***
“Really.” Lena wasn’t sure whether to grin or smirk. “I’m sure it wasn’t the announcement that pumpkin spice lattes were back.” Taking a sip of her own drink, not a pumpkin spice latte, she liked this guy. Lena was glad to find people who were easy to talk to in this place, and Dean seemed to be one of them. At least, that had been her first impression.
First impressions were everything in most cases.
“Headed anywhere interesting?” She was genuinely curious. Still feeling new to the town even though she was establishing her place at The Old Mill, and building connections and friendships, Lena liked knowing where others went in Madison.
Research if you were going to get technical.
***
“Depends on how interesting you think car parts are.” It struck Dean as odd that she actually seemed interested in what he was doing. She didn’t know him, he didn’t know her, he’d just pulled up and checked her out and now she actually wanted to know about his life?
Maybe there was something wrong with her. Or maybe she was feeling something. Hard to tell.
“I try to keep her in good shape,” he explained, tilting his head toward his car.
***
“Not particularly interesting, but I’m usually in the market for robotics and nanotech.” Lena chuckled, knowing how ridiculous it probably sounded. She wasn’t trying to show off or anything of the sort. It was simply her way of offering an explanation.
“That’s good, though. I’ve found that if you take care of the machines that help you, they tend to take care of you in return.”
Taking a few sips from her drink, Lena extended her hand. “I’m Lena, by the way. In case you found yourself looking for a name.”
***
He hadn’t, really, but he reached across the table to shake her hand anyway. “Dean.”
He didn’t need a name to think she was hot. Just eyes.
“Robotics are pretty cool.” And not that different from mechanics, actually, in some ways. In all the ways that Dean actually understood about them. “Want to get together over a drink sometime and you can tell me about it?”
It couldn’t hurt anything to ask. Even if he was sure she was going to turn him down.
***
She considered the offer, tapping her fingers against her cup, and grinned. “Sure. I think we could arrange something.” Why not? It certainly wouldn’t hurt, and who knew? Lena could end up having a fun and enjoyable evening.
“Are you sure I can’t get you something to go with your coffee?” She, herself, had a danish delivered by the waiter. “It would have been a donut, but they were all out unfortunately.”
***
Dean, for a while, was completely floored that she’d agree to that. It was probably just spur of the moment and if he called to ask her out again, he’d be turned down like he expected.
“Nah. I’m good.” He didn’t believe for a second that she ate doughnuts. He could barely believe the danish, except it was kind of fancy and like it was more fruit than pastry. “But, uh, thanks for the coffee.
***
"You're welcome." Placing some money on the table, payment for everything that had been ordered, Lena collected her belongings and stood. "I expect a day, time, and place, too." And Lena would, indeed, hold Dean to it.