Santana Lopez (auntie_snixx) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-12-23 22:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, charlie bradbury, santana lopez |
WHO: Charlie Bradbury and Santana Lopez
WHERE: Rockefeller Center and Jack’s Sliders and Sushi
WHEN: Saturday, December 21
WHAT: Date from the Date Auction
RATING: PG for innuendo?
STATUS: log; complete.
Santana stood outside Rockefeller Center. She had a relaxed smile on her face as she waited for Charlie to show up. She had been a bit disappointed that more people hadn’t been interested in going out with her - though she was no Tony Stark or Captain America. Still, it hadn’t been a shabby amount of money and it went to the Youth Center. She wasn’t familiar with who this Charlie was, besides the cute factor. She was looking forward to getting to know another of the Tower residents. She was glad that she had put on some warm black leggings. They hugged her in the right places and provided the extra warmth for the cold winds that sometimes came through the city. She had paired it with a grey tunic that went down to her knees and then wore a nice black jacket with a grey beret. Santana hoped that she’d be able to provide Charlie a good time. She looked back and forth, waiting for her date to arrive. Charlie felt a little off her game. It was one thing to woo the wood nymphs and elves in a LARPing community where you reigned as Queen; it was a completely different thing to take a random person out on a date that you won at an auction. Not that Charlie felt like this was a real date, she’d made the bid for the kids…or that’s what she told herself. It wasn’t because Santana was drop dead gorgeous and had momentarily stunned Charlie’s ability to think. As it was Charlie made her way as quickly as possible to the Center to meet Santana—though she was technically on vacation at this point, with Sage gone there was more to do and more access to be explored and Charlie had lost track of the time. She wasn’t late, thankfully, but she hadn’t been able to go to the Center with Santana as originally planned. Still, she made her way through the crowd towards the other woman, a bright smile already on her face and a slight wave given to grab Santana’s attention. Her first instinct was to say something silly like what’s up bitches?, but luckily stilled her tongue before the greeting could slip out. She was dressed casually enough in dark army green skinny jeans that tucked into black leather army boots only halfway laced up, black v-neck, a dark charcoal grey denim jacket covered just to her hips, and fingerless green and black striped gloves completed the outfit. For Charlie the upper fifties wasn’t exactly freezing, but she couldn’t help her smile turning softer as she finally stopped in front of Santana. “You look frozen, I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. Here, let’s get you cozy warm.” She flashed the tickets that would get them passed the already growing line and into the VIP section. Charlie was used to having passes to things and didn’t mind the looks and sounds that (usually) came when she cut lines. She offered her left arm to Santana to take, “M’lady, shall we?” “Oh, I’m not frozen” Santana said casually while taking Charlie’s left arm and bowing to her a little bit. “I’m used to the cold. There are times where I think I could just be cold-blooded” Santana said with a wink and a smile. “I’m glad you bid on me. You saved me. Plus, the money goes toward the Youth Center. But I’ll just take it as you saved me from dying of embarrassment out on the stage” Santana stated matter of factly. “So, I know nothing about you. Do you ice skate? Where are you from? Do you have any super powers or something like that?” Santana asked inquisitively, but trying not to be an interrogator. “And please, just know something about me - I tell it like it is, and I don’t have a problem doing it. So if I’m a bit blunt or forward or crossing any lines, just tell me.” “The women who think they are most cruel tend to really be the sweetest,” Charlie responded without hesitation and offered a quick wink of her own before leading Santana into the warmth of the tent that connected to the rink. Plush chairs, red carpet, tables of fresh baked cookies/scones, and waiters offering tea, hot chocolate and bottled water were already there waiting on other guests. There were only so many people allowed on the rink at a time, one of the perks about having the passes was that they would be allowed to get on and off as many times as they liked without waiting in line again. Once inside Charlie used her free hand to lay lightly over Santana’s right hand where it rested on Charlie’s arm still, “You’re beautiful Santana, I didn’t save you. I would have found myself in a war to win this time with you though.” Ego stroking was not unknown to Charlie, and she didn’t mind doing it when the truth could be used so easily. Her hand slid away as her eyes left Santana’s face to scope out the area. The rest of her answers came without looking to Santana again, “I’ve done a little ice skating back when I was in Chicago, and Wisconsin a couple of times, great fairs in Wisconsin...I’m from...all over really and I don’t have a superpower but I am in the business of...everyone’s business if I feel like it. Comes with the white hat territory, in this world I work for Tony Stark, but I’ve always worked for big companies...keeping them safe, keeping myself busy.” She smirked absentmindedly as she said the last bit. She found a row of empty fuzzy blue seats and ushered Santana towards them, allowing the younger woman to sit first, “As long as Neutrino Wands aren’t involved and streams get crossed causing total protonic reversal, you can cross any of my lines, Santana.” Charlie’s voice remained calm and steady, the features of her face didn’t so much as twitch from the relaxed state she was in as her eyes cast back towards Santa and her arm slipped away so she could point towards one of the tables, “Would you like some cocoa?” Charlie wasn’t so much implying sex, she knew Santana was a few good years younger than her...but she did like a level playing field. Santana’s face beamed and she felt her face flush when Charlie told her that there would have been a bidding war for her. She looked down and twisted her boots a bit when Charlie rested her hand on hers for the few moments that it stayed there. “Thanks” is all that Santana could say. She looked around and took everything in. She was amazed at how the VIP access worked and how nice it was to not be waiting in a line. Santana Lopez hated waiting. “This is nice” she absentmindedly commented without really knowing she was talking out loud. Santana was listening to Charlie talk about herself. She wanted to make sure she didn’t seem too interested in Charlie. “So you work for Tony Stark? Iron Man? And what do you do? And what’s a white hat?” Santana asked inquisitively. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about, with the protonic reversal and neutrino wands” she said with a smile. “It sounds like something one of my friends back home might talk about, but I would love some cocoa” Santana said, her smile one of bemusement and wonder. Once there was the go ahead on cocoa Charlie moved to retrieve two steaming mugs of the warm chocolatey goodness. When one of the mugs was handed off towards Santana, Charlie made herself comfortable next to her and blew lightly on her own drink before taking a tentative sip. It was good, could use a little salt or cinnamon, but she wasn’t going to verbally complain about a ‘free’ drink. Once she relaxed into the seat she began offering further explanation to earlier answers. “Tony Stark, the one and only Iron Man. Man is a genius. I’m currently the only, so I guess I’m the head of, the Information Technology department. A white hat is sort of code for the people who are hackers but use their abilities to track down weak links in codes to either fix them or alert the company to them. Since I’m part of the company, well I get paid very well for my specialties. Funny enough, what hackers either learn quickly or never learn at all is that if money is your end game then hacking to fix pays far more than hacking to disrupt or steal.” She shrugged slightly. Truth was Charlie was a hacker to her own benefit, to hell with legalities in the end, but she wasn’t going to boast about her illegal deals of the past. “And if you don’t know what I’m quoting, you need to seriously do a little 80’s movie-thon, sweetie. Ghostbusters is a classic.” She smiled a little then and looked towards her date, “Enough about me though, tell me a little about yourself. Hobbies? Career?” Santana was glad for the hot cocoa, more so to warm her bare hands rather than to drink. She took a few sips just to keep her insides warm. “So you’re a computer geek” Santana said. It didn’t come out as mean or demeaning, it was just a matter of fact statement from her. “I can’t say that I know what you do, but I guess it’s cool that you make big gobs of money doing it.” “Ghostbusters?” She said. “Is that the one with the walking statue of liberty? I think I’ve seen bits and pieces of it. It seems a bit off. Santana fidgeted slightly, trying to think if she ever really had seen any of the Ghostbuster movie - but beside the walking statue of liberty, and a few small pieces with a green slimey thing, she didn’t remember anything else. She began to feel a bit stupid but then she kicked her ownself out of her mind. She was Santana Lopez. “No career” said Santana. “I was working at a few random jobs before I was brought here and now I’m working at the Youth Center. It’s not the ideal job and I’d love to find something solid here - but then again, you never know what’ll happen. People come and go and come and go…” Santana said, fading off a bit. “As far as hobbies go? I sing, I dance, I used to be a cheerleader. I’ve done some plays” Santana said. “I don’t really know what else. I love this Italian restaurant, Breadstix. I love my family and being with them” she said, pausing for a moment. “I do this and that… just trying to find myself after high school.” There was only a smile when Santana called Charlie a computer geek, a quick nod of sorts, but brief dramatic feature changes were offered when Santana didn’t seem to really know the movie Ghostbusters at all. “It looks like I have to buy you a Christmas gift now, you’ll thank me later.” Faux upset was made apparent by the lightness of her voice and the edging of a smile before she went back to sipping her hot chocolate. Luckily Charlie was not going through, nor had she ever felt the need to go through, a midlife crisis. Otherwise learning that Santana was in fact so very much younger than her may have made Charlie squirm a little. Her own high school years were absent and replaced with memories of being on the run, hunkering down where possible - usually a new friend’s house, until she was able to start hacking her way into higher funds and nabbing apartments for herself (which didn’t take long since she’d already started siphoning money off to help pay for her mother’s hospital bills). Getting emotional and angsty was not Charlie’s way though so she, much like Santana had, kicked herself out of her own thoughts, let just a little laughter slide through her voice as she looked over to Santana with a little bit of mock surprise, “So you’re a theater geek, hmm?” A geek for a geek, made Charlie want to laugh but she kept it internal, “But also a cheerleader, that’s one mighty confused school you must have gone to. I can’t say I remember the preps getting along with the creative types back in my day.” She shrugged a little, “Good to be well-rounded though. And kudos for breaking barriers and kicking stereotypes ass. I like it.” And Charlie in fact did both sound and look very pleased with whatever conclusion she’d come to about Santana. “I’ll thank you now and then thank you later” Santana said, about getting Ghostbusters as a Christmas gift. She smiled as she watched Charlie sip her hot chocolate. She sipped as well. It was good to be out with someone new, she thought to herself. She needed to do this more often. “I guess I am. I’m from a tv series called Glee” Santana said, acknowledging her origins. “I was part of the evil cheerleader group who was tasked with destroying the Glee club and we eventually became members of it and liked it. And it’s something I’m actually good at. But I don’t want to do that here. I mean, being a star on Broadway isn’t or hasn’t ever been my dream. Maybe being a famous singer, but I’d love to be some corporate bad ass wearing power suits and having underlings” Santana said, rambling on. “So, are we actually going to ice skate, or are we just going to be VIP’s and stay in the warmth with all these free goodies around?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because I can do whatever you want. You do own me for the day” Santana said with a wink and a sly grin. Glee, it was a show that Charlie had never heard of and it surprised her highly. She wasn’t one to be left out of media circles and to soothe her ego she told herself that the show must not exist in her world. “Evil cheerleaders, I think I killed one of those before…” Charlie mumbled to herself for more dramatic reasons than to be serious. She’d killed a couple vampires and whatnot on her own, but a cheerleader, as far as she knew, had not been one of her kills. “I’m from Supernatural, by the way. If we’re going with origin stories.” Charlie compared herself to a techno geek version of Buffy. When actual ice skating was brought up Charlie laughed a little and pointed towards one of the cubby areas where one of the servers was helping tie up laces for a young kid while another worker helped his mom, “I think that’s where we get fitted for skates.” She finished up her drink rather quickly before resting the mug on the empty seat next to her. She stood and offered her right hand to help Santana up if she was ready. “There’s only so many people allowed on the ice at a time though, it’s actually a pretty small rink, but the nice thing is when you’re ready to get off we can come back in here and go back out whenever instead of waiting in that long ass line to get back on.” When Santana was ready, Charlie walked her over towards the area where they could get their skates so they could be ready when they were called to enter the ice rink. “I think I’ve heard of your show” Santana said, as she finished her hot chocolate, making her entire body feel warm and full at the same time. “Not that I ever watched it, but being in the glee club, we had a lot of people with varied interests - especially in movies and tv”. “Oh” she said “I think I know someone from there. Here, I mean. The guy who’s dating Veronica Mars. I think he’ a Winchester? I can’t remember his name though” Santana said, her face slightly getting screwed up as she tried to think of the guys name. “He’s really cool though. I mean, not that I’m a fangirl or something. I meant cool as in nice.” As Santana sat there slightly embarrassed for rambling so much, she at least had the forethought to reach up and grab Charlie’s right hand to be helped up and walked over to get their skates. Santana was glad that she had remembered socks. She had nearly walked out without wearing any, as she had opted for some black heels - comfortable, but stylish. However, she remembered at the last minute to put socks away in her little purse. And she was grateful for them, as her feet were still cold from having been outside for so long. She was also glad that there was someone to help her lace her skates up, because Santana wasn’t sure she’d be able to lace them properly and she had a mental picture of her twisting her ankle in front of her date. She let out a small laugh to herself at the thought as the attendant finished with her. “Well, I’m ready to skate. It’s been a year or so, but I hope I can manage. And if I fall on my ass, I swear, if you tell anyone, I’ll have to hunt you down” Santana said jokingly. The look Santana made when she was trying to think of Sam’s name only made Charlie want to giggle, instead she smiled brightly and nodded a little. “Yeah, Sam Winchester. He’s a good friend and a really nice guy. I actually live with his brother, Dean, and his girlfriend. Two bedrooms, three people, it’s been a crazy adjustment from single person in a large apartment to sharing with two other people in this world.” She shrugged a little as she let Santana go to get fitted. She didn’t like people touching her feet, but opted to just let the guy do his job with little fussing, though she couldn’t help the over dramatic wince-like facial expressions she made as she pressed her feet into the ice skates. Once that was over and done with she again offered her arm to Santana so they could make their way towards the only exit onto the rink that the tent offered. Luckily there was already a group coming back in and they were helped out onto the ice. Charlie was the first on the ice only so that she could shift backwards and face Santana and offer her hand to help her out onto the ice. “A year isn’t too long, you won’t fall, and if you do I’ll try to catch you first.” Charlie offered sincerely with just a little uplift to the corner of her lips. The ice was crowded, but not as crowded as it would have been had they come for a night skate. There were fewer teens than Charlie had imagined, but there were more families and smaller kids than she’d have liked. Either way there was enough space between groups (it seemed) that people weren’t crowding on one another. It was cloudy out, but enough light that the lights around the rink didn’t shine as brightly as they would have otherwise and the Prometheus statue didn’t look as shiny as Charlie had remembered--but it was all still pretty and hey...she was with a pretty woman so things couldn’t be too bad. Charlie remained vigilant with Santana, ready to catch her if necessary, until Santana was steady. It was just the type of woman Charlie happened to be. Santana stepped out onto the ice gingerly, her feet wobbling and reaching for Charlie’s hand. She cursed inwardly at herself for not having maintained a strict workout regimen since arriving here. She was soft. She couldn’t imagine what Coach Sylvester would say at her, besides making another dig at her breasts. After a few moments though, she felt better and gained a slightly better skating form. Better than some of the smaller kids, but not anything she would consider graceful or beautiful. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t bring one of those revealing skating outfits that the Olympic people wear - because I would get 0’s from everyone around here” Santana said as they skated slowly, but steadily. “Can I say again how grateful I am that you bid on me? Because otherwise, I’d be in my apartment right now doing the homebody thing with my sweats and eating a bowl of ice cream” she said. The couple stayed closer to the rails, Santana closest so she could possibly catch herself if need be. The position also gave them a larger circle to make around the rink and offered the speedier skaters to fly by them if necessary. “You’d get a ten just for stepping out in one, at least in my book,” Charlie nearly cut Santana off before she was able to finish her personal insult. “Besides, you’re doing great there little grasshopper.” It was hard, or so it seemed to be, to phase Charlie...she didn’t seem to have a negative bone. “That sounds like a perfect day at home though,” Charlie laughed a little, “or like a cozy date night or something. Especially this time of year...light the Christmas tree, get some real hot chocolate going...PJs, ice cream, maybe a few video games or a funny movie.” She shrugged and faded off. It was a couple seconds before she looked to Santana and offered, “Then again, I’m a simple kind of gal, but I’m also glad I had a reason to plan all this for you. Otherwise I would be coding and straining my eyes in a dark room with sodium packed ramen.” Charlie had yet to let go of Santana, but gently she now unwound her fingers though kept her palm near Santana’s, “Are you okay with the balance thing now, or do you want my arm again?” “If I got a ten for stepping out in a skating outfit, I’d take it” Santana said with a laugh. Santana steadied herself again, as Charlie gently let her fingers unwound. “I think I’m ok. But stay close, because me and falling don’t go well together” Santana said, smiling. Santana was having a good time. She was letting herself enjoy this date. The duo skated slowly around the outer edge. “Sodium packed ramen, the food of everyone who has ever gone to college” she said laughing. “Though I’d take the PJ’s and ice cream first. And then the movie.” They moved slowly around a few times, enjoying the crisp air. “What would you have been doing in the dark room and straining your eyes?” Santana asked. “Hacking? Or something else?” It wasn’t a real Charlie-type day if she didn’t make some type of crazy face, and she had the perfect animations sometimes, now being one of those times as she looked to Santana and half laughed and half choked on the laugh as if something the other had said had taken her off guard. A few little gasp-type noises came as she looked away and then back to Santana. “I don’t know what on earth you could be implying there,” Charlie obviously thought it was more funny than anything else and maybe just wanted to have a reason to laugh and joke with the other. In truth Santana had seemed sad, to Charlie, the night of the auction. She’d smiled and done a little mingling, but from what Charlie could remember...she hadn’t really seemed to want to be there. In fact, she looked a little lonely or upset even. The fact that she kept thanking Charlie for taking her out or making a bid had only heightened those thoughts and so she used the moments where Santana could dig herself into a hole and made them funny. Or she thought she did anyway. “What else would I possibly be doing other than hacking...in a dark room...by myself...and a computer.” She smirked a little as the animations faded. “You’re kind of like a little vixen, aren’t you?” Though she was looking directly at Santana when she said it, her eyes quickly moved away and the subject changed as well. “Speaking of ramen though, I hope you’re getting hungry. Our time here is probably almost up.” She looked around for a clock...there was supposed to be one somewhere, but even without it she knew the 90 minute VIP pass was probably coming to an end. “I think real ramen sounds good after being on the ice.” Santana let out a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. “One can never assume” she said through a bit of giggling. “There’s so much more you could be doing. I didn’t want to imply or suggest any other possibilities” Santana said, smiling. She looked clearly at Charlie, her eyebrow raised. “I don’t know what you know about me, Charlie” she said, pausing for effect “but I am much more than a vixen. Much more” Santana said slyly, not letting Charlie escape that line of questioning. Santana was wondering what was going through Charlie’s mind. She had her ideas, and now she was wondering if she should have at least googled her. She internally shrugged her shoulders and would let it play out. “One thing about me, I’m good to eat pretty much anytime. And I’ve never had authentic real ramen” Santana said, as they slowly skated towards the rink exit. “Anything I should know going in?” “So two things I know about you. You’re blunt and you like to eat,” Charlie nodded and looked as if she were mentally banking the information for a later time. “That’s pretty much all I know about you, oh and that you and falling don’t mix well.” She laughed a little while making her way with Santana back towards the tent so they could take the skates off and grab their shoes. Once at the tent Charlie helped Santana off the ice just as she had helped her onto the ice. Charlie didn’t know how Santana would take it, but she always felt a little jelly-legged going from ice to solid ground again. Same with rollerblading for some reason. Charlie wondered what else this was to know about Santana, maybe she’d have to watch Glee when she got home...or maybe…”You know I was thinking about watching Glee when I got home, but I think…” Charlie let Santana’s hand go so she could lift herself off of the ice and stand a little closer to the other woman, “getting to know you here is better than whatever a show could tell me.” Maybe Santana hadn’t been flirting, maybe it was just a weird blind date sort of deal to her, but Charlie felt she could read other women fairly well. Santana hadn’t made it clear that she wasn’t into what Charlie was dishing, there didn’t seem to be a significant other to worry about, all signs pointed to ‘go’ in Charlie’s head so...why not see where it was going to go after all? “Here,” she moved to hold the flap of the tent open so Santana could go through first. The warmth of the tent was already inviting and suddenly Charlie realized she was a little cold after all and hurried behind Santana into the tent. Santana wobbled a little bit and leaned a bit on Charlie as she got off the ice and walked into the tent, Charlie behind her. “Getting to know me is always better than watching a tv show” Santana said, smiling. “There’s more to me than just what is shown on tv. In more ways than one” she said with a smirk. The two sat down and their attendants removed their skates. Santana massaged her feet a bit before sliding her feet back into her heels. She shook her head as her feet slipped into them. No pain, no gain, she thought to herself. She wondered how Charlie’s boots compared to her heels. She was never a boot person - not those kind of boots anyway. “Well, that was fun. No falling on my ass, and I had a good time” Santana said. “Thank you. This was great. Especially skipping the lines and the tent.” “You’re a stronger woman than me,” Charlie noted as Santana slipped back into her heels. Charlie could dress up and strut around like any other female, hell she’d just worn a gold sparkly skirt and heels way taller than Santana’s to Stark’s little Christmas party, makeup and all, but when it was her choice comfort was always going to win. She didn’t respond to the earlier teasing by Santana, but she didn’t ignore it either. Instead she just moved forward with the date and finished getting her boots laced up. “Hopefully the fun isn’t open, pretty, so let’s get going.” She offered her hand as she obviously was going to continue to do, to help Santana up from the seat. “I don’t think I can piggyback you, but if you need help walking, feel free to lean as close as you want to.” Charlie offered as she laced her arm through Santana’s as she had upon their first meeting just a little over an hour ago. Once they were ready to leave the tent Charlie walked with Santana back out into the cool air where the line into the rink seemed to have doubled while they’d been inside having their fun. “Well, shouldn’t be hard to get a taxi at least.” “Thanks” Santana said for the compliment. “I try to be as strong as I can be” Santana said, as she had her arm laced through Charlie’s. “You’ll be my rock if I need you” she said as the cool air brought a much needed cleansing feeling to her body. It revitalized her and made her feel alive. “A taxi?” Santana said. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” Santana stood on the corner and raised her hand out. A few cabs passed her, but then she brought a few large bills - the new $100 bills - into her hand. Moments later, a cab pulled up. “Your chariot awaits, m’lady” Santana said, opening the door for Charlie. “And no piggybacks necessary”. Having Santana grab the taxi gave Charlie a moment to stand back and just watch her do what she did, money always did seem to grease the gears of everyone. It was also nice to see that Santana had the money to do such a thing with, mostly because it actually helped Charlie feel less like she’d bought the date or that Santana could be wooed by money. Not that the price Charlie had bidded with was anything far too expense, but still. “Thank you,” Charlie smiled as she moved to hold the door, even if Santana had grabbed the cab, Charlie would be damned if she slid in first. She waited for Santana to do so and finally got in, closing the door behind her before bouncing about to get comfortable next to Santana. She gave the driver the address then sat back and sighed out. It was nice to sit again. “Alright so food and then...I guess I don’t own you anymore.” Charlie pepped up, her hands moving so fingers could lace together against her lap as she looked over to Santana. Santana was glad to be in the cab. Her feet ached, but she wouldn’t admit it. She relaxed into the seat and looked down at her fingers interlaced with Charlie’s on her lap. “Food is good. Owning me… I’m not that good. I’m damaged goods.” Santana said, looking down for a brief moment. “But that’s neither here nor there. It’s been fun so far. We could always do it again” Santana said, looking at Charlie. “We’re all damaged goods, Santana.” Charlie half mumbled and it was the only show of emotion under the bubbly surface Santana was going to get, as far as Charlie was concerned. There was just the lightest squeeze to the other’s hand, but the pressure quickly released and Charlie gave in to getting more comfortable with the other woman in the back of the taxi--assuming the driver knew where to take them. “I’d like that,” Charlie admitted as her eyelids drooped just a little instead of making eye contact. She’d never gone on a real date, not since she was a teenager, and even this felt more like LARPing than a date. “Doing this again, I mean. Or, well, a different setting but...this.” Somehow Dean was to blame for all of this, well the Dean in the last couple of episodes anyway. She’d blame him later. The drive didn’t take very long, Charlie had mapped everything out so that it wouldn’t take long between jumps. The car came to a halt after so many other random pauses and speed ups that caused horns to blare; at least now the cab had settled and Charlie was able to pay via credit card on the back of the seat before exiting and helping Santana out. The little restaurant was not yet crowded but a decent amount of people were gathered and window booths eating their food. “Shall we?” Charlie offered as she was already taking a step towards the main door. “Good” Santana said. “It’s always nice to have people to connect with. To go out with. To be with. And it’s better than being in a dark room straining your eyes looking at a computer” she said with a smile and a playful nudge against Charlie. She could never imagine being like that. Watching tv shows or movies in a dark room, sure - but not being on the computer like that. The pair walked inside, with Santana holding the door open for Charlie and making sure she went first. Santana wished she had been able to change. She would have brought out something a bit dressier - even if it was lunch and not dinner. She always knew how to dress to impress. The pair were seated quickly, thanks to Charlie having reservations. Menus and bottled water were brought to the table. After a quick glance, Santana raised her eyebrows and asked “So, what do you recommend here?” It was the first time Santana didn’t retort with something provocative, or at least suggestive. Charlie felt a little off her game momentarily at the rather platonic level of Santana’s response--it was good for one not to always be alone, that was true, friends were good, of course...no one started to just date. Right? Charlie was not the woman with those answers, unfortunately. Thus her mind went spinning and all she could do was smile and nod before it was time to get into the restaurant and get their table near a corner. “Uhhh, oh, personally I think I’m going to do the ginger scallion chicken or spicy beef ramen and a…” she flipped her menu about before finding the drinks, “a mango-peach bubble tea.” She glanced to Santana, “Would you like sushi as an appetizer sort of thing? They don’t seem to have appetizers for lunch, which sucks, or we could do,” again she looked to her menu to find something appealing, “Oh, they have kimchi sliders, we could share while waiting for ramen.” She offered, her voice fading off as her eyes once more glanced towards her date and waited for her input. “I could do some kimchi sliders. As long as you play nicely and share” Santana said with a grin. “And I’m all about the spice, so I’ll do the spicy beef ramen” said Santana after looking over the menu. Nearly 90 minutes later, the two left Jack’s with full bellies. Santana’s eyes were as full as her stomach, and she clutched Charlie’s arm, as they walked back into the chilly New York City air. Santana turned to Charlie as they walked. “Thank you. I know I’ve been thanking you so much - but this has been fun. Really fun” Santana said. “And you were great” she said, as she moved a strand of hair out of Charlie’s face. “I want to go out with you again” Santana said, her mind sluggish as she said it. “I think you’re like an iceberg and there’s more to you than just the tip” she said. “And I want to know it all, Charlie” she said with a grin. Charlie was normally a happy person, but the smile on her face and the laughter that slipped past her lips actually sparkled in her eyes and it had been a long while since those gestures could match the look in her eyes. Her life had gone to hell after getting her arm broken thanks to Dick...and the boys kept showing up in her life...things had changed. Some for the better, some just made things crazier...but in this moment she felt normal. Santana was a normal human girl with normal aspirations and seemed innocent in the ways of vampires and ghosts. All a beautiful thing to Charlie. It was the first time in forever that she was able to talk about anything, not just RP games, technology, demons, but silly things like music and movies. Even Santana’s grip on her arm seemed to have changed and Charlie couldn’t deny she liked the feel from the weight of her hands and the way Santana leaned into her. Green eyes followed Santana’s fingers as they moved to brush that strand of hair away, a laugh dying down into a slight smirk before relaxing further as she looked to Santana’s eyes. They were about the same height, but with her heels, Charlie looked up just a little as she took in what Santana had to say. Obviously Charlie had made a good impression, that was good, but she was a little confused on how Santana meant those words…...go out with you again. Date? Real date? She was so young though...no, she wouldn’t turn into that person, believing age dictated something that she’d known about herself since she had been much younger than Santana. “I’d like that,” she finally got out with a slight chuckle lacing her words, she found herself standing much closer to Santana than she had earlier. Facing her, letting her hands move down Santana’s forearms before fingertips slid down the backs of Santana’s hands and finally away. “There’s a party tonight, ugly sweater, Christmas-y type shin-dig. Be my date?” She cocked her head slightly as she asked, her eyes locked on Santana’s. Santana smirked. “As long as you don’t mind me not having an ugly sweater and letting me change first, I’d be happy to be your date” she said, looking slightly down at Charlie. “And I’m sure you’d need to get ready too” Santana said. An ugly sweater Christmas party? Santana had heard of those, but had never, ever attended one. She didn’t do ugly. But a Christmas party was something she needed, being around happy, lively people - and being with Charlie wouldn’t hurt either. |