Who: Marty Mikalski and Dana Polk What: Their first date. Where: First Marty's place, then Dana's car, then a restaurant. When: Last Thursday, 5/30th. Warnings/Rating: Rated VC, for vomit-indusing cuteness. Seriously. They may just be the sappiest ever. Status: Complete.
Marty didn’t think he’d ever been so nervous before. Sure, he’d been anxious and excited about things. He had almost puked trying to get up the courage to tell his dad that he wasn’t going into law. And that thing with Jules had had him jittery and anxious. Both of those paled in comparison to how he felt now. Equal parts exuberance and anxiety ripped through him. One moment he was thinking everything was going to be perfect, and the next he was convinced that this was all going to end horribly. He couldn’t sit still. He’d lain on his bed, that didn’t work. Sitting at his desk chair proved useless since his leg wouldn’t stop shaking. So he’d settled on pacing around his room, waiting for Dana to text him. Jules and Curt were probably worrying about him, but he didn’t even care at the moment. Right now, all that mattered was his date.
His phone buzzed in his hand and he almost dropped it trying to check the message. A wide grin spread across his face. He bolted out of his room and tore down the stairs, startling Curt and Jules who were sitting in the living room.
“GoingonadatewithDanabebacklater,” he called out to them as he reached the door, pulling it closed quickly behind him and leaping off the porch. He sprinted for the car, practically throwing himself inside. “Drive drive drive,” he shouted, struggling to put on his seatbelt and looking back towards the house to check if they were following.
Dana was similarly nervous in Santa Ana. She refused to do anything as cliche as change her outfit a million times, but that meant that she hadn’t chosen what to wear until it was almost time for her to leave to pick Marty up. In the end she just threw on a nice blouse and swishy skirt and ran out the door, stopping quickly to kiss Katie on the cheek and tell her mom that she might not be home until late.
The drive to Irvine was only a little bit torturous, filled half with giddy excitement and half with nervous dread. What if actually going on a date with her made Marty realize he didn’t actually want to date her? What if halfway through the date he realized he was still into Jules -- even though Dana wasn’t certain what had happened there, it was clear something had -- and left her to pick up the bill? What if, what if, what if.
When she pulled up to the townhome’s driveway, it took her almost a full half minute to be able to text Marty that she was there -- and it was only another half minute after that that Marty burst out of the house in a chaotic flurry, racing into the car and slamming the door. Dana was frozen in shock for a moment, but once her brain caught up she put the car in reverse and backed out of the drive, just as Jules and Curt stepped onto the porch.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, laughing as she drove away from the house.
He kept an eye on them as they drove off, waving cheerfully at them through the window. When they were out of sight, he straightened out in the seat with a grin. “I kinda just shouted at them that we were going on a date as I ran out of the house,” he answered, glancing over at her and then double taking as he actually fully noticed her.
“You look beautiful.” He half-breathed the statement, his mouth curling into a happy smile. “I mean, you always do, but... Maybe it’s got something to do with tonight.” No, that didn’t make too much sense to the average listener, but he hoped she’d get it. That everything was different tonight because it was a date.
“You did what?” Dana burst into laughter again, looking over at Marty with a look that could only be described as hearteyes. “You really just -- yelled that we were going on a date and ran? Oh, I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces. You know we’re going to have a lot of ‘splaining to do when I drop you back off tonight.”
Biting her lip to hide a smile -- unsuccessfully, but an attempt was made -- Dana pushed her hair behind her ears and glanced over at him. “I know what you mean,” she said softly, hoping he understood what that meant -- that it wasn’t just him, that she always thought he was handsome but even more so now.
“Yeah,” he replied, grin turning a little sheepish. “I’m sure their jaws dropped and their eyes bulged.” He ran a hand through his hair, shrugging one shoulder a little. “Better me than you, right? I don’t really mind anyway.” True, they’d probably tease him forever about it but he couldn’t see them not being happy and supportive for them. After all, they were his best friends and Jules always did want him to be happy.
Marty’s grin grew again, becoming almost painful from the sheer happiness and affection he was feeling. He still couldn’t believe that he was actually going on a date with Dana. He had to keep from pinching himself to see if it was a dream, both because he didn’t want to look completely ridiculous and because he didn’t want to wake up if it was.
Oh, Dana wasn’t worried about Curt and Jules not being supportive -- they were their best friends, after all, why wouldn’t they be? But just because she was certain they would be supportive didn’t mean she wasn’t also certain they would give her and Marty no small amount of shit about it. She could just hear them now -- “When were you going to tell us?” and “We totally saw this coming!” and “We’re going to have so many stories to tell at the wedding.”
“You think I’d let you deal with them on your own? What kind of girl do you think I am?” she teased, taking one hand off the wheel to take Marty’s. Running her thumb gently over his knuckles, Dana smiled at him. “I’ll come in the house with you after dinner and they can yell at us both.”
Honestly, Marty wouldn’t even mind the teasing or jokes about how long it took them or whatever else they could come up with to say. How could anything bother him when he had gotten the girl? Jules and Curt could rip into as much as they wanted, and he’d just smile back at them. With Dana at his side. It was enough to make him beam.
“You’re the best kind of girl,” he said, completely sincere. Twisting his hand a little in hers, he laced their fingers together and brought her hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand. “I think the two of us could take Jules and Curt’s teasing head on and not even flinch.”
I think we could do anything we wanted to, Dana’s mind supplied, but she didn’t say it out loud. She just squeezed his hand softly and kept smiling. “I feel kind of like it’s moving too fast if I say you’re the best person I’ve ever met, but it is true. Just -- don’t tell Holden or Jules I said that. Holden would pout at me and Jules would kill me,” she quipped.
She pulled the car into the parking lot of her favourite Italian restaurant in Irvine, but paused a moment before getting out. Looking over at Marty, she squeezed his hand so he would look at her.
“Now this I’m pretty sure is moving too fast, but...” Without finishing the thought, she leaned over the center console of the car and kissed him softly, just for a moment, before pulling away.
Marty couldn’t help the laugh that came from her statement, stroking her hand absently with his thumb. “Same goes for you too, minx,” he replied. “Don’t let Jules know I’ve been telling you you’re the best, otherwise she’ll kill me too. Or worse.” He wouldn’t put it past Jules to be at least a little bit jealous. They were the closest of friends after all.
He turned to her as soon as she squeezed his hand, and was immediately surprised by her kissing him. In his mind, it was going to be him kissing her first, and part of him might have pouted had he been in full capacity of his brain.
Instead, when she pulled away, he brought his free hand up and cradling Dana’s face. He leaned back in, kissing her slowly and purposefully. His thumb brushed her cheekbone as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, leaving another light kiss behind as he pulled back. A smile bloomed across his face as he opened his eyes, taking in her whole face as his chest felt like it was about to burst. “In my defense, you started it.”
Dana was just going to leave him with that one little kiss. That was the plan -- one kiss, with no tongue or anything, because she just couldn’t stop herself anymore. And then Marty took her face in his free hand and kissed her and how was she supposed to step away from that? She kissed back, never letting go of his hand, and for the first second after he pulled away, she leaned after him, reluctant to stop kissing him.
It took Dana a moment to respond to his statement, her brain trying to work through the rush of giddiness that was leaving her almost breathless with joy. She couldn’t stop smiling, and even though it meant she couldn’t get out of the car, she didn’t want to let go of Marty’s hand.
“Is it bad that I want to say forget the date and just kiss you forever instead?”
It was taking everything in Marty’s power not to kiss her again. He was finding that it was an activity he could become quickly addicted to. Instead he leaned his forehead against hers, smiling and just remembering to breathe. He shifted his hand to stroke her cheek with his knuckles. Really, he was perfectly content to stay right here for the rest of his life, just the way he was.
He chuckled at her question, shaking his head just slightly. “I’m just glad you’re the one who said it, otherwise you’d be accusing me of being a perv,” he countered with a slight nudge of his nose against hers and another little kiss.
“But I’d hate for anyone to accuse me of giving you a less than perfectly cliched first date.” He brought her hand up to his lips again, grinning as he pressed another kiss to it before reluctantly letting it go. Quickly unbuckling himself, he hurried out of the car and jogged around to the driver’s door, opening it and giving her a mini bow.
“My lady,” he said grandly, offering her an arm.
“I would never -- okay, no, that’s a lie, I would totally call you a perv. But I’d never mean it!” she teased, grinning into the next kiss. The grin turns into a pout the second he lets go of her hand and moves away, but they do have to go on their date, after all. By the time she’s unbuckled her seatbelt, Marty’s come around to her side of the car and opened her door. She took his arm with a laugh, stepping out of the car.
“Perfectly cliched, huh? Well, then I fully expect that Lady and the Tramp spaghetti kiss.” Instead of keeping her arm looped through his, she takes his hand again, tangling their fingers.
Marty ran his thumb over her knuckles, resisting the urge to kiss her hand again. “The Lady and the Tramp spaghetti kiss goes without saying.” To be honest, he’d give her anything she wanted and more. If he could give her the stars, he would. In the meantime, he lead her to the door of the restaurant, opening the door and allowing her to enter first. All while keeping their hands firmly held together.
“If you come up with any other cliches you want to see, let me know,” he told her with a smile after telling the maitre-de their party name. He lead her off to the side a little as they waited, absently stroking her hand in his.
Dana laughed as she followed Marty into the restaurant, ducking her head to nudge her forehead against his shoulder. “But where would we even get a quartet at this hour?” she asked, grinning, squeezing his hand softly. She felt as though she was going to burst, like her insides had turned into champagne bubbles and it was only a matter of time until she popped, so happy she could hardly contain herself.
He grinned down at her when she nudged him, squeezing her hand back. “I think I’ve got a couple of friends in the music department.” It was mostly a joke, but if she wanted a quartet, he’d sure as hell try and get one for her. Even if he had to beg and plead, bribe or blackmail. For her, he would probably move heaven and hell.
“Alright, but what about a beach? We’re at least forty minutes away from the nearest beach. How will we have our romantic barefoot walk along the shoreline?” Dana leaned against Marty’s side, resting her head on his shoulder. She hoped he knew she was joking. She didn’t need any of that for their date to be perfect -- all she needed was for him to be there, in fact. Everything else was just the icing on the cake.
His grin didn’t fade at all, he just leaned his cheek against her head. “You know, I wish you’d told me all these things beforehand,” he teased, bringing up his free hand to poke her lightly in the side. “I’d have planned better.” Not that this wouldn’t be perfect. It would be, if only because she was there with him. He brought their joined hands up to his lips. “Next time,” he promised and his lips brushed her skin with every word, “I’ll go all out and make a full day of it. You’ll get all the cliches you want.” And he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand to seal the deal.
“Excuse you, I’m the one who planned this date,” she huffed, poking his stomach and trying not to smile. “Next time it’s your turn, and I expect all the cliches ever. Roses and moonlit walks along the beach and everything.” Dana melted a little bit when he kissed her hand, the sardonic look on her face going a little bit dreamy instead. Distantly, she thought that if this was the way they were on their first date, they were going to be the sappiest couple ever.