Neena Thurman pours drinks, kicks ass. (fallsinplace) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-08-27 13:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, neena thurman (domino), thomas raith |
Who: Neena Thurman and Thomas Raith
What: dating
When: recently
Where: a nice restaurant
Rating: PG
Status: complete
With her bar back in business Neena was in a much more cheerful and relaxed mood. She was back to cooking most of the time, She had more energy to run with Dante, and she had something to do while Thomas was working. It made their schedules harder to sync up, but Neena made sure she was home every night to have dinner with Thomas. The bar could manage without her for two hours a night.
Tonight she had off, and they had tickets for a play and dinner reservations beforehand. Neena was a little sad that none of her sexy outfits fit anymore, but she’d planned enough ahead that she had a brand new outfit for the evening. It was looser than her normal date stuff, but still looked pretty sexy. She hoped he’d agree.
She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, smiling at herself in the mirror.
Thomas was happy for Neena--glad to see her more relaxed, and hopeful that the bar would be less dangerous than some of her other job options had been. Of course, he was just keeping his fingers crossed that no one would try to blow the place up again. But in the meantime, life was good. Lessons with Harry and Elaine were going well. Now that he knew why he was so sensitive, it was easier for him to keep himself in check. And he was very much looking forward to seeing Neena’s new outfit.
“Can I look now?”
Neena poked her head out of the bathroom, laughing at him. “One minute. I’m almost done.” She finished her lipstick and made a face at herself in the mirror before she stepped out. She was wearing a drapey shirt with a nice pair of black slacks. She had low heels on, because she needed to be a little taller to kiss him comfortably. “What do you think?”
Thomas waited, smiling when she appeared. He put his hands on her waist, and leaned down to kiss her. “It’s perfect.” Soft, and curvy, and gentle. Not words that would often be used to describe Neena, but it was a good look. “I like it.”
“Good.” It wasn’t her normal style, but it wasn’t a bad look, either. She’d have to soften up a little eventually. No kid wanted their parent to go to a meeting with their teacher in a Sex Pistols t-shirt and tight jeans. “You look pretty good yourself.” She stroked his face softly. Even months later she was so grateful to be able to touch him, to have a normal relationship with a good man for the first time ever.
Thomas smiled, and touched her chin. She was more beautiful to him than ever, these days. “We’re gonna have to be careful, or we’ll paint your lipstick all over our faces.”
“Yeah, I figure it’ll be gone after our first round of drinks, but that’s not the point.” She slid her hand down his chest and took his closest hand. “Let’s go make people jealous.”
“Let’s,” Thomas agreed, turning toward the door. “I just have one question. Do you wanna drive the Jag?”
Neena laughed, squeezing his hand. “Yeah, I really do.” He was so getting laid for that alone. “That was the best part about pretending to be you for a week.”
Thomas chuckled, and raised Neena’s knuckles to his lips. He’d noticed Neena’s fondness for his car, and figured he might as well let her drive it until she couldn’t fit behind the wheel anymore. He’d already seen what an excellent driver she was, so she was probably less likely to wreck it than he himself. “If you like it that much, maybe I’ll give it to you for a wedding present.”
Neena laughed. “You don’t need to get me a wedding present.” She grabbed his keys, tugging him closer for a real kiss. “But we will need a van.”
“I could sell the Hummer, if it ever shows up,” he mused, after kisses. “Or any of my other sports cars du jour to which we aren’t particularly attached.”
“If the Hummer has a backseat it’ll do just fine.” Neena said with a laugh. “We could use something like that. I know we won’t get anything if I trade in my truck."
"I believe it does," he said, smiling at the thought of babies strapped safely in the back of his beast. "Your truck has seen us through a lot, though. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."
“That’s true, and it has all my guns in it.” Neena said as she opened the car doors for both of them. “Though I’m kind of amused at the thought of having a gun rack in the back with the baby’s diaper bag hanging off of it, so I think we’re definitely going to need to make that happen one way or another.”
Thomas laughed. “Picket fence on the outside, amory inside. That sounds just like us.” And it sounded like just about the perfect balance between picket fence and mercenary.
“It does, doesn’t it?” She grinned at him and slid into the driver’s seat. “Let’s abuse my camaraderie with the local police. Bet I can get us to the restaurant in ten minutes.”
“All right,” he said, sliding into the passenger side. He put his seatbelt on, just because. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Neena buckled herself in and started the car with a grin. It took a little longer than ten minutes to get across town, but it was still a pretty respectable pace. She was still grinning when she found a spot and parked.
"Bravo," Thomas said, smirking as he leaned over to kiss Neena's cheek. "You are such an adrenaline junky." Not that he could talk. He still loved the rush of fast cars, and action scenes. He knew that their priorities were going to shift, but he suspected the adventure would find them somehow, even if they tried not to seek it out.
Neena laughed, and turned to kiss him fully. “I seem to remember that we fell in love in the middle of an all you can shoot orc buffet.” It was funny how that wasn’t exactly a happy memory. “So I guess I’m in good company."
"I guess you are," he agreed. "I'm glad things seem to be working out a little better than they looked like they would, back then." It seemed like ages ago, and just yesterday. "So, on a scale of one to nine months, how pregnant do you have to get to let me open doors for you?"
“I’d say we’re doing pretty well.” Neena agreed. His question made her smirk. “You can get the door for me anytime, if you beat me to it. You’ll just have to spend less time looking at my butt when we’re out together.”
“Fair enough,” he said, opening his door and sliding over the hood to try and get to Neena’s door before she got out. He knew it probably wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot, and besides, a guy had to show off for his girl every now and then. Right?
Watching him Dukes of Hazzard over the hood of his car was amusing enough to Neena to let him get her door for her. She was still laughing when she stepped out. “You’re such a gentleman.”
Thomas smirked as he pulled Neena close with an arm around her waist. One of these days, there was going to be a baby in the way, so he was taking advantage. Not that he wasn’t looking forward to the bump growing more and more noticeable, and rubbing body butter all over her...but there was plenty of time for that, later. “Can’t have you reporting back to Elaine what a lousy date I am. She’d tell Harry, and then he’d bust my balls a second time. Because of course you’d take care of that for yourself the first time.”
Neena snorted. “Yeah, because I definitely expect my dates to be nice and well behaved.” She joked, wrapping an arm around his waist as well. They could make out in the parking lot for a little bit, she wasn’t hungry enough to rush inside. She gently guided his head down, kissing him passionately. She loved these moments together. They had such busy lives, but when they were alone together there was nothing else in the world that mattered to either of them but each other.
Thomas thought of several witty comebacks, but all of them blew away like dandelion tufts when Neena's lips found his. He held her close, careful not to push her up against the car lest he smear road dust all over her new outfit. Let the dust get on his own backside, since he'd already slid over the hood. But he would not let go of these moments for all the fame or power in the world.
Neena savored the kiss, letting her body relax against his. She wished for a moment that they’d ordered in. She wanted to make the most of their time together, after all. Before she could get too sad about waiting an hour or so to sleep with Thomas the kiss broke. She had to resist the urge to look into his eyes for more than a second. She didn’t think he needed to see her soul right before dinner. It probably wouldn’t be very appetizing. “Love you,” she whispered, cupping his face in her hand.
Someday...someday, they would bare and share it all. Maybe after Thomas had a better hold on his mood swings. He concentrated on the steady pull of the earth beneath his feet, and hoped that he would feel as steady, soon. “I love you, too.”
She rested against him for a moment, enjoying the contact. “I guess we should go in, it would be embarrassing to lose our reservation because we’re out in the parking lot acting like teenagers.” She smiled up at him, then pulled away, grabbing his hand so they wouldn’t lose contact with one another.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Thomas said. Touching her made the connection he felt with her stronger, and he liked that. It helped him filter out all the other stuff, and just focus on the here and now. “I am a little hungry, now that you mention it.”
“I am too.” Neena said with a laugh. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to have to try harder to get the same days off as you.” She led the way to the door, but stopped just short. She could give up being the one with the biggest balls if it made Thomas happy.
Hand in hand, it was easy for Thomas to pick of on Neena’s cue, and grab the door. Yeah, it was a little obvious she was making a gesture, but it was sweet. He squeezed her hand, and escorted her inside. “So is the reservation under your name?”
“Yeah.” She admitted with a laugh. “I figured it was safer than making one under your name, as far as people bugging us while we eat goes.” That was the only real downside to Thomas’s job. He wasn’t as big a draw as other actors on the network, but there were a few people willing to stalk them when they went out sometimes.
“True.” He chuckled as they approached the hostess’ desk. “Two for Thurman?” It wasn’t a bad name to keep using, even if Neena decided to change her name to Raith when they were married. As long as people didn’t come looking for Uma.
Neena was ready to change her last name now. Her married name always reminded her of the things she’d lost because her first husband was a dick. Granted, it was an important step on her way to being an adult, but being reminded of his betrayal wasn’t her favorite thing.
They were led back to a small private room, because Neena didn’t want to be around a whole lot of people as they ate.
Thomas appreciated Neena’s forward thinking. It was much more intimate, more romantic this way. He almost felt like he ought to be popping the question all over again, or something. He leaned over, when they were seated and alone, and whispered, “Nice work, Mrs. Raith.”
Neena smiled widely. “I thought you’d appreciate it.” She leaned over to kiss him again, then began looking at the menu. “Will you pitch a fit if I get a glass of wine?”
Thomas sighed, but shook his head. “A small one?” He’d heard all the arguments--or read about them--but he figured the real problem was excess. “It’s not like I’m going to tell Logan. I almost hope Velma gets knocked up so he gets his karmic desserts.”
Nena snorted. “So you’re saying you more little Wolverines in the world?” She was amused at his irritation on her behalf at most of the people she was friends with. She couldn’t argue with his reasons, and she didn’t entirely mind having someone remotely sensible remind her that something was dumb and pointless.
“As long as I don’t have to babysit,” he answered with a groan. “Although…” He weighed his hands back and forth. “It might be in the best interests of the children to keep them as far away from that butthead and his harem as possible.”
Neena snorted. “He’s settled down since he got serious with Velma. He’s a jerk, but give him credit where it’s due.” She didn’t like the amount and type of girls he’d bedded before Velma, but she didn’t see a reason to hold that against him now. “I just hope his shitty luck with kids improves.” Her expression became darker at that thought.
“Where it’s due, maybe,” Thomas said, “If it’s due. But just because he’s one of the less bad guys, and not screwing everything female that moves anymore doesn’t mean he should be around kids. Or polite company.” Hell, Thomas had better control even when he was one, giant, raging hormone. And he didn’t have assholes leaping out of comic books to try and kill him and everybody close to him--knock on wood.
Thomas rubbed the edge of the table, willing himself to relax before he got worked up and started blowing lights out. “Nevermind. I’m just spinning my wheels. Hard to balance earth and water magic without making a little mud, I guess.” He winked. “But at least it’s great for the complexion.”
Neena squeezed his hand when he calmed down. It was best to let him get it out. “Things change, and people do too. He wouldn’t be my friend if I didn’t have some faith in him.” She took his hand, rubbing the back of it with her other hand. “Let’s talk about something happier, hmm? According to the Internet we might be able to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl, soon.”
Thomas shrugged. He wondered, sometimes, if Logan was really anyone’s friend--whether he’d risk his shiny metal ass for anybody else, or if they were all just trusting in the adamantium idol in vain. He’d yet to see any redeeming qualities, but maybe he just wasn’t looking hard enough. Maybe he wanted a reason to dislike the guy with extreme prejudice. So he tried to let it go...for now. And it felt like progress.
He knew they’d probably have enough on their plates, raising their own kid. Or kids. “Do you want to find out, or to be surprised?”
“I dunno. Both are good. I was surprised with Chris. I’m not really interested in that typical boy girl color stuff. If our little boy winds up wearing a pink bunny onesie at least he’ll be warm and secure in his masculinity.” She chuckled a little. “Honestly I’m really hoping for another boy. Little girls are terrifying.”
“Yeah, you are,” he said, “Maybe that’s why Cora giggles every time we have dinner with them, instead of running screaming to hide under her bed?” He waggled his brows. “My father seems to throw mostly girls, but my mom had boys. All two of us. So I guess we’ll see. Flip a coin?”
Neena snorted and fished a coin out of her pocket. “Sure. Heads for a boy, tails for a girl?” She chuckled. “I’m curious to see if this result is accurate.”
Thomas laughed. “I was thinking heads we try and find out the sex, tails we wait, but hey. I’m game to see how lucky your guesses are.”
“How about we let it happen if it happens, and if it doesn’t we don’t worry about it. Baby could be turned the wrong way the whole time, or it could be flashing us during the first ultrasound.” She flipped the coin so that it would land on the table. It landed heads up.
Thomas nodded. It was a fair deal. He wasn’t so vain as to think they could really change the outcome just by flipping a coin. He was curious, excited. But there was always an element of hurry up and wait. “I guess curiosity wins this round.”
“Yeah, and every round until it picks a career and starts a family of its own.” She said with a laugh. She smiled at the waiter and ordered a glass of wine for them both. “I’m ready to order if you are.” She said to Thomas. She tended to know what she wanted.
“I’m ready,” Thomas said with a laugh. Ordering was easy. Knowing whether or not he’d make a good father, that was another question--but he wanted so badly for the answer to be yes. He wanted so very much to get it right.
Neena thought he was ready for that, too. Even with his wizard powers making him grumpy she thought he’d be a good dad. They ordered and the waiter left. She squeezed his hand, then picked her wine up with her left hand. “To the future, whatever it brings.”
Thomas raised his glass to hers, and he felt a peace, deep down, that when the time came, he would be ready. “To the future.” He winked. “Yours, mine, and ours.”