Gwen Stacy (chocolate_house) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-22 22:54:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, gwen stacy (ghost spider), michael glass |
What is that supposed to be?
Who: Gwen Stacy and Michael Glass
When: Early September, Friday, Noon
Where: Deli across from Stark Tower
What: Lunch Date It’s not a date.
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Gwen looked nice. She was still at work, not like, wearing a fancy party dress or anything. But she looked nice. She’d done her hair and her make-up a little bit spiffier than normal today. If she was going on a lunch not!date with Michael the Archangel she had to look her best, right? Right??
Not that she was harboring a crush on him, or anything. But it’d been a while since Gwen had been… had felt that way. About anyone or anything. She’d gone on a few dates in the last few months, mind. She went out with Fred Weasley, then with Anakin Skywalker… but those never went anywhere. Not that she was expecting this to go anywhere. It was just lunch. Not a date.
She was excited for it, nonetheless. Excited to pretend like it might be a date.
At exactly noon, Gwen was leaving the Stark Tower lobby to head to the crosswalk and visit the deli on the opposite street.
Michael had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t a date but he still put a little more effort into what he was wearing that day before heading out to meet Gwen for lunch. He hadn’t been to the deli they were meeting at before but it had been easy enough to find once he’d located Stark Tower.
He saw Gwen through the window as she was making her way across the street and even from the distance he thought she looked great. He was already smiling at her and standing up when she opened the door to the deli so that he’d be sure she saw him at the table he’d grabbed for them. “Hey,” he told her casually. “Anybody ever told you that you give good directions?”
Oh, Goodness. Why did Michael have to be so damn attractive? The blush was on her features by the time she entered the place and turned to face him. She hoped he wouldn’t notice. Gwen shrugged, smiling warmly as he stood to meet her. “It’s not like it’s a hard place to find,” she countered, though she was flattered and blushing slightly just the same. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long?” She added, then moved to sit with him at the table he’d chosen.
Michael couldn’t help but notice the slight blush that was on Gwen’s face and there was a part of him that couldn’t help but notice how pretty the little flush of color made her. Although that same part of him thought she was pretty even when she wasn’t blushing. He gave himself a mental shake at that thought, trying to remind himself that he was just looking to develop a friendship. He shouldn’t be thinking about his friends as pretty the way he was Gwen. “Just about everything here is hard for me to find the first time Gwen,” he told her honestly. “Only a few minutes,” he told her, wondering if he should have offered to get her chair or something. Would that have made it too date like? “I didn’t know what you’d want to drink so I told the waitress to come back when you got here”
“That’s fine.” Gwen said, giving him a smile. She slipped into the chair and hung her purse over the back, just as the waitress came back over. “Did you have time to decide what you wanted?” She added.
The waitress knew Gwen by her face and order, but not necessarily her name. “Tuna salad, Diet Coke?” She asked, giving Gwen a grin and jotting it all down on her notebook, then she turned to Michael to take his order.
After nodding to the waitress to confirm her usual was what she wanted today, Gwen simply grinned as she shrugged. “I guess I come here a lot.”
“I’m thinking about getting the chicken salad. Is it any good here?” Michael asked, returning her smile without looking at the waitress as she came back to their table. He wasn’t trying to be rude, he just wanted to make it clear that he was asking Gwen not the employee.
He laughed at the shrug she offered him, not cruelly but in a way that was obviously amused. “It’s close to where you work. If I had to leave to find food, I’d probably pick a place within walking distance of the Bakery.”
He turned to look at the waitress as he placed his order for a chicken salad and a regular Coke, trusting Gwen’s judgment since she’d been here before.
Gwen nodded, blushing a bit as Michael wouldn’t take his eyes off of her. Did he have any idea how intense they were? How amazing? “The chicken’s my second favorite. I love the way they toss the capers in there.” She said, lifting her hands and making funny motions like a squirrel or raccoon eating.
The waitress jotted it all down on her pad, then turned and wandered off to get their food going with the chef in the back.
Gwen watched her go for a moment, then brought her eyes back to Michael. “Right! Right the bakery. How’s working there treating you? I love it there. It’s like my second home.”
Michael had to force himself to tear his eyes away from Gwen when she started to blush, using checking the menu one last time as an excuse even though he knew what he was going to order. What was it about Gwen that made being around her so comfortable for him? She was the opposite of most of the girls he’d dated so why couldn’t he get enough of hanging out with her? He looked back at her when he heard her voice and couldn’t help but grin at the motions she was making. “What is that supposed to be?” he asked her, amusement plain on his face as he kept watching her.
He barely noticed the waitress leaving as he tried to come up with a good answer to her question about his job. “I’m still loving it. Audrey’s awesome and I get along with my co-workers. Especially Izzy, she’s becoming a really good friend. And you should come in more on my shift since it’s your second home and all that,” he said unable to resist the opportunity to extend the invitation. “I got to meet Merlin the other day which was cool. I’d been hearing about him from the girls so it was nice to put a face to the name. He’s a nice guy, had some nice things to say about you when we found out we both knew you.”
“How’s your job going?” he asked her as the waitress came back with their drinks and left again. He kind of liked that she wasn’t lingering at their table for things. If it kept up, it would give him and Gwen plenty of time to talk over her lunch hour.
Even though this was just lunch, and not a date, it was going rather well. Gwen was just happy to have the eye candy. She was going to have to email Claire and thank her for introducing them. Sorta. This was a weird situation. Well, it wasn't like Gwen and Michael were dating or anything. Maybe Gwen would have to email Claire to get more info about Michael. Like... wasn't he seeing someone?
Gwen laughed, then waved her fingers in the air once more. "Jazz hands?" She offered, playfully, then shook her head a bit. "Don't mind me." What a silly thing to do. At least he was grinning. Hopefully not laughing at her, but with her?
"Hey, I'll definitely come in during your shift. I normally stop by in the mornings on my way to work... but I've never seen you there. Do you work afternoons, or something?" She asked. Talking about his job was more interesting than talking about hers. They could come back to that later.
Michael was definitely not laughing with her, not at her. Something about it just struck him as adorable. And it was nice to be around somebody who could just cut loose and do something silly like that. Especially since it felt like forever since he’d just been able to relax and laugh with someone like this. “That was probably the cutest thing I’ve seen in weeks Gwen,” he told her hoping it would make her feel less self conscious if she did.
“Audrey hired me mainly for night shift. Which works out fine for me because it keeps me free during the day for my music career. Go to meetings with executives, things like that. Leaves me free to just take care of whatever I need to. Plus, I’m more of a night owl anyway,” he told her laughing a little at himself. It was true, he’d always come more alive once the sun went down.
Ohmigosh… he called me cute. Wait, was that cute? Or he was calling what I did cute? Gwen went rather pink when he said it was the cutest thing he’d seen in weeks. She was grinning like an idiot now, and gave a very bashful shrug. It took her a moment to collect herself again. He was so handsome, so flattering, so wonderful? Now she was starting to develop a crush. Dang.
“That’s really great.” Gwen said, finally composing herself. “I mean, that the schedule works out so that you’ve got free time to do the things you love. Do you have many meetings with executives?” She was now more curious about his music career, and trying to get away from the ‘cutest thing’ comment that made her blush so badly.
Michael took a sip from his drink to give himself a chance to try and figure out what he was up to here. His break-up with Eve hadn’t been that long before but here he was sitting here, flirting with Gwen. And it wasn’t the same way he flirted with other girls, that was just to pass the time most days and teasing. He meant it when he said Gwen was cute. Well what she’d done was cute. The word he’d used to describe her would have to be beautiful.
“And Audrey’s pretty flexible if I’m running late from one of the meetings. Just wants me to get there as soon as I can. I haven’t had too many meetings lately but I’m staying optimistic. I went to check out Draco’s set at the Bakery when I had a Thursday night off and he and I talked afterwards. He said he’d drop my name to some people see if I couldn’t get some more gigs, more exposure. Just keep my name circulating while I’m waiting for them to do whatever it is they’re going to do,” he told her, his excitement growing as they talked about music.
Well, that escalated quickly. Suddenly this lunch between prospective friends was feeling more and more like a date. Which wasn’t his intention. Was it? It definitely wasn’t hers. Gwen had to keep reminding herself that she wasn’t here for a date. She was here … for what? To get to know the Archangel Michael better? To sit and stare at the eyecandy? She was quickly finding that there was more to him than the beauty, and she liked it.
“That’s great! Draco? I don’t know Draco. I know he performs at the bakery, but I’ve never seen it.” Gwen said, nodding. “Are you going to record some music? Do you write your own, or perform covers?” There was nothing wrong with covers. Gwen liked those just as much as original music for the most part.
Michael hadn’t meant for this lunch to be anything but a chance to get to know a new friend better. But the more he and Gwen talked, the more it felt like this lunch could turn into something more. And when it came right down to it, he didn’t mind if it did turn into a date. Gwen was nice, funny, easy to be with. There didn’t seem to be any drama about her and he thought he could get used to that very easily.
“I didn’t either until I went down to hear him play. He’s a nice guy. You should come with me next time I’ve got a Thursday night off. He’s really good. It’d be fun,” he told her the invitation coming out so easily he didn’t even think about it until it was out there. “We could grab dinner before or after if you wanted,” he added. Dinner, dinner was definitely more of a date than lunch was but he didn’t let himself worry about that.
Her question about his music brought his attention back to their conversation at the same time as the waitress brought their orders to the table. “I’m hoping to record some. It’s why I came out here. Things just aren’t moving as fast as I thought they would. Apparently there’s a lot more involved in launching a full-time career than I expected. But I’m enjoying it. I do a little bit of both actually. I’m trying to write more though,” he told her, thanking the waitress before she walked away from the table.
“Yeah, that sounds great.” Gwen said, giving a little nod. Her heart was thundering at the idea of going out with him, like, on a date date. Not a lunch-time, hanging out of two people, friends-of-frends and all that, but a sit-down-to-dinner, go-see-live-music kind of thing. It sounded perfect. But maybe that was reading too much into it.
Gwen sat up a little when the waitress brought their food, and gave a gentle “thank you” as the waitress retreats. It looked good. This place was a good choice for lunch.
They ate and talked for a bit, Gwen asking questions about Michael’s music career, and then answering questions about her own work. She found his life to be more interesting than her own--all she did was go to work, come home, watch tv, and sleep. At work she helped to maintain and build new (when necessary) the network at Stark. She worked with Merlin, who she mentioned was getting married on Halloween, and she was asked to be his “best man.”
The check arrived before they knew it, and Gwen reached to snatch it and pay for their meals.
Michael couldn’t help but grin when Gwen agreed to go with him the next time he had a Thursday off. “I’ll text you next time I’m going to be off for it so we can make our plans,” he told her. He’d made a date with Gwen. Granted a tentative kind of date since it hinged on his next Thursday off but still. It was a date.
The sandwich he’d ordered tasted as good as it looked and before he knew it they’d both finished and the check was being set on the table. As quick as Gwen moved to grab it, Michael was just a little faster. “My treat remember? To make up for an awkward first impression,” he told her getting his debit card out of his wallet and signalling to the waitress that he was ready to pay.
“This was a lot of fun Gwen,” he said as the waitress returned to get his signature on the receipt, adding a nice tip without hesitating. He stood up from the table, sliding his wallet back into his pocket as he did so. He stood there for a minute, looking at her as he tried to decide whether he should hug her or not. He finally made up his mind to just go for it and gave her a quick hug.
"Okay." Gwen wanted to add something like 'I can't wait' or 'I'm looking forward to it,' but she didn't want to seem... what, desperate? Then the waitress came and they were eating, and she wished she could have said something to make herself sound a little more excited. But maybe nonchalant was good.
She chuckled as he grabbed the check, then lifted her hands up. "Okay, okay, you're right. Your treat." She gave him a warm smile and leaned back in her chair. It went by too fast, she decided, and she was very much looking forward to the next time she'd get to see him. She stood, waited for the awkward moment, and returned his quick hug. (Okay, so she may have lingered for a moment longer than a 'quick hug', but not too long to make it awkward.) "We'll do it again soon."