Rapunzel's Prince thinks dwarves are upsetting. (tenfeetbelow) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-04-07 13:36:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, gwen stacy (ghost spider), rapunzel's prince |
Who: Gwen Stacy and Eddie Prince.
When: Late February
Where: Cafe
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete when Posted
So, Gwen had some spare time in the middle of her day. It was such a rare occurrence that she had a spare few minutes, so she was really looking forward to grabbing a mocha frappe thing with lots of sugar, caramel, chocolate and whipped cream. A treat today, because the break between meetings was just long enough to pop into the shop before running back to Stark Tower.
She headed into the shop and frowned at the sight of the line. It wasn’t too long, but the woman at the front was reading coffee orders from a piece of paper. Oh, God. That was never a good sign.
“Oh, God, isn’t that the absolutely worst?” said a voice close to Gwen’s ear. It was Edward, who also had nothing better to do with his time than grab a coffee. He noticed the woman with the list and noticed the girl in front of him frowning, so he knew he had a kindred spirit in her. “I hope you’re not in a hurry.”
Gwen didn’t jump at the sound of the voice, but it did startle her a bit. Her pulse increased. She turned to give a little shrug. “Not in too much of a hurry, but… I was hoping to spend my break from work enjoying my coffee and not standing in line.”
“It figures, doesn’t it? It’s only whenever you have a time limit that things like this happen.” Of course, he had all the time in the world. But it was annoying when you didn’t. “Is the coffee worth the wait?”
“It’s pretty good, yeah.” Gwen said, nodding. “It’s close to work and it’s not Starbucks, so it’s already got two checks in the plus column.” She turned to glance at him. He was handsome. “I’m Gwen.”
Well, of course he was handsome. He already knew that, though. “Then I guess I’ll hang around and wait,” he answered. Mostly, he was going to stick it out because she was quite pretty. “Edward. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” She gave him a smile. “You work around here?” She added, because small talk was the way to go when one was stuck in a semi-unfortunate situation with a stranger.
“Hmm?” Edward raised his eyebrows. “Oh - Oh, no. I don’t work. I was just out and about and my coffee need was great. So I stepped into the first spot I saw.”
Gwen paused for a moment. “...you don’t work?” She asked. That was the part of what he’d said that caught in her brain. “How does that work?”
“Nope,” he replied, looking quite pleased about it. “I mean, I guess in theory I should? I’m guaranteed a job whenever I want it, but. Why would I, though?” Edward paused. “My father is a self-made man. I’m quite wealthy. Hence the not having to work bit.”
“Ah, I see.” Gwen was a little amused by this handsome, rich stranger. She folded her arms across her stomach and gave him her full attention. “What do you do with yourself all day, Edward, if you don’t have a job to keep you busy?”
“Not very much,” Edward answered. There was such an honesty in his voice that it was nearly comical. “I just bought a house, so soon I’ll be putting most of my attention there. But, really, I live the unemployed dream.”
It was a bit comical, but more endearing than anything else. Gwen couldn't help smiling as they talked. “Congratulations on the purchase of your house.” She said, definitely impressed. “It’s not an easy market for buying, I hear it’s a seller’s dream out there.”
“Fortunately I know absolutely nothing about real estate,” he admitted, shuffling forward as the line began to move. “Don’t laugh, but I had someone else really deal with it.”
Gwen almost laughed. But he told her not to, so she bit it back. “Well, that sounds like the thing to do if you don’t know anything about real estate.” She said, nodding and moving forward with him in the line. “I don’t have the funds saved up to invest in real estate. But I’m working my way toward it. Paying off student loans.”
Edward looked genuinely sympathetic, in a way that someone is sympathetic when they have no idea how that feels but it sounds absolutely horrible. “I suppose there’s still time,” he said, unsure of what else exactly to say.
“Yes, there’s still time.” Gwen actually laughed this time. The guy was sweet. She could tell he had no idea, but he was trying to be supportive. That won him points in anyone’s game. She stepped forward when that woman with the list finally finished, but the next person in line started asking about the different types of teas. Come on.
“You going to have a huge housewarming party?” Gwen asked the rich, friendly stranger. Only slightly less strange now she knew his name was Edward.
“Oh, absolutely!” He was very enthusiastic about the idea. “I’m waiting for the weather to improve a bit, though. It’s right on the beach and I want to be able to have a proper beach party. It seems silly not to.”
“If you've got a beach, you really should use it.” Gwen agreed with a sagely nod. Finally, it was her turn to step up and order. She did so, pulling out her wallet to pay for her coffee.
“Right? That’s exactly my thought.” He realized that, in all this time, he hadn’t actually thought about what he wanted, and it was suddenly almost his turn at the register. Edward scanned the menu quickly, then glanced at Gwen as she was finishing up. “Hey, it was nice meeting you, by the way.”
Gwen smiled brightly. “It was nice meeting you, too, Edward. See you around.” Then she turned to go pick up her coffee.