Who: Alistair Theirin and Cullen Rutherford What: A Date When: Backdated: Saturday, February 27th. Evening Where: An Indian Restaurant Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly Status: Complete!
Alistair was still a little surprised that Cullen had asked him out. Sure, Alistair had thought that the other man was cute, when they’d met and he’d enjoyed spending time with him when they’d run into each other not too long ago, but he hadn’t expected the other man to be the one to make the first move. In fact, had Cullen not been the one to ask him out, Alistair wasn’t sure that he would have done it, because he wouldn’t have thought that the other man swung that way. Alistair’s gaydar really wasn’t very good, but then again, he could never really tell when women were interested either. With the exception of his hook up with Isabela, because there was nothing to wonder about with her. She was very straight forward like Zevran.
Cullen had said that the restaurant was casual, but Alistair hadn’t wanted to look like a schlub, but he wasn’t the best at dressing for a date and Lara hadn’t been around so he’d spent longer than was probably necessary when it came to getting ready, changing a few times before he’d finally decided on a newer pair of jeans that were just a tad bit tighter than others that he owned and a sweater that brought out the color of his eyes. Putting a leather jacket over it, he headed out to meet Cullen for their date.
Sadly, without Hawke’s advice, Cullen wouldn’t have found the courage to bring up going on a date with Alistair. He wasn’t good at this type of thing and he didn’t think of himself as being very charismatic either--though he did apparently have his charms and was cute. His ability to read people could be a trainwreck at times, and even if he’d been hoping that Alistair wasn’t against being with men, he hadn’t been sure before.
Thank God the interest was obvious now. Didn’t mean Cullen’s nervousness would go away though.
He’d planned his outfit earlier in the day with the help of Rosalie and Bran over Skype, younger brother and sister helping to steer him in a direction that would work for a somewhat casual first date. Ros thought it was important for her brother to show off, but not to try too hard. That was the important part. Bran didn’t know anything about impressing men, but he knew most women loved a put-together date, so why wouldn’t another male?
In the end, the winning outfit was a pair of dark jeans that were just snug enough, as well as a neutral plaid button-up with a red cardigan over top. This was perfectly set in Cullen’s comfort zone, though it didn’t stop him from fussing a bit, checking to make sure his hair wasn’t a mess in the mirror of his car as he parked near the restaurant. Right, well, if he didn’t get out now, he might just work himself into nervousness, which was the last thing he needed.
With a deep breath he stepped out of his car, locked it, and moved towards their date destination.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Alistair pulled out his phone to send Cullen a quick text to let him know he’d arrived. He didn’t know what kind of car Cullen drove so he couldn’t figure out if he was there that way so the easiest way was to send him a text to find out. After pressing send, he waited, anxiously for a response.
He heard his phone bing in the back pocket of his jeans and he pulled it out to find that Alistair was there for their date right on time. Not that he was hard to make out in the entrance of the little Indian restaurant. A smile curved over his lips while he approached the man, giving a little wave. “‘Ello. How are you?” And suddenly he was blushing. “Is that...what I should ask? No, maybe not. But you look...nice tonight.”
Bullocks. He hoped he wasn’t just putting his foot in his mouth.
Alistair turned when he heard Cullen’s voice and his lips turned up into a smile, “Hey. No, I think that’s okay. And I’m good. You?” Alistair’s gaze wandered over Cullen’s form then back up to his face, “You look nice too.” He noticed the blush upon the other man’s cheeks and couldn’t help but smile a little wider at that. Alistair had never thought that he’d be able to make someone blush, even inadvertently.
“I’m doing well. Thank you,” Cullen replied, unable to help the pleased little skip in his step as he turned away and moved further into the restaurant. A waitress came out to greet them with a grin, escorting them along and into an empty booth with a couple of menus. Though Cullen didn’t really need to look through it, he occupied his hands flipping it open and ordering himself a beer. Bright eyes wandered over the text, slowly back up towards his date’s face, lips still curved up into a pleased little smile.
Alistair slid into the booth across from Cullen and also ordered a beer before opening his menu, “I’m glad you asked me out tonight.” He was watching Cullen and noticed the way the other man was looking at him, “How did you know that I was...into guys?” Alistair didn’t think he’d mentioned having had an ex boyfriend to Cullen before, but it was entirely possible and he’d been too enamoured by the other man the times they’d spoken to remember.
“I wasn’t...completely sure. It was mostly a guess?” He shifted in his seat, making it squeak a little while he flipped the short menu over in his hands. He wasn’t good at this, but his siblings had reassured him he just needed to be himself, as embarrassing as it might be. He had his charms and obviously Alistair didn’t mind that he wasn’t 100% confident.
“I mean, I sorta figured only because you seemed so sweet, and I thought with the running into each other and exchanging numbers… Granted, you could’ve just wanted a friend, but even if that was the case, I thought you might let me down easy. What Hawke said…” Cullen nibbled his lip for just a moment. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t for him.”
Alistair couldn’t help but blush a little and nodded, “I guess I did come on a little….not exactly hetero. I thought you were cute and I didn’t really know how to act.” The waitress came then and brought them their drinks and asked if they were ready or needed more time. Looking over at Cullen, he raised his brows in question, “Are you ready?”
“That’s...adorable. You’re adorable,” he replied, a sweet chuckle gracing his lips. Cullen really wasn’t so sure on how he’d gotten so lucky to manage a date with a man like this, to be so happy to be out. He was even starting to relax, no anxious voice in the back of his mind saying that he wasn’t good enough and the night would go badly the further they got into dinner.
When the waitress came back to the table, Cullen ordered himself a hot chicken curry and handed the menu back. He was far too interested to see if Alistair would enjoy something more hot, or mild.
Alistair placed his own order, something not too hot and handed his menu back to the waitress as well then turned back to Cullen once she’d left and smiled, “I guess I’m not really used to this whole thing. My ex was the one who came on to me first.” As did Isabela when they had hooked up and Alistair wasn’t the least bit surprised about her and Zevran’s past in the dreams, considering how similar they were.
“How about next time...if this night goes well, you ask me out then? We’ll be even.” Confidence was a good thing. He could be confident in this, as much as he was when he was at work. But the beer would definitely help, so he grabbed his and took a deep drink before setting it down again. He didn’t let his focus sway from his companion for the night.
Some people would be weirded out by the thought of a second date so early on in a first date, but Alistair liked Cullen a lot and he had no problem with the thought of a second date, “I’m not totally opposed to a second date.” He smiled and took a swig of his beer. Unless either of them did something monumentally horrible during their date, Alistair had a feeling this was going to be a good night.