historyhappens | [date night

They'd made a deal, and whilst it was a strange way to arrange a date, Dakin didn't mind. It had worked after all, and here he was, meeting her in the lobby of her building ready for an evening out. What they were doing was still up in the air. His date was simple and he hoped romantic enough to win her approval. He'd ordered dinner from a local cafe, packing it away along with a bottle of nice wine that Bubba had insisted he take when he said the word date. Never to throw away an advantage, he'd accepted it happily, only stopping to pick up a flower, a single gerbera like the ones he'd sent her just a few weeks before.

He'd said to dress casually, and so he was, a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. To be honest, Dakin couldn't remember the last date he'd had and he was nervous, actually nervous. It was a strange feeling.

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From:

lookedafter

She isn't used to dates. She isn't used to anything resembling normal. Her life had been far from normal for the past few months, and now that it really does feel as though everything is shifting back towards the life of a normal teenage girl, Elena doesn't completely know how to handle it. She can still remember how to get ready for a date, though, to pick out a nice sundress and do her hair and her makeup. She's still wearing the vervain necklace under her dress, though. There are some rules she's not completely willing to break, not even for a nice evening out with a boy who's interested in her, who she's interested in.

She makes her way down to the lobby where they'd agreed to meet, the sound of her sandals against the floor announcing her presence before she appears from around the corner, greeting him with a small smile. "Hi."

From:

historyhappens

There's a brief temptation to say something utterly tacky such as imagine seeing you here but he quells it. Thankfully, he thinks as he holds out the flower, his smile wide and honest. "You look lovely."

Has this been what he's missed in Sheffield? Instead of having girls falling for him, is this having to work for things better? Dakin can't rightfully say at this point, but he's willing to give it a chance. He's not sure if he should kiss her, so settles for leaning in and brushing his lips over her cheek. "Ready? I can't promise excitement but I can at least promise decent food and wine."

From:

lookedafter

"You will be pleased to know that I have not killed your flowers, either," Elena points out, taking the one he offers her and smiling appreciatively. "It was touch and go for a while there, but I think they're going to get at least a few more days of life."

She's mid-sentence when he leans in and kisses her cheek, and she's turning halfway so the kiss lands somewhere closer to the vicinity of the corner of her mouth, but she doesn't shy away, despite the initial surprise of it. Instead, she lingers, her smile growing. "That's pretty exciting in itself," she says.

From:

historyhappens

"Impressive," he admits, his smile strangely shy and likely a bit odd on his face. Elena does something to him, and whilst he's never quite a stunned mullet, Dakin can't ever manage the smoothness he's used to. "I'd likely have killed them within a day."

That she liked them goes unmentioned, he's happy enough and doesn't need to dwell on it. Does he? He dislikes this second guessing and decides his instincts are the best way to go. Holding an arm out for her, he hooks the basket over the other. "I thought we'd head back to the beach."

From:

lookedafter

Sometimes being in the city can feel largely overwhelming; it's the beach, with its open stretch of sand and warm air and the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline, that makes her feel a little closer to home somehow, and it's somehow where all the significant moments in her life here have happened. Elena doesn't know if there's any way for Dakin to know that, but she smiles anyway, linking her arm through his.

"That sounds perfect," she replies, her other hand holding the flower securely but not gripping it tight enough to snap the stem. She even lifts it to her nose, smelling it briefly. "I'm glad we're doing this."

From:

historyhappens

For Dakin the beach is simply something unusual. Sheffield had canals and a river but no beach and being able to simply walk down to one is a novelty. There's a romance there that he can recognise, seeing now what poets and painters might have. Cliched perhaps, but things became cliches for a reason and it's something he's willing to risk.

"Even more perfect than the date you've planned?" He hasn't forgotten this is a two way deal, that the false competition they've set up is what has given them the reason or rather excuse to be here. He tucks her arm close, his pace easy as they head out of the building and down the streets of Darrow. "I am too."

From:

lookedafter

"Well, I thought I'd give myself a chance to one-up you next time around," Elena declares, her skirt swirling around her legs as they walk slowly but at an even pace. It's a little easier for her to hold stride with him, and she's definitely more grateful that she's opted to wear sandals so she can slip them off once they get to the sand.

"If that's alright with you, anyway." She glances over and up slightly to put him in her field of vision, smiling at him.

From:

historyhappens

"I'd hate for you to hold back just because you think I need to win, by the way. I want you to go all out." In a way this simple date was his idea of all out. It was a drastic change from all of his original ideas, once he realised that Elena didn't so much seem the type of girl who wanted white linen service and sixteen forks to choose from. It wasn't so much Dakin's style either, though he might pretend to it, he'd never been able to afford that sort of thing.

"I considered organising a concert or some such silliness, but I thought that would give me unfair advantage."

From:

lookedafter

"Oh, I have no intentions of letting you win," Elena declares, giving him a playfully fierce look as she narrows her eyes, squeezing his arm once. It was a fun competition, and one she had no problem with indulging in, or allowing her streak to come out.

"Maybe I have a few unfair advantages of my own," she adds.

From:

historyhappens

"You mean like your amazing," he glances downward with a lascivious before looking up to meet her eyes suddenly all innocence again, "eyes?"

Dakin fully expects she'll swat him, but doesn't mind. He tugs her down a side street, the water reflecting the light at the end of the road. "I fully expect you to do your best, and for the better man to prevail."

From:

lookedafter

She grins, pressing her lips together firmly to keep it from spreading too obviously as they duck down a side street together, unable to resist nudging him briefly.

"Or woman," she feels the need to interject, lifting her chin proudly. "And we'll see who comes out on top at the end."

From:

historyhappens

"Oh-ho, so a woman could come out on top? How very modern of you Miss Gilbert," he teases, his smile not checked in any way. Dakin pulls her toward him, happy to pause in the street in order to look down at her with that grin and to press a quick kiss to her forehead. "I think I might like being on the bottom."

From:

lookedafter

"What? You know that wasn't what I was - " She found herself cut off completely mid-thought as he leaned in, closing the distance to brush his lips over her forehead, and that warm contact was enough to make her blush.

"Well, it'd probably be good for you," she added, clearing her throat subtly.

From:

historyhappens

It was enough, he thinks, stepping back with a smile. Dakin shifts, slipping his arm about her waist as they move down toward the beach. "It probably would. I likely need to be taken a step down more than anyone I know."

Honest but he's trying that now, trying to be honest with her. "Have you decided anything about here? School, work?"

From:

lookedafter

When they reach the start of the sand, she pauses to step out of her shoes one at a time, bending over slightly to pick them up, the straps dangling from her fingertips.

"It feels strange to go back to school, after - well, a lot had happened before I came here and it wasn't exactly the kind of stuff that made homework seem like much of a priority. Maybe I should just take that as a sign that sitting in a classroom all day isn't for me."

From:

historyhappens

Dakin does the same. The shoes he was wearing get tossed into the basket he's carrying on his other arm, his hand held out for hers to do the same.

"I keep looking at the classes," Dakin shrugs, "I can't imagine taking them. So I keep working for Bubba."

From:

lookedafter

"I can't get over the fact where you work for a guy with a name like that," Elena admits, ducking her head to hide a quickly growing smile.

"You think he might still be hiring? At this point, I'll take almost anything."

From:

historyhappens

"A bit of a stereotype isn't he?" He laughs, he has to, the situation is comical no matter how he thinks about it. "Likely, especially if I take some classes at Uni. I will say, you better have a strong stomach for stories about the great american dream, or rather, his ride across it."

From:

lookedafter

"Just a little bit," Elena agrees, her smile still prominent when she lifts her gaze to his face, her arm resting lightly in his.

"So you're thinking about heading back to school now?"

From:

historyhappens

"I don't know." He doesn't know. For the first time since he can honestly remember he's not known. It's a terrifying thing, but he can't admit that, ever to Elena. "It just seems like what I should be doing."

Dakin stops when he hits the sand, curling his toes into it. This place, the warmth and the heat of the summer days is something he's getting used to a lot faster. "Even here, even not knowing what's going on, going to school has been my life the last two years."

From:

lookedafter

"I know the feeling," Elena murmurs, glancing somewhat reflectively out into the distance, at the stretch of beach out in front of them and the waves crashing over the shoreline a little further out. Her voice is faint, a few pieces of hair stirred by the warm wind to brush over her cheek.

"And once you lose what you've always known - you feel lost, somehow. Uprooted. You don't know what direction you should move in, what feels right."

From:

historyhappens

There's little Dakin can say to that other than agree. He's turned to watch her, pushing back a strand of hair that the wind has blown across her face. "We have to find our own way, and it's not always easy, is it? With the absolute freedom?"

He twists that piece of hair around his finger, letting it twirl and fall off. With the water crashing against the beach as the tide comes in, with the warmth of the sun on them Dakin finds himself feeling out of place, looking for something he knows. "You're beautiful. Have I mentioned that lately?"

From:

lookedafter

"It's almost a little overwhelming, because you have all these options laid out in front of you and it feels like it should be so simple," Elena admits, shrugging both shoulders. "But it's not simple. It couldn't be further from simple."

She looks over at him when he reaches across to push her hair out of her face, smiling slowly. "I think you might have said it once or twice before, actually," she says.

From:

historyhappens

"If only going to Darrow Uni was the simple answer. Picking up our lives from where they were before." But there's none of that. If that were an option they wouldn't be here now. "Or six or seven times?"

From:

lookedafter

"Has it been six?" she asks, playing it innocently as she lifts her head to eye him with a similar smile.

"I don't think I've been counting them, but if you say it's six, I guess I have to take your word for it."