what i'm really needing now

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WHO: Freddie Lounds & Kaidan Alenko
WHERE: Some bar somewhere
WHEN: Man, idek. After the summer camp fiasco?
WHAT: DATE NIGHT, AW YEAH. Or, at least in Freddie's mind it's date night. Great job not picking up on hints, Kaidan.
WARNINGS: let's be real here, probably none

The problem with dates is that kidnapping ends up pushing them back--especially when your website is dedicated to covering such tragedies/gossip generators as kidnapping. So, after a few days of frantic texts to Kaidan that sorry she couldn't make it!!! work sucked!!!, the date had been pushed back. And hey. People weren't kidnapped anymore, people weren't stuck in space, everything seemed to be going smoothly, knock on wood. The drinking date was rescheduled. And, at least in Freddie's mind, it was totally a date.

Truth be told, she was looking forward to this. She hadn't dated in ages--running a website focused on serial killers ended up eating a lot of time. So this was a refreshing break. And hey, Kaidan was cute. He was kind of oblivious and really kind of dumb, but Freddie found those traits endearing. After all, he was cute. And the fact that he didn't pick up on her flirting only made him look cuter in her mind.

Plus, he had a great ass. So help her if she was a bit shallow.

Waiting outside of the bar, Freddie was wearing a tight olive green dress, long-sleeved and obscenely lacy. Like, the whole damn thing was covered in the dark green lace. Black purse was slung over her shoulder as she fired off a rapid message on the communicator. Hearing someone approach, she looked up, spotted Kaidan, and grinned.

"I won't lie, I'm glad we're finally doing this."

Comments

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"I'm positive I'm alright," Freddie remarked, with a roll of her eyes. This was utterly ridiculous. Was Kaidan really that dense? Or did the future really have no hope for mixed signals? Frowning, she looked over Kaidan.

"Let's just cut to the chase." Since it seemed like he was completely hopeless. Was she really going to have to explain all this out to him? Apparently so. "I think you're cute. You've got a great personality, you're wonderful conversation and you've got a hot butt. I would love it if we spent the night drinking, making out, and then either going back to your place or mine for a little adult time. If you don't want to have sex, we could just drink and make out. If you don't want to make out, we can just drink and be friends." And, as if to prove her point, she waved the bartender over, gesturing for another martini.

"So, what's your choice?"

[biotically]

Kaidan paused, finally catching up that maybe she wasn't drunk.

Which made things more complicated. He wasn't a...first date kind of guy. Kaidan hadn't dated someone in so long for a number of reasons, the first of which being his career. He held his glass with his hands, and nodded to the bartender to bring him another one too. He needed the drink, now.

As much as it really only stung on the way down.

"Wow, that's...flattering. You're...beautiful, and you seem talented --" he looked down at his glass, and winced. Yeah, he was already throwing in the butts. "I'm not looking for a one night --" god, it still sounded bad. "I haven't dated in years for a reason. Maybe it's my job, or maybe I never found the right person, but...I'm in my thirties, eventually I want to...settle down. Not just...make out. As fun and great as it sounds. Being friends first sounds a lot better."

Kaidan Alenko was that kind of guy.

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Beautiful and talented? She could take that. However, as soon as Kaidan started talking, Freddie knew that the 'but' was coming. And sure enough it did. After stammering for a bit (which Freddie couldn't help but gently smile at), he continued, dashing her hopes with his words. She couldn't settle down. Because of her work, she travelled from place to place, occasionally stopping off in Minnesota to take pictures of crime scenes before returning back home to Baltimore to write up a murder. Settling down with her white picket fence and 2.5 children just wasn't in the equation.

"If that's the case, then let's just be two friends, having a drink or two. And, of course, if you ever decide to change your mind, give me a ring." That statement was punctuated by a little wink, even though Freddie knew the thought of Kaidan changing his mind wasn't going to happen. Still, she lived in hope.

[biotically]

Honestly, if Kaidan was into anything resembling just having a good time (hah) he would have probably said skip the drinks, and head back to Freddie's place immediately. He wasn't just flattering her when he said she was beautiful, she was. Kaidan was just... kind of sick of being alone every night. Then again, when you lived on a spaceship, that was kind of par for the course, but... ever since everything he'd been through as a kid, and then getting into the military, he'd thought that maybe it would be better to stay away, and then life just...passed him by. Go figure.

He'd thought things through in his head, a lot. He'd hoped that he'd find the right one but...

Well, a damn reaper invasion got in the way of those things. "Tell you what, if I change my mind, or if... if I decide that maybe it's not worth waiting for..." he shook his head. "You'll be the first one I call."

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"You don't know what you're missing, cowboy," she teased, troublesome grin on her face. That was all she could do at the moment. Flirt and smile and hope he changed his mind. She was certain she could find another one night stand if needed. But Freddie had unintentionally stopped her days of flying to Minnesota on a whim, to explore a case...could you blame her for wanting to find someone special, if only for a night or two?

And Kaidan...he was certainly someone special in her eyes.

As the bartender turned to look towards her, Freddie nodded. "Another martini for me. And I'm picking up his next drink also," punctuated with a nod of her head towards Kaidan.