she said shut up and have dinner with me

[puppydoctor]

WHO: Sarah Manning coppelgangerand puppydoctor George O'Malley
WHERE: Nonah, NC
WHEN: 10/4
WHAT: Actual adult ~*~dinner date*~*
WARNINGS: Language, sexuality

[Hey Sarah, there's some total dork knocking on your front door. You should probably see about that, before the little bunch of flowers he's holding behind his back wilt or something.

Yeah, he's trying the Full Real Date Thing. Let's see where this goes.]

Knock knock knock.

Comments

[puppydoctor]

Yeah, no, I'm-

[He nods, trying to breathe in normally as the initial pang of the anxiety attack dulls to a plateau.]

I'm good, I just. Have a sort of vehicle... thing.

[coppelganger]

[ She wants to ask him if he's sure. If he wants to talk about it or even forget about dinner. Because he still doesn't look okay to her, and she's spent most of her life trying to observe people as astutely as possible. At this point it's second nature to her, picking up on subtle changes in breathing and body language.

So her first instinct is to stop right there on the sidewalk and ask him if he's really okay, but she crushes it down before she can act on it. He's an adult, after all, and she shouldn't pry when it's obviously upsetting him. God knows she has enough weird reactions to things herself, and with good reason. So he's got to have a good reason too. In the end she just nods, once, and squeezes his hand. ]

Okay.

[puppydoctor]

[George returns the squeeze - they're getting quite good at the holding-hands thing - and lets his shoulder bump up against hers lightly. He wishes he could just blurt out the truth, but he doesn't want to ruin this date with the dark and twisties. Not after last time. If he ever chooses to tell her about the bus, and the girl, and the elevator... Well, it won't be when they're less than a minute from sitting down to a nice, adult dinner.]

We're almost there. You doing okay?

[coppelganger]

I'm good, yeah.

[ Time to just... start over. ]

What kind of place is this?

[puppydoctor]

Oh! Sort of Italian. Italian comfort food.

[They approach the front of the restaurant - a cozy, rustic-looking comfort food place with a heavy wood door and warm orange light in the windows. It has the dim, safe feeling of a pub, which is why he picked it for her. He wants to treat her well, but he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable. He pulls the door open, holding it for her.]

[coppelganger]

[ If he's paying attention, George can probably see the relief that washes over her when she sees the place. Her shoulders relax the tiniest bit, she exhales softly, and some of the nervousness and awkwardness she's been carrying around seem to disappear. She would have gone to a fancier place if he'd asked her to, because she likes him and she can fake "belonging" well enough, but it would definitely not be in her comfort zone the way this place seems to be. ]

Italian's good.

[puppydoctor]

[He reluctantly does let go of her hand to talk to the hostess and get them a table - a little setup for two in the corner, complete with a little LED tea light. Classy. He even pulls the chair out for her.]

See, cloth napkins. That's how you know it's a nice place.

[coppelganger]

[ She takes her seat and gives him a wry smile. ]

It's a long way from Brixton.

[puppydoctor]

A long way from anywhere, really.

[He gestures to the sleek record player beside the bar.]

Still can't get used to that.

[coppelganger]

[ She follows his gesture and nods. ]

I've seen a lot of weird shit in my life, but I don't know how I feel about jukeboxes with wifi.

[puppydoctor]

Weird shit? You aren't from one of those sci-fi, superhero worlds like Qubit, are you?

[coppelganger]

[ She glances down at the table for a second before looking back up at him. ]

It's pretty normal. No superheroes. Just weird cults.

[puppydoctor]

Weird cults... ?

[George raises an eyebrow at her as the waiter brings over a couple of glasses of water.]

Is there a story to that?

[coppelganger]

Not so much a story as an ongoing pain in my arse.

[ Oh, it's totally a story. But that's for another day. She gives the waiter a quick smile when he puts her glass down, then looks back to George. ]

It's like warring factions. Science versus religion. They've even got fucked up cult names. Neolutionists and Proletheans.

[puppydoctor]

Neolutionists?

[He gives her a wary look - whatever these cults are, they already sound like a terrible idea.]

What's the central issue?

[coppelganger]

Well, neolution is all about "self-directed evolution." Messing with genetics and the way you look to create a better brand of human. Proletheans think some of the shit they've done is an abomination.

[ Spoilers, it's her. She and her few dozen genetic siblings are the abominations. ]

[puppydoctor]

Oh, wow. Eugenics on steroids.

[But while his words aren't very complimentary, his expression is apt and curious. Because this is fascinating.]

What kind of stuff have they accomplished?

[coppelganger]

I did meet a guy with a tail, once.

[ And it was gross, and he was gross, and neolution is gross. She shrugs and sips at her water. ]

Honestly, though, I couldn't tell you about the details of all the stuff they've done. It's not really my thing. Cosima kinda fell in with them for a bit, mostly 'cause her girlfriend was into it.

[ Nailed it. ]

[puppydoctor]

A guy with a tail?

[He's basically just repeating what she says at this point, because science rules and all that.]

... Guess this means we're definitely from different Earths, though. Different versions.

[coppelganger]

What about your world, what's it like?

[puppydoctor]

Nothing special. No superheroes or advanced genetic manipulation, at least not yet. Just ordinary people doing ordinary things.

[coppelganger]

I like ordinary.

[ Which is I like you in Sarahese. She can't openly admit that just yet, but she can allude to it in flirting. ]

[puppydoctor]

[He reads her meaning, and has to smile.]

Hey, if you ever change your mind I'm sure I could come up with something crazy and weird.

[coppelganger]

Yeah? It's good to have options.

[puppydoctor]

Yeah, I mean, I could always take up base jumping, or spelunking. Girls dig that kind of thing, right? Or have I just been out of the game too long?