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 Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:18 pm
[[This takes place on Valentine's day!]]
Kaida sighed, sinking into the warm softness of the coffee shop's couch, watching people go by outside. It was cold, and all the couples passing by made her feel...well, a little melancholy. She didn't mind being single, in fact, she reveled in the freedom it gave her. But she hadn't even managed to get a date for the day. Not even with a friend. Emily Wren had a boy she was going out with. Matt had a lady he was courting. Yuki had gone out with a bunch of his classmates. [Something about it being a yearly tradition for the Nerd Herd that he and Matt had been invited to, and only he was going because Matt had a date.]
Even her horde of cousins was unavailable.
So there she was, alone, in a coffee shop, drowning her loneliness with a white chocolate strawberry mocha. "Valentine's Day sucks."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:00 pm
"Couldn't agree more," Albert responded,taking a seat nearby with his own honey macchiato in hand. He offered an awkward, shy smile to the petite blonde and glanced out the window. "I... er... hope you don't mind the intrusion?" He offered, fidgeting. "Even from ... ah, someone who..." Had such an awkward encounter with her before? How could he word that appropriately? Was it even possible? "I'm not overly fond of this holiday myself," the doctor admitted, steam from his cup fogging up his glasses as he cupped it in his hands. "It likes reminding me that I'm... not a student with hearts in my eyes any more."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:21 pm
Kaida blinked, then smiled and shook her head. She hadn't expected to encounter Dr. Wiley there!
"I don't mind at all!" She shifted a bit to better look at him. "It's nice to see you again, Dr. Wiley." He was nice to talk to! And so very bright. "I don't generally mind this holiday but..." She sighed. "This year, I don't even have my friends or family to hang out with, really. So it's...a bit of a downer." She gave him a soft smile. "Chin up, though. You're not so old you can't have hearts in your eyes again someday. I've seen wrinkled old ladies find new partners, I'm certain you'll find someone, too."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:23 pm
Oh. Oh no. She didn't. She didn't. Except she had, and Albert's grip on his mug tightened, and it was only a few deep breaths that kept him from squeezing it tightly enough to spill hot coffee all over himself, the couch and the floor. 'not so old...'not so old...'...so old...' '...old...'"Excuse me," he said, holding onto his politeness with all the force of will that he had left on him. "But I am nowhere near OLD." He wasn't going to snap. He wasn't. He could be polite, and calm, and restrained and - and... "I'm not old!" Oh god he was starting to cry now. How could she imply that? Did he look old now? He didn't have that much gray in his hair yet, even with having to look after Emily Wren and her tendency to run off and get into trouble... surely he didn't look old! How could he look old? LIFE WASN'T FAIR AND IT HATED HIM!
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:28 pm
Kaida couldn't help but blink. And then...well, she managed to put her cup down on the table in front of her before laughing. She didn't normally laugh so openly, but...the way Dr. Wiley was acting...
She couldn't help but laugh.
"I...I didn't say you were old!" It took her a moment to get her composure back, and then she looked to him, still giggling now and again. "I more implied you were young. Or younger. I mean...'old' is a state of mind, so far as I can tell. And it's one you certainly don't have."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:39 pm
She was - she was laughing? At him? Oh no, this was worse than the encounter in the lecture hall! Albert slumped in his seat, barely managing to save his coffee by setting it down before he buried his face in his hands and moaned.
"I'm ruined. Ruined again. Ruined and old and dried uuuuuuup!"
This was humiliating, and awful, and couldn't he say or do anything right around this little blonde?
Peeking through his fingers at her, he sniffled.
"...you swear you weren't calling me old? I'm not nearing forty yet you know, I'm really not."
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 8:21 am
"Oh you are not ruined." He was as bad as Kimi! "You're perfectly fine, Dr. Wiley. If you don't think you're old, then you aren't. It's as simple as that." She pointed at his hair. "And greys are hardly a sign of age. Hell, most of the women on my mother's side are silver by thirty-five. Personally, I think I will rock it. Or maybe I'll dye it like...rainbow-colored or something." She shrugged.
"So..." She reached to grab her coffee again. "What brings you out here on this cold Single's Awareness Day?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:22 pm
Would he ever stop embarrassing himself in front of this young woman who was barely more than half his age? Albert knew himself (and his bad habits) well enough to admit that no, he probably wouldn't. At least the young lady didn't seem offended by his tendency toward theatrics, which was in and of itself something to be thankful for. "Ah," he stammered awkwardly, hands going to cup his drink again as he flashed her an embarrassed, fairly uncertain smile. "I suppose you're right. And I am... terribly sorry that we never seem to meet when I'm at my best." No, both of their encounters so far had been far from his best. Not quite his worst, maybe, but he simply couldn't seem to hold his charm together around Kaida. The first time he could definitely pin down on having witnessed her, ah, show the night before. But this time? No, this time was just plain ridiculousness. One of these days the shame really was going to kill him.
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:17 am
"That fine. Not only can no one be at their best all the time, sometimes...it's best to meet people when they're a little off their game." She gave him a warm smile. "It makes it easier to make friends with the real them." Made it easier to find them endearing, too. And for all that he was theatrical...he was endearing. And cute.
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:33 pm
"Ah, but they can be disconcerting, and then when you meet them at their better you might end up confused by the change in their demeanor," Albert countered, taking a sip of his drink. Mmm, honey. Starve the bees out, terrible beasts that they were. "Wouldn't you prefer to meet someone under both conditions if at all possible?" Was he really debating meeting people with a young lady? On Valentine's Day? ...What was his life?
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:56 pm
"Perhaps. Either way...I'm rather certain I haven't seen you at your worst, either. You're simply...you." She sipped at her coffee, giggled. "A very intelligent, emotional man with a gift for speech and the sense to know when to dress well and dress down."
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:16 pm
"If this isn't my worst, then I'm not quite certain I ever wish for you - or anyone to see me at that moment," Albert murmured and a blush began to color his cheeks as her compliments kept going instead of stopping after a reasonable one or two. "You, my dear, are far, far too kind - and flattering - for your own good."
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:22 pm
"Ah..." She ducked her head a bit. "I've...I've been told that before. But..." She looked up at him a bit shyly. "I prefer to see the good in people. And the world around us tries to drag us down so often that...why not hear, truthfully, the good about ourselves now and then? And...well, it makes up for when I'm at my worst." She tended to be very, very bitey and cruel when she was at her worst.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:23 am
"That is... rather a nice thought, miss... Kaida, wasn't it?" Albert said, and couldn't help the smile that her words brought to his face. "And I'm certain that however you are at your worst, you are a wonderful - and very wise - young lady." He sipped at his coffee again, then groaned. "Listen to me! Spouting things like that does make me sound like an old man. Tell me, quickly - did any more of my hair turn gray in the last ten seconds? This is a serious question so answer honestly!" Was he being dramatic again? Yes. But for some reason... it didn't embarrass him quite so much this time.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:38 am
"Mmhm." There was something about the way her name sounded when he said it that made her warm, and then she raised a brow. And proceeded to do her best to hold a straight face. "I don't see any more grey than I did a few minutes ago. You're safe from the grey monster, good doctor." She said it completely seriously...and then devolved into giggles. "I'm sorry, Doctor Wiley. But...really, I don't see any additions to your greys."
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