Welcome to Gaia! ::

t had taken nearly four months for them to get an actual date together. After a great night at the museum for the valentine's date night Pat had kept in touch with Fiona through text and calling, even the occasional Skype but between their two schedules an honest to god date was just impossible. Finally it seemed like the heavens were smiling on them, they both had lunch off, well technically Pat bribed a coworker to take his noon shift, he would be covering his night shift. He tossed her a text to confirm the time and place… it never hurt to check with the girl to make sure she still wanted to see your a** the next day.

With the date confirmed he made his way to the cafe early and got a decent spot at a outside table. With the weather being so nice, outside was a good choice… the sunny sky, warm air, and slight breeze made people watching perfect. He absently fiddled with the half dozen daisies he brought with him as he waited for Fiona, absently watching people pass by.

Pat felt decidedly underdressed in his simple -color- t-shirt and bluejeans against Fiona’s skirt and blouse, hell she was even wearing heels while he had on sneakers. He should have dressed up more but it was too late now, at least his clothes were clean and not raggety. “Well don't I feel shabby.” He smiled at her kiss and got up to pull out her chair. “My momma taught me well.”

Once she got settled he handed the majority of the flowers to her, keeping just one. “I hope you like them, my neighbor picked them when she heard I was heading out on a date. Apparently storebought just wouldn’t do.” The little old lady who lived next door had a serious green thumb and treated her plants like her babies. She always said that unlike her own kids, the plants would always be there for her. He liked to stop by every so often to check up on her and just give her someone to chat with, this time she was the one to stop in on him to just say hello. When she had heard about his plans she gladly gave him some of her prized blooms.

Strangely now that he was sitting across from Fiona, Pat was finding himself feeling a bit nervous. Even after weeks of talking this lunch felt a little more personal, intimate almost. After clearing his throat nervously the tall redhead fell back onto polite conversation, “So how has your day been going? It seems like the weather has finally turned nice, summer will likely be sweltering though.”

“I will be sure to let her know. Mrs. Lawson will be ecstatic to know you like them,” His smile was genuine and surprisingly sweet for someone who didn’t mind knocking a few heads together when there is need. “I wouldn’t be surprised if next time she gives me more or something different. She might dote on her plants but I think she loves it when people appreciate them even more.” Pat really did need to spend some time with his nextdoor neighbor, it also never occurred to him that he did just imply that there would be at least one more date.

“That's great. So that means the project is coming along proprly? What exactly are you up to with your project?” They might have touched on it a time or two during their talks but nothing really beat a face to face when it came to really seeing how one felt about something close to their hearts. It honestly was one of the reasons he kept his cosplay habit mostly confined to cons, the web, and the occasional event like the starwars think a little while ago. He hadn’t even mentioned it to Fiona, didn’t want to give her the wrong impression. With a mental shrug, both for the pinch of guilt on not telling her about his less than appropriate hobbies, naimly the cosplay and the musicals, and the mental deviation he had just gone on. “Spending a day in the park is always a good idea, doubly so when you're doing something you love.” Although personally Pat would have picked the state park over a city park since everything seemed so much more… clipped in a city park.

“Ditto,” He didn’t get a chance to say more before the waitress arrived. With their orders taken care off, and the waitress walking off sniffing the remaining daisy, he turned his attention to Fiona’s question. “Oh well, today was pretty uneventful. You know… errands mostly. I’m working the night shift for the next week sadly but that is part of the territory so needed to get some stuff done in the daylight.” The redhead shrugged and sipped at his tea, “your day sounds so much more interesting. Meetings and contractors and projects, so much better then my laundry, cleaning, laundry, shopping, laundry… oh, and did I mention laundry?”

“Thats a great idea. Kinda like my cousins’ place… except he just has a really well stocked medical drawer in the kitchen. Well used too since his daughter is a real scraper.” Pat’s smile was full of amusement and cheer. He really did like her idea even if a whole wing for medical was a bit excessive but he knew just how stressed the city hospital, clinics, and even his cousin’s kitchen drawer was, so the more prepared she was the better as far as he was concerned. “Granted they didn’t really have to build on to accommodate guests but they might have too if they adopt anymore people.”

“I’m pretty handy with a hammer and saw if you ever need the extra hands,” the redhead offered. He was known to be more reliable in fixing little things in his building then the supper, to the point where most of the building just texts him first but he was well aware of his shortcomings and anything much more than a blown lightbulb or a leaky faucet and the supper had to be called. Not that a lot more then that seems to go wrong in the building, luckily.

When Fiona mentioned the shorter daylight hours that Pat would be dealing with he shrugged sadly. It meant that finding a time for another face to face date was going to be hard again. “We can always do lunch or early dinner before I have to go in.” He didn’t suggest doing anything after work since he wasn’t always fit to be around depending on how the shift went. Sometimes he just wanted to go home and sleep. Other times he had run off his anger with a few hours of jogging in the park closest to his building. Either way he wasn't the best person to be around. He mentally shook off the momentary melancholy, “nah. I’m just a glorified taxi. Best part of my job is making people move with the seiren. And believe me if I didn't need clean clothes I wouldn't have done it. How can something so trivial take so much time?”

“Don’t I know it,” Pat muttered ruefully. His life practically revolves around fights, from work to his ‘extracurricular’ activities. If he didn't see someone bloody at least once a day then it was a good day. At Least the nightly jaunts in the city didn't normally result in serious damage, for now, knock on wood. He tried to stick to the less populated areas on nights he wasn’t actively training with his cousins but finding the time to balance work and life was hard, let alone tossing in the insanity that was a ‘caped crusader’.

Brushing off the bad vibes the redhead scooped up the menu and opened the laminated pages. “That's good because it never hurts to have someone versed in first aid on a construction site.” He smiled at her before glancing at the two pages of simple sandwiches and salads. Sadly they didn’t offer burgers, not that he really needed one. “I can imagine. Those home improvement shows seem chaotic as it is, at least they make running the madness seem easy.” They weren't his favorite kind of shows, his shows tended to be more oldies and anime, but he had caught a few. “It always seems pretty chaotic just fixing a leaking faucet let alone redoing a house.” He was trying to ease any of her fears and didn’t think he was doing a good job so rather continue on in the same vein Pat let the matter fade away.

“Everyone needs to eat lunch at some point.” He indicated their menus, glad that she was as willing as he to figure something out. Deciding on a simple turkey club Pat sighed in exaggeration, “Oh I know. 20 minutes to clean them then a hour to dry. It’s like my clothes just soaked up all the water in the world. At Least that chore is done for now. Tis my own Sisyphus boulder, laundry and groceries that is.”

Pat smiled and shrugged, “Totally can understand. You're the one who has to live with it rather than a client so it makes sense. I would love to come by and get a private tour whenever we both have have a chance.” In a nervous gesture he ran his fingers through his hair. He liked Fiona and wanted to spend time with her, he just hoped that he never slipped and let something out that he shouldn’t. Not just his nightly activities but his knowledge of musicals and cosplay. What kind of guy would she think he was if she knew about his odd hobbies.

Mentally he shook himself and focused on the woman sitting with him at this small cafe. “We will figure it out and in the meantime connecting via electronics will help as well. Just imagine how frustrating this all would have been before cell phones let alone phones at all.” His smile was crooked and full of humor. He glanced over at the waitress as she approached, “I’m ready if you are.”