unsever | Deerington Inbox

[ He might not be a good cook, but his knife skills are unparalleled, and he's good at catching anything that falls. Plus, have you ever seen him roll up his sleeves and focus on a task?

Yeah, he can do that. ]

I'd like that. I'll make sure to keep my schedule free.

[ She's so nice to him, and it feels almost effortless on his part, partially because it sort of is; he's barely lifted a finger. It feels almost sort of wrong to accept any sort of repayment for his initial favor, but at the same time, it's starting to feel like they're doing more of the type of interaction that means spending time together and less of the kind that means continual transactions. ]

Do you have roommates?

[ I guess what he's trying to ask is, is this a family dinner? ]

[ There are some things Julia just assumes he's going to be a whiz at, like chopping up vegetables or anything else involving a knife. Her strengths fell in organization and magic, neither of which really come in handy when knives are involved. Especially not magic when she can't control the ups and downs of her powers here.

And breaking the cycle of repayments would be good, genuinely not expecting anything back from him for cooking except some good company and conversation at a minimum. ]

I do, one -- but we'll most likely have the house to ourselves. [ AKA she'll ask Margo very nicely for a little privacy on whatever night they choose to do this. ]

My friends can be a little much all at once. [ She was surrounded by strong personalities that are all varying levels of protective and intense. This was new and she had no idea what was going to come of it, still more than a little cautious on the crush front. So, just dipping her toes in the water with him rather than throwing him into the deep end of her life might be best. ] I'm hoping for a quiet night where we can just hang out and continue to get to know each other. Make some good food and have fun.

[ He's not sure what to make of that, but he also wouldn't want to walk her into an Avengers party either. They're all lovely people, sure, but all sort of strong personalities in their own way, and in mistakenly believing that Julia is a normal baseline human, thinks she might not be able to relate to any of them.

Hell, last time Tony had even invited him to one, he'd invited a couple World War II vets for the company.

Yeah. Maybe, maybe not meeting all of each other's friends would be good. ]

That... yeah, that sounds perfect.

[ He'd love a quiet night. ]

Are weekends better for you?

[ Baby steps... Kind of. ]

My schedule is pretty flexible, but a weeknight might be easier right now. [ Weekends were the easiest to head into work and catch up on paperwork and repairs. She could set her own schedule most weeks, but it also called for some sacrifices when things piled up. One of the perks of being the senior most Library Manager. Also one of the downsides.

She's still not really sure how that happened, but here she was planning out a staff meeting and making agendas and talking points for the group. Nothing too in depth, but it had been a minute since she'd tried to organize anything like this. It felt so unnaturally natural and she had no idea what to do with it. Honestly, if it weren't for Waverly, she'd have probably left the job for another awhile ago. Something with less responsibility even if it felt like most of the responsibility around here was just an illusion to keep them all in line. ]

The 10th or 11th would be perfect. I'd hate to keep you up late on a school night, though. [ Is she smirking as she says that? Absolutely. ] Otherwise, I could do this Saturday, the 7th. [ She's just not sure if that's too soon after coffee, if he wants a bit of cool off between when they see each other. ]

[ He should probably explain, at some point that isn't currently, that he's done enough sleeping for several lifetimes, and though he hardly gets any of it anymore, it hasn't really dented his ability to be a fully-functioning human being. It was probably just the super soldier serum talking again. He should probably tell her about that too, but he figures that now isn't good.

He doesn't know the library hours and has no idea she'd offered to organize so many things, but between the two of them, he kind of just assumes she's busier and that he could reschedule any FEAR things, work outs, grocery runs, or anything he's usually prone to do in the evenings for another night. ]

Tenth or eleventh would work, I'll just have to keep aware of the time.

[ He wouldn't want to stay too late anyway, wouldn't want to give the roommates the wrong impression. And he certainly can't have the lights on at his house too late lest Bucky get the wrong impression, either. ]

[ And what a conversation that'll be... Even if she had no idea who he was, she'd already been so many different things before settling on human again that it wouldn't have even phased her.

Rapture, like everything else that tended to go on in this place, had its ups and downs. The downs had just been unexpectedly dark. She knew she'd have to talk to someone eventually about the serious shit when she hit a point where she couldn't push it away anymore, but until that point-- filling her schedule was something she did well. Especially if she knew she was going to enjoy whatever was coming up. Then it didn't feel like she was going through the motions to just stay in motion. And if she overbooked her day, it was easier to reschedule the little things if she actually felt tired. A good night's sleep hadn't happened for awhile either here or at home, having learned to function on 4 or less hours a long time ago. It wasn't healthy, but magic didn't come from happiness. ]

How about the 10th? [ Then she could do the library meeting on the 12th and go into with something that might keep a smile on her face as she manages the various personalities if how she'd felt after coffee would be any indication. ] 5:30? That way you can help me with cutting the veggies. [ And it would get him back to his place at a decent hour. She wasn't expecting to see Margo the rest of the night and wasn't all that concerned with appearances. Her friends would be happy for her. Just having a guy over for dinner was a pretty decent milestone. ]

[ Scheduling around civilian jobs like working at a high school or a library, PTA meetings and other obligations; getting to bed at a decent hour to a house in the suburbs; going on coffee dates and prepwork for a nice, home-cooked meal: all of this was so domestic, in the way that he'd always wanted. If there hadn't been a war, if he'd become a comic book artist like he'd planned, he would've aspired for this.

Even just - a spark of interest, something where he isn't sure yet if one exists or not, or hasn't really given it a concrete thought, only space in the back of his mind to hang around amorphously - it was a big step he didn't realize he was in the process of making. ]

I'll see you at 5:30 on the 10th.

[ Later, he might realize how much he's looking forward to dinner. Something so normal, so regular, that it felt decadent to indulge in just a quiet night, a plate, decent conversation, maybe some music. ]

Can't wait.

It's a date.

[ Oh god.

Well, she said it and she's not taking it back. Maybe she should thank Kady for giving her that momentary bolster of confidence to balance out the uncertainty that liked to creep in from Quentin. God, she'd be happy when this string thing was done. ]

See you soon.

[ And with that, she ends the call - staring at her fluid for a long moment trying to make sense of everything that's happened in the last week of her life here. Not that she was complaining right now. It was good and she wasn't going to question it. ]

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