(no subject)

[takecourage]

It's not a date.

They've been texting a little, mostly just memes and stupid stuff on the internet and, somehow, the idea of getting food and a few drinks and maybe some karaoke came up. Alex needs friends as much as she needs anything else these days, so, whatever happens, she's planning to have fun.

The time that they agreed to meet finds her standing outside a coffee shop they've hung out at before, jeans and a black bandeau top that leaves all her tattoos on display. She's swept her hair up and back and she's wearing hoop earrings and lipstick. She's actually made an effort.

Still definitely not a date.

Comments

[fellowloser]

Sometimes, Trinity had to do things to remind herself that she was a fucking person. The work could be all consuming, and she loved being consumed by it, but that didn't mean she couldn't live once in a while.

She'd let herself get so bogged down by the whole Garcia thing, making an ass out of herself for no fucking reason, when she should've been having fun.

This had the potential for fun. Drinks with a hot girl who was probably just a friend, but maybe could be more? Sign her the fuck up.

She'd even considered a dress. It had been a thousand years since she'd worn one. In the end, though, she'd settled for a pair of dark jeans, and a sheer, lacy top with a peekaboo of her maroon bra showing beneath. Kinda slutty, but covered enough not to scandalize a bunch of strangers at a restaurant. Her makeup was minimal, and she'd kind of forgotten to do anything with her hair other than pull the sides back with a clip, but she looked pretty damn great, if you asked her.

And holy hell, so did Alex.

"Wow, hey," she said, giving the other woman a once-over that was appreciative in both a friendly and a gay way. She contained fucking multitudes, thank you. "You look great."

[takecourage]

"Yeah?" asks Alex, eyebrow raised as Trinity gives her the once over. She smiles, though, her eyes taking in the sheer top, and the make up. Trinity looks different when she's trying, but she guesses they both do. .

"You look pretty great yourself. Glad I didn't overdress."

[fellowloser]

"Nope. You're the appropriate level of dressed," she said, lips pressed together in a slightly awkward smile. One would have thought that someone with the confidence of Trinity Santos would have a bit more game, but one would be wrong.

"You ready?"

[takecourage]

The smile is cute. At least Trinity doesn't blush. Alex nods, gesturing with her head. "Next block's got a couple of great places on it. We could do...Italian, or Thai, or Nepalese, or Ramen." She'd thought about making a reservation, but it felt better to keep it casual, somehow.

"Your choice?"

[fellowloser]

"Let's do Thai," Trinity suggested, trusting Alex to know the restaurants on this block better than she did. With her schedule, she was lucky if she managed to venture outside the block and a half around the hospital, or the little bodega grocer across the street from her apartment.

[takecourage]

"Thai sounds good," says Alex, as they fall into step with each other. She might have dressed up, but she's still wearing combat boots. She doubts Trinity was expecting stripper heels.

"Did you work today?"

[fellowloser]

"Uh, yep. You're catching me on my second wind after the big crash out," she said, with a faint quirk of her lips.

"It wasn't bad. I've heard stories about this place, but so far, it's all been disturbingly chill."

[takecourage]

"Lucky me."

She nods, as they walk. "Yeah. It tends to go south fast, when it does. It's been a while." She taps her forehead with two fingers. "Touch wood."

[fellowloser]

"You've been here a while, right?"

To her, Robby's year seemed like a lifetime, but she'd heard stories about people whose Darrow confinement had lasted a decade or more. By that time, she'd be pushing forty, which was absolutely insane, and something she really didn't want to think about.

[takecourage]

Alex nods.

"Since December 2019," she says, which feels like a long time, when she says it. "I've seen a lot of people come and go in that time, too."

She glances across at Trinity.

"Still wishing you were home? It's weird, when you have people who are yours but not, right?"

[fellowloser]

"Holy shit. Sorry, it's just... That's crazy."

She'd been barely out of undergrad in 2019. She might as well have been a whole different person.

"I do, and I don't? It's weird. I mean, working at PTMC was great for my career and there's not a lot of room for ambition in a place like this, but... I don't know. It's hard to explain."

[takecourage]

"I know, right? I was doing my undergrad degree when I got here. I was twenty." She flips her hair over her shoulder, shoots Triinity a rueful smile. "I don't think you've to explain it. You've got people here, right? From home. That helps."

Until, one day, you wake up and they're gone. She doesn't say that, though.

[fellowloser]

"Uh, yeah. Sort of," she said with a frown. "I'm about a year ahead of them. They barely remember me."

Or they did. Maybe, slowly, that was improving.

"Plus, they've coupled up, and between you and me? Playing third wheel for your ex-boss is just as much fun as it sounds."

She was being flippant, probably unfairly, but despite how hard they were all trying, it was still weird.

[takecourage]

"Oof," says Alex, letting out a soft breath because, honestly, that sounds like it sucks. "Yeah that's got to be...Yeah." She makes a face. "Were they a thing before, or...?"

Maybe it's like her and Darlington. Maybe there had been something there, and Darrow just gave it room to breathe. Then again, Darrow was a weird fucking place.