firstofitskind | MHA #6, Wednesday Evening

MHA #6, Wednesday Evening

To say the last few days had been busy for the two of them would be one hell of an understatement, but that didn't mean Liam was going to let Verity's birthday just go by in the aftermath. He did, however, call JGoB and have them make a last minute change to the cake he'd ordered. Which was sitting in a non-descript cardboard box in the kitchen for now, waiting for the reveal later.

(Yes, he'd promised the mice a not-insignificant portion of said cake in return for their patience, as well as their assistance in holding Verity to her promise not to peek prematurely.)

All they needed now was dinner, and Liam was just about finished taking care of that too- or at least, taking care of paying the delivery person from Outback Steakhouse.

"Food's here," he announced, having finally managed to send said delivery person on their way.

[ooc: for the birthday-haver!]

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“Nah,” Liam shook his head. “Anyone with Companion Services could contact me at any time, and Resistance cell leaders used rotating ID keys.” There hadn’t really been anyone else, in other words.

"But what if you'd met someone pretty?" Verity asked. "Say, some sexy cryptozoologist with killer legs and a tango that can make men weep?"

“That seems like an extremely specific scenario,” Liam grinned at her.

"I don't know what you mean," Verity said loftily. "It's just a hypothetical scenario that leapt to mind out of nowhere."

"Mmhm," Liam said, arching an eyebrow at her over his glass of wine. "Well. Hypothetically. For the right person, I could whitelist their number."

"And in those days," Verity said, trailing her foot up the inside of his calf, "before you were stuck handing out your number like the rest of us barbarians, what would it have taken to become that right person?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Liam at the contact, and he took a moment to answer.

"... Be a sexy cryptozoologist with killer legs and a tango that can make men weep."

He'd said they couldn't have dessert yet, but he hadn't said anything about an amuse-bouche.

"Mmm, good answer," she said, saluting him with a wine glass. "You have a type, then?"

"I suppose I do," inasmuch as Verity was the first person he'd even considered pursuing a relationship with, let alone actually dated.

(Or had sex with. Joining was another matter, although even that had been purely out of necessity.)

"Wanna know my type?" Verity asked, cutting into her steak. Mmm, warm and red and rare, just the way she liked it. "Dependable. Trustworthy. Competent. Tall, though compared to me, that's not saying much." She flicked her eyes up to his, filled with amusement. "Sexy helps, too. And..."

"...And?" he echoed, going still and giving her a considering look.

"I can't resist a guy who can banter," she admitted, bringing a small triangle of meat up to her mouth. "Someone who can stare down danger with enough presence of mind to spout a witty quip? I love...that."

And then she was chewing on her steak, unable to say anything else.

...And maybe kicking herself a little, shh.

Liam's eyes went wide at the mention of that particular l-word. Even if it was in the context of things she loved about someone, that was the first time he'd heard her use anything stronger than 'really like'.

"Well," he said after a moment. "I guess it's unfortunate that Ryan's taken, then."

... She did say she was fond of the occasional witty quip.

"'Stitches and britches' was not clever," Verity said, swallowing her meat still in a large enough chunk to hurt going down. But, hey, certain things needed to be clear. "Besides, even if I were interested - and I'm not - Ryan has a thing for Istas."

Well, yeah. That much had been clear, even in the comparatively short time that Liam had known them.

"So... anyone around who fits that list of criteria, then?" Liam wondered, super-casually, as he reached idly for a piece of the bloomin' onion.

"You'd be surprised at how few there are," Verity said. "Sure, a lot of competent people around here, but the banter is surprisingly weak." She flashed a smile at him. "Or maybe there just aren't a lot who mesh with my style of humor."

"I think we... mesh... pretty well."

Also said super-casually.

They were both just having a completely normal, totally casual conversation!

Just--what had seemed so easy in the moment now just seemed completely awkward now. So, hey, I'm pretty sure I fell in love with you some time over the last few months and your stupid joke about traffic made it impossible to ignore. That was so--ugh.

She had no experience with this kind of thing. Hell, she barely had experience with relationships. 'Casual' was the way to go when you were lying about who you were, where you were from, or even what your name was.

But she didn't have to hide from him. Too bad that didn't make being honest about...certain things...any easier.

"I think so, too," she said, because that wasn't the kind of comment you let hang. "Even if you still owe me that lecture on getting kidnapped."

"D'you want the whole thing?" Liam asked. "Or I could give you the, ah- Cliff's Notes."

"It's my birthday," Verity said. "Cliff's notes."

"Okay," Liam took a deep breath and put aside his cutlery, for now.

"Okay," he said again. "When I had that vision of you strapped to that table, the thought that kept running through my mind was... what if we couldn't get there in time? What if I lost you? I know you've been getting in to- and out of- trouble since before I was even born, so maybe... maybe things would have turned out okay regardless of whether I was there or not. I don't know." Considering he'd had a day or so to work on this, this was coming out a lot more disconnected than he'd wanted it to. And also not all that much like a lecture, come to think of it. "I can't actually ask you to never get kidnapped again, as much as I hope it doesn't happen. But I hope you know, now, really know, that you don't have to do things alone out here. That I'll always have your back."

"I was scared," Verity admitted. "I mean, I wasn't going to stop fighting for as long as I could breathe, but I was so scared. And--we're trained not to expect rescue. There are too few of us and too many of them and, well, neither the Healys nor the Prices have ever really died peacefully of old age. We know that every fight we go into could be our last and, if we're lucky, it's ours alone. We make peace with that."

At some point, her eyes had dropped to the table. With difficulty, she raised them up to meet his. "So, I didn't expect anybody to come for me down there. Dave had betrayed us, you'd gone to save Carol, Istas was out, and Sarah too far to hear. But still, I--I'd hoped. I didn't know how or when, but I'd hoped you'd find some way to come for me. And then you did."

She gave him a weak smile. "You came for me and you made a joke about traffic and I realized that, uhh, I was pretty much in love with you. Or, well, that I had been for awhile, but I really had to, umm, cop to it then."

OH WOW LOOK AT THIS DINNER. SHE WAS JUST GOING TO APPLY HERSELF TO THIS DINNER NOW OKAY YUM.

...Look, she didn't know how to do this. It hadn't been among the lessons she'd gotten growing up!

Liam didn't exactly have a manual either. So they were both kind of winging it!

He reached across the table, fingers of one hand brushing against Verity's wrist in an effort to get her to pause and look back up at him again.

"That's what I was trying to say, as it happens," he said, a soft smile spreading across his face. "That I love you."

Her fork went clattering against her plate as she looked up at him. "Wait, really?" she asked. "I mean, really really?"

Why were you so surprised by this, Verity, the man battled sleestaks for you.

"Really, really," he nodded. "I'm absolutely crazy about you."

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