2022-12-24: If We Fall, At Least We'll Be Doing It Together!
- Cast: Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta
- Where: Zentradi Mall, Frontier Fleet
- Date: U.C. 0096 12 24
- Summary: Rena and Anita go on a first date on Christmas Eve. Awww.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Technically this is the same week that Rena asked out Anita out.
Maybe she realized that Christmas Eve was a great time for a first date. Nonetheless, this is, in fact, a date. Which means that Rena is a little nervous as they arrive -- stepping off the linear rail from the spaceport, to the huge mall and shopping center sized for both Zentradi and humans alike.
Rena dressed up a bit for the date. She has a button-up dark blue shirt, a black skirt, and stockings with flat shoes. (She can't stand heels.) She sucks in a gasp as she walks into the central area, where...
...there is a large, Zentradi-sized Christmas tree set up. "W-Whoa," Rena says, gasping. "I... knew they had some genetically engineered plants and livestock, but this is..."
The glowing, colorful bulbs are probably bigger than here. And the lights are dazzling, suffice to say!
"...this is really something else, huh?"
Yep. Still nervous.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
It's the same week, but... Anita doesn't mind that. She's in agreement! What better day than Christmas Eve for a date? ...Her first date. Not just with Rena, but ever. ...Oh dear.
Yes... Anita is usually the relaxed sort, but this is something special! So, she's a little nervous, too - but excited.
She walks side by side with Rena and, notably, Anita has dressed up too. She's the sort of person who generally prefers comfort over fashion... but today, she wanted to look good for Rena's sake. She's dressed in a sea green dress shirt matching her hair - short-sleeved to show off her arms, of course - and black dress pants. Today's arm is a slightly fancier one with dark blue outer plating with silver trim, with the internal mechanisms painted the same color as her dress.
...She's even made a point of touching up her hair to get it looking just right, something she rarely ever bothers with - combing it back and tucking it behind her ears.
She walks alongside Rena with her hands in her pockets as the two of them make their way through the mall, looking over to Rena and chuckling fondly as she marvels at the sights of the shopping mall.
"Right? It's incredible. I feel so small, but somehow I'm okay with it? Everything here just has that... 'this place is okay' vibe to it." She says. She studies Rena for a moment... and she doesn't need to be able to feel her emotions to tell that she's nervous, too.
The knowledge that Rena's feeling nervous too, despite having more experience with this kind of this... it emboldens Anita a bit, so she slips her right hand out of her pocket and carefully sneaks it over to Rena to take her hand in her own as they walk.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena is honestly not sure if Anita has dated before. She has, of course; with Eight, with other people, though in the end, she has only had one relationship she could call long-term and serious. (It is also still going, and that this wasn't a problem for Anita is a relief.)
She is a little surprised that Anita dressed up. Only a little, but somehow, Anita wearing a hoodie and jeans to practically any occasion feels right. She looks sideways at her, flashing a smile. "I love your arm! And your outfit! I was wondering what you'd choose."
Did that sound lame? Oh, God, it probably sounded lame.
Then Rena nods, though it's a bit small as she stares up at the Christmas tree. "Yeah, it's... comfortable instead of intimidating. And the way it's built for both sizes of people is so cool," Rena says, softly. She keeps walking.
Then she blinks. She looks back at Anita, smiles, and squeezes her hand after hers is taken. She flushes red, too.
But she looks happy. "I heard there's ice skating ahead. And we could get some food, if you want!"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Thanks. It, uh... took me a little while to decide what to settle on. Glad I didn't disappoint!" Anita replies with a sheepish chuckle, drawing her hand out of her left pants pocket to massage the back of her neck. "...You look great, too - really stylish."
If it sounded lame, Anita doesn't seem to notice... or worse, perhaps she actually likes it.
She 'hm's to herself for a moment as Rena continues, thinking it over.
"Yeah. There's just... somethin' about the way that it's built to be comfortable for everyone, no matter who they are." She agrees... and grins, as Rena realises what she's done. Rena squeezes her hand, and Anita squeezes back.
"Oh, ice skating... I don't think I've done that at all since we left home, it's been a while... That'd be fun." Anita considers with interest. "Definitely gotta check out the food, too."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"You definitely didn't disappoint!" Rena says, with a sheepish laugh. She marvels, quietly, in her own head that she didn't sound lame. Or maybe Anita liked it? She blinks, though, and flushes a little. "A-ah, thanks! Yeah, I... um... had to think about what to wear..."
That, she is pretty sure, was hopelessly lame.
Though talking about the size of the place -- and what to do -- is easier somehow. It's like she can fall into the more comfortable rhythm they had for years. Of course, walking and talking while holding hands makes that not quite the same.
"I haven't either," Rena admits. "So if we're both falling over, it's okay, right?" She laughs, then tugs Anita's hand -- leading the way towards the ice skating. They can see it ahead -- it's a level down, with a human-sized ice skating ring on a suspended platform over one sized for Zentradi. There is an elevator that leads down to it.
As they walk, Rena glances sideways at her. "So... I wasn't sure if you'd say yes," she admits. "But... I'm really happy you did."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Awesome." Anita replies, pleased. That grin of hers only widens when Rena admits that she had to think about what to wear, too. "Trust me, the effort paid off."
Rena admits she hasn't gone ice skating for a while, either, and Anita nods with a small laugh of her own.
"Right. Even if we fall, at least we'll be doing it together." Anita agrees with a nod, then pauses. "Not that I, uh, mean I'd be literally dragging you down with me or anything. Just metaphorically. Probably."
Rena takes the lead and Anita lets her pull her head. At the sight of the ice skating ring ahead of them, Anita lets out a whistle.
"Wow, even the ice skating is made available." She comments appreciatively... then pauses, as Rena looks sideways at her. Anita meets her eyes.
She wasn't sure if she'd say yes, huh... Anita looks a little embarrassed for a moment, massaging the back of her neck.
"Well, uh... I wasn't really expecting you to ask. I kinda thought that I..." Anita starts. She frowns a little. ...It might sound a little pathetic if she continues that train of thought, so she stops it there. "...But I'm glad you asked, and I was happy to say yes. I'm kind of new to this, but... I wanted to give it a try - with you."
She gives Rena's hand another gentle squeeze, at that.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Ah, you know, I did kind of fall that time we took EX-Gear out and almost brought you with me. Until you came to my rescue!" Rena says, with a glance at Anita -- and a grin. "That was, um, that was... nice."
In a not strictly friendly way, not that she had the nerve to admit that at the time.
She looks back at the rink. The rinks, plural, actually. She stares up at them both for a second. "They really went above and beyond, didn't they?" Rena says, with a laugh.
She slows a little. Her eyes meet Anita's, and she smiles a little when she looks embarrassed. "It's okay," she says. "I, um, I've got... some. We can just go at our own pace. Um..." She hesitates. "I kind of took awhile. I'd thought about it a few times. I almost did, before Torrington. But... I wasn't sure how you felt, and I was in my head with it. And everything else. And, ah..."
She looks thoughtful, for a second. But she squeezes Anita's hand back. "...I know there's Eight, too. And... that's not something everyone can do, and I didn't want to put you in an awkward spot."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Oh yeah, I remember that..." Anita replies consideringly. She pauses, taking note of Rena and her grin. ...She hesitates for a moment, as if wondering whether or not she should say anything before eventually deciding to just go for it. "I guess I'll have to catch you like that again sometime..."
But Rena comments on the rinks, and Anita nods.
"They sure did. It's a lot of effort."
They can go at their own pace... Anita nods, appreciating that. But she was carrying it for a while, huh...
"Wow, that long..." Anita seems a little surprised. "...Well... I'm glad you were able to work through it and ask."
Rena comments on Eight, then, and Anita nods.
"Well... we've known each other for a while, right? Even as friends, you always made sure to let me know how much you cared even though you had partners to care about, too." Anita replies. "You've got a lot of love to share. Tellin' the truth, I wouldn't trust just anyone in that situation, but since it's you... I figured, if Eight's okay with it, and you're okay with it, I'm okay with it. It'd work out. The fact that you thought about that ahead of time is a good sign."
She shrugs, then.
"...And, you know me - I'm good at any speed." She says, chuckling.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena laughs at that, though she is blushing. "Maybe I picked a place with ice skating to set that up," Rena says, with a laugh. She tilts her head, then, and considers for a second.
"Me, too," she says. "And, um, I saw you upset, and... I realized I wanted to be there for you." She hesitates. "And... not that it would have changed that I'd be there, if you had said no. But I guess I realized it was important."
She quiets down, then, and listens. She smiles a little, though, as Anita finishes. "Yeah," she agrees. "I-I guess I do... um, but, you're right. She's okay with it and I am," she says. "So... everything should be good."
She looks at her and smiles, then. "Well--oh! Here we are!" Rena says. This may not be what Anita meant by speed, because she tugs her into the elevator, which has glass walls -- and is now descending to the rink below.
Then, she looks back at Anita, and grins. "You do take things in stride. Which actually makes it fun when I manage to surprise you." She squeezes her hand again.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"You are pretty clever... I wouldn't put it past you." Anita replies with a grin that suggests she doesn't particularly mind. It softens, though, as Rena continues. Because she saw her upset, huh...
"...I guess... I'm glad somethin' good came out of it, then." She admits with a smile, and then a nod. "Yeah... I wouldn't have wanted you to bottle that up forever."
That grin returns, though, as Rena agrees with her and decides that everything should be good.
And then... they've arrived! Once again, Anita lets Rena take the lead, stepping into the elevator with her. It's really quite fascinating, watching the descent from inside the glass-walled elevator. ...And then, she laughs.
"It's kinda nice. It's good to be surprised every now and then." She admits.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I'll just have to keep an eye out for a good opportunity," Rena says with a wink.
"If it's all the same, though, I like seeing you when you're not upset more," she adds, with a tilt of her head. "But... it did make me think about it."
She has to let go of Anita's hand, as they get ushered along -- and provided with skates. Rena sits down on a bench, untying her shoes and starting to lace up the skates. She looks up as she does, smiling.
"I'll take that as a challenge, you know," she says. She keeps lacing hers up. "So I guess we'll find out if we've got our balance, still, from when we were kids. I think I remember how to do these things, though."
She stands up -- carefully -- and while there's a wobble, she manages to balance on the skates. Mostly.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
A wink...! It's a powerful weapon - powerful enough that even Anita is struck speechless for a moment.
"Yeah. It's nice to be comforted, but I like it much more when we can laugh and joke like this." Anita agrees. They finally reach the rink and let go of each other for a moment. Anita swaps out her shoes for skates, too - for a brief moment, one can see that the design of her left leg matches the left arm.
"I'm looking forward to it, then." Anita replies with a grin. "But yeah, I think I've got it too? It's not that much different from flyin', homo-avis or EX-Gear... just a lot more legwork."
She chuckles for a moment.
"...Eight'd probably outpace both of us, though." She admits, and then, as she finishes tying them up... "Theeere we go."
She stands up, and heads out onto the ice after her. Anita... it takes her a second, but she seems able to maintain her balance pretty well!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena will have to remember that weapon.
"Me, too," Rena says. She looks at Anita -- considering for a second -- and then she shuffles after her. The part before they get to the ice is always a little awkward. "She would definitely trounce us. Miss Amateur Hockey Player," she says. "But you'd win at flying. And I'd win at.. Dozoo Degwa?"
Wait, does that count? She wrinkles her nose.
Then she steps onto the ice -- does a little kick off -- and slides out a couple of feet. Rena manages to turn with something that could generously be called grace, accurately called luck, and face the exit.
She holds a hand out for Anita.
"I-I, um, if you don't mind," she says. "It's... pretty nice, I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita laughs good-naturedly at that, and then nods.
"You definitely would." She agrees. Rena might not be sure if it counts or not, but Anita seems to think it does. They all have their strengths - that's what makes them work together so well!
Anita is comfortable enough in her movement now that she can focus on Rena, watching her as she moves and turns gracefully.
...Gracefully enough. Anita'll take it, she's sure not going to judge. And then, Rena extends her hand. Anita skates over, taking it in her own.
"Not at all." She replies with a smile. "It is, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena laughs. Anita isn't wrong -- if the Kakapos were all good at the same things, they wouldn't be as good a team as they are. For that matter, life wouldn't be nearly as interesting.
Rena grips Anita's hand, as they skate backward together. In Rena's case, she is skating backwards, but she can cheat; she has enough awareness as a Newtype to know that no one is right behind her, and she is good at calculating her velocity and acceleration.
(That might be a Coordinator thing, though.)
"It is," Rena agrees. She hesitates for a second, but then she squeezes Anita's hand. "It's new, but I think I like it a lot."
Maybe she means a little more than handholding.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita is good at maneuvering herself, but Rena has the better senses. Anita trusts her own ability to navigate... and she trusts Rena to keep them out of trouble. It really is pretty nice.
Rena squeezes Anita's hand, and Anita squeezes back.
"...Yeah. I'm still kinda nervous and figuring things out, but... I think I like it, too." She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena keeps skating backward, even if her focus is ultimately on Anita. After a moment, she threads her fingers through Anita's, and gives her a gentle tug. She pulls her closer -- not quite close enough for a hug, but closer than the arm's distance before.
"Me, too, Annie," she says. "I mean... that I'm nervous. And still figuring it out. Since I've known you forever... but this is new."
She looks down at their hands, then makes eye contact with Anita. "But excited nervous, not scared nervous. Like... if I'm about to run into a wall, I'm glad." She smiles. "Because I'm going to do it with you."
She actually is about to run into a wall, though. Rena can sense people, but the wall of the skating ring is not a person, and she is skating backwards right into it. And she's smiling at Anita so happily as she does!
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena threads her fingers through her own, and... draws her closer! This gesture is a surprising, but not unwelcome, one. She smiles, as Rena admits that she', too is excited. Rena makes eye contact with her, and for a moment, Anita finds herself lost in her eyes.
"...Yeah. It's... I look forward to figuring out our way through this together." Anita says, smile. If they're about to run into a wall...
...Speaking of! Rena can sense people, but Anita can't - so she's focusing on other things. The ice around them, judging the distance between her surroundings and herself. She was distracted for a little by Rena's, so it's coming up pretty quickly - so, confidently, she pulls Rena closer to her in a hug, shifting herself so that her more durable left side will hit the wall instead of Rena's to brace both of them.
Even when they run into a wall - between the two of them together, they can make sure they'll stick the landing.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena likes having Anita looking into her eyes like that. This helps her get all the more distracted -- and that isn't, necessarily a bad thing. She smiles, too, and then blinks in surprise.
"Wha--"
Not that she minds getting tugged closer to Anita in the slightest. Her eyes widen -- she glances in the direction of the wall, then she realizes. "Oh--"
But Anita's more than up to the task, checking herself against it on the side where that's not a problem. Rena laughs, flushed, and then she sighs -- leaning against Anita, after that.
"See?" she says. "You're the coolest person I know. You found an excuse to catch me and you saved me."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
It happens so quick - Anita thuds against the wall. Her cybernetics help absorb the shock... and, internally, she's a little proud that they turned out to be beneficial. She pauses and takes a moment to check up on Rena, but she's flushed and laughing, and then, leaning against her. Anita smiles, relieved... and then exhales.
"I guess I'm just gonna have to accept being the coolest... You alright?" Anita replies with a sheepish laugh. She intentionally lets that linger there for a moment, staying there in her company before eventually asking. "Are you good to keep going, or...?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm-hm. Just fine," Rena says, with a fond sigh. "Are you? I know that's, um, your sturdier side."
To put it mildly. She looks Anita over for a second, before settling into leaning against her. She could stay like this for awhile longer, she thinks. Except maybe not now and here, while they have ice skates on. She moves back just enough to have a little space to kick off
"Sure," she says. "Let's keep going. And I'll try to avoid making you do more daring rescues." She pauses, then smiles sheepishly. "...maybe."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Awesome." Anita replies, pleased, as Rena assures her she's fine. "Yeah, I'm just fine here, too. It stung a little, but I can take an impact like that no problem."
Rena leans against her, and Anita's satisfied with that for the moment, too... but it's true, the situation does make it a bit awkward. When she starts to move away, Anita lets her go - and chuckles, at her comment.
"Who knows? It might be your turn to do the rescuing, next time." Anita teases good-naturedly, starting up again alongside her.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Trading rescues sounds like fun," Rena says. "Maybe we should do that!"
The way she grins, that might be a joke. She wouldn't mind coming to the rescue sometimes, even if she tends to be more of a sweetheart than awesome (at least, in her own head). She skates alongside Anita.
But she keeps her hand in hers, and she beams at her as they glide along.
It's easy, right now, to forget everything wrong in the world. She thinks about that for a moment -- so as they get closer to the next wall and have to slow down a little, she slides back up to Anita. Close enough to lean against her, for a moment while they're not moving too fast.
She glances at the tree in the distance, and the people skating about, and then back at Anita. This is going better than she could have hoped for, she thinks. "Merry Christmas, Annie."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah, let's." Anita replies with a grin of her own, clearly in on the joke. They glide along the ice, just the two of them. It's like flying, but there's more legwork - and she can be closer to the person she's with, she appreciates, as Rena draws closer for a moment when they round the next wall.
It's just lights, the tree, other people enjoying the atmosphere... and the two of them. It won't last forever, she knows, but she'll always remember it.
"Merry Christmas, Rena."