2023-05-28: First Date NERVs

• Cast: Sonia Sophia-Grace, Lina Lombardi
• Where: Nouvelle Tokyo
• Date: U.C. 0097 05 11
• Summary: Sonia and Lina catch dinner and talk business.

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<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         An apology had been given along with the invitation for the date, for not getting back to Lina sooner. As Lina well knows, war is hell and Sonia does have a factional alliegance or two that has to be handled before she can get any sort of time wrangled to have a gauranteed period of time, although she makes it easier by inviting Lina out to Tokyo-3 for the event.

         Lina is even given an address so she can guarantee her own escape if she so wishes. This restraunt offers privacy, Lina being led to a series of booths slightly off of the floor by a couple of steps, with curtains that can be drawn. Indeed, by the time Miss Lombardi shows, Sonia has been seated, her white hair pulled back into a sleek braided bun, glasses sitting on her nose, in a dark blue short-sleeved blouse and black mermaid style skirt.

         It actually makes her look her age! The menu here is set and already been paid for, Lina only getting asked for her drink of choice before their waitress slides off, curtain shutting behind her.

         "Lina, I'm so sorry this has taken me this long, how have things been going for you since we chatted last?"

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         Lina had...not been on a date in quite a while. It had taken all of her effort to pry Elsa off of her with whatever makeups and dresses she had to doll her up with. She didn't want to wear her regular jacket, that'd be way too casual for this, right? But would her full suit be too formal? Ugh, maybe she DID need Elsa's help...

         Finding her way to Tokyo-3, she had settled on a happy medium with her white button-up shirt, the vest she never wore under her suit, and simple black slacks. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail as she usually did for nice occasions, and she still couldn't help feeling a bit awkward. When she's brought over to Sonia, the sight actually makes her blush a bit. Wow, the little runt cleans up well...maybe this wouldn't be all bad. She orders a glass of wine and sits down, fidgeting a bit in these way too fancy surroundings.

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         Hey!!! Sonia's not a runt! Just short!

         Sonia allows herself to give Lina a long lookover. It's somewhat odd to see people out of their pilot suits sometimes, but this is a rather nice one they've got going on, on both sides. "You look wonderful, I can't make slacks and vest work. Not enough torso." She gestures down at her frame. Lina's wine is delivered, and Sonia's glass of sparkling water are both delivered, along with sweet dinner rolls and honey-cinnamon butter.

         "You still haven't decided what you're going to be doing? I'm surprised, honestly."

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         Lina takes her glass and swirls it a bit, taking a sniff before a small sample sip. A true sommelier at heart, this one. Guess that happens when you grow up in wine country. She grabs a roll and spreads butter on it as she glances at said frame with a raised brow.

         "Yeah, I can tell. And well...I've partly been enjoying some time off, and partly..." She chuckles and leans in, looking Sonia in the eye. "...I know you wanna give me the ol' sales pitch on NERV, and I wanted to give you a chance."

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         Sonia has a soft look of amusement on her face as Lina goes full sommelier on her. However, it's got it's own fascination, to be honest - not that she's much of a drinker. Too many odds of getting ID'd and getting accused of a fake one. She crosses her ankles as Lina notes the pitch, and her mouth quirks.

         "Well..."

         "You're not wrong. I made the joke before about it before, but ... NERV is well-funded and well-ran, and while I question the intentions behind some of our leaders, they are generally understanding and as far as a military organization goes, friendly. Primarily anti-alien and protection of the Earth is the general grasp I have of what it runs; so we have ground, air, and as you know from what I command, space."

         "So think about it. Let me know so I can talk to Administrator Nagisa, if you have any other questions."

         "Anywwwwways. This wasn't too formal of a pick, is it? I was thinking traditional first date, not that either of us are traditional."

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         Lina rests her chin in her hand as she hears Sonia out. Fighting aliens would sure be a nice break from all the diplomatic subterfuge of the Federation. It seemed like Dr. Kabuto had offered her a similar respite with the PPL. She was a Newtype after all, she figured. Maybe pointing her gaze upwards would be good for a while, get a bit of a big picture going.

         "Sonia, I think I'll bite. Frankly, I need a break from all the politics of Earthly service. Also, I've seen some of the tech your guys have. That stuff's no joke." Her memory flashed to seeing the GaoFighGar almost a year ago. Those machines were on a whole other level from the rigs she was used to. Seems like it would be pretty fun.

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         "I'll talk to my higher ups. I don't know how this process goes, for the record - I was with the Brittanian Union and got shifted a year or so back, so I'll have to get with ... yeah, Administrator Nagisa, and see where it goes from there. I'll VERTEX or whatever, okay?" Sonia pulls a slim purse up, writing something down with a tiny pencil.

         Then she looks up, smug, slightly.

         "You also didn't ans-wer me!" She teases, sing-song. "This wasn't too formal for you, was it?" Ah, here comes the appetizer. Salad.

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         "I-It's fine. I'm not too much of a boor for a place like this, you know." She takes a forkful of lettuce and shoves it into her mouth, thoughtfully chewing.

         "I should probably also get back to Dr. Kabuto at some point," she adds, mouth full, completely contradicting herself. Catching herself, she swallows. "I could probably manage to do some stuff for the PPL on the side. Keep myself busy."

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         "For all you know, I could have been a boor. But no, here I am, dressed in full skirt, no longer looking like a high schooler. Which is only because I'm short. Don't call me a runt."

         Sonia points her forks warningly at Lina. "I do think NERV does have some alliances with the Power Labs, but that's not something I know anything about. Paradiso is space based so I'm mostly running around the spheres and stuff. Not too focused on-Planet."

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         "Heh, by the way, meaning to mention, you look great, Sonia." Another bite. A smirk. "...for a runt."

         "Spending time in space might just be what I need. Newtype and all that, right? Gotta get myself untethered from gravity."

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         "Ara ara..." Sonia murmurs, her blue eyes sparkling as she carefully places her elbows on the edge of the table, propping her chin into her hands as a smile ghosts across her face. Lina may be an awakening Newtype to herself and her powers, but in that other seat, is someone who is stronger and had much more in terms of years of practice as she drops into that emotional bandwidth.

         It's the sensation of basically, Sonia leaning over to flick her nose. She's not MAD about the runt comment, that much is clear, but there's a lot of amusement and acceptance, with resignation behind it. For all the waiters know, she's just staring dreamily into Lina's eyes.

          "... mm. Well, I can't say -where- you'll end up. That's sort of up to people other than me!"

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         Lina grunts as she feels the twinge in her mind, reeling back a bit in surprise, composing herself when she notices the glances of the wait staff. "...Okay, I get it, you're more powerful than me, haha. Sorry."

         She huffs and returns to her salad, acting as if nothing had happened. "NERV has a lot of subdivisions, yeah? I can't really see myself in one of those Eva things...you guys got 3G, yeah? Remember seeing one of those guys last year. Well, wherever the big guys feel like I'll be best."

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         "Lina, darlin' - it's not that I'm more powerful, but I'm tryin' to get you to open up. I was with you that whole experience. I know very well what you're already capable of, and what you could be capable of doing, if pushed even further." Sonia Sophia-Grace is no Rita Bernal. But when someone is like an open book, and you've had a very mentally deep touchpoint with, well...

         "Honestly, more than I can keep track of. I don't know how Administrator Nagisa manages, but ... he's a bit like me... more than me, really. You'll be fine with us."

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         Lina sighs and smiles at Sonia. "Yeah, yeah, I probably know that better than you think. You know the Grove, how our signature wine is called the Lombardi Custom? It's not just a name. The Lombardi Custom is my family's creed, the words etched into my lineage from the early days of the Universal Century."

         She leans in slightly. "Mantinere il cuore aperto. Keep your heart open. Ironic, huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

         Sonia's eyebrows go from the normal arch all the way up into the small bit of wisps from her braided hair at the top of her forehead at the translation of the Lombardi creed. There's is that bit of a mental touch again, as she struggles not to burst out into full on chuckling in a fancy restaurant. Lina gets her very clear amusement.

         "That's actually very sweet. I like it! I'm glad." She manages to get out with a wheeze.

<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.

         "Hehe. But yeah, float me by the administrator. Make sure you tell him about how cool I was against Amuro." She leans back in her chair, taking a sip of her wine and giving her date a playful wink. "I was pretty cool, right?"
New Content

<Pose Tracker> Sonia Sophia-Grace has posed.

<poem>

        There is a moment of quiet before Sonia is -very- smug. Lina doesn't even have to be a Newtype for that to be obvious. "Cool, huh...~?" She asks, a teasing lilt to her voice. "I didn't think miss Lina Lombardi would be trying to insist she's cool to someone that practically bullied her into a date..."

        A pause, then, Sonia drops it, settling back into her seat. "We can argue that later though. Dinner's arriving." Moments later, the curtain is pushed back, with apologies for how long it took. It is ... multiple courses. Hope Lina's hungry!