Buffet de l'Anquitaire, Québec City, Québec, Tuesday Evening

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden had stupidly had the jitters all day Tuesday, thinking of the plan with Cal to have one last paintball dinner while here in Québec. Did it mean something? Something more than friends? Surely he wasn't trying to drop a hint or anything...right?

Which meant that she couldn't help but inwardly (and ruefully) laugh at herself when they ended up deciding to end up at the Buffet de l'Anquitaire. The food looked amazing, don't get her wrong, but the chill diner atmosphere didn't really give off 'confessions of a secret crush' vibes. She was definitely glad she'd stuck with a cute but nothing fancy outfit. This was firmly 'two friends having dinner post-paintball' territory.

Once again proving that the only one harboring a secret crush was Arden. She really needed to stomp that out. She'd been making good progress, but Parents' Weekend had derailed that. But hey, if she could kill a crush during a trip where there was only one bed, then there was probably no bringing it back, right? Of course right. She was just gonna...get on doing that, then.

"Let me guess," she teased, snagging a seat in one of the bright red booths, "you wanna get the hot dog and sausage poutine. And, hey! We'll have to try some of these pies so I can report back to Graham."

Comments

[moreofaponchoguy]

Okay, but like, how could she walk into the sea if Cal was kissing her? Which is what was happening as he leaned across the table because really, it was a miracle he'd held off this long.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

He felt her startle briefly and then she was kissing him back, hand sliding to the back of his head to hold him close.

This was much better than walking into the sea.

[moreofaponchoguy]

BD-1 had some pretty amazing days in his life - meeting Cal, getting his memories back, getting his first upgrades - but watching his two favorite idiots finally kiss for real was going to rank up there pretty well.

Cal kept going until he needed some air, his cheeks turning as red as his hair. "I... yeah, I still like that. That's really nice," he said. "No regrets here."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden's eyes slowly opened, a dreamy smile on her face. "Yeah. That's a thing I'd like to keep doing. If you would, I mean. I don't mean right now--" But not also not not now, her expression suggested. "--but in general."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal definitely thought about going in for another kiss, but the waiter came over with their food, looking almost embarrassed for interrupting. "I'd like to keep doing it too. Whatever this ends up being, I think we can figure it out together."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden also looked embarrassed. Sorry, waitstaff, but also you're welcome for the show.

"...Is this gonna make our rooming situation awkward?" Look, she had to ask.

[moreofaponchoguy]

"No more awkward than it's already been with us feeling these feelings and just not saying them out loud," Cal pointed out. "Maybe we can get the pillow wall to work, we'll see."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Look at you, ever the optimist," Arden snickered, since it hadn't worked yet.

Though whether it was something about them or a tiny droid stealing the pillows in the night, who could say?

"Is there anything else that you think we should do different?" she asked. "I have no experience with this and you don't, so it's kinda like you said, we're gonna make it up as we go along. But other than kissing and admitting that we have feelings more than friendship, I don't really know what separates being together from just how we've always been."

A pause.

"Okay, also I get to be stupid about your arms in front of you now. That's a change."

Another change? Arden was pushing her plate and milkshake over to his side of the table. Not to share, but because she was getting up to slide into the booth next to him. This seemed like an excellent time for some non-platonic cuddling.

[moreofaponchoguy]

Pushing the plate first instead of moving and then pulling the plate over was a mistake, because Cal was getting a full bite of that spaghetti before she sat down. "You like my arms?" he said. "Does this mean I get to be stupid about how you look in dresses?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Please. There was no way that Arden thought Cal 'I'll Remember To Ask You If You Want Something A Good 10 Seconds After I Say I'm Getting Food' Kestis wasn't going to take bites of her spaghetti. She'd met him. It was possible they would have had this talk sooner if she'd just started using fry oil as a perfume.

She was just going to huff a laugh, shake her head, and then lean against him anyway.

"You have very good arms," she told him, and then added, "They make me want to bite them." No she would not be explaining. "Kamala makes fun of me because I forget where I am in sentences sometimes when you're in a tanktop."

Very good arms.

"...You get stupid about how I look in dresses?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I'm assuming the biting is a compliment?" Cal asked. "And not hurting me for taking too long to be honest with you?"

Was he going to be freezing in the fall weather when they got back to the island? Yes, but it would be worth it.

"You just always look so beautiful and fancy, and then you put on a dress and you get even fancier. Also, dresses make your butt look nice." He smirked as he took a sip of his milkshake, because getting to say these things out loud instead of just to BD was amazing.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Don't bother with sleeves sometime and you'll find out," Arden sassed. With a fair bit of drawl.

And then she was staring at him, open-mouthed, before bursting out laughing. "Oh goddess," she said. "I've been arguing with Kamala for months that I was pretty sure you were aro or ace or just not into me...and now I find out you've been checking out my ass this whole time?"

She tossed her head, curls bouncing. "My butt always looks nice. I've got a great butt. Dresses just makes it look better."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"In my defense, you can't see me looking at your butt because it's behind you," Cal said. "Also, if I ever got caught looking at someone in an inappropriate way, Master Tapal would have my head, so I know not to get caught. I'll have to get some more tanktops, just in time for winter."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I mean, it's warm in Midnight," Arden pointed out. "Also, a tank top and sweatpants make for perfectly good pjs, so long as you don't wear them outside."

That was basically her pajama sets, though hers were jersey sleep shorts and tank tops. Though surely Cal hadn't noticed her pjs and certainly not how short they were.

"Well now, at least, it's not the action that's inappropriate, just potentially our location," she teased, since he probably shouldn't be (obviously) checking out her butt in class or whatever. "But you gotta tell me when you do so I feel good about it." She gave it another moment of thought. "Does this mean you actually noticed me in bikinis?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Oh, absolutely," Cal said. "The skin and the fabric just..." He made little pinching motions, lacking the words to describe how tight, tiny clothing was just perfect for her. "Beach parties are fun but I've been dying a little on the inside keeping everything to myself."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"You never gave a single sign," Arden accused, though considering she was leaning against him now, she probably wasn't terribly angry. "So...it seemed really obvious that you weren't interested in me at all. I was prancing around in bikinis and you reacted like I was wearing a full-body burlap sack."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Isn't that rude though? Staring at women's bodies and objectifying them?" Cal didn't spend a lot of time on the internet, but his algorithms had picked up that he was a green flag guy, so his view of Earth's culture was skewed in that direction. "Guys shouldn't be staring or whistling or ogling you even if you're nearly naked."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Well...true," Arden said, stumbling a bit. "But like...there's a difference between ogling and appreciation! Like...objectifying literally means making someone into a thing right? If you ever made me feel like not a person, like a things because I was in a bikini, that would be bad. Subtracting the stuff that makes me me and only caring about the parts of me that you want to use is bad." She looked up at him. "But I don't think you'll ever do that."