Outback Steakhouse, Wednesday Evening

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Perhaps the island had been satisfied by their sacrifice the last time they'd tried to get Paintball Dinner. Perhaps it figured they had suffered enough today already. Either way, the only shenanigans that Arden and Cal had encountered on their way to the steakhouse for dinner that evening were the traumatized memories of their afternoon.

They really needed to have a talk about appropriate targets for hero worship, Cal.

"So important question for you," Arden said as they were led to their table. "Are we risking an onion blossom with our cicada hands?" She held her hands up to him, waggling her fingers. "Or are we playing it safe and skipping the finger food?"

Yes she'd washed her hands like four times since their detention in the park. But the memories lingered.

[For he who is on the hook for dinner, pls!]

Comments

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I think Marc likes that he doesn't have to buy things or try to figure out how they work. Hopefully, he'll like me more once I have everything working," Cal said with a laugh. "There's nothing wrong with liking a challenge. I've got to keep my scrapper skills sharp."

He gave her a grin as he set his menu aside. "What's gone well for you recently?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Well, I got a new tattoo and got to climb a tower and visit the top of Mount Everest," Arden said with a soft laugh. "And when we get to blue in photography class, I'm gonna have some baller pictures to share from it."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"That really did work out well. And BD's willing to model if you need a few more pictures. He's got some blue highlights."

BD-1 straightened up a little and nodded, striking a pose from Cal's back. He had a wonderful face for pictures.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I mean, I want BD pics just for BD pics. Actually, you know what? Hang on." Arden reached into her bag and pulled out her camera, holding it up to get both of them in the shot. "Gimme your cutest faces," she instructed.

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal tilted his head a little and smiled, and BD-1 leaned in, poking at Cal like he was kissing him on the cheek. "This is the 'Before the Blooming Onion' photo."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden laughed and snapped a picture, then set it up so that it would show every time he called her. Which, okay, she didn't expect to be often because who called people, but you know. There might be times.

"Actually..." she said, and made a 'move move' motion with her hand before getting up and joining him on the other side of the table for a moment. "Scooch," she said, before sitting down on the booth with him and leaning against him while holding up her phone again. "This is the 'Before the Blooming Onion' picture," she teased. "While we're still friends."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I can't imagine not being friends with you again," Cal said. This time, he leaned his head against hers, and BD-1 squeezed in on the other side of them. "This will be the 'Before We Stuffed Ourselves" picture instead."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"You're right," Arden said, free hand finding his to give it a squeeze. "That's way better."

She lifted up her phone to get all three of them, taking several pictures in quick succession so they can choose the best one.

"This," she added, turning to look at him, squeezing his hand again. "This is what's going really well for me right now. Glad we finally got a chance to make this work."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I am too," Cal said fondly. "We'll have to come up with a way to maintain this dinner thing even after Paintball is over."

"You could just get meals together for fun," BD-1 pointed out.

"Yeah, we could just hang out, but the competition aspect makes it extra fun," Cal replied.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden's smile went a bit complicated for a moment before she chuckled softly, sliding out of the booth and back to her side. "We'll just have to keep taking classes together," she said. "I'm sure we can find a ton of ways for you to keep owing me dinners."