Get Well Soon (closed)

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen had to struggle not to blush as he kissed her hand. He was definitely different from all the other guys she met. "I grew up in a town about 30 miles north from here. I was glad to get out of there. As much as I love my siblings, I didn't really get along with my mom very well," she said softly, "She never understood why I wanted to go to college and I never understood why she worked where she worked. Just a case of clashing personalities and misunderstandings for us."

 

[DrStein]

Shadow nodded in response. "It must have been difficult for you at first." He quietly thought about the contrast. She cared for her siblings but didn't get along with her mother. Shadow had been very close to his parents but he and Flint hadn't spoken to one another since the accident. Maybe it was time to finally apologize... No, he could think about this later. He had offered to take Vixen out, and he would not be rude by getting lost in his own thoughts. He cleared the thoughts away before they had a chance to show in his face.

 

[ChaoticLove]

"Difficult is a bit of an understatement, but yeah...it was," she said softly as she looked down at the table. Mostly it had been difficcult because of the teasing her family had to deal with at school. It had been a small town and everyone they came into contact knew what her mother did to support her family. "Do you get along with your family?" she asked out of curiosity.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow pursed his lips a moment. He still didn't like to talk about it, but at the same time she had asked him. He couldn't be rude in such a situation, it just wasn't it him. "I... I don't see my brother much. We had a falling out. My fault, really. Other than that I have a few extended relatives here and there. During my traveling I lost contact with them. Only saw some of them again last Christmas." He shrugged, though he wasn't sure what exactly that was supposed to communicate. On the one hand it didn't seem right to omit certain details, but he didn't want to bring the evening down either.

After turning it over in his head he sighed in resignation. "It's a long story, and probably better told somewhere else... at another time."

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen could see that he didn't want to tell her about it, but she couldn't take back her question. "I probably shouldn't have asked. Talking about difficult times is never good for a first date, for any number of reasons," she said softly. Sipping her tea, she tried to think of a change of topic. "I tend to suck at small talk. Always saying or asking the wrong thing."

 

[DrStein]

The warmth came back to Shadow's face as he smiled. "Don't worry, you were only curious. It's part of your charm, I think." He sipped his tea slowly and scratched his muzzle. "If you'd prefer a comfortable silence for a while, I think I can manage that."

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen returned his smile, happy to see that he was back to being that warm, open person he had been before her ill-timed question. There was such a difference between the closed look that had crossed his face when the attention had been turned to his family. "Comfortable silences are my best friend. It's so hard to find someone who can deal with the silence for any stretch of time," she told him.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow nodded in reply. He leaned back in his seat at the small booth and looked deep into her eyes. He had learned a long time ago the power that the right kind of look could have on a person. When he performed hypnosis on stage, he stared directly between someone's eyes. When he was confronted with trouble, he would do the same but with an almost predatory underlook. And here and now he simply let his eyes meet hers.

"Something I picked up in Ireland was the soul gaze. Look into my right eye as I do yours. It is said that doing so can let people get a glimpse into one another's spirit." Shadow was not a mystic. He knew where the old legends came from, the explanation for why soul gazing made people feel closer. But when you have the truth and you have a good story, you tell the good story. And so he began soul gazing upon Vixen. Whether or not you were a believer in such things, few could deny that after only mere moments of such eye contact, whatever tension remained in his body seemed to drift away and his face softened as the last traces of his inner pain from earlier vanished like so much smoke in a whirlwind.

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen did as he intrusted with no questions at all. She had never heard about anything like the soul gaze but she was always open to trying something new and unusual. She could see as those last traces of pain left him. She hadn't even realized tha the had been in pain still. Sure there was bound to be plenty leftover for sometime but he had played it off to the point where she hadn't noticed it being a problem for him. And she was much more observant to hidden pain that most people were. As a nurse it was part of her job.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow wasn't really sure how long they spent soul gazing, but it was broken by the arrival of their food. To say he was hungry was a bit of an understatement. Cold cereal and juice at the hospital and no lunch. He managed to show some class though and despite his raging appetite ate slowly and properly. "What did you think?" he asked Vixen. "Of the soul gaze, that is. It's a rather unique experience isn't it?"

 

[ChaoticLove]

When the food arrived, Vixen smiled slightly as their gazes broke and they concentrated on their food for a few seconds. "Unique is a word for it. Most people would probably find it completely uncomfortable, but I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before about you," she commented, "You, sir, are still in a bit of pain, but you hide it well."

 

[DrStein]

Shadow stopped eating at that and looked up at her. He had figured she might pick up something like that. "Yes, I do. As for hiding it... I have to. I'm a public figure now, at least locally. Part of the job is all about putting on a brave face."

He chewed a bite of sashimi thoughtfully before speaking again. "And I saw of you that, like me, there are unpleasant memories that came up in our talk. But you've clearly come to terms with them a long time ago. You're strong. I admire that."

 

[ChaoticLove]

"That makes sense. It probably wouldn't do for the public to see just how hurt you really were," she told him as she took another bite of her food. It took a lot of strength to hide pain of any kind.

His next comment kind of surprised her. "My childhood was filled with unpleasant memories. It was either come to term with them or become like my mother. The latter probably would have been easier, but I didn't want whatever children that lay in the future for me to go through what I did. I don't think I ever made that decision for me," she said quietly.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow gently reached out and placed his hand over Vixen's. "Doesn't mean you don't deserve respect for coming this far. You said there was an easy way out, but you didn't take it. That means something."

He withdrew again and smiled. "Oh listen to me go on. We're here to enjoy ourselves. I want to see you smiling again. Come on."

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen smiled a little reluctantly. He was right, she hadn't taken the easy way out and that was what counted. "Alright. No more moping about for either of us. We'll just have a nice, fun night out," she told him as her smile grew more ginuine.

 

[DrStein]

"That's what I want to hear." He held up a hand, signaling her to wait and watch. He moved his hands over a piece of surf clam sushi and a California roll, obscuring them from view. When his hands moved again a few seconds later, they had switched places. "Something I picked up in Japan."

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen laughed slightly at the trick. It was something that she would rather believe to be magic than to know how the trick worked. "Many might ask you to explain how you did it, but I rather believe in the magic. Without the belief in things like magic, the world becomes a very dull place," she said softly.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow rested his chin on his hand with a shit-eating grin. "That is why I'm here, my dear."

Toward the end of the meal, the check was presented. Shadow reached into the air and produced his AmEx card wrapped in a few bills for a tip seemingly just by plucking it out of the aether into existence. It was a generous tip as well, as he was generally very sympathetic to wait staff and the sort of thing they went through day in and day out.

"I have a thought," he said as he vanished the card with another wave of his wrist. "I know I offered an episode of Mad Men, but I came up with something a little different if you'd be willing to indulge me."

 

[ChaoticLove]

"Are you willing to tell me what it is or is it supposed to be a surprise?" Vixen asked, "It doesn't matter. I'm willing to indulge you just cause I like your company and it's better than going home and being alone. Well...not quite that way that sounded but you know what I mean." At least she hoped he did.

 

[DrStein]

Shadow waved a hand dismissively to show he knew what she meant. "I'd like to keep it a surprise if I may. Magic is theater after all, and I prefer to have a few unexpected plot twists. What can I say, I'm secretly a terrible drama queen."

They left the restaurant and came back to Shadow's apartment. It was clear that he was the territorial type as the entire place bore his personality clearly. Everything was a mix of Old World charm and mysticism mixed with modern sensibility. A large TV with sizable DVD collection and sound system with a sectional sofa. Rich, dark colored walls to match a lush dark blue carpet. On the wall a print of Jackson Pollock's "Alchemy" hung next to a shelf with souvenirs collected from his travels. On a sideboard was a large collection of photos, also of his trip around the world. And there was a distinct scent to the place. It was difficult to pin down, but the scent was decidedly masculine. It was just strong enough to be noticeable but not enough so to be at all unpleasant.

Shadow went straight to the entertainment center and put a DVD in the player. "Take your shoes off and get comfortable. I've always wanted a dance partner for this." The DVD was Peter Gabriel's Secret World concert.

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen laughed at his last words, "It's a poorly kept secret then." She didn't mind that he was keeping it a surprise. She'd yet to have a bad experience with surprises.

Going from the restaurants simple decorating to Shadow's apartment was an experience. It was almost exactly what she would have pictured if someone had asked her where he might live. Except for the fact that she pictured him in a house. Why she pictured him in a house she didn't know, it just seemed to fit him better than an apartment in her mind. Slipping out of her shoes at his insistance, she moved about the room, taking stalk in all she saw.

"Dance partner?" she repeated in confusion as she looked back at him.

 

[DrStein]

The opening of Solsbury Hill started up on the TV and speakers and Shadow rose up smiling at Vixen. "Just follow my lead." He began dancing in the same manner as Peter and the other musicians on stage, his body swaying to the odd 7/4 beat. As the song went on, the dance got sillier, campier, and more elaborate. The furnishing in the living room was sparse, so there was ample room for the two of them.

 

[ChaoticLove]

She followed his lead a little clumsily at first. It felt strange to her as the danced, she simply wasn't used to dancing. Yet...as the dance went on, she found herself having fun. This wasn't how she imgained spending her evening out, but she couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying herself.

 

[DrStein]

As the song wound down, the dance more or less generated into just prancing and skipping about the room and twirling in circles sometimes with their arms out like children pretending to fly. It would have been ridiculous to anyone who could have seen, but Shadow didn't seem bothered in the slightest. On the contrary, this seemed like something he had done many times before. True enough, it was a way for him to relieve stress.

He was about to do a little jump at the last beat when the wound in his side started to complain. He immediately stopped and put his hand to the bandaged spot. "Okay, don't want to tempt fate. Let's just go straight to dessert."

 

[ChaoticLove]

Vixen laughed at his words and nodded her head in agreement. "You have a way of making people forget that you've been injured," she said as she walked over to him, "I hope you didn't pull anything....so...what's for dessert?" She didn't have a prefrence as to what it was but she loved dessert, it was the whole reason to eat a meal.