Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

“I’m so excited, carino,” Gabi said, holding Monica affectionately. “I’ve already looked at a few places. I want it to be perfect. And you’ll be pretty whatever you wear.”

As Monica discussed the developer and the Lehman Yards real estate project, Gabi nodded. “Absolutely! I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to support you. Preferably something nerdy since I don’t think I’ve got the skills for the sidekick game.” She grinned. “When are you going out next? Do you have, like, a schedule? I was trying to keep track of it early on when I was trying to figure out if the news reports about the vigilante happened on the nights I knew you were out, but I didn’t find too much of a pattern.”

A little while later, Monica and Gabi curled up on the couch to watch a streaming show. “You got anything else you want to do this weekend? The LSA is screening a movie tomorrow night if you’d like to go.” She checked her phone. “Y Tu Mama Tambien? I’ve also got an essay I should get started on before things ramp up this week,” she noted, as the upcoming week was the last before mid-terms.

 

[siobhancan99]

"lets go to the movie. Oh, also, When I thought Alex Townes was the killer I volunteered to do his podcast. I'm sort of stuck doing it now. I was thinking maybe my jealous over protective girlfriend could come sit in on it you know, what with what happened to Mateo and all"

Monica grinned "you know, to make sure his hands stay to himself." She kept herself curled around Gabi "there's not really a schedule so much as like, well Monday and Tuesday seem to be kind of crap for it, so it's mostly like... when can I get out without sacrificing having a personal life, but on a night that makes sense you know? So a lot of it worked around your schedule, or what we had going on on the weekend and stuff." She rested her head on Gabi's shoulder and tangled her legs with the other girl's. She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying a moment of holding Gabi but still feeling weird as she was "the other woman" and found that didn't feel very nice. Still, she had to trust that the schedule would be adhered to. Besides friends coupled in the dark and made plans to see sexy Mexican movies... right?

"Sounds good. We can go to that if you want. What's your paper about?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi smiled. “I’ll be happy to hang out and occasionally threaten him,” she said. “I know I’m, like, totally intimidating.”

As they cuddled up on the couch, Gabi said, “Excellent. People always bring some awesome food there! I think I’ll whip up some turtle brownies.”

“I have to do this ‘close reading’ thing about a poem for my British Literature class,” she said. “I tried a long one because then you have more to write about and I never know what to say, so I went with this one ‘The Last Duchess’ or ‘My Last Duchess’ or something. It’s kind of interesting because there are like hints that the guy killed the woman he’s talking about? Speaking of Mateo. You’re better at this kind of thing so I’ll probably bug you for hints.”

Gabi stroked Monica’s hair as they settled on a streaming show to watch. “Your hair is so gorgeous, mi vida. Seeing it on the pillow when I wake up..." She trailed off, twirling some of it around a finger and softly kissing the top of Monica's head.

After a while, Monica was brushing her teeth when she saw her friend behind her in the mirror, clutching her phone and wearing a slightly nervous expression. Gabi glanced over.

“I just texted Shaun,” Gabi told her. “I asked if I could meet him at a café near his work tomorrow. I…I’m going to do it…tell him. Does that make me a terrible person?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica closed her eyes and just let Gabi play with her hair. It was at once just so sensual and intimate and yet innocent enough. "I love when you play with it. I could fall asleep like this." She honestly could pretend, at least for a bit, that the rest of the wicked world didn't exist. She briefly wondered if being happy would end her days as a vigilante. If the death of the masked woman wasn't a gunshot, but a pillowy boob and deft fingers playing in her blond locks. She discarded that though. Her mother had needed more. She probably would too. She had a taste for it. Still, it was hard to imagine getting up and going out into the cold at the moment.

Monica finished rinsing her mouth and looked back at Gabi "Well I'm not gonna lie, getting dumped generally isn't something people embrace with a parade, love."

She turned and wrapped Gabi up in a hug "Is any of this awesome for Shaun? No. It isn't. But would staying out of guilt be awesome for you or Shaun? Also no. You'd end up resenting him and you'd fight and eventually be done anyway. I'd be like, dating Eve or something and we'd be snarling at each other too. Or worse you just stay and you're like "I can't leave Shaun now because our fourth kid is about to graduate from med school and we're gonna take that trip we always promised but never got around to" and what good is that doing anyone?"

She let go of Gabi "look I can't promise you that this thing between us is going to work out or be sunshine and rainbows, but you need to be honest with yourself that if things with Shaun were that way, you'd have considered your attraction to me a crush you got over. You'd be all 'oh haha remember when I wanted to date Monica? I'm so glad our husbands play golf together and the kids are all so happy playing at each other's house" but you're not. So you're doing a hard thing to try to be happy, and to let Shaun be happy. Is it awesome? no. But is it the right thing to do? yes. Because staying for the wrong reasons is a million times worse than leaving for the right ones. It isn't wrong to try to be happy, Gabi."

 

[Halcyon638]

The look of tension faded from Gabi’s face. “Thank you. Being raised all religious, part of me is like, ‘no, you should deny yourself this thing that’s going to make you happy until you’ve really earned it.’ Through being miserable,” she said, a slight smile on her lips. “And just so you know, I knew I was breaking up with Shaun the minute you kissed me. It was just a matter of when.”

As they climbed into bed together, Gabi wrapped Monica up in her arms again, though still being careful with where she placed her arms and hands. “I just want you to know…I know I’m usually the optimistic one between us, but I know it could be…tricky. So, I want you to know you can call it off at any point and it won’t affect our friendship, okay? It means too much to me--our friendship."

Gabi softly squeezed Monica’s hand under the blanket. “So…what do you say we move up dinner out for tomorrow night? The movie’s not until 9 but I thought…maybe we could do dinner out and a movie in? Unless you’ve got the podcast or something…”

 

[siobhancan99]

"dinner AND a movie? You know that I don't put out on a first date right?" She laughed but then she got a little serious "I mean I'm kind of kidding around but uh. I don't. And I'm... not sure that rule applies because we've known each other for so long but at the same time I uh... look I've never done this before and so I am kind of afraid I won't be any good and ... If we could take it slow and just... you know be chill on that front till I feel like I'm getting some things right I ... would really appreciate it." She bit her lip "I mean. If you uh. Know. and uh, wanna show me, then we can go a little faster but like... I dunno . I mean what if I suck at it? ...I just... I mean you've had this thing in your head for so long and what if I'm just a shitty lay? Ugh."

She slumped against the wall "I know its... you know my role... to be the confident one all the time so... I'm sorry. I don't feel confident. I'm confident I want it. I'm not... I just want you to have what you want so bad and I don't... I worry that I won't give it to you and you'll do what you always do and make me feel better about it. and I know that's silly but. I just. I care about you and I want it to work and its weird cause we already live together so ... we're already doing things out of order."

 

[Halcyon638]

“No, it’s my bad,” Gabi said, sitting up a bit in bed. “I didn’t realize how it sounded…I was just thinking, dinner would be nice for a first date-y thing, and then watching movies together is already pretty much what we do. We could still go to the LSA one, though. I just thought…”

Gabi nodded. “We can absolutely take it slow, querida. I’ve had…I was with…one…girl before.” She looked down timidly. “Two times, and it wasn’t even…I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. We’d be figuring this out together.”

A bittersweet smile spread to the brunette’s lips. “Listen…I’ve maybe done it with a total of one person who I really cared about and who cared about me. And then he turned out to be kind of an asshole,” she said, referring to a past boyfriend. “I would…eventually…like to experience it with someone who I have a real connection to. Nothing against Shaun, but we just didn’t…fully click. That’s the thing that matters to me most.”

As Monica noted they were doing things out of order, Gabi nervously stroked a lock of her own hair between her index finger and thumb. “You know, we haven’t done anything yet. If this is too much…too weird, or anything…you won’t hurt my feelings by telling me. I’d totally understand.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica laughed softly "no. no. I was making a joke about you going all out. Dinner and a movie is 100 percent fine. Its better than fine it sounds lovely. It does." She stepped in and rested her hands on Gabi's sides "and... its not weird it is just new and I ... you know I hate doing anything I am not good at and in this case I just... really want to be good because I want you to feel like you made the right decision. I don't want you to regret breaking up with Shaun who... I have heard... gets you at least in one fashion" She laughed and turned red, then kissed Gabi's forehead "look. The first weekend we were here I was struck by how hot you turned in the last year. The night you met Shaun I was jealous. In part jealous because he's fine, but in part jealous of him because YOU are fine." She ran her fingers along Gabi's arm. " and that night I put you to bed wasted and you said you dreamed about me holding you. Fuck. I've thought about that 100 times. Tortured myself with it. I... I want you. I want you. I just... also don't want to rush and skip all the parts at the beginning."

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi smirked. “Fine. I promise you I will absolutely tell you if you’re bad at the sex. You do the same for me,” she said. “God, you’re adorable when you blush.” It was her turn to grow a bit flushed when Monica mentioned her drunken confession. “Oh. My. God. I said that?” She hung her head, letting her long hair conceal my face. “Wow. I’m such a lightweight. If I remembered saying that before I confessed everything to you…I would have died. There were definitely a lot of those moments for me. When we went out on that walk at night and you were protecting me and holding my hand and all of that…” She mimed fanning her face. “Yeahh. That was…that was agony.”

Gabi smiled and rested her head on the pillow. “I totally get that. Tomorrow will be our first date. I was thinking...I could go get dressed for dinner at Cristina's and then meet you here if that would...makes things kinda special. Also...if you want…we don’t have to sleep together—I mean share a bed together—until…we hit the right point. Except for tonight. I’m already snug as hell and you aren’t getting me out of your bed,” she said, tugging Monica toward her with the collar of her shirt. Gabi gave her a warm kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, carino."

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica curled around Gabi "and probably the night after that. and the night after that. And the night after that" She ran her hand along Gabi's back, then over her round ass, gently squeezing it "You can stay here any night you like. I sleep well next to you." She kissed Gabi's cheek, then her shoulder. She dragged her foot along Gabi's calf, then smiled. Part of her felt bad, as she was looking at the window wondering if she should hit the street. The warmth of the girl next to her said no, though. She kissed her shoulder then nestled in. She swallows and presses into her, then sighed. "Night love"

She slept well enough, waking up early and making breakfast. Just some bagels and bacon eggs and cheese. She made coffee for Gabi, setting it all aside for her, then had a shower. She came out to find Gabi eating, and kissed her temple "I can be in the area if it will make you feel better, or we can just meet up when you're done with Shaun.

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi thought for a moment as she added some creamer to her coffee. “Thank you, querida,” she said at her invitation. “I should be okay, but if you’d like to meet up after, there are some nice little stores around there we can check out in that neighborhood.” As Monica had her krav maga class coming up, the time table made sense. “One thing we should probably say in terms of like, some ground rules are…don’t feel like you have to spend the whole day with me. It’d be fun if you can make it but I’m not going to suddenly start being like, ‘hmm, she turned down a chance to hang out? What does it mean??’” She smiled. “I would say to invite members of the group along but maybe not this time just because I’m sure I’ll need to talk.”

Checking her alternate email, Monica found that she’d received a message from Detective Knapp in response to her checking in on him about Hadley:

Thanks for asking. Hadley is holding up okay. That fucker scared the shit out of her but luckily he didn’t hurt her. Thanks to you. I don’t even know how to thank you for what you did. I’m very sorry about Paige Howe. I hope you are okay. Anyway, I may not respond to emails and texts as quickly since I’m trying to focus on being a somewhat less shitty dad and be there for my daughter, but you can still call me in an emergency and I’ll answer. Cheers.

Soon afterwards, Monica was headed out the door on the way to class. “Sooo, when are you going to invite me along to one of your classes so I can watch you get all sweaty and toss dudes around?” Gabi said, looping her arms around her friend’s waist. “Wish me luck. I figure after we get back this afternoon and I get a little work done on my paper, we can do some masked lady research stuff? Is it weird that I’m super-pumped for that?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nods "I honestly intend to keep getting a lot of time to myself, chica hermosa. " She needed that, even as a kid, just that time to be alone and not have anyone up her ass. the first part of patrol always did that for her, tooling around, looking for trouble but feeling like any that she saw she could take or leave. It was important to her. She was solitary in a lot of ways. "But I figured you might want someone close by in case it is hard." She moved over, running her fingers through her roommate and soon to be girl's hair, dragging her nails softly along her scalp. She leaned down and kissed her forehead then went and changed for class.

She emerged in loose sweats covering a sports bra. No makeup, hair back "Well I have to pretend to not be great, and honestly it makes me concentrate on the form a lot more to like, not display my natural ability. I think it helps me like, actually learn the skills better. So you know, I'm in with the hausfraus and the 10 year olds. Doing what six weeks of Krav Maga training lets me do... basically throw punches, some kicks. a few holds. I gotta learn to crawl before I run you know? I mean could I kick the instructor's ass? maybe... but only because im strong and fast. In a year or two ill be strong and fast and skilled and that makes all the difference. Then I might pick up a weapon form like escrima or something." She laughed "oh my god. I sound like a teenage boy." she rolled her eyes at herself, then leaned in and kissed Gabi softly "for luck."

She squeezed her firmly against her "and I'm glad you want to help me. I want you to be as involved as you're comfortable being. Also I dunno. You'll probably help me be more productive and not just you know, beat up every dude on the street like he murdered my boyfriend." She ran her fingers along Gabi's back softly, not wanting to let go of her. "Anyway. Call if you need to. Otherwise we can study this afternoon and then go out. Where do you want to do dinner?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“That’s probably healthy—keeping some space,” Gabi remarked. “Thanks for asking, though, princesa.”

Gabi laughed at the teenage boy remark. “Just as long as you don’t ask me to watch you play video games,” she said. “That would bring back some totally traumatic memories.”

As Monica held her, Gabi gently toyed with the zipper of her roommate’s hoodie. “I was thinking this place downtown call Il Vigneto. Hadley said her mom and stepdad—or, future stepdad or whatever—took her there a couple times and that it’s really good. It sounds kinda fancy but the kinda fancy we can actually afford. I can text you the link. There was another place Cristina mentioned that I can look up, too.”

Gabi added, “Sure, we can totally meet up back here afterwards.”

Monica’s class went by quickly. It was a few days since she’d had the adrenaline rush of combat, and even that was only momentary, though having a shotgun pointed at her made up for intensity what it lacked in duration. The class provided a slight taste at least. It was mild for an October day, with occasional sprinkles, but looked like the rain would hold off for that evening.

She was grabbing a bite to eat as she dug into her own homework when Gabi returned from the bus stop. There was a difficult-to-read expression on the dark-haired girl’s face. “Well…it’s over,” she said, her hands balled up in the sleeves of her hoodie.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica worked herself hard, as getting a shotgun in the face was not something she wanted to repeat and so she had to become a killing machine. Well, maybe not killing. She did resent the fact her mother fucked off into space and wasn't around to teach her a martial art designed for her strength and speed. She'd have to develop her own eventually, she supposed. Or find some Centauri. part of her was tempted to look online, but she figured it would only alert the government or attract crazies. Still, she made sure she had discipline in class. Made sure her form was perfect, rather than think about what she was doing with it.

When she got home she had a shower. She thought about getting herself off, but didn't know if Gabi would be coming home soon so she opted not to. She settled in, munching a hot dog smothered in mustard and reading for her film class when Gabi came in. She wanted to run over and scoop her up when she saw her face. She wasn't so sure that was a good idea though. She felt guilty. Like she'd broken them up. She had. not like she broke them up. She did break them up. She swallowed and walked over, cupping Gabi's face. She brushed her thumbs along her cheekbones and looked into her eyes. "I guess the question is. are you ok?" She bit her lip "Do you need anything? Do you need me to fuck off and leave you alone? Just let me know."

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi wrapped her arms around Monica. “It was…okay,” she said, drooping her chin onto her friend’s shoulder. “He wasn’t really surprised, especially with the text I’d sent him. And I had a lot of nice things to say about him, which—the other two times I had to break up with somebody…not so much.”

She pulled away from her friend for a moment, concerningly at first, but then Monica realized it was so the brown-eyed girl could look into her eyes. “But…it feels right,” she said, a smile slowly spreading to her lips. “The decision, I mean. I can’t even tell you how excited I am for tonight. And…and I know you don’t want me getting my hopes up too high. But going on a date with my best friend…” She held Monica’s hand and raised it to chin height.

“Uggh. I don’t know how I’m going to sit down and write about poetry for the next couple hours,” Gabi lamented with a grin. She gave Monica a soft kiss on the back of her hand, then entwined it with hers once more.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica deadpanned "Yeah there's very little about going on a date with a beautiful woman that, historically, inspires poetry" she rolled her eyes and then grinned at her ... girlfriend? was that ahead of the game?

She used her other hand to tilt Gabi's face to hers, then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips. She tugged at her upper lip, then her lower before making her way to the corner of her mouth, kissing her there, then brushed her nose around Gabi's. She brushed her thumb softly along the back of the pretty Latina's hand, keeping her fingers entwined "It will be nice. It will be nice to be out. To be on a date, but also it will really be nice to know that I actually like the person."

Tom had started as a friend, and when his older girlfriend dumped him for some college guy, he basically just sort of told her they were dating and it went from there. There were some parallels there, which was weird, but at the same time she knew that she could at least make the transition. She could go from friends to lovers. She tried not to be too hopeful, but seeing Gabi like this lit something in her. Or thawed something that was frozen. Some sort of metaphor for warming. She wrapped her arm around Gabi's back again, still holding her hand with the other. "We should probably study or something. At least you know, not just stand in the door."

 

[Halcyon638]

“Oh, sweetie,” Gabi said, “if only you knew about the amount of bad poetry you inspired me to write. There are least two anonymous poems out there on the internet that would literally make me die of embarrassment if you stumbled across them somehow.” She winked. “That’s why I stick to science.”

Gabi closed her eyes as Monica kissed her on the lips, letting out a soft, wordless, contented sound. “Yes! At bare minimum, I’m getting some Italian food and getting to hang out with my best girl.”

Gabi slowly disentangled herself from Monica. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” the Latina replied. “I’m going to work til around 4 and then we can look into the other thing—the developer thing.”

Monica continued her reading for film class, which was focused on the art of the montage. Afterwards, they reconvened, looking into the Lehman Yards project and Gilliam Heights on their laptops as they both sat on the couch. “Ohhh,” Gabi said, “I thought this sounded familiar. Ian mentioned something about he and Caleb and Trey going to a rally against this a few weeks ago.”

As the two women did some digging, they turned up what sounded like a pretty standard story. Wealthy developers (led by a British company called Millstone Holdings) trying to buy up properties or get properties torn down in a section of Gilliam Heights populated mainly by working class people, driving up rents and driving away small business owners with a long tradition in the area, all with the goal of building luxury skyrises and condos under the umbrella of the Lehman Yards project. The project had won the support of Mayor Lisa Lazzarra and much of the city council, the latter even going so far as to rewrite regulations allotting a certain percentage of the neighborhood’s dwellings to affordable housing and other zoning laws applying to the area. There were reports of Millstone treating Lazzarra and other council members to a lavish, week-long European retreat under the guise of offering free urban development “consulting” services to the city.

“Hmm. It doesn’t sound great, but it doesn’t sound like a problem you can probably punch your way out of,” Gabi remarked. A moment later, though, she said, “Wait. This sounds kind of sketchy. Here.” She waited for Monica to put her computer aside and then shared her laptop with her friend. Matthew Drum, a journalist for the Prospect City Herald, who had been investigating the deal and apparently was the one who turned up the report about Millstone’s gifts to politicians, died in a car crash a few months after that story broke. The crash officially was ruled an accident caused by Drum’s intoxication.

“Huh,” Gabi said. “Seems a little weird, but it also seems like going too far if you’re already getting your way legally. What do you think?”

Gabi grabbed a Greek yogurt, tiding herself over until their 8 o’clock dinner reservation. They had made plans to share a Lyft there and back. “So…I’ll go get ready at Cristina’s and meet you here around 7:30?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Nodding, she said "Yeah, I'm strictly crimes of violence only. I'm not breaking into ships and beating up captains for violating the Jones Act and sailing between two American ports with a foreign registered vessel."

When she looked over the article she gave a hmmm "So my dad used to say the government killed the keyboardist for this band. Um. Steel butterfly or some shit? They had some long acid rock tune that is like, all over 80s movie soundtracks. Car crash. After he was in the band he said became a physicist and said faster than light travel was possible. My mom laughed and said even the Centauri didn't have FTL so the government didn't have to kill him. He was probably just crazy and crashed his car. At first blush, it seems like this might be that. Still, I can always ask Knapp if they actually did a BAC or anything on the guy. Worth looking into."

She ran her fingers through Gabi's silky soft, lustrous nearly black hair. "Sounds good." Then leaned in and kissed her temple. She spent a little bit looking up Drum's other big articles. Even if he had been murdered, that didn't mean the developers did it. She could cast a wide net. She could also maybe reach out to that Morgan kid and see if he knew the guy. Worth a shot at least. Hard to do though. She had to find some way to approach him.

When Gabi left, she slipped into her room and undressed, then laid on the bed. She inhaled, then let out a long slow breath and started letting her hands roam. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular to start, more imagining sensations and touches that echoed the path of her hands. She cupped her breasts, toying with her nipples and let out a little moan. It'd been ages since she'd gotten laid. She should have fucked Austin yesterday. Regrets there, but not many. She breathed a little faster, feeling her deprived body responding to the sensations. Her hand slipped down between her legs, her fingers peeling back the hood of her clit a moment. She lightly pinched, then released and started making circles against her lips and clit with her fingers. Her moans filled the small room and her head rolled to the side. She couldn't settle on a fantasy, at times Austin, but mostly Gabi, the way she'd look and the way it would feel to touch her. As she reached climax, she held the image of Gabi splayed out before her on the bed in her mind. Her body tensed, all the muscles locking up, then she bucked with the force of her long delayed release. "Fuck" she muttered, laying on the bed, just enjoying a moment.

After she got up and showered, brushed and curled her hair. She threw on dark stockings, black boy shorts and a bra. Added to the mix was a navy skirt and white blouse. Finally she threw on a pair of daring heels and got out her coat, then sat reading Drum's other articles a bit as she waited on Gabi.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Yeah. You can fight crime like that when you get older and you’re tired of running around in alleyways,” Gabi noted with a smile.

Drum’s reporting was mostly focused on city politics, so much of what Monica found was fairly dry, delving into the minutiae of disputes between local bigwigs who likely yielded a fair amount of power but were all new names to her as a new resident. Three years ago, he had published a series of articles on the energy/pharmaceuticals/genetic engineering company HelixCorp’s attempt to allegedly silence but mostly legally subdue a class action suit brought against the company by former employees alleging a variety of health problems resulting from unsafe levels of exposure that the corporation seemed to know about. The case had been settled two years ago, well before Drum’s death in January.

Around 7:30, Monica heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, she found Gabi standing there. Her hair was up once more and she was wearing a silvery crop-top with a single shoulder strap, along with clingy black pants that flared a bit at the ankle. The brunette’s face lit up as she saw Monica. “Hi,” she said, grinning. “Wow. You look…incredible.” She extended her hand to her friend. “Our chariot should be here soon.” She checked a Lyft notification, crossed her fingers, and added, “Please no weirdos. Please no weirdos.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica bit her lip "you look amazing." She hugged Gabi and then wasn't sure if a kiss was in order or what. She could feel that nervous excitement, which was weird because she'd been doing things with Gabi since they were kids. Just not these things, she supposed. She shifted a little, running her fingers along Gabi's arms. "you look great. And you don't have to worry if the driver is weird as long as he doesn't smell bad. Remember, you're with me." she gave Gabi a little squeeze, then they headed out to eat.

At the restaurant, she settled in and ordered some pasta. As they waited for the food she focused on asking Gabi about her week, how her classes were going and all that sort of thing. She kept the other girl talking as much as she could, in part because she didn't like talking about herself, but also just because that was her sort of 'go to' move on a date. Ask questions, ask follow up questions to show she was paying attention and make the other person feel focused on. She asked about plans for the week, and what Gabi and her parents were doing for parents weekend. She still had to figure out what to do with her dad. Probably just go around eating and come out to him she guessed. Mostly eating.

 

[Halcyon638]

"How is it?" Gabi asked, glancing in the direction of Monica's food while the brunette prepared to dine.

“I can’t believe it’ll be mid-terms after next week,” Gabi mused, taking a bite of her ravioli. “Nick was mentioning that we’ll be able to see spring classes this week, too. So, what are we going to take together? Maybe something fun like an art class? I’d love to do an art history course, too.”

“Hopefully we’ll make it back to Cottersville some weekend soon,” Gabi said. “It would be fun to take our friends. Hopefully, Hadley will be up for it, too.”

“So, I have been thinking about maybe trying to find a job now that I’ve got a feel for how busy things are,” Gabi said. “I mean, my basic costs are covered and Mom and Dad give me some spending money but…I kind went a little overboard with the clothes shopping a couple weeks ago, and it’d be nice to be saving money for stuff. Like, maybe going somewhere spring break. I guess I could try applying for some cashier jobs since that’s my only experience,” she noted, referring to the two summers she’d worked in the Hammonds’ farm store hawking apple butter and other folksy stuff to out-of-towners. “Are there any places not far from campus that I could try? I’d rather not do two buses to get there.”

After they’d finished their meals, their server returned and asked if they were considering dessert. “I think I’m good. Unless you want to split something?” Gabi said.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica waved off dessert, assuming there'd be something at the movie. "Why don't you try an on campus job at one of the libraries? Or in the bio labs or something? Some of those jobs you can study while you sit there and even the ones that don't have security and public transit back to our apartment." She shifted "I mean not to go all Sara on you but ... I'd feel better knowing you weren't like, being robbed by some junkie or something. There's always work study jobs posted around campus. Try for one of those first. Besides if you get something in the bio department you might get a good reference out of it for grad school. We have to think about that kind of shit you know?" She leaned back "I was thinking we'd take calc 2 together since that's probably going to be our hardest class and we both need it. Then if you wanted to take an elective like history or something I'm down. We need to see what we can fit in where." She leaned across the table and took Gabi's hand for a minute "this was a nice idea"

When the check came she paid it "you can get stuff at the movie" She was, after all, working. She could afford to pick up dinner and she assumed that tickets to the movie weren't free and snacks and whatnot also were not free. As they made their way out to get their car, she took Gabi's hand in hers and threaded her fingers through. "I'm having a nice night. I hope you are too, beautiful." She turned to look at her roommate, taking in her olive skin, her pouty lips and thick dark hair. She bit her lip, sort of wanting to just drag her back home but... taking it slow was the right call. Maybe. She could always decide differently later.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Yeah, good call on calc,” Gabi said with a nod. “I thought they’d said something about how I wasn’t eligible for work-study due to my scholarship or financial aid or something, but I should double check,” she said. “Definitely getting something science-related would be amaaazing. Even if I have to volunteer for experiments,” she said with a grin. “That reminds me—Nick interned at HelixCorp, I think? Maybe he could hook me or you up. Though you’ve probably got the edge because you streamed with him.” She gazed at Monica warmly as her friend took her hand.

As they walked down the street outside the restaurant and held hands, the sidewalks were bustling with residents making their ways from the various eateries, clubs, and bars. “I am having a very nice night, mi vida,” she said. “I feel…comfortable, but at the same time, everything feels…new. Come here!” Gabi wrapped her arm around Monica and began angling her phone in front. She snapped a photo. “One more,” she said. Gabi pressed her warm lips on Monica’s right cheek and took a second picture.

The brown-haired girl smiled as she looked at the photos. “Look at you. You look like a movie star, carino.”

By the time they made it to the movie theater, they were walking hand-in-hand once more. “Thanks for grabbing dinner,” Gabi said as they walked toward the concession stand. “Get whatever you want!”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica thought for a moment "Helix would be great! lets talk to Nick. Even if you're just washing beakers or something. Get your foot in the door. Everything we do right now we should be focused on where it is taking us."

AS they walked over to the concession stand she was torn between reeces pieces or Junior Mints. Both were a quality movie snack "Small popcorn, large Dr. Pepper. Bag of Reeces please" She disentangled from Gabi long enough to let the girl pay, then scooped up the food and headed in. she put the popcorn between them and then wrapped her left arm around Gabi's shoulders so she could eat with her right comfortably. She paused a moment, wondering if Gabi was ok with all her friends seeing it, but then figured she wouldn't have asked her here if not and relaxed. She leaned over and kissed Gabi's cheek "thank you for asking me out." She smiled and popped a few candies on her tongue to let them melt, wishing they were saltier. That was her main beef with Reeces. They needed fucking salt. Salty Reeces would be the world's best candy. "Should have gotten Junior Mints" she muttered as the opening credits started. As the movie started, she gently played with Gabi's hair, leaning in as best she could with the arm rest between them.

 

[Halcyon638]

“My pleasure,” Gabi said. As Monica put her arm around her and across her one bare shoulder, she said, “Your touch feels so good.” The movie was a forgettable sci-fi blockbuster, but as it went on, an occasional flash of light from the screen illuminated the theater and Gabi would glance over, a look of utter contentment on her face. At a certain point, the Latina went off for a bathroom break, then returned with a box of Junior Mints. “I think I can afford three boxes of candy,” she said, popping one into her mouth and then handing the rest over to Monica.

Afterwards, the two girls made their way out into the lobby and waited for the Lyft that Gabi had set up a little while before the end of the movie while discussing their thoughts about the movie, which consisted in part of pointing out the scientific liberties the filmmakers took. Still, it hadn’t seemed to dull any of Gabi’s enthusiasm.

When the driver dropped them off at the parking lot near their apartment, Gabi said, “Do you want to go for a little walk around campus? It’s so nice out.” As they began making their way down the paths that cut across the quad, they saw many of the dorms and Greek houses decked out with orange-and-black lights, skeletons, tombstones, and other seasonal décor. “Hopefully we won’t run into any stray dogs,” she said. The campus was teeming as the clock approached quarter to 1:00. “It's good to know I have my strong princesa here if anything goes down," Gabi said, running her hands down Monica's arms. "Not going to lie, there were a couple of nights where I thought about just pretending to be asleep so I could feel you carry me off to bed."