1516/Lute and Skitter Date

Lute and Skitter Date
Date of Scene:	06 February 2015
Location:	Southern Urbania
Synopsis:	Lute and Skitter go on a date to the zoo.
Cast of Characters:	188, 587

---

Lute (188) has posed:
     It's a beautiful day in Southern Urbania. It is somewhat cold, unfortunately, but such is the way things go in winter. A light layer of snow covers most of this recreational region. But, despite this, it's getting closer to the temperature some of it might just melt.

     So, why, then, would Lute take Skitter on a date to a zoo while it is so cold out? This is more of a summer activity, right? Well, there are several reasons. One, 'cold outside' often gives the couples excuses to be /really/ close together. Two, there aren't as many people here in the winter due to the weather, so it's like having the park to themselves. Three, the zoo has some indoor areas. Four, Lute has a lot of dates this month. The bills will start adding up. And Valentine's Day drained his disposable income. So he's going to use his seasonal zoo pass to make at least /some/ of the dates a /bit/ cheaper.

     He waits outside the entrance for Skitter. He's not super bundled up himself, just wearing a relatively light jacket, over a t-shirt and jeans. A scarf is around his neck as well, but it's mostly for style reasons. In the words of a really good song that is absolutely everywhere these days, the cold never bothered him anyways.

     He leans against a lampost, hands in pocket, waiting for Skitter. As he exhales, his breath is visible. He looks incredibly happy though. And, despite the fact he doesn't get as much dates as he'd like people to think and as such isn't super used to them, he's really not all that nervous.

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
This date is no big deal, right? Nothing will come of it, right? That's what Taylor tried to tell herself as she panicked this morning. She's never been on an actual date, and has absolutely no idea what to do, unless she wants to embarass herself. She considered wearing her full armor to hide her identity in case of someone unwanted seeing her, but Tattletale veto'd the idea immediately.

So here she is, on her first date and having no idea what to do. She's dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a green floral top, a jacket currently over it due to the cold, as she slowly approaches Lute. Her long curly brown hair flows down past her shoulders, and her brown eyes are covered by a pair of glasses. As Taylor gets closer to Lute, she starts to speak, showing exactly how nervous she is. "H-hey. Am I late?"

Powers above, please help her.

Lute (188) has posed:
     As Taylor arrives, Lute stops leaning on the lampost, and walks to meet her partway. Smiling. This is, in fact, the first time he has actually seen her in person. All he has had to go off was a bit of talking with her on the radio beforehand.

     "Hey, Taylor. Don't worry. You're not late. ...Also, wow, you're a lot cuter than I've heard."

     Normally Lute would, in fact, go straight in for a kiss right away. But, because Skitter has made it /quite/ clear she isn't sure about this, he won't be going in to give her that first kiss. /Yet/. Instead, he moves to take one of her hands, which in itself is often a lot more than most women are comfortable with. Not that Lute knows this.

     "I hope you don't mind the zoo as a date location. I thought it'd be fun. ...Besides, I think there might even be an insect exhibit, too."

     And, whether she lets him hold her hand or not, Lute will start leading her to the entrance, at least.

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
Taylor knew what Lute looked like, but only because she looked a picutre up. Which, of course, doesn't actually hold up to reality 100. As Lute compliments her, she pauses for a second. What does she say? Where did he hear? Why is her face red? "...T-thanks. You're not bad looking e-either." And then she mentally facepalms. She basically called him decent. You don't say that to someone!

And then Lute reaches for her hand. More internal panic. Does she let him, or doesn't she? If she does, that might show she's interested in him, which she isn't! But, if she recoils, she might embarass herself, and she's still going to have to talk to him and stuff due to the Confederacy. So, she does nothing, allowing him to take her hand. She totally feels awkward and her face hasn't stopped being red.

But then Lute starts talking about the location. Distraction! "I love the z-zoo, it's fine. Yeah, there is." Not that Taylor actually looked up the zoo. She can just sense so, so, so many insects scurrying around, it's crazy. She hasn't decided whether to tune it out or not. It'd be the perfect distraction if things get more awkward, atleast, she thinks, as she walks with him towards the entrance.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute keeps a fairly gentle grip on Taylor's hand. It is probably worth noting that it is a fairly strong and firm hand. He walks along, and though he is leading, he is making sure to go at Taylor's pace. Yeah, he is /somewhat/ thoughtful. Though it is completely going over his head how embarrased Taylor is. He's assuming the 'red face' is due to 'being totally into Lute and blushing with happiness'.

     As they walk along, he speaks up a bit. He doesn't know her /too/ well, and so he's going to ask more about her. This is, of course, more for the chance to romance her further in the future. Know about her, and then know how to treat her in the future.

     "So, you control insects, right? I never heard how you got that power... What's it like, controlling them, anyways?"

     As he leads her along, the first animal encountered in the zoo is a pen with some mountain goats. They're fairly active today, partially because they're animals that do well in the cold. Also, they're trying to keep warm. But, as Lute stops at the goats, he grabs a map from a stand right near the mountain goat pen.

     And then he uses this as an excuse to lean against Taylor, so they can share a map. He holds it in one hand, so they can both see.

     "...Hrm. Well. What animal should we see first? ...Also, you aren't too cold, are you?"

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
Taylor doesn't /regret/ offering to go on a date with Lute, but nonetheless, she's starting to think it was an awful idea. Surprisingly, she thinks so because of herself, not Lute. When asked about controlling her insects, though, that's something to distract her, and something she can answer without her nerves firing up. "Well, it's mental. Insects are routine-based, and go most of their lives just doing the same thing until they die. I function kind of...as the queen in a way, as I can change their routines to what I need. I can also sense what they sense. I got it...well, not the best story to share, sorry. It'd probably kill the mood."

As they reach the goats, Taylor starts looking at them. Mountain goats can be cute! But then she gets distracted again by Lute leaning on her. Oh, no, he's just showing her the map, nothing else, nope, this is awkward. "Uh...maybe the lions? But they might not be doing well in the cold...perhaps one of the indoor exhibits?".

And then Lute asks if she's cold. Somehow, she doesn't exactly get his intentions, but she's still nervous nonetheless. "N-not really, the jacket's fine. Brockton gets rather cold in the winter..." She either just saved herself from making it more awkward, or made it more awkward. Then again, eventually, this is going to reach a point where it can't get anymore awkward because it's already really awkward. Awkward.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute looks over the map a bit, pondering. "...Well, some of the animals are more active in the cold. They have to run around to keep warm, anyways. So we might as well go see the lions."

     As they keep walking, he talks more, "Ah, I was wondering if it was something like that. Insects aren't usually smart, so that makes sense. It must be really useful, though. There are so many insects throughout the Multiverse! Can you control other arthropods too, though? Like, lobsters?"

     As they keep walking, though, Lute ponders. "...Are you sure you're not cold? ...You know what, here."

     He briefly lets go of her hand, in order to put his own scarf around her. Awww, how adorable. And calculated.

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
"And they're cute if they're asleep, too..." Taylor's not objecting to seeing the lions. And the insect topic's still there, so that's still a good distraction. "I haven't interacted with many Multiversal insects, yet. Been wanting to see giant spiders. I did get to test my ability on the Pokemon you gave me, though. It's...less control, probably because of the intelligence, and more telepathy in that case? I can still sense things through him and stuff though. And yeah, crabs, lobsters, any arthropod works." She smiles kind of faintly, kind of nervously. Doesn't want to look like she's not having fun, even if she's nervous as hell!

And then oh god. Her face gets as red as a firestorm as Lute puts his scarf around her. She doesn't move to object or anything, infact, she's being perfectly still as a statue. Inside, she's really nervous. She's starting to figure out he's doing date-ish stuff, which she expected would happen, but she doesn't know what to do to show that she's not into him like that without being rude. So, she moves back to the insect discussion super quickly. "I-i'm not sure if kaiju would work, though it's crossed my mind before...is Mr. Crabs actually a crab, or does he just look like one...?"

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute takes her hand back, and keeps going along to the lions, still talking as they walk. It's not much further now, though.

     "Mr. Crabs isn't quite an arthropod... But he is similar. It /might/ work. From what I can tell, though, a lot of the Kaiju are somewhat like that. But they might be too alien to control... Could be possible, though! I mean, I managed to link to one, briefly. Before I lost that power."

     At this point, they reach the lion area. The lions are in fact up and active. There is one male, and several females. Which... that is actually fairly normal for lions. Lute does, in fact, appreciate that she wanted to see the lions. Because of the fact that they are usually one man with a bunch of women.

     ...Yes, Lute is seeing /more/ hints where there are absolutely none.

     The lions seem to be playing, anyways. Lute just watches for a second, smiling.

     "I like lions. They're so tough and powerful. So big."

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
"Might need to try it someday, then! I want to meet him, since the only Kaijus I've ever seen are pretty much the Endbringers, and they're not very friendly." Taylor has no idea the implications of 'I want to meet your pet.' and what it could cause Lute to think she actually means. "You lost the power when you found your original world, right? How does that even happen?"

As they reach the lions, she glances at them, mostly seeing their size. "Yeah. They're probably the only wild cats that'd have a chance against Rachel's dogs. They'd lose anyways, though, her dogs can tear the roofs off cars when bulked up enough." This isn't too bad. Only because she's missing the intended meaning behind all of Lute's comments, that is.

Lute (188) has posed:
     "Yeah, you can totally meet Mr. Crabs next time, okay? That should be fun, too. And as for losing my power... Technically, I should have never /had/ it. Accident lead me to gaining powers that are natural to humans of that world, and my memories basically kind of just... Made reality realize 'Oh shit, we fucked up', and it fixed things. There is a bit more to it than that, but... It's the short story at least."

     And, as watching the lions, and hearing about the dogs, well. Taylor seems pretty happy. Which is why Lute is making his move, now. He lets go of her hand, but only to do something else. Which is hugging her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist. Moving his head to be on the right of her's, and to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

     Hey, the moment seemed right, they were talking about weird dogs! ...Or Lute just got impatient.

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
"I guess even reality fucks up some times." Taylor laughs, watching the lions as they...do what lions do, I guess. Except things get to their maximum awkward.

As Lute hugs her from behind, Taylor freezes. She wants to say something, but doesn't know what to say, she wants to move away, but doesn't know exactly what to do short of elbowing him in the face. She's thinking of something to say, maybe a reason to move away, but she doesn't get much time to think when he kisses her on the cheek.

And this is where a decent date goes bad. Taylor recoils, trying to push Lute away from her and move away. She didn't see that coming, and honestly, it shocked her. "I...what?" And she's also at a loss of words. Then again, who /didn't/ see this coming (besides Lute)?

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute is pushed away rather easily. Yeah, he is generally not too forceful, because that would be creepy beyond a reasonable line. But, as he stumbles back a bit, he just frowns, and rubs the back of his head.

     "...Was I getting the wrong signs? Like, it kept seeming like you were really enjoying the date. So, you know, I wanted to make it even more fun. Besides, it's just a simple hug and a kiss, right, it's not that big of a deal."

     A pause. And then a sudden realization.

     "OH! I get it! You're just /really/ shy, aren't you? I took you too much by surprise, huh? And we're in a place where lots of people can see us!"

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
Taylor /was/ enjoying the date, but she's not in Lute like that, she barely knows him. However, she has no idea how to phrase that without hurting his feelings or making it look like she went on this date as a joke. She stammers, trying to come up with words, but decides not to...exactly lie. "T-this is my first date, I didn't expect this to happen like t-this. Sorry for my reaction. I'm having f-fun, I swear!" She just looks down, face extremely red, as she continues to make this worse for herself. All of that self-esteem she got about being Skitter apparently did not carry over to being Taylor.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute walks up to Taylor, a bit slowly. Smiling. Okay. From this, he is getting his own interpretation. Yes, he was right. She is simply /shy/. It's not that she isn't in to him, it's that she just doesn't know how to express herself romantically.

     And so, as he moves forwards, he grabs one of her hands. He uses a hand to /try/ and gently guide her chin up, so that she is looking at him.

     "...Hey, don't worry about it. I should of realized you're a bit shy. I'm glad you're having fun, but... You need to relax more. And, you know... Alright. Close your eyes for a second, and take a deep breath, okay?"

     And, if Taylor /does/ close her eyes for a second and take a deep breath?

     That is when Lute is moving to kiss her on the lips.

Taylor Hebert (587) has posed:
Taylor allows Lute to grab her hand and raise her chin, but she's still really nervous. She's internally punching herself for being so nervous and awkward, but she really can't help it; luckily, this will help in making her notice /every sign/ on any future dates ever. One thing she isn't is someone who makes the same mistakes twice.

But she's going to make one more, and close her eyes and take a deep breath. He's right, she does need to relax. But, she opens her eyes a bit too soon, noticing Lute moving forward to kiss her.

ABORT. ABORT.

She's moving back really fast, putting her hands in front of her. She has no words right now. So instead, she just shouts out something along the lines of "I need to go!" and just makes haste for the entrance. When she gets home, she's going to sit in her room and feel like both a failure and an awful person.

Lute (188) has posed:
     And Lute is just left there, standing, staring, stupidily looking after her.

     "...she must of forgotten an appointment or something. Oh well. She still has my scarf, so that's a good sign. Boy, is she shy."

     He then proceeds to look around the rest of the zoo on his own, completely oblivious to what is going on.