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xp_logsAfter a disastrous first date, Jean and Garrison try again. This date goes much better.
Over the last month, Garrison and Jean had settled into a careful pattern. They had returned to their morning coffee and breakfast ritual during the week, not talking a lot but just learning to share the space with each other. Then there had been a few careful dates, most in the mansion or the odd night at Harry's. They didn't want to admit it, but the concern about another Olivier moment was with them each time, quiet dinners together in either his or her suite, a streaming movie, or in one case, the Taylor Swift concert of which Kane was astonishingly ignorant about. They hadn't had another incident, and finally were comfortable enough to try something new, if only to avoid another night of salad and Kraft mac and Cheese which seemed to be Kane's specialty.
Instead, he was pulling out her chair to be seated at the Gramercy Tavern's cosy interior, a reminder that he wasn't a bumpkin, and between years of his father's influence and dating a Frost had taught him plenty about the finer things in life. He paused just long enough to whisper in her ear about how lovely she looked before he sat down across from her.
"So the deal is you look at anything on the menu but the prices and I'll get the check. Fair?"
"Are you sure? I feel like we'll get charged for breathing in a certain direction," Jean mused. She went with a simple, but timeless black dress and gold necklace, her hair tucked behind one ear. The place oozed beauty and ambiance. She was appreciative but didn't want him to feel obligated.
"Yeah. I like these legacy places and... well, I have money." He admitted. The Canadian never talked about his financial situation, but after almost twenty years of drawing two robust paychecks, few expenses and some smart financial advice, he was very well set. "So, we've earned a nice night out." He grinned at her. Jean laughed. "Oh god, and then some," she said. She held up her hands confidently. "Let's just...live it up like nothing will happen at all and hope for the best?" She eyed the menu.
"Like all the cocktails and dessert. With food, of course."
"If you're feeling daring, there's a five course tasting menu with paired wines." Kane said, with a pump of his eyebrows. "Five courses, Grey. Let yourself goooo."
Pausing, Jean was thoughtful for a moment. "Only if you'll join me," she said with a light grin.
"And there's a taxi back for how sloshed we'll be."
"Already planned. Worst case scenario is that a friend of mine at the Bureau is over in Europe for the next three months, and he lent me his apartment keys on the Upper East Side, so we can always crash there if necessary." As the waiter came over, Kane put in the order and as he was leaving, a female server dropped by with a pair of violet cocktails - on the house - she mentioned with a smile before leaving.
Jean smiled back at the server and gave a nod of thanks, touched by the gesture.
"Hrm," she then replied quietly at the thought. "Can we make it necessary?"
Xaviers was their home, but having a night away from the mansion life sounded nice.
"You can't tell, but I'm actually trying to delete the Uber app from my phone as we speak under the table." He joked but turned a bit serious as he picked up his drink. "So, dare we toast to us? Risk the universe sending Brotherhood with the apps? A Sentinel sommelier?"
"Dinosaurs with dessert?" Jean smirked. She picked up her own glass. "Why not? We've already flirted with danger on the first date. Hopefully fate's met the quota."
"Then to us." He said as they clicked glasses over the table.
***
Lots of people told horror stories about Central Park at night, but if there were ever two people worse for someone to choose to mug it was the pair of them. Dinner had been excellent, and after a cocktail and five glasses of wine, they were in the warm and slightly silly edge of tipsy, watching along the snow-dusted paths working towards Kane's friend's apartment. It was nicer to follow the paths than the sidewalks of 5th street and they weren't in a hurry.
"I've never actually been to the zoo here. Even after all these years." Kane said as they passed it.
"Really?" Jean said, leaning against his shoulder while they walked. "We can go some time...if you want. I don't think they'd appreciate us wandering around after hours."
Suppressing a giggle, she covered her face, feeling light, delighted, and hopeful. There had been nary a supervillain in sight so far, so things were progressing well.
"I am not in lion facing shape for a midnight adventure." He kidded. "I'll need to hide behind you and your telekinesis. You could manipulate a hoop and a whip and... other lion tamer stuff." He finished lamely.
Jean laughed. "I think most of that went away with PT Barnum. At least...I hope," she said. She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Though the outfits were pretty awesome."
"As a man who wears a red coat for his official uniform, I can attest to attraction factor it ups. Although, the tight white pants and the knee high leather boots..." Kane paused, giving her a long if exaggerated look up and down. "I'm pretty sure you in that outfit could kill a man on sight."
"Wrong Jean," she replied with a smirk. "I'm not a killer. More of a bring people back from the dead kinda person."
"OK, I'll subscribe to 'hot enough to make a man rise from the dead'. And quite a few women, if Amanda's feedback means anything." He said.
Jean arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she mused.
"You didn't know? I mean, there's a queue ready to replace me if you don't end up liking dating me. Amanda will literally trample me if there's a chance to add you to their morning after brunch." Kane said, kidding, but also not kidding.
"So she's collecting redheads like a boxed set?" Jean said with a laugh. She smirked. "Unfortunately for her I'm liking things so far...after the rough start, of course."
"Hey, you're hot stuff, red. I'm amazed I have to point that out." His lopsided grin was infectious. "Hot enough that-" he paused for a second and then put his hand on the side of her chin before leaning in.
Jean only studied him for a moment before closing the distance to complete the kiss. They had happened to stop under a lamp post, so the light cast down over them like a spotlight amidst the darkened park.
Kane was in no hurry. He and Jean had been friends for so long, and this had seemed so close, he was in no hurry to finish, pulling her next to him as they kissed.
Jean let herself get wrapped up in the moment. It had been a very long time since she'd kissed someone and had it be attached to something good. After a few moments, she finally broke the kiss (mainly to come up for air).
"So, um- not to seem ridiculous, but can I escort you to my friend's place for the night?" He said and paused. "No is a perfectly acceptable answer I will respect if you say it."
Laughing, Jean linked arms with Garrison. "I...thought we were already doing that? Or...did I imagine it? I think it's the wine."
"I needed to double check. Make sure I wasn't just dreaming."
Taking Garrison's hand, they continued on their way. "If you are, we're having the same dream," she said with a smile.
Over the last month, Garrison and Jean had settled into a careful pattern. They had returned to their morning coffee and breakfast ritual during the week, not talking a lot but just learning to share the space with each other. Then there had been a few careful dates, most in the mansion or the odd night at Harry's. They didn't want to admit it, but the concern about another Olivier moment was with them each time, quiet dinners together in either his or her suite, a streaming movie, or in one case, the Taylor Swift concert of which Kane was astonishingly ignorant about. They hadn't had another incident, and finally were comfortable enough to try something new, if only to avoid another night of salad and Kraft mac and Cheese which seemed to be Kane's specialty.
Instead, he was pulling out her chair to be seated at the Gramercy Tavern's cosy interior, a reminder that he wasn't a bumpkin, and between years of his father's influence and dating a Frost had taught him plenty about the finer things in life. He paused just long enough to whisper in her ear about how lovely she looked before he sat down across from her.
"So the deal is you look at anything on the menu but the prices and I'll get the check. Fair?"
"Are you sure? I feel like we'll get charged for breathing in a certain direction," Jean mused. She went with a simple, but timeless black dress and gold necklace, her hair tucked behind one ear. The place oozed beauty and ambiance. She was appreciative but didn't want him to feel obligated.
"Yeah. I like these legacy places and... well, I have money." He admitted. The Canadian never talked about his financial situation, but after almost twenty years of drawing two robust paychecks, few expenses and some smart financial advice, he was very well set. "So, we've earned a nice night out." He grinned at her. Jean laughed. "Oh god, and then some," she said. She held up her hands confidently. "Let's just...live it up like nothing will happen at all and hope for the best?" She eyed the menu.
"Like all the cocktails and dessert. With food, of course."
"If you're feeling daring, there's a five course tasting menu with paired wines." Kane said, with a pump of his eyebrows. "Five courses, Grey. Let yourself goooo."
Pausing, Jean was thoughtful for a moment. "Only if you'll join me," she said with a light grin.
"And there's a taxi back for how sloshed we'll be."
"Already planned. Worst case scenario is that a friend of mine at the Bureau is over in Europe for the next three months, and he lent me his apartment keys on the Upper East Side, so we can always crash there if necessary." As the waiter came over, Kane put in the order and as he was leaving, a female server dropped by with a pair of violet cocktails - on the house - she mentioned with a smile before leaving.
Jean smiled back at the server and gave a nod of thanks, touched by the gesture.
"Hrm," she then replied quietly at the thought. "Can we make it necessary?"
Xaviers was their home, but having a night away from the mansion life sounded nice.
"You can't tell, but I'm actually trying to delete the Uber app from my phone as we speak under the table." He joked but turned a bit serious as he picked up his drink. "So, dare we toast to us? Risk the universe sending Brotherhood with the apps? A Sentinel sommelier?"
"Dinosaurs with dessert?" Jean smirked. She picked up her own glass. "Why not? We've already flirted with danger on the first date. Hopefully fate's met the quota."
"Then to us." He said as they clicked glasses over the table.
***
Lots of people told horror stories about Central Park at night, but if there were ever two people worse for someone to choose to mug it was the pair of them. Dinner had been excellent, and after a cocktail and five glasses of wine, they were in the warm and slightly silly edge of tipsy, watching along the snow-dusted paths working towards Kane's friend's apartment. It was nicer to follow the paths than the sidewalks of 5th street and they weren't in a hurry.
"I've never actually been to the zoo here. Even after all these years." Kane said as they passed it.
"Really?" Jean said, leaning against his shoulder while they walked. "We can go some time...if you want. I don't think they'd appreciate us wandering around after hours."
Suppressing a giggle, she covered her face, feeling light, delighted, and hopeful. There had been nary a supervillain in sight so far, so things were progressing well.
"I am not in lion facing shape for a midnight adventure." He kidded. "I'll need to hide behind you and your telekinesis. You could manipulate a hoop and a whip and... other lion tamer stuff." He finished lamely.
Jean laughed. "I think most of that went away with PT Barnum. At least...I hope," she said. She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Though the outfits were pretty awesome."
"As a man who wears a red coat for his official uniform, I can attest to attraction factor it ups. Although, the tight white pants and the knee high leather boots..." Kane paused, giving her a long if exaggerated look up and down. "I'm pretty sure you in that outfit could kill a man on sight."
"Wrong Jean," she replied with a smirk. "I'm not a killer. More of a bring people back from the dead kinda person."
"OK, I'll subscribe to 'hot enough to make a man rise from the dead'. And quite a few women, if Amanda's feedback means anything." He said.
Jean arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she mused.
"You didn't know? I mean, there's a queue ready to replace me if you don't end up liking dating me. Amanda will literally trample me if there's a chance to add you to their morning after brunch." Kane said, kidding, but also not kidding.
"So she's collecting redheads like a boxed set?" Jean said with a laugh. She smirked. "Unfortunately for her I'm liking things so far...after the rough start, of course."
"Hey, you're hot stuff, red. I'm amazed I have to point that out." His lopsided grin was infectious. "Hot enough that-" he paused for a second and then put his hand on the side of her chin before leaning in.
Jean only studied him for a moment before closing the distance to complete the kiss. They had happened to stop under a lamp post, so the light cast down over them like a spotlight amidst the darkened park.
Kane was in no hurry. He and Jean had been friends for so long, and this had seemed so close, he was in no hurry to finish, pulling her next to him as they kissed.
Jean let herself get wrapped up in the moment. It had been a very long time since she'd kissed someone and had it be attached to something good. After a few moments, she finally broke the kiss (mainly to come up for air).
"So, um- not to seem ridiculous, but can I escort you to my friend's place for the night?" He said and paused. "No is a perfectly acceptable answer I will respect if you say it."
Laughing, Jean linked arms with Garrison. "I...thought we were already doing that? Or...did I imagine it? I think it's the wine."
"I needed to double check. Make sure I wasn't just dreaming."
Taking Garrison's hand, they continued on their way. "If you are, we're having the same dream," she said with a smile.
