OMG *accidental hitting of posting button before finishing comment* WHOOPS.
Anyway, to continue: the ocean where I live is COLD. Fuck me. /side note)
'Songbird' is so utterly beautiful, although I do feel it is a little bit cheating and emotional manipulation by using Eva Cassidy on a mix, but nonetheless. I'm glad you liked the wine mention too, I couldn't resist. Plus, I love how all the songs leading up to the last one are all epic love etc, and then 'Stay With You' is just kind of simple; it's like Alex has been thinking all these epic in-love thoughts, but in the end all she can really muster the courage to say is 'I want to stay with you tonight'. Aww. By the way, Alex's parents' house has an enormous wine cellar, so there will be a lot of late-night drinking/talking going on while Tony is staying there. *itches to write such scenes*
I love 'Falling in Love'. I love the blue eyes and the walking crooked thing, and the 'there's a nice pool at my motel' thing reminds me of Tony swimming in 'Prayer of the Bone' (and secretly wishing Alex was there in the pool with him). You're right, though, it would be a fantastic Alex/Gabriel song. I'm really feeling this uncanny need to explore this Alex/Gabriel stuff more and more. The arrogant berk just won't leave me alone. (Plus he's Richard Armitage, which is nice.)
I guess if you really think it's necessary to dissect every possible aspect of the second date I could get into such a thing.
I'd like to see Tony bring it up. Alex has already demonstrated her interest in ways that left no room for doubt and, though Tony definitely made a huge 'I'm here for you' gesture by going to the funeral, I think it's only fair that he ask for a date without Alex walking him through the whole thing for once.
After Alex got back to town, I think they'd have a few dinners at Alex's house that weren't especially dateish. Their usual dinners with Ben (and maybe Alex's Dad if he's moved in already) and Tony will hang out after and they'll be flirty but that's it because I'm assuming they'll both bounce back to being a little careful around one another after everything that's happened. And then one night Tony will work up the courage to say something about how there's no pressure but, when Alex is ready, he'd like to do that dinner and conversation thing. Alex of course would jump on it and be all I AM READY NOW! TAKE ME. I MEAN, WHEN DO YOU WANT TO GO ON THIS DATE?
I think an evening date would be appropriate and I'm also quite fond of your wine tasting idea as it will get them loosened up and making sexy eyes in no time. They'd talk for hours and ignore everyone and everything around them and Alex would keep scooting closer until their legs were touching under the table. And there would be looks and FEELINGS galore.
As for clothing, I think they should be dressy. Tony can wear that new suit you mentioned elsewhere (suit becomes important later as you will see) and Alex will venture into the back of her closet to find something that shows even more cleavage than the sushi dress and, please let it be a bit chilly so Alex decides to wear her thigh highs under said dress.
The thigh highs will of course be RELEVANT to end of date activities as will Tony in a suit because I have this image of him trying to say goodnight without kissing her or maybe something ridiculous like a kiss on the cheek. He'll think he's being a gentleman, of course, but you and I know that Alex doesn't settle for such behavior so Alex will grab him by the tie, pull him toward her, and proceed to snog the living daylights out of him which will eventually lead to up the skirt action, Tony discovering surprise bare Alex thighs under said skirt and porn???
Anyway, if I were forced to imagine, it might go something like that. However, I'm eager to hear any alternate ideas you may have or thoughts on details I may have left out, third and fourth dates, etc. It can never hurt to explore all possible options.
Triathlon training, hmmm? This sounds impressive but also a little ridiculous and chilly. I did a mini triathlon once. The mini modifier makes all the difference. I highly recommend it next time. Then you can conveniently forget to add the "mini" when you tell people about it so you get all the impressive impact without actually have to do an actual full scale triathlon or train for one or whatever. (See? I am a genius. Where's my notebook? We should be writing shit like this down for our daughter.) But, seriously, your weekend training sounds hardcore. Be badass and try to stay warm! *hands you some towels straight from the dryer and plants dirty Alex/Tony thoughts in your head - one or both ought to do the trick*
OOOH date discussion! I'm so lucky you're so agreeable and easygoing, aren't I?
I'm completely with you on the date lead-up part: I definitely think Tony would be hanging around with her and Ben and her dad in the evenings quite a bit, and oh, I'm dying of squee over the idea of him being the one to bring it up. I think he would actually be quite calm about it; of course, he'd be petrified a bit, but at that stage I think we're safe to say they both know the other wants it to happen, and the only doubts are niggling ones. I can see him saying it very quietly and simply ("Have dinner with me. Proper dinner. Dinner-and-conversation dinner.") And oh, how Alex would blush and be floating off into the clouds immediately with joy.
I'm for an evening date too, if only because I'm with you on the thigh-highs and also, I even know exactly what Tony is wearing (sadly, Robson is minus tie here, but she could always grab the lapels of his jacket, we know she likes doing that). YES YES YES to everything else; the wine, the legs-under-table touching etc, the sexy eyes and flirting/talking.
However, I'm not entirely convinced things would progress as far as upskirt-action on the first date (I know, don't die of shock at me). I can totally see Tony walking her to her front door and having no clue how to say goodnight, but I'd like to see Alex actually kiss him on the cheek, and then have that lingering moment when they're still in easy snogging range and are just gazing at each other, and it's one of those times when you just know you've got the whole world right in front of you, and you're just hesistating mainly for the purpose of enjoying the anticipation and trying desperately to commit every second of it to memory. Then I wouldn't mind the front light coming on over them (her Dad is waiting up - I love you, John Fielding), and then they could kind of laugh and be all sweet and smiley and he'd get back into the cab or whatever and she'd go upstairs. Then she'd have a shower/get ready for bed/whatever, and just as she gets into bed her phone rings, and oh, look who it is. And they'd spend another hour or two talking on the phone in bed because they just can't get enough of each other, and because it's always easier over the phone, apparently.
Maybe I just really feel the need to string it out as long as possible? I love the idea of them being in that dating stage where they both know it's on, they're both totally committed and are madly in love but are perhaps enjoying the hesitation too. God, I'm weird. Proof that I'm even weirder: I'd like to see them holding off on the sex for a while. Like, I can see them snogging, making out, all of that, and hanging out and going on dates and such, and then they're stuck at her place knowing they can't really do much (plus I think Alex might be slightly hesitant about shagging there with Ben and her Dad just down the hall knowing how fucking loud she is going to be), so perhaps going to bed together and kind of drawing the line at some horribly tension-filled point and barely getting a wink of sleep. Add to that the insane sexual tension while they're at work, and given a week or two of that, I can see them taking the first opportunity they get to race over to his place in the middle of the day because they just can't stand it anymore, and having SOME SERIOUS, LOUD SEX right up against the inside of his front door. And then, the floodgates are open, and it's on for young and old.
I really am weird, aren't I? Delaying gratification is apparently the definition of maturity. So does all this make me mature? Somehow I doubt it.
You know what the stupid thing is? I'm not even doing the triathlon. I'm just hanging about for the training because apparently it's fun, and you know what else? I BLAME TONY. Well, I blame Robson. I watched his 'Wild Swimming' show a while ago, and now I'm hooked on the idea of getting into open-water swimming (it really is fun), so I'm accepting any and all invitations to go jump into the ocean/rivers/etc that come my way. Bloody Robson, look what you do to me.
You are terribly lucky that I'm so agreeable and easygoing! I'm glad you acknowledge this fact. I must say that I'm lucky that you're usually pretty willing to deal with my whims as well. We're just two lovely and easygoing people, really.
Also, damnit Robson put on a fucking tie. Don't you know my sexual fantasies depend upon it? Christ, it's like he doesn't even care if my hopes of Alex grabbing him by the tie and having her way with him are realized. Bastard.
I may still die of shock at you putting off the upskirt action. It's so unlike you! However, I do agree that it would be many kinds of deliciously torturous for them to wait. And it makes sense, really. They've waited so long and they're both so invested and wanting to do things right that I can see them both wanting to take it slow despite the overwhelming desire to jump each other right then and there. And you are absolutely correct that it would likely only make it that much more awesome when they couldn't stand it any more and had to race back to Tony's place immediately to loudly shag repeatedly until they were too exhausted to continue. (And Alex has lost her freaking voice from all the screaming we know she will be doing.)
Also, the idea of them doing that awkward 'so close I could kiss you but instead we'll just stare and savor the moment' thing? Amazing. And interrupted at just the right moment by John Fielding checking up to make sure Tony's not getting too fresh with his daughter on their second date/first date where both of them realize immediately it's an actual date. Or actually, John's probably checking to make sure Alex isn't molesting Tony. The idea of them giggling like embarrassed teenagers all giddy with love and anticipation delights me to no end.
This phone call idea of yours is perfection. It's a lovely extension of their ability and desire to talk for hours over wine in the kitchen or on the Fielding porch or wherever. It's so romantic to be able to talk to someone for hours and then immediately want to talk to them again. And there is ample evidence that they're more likely to divulge FEELINGS over the phone than in person too - especially Alex, who seems to call Tony in an effort to pour out her FEELINGS nearly every five minutes only to be thwarted by Tony's stalkers/patients/hos, etc.
I really am weird, aren't I? Delaying gratification is apparently the definition of maturity. So does all this make me mature? Somehow I doubt it. At the very least you are more mature than me who is all "OMG HANDS UP SKIRTS AND DOWN TROUSERS RIGHT THIS MINUTE. I DON'T CARE WHO'S WATCHING! DOOOOO ITTTTTT!!!" But, then again, I don't set a very high bar, do I?
I can see the appeal of open water swimming. I love mucking about in water of any sort. And swimming will forever be my favorite sport. There's just something about being in the water that lets you forget about anything and everything else and just completely zone out and get into it. I do think you're nuts to do it outside when it's freezing but, other than that, I'm absolutely right there with you on this swimming thing.
I kind of like the tie-less option! It makes him look very devil-may-care in my opinion. And Alex would just rip it right off anyway, before you even had time to begin to construct a decent sexual fantasy around it. She's too quick, I'm telling you.
I'm shocked about my delaying-gratification and hands/upskirts too, but I can't help myself. I want them to spend a LONG time in that poised for action but hesitating stage. I want to make sure the love has time to fully develop before they get down to porny business. And yeah, I think they would seriously rock the 'so close we could kiss moment'. I want them to have this moment multiple times. You're totally right about John being more suspicious of his daughter than of Tony, too. He probably turned that light on just to check he didn't have to rush out and rescue Tony from her over-amorous clutches and let the poor bloke get some oxygen.
You can just see them on the phone at all hours, right? They so do that already, and as if they wouldn't keep doing it once they were dating. They both have such sexy voices, too, which helps. Imagine them both lying in their separate beds all snuggled up and listening to each other talk about total nonsense all night long. Awww.
I do seem to be taking the highbrow road at the moment, don't I? What is that about. I need to stop listening to all this pretty music and revert back to being ghetto.
Swimming in the ocean is the best thing (second only to running in my obsessed mind). I practically grew up in the sea as a kid. I do hate that it's freezing, but there's something terribly romantic about being on a windswept crazy ass beach in winter (plus I do have a really good wetsuit). That moment when you're running toward the water and thinking OH FUCK I AM GOING TO GET HYPOTHERMIA AND DIE IF I DO THIS is always fun, too.
He does have the weirdest shows. I'd recommend the Wild Swimming one over the fishing one, to be honest. He spends a lot of it talking about his dad who used to swim, and it gets quite emotional and lovely. And then at the end he takes his son out for a swim and it's all awwwww Robson, you are so sweet and adorable, I love you.
It's true. Alex will just claw whatever clothing he's wearing right off once they get down to it with no regard for my sexual fantasies at all. I suppose I can embrace this tieless option.
You know, the more I think about this mature approach of yours, the more I like it. I wanna be mature like you one day! There is something so gorgeous about the idea of them just reveling in the 'We know it's going to happen but let's enjoy the anticipation first' stage. The near kisses, the lingering gazes, the finding little excuses to touch one another. The sexual tension would be delicious.
Yeah, I can absolutely see them being on the phone constantly. Especially in the early stages of dating where they were both hesitating to admit that OMG THEY WANT TO SEE EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME. They'd probably find cute little nonsense reasons to call each other and then just neither of them would hang up and they'd keep talking until they fell asleep on the phone together or something ridiculously adorable like that.
I think I'll leave the 'oh fuck I am going to get hypothermia' moments to you. I prefer my beaches warm, thank you very much. I'm all about a nice walk along the shore in the winter/cold but actually getting in the water? Bitch, you are clearly too hardcore for me.
Wild Swimming does sound pretty cool and Robson sounds like this sweet, mushy family man which is insanely precious!
Tony's shirt buttons don't stand a snowflake's chance against the volatile sexual force that is horny!Alex. She's so inconsiderate, not even for a moment taking into account that you and I are MATURE PEOPLE who are capable of appreciating anticipation and expectation, and not just the rabid tearing off of clothes.
Ooh yay! Come join me in the mature land of continuing Alex and Tony's sexual frustration! It's really pretty here. And tense. But still, I really do want them to make every single stage of this thing last; as much I would love them to just get married/have Isobelle already, I also adore the two of them in their slightly-awkward but we love each other so much phase that they're beginning in 6.04. Just think of the eye sex. You thought it was epic before, can you even imagine what it would be like once they'd started dating but hadn't snogged/actually properly talked about things? Poor Kevin and Paula.
They'd probably find cute little nonsense reasons to call each other Half of me wants to squee crazily and abuse capslock at how adorable this concept is, and the other half of me wants to look at you with my left eyebrow sticking up and say "LIKE THEY'RE NOT DOING THIS ALREADY LIZ". Bloody hell, I so want Alex to wake up one morning with her phone stuck to the side of her head and listening to Tony snoring down the line in her ear.
I think it's probably less a case of me being hardcore and more a case of you being clearly much smarter than me. I obviously need to come to terms with the fact that I am not Robson Green, and as such I do not have a luxurious coating of body hair to keep me warm on my ocean swims.
Tony is going to have no button down shirts left that aren't in various states of disrepair. He'll have to wear your favorite sweaters constantly. Alex is such an animal. Mind the buttons, Alex. Tony has enough trouble dressing himself as it is.
You're right. The eye sex in 'sexual tension dating but not yet getting it on' land is AMAZING. If I hadn't taken biology, I'd suspect Alex could get pregnant with Isobelle from that filthy eye contact alone. As happy as Kevin and Paula will be that Tony and Alex have finally started dating, I have a feeling they're going to be wondering why and the hell they wished for this. Poor kids are going to have to pick up so much slack in that office while Tony and Alex are all drunk on the squee and pent up sexual energy about to burst free at any moment.
Okay, yeah, they totally already do the calling each other for nonsense reasons think but they will do it even more and for longer when they are dating. They'll give up on the forcing themselves to hang up at some point and just, like you said, fall asleep with the phones on their pillows listening to each other breath/snore. They sicken me. I love them.
I am uncomfortable with your use of the phrase "luxurious coating of body hair."
I'm sure Alex could handle that. (Side note squee: I am irrationally excited that Robson likes the same brand compression gear as me. I'm so wearing 2XU to the gym today.)
Impregnation via eye!sex sounds logical to me. But then, I failed spectacularly at anything remotely science-y. It's kind of sad; I could be a psychologist right now, if only I hadn't been so crap at science. I would've been the SHITTEST psychologist, Liz. How funny.
I love this thought of Alex and Tony all drunk and high on squee and sexual tension. The pheromone levels alone would be enough to knock anyone out! You know, there might even be a sudden sharp rise in the number of hookups in Bradfield CID, just because everyone would be exposed to this massive cloud of oxytocin that's floating around whenever Alex and Tony are together. I'd love to see random people throwing themselves at each other because they're just so overcome with the horniness and FEELINGS in the air.
Yeah, I've no doubt they'll be falling asleep listening to each other breathing on the phone. How fricking adorable. Also, I've often wondered if they don't spend all day emailing back and forth to each other, when Alex is in her office and Tony is in his between classes. How cute would this be? Like, Alex is just sitting at her desk when an email from Tony pops up randomly: "First years are really titchy, Alex. And not very clever." and then she'd email back something like "I bet they're all taller than you." and it would carry on all day long. Email flirting ftw!
I'm uncomfortable with it to, to be honest. I can only handle body hair when it's on men with buff chests and arms and blue eyes and fictional psychology qualifications (see above).
Hey there shirtless Robson. Ah, slightly geeky, older British men. Always making me feel just a tiny bit bisexual.
I'm impressed that you and Robson wear the same brand of fancy workout wear. You are both obviously hardcore serious business sporty people.
Okay, so we're agreed that impregnation by eye!sex is most likely possible if you're doing it right which Alex and Tony certainly are. Excellent!
I don't know, you might have been a better psychologist than you think. You've got that whole head in lap/hair smoothing thing down which we've established is an important skill for any psychologist. Surely between that and asking yourself what Tony Hill would do you'd get along just fine, right?
I'm loving the idea of everyone at Bradfield CID suddenly hooking up due to the high levels of FEELINGS floating around in there. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a high number of eye!sex babies popping up all over the place too.
: "First years are really titchy, Alex. And not very clever." and then she'd email back something like "I bet they're all taller than you." and it would carry on all day long. Email flirting ftw! OMG. YES. E-mail flirting for the win! I feel we need to obsessively list things they could talk about. (Oh, that probably went without saying, didn't it.)
"Alex, I'm taller than you. (Unless you're wearing those boots I like which you looked bloody fantastic in last night, by the way.)"
"Tony, True. And thank you. You looked pretty gorgeous last night yourself. Kevin keeps asking me if we're really dating. He seems really invested in it. I'm a little concerned. - Alex"
"Alex, Kevin will be fine. He just needs something to distract him from his Paula crush. I'll be at the office until late tonight. You should stop by on your way home. Door locks and my office doesn't have all those inconvenient windows like yours. Okay, off to teach some titchy first years!"
I think it's perfectly ok to only be bisexual with older slightly geeky British men. It hardly even counts, does it?
Thank you indeed for reassuring me on my potential as a head-patting psychologist. I would get a bit poster in my office of serious!face!Tony and WWTHD in big red letters to refer to whenever I got confused. I'd probably some serious indemnity insurance; I'd just want to constantly hug anyone who got upset during their sessions. I don't think that's really appropriate behaviour for a quasi-medical professional, is it?
Oooh yes, Bradfield eye!sex babies! To be completely and shamelessly honest, a little (ok, big) part of me has always wanted to see this exact scenario: immediately post-6.04, Alex comes rushing in to rescue Tony from his misery, and runs right at him and just snogs him without a care as to who's watching. So, they're snogging like mad, and Kevin turns to Paula and goes "See! If they can do it, why can't we?" And poor Paula would have to admit to herself that although she does fancy a lot of people, it's Kevin she loves, and would snog him wildly too. Then there would be lots of cheering and everyone would start snogging randomly.
Ok, maybe I just want to see an orgy at Bradfield CID.
Whoa, it's established!relationship email flirting!! I hadn't thought of that! I like it. The porny potential is just so much higher. (Are we back on the masturbation fixation again? How does this keep happening?)
Door locks and my office doesn't have all those inconvenient windows like yours Oh, Doctor Hill! You're making me blush! I love shameless!Tony. You should definitely write something with them established, if it means Tony is going to be acting like this.
Yes. Older British men are obviously a special kind of sexy that transcends sexual orientation. Thank you for agreeing with me on this.
I'd totally come to your head-patting psychology practice! What with your WWTHD poster and all the hugging and head-patting, I'm sure I'd feel very at home and relax and all my issues would be cured.
Ok, maybe I just want to see an orgy at Bradfield CID. It was only a matter of time before it came to this. We've been on a slippery slope that was leading straight to a Bradfield CID orgy for a long while now.
Yeah, I just jumped right to established relationship flirting but I do adore the idea that they'd send semi-flirty or just random e-mails before they were together too. In fact, I love it. They'd both secretly live for the e-mails but try to act all casual about it. Dorks.
(Are we back on the masturbation fixation again? How does this keep happening?) See what I said about the slippery slope?
Older British men are indeed lovely, but I'd like to point out that younger British men are also rather nice. I had a dream I was hanging out with Matt Smith last night. It was awesome.
Well, it'd be unethical for me to treat you, considering 1) you are my spouse, and 2) you also work in the same practice and are my colleague, as we established this morning. And OH, related thing I forgot to mention today: you know how at the end Tony is hanging out at Alex's to check on/gaze adoringly at her, and he, whilst telling her how to deal with what's happened, says: "you talk to someone. You take a break and spend some time with Ben" etc? Well, how much do I want Alex to be a little bit sad about the fact that he said 'talk to someone' and not 'talk to me'?? He's a goddamn shrink! I know it's not really ethical for him to be all shrinky with her, but it wouldn't have to be official or anything. I just wish he'd said 'talk to me'. Or I wish Alex had made an even more miserable and pouty face and said "why can't I talk to you?" at least.
I'm actually surprised we haven't reached the orgy point until now. We must've been holding back!
Yes! Semi-flirty emails would be so perfect and so in character for these two, with their 'easier on the phone' crap. I wonder just how far they'd push the boundaries between semi-flirting and outright whorishness? And I can totally see them never actually talking about the emailing; it'd be kind of this secret thing that always went unspoken, while the flirtation escalated to extremes.
Does this slippery slope of yours happen to end in the gutter?
British men, young or old, for the win it is then! Wait, were you hanging out with Matt Smith or 'hanging out' with Matt Smith. I'm trying to determine if there's a lesser known meaning like melting. I assume things are pervy unless proven otherwise. You know this about me.
Oooh, interesting thoughts on the 'talk to someone' line. Why do you think he said someone and didn't offer himself. Did he go so far as to think it would be unethical or did it just not even occur to him that she might want to talk to him instead of some random stranger? I think had Alex made a pouty face and said, "Why can't I talk to you?" he would have been a bit flustered but quick with the "Of course you can, if you want to." And now of course, I'm trying to imagine how those chats would go if they did happen. Fuck, the FEELINGS on both ends would be intense.
I'm actually surprised we haven't reached the orgy point until now. We must've been holding back! We've honestly shown a great deal of restraint. We were bound to crack sometime, though.
Okay, so maybe I'm just going to throw random prompts out at you in every comment for a while now but I totally think you should write a semi-flirty e-mail exchange. You can fully explore just how they would walk the boundary between semi-flirting and outright whorishness. *best pleading look*
Does this slippery slope of yours happen to end in the gutter? The gutter in Whoretown, you bet your pervy ass!
Oi! We were hanging out as in hanging out; we were walking down the street (he was wearing skinny jeans and a long skinny scarf and looking way too cool for school) drinking coffees, then we went into a record store and he bought me a copy of 'Little Earthquakes' on vinyl, and then I woke up. It was awesome!
(And since having this dream I'm now on a MASSIVE vintage-Tori kick; fuck, she was brilliant.)
Although I do think that professional ethics are something that Tony frequently thinks about (I don't know why I think this, maybe just because I love him and he's such a good guy), I think you're right to say that it just didn't occur to him to offer to be that person for her in the moment. I can't say that this is because he thinks she doesn't need or want him (why is she clutching so tight to him in this ep, if that's the case? He's not an idiot, surely he's noticed she does need him), but perhaps because he's operating in professional mode and this is what he'd say to anyone under stress? But then remember Kurt the annoying dude in 4.03 - Tony offered to help him himself, he didn't try to refer him on to some colleague or other. I don't know. Or perhaps he's fully aware of all of this, and didn't offer himself as yet another form of self-protection: does he really want to subject himself to getting that much closer to Alex when he thinks they can only ever be friends?
Oh, Anthony. Why you so confusing, sugar?
Any such chats, if they did occur, would indeed be ridiculously epic with the FEELINGS. I figure it'd be low-key; in her kitchen or maybe at his place, so Ben doesn't overhear? Or maybe we've got it all wrong, and a few weeks after 5.02 Tony asked her if she'd talked to anyone yet, and when she confessed she hadn't, maybe he asked her how she was coping, and they had a little impromptu therapy session? This would also contribute to her change in behaviour toward him in 5.03; if she'd successfully opened up to him (without freaking out and getting defensive and without him being distracted by a patient), surely this would have a big impact on the way she saw him, and would also explain her calling him when Gabriel upset her. Anyway. I would love to see those chats. They would be so beautiful; any time Tony is being nice and quiet and caring and careful with her is like magic.
I shall have a think about writing some nice flirty email exchanges, but I make no promises. My brain is kind of useless at the moment, it seems. Maybe you should write it. *pleading bambi eyes look in return*
Whoretown reminds me of the Scarpetta books - do you remember in one of them someone gets killed in some suburb or other called 'Sugar Bottom'? That always cracks me up. Anyhoo. That was irrelevant to everything.
Anyway, to continue: the ocean where I live is COLD. Fuck me. /side note)
'Songbird' is so utterly beautiful, although I do feel it is a little bit cheating and emotional manipulation by using Eva Cassidy on a mix, but nonetheless. I'm glad you liked the wine mention too, I couldn't resist. Plus, I love how all the songs leading up to the last one are all epic love etc, and then 'Stay With You' is just kind of simple; it's like Alex has been thinking all these epic in-love thoughts, but in the end all she can really muster the courage to say is 'I want to stay with you tonight'. Aww. By the way, Alex's parents' house has an enormous wine cellar, so there will be a lot of late-night drinking/talking going on while Tony is staying there. *itches to write such scenes*
I love 'Falling in Love'. I love the blue eyes and the walking crooked thing, and the 'there's a nice pool at my motel' thing reminds me of Tony swimming in 'Prayer of the Bone' (and secretly wishing Alex was there in the pool with him). You're right, though, it would be a fantastic Alex/Gabriel song. I'm really feeling this uncanny need to explore this Alex/Gabriel stuff more and more. The arrogant berk just won't leave me alone. (Plus he's Richard Armitage, which is nice.)
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I'd like to see Tony bring it up. Alex has already demonstrated her interest in ways that left no room for doubt and, though Tony definitely made a huge 'I'm here for you' gesture by going to the funeral, I think it's only fair that he ask for a date without Alex walking him through the whole thing for once.
After Alex got back to town, I think they'd have a few dinners at Alex's house that weren't especially dateish. Their usual dinners with Ben (and maybe Alex's Dad if he's moved in already) and Tony will hang out after and they'll be flirty but that's it because I'm assuming they'll both bounce back to being a little careful around one another after everything that's happened. And then one night Tony will work up the courage to say something about how there's no pressure but, when Alex is ready, he'd like to do that dinner and conversation thing. Alex of course would jump on it and be all I AM READY NOW! TAKE ME. I MEAN, WHEN DO YOU WANT TO GO ON THIS DATE?
I think an evening date would be appropriate and I'm also quite fond of your wine tasting idea as it will get them loosened up and making sexy eyes in no time. They'd talk for hours and ignore everyone and everything around them and Alex would keep scooting closer until their legs were touching under the table. And there would be looks and FEELINGS galore.
As for clothing, I think they should be dressy. Tony can wear that new suit you mentioned elsewhere (suit becomes important later as you will see) and Alex will venture into the back of her closet to find something that shows even more cleavage than the sushi dress and, please let it be a bit chilly so Alex decides to wear her thigh highs under said dress.
The thigh highs will of course be RELEVANT to end of date activities as will Tony in a suit because I have this image of him trying to say goodnight without kissing her or maybe something ridiculous like a kiss on the cheek. He'll think he's being a gentleman, of course, but you and I know that Alex doesn't settle for such behavior so Alex will grab him by the tie, pull him toward her, and proceed to snog the living daylights out of him which will eventually lead to up the skirt action, Tony discovering surprise bare Alex thighs under said skirt and porn???
Anyway, if I were forced to imagine, it might go something like that. However, I'm eager to hear any alternate ideas you may have or thoughts on details I may have left out, third and fourth dates, etc. It can never hurt to explore all possible options.
Triathlon training, hmmm? This sounds impressive but also a little ridiculous and chilly. I did a mini triathlon once. The mini modifier makes all the difference. I highly recommend it next time. Then you can conveniently forget to add the "mini" when you tell people about it so you get all the impressive impact without actually have to do an actual full scale triathlon or train for one or whatever. (See? I am a genius. Where's my notebook? We should be writing shit like this down for our daughter.) But, seriously, your weekend training sounds hardcore. Be badass and try to stay warm! *hands you some towels straight from the dryer and plants dirty Alex/Tony thoughts in your head - one or both ought to do the trick*
(Went over the blasted character limit...)
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I'm completely with you on the date lead-up part: I definitely think Tony would be hanging around with her and Ben and her dad in the evenings quite a bit, and oh, I'm dying of squee over the idea of him being the one to bring it up. I think he would actually be quite calm about it; of course, he'd be petrified a bit, but at that stage I think we're safe to say they both know the other wants it to happen, and the only doubts are niggling ones. I can see him saying it very quietly and simply ("Have dinner with me. Proper dinner. Dinner-and-conversation dinner.") And oh, how Alex would blush and be floating off into the clouds immediately with joy.
I'm for an evening date too, if only because I'm with you on the thigh-highs and also, I even know exactly what Tony is wearing (sadly, Robson is minus tie here, but she could always grab the lapels of his jacket, we know she likes doing that). YES YES YES to everything else; the wine, the legs-under-table touching etc, the sexy eyes and flirting/talking.
However, I'm not entirely convinced things would progress as far as upskirt-action on the first date (I know, don't die of shock at me). I can totally see Tony walking her to her front door and having no clue how to say goodnight, but I'd like to see Alex actually kiss him on the cheek, and then have that lingering moment when they're still in easy snogging range and are just gazing at each other, and it's one of those times when you just know you've got the whole world right in front of you, and you're just hesistating mainly for the purpose of enjoying the anticipation and trying desperately to commit every second of it to memory. Then I wouldn't mind the front light coming on over them (her Dad is waiting up - I love you, John Fielding), and then they could kind of laugh and be all sweet and smiley and he'd get back into the cab or whatever and she'd go upstairs. Then she'd have a shower/get ready for bed/whatever, and just as she gets into bed her phone rings, and oh, look who it is. And they'd spend another hour or two talking on the phone in bed because they just can't get enough of each other, and because it's always easier over the phone, apparently.
(tbc)
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I really am weird, aren't I? Delaying gratification is apparently the definition of maturity. So does all this make me mature? Somehow I doubt it.
You know what the stupid thing is? I'm not even doing the triathlon. I'm just hanging about for the training because apparently it's fun, and you know what else? I BLAME TONY. Well, I blame Robson. I watched his 'Wild Swimming' show a while ago, and now I'm hooked on the idea of getting into open-water swimming (it really is fun), so I'm accepting any and all invitations to go jump into the ocean/rivers/etc that come my way. Bloody Robson, look what you do to me.
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Also, damnit Robson put on a fucking tie. Don't you know my sexual fantasies depend upon it? Christ, it's like he doesn't even care if my hopes of Alex grabbing him by the tie and having her way with him are realized. Bastard.
I may still die of shock at you putting off the upskirt action. It's so unlike you! However, I do agree that it would be many kinds of deliciously torturous for them to wait. And it makes sense, really. They've waited so long and they're both so invested and wanting to do things right that I can see them both wanting to take it slow despite the overwhelming desire to jump each other right then and there. And you are absolutely correct that it would likely only make it that much more awesome when they couldn't stand it any more and had to race back to Tony's place immediately to loudly shag repeatedly until they were too exhausted to continue. (And Alex has lost her freaking voice from all the screaming we know she will be doing.)
Also, the idea of them doing that awkward 'so close I could kiss you but instead we'll just stare and savor the moment' thing? Amazing. And interrupted at just the right moment by John Fielding checking up to make sure Tony's not getting too fresh with his daughter on their second date/first date where both of them realize immediately it's an actual date. Or actually, John's probably checking to make sure Alex isn't molesting Tony. The idea of them giggling like embarrassed teenagers all giddy with love and anticipation delights me to no end.
This phone call idea of yours is perfection. It's a lovely extension of their ability and desire to talk for hours over wine in the kitchen or on the Fielding porch or wherever. It's so romantic to be able to talk to someone for hours and then immediately want to talk to them again. And there is ample evidence that they're more likely to divulge FEELINGS over the phone than in person too - especially Alex, who seems to call Tony in an effort to pour out her FEELINGS nearly every five minutes only to be thwarted by Tony's stalkers/patients/hos, etc.
I really am weird, aren't I? Delaying gratification is apparently the definition of maturity. So does all this make me mature? Somehow I doubt it.
At the very least you are more mature than me who is all "OMG HANDS UP SKIRTS AND DOWN TROUSERS RIGHT THIS MINUTE. I DON'T CARE WHO'S WATCHING! DOOOOO ITTTTTT!!!" But, then again, I don't set a very high bar, do I?
I can see the appeal of open water swimming. I love mucking about in water of any sort. And swimming will forever be my favorite sport. There's just something about being in the water that lets you forget about anything and everything else and just completely zone out and get into it. I do think you're nuts to do it outside when it's freezing but, other than that, I'm absolutely right there with you on this swimming thing.
God, Robson has the weirdest shows.
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I'm shocked about my delaying-gratification and hands/upskirts too, but I can't help myself. I want them to spend a LONG time in that poised for action but hesitating stage. I want to make sure the love has time to fully develop before they get down to porny business. And yeah, I think they would seriously rock the 'so close we could kiss moment'. I want them to have this moment multiple times. You're totally right about John being more suspicious of his daughter than of Tony, too. He probably turned that light on just to check he didn't have to rush out and rescue Tony from her over-amorous clutches and let the poor bloke get some oxygen.
You can just see them on the phone at all hours, right? They so do that already, and as if they wouldn't keep doing it once they were dating. They both have such sexy voices, too, which helps. Imagine them both lying in their separate beds all snuggled up and listening to each other talk about total nonsense all night long. Awww.
I do seem to be taking the highbrow road at the moment, don't I? What is that about. I need to stop listening to all this pretty music and revert back to being ghetto.
Swimming in the ocean is the best thing (second only to running in my obsessed mind). I practically grew up in the sea as a kid. I do hate that it's freezing, but there's something terribly romantic about being on a windswept crazy ass beach in winter (plus I do have a really good wetsuit). That moment when you're running toward the water and thinking OH FUCK I AM GOING TO GET HYPOTHERMIA AND DIE IF I DO THIS is always fun, too.
He does have the weirdest shows. I'd recommend the Wild Swimming one over the fishing one, to be honest. He spends a lot of it talking about his dad who used to swim, and it gets quite emotional and lovely. And then at the end he takes his son out for a swim and it's all awwwww Robson, you are so sweet and adorable, I love you.
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You know, the more I think about this mature approach of yours, the more I like it. I wanna be mature like you one day! There is something so gorgeous about the idea of them just reveling in the 'We know it's going to happen but let's enjoy the anticipation first' stage. The near kisses, the lingering gazes, the finding little excuses to touch one another. The sexual tension would be delicious.
Yeah, I can absolutely see them being on the phone constantly. Especially in the early stages of dating where they were both hesitating to admit that OMG THEY WANT TO SEE EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME. They'd probably find cute little nonsense reasons to call each other and then just neither of them would hang up and they'd keep talking until they fell asleep on the phone together or something ridiculously adorable like that.
I think I'll leave the 'oh fuck I am going to get hypothermia' moments to you. I prefer my beaches warm, thank you very much. I'm all about a nice walk along the shore in the winter/cold but actually getting in the water? Bitch, you are clearly too hardcore for me.
Wild Swimming does sound pretty cool and Robson sounds like this sweet, mushy family man which is insanely precious!
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Ooh yay! Come join me in the mature land of continuing Alex and Tony's sexual frustration! It's really pretty here. And tense. But still, I really do want them to make every single stage of this thing last; as much I would love them to just get married/have Isobelle already, I also adore the two of them in their slightly-awkward but we love each other so much phase that they're beginning in 6.04. Just think of the eye sex. You thought it was epic before, can you even imagine what it would be like once they'd started dating but hadn't snogged/actually properly talked about things? Poor Kevin and Paula.
They'd probably find cute little nonsense reasons to call each other
Half of me wants to squee crazily and abuse capslock at how adorable this concept is, and the other half of me wants to look at you with my left eyebrow sticking up and say "LIKE THEY'RE NOT DOING THIS ALREADY LIZ". Bloody hell, I so want Alex to wake up one morning with her phone stuck to the side of her head and listening to Tony snoring down the line in her ear.
I think it's probably less a case of me being hardcore and more a case of you being clearly much smarter than me. I obviously need to come to terms with the fact that I am not Robson Green, and as such I do not have a luxurious coating of body hair to keep me warm on my ocean swims.
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You're right. The eye sex in 'sexual tension dating but not yet getting it on' land is AMAZING. If I hadn't taken biology, I'd suspect Alex could get pregnant with Isobelle from that filthy eye contact alone. As happy as Kevin and Paula will be that Tony and Alex have finally started dating, I have a feeling they're going to be wondering why and the hell they wished for this. Poor kids are going to have to pick up so much slack in that office while Tony and Alex are all drunk on the squee and pent up sexual energy about to burst free at any moment.
Okay, yeah, they totally already do the calling each other for nonsense reasons think but they will do it even more and for longer when they are dating. They'll give up on the forcing themselves to hang up at some point and just, like you said, fall asleep with the phones on their pillows listening to each other breath/snore. They sicken me. I love them.
I am uncomfortable with your use of the phrase "luxurious coating of body hair."
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I'm sure Alex could handle that. (Side note squee: I am irrationally excited that Robson likes the same brand compression gear as me. I'm so wearing 2XU to the gym today.)
Impregnation via eye!sex sounds logical to me. But then, I failed spectacularly at anything remotely science-y. It's kind of sad; I could be a psychologist right now, if only I hadn't been so crap at science. I would've been the SHITTEST psychologist, Liz. How funny.
I love this thought of Alex and Tony all drunk and high on squee and sexual tension. The pheromone levels alone would be enough to knock anyone out! You know, there might even be a sudden sharp rise in the number of hookups in Bradfield CID, just because everyone would be exposed to this massive cloud of oxytocin that's floating around whenever Alex and Tony are together. I'd love to see random people throwing themselves at each other because they're just so overcome with the horniness and FEELINGS in the air.
Yeah, I've no doubt they'll be falling asleep listening to each other breathing on the phone. How fricking adorable. Also, I've often wondered if they don't spend all day emailing back and forth to each other, when Alex is in her office and Tony is in his between classes. How cute would this be? Like, Alex is just sitting at her desk when an email from Tony pops up randomly: "First years are really titchy, Alex. And not very clever." and then she'd email back something like "I bet they're all taller than you." and it would carry on all day long. Email flirting ftw!
I'm uncomfortable with it to, to be honest. I can only handle body hair when it's on men with buff chests and arms and blue eyes and fictional psychology qualifications (see above).
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I'm impressed that you and Robson wear the same brand of fancy workout wear. You are both obviously hardcore serious business sporty people.
Okay, so we're agreed that impregnation by eye!sex is most likely possible if you're doing it right which Alex and Tony certainly are. Excellent!
I don't know, you might have been a better psychologist than you think. You've got that whole head in lap/hair smoothing thing down which we've established is an important skill for any psychologist. Surely between that and asking yourself what Tony Hill would do you'd get along just fine, right?
I'm loving the idea of everyone at Bradfield CID suddenly hooking up due to the high levels of FEELINGS floating around in there. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a high number of eye!sex babies popping up all over the place too.
: "First years are really titchy, Alex. And not very clever." and then she'd email back something like "I bet they're all taller than you." and it would carry on all day long. Email flirting ftw!
OMG. YES. E-mail flirting for the win! I feel we need to obsessively list things they could talk about. (Oh, that probably went without saying, didn't it.)
"Alex, I'm taller than you. (Unless you're wearing those boots I like which you looked bloody fantastic in last night, by the way.)"
"Tony, True. And thank you. You looked pretty gorgeous last night yourself. Kevin keeps asking me if we're really dating. He seems really invested in it. I'm a little concerned. - Alex"
"Alex, Kevin will be fine. He just needs something to distract him from his Paula crush. I'll be at the office until late tonight. You should stop by on your way home. Door locks and my office doesn't have all those inconvenient windows like yours. Okay, off to teach some titchy first years!"
And on and on and on.
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Thank you indeed for reassuring me on my potential as a head-patting psychologist. I would get a bit poster in my office of serious!face!Tony and WWTHD in big red letters to refer to whenever I got confused. I'd probably some serious indemnity insurance; I'd just want to constantly hug anyone who got upset during their sessions. I don't think that's really appropriate behaviour for a quasi-medical professional, is it?
Oooh yes, Bradfield eye!sex babies! To be completely and shamelessly honest, a little (ok, big) part of me has always wanted to see this exact scenario: immediately post-6.04, Alex comes rushing in to rescue Tony from his misery, and runs right at him and just snogs him without a care as to who's watching. So, they're snogging like mad, and Kevin turns to Paula and goes "See! If they can do it, why can't we?" And poor Paula would have to admit to herself that although she does fancy a lot of people, it's Kevin she loves, and would snog him wildly too. Then there would be lots of cheering and everyone would start snogging randomly.
Ok, maybe I just want to see an orgy at Bradfield CID.
Whoa, it's established!relationship email flirting!! I hadn't thought of that! I like it. The porny potential is just so much higher. (Are we back on the masturbation fixation again? How does this keep happening?)
Door locks and my office doesn't have all those inconvenient windows like yours
Oh, Doctor Hill! You're making me blush! I love shameless!Tony. You should definitely write something with them established, if it means Tony is going to be acting like this.
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I'd totally come to your head-patting psychology practice! What with your WWTHD poster and all the hugging and head-patting, I'm sure I'd feel very at home and relax and all my issues would be cured.
Ok, maybe I just want to see an orgy at Bradfield CID.
It was only a matter of time before it came to this. We've been on a slippery slope that was leading straight to a Bradfield CID orgy for a long while now.
Yeah, I just jumped right to established relationship flirting but I do adore the idea that they'd send semi-flirty or just random e-mails before they were together too. In fact, I love it. They'd both secretly live for the e-mails but try to act all casual about it. Dorks.
(Are we back on the masturbation fixation again? How does this keep happening?)
See what I said about the slippery slope?
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Well, it'd be unethical for me to treat you, considering 1) you are my spouse, and 2) you also work in the same practice and are my colleague, as we established this morning. And OH, related thing I forgot to mention today: you know how at the end Tony is hanging out at Alex's to check on/gaze adoringly at her, and he, whilst telling her how to deal with what's happened, says: "you talk to someone. You take a break and spend some time with Ben" etc? Well, how much do I want Alex to be a little bit sad about the fact that he said 'talk to someone' and not 'talk to me'?? He's a goddamn shrink! I know it's not really ethical for him to be all shrinky with her, but it wouldn't have to be official or anything. I just wish he'd said 'talk to me'. Or I wish Alex had made an even more miserable and pouty face and said "why can't I talk to you?" at least.
I'm actually surprised we haven't reached the orgy point until now. We must've been holding back!
Yes! Semi-flirty emails would be so perfect and so in character for these two, with their 'easier on the phone' crap. I wonder just how far they'd push the boundaries between semi-flirting and outright whorishness? And I can totally see them never actually talking about the emailing; it'd be kind of this secret thing that always went unspoken, while the flirtation escalated to extremes.
Does this slippery slope of yours happen to end in the gutter?
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Oooh, interesting thoughts on the 'talk to someone' line. Why do you think he said someone and didn't offer himself. Did he go so far as to think it would be unethical or did it just not even occur to him that she might want to talk to him instead of some random stranger? I think had Alex made a pouty face and said, "Why can't I talk to you?" he would have been a bit flustered but quick with the "Of course you can, if you want to." And now of course, I'm trying to imagine how those chats would go if they did happen. Fuck, the FEELINGS on both ends would be intense.
I'm actually surprised we haven't reached the orgy point until now. We must've been holding back!
We've honestly shown a great deal of restraint. We were bound to crack sometime, though.
Okay, so maybe I'm just going to throw random prompts out at you in every comment for a while now but I totally think you should write a semi-flirty e-mail exchange. You can fully explore just how they would walk the boundary between semi-flirting and outright whorishness. *best pleading look*
Does this slippery slope of yours happen to end in the gutter?
The gutter in Whoretown, you bet your pervy ass!
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(And since having this dream I'm now on a MASSIVE vintage-Tori kick; fuck, she was brilliant.)
Although I do think that professional ethics are something that Tony frequently thinks about (I don't know why I think this, maybe just because I love him and he's such a good guy), I think you're right to say that it just didn't occur to him to offer to be that person for her in the moment. I can't say that this is because he thinks she doesn't need or want him (why is she clutching so tight to him in this ep, if that's the case? He's not an idiot, surely he's noticed she does need him), but perhaps because he's operating in professional mode and this is what he'd say to anyone under stress? But then remember Kurt the annoying dude in 4.03 - Tony offered to help him himself, he didn't try to refer him on to some colleague or other. I don't know. Or perhaps he's fully aware of all of this, and didn't offer himself as yet another form of self-protection: does he really want to subject himself to getting that much closer to Alex when he thinks they can only ever be friends?
Oh, Anthony. Why you so confusing, sugar?
Any such chats, if they did occur, would indeed be ridiculously epic with the FEELINGS. I figure it'd be low-key; in her kitchen or maybe at his place, so Ben doesn't overhear? Or maybe we've got it all wrong, and a few weeks after 5.02 Tony asked her if she'd talked to anyone yet, and when she confessed she hadn't, maybe he asked her how she was coping, and they had a little impromptu therapy session? This would also contribute to her change in behaviour toward him in 5.03; if she'd successfully opened up to him (without freaking out and getting defensive and without him being distracted by a patient), surely this would have a big impact on the way she saw him, and would also explain her calling him when Gabriel upset her. Anyway. I would love to see those chats. They would be so beautiful; any time Tony is being nice and quiet and caring and careful with her is like magic.
I shall have a think about writing some nice flirty email exchanges, but I make no promises. My brain is kind of useless at the moment, it seems. Maybe you should write it. *pleading bambi eyes look in return*
Whoretown reminds me of the Scarpetta books - do you remember in one of them someone gets killed in some suburb or other called 'Sugar Bottom'? That always cracks me up. Anyhoo. That was irrelevant to everything.
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