[Speed Dating, Round Two]

[callofkaren]

With the first round done without any hiccups, Karen spent half an hour straightening things up, checking names off as the second group of half uncomfortable, half vaguely excited looking potential daters showed up, and soon it was much like the first. The spiel was the same, drinks were handed out, and luckily getting everyone in order came easily

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[odunham]

She'd almost changed her mind at the last minute.

It was a moment of insanity, signing up for speed dating, and while Olivia would have liked to take it back, admitting that the very idea of it made her anxious for the simple reason that she had no idea how to act on a date at all wasn't something she wanted to deal with.

So she put on a pair of slacks and a nice blouse, showed up, and immediately felt better to be surrounded by others in the same predicament. It wasn't embarrassing, not really, but every few minutes Olivia had to ask herself what the hell she was doing.

Even as she sat down and waited for the signal to begin, she sighed. This was insane, but no less crazy than everything else she'd been through in the last two months.

[weary_head]

Dean slides into his first seat of the evening, whiskey clutched like a lifeline in his hand. It's only long years of practice that keep his expression casual, but his insides are crawling with nerves, his eyeballs practically twitching with the effort of not looking at Faye.

Looking at the woman across from him is cheering, at least - she's beautiful and she looks like she could hand him his ass, two things for which Dean is more than passing fond. He should compliment her, her hair or something, or her pretty eyes, but to his horror, when he opens his mouth the first thing he blurts is, "Do you think it's possible a woman would sign up for this kind of thing just to make a guy jealous?"

He shuts his mouth with a click. "Uh, I'm Dean."

[odunham]

Well, this was a good way to start the night, and the perfect icebreaker. It may have been enough to keep Dean off any possible future dating list, but Olivia gave him a smile, and started to relax.

"Possibly," she said, and shrugged. "I'm Olivia."

[weary_head]

"Great," Dean replies, grinning at her until he realizes that's a fucking stupid thing to say, just as it is to be relieved that she hasn't laughed at him. She's probably hiding it. She seems collected like that.

"Uh," he says, deciding to be honest, "I kind of only signed up because this woman I like signed up, that was stupid. I'm not really sure what we're supposed to talk about here. Top ten turn-ons? Because at least five of mine begin and end with a cheeseburger."

[odunham]

"Maybe not entirely stupid," Olivia said, easily taking in the conversation once she'd gotten a read on Dean. Having a simple five minute chat with a guy who was here for another woman made things simple. "Shows you care about her, right? And most of mine involve handcuffs."

She gave him a smile and another shrug, as though she couldn't help what she'd just said.

[weary_head]

Dean's eyes widen, surprise punching a laugh out of him that makes him feel about a hundred percent better. "Wow, where were you when I wasn't already besotted?" he asks, still grinning.

"Is that true, or is that just something you plan to bust out on the weirdos you want to scare away tonight?"

[odunham]

That laugh was much more preferable to the moping he'd been doing a moment earlier, and she let out a short laugh as well. "Probably the latter. Not sure I'd classify anyone as a weirdo yet, but there are some really young guys here that'll probably work on."

[weary_head]

Dean looks around, too. Up to this moment, he's not really been aware of anyone in the room besides Olivia or Faye. "Got some youngin's, all right," he agrees with a whistle.

"But I'd be careful, might attract more than you repluse with a pickup like that. Young me would've been chomping at the bit."

[odunham]

Olivia tilted her head, as though considering how she'd react to a younger Dean. He was attractive, and something about the way he carried himself reminded her of John. "I could handle anything anyone here could throw at me."

Maybe not anything from Steve, but she's relatively confident of the rest. "So, this woman you're here for...which one is she?"

[weary_head]

"Yeah, I bet you could," says Dean, a ghost of flirtation in his voice, some rallying from the guy he used to be beating up from inside him before he lets it fall away.

At her question, he inclines his head, pink washing out his freckles when he nods at Faye. The damn dress. "Faye Valentine," he whispers. "She's..." Well christ, look at her. "Yeah. She's something."

[odunham]

Olivia glanced over, already having heard the name once or twice in passing to know who he spoke of. Ten years ago, maybe Olivia would have been envious of her effortless beauty. Now, she just nodded and turned her gaze back to Dean, bemused. "She's beautiful."

[patration]

The idea of the speed-dating was simple: a group of young adults on the island, all looking for company and various degrees of intimacy, would meet together and each pair receive a small amount of time in order to acquaint themselves with one another. At the end, any pleasant first impressions would, presumably, result in follow-ups later on, with the aim of perhaps finding romance (or, likely, most wouldn't turn their noses at the prospect of a decent friendship). It was the type of function that never would have existed back in his world, and certainly not organized like this. Some might have thought it impersonal.

Zhuge simply thought it was a great deal of fun.

He'd tasked himself with learning about each woman whose name was penned on the list. Nothing too detailed, nothing to spoil the surprise- just an overall sense of demeanor and appearance, enough for him to find an appropriate flower to hand to each. For Olivia Dunham, Zhuge has a few flowers. Love in a mist, they're called

[odunham]

She was charmed.

Olivia had come into this with absolutely no expectations, but she certainly hadn't imagined being actually charmed by any of the men around, no matter what little she knew of Liang. It was hard not to know of him, as much attention as she paid to island chatter.

"Yes," she confirmed, and accepted the flower with a smile. "Thank you, they're lovely."

[patration]

There were many things that one could admire in a woman's smile. It was a telling expression, the light surprise in her eyes, the gentle curve of her lips. So unlike the way that most women would have reacted in his time, with a breathless air and a cloying smile. He preferred it this way, he thought to himself, something about the woman in front of him being unfailingly honest and open

[odunham]

She wasn't taking this seriously at all, but maybe once upon a time Olivia could have been swept off her feet. It had taken John months to crack through her shell, Peter years; one thing she'd had the hardest time recovering from after being a child again was how wide-eyed she'd been about every thing and every one.

"Thank you," she murmured, accepting the compliment. As for the question, she didn't have a ready answer and went for the first that came to mind. "Being at work, having something to do. What is your first language?"

[patration]

His brows furrowed, the expression not unkind, though it still displayed a light degree of surprise. While Zhuge had certainly learned, since arriving on the island, that its residents were capable of a greater degree of self-actualization on the whole than his homeland would ever have been in his time, the majority of people on the island still seemed to bask in the luxury of time that the island afforded them. Took afternoons off for the pure reason of lounging in the sun, breezed into the waves