[Speed Dating, Round One]

[callofkaren]

This wasn't the first time Karen had run speed dating, and she had everything down to practically a science by now. She was going to miss watching what sorts of trouble Tony could get himself in, but there were a decent amount of people signed up, enough so that she had to split them down the middle so nobody would be overwhelmed

Comments

[frakkup]

Not for the first or even tenth time today, Kara wonders what the frak she thinks she's doing here. Speed dating? Dating, period? She's out of her godsdamn mind. Standing in front of the sign ups a week ago, she'd managed to convince herself it'd be fun. She never dates. Since Castiel left she's rarely even looked at a man with any ideas of settling down, sick to death of them leaving the instant she's anything close to happy, but this is supposed to be fun, right? Casual. Not terrifying.

Her hands wrap around the tables edge with enough force to turn her knuckles white, and Kara peels them away, curls her fingers around her glass of water instead. Just a bit of frakking fun. Belatedly, she wonders if she was supposed to wear a dress.

[theblindguy]

The laugh is what he's going for. They're stuck with each other for a couple of minutes, and he'd rather not feel like he's just making her feel more miserable.

"You're right, I do try my best to avoid the situation," he replies, grinning. In fact, he'd been pretty good at not earning a slap on the face too, until a year ago when he crossed paths with Natasha again. But he wasn't going to start thinking about her here. Or anywhere, actually, for his own sanity. His eyebrows lift a little in surprise at the amount of years she mentions. "That's definitely the longest I've heard anyone being here. I'm just from Washington D.C., on Earth. Which I'm actually not even sure exists when you're from."

The time thing is weird for him, too, even a month later. He just assumes she's from some distant future in general, because most of the people he's met that aren't from his time are either from then or sound like they belong in a movie about knights. She's definitely coming across as the former right now.

[frakkup]

"Probably does," says Kara. "So many people come and go here, some recognize the names of the constellations my planets are named for, some don't, I lose track of how it all fits together."

She leans back in her chair, strangely at ease with a topic that's bordering on history. It's probably not the sexy turn in conversation she's supposed to be shooting for. "When I came here, my people were searching for Earth. To us it's...half myth, half salvation."

[theblindguy]

It's an odd turn of conversation, especially considering how little time they actually have. But he listens anyway, legitimately interested in. Who wouldn't be? He considers joking about them not missing much, but there's probably a reason why they'd want to find the planet so badly.

"And what did you do? On the Twelve Colonies, I mean," he asks. "Were you one of the people looking?"

[frakkup]

"We all were," says Kara, shoulders moving lightly. "We were kind of out of viable planets. I was a pilot in the Colonial Fleet. What about you?" He's right, they do have very little time, and she's spent most of hers talking about herself. "What'd you do?"

[likedtheodds]

He descends into the chair with mad abandon, a bright grin on his face when he sees the first woman he's meant to chat with. "Hello, gorgeous," he greets, with sincerity ringing through his words. "You're going to have to help me," he says, getting comfortable as he leans forward. "What are we meant to do? I saw 'dating' and I didn't think much past that."

[frakkup]

"Oh, thank the gods," says Kara, leaning across the table and grabbing his hand. She doesn't like to be so transparent, but it's such a frakking relief to see him. "I don't know," she says, clutching, "Talk. Get to know each other. See if we click."

Her mouth pulls up in a reassured smile. "Guess we already have that one covered."

[likedtheodds]

"We did click very nicely," Gwaine agrees as he leans over the table, his forearms resting comfortably. "And you make such lovely little noises when our mouths do so," he adds with a charmingly smug smile (which he's sure is just irritating to some). "And how long do I have?"

[frakkup]

"Five minutes," Kara replies, "which I know isn't long enough for you to wear that ego out, but give it your best shot."

Releasing his hand, Kara sits back, her eyes appraising. "And don't drink too much. Not every woman here has my boundless capacity for grace and patience."

[likedtheodds]

"I'm not drinking anything, Princess. At least, not in the last two hours," he corrects himself before he can get too far into the conversation. "You know, I'm not always like that. I just don't have a thing to do," he admits with a bored shrug. "And it's not like Merlin needs me anymore. Nothing to keep sober for, not really."

[wingerguarantee]

The idea of dating in general is laughable to Jeff (been there, done that, really did not see the appeal - which had nothing to do with the fact she was the one who broke up with him, obviously), but signing up was a no brainer for him anyway. Not everyone here is looking for something serious, and he's confident he'll be able to weed out the ones who are.

And the ones who look like they don't even want to be there, too. Which is the case with the first girl he approaches. It doesn't faze him much as he sits across from her.

"Jeff Winger," he introduces himself outright, offering his hand to her. "Nice to meet you."

[frakkup]

Somehow his straightforwardness helps. Kara's made a lifetime of running nose to nose with confident people, and generally gets by without anyone ever noticing hers is manufactured. It's easy to slip into old habits.

"Kara Thrace," she says, "likewise." She gives his hand a soldier's shake, gaze sliding over his arms and shoulders as she sits back again. She supposes a little harmless looking is what they're here for, and in Kara's experience, men who take this kind of time sculpting their bodies won't mind the attention. "You don't look like a guy who has trouble finding dates."

[wingerguarantee]

The firm shake of his hand and the general looks of her was a good indication to Jeff what kind of girl she comes across as - the tough type. He didn't mind or anything - especially when he spotted her looking him over - but it'd mean a small switch in how he approached things.

"Just saw this as an opportunity to meet a couple lovely ladies," he replied, easily. And it wasn't even a lie - he just didn't have any interest in the dating aspect of this. "So, let's get the boring part of this out first. Where are you from? What did you used to do?"

[frakkup]

"I'm from a system of planets called the Twelve Colonies," she replies, eyebrow lifting preemptively for his inevitable dismay. Out of all the women here, she's sure she's the only one not from Earth. "I was a pilot in the Colonial Fleet, rank Captain."

She smiles. "You?"

[wingerguarantee]

"Well it's hard to sound impressive after that," he grinned, but didn't actually seemed fazed. Because he might not be a pilot, but he was damn good at what he used to do, even with the situation that surrounded it. "I worked as a lawyer. On Earth. Colorado, to be exact, if that means anything to you."

Probably not.

[frakkup]

"Hn." She's come to pride herself on how much she knows of Earth. It's disappointing that she doesn't recognize the place, though she tries not to show it. "Guess not. I know places like New York and California, and England and China. Is it like any of those?"