John leaned over and started to talk to Aria.
"Okay. So. The dragon was coming at me. It was shooting poison gas through the city, so I had to kill it as fast as possible. It sent me flying into a skyscraper. Which the dragon then struck with its ball-like tail. The building started to collapse on itself. It almost killed me. But my pet dragon Neptune swooped in at the last moment and saved my life." John said
Aria listened to John talk with rapt attention. She offed and ahhed at the right parts in the story. And she gave John what he thought was a proud smile when he told her how he finally killed the dragon.
It made John feel like she liked him.
But she probably doesn't, though. John thought to himself.
After all. How could someone like John? That just didn't happen.
John was evil.
A sigh fell from John's lips.
"What are you sad about?"
She do—n't like me.
The word was blocked but still heard. John looked at Aria.
"Nothing. I'm happy right now." John said
And it was partially the truth. The fact that someone wanted to sit with him and listen to him talk was already incredible.
"So..... Anything new happen in your life?" John asked
"Well, my sister just got married a week ago," Aria said
John's brows raised at that.
"Married. In these times. There's more death and poverty now than there has been in the last thousand years. Jesus. They're crazy." John said
Aria nodded.
"That's what I told her. I told her that she should wait until the war was over. But she said that they had decided to do it now. Because they didn't want to die knowing they hadn't married each other." Aria said
"I can kind of understand. We all live in a situation where none of us know if our next day will be our last."
John's face grew slightly pale at the notion.
Aria nodded.
"Yeah. It's sad. But true." She said
The waiter brought John and Aria their menus.
"What do you want to have?" John asked
"I think I'll have the fish tacos. What about you?"
"I'm going to have everything," John said simply.
Aria raised a brow at that.
"You really do eat a lot."
John grinned.
"I need to feed the beast."
RIIIIIIIIIIP
John flexed his bicep. The fabric of his swear shirt tore from the size of his muscles.
"SHIT!" John yelled as he looked at his torn shirt.
"Damit. Now I'm going to have to buy a new one!" John snapped
Aria just stared at John.
"You're crazy," Aria said
John rolled his eyes.
"Well, you're crazier."
Aria stuck out her tongue.
"Well, you're craziest!" Aria exclaimed.
Aria and John both shared a chuckle.
After about thirty minutes of waiting. (Because they didn't have a full restaurant to serve.) John and Aria got their meals.
John got everything. And Aria got some fish tacos.
John and Aria continued to chat as they ate. Aria spoke of the dating life of her family and her parent's strangely cordial divorce. John spoke of workplace drama he had experienced and the one head of marketing who had taken him to way too many events.
The cut-off chant in John's mind was silenced as he spoke with her.
John was well and truly happy at that moment. After they finished their meal, John got up to leave. Aria walked with him.
John went to take out his phone and summon a car. But Aria's hand grabbed his.
"Wait..... The date isn't over yet." Aria said
John raised his brow at her.
"What?"
"The date isn't over yet. I paid for a hotel room."
John wasn't a genius. But he could still read the subtext.
His face went red.
"Oh... OKAY!"
Aria pulled John's head down by his neck and kissed him.
John's heart fluttered like a hummingbird.
Everything was a blur for John after that. Hands touched. Uglys bumped. Things got rough.
Let's not go into any more detail.
.
…
...
...…
...
John lay in a large white bed. The bed frame had broken early on during John and Aria's activities. So they took the broken pieces of the frame, piled them in a corner, and continued their task.
Both John and Aria were naked now. John was looking at the ceiling with a look of guilt in his eyes.
He'd gotten rough. Maybe even a little violent.
M——er Mur—er
She hadn't yelled stop. She hadn't told him not to. But for some reason, John still felt like he was doing something wrong.
M——er Mur—er~
Aria stirred
"Ugh.... What time is it?"
Aria turned to look at John. Again. His heart skipped a beat.
John didn't speak. He just silently looked at her. She was beautiful.
Words came to John's lips. They flowed unbidden and unstopped by his mouth.
"I want you to love me."
John knew from the bottom of his soul that those words were the absolute truth.
Aria's eyes widened. Any tiredness that should have been on her face previously vanished.
"Isn't that a bit selfish? Saying that you want me to love you when I don't even know if you love me back." Aria said
Words flowed unbidden.
"But I do———" And then they stopped.
The concrete block was back, and it was firmly wedged in John's throat. He wouldn't be able to get rid of it this time.
Aria smiled.
She leaned over and gave John a quick pec on his lips. Then she whispered into his ear.
"Maybe later."
The activities continued.
.
…
...
...…
It was twelve Am when Aria and John finished in the hotel. They checked out and went to get some coffee. Then they talked for a few minutes. Then, Aria had to get to work. John did, too. There was another city being attacked. There were no large enemies, though.
It was just going to be a clean-up Job.
John liked those.