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fatesdesign ([personal profile] fatesdesign) wrote2019-05-13 08:06 pm
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“Okay, first real date. It’s fine,” Rapunzel says to Pascal, blowing out a breath as she looks at herself in the full length mirror in her bedroom. “But this is the outfit, right?”

She smooths down the sleeveless dress before pulling on the denim jacket and stepping into a pair of purple flats. Her hair is braided with flowers and thin purple ribbons woven in and she’s wearing the earrings that Peter got her for her birthday.

Pascal scampers up her shoulder and fixes a stray piece of hair before giving her a thumbs up. She smiles and takes him gently in her hands to set him on the pillow in the middle of the sofa, where he has access to the remote and snacks. Rapunzel and Pascal are a package deal and she’s pretty sure Peter knows that, but she figured they could use some privacy, at least on the first date.

“Okay, be good and—“ She’s cut off by the buzzer sounding, and she lets out a little gasp as she straightens up. “Wish me luck!”

After grabbing her purse, she leaves the apartment and locks the door, nervous but happy as she heads down to meet Peter at the front of the building.

Her heart is so full, and she’s so happy. No matter what Peter has planned, she knows that it will be fun.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-14 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Unsurprisingly, Peter was not that great at planning dates.

It wasn't like he'd never been on one. He'd been on plenty, but most of them were double dates with friends, or just a party where they all agreed to meet up, or a vague agreement to maybe run into each other somewhere. He'd never bothered to take that shit seriously, which was probably why he'd never maintained a serious relationship... ever. The longest he'd held onto a girlfriend was a few months over the summer, and a big chunk of that, she was off at some internship program in New York.

She'd finally figured out that he was a loser, over those few weeks, and he'd decided, only afterwards, that she was stuck up and not worth it anyway.

So, saying that he felt out of his element was probably the understatement of the century. His jeans were clean, and he'd put on a dark green button-up shirt, but after walking a block, he'd rolled up the sleeves and cuffed them over his elbows. The date seemed important, but he also didn't want to take her someplace uptight and fancy, if only because that wasn't really them.

Plus, he had to consider where the money would come from. The Home was really strict about how much allowance they gave you each month, and being a seventeen-year-old unaccustomed to budgeting, he hadn't exactly figured out how to make it last.

Standing outside her apartment, he decided at least five times in a span of two minutes that bowling was the actual stupidest idea he'd ever come up with. Maybe they could find a movie to see? Or they could just get food? Or— Oh, God, there she was.

"Wow, hey. You look... Wow."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-14 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yeah. Thanks," he said, smoothing a hand awkwardly down his front.

"Uh, have you ever been bowling? There's that place downtown, and they, uh. I think they have decent burgers, too? I mean, I've heard. I've never actually been."

In fact, he hadn't been bowling since freshman year, and once again, he was convinced it was the worst idea he'd ever had. Which was saying something.

"We can go somewhere else..." He offered, nearly holding his breath as he waited for her answer.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-15 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
"That doesn't actually make me any less nervous," he admitted, but his smile was more relaxed, his shoulders slumping as a fraction of the tension seeped out of him.

Before she could pull away, he lifted a hand to her face, pulling her in for another, more lingering kiss.

"Okay, okay," he said, laughing breathlessly as he followed her out of the alley.

"And, uh. I mean, it's probably obvious, but I like you, too."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-15 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
"Uh, I think it's something to do with scuffing the lanes," Peter admitted with a shrug. Really, he wasn't that focused on the shoes. Or the loud noises. Or any of it.

What he cared about most was the bright, wide-eyed look on Rapunzel's face, and the warmth of her hand in his.

"I don't think they'll let you wear your regular shoes past a certain point."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-16 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, I think it's a pro team," Peter explained, handing over the cash for their lane and then moving over to claim a decent one before it got taken.

Sitting down to change his shoes, he tucked the pair they'd made him rent for her under his own chair. In front of him was one of those digital score counters, but the technology looked at least twenty years old. It had a spot to put in their team name, and he quickly typed in Peter+Rapunzel.

"Come on, let's pick out our balls," he said, gesture to the rack near the back wall. There were balls of all different colors, some solid, some sparkly, some metallic, and each one had its weight stamped on it. Reaching out to take her hand, after only a brief moment of second-guessing himself, he led her over, pointing out a lavender ball near the low end. "You'll probably want something light."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-17 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Hey, at least I didn't tell you to grab one from the kiddie rack," Peter said, gesturing to the lightest balls, on a low shelf down at the end.

"Yeah, it's kind of a roll-throw," he agreed, picking his own ball, a dark and swirling blue, and turning back towards the lane.

"I'm not saying I'm great at this, but I can go first, if you want to see how to do it."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-17 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Laughing softly, he said, "Yeah, maybe stay behind the line," he gestured, really not wanting to hit her or bump into her.

He hadn't bowled in forever, but it was a familiar enough motion, drawing the ball back as he walking across the polished wood, his feet sliding a little in the follow-through as the threw the ball down the middle, watching it roll a little to the left and only knocking out the furthest three pins.

"Jesus. Yeah, okay. That was, you know... Practice," he said, struggling to look like he didn't care about his shitty throw, when a part of him just wanted to impress her.

His ball shot out from the return shoot, and he grabbed it again as it rolled to a stop. "You get two throws, each turn."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-17 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay, that's enough," Peter said, struggling against a grin as he tried to wave off her supportive cheers. There were people looking, a couple of girls a few lanes down, leaning in close and giggling together.

He couldn't really remember the last time he'd felt like this-- just normal teenage embarrassment, the kind that felt exciting and tingly and not a whole lot like embarrassment at all.

"The gutter," he said, "Or loser pit, whatever." Grinning, he turned back towards the pins, lining up his shot and then trying to arc the ball a little more towards the middle and right. This time, all but the pin on the far right came clattering down.

"Jesus, okay," he said, ruffling a hand through his hair and trudging back to Rapunzel's side.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-19 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"No, that was kind of great," he assured her, picking up his ball and waiting as the pins were reset. "The first time I played, I swear, I didn't knock over a single pin for at least my first few turns."

He'd been about eleven at the time, but she didn't need to know that.

Lining up his next shot, he threw the ball, blowing out a breath when all but three were knocked over. "Okay, see," he said, pointing out the two pins on the right, and the third on the left, "That's called a split. Knocking them all down now is like, really hard."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-21 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?" Peter laughed softly, wrapping his arm around her waist as his ball came rolling down the shoot.

"If you're, uh, going to judge this whole date on whether I make this shot, I guess I'm screwed."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-21 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Uh, thanks," he said, watching the twirl of her skirt, her thick braid swaying against her back. There was literally no way he could concentrate on his shot now.

Drawing in a deep breath, he turned away from her, lined up his shot, and threw wide, managing only to knock down the pin on the far right before the ball clattered into the gutter.

"Don't say it," he said, biting back a grin as he turned back to her, lifting a finger in playful admonishment.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-21 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Peter was barely paying attention to the game at all.

He felt kind of like a perv, but her skirt was really short, and at every turn she made, it rode up just enough to show him a peek of the back of her thighs. He found himself imagining what her panties looked like, if they were the kind that showed just a little bit of cheek beneath the elastic.

God, he was a jerk.

But then she sat on his lap, smiling sweetly, innocently, her thumb playing across the top of his collar. His mouth went dry. "It's ten frames, but we can take a break, if you want."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-22 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
He'd just dredged up the courage to touch her, his fingertips grazing the top of her bare knee, his other hand moving to slip beneath her braid to rest against the small of her back, when she slipped off of his lap.

He let out a breath, struggling not to roll his eyes at himself.

"I don't know, we can leave our stuff here. It's not too busy, maybe everybody'll leave it alone," he suggested, snapping his teeth playfully near the tip of her finger, just like she'd done to him.

"We should eat," he decided, getting to his feet and offering her his hand.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-25 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Uh, no, it's cool. I mean, I've got this," he insisted awkwardly, "You can get the next one? I mean, when we go out again. I mean, assuming..."

He trailed off, and despite wanting more than anything to just play it cool, he gave her a nervously hopeful look. He liked her too much to let her think he didn't want to go out with her again.

"We have burgers, yeah," he answered, before the moment became uncomfortable. "The food here's basically the same as it was back home."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-28 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Uh, yeah. Okay," Peter said, trying not to read too far into her offering to cook for him, which would mean a date at her apartment, which would mean they'd be alone.

Like, really alone. And sure, they'd been alone before, but the last time, he'd been fucked up and snot-crying and covered in his own piss. Not exactly romantic. In fact, he was still generally shocked that she wanted to go out with him at all, after all that.

Putting in her order, he got himself a bacon cheeseburger and regular fries, along with a coke. They were given a number to take back to their table, and he picked a quiet, corner booth. "Is this okay?"
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-05-31 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um, yeah. I'm okay. I mean, it's okay. It's school," he said, shrugging. He'd made mediocre grades all through high school, and that hadn't changed in Darrow. It just never had really held his attention.

"I'm, uh. I'm probably going to have to finish up some stuff in summer school. I took some time off, after... you know," he trailed off, wincing around a smile, his thumb curling around hers. "But yeah, just the one more. Then, I don't know. Everybody keeps saying I should be thinking about college, but..."

He shrugged.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-01 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
"Maybe I'm not really the kind of person who has dreams," Peter admitted, laughing softly as he halfheartedly knocked the straw paper onto the floor.

"I mean, I know that sounds really pathetic, but maybe I'm not meant to do important stuff. The rest of my family was really talented. My mom and my sister were artists, and my dad was this really respected therapist. But I think maybe I'm just, you know. Ordinary."

He shrugged.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-02 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Coughing out an uncomfortable laugh, Peter, grimaced, gently pulling his hand out from under hers as he sat back in his chair.

"Yeah, I know. I know there's nothing wrong with it. But you're making it sound like you think I'm a kid," he pointed out, "And if that's true, then why the hell are we even here?"
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-02 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"I know, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm not... I don't want to talk about school, and I don't really want to talk about how I might feel differently about what I want to do with my life, once I'm older," Peter said, folding his arms across the table in front of him, a frown creasing his heavy brow.

"My parents, my sister? They were all great. Brilliant and talented and misunderstood. And they're all dead. So, maybe being ordinary isn't all that terrible. That's all I meant."

They'd wanted him, or at least his body, for something, but he had a feeling it was just that... his body. A vessel, just like the manikin he'd found outside the Home.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-02 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," he said, looking down at their plates, even though last thing he wanted to do was eat. Picking up a fry, he nibbled at it halfheartedly, his stomach churning guiltily.

"Rapunzel, I'm sorry," he blurted, as she set down her glass. "I don't..." He floundered, because he couldn't give the excuse of saying he didn't know what was wrong with him. He knew exactly what was wrong with him.

He tried— he fucking tried just to have some normality, but he still had this black cloud hanging over him, and even when that wasn't the case, he'd never known how to keep from saying stupid shit all the time.
Edited 2019-06-02 22:56 (UTC)
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-03 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
"No, you didn't," he promised her, even if it felt a little like she had, if only to Peter, who felt most of the time like an animal trapped inside a cage that just kept getting smaller and smaller.

"You didn't. But, um. Some of that stuff is kind of tangled up with things that are... hard to talk about," he admitted, offering her a lopsided smile as he reached out and handed her the ketchup, since it was closer to his side of the table.

"What! No, no. I just... I thought maybe it bothered you."
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-05 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, I know. I like you, too," Peter said, offering a thin smile. "Sometimes I wish we'd met somewhere else. Or before all the stuff with my sister. Or maybe that you hadn't seen me piss myself that one time."

His lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile.

"I was never all that great at it, but I can't even pretend to be cool around you," he admitted with a soft huff of laughter.
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[personal profile] healthymalehost 2019-06-08 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Choking out a laugh, Peter gave her a good-natured roll of his eyes, catching her thumb with his own and pinning it playfully to the back of his hand.

"Yeah, well, maybe your judgement isn't that great," he said, looking down at the table to hide his faint smirk.