[C] The Date

Tayce smiled big when she heard Lyo chuckle. If he laughed then she could laugh too, he would't think she was weird. Or... maybe he would, but they'd be weird together, right?

As the movie went on, it got better. Though there were a few death scenes that Tayce openly let herself giggle at.

She wasn't a sicko, she didn't think death and murder was funny. She thought that the movie's attempts were funny. Big difference!

Though she did find herself impressed when one of the killers victims proved to be a secret psychopath herself and started fighting back.

The predators became the prey.

Tayce loved that.

Being weird together sounded like a good idea.

Lyo's claims to being normal disappeared as soon as he stepped foot in the mansion. Now he just needed to find the right people to be weird with.

Tayce was becoming one of the most right people to be weird with so far.

The Necromancer was thoroughly enjoying the movie. He was glad she had picked it over that silly 1D thing.

Lyo's eyes flickered down to the girl giggling beside him and he smiled a little. She looked beautiful with a smile on her face.

Once the movie was over Tayce had found she enjoyed it, surprisingly. In fact it was probably one of the best movies she'd seen in a long time. She wondered why that was.

Maybe it's the large, attractive man sitting beside you that's making you love this so much. Her thoughts teased her. She pushed them aside.

"Did you like it?" She asked him, hoping he'd say yes, though she wouldn't admit that.

"Da, was fun." The movie had been a lot of fun.

Between the terrible, laughable deaths in the movie and being able to see Tayce giggle to herself, the Necromancer had really enjoyed himself.

Alyosha held out his hand as they left the dark cinema room, hoping she'd take it.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Alyosha could do with some good food right now.

Any normal girl who would have seen such a strong, handsome man offer his hand to them would have taken in without thought.

But for a girl as awkward as Tayce, she stared at it with wide eyes.

An internal battle fought it's way inside her head. Did she want to take his hand? Well yes, of course! But she was so damn scared too. Holding hands was, in a way, a light form of PDA.

Sure in many countries it was just a typical thing, meaning simple friendship or guidance.

But between a man and a woman... maybe it meant something more.

French people were supposed to be romantic. That was the stereotype.

Tayce was about as unromantic as they came.

At the very last second she mustered the strength to take his hand back.

He wouldn't have known the inner conflict she had just experienced to get the strength to do that.

But she did outwardly let out a soft sigh. Like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She'd taken his hand and nothing bad had happened And least not yet.

"Food sounds good." She agreed in a soft voice.

Lyo's thumb rubbed over the back of her hand gently as he smiled down at her.

He was completely unaware of her little battle with herself.

"Pizza is good?"

Alyosha could really do with a nice hot pizza right now. A pizza after a terrible horror movie had always been a tradition.

Shivers ran up and down Tayce's spine when she felt Lyo's thumb caress the back of her hand.

It was crazy how such a simple gesture could make Tayce's mind so numb.

"Uh...pizza?" She asked, a dumbfounded look on her face.

She blinked once and let herself snap out of it.

"Pizza. Hmm... So greasy." She said, the snooty tone returning to her voice. She tilted her head up in a pompous way.

Okay, pizza is not good. Pizza is bad.

How did Tayce not like pizza? It had been a staple in his diet since he was a young boy. Thirty years down the line he still loved the meal.

But he didn't want to start a squabble with her.

"Is there a place you want to go?"

Tayce thought for a moment. She knew she should probably eat something with nutritional value, but all she wanted at the moment were sweets.

She saw a little cart selling gelato outside of a parlor.

Quietly she gave Lyo's hand a squeeze and pointed to it. She looked up to him to see if he approved.

Alyosha's gaze turned down to her when he felt a pressure on his hand.

His gaze flickered up to the cart and brightened as a smile curled his lips.

That was better than pizza.

"What flavour do you want?"

What did she want? Gelato came in so many flavors, it could be a little overwhelming at time.

She walked, hand in hand with Lyo, up to the cart and placed her free hand on her chin, her fingers brushing against her bottom lip as she took in what was being offered.

There were some cones with chocolate gelato rolled in nuts. It looked so good.

"That one, please." She said, her voice so soft the vendor wouldn't have understood her if she hadn't pointed to it.

"And you, Sir?" He asked, looking up at the tall Russian man.

"Vanilla honeycomb, please."

Alyosha rifled through his pocket, digging for his wallet.

When he pulled it out, he pulled out a note and held it out for the vendor. He hadn't even given Tayce time to think about being able to pay.

Alyosha was the sort of person that would happily pay for his date.

It wasn't beyond Tayce in making a man feel like a dope for paying for her... but she didn't want to do that to Lyo. He was seemingly genuinely sweet.

And she had all ready tossed away his flower.

She'd let him pay and not make a single fuss about it.

"Merci." She said with a soft grin, before taking her first bite of the gelato.

It was sooo good.

"Mmm." She let out a little content noise of satisfaction.

Alyosha inclined his head towards the vendor as the two began to walk down the road again.

He smiled down at Tayce.

The man's tongue lapped over his sweet eagerly.

A soft contented purr sounded.

Tayce wasn't a girl of many words. In fact, she rarely ever held a conversation with someone. It was hard for her, what with all the walls she built and the social anxiety.

So she opted to eat her gelato in silence.

She was perfectly fine not talking... though she felt a nagging in the pit of her core telling her she was being a boring date.

She pushed the nagging aside and continued to say nothing.

Alyosha was enjoying the silence.

He appreciated the fact that you didn't need to be constantly talking to enjoy someone's company.

He was enjoying this quietness.

Though he wondered how the woman would react if he...

Only one way to find out.

He reached over, dipping his finger into her gelato and wiping it on the tip of her nose with a soft chuckle.

Tayce blinked in shock when Lyo playfully put the ice cream on the tip of her nose.

She looked stunned, as if he'd just told her a very surprising secret he had.

No one had ever been playful with her before... well no one human that is. She had no idea how to react!

Alyosha chuckled at her stunned look.

He raised a hand to stroke her blue hair affectionately as he leaned down, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

Some part of him worried that he was overstepping boundaries.

But if he didn't do something, he wouldn't get anywhere with the woman. He had to take these little steps if he wanted to start a relationship with her.

There might as well had been sirens blaring in her head and lights flashing and obstructing her vision. Tayce was completely frozen and shocked.

She went into a sort of lockdown.

It was as if she dared to move, dared to react, that would be acknowledging that a big, handsome, Russian man just tenderly gave her... HER.... a kiss on the nose.

It was as if in this moment the entire date hit Tayce like a ton of bricks.

This wasn't some game he was playing. This wasn't two people hanging out...

This guy was serious about having a relationship with her.

Pink in the face, Tayce felt her knees lock up. Her vision flashed, she saw stars... and the next thing she knew...

Everything went black.

She fainted right then and there.

Alyosha felt a prick of fear as her eyelids fluttered in a movement very familiar way.

He cursed softly to himself as acted on reflex, reaching out to grasp her.

His gelato dropped to the floor, completely forgotten as he grasped her before she could fall to the floor.

"Tayce?"

His eyes flickered up, finding a bench quickly. He picked her up gently and carried her over to the bench, laying her out on it carefully and crouching next to her.

His fingers brushed gently over her cheek.

Perhaps that hadn't been a good move.

The girls skin was like porcelain. Smooth, soft, and unblemished. A quirk that had come with eternal youth.

A few concerned looks came from those in the area.

But before anyone could come over and offer to see if Lyo and Tayce needed help, Tayce gained consciousness again.

She looked up and let out a little groan, out of pure embarrassment.

"Ohh what happened?" She asked, her cheeks turning beet red.

Alyosha didn't concern himself with the looks they were getting. He was too focused on the woman lying before him.

His lips kicked upwards a little in relief as her eyelids flickered a little. Good, she was waking up.

And when her eyes blinked open, his smile widened a little. His fingers brushed a piece of hair from her face gently.

"You fainted. You didn't hit your head, though. Does anything hurt?" he asked, eyes flickering down her body as if he could identify anything that hurt just by glancing over it.

Tayce felt a little dizzy, but other then that she was fine.

Gods, he looked so handsome smiling down at her. And she felt so funny in his arms.

A type of funny she hadn't ever felt before. Her stomach did knots and her body felt hot.

She swallowed and shook her head no to the question.

He probably thought she was a real basket case now.

"That's good to know."

She wasn't hurt. Hopefully that meant she'd be fine.

"Do you want to try sitting up yet?" He tilted his head to the side in question.

They could go as fast or slow as she felt comfortable with at the moment. Lyo didn't want her toppling over again.

Did she want to try sitting up?

Part of her wanted to fling herself out of his grasp like the independent young woman she was. Even act a little disgusted that he had held her like this.

But a much more prominent part of her wanted to stay like this much longer. All snuggled and cozy in this strong man's embrace.

What was wrong with her.

Going with her natural instinct, she flung herself up, trying to act aloof and hide her real feelings.

But she did it too fast and got extremely dizzy.

"I'm fine....nn..." She wobbled and fell back into his arms.