A Midnight Ride [Closed]

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl stood outside the pub, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back heavily against the brick just to the right of the door. The place was pretty busy and would be for at least two more hours. He was familiar with The Duchess because it was on his way home every night and he often stopped in for a beer. He'd suggested it thinking a familiar place would calm his nerves. Which he needed even more after Natasha had referred to the whole thing as a 'date'.

Maybe he should just cancel the whole thing. Get her that drink he'd offered when she got there and then call it off. He'd had a long day it could be excused if he played that up. Of course he was so keyed up over his nerves that probably wouldn't work.

Maybe he should just leave before she even got there. Except that would be rude and he didn't actually want to be rude to her. He just wasn't sure he could do this anymore. It'd taken a lot to even send her that text.

"Fuck I need a drink," he muttered to himself, rubbing his face with both hands before crossing them again.

Comments

[outstandingbalance]

It might not be as good as a nap, but for a good half an hour or so, Natasha sits quietly and watches the stars, letting her mind wander—or not. For the first time in at least two months, she stops planning and running angles in the back of her head.

Who knew crickets were the secret to that?

It's only when her internal clock starts to say they should get moving back to the city that she swings her leg over the branch and turns her attention from the sky to the ground. She puts on a casual face, but she'd really prefer not have to spend the day at Daryl's place or in a hotel closet.

"You didn't even get a nap, did you?"

[dirtyredneck]

He leaned forward with a simple, "Nope." Then, using his hands as leverage, hopped into a squatting position, his human body doing it's best to imitate a cat pulling itself up before getting ready to pounce. It might not look that graceful in his current state, but he was more than ready for the jump.

Daryl landed on his feet, as all good cats should, not even a grunt given for the effort. When he straightened himself, he turned to look back up and call out, "You good?"

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha pushes herself off the branch, dropping rather than jumping and landing with a different kind of grace than an animal would show. Something a little less natural. She catches herself, almost immediately walking a step or two in his direction.

"I'm good. You don't have to worry about me."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl has to resist the urge to extend his hand towards her, but he doesn't quite manage to keep his arm from lifting. He cuts the action short by lifting it towards his head to make a quick run through his hair before leading the way back to the bike.

"So uh... hope it was okay," he said, nerves coming back now that the night was 'over'. The ride back to the bar didn't really count as an ending and he figured as close as they were cutting it to sunrise - even if she should have close to an hour to get wherever she was going - she wouldn't want to linger once he did drop her off. "I mean, that you had fun."

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha notices the abortive gesture and her lips twitch toward a smile. She won't draw attention to it if he's uncomfortable though. She slips her hands in her pockets again, following him with an easy gate.

"I did. It was fun," she tells him reassuringly. "It's nice to just get out for a while. Clear my head."

After a pause then, she adds, "I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime, if you can afford to miss the sleep."

[dirtyredneck]

The way his head lifted was just like a cat perking up with interest. All he needed was the ears, really. Though he did press his lips together, it was very much with a suddenly pleased air and not at all with apprehension. He gave a nod, "I can that. This."

Only a couple years ago he'd had a much more aggressively strange sleep cycle. It wasn't that he couldn't deal with lack of proper sleep here and there, it was that he no longer had to. But it was nice of her to ask.

"You want me to call you again, or you wanna pick the day?"

[outstandingbalance]

"How about you give me a call again?" she says. Somehow, it seems fitting to let a cat come to her, at least at this point. He still strikes her as pretty skittish, and she doesn't lose much by letting him have that much control.

Besides, she can always change her mind if he never gets back to her.

[dirtyredneck]

"Okay," Daryl answered, keeping it simple. She wanted him to call again. She'd liked spending time with him and wanted him to ask her along again sometime. His shoulders squared away, confidence boosted quite a bit at that.

The ride back was otherwise quiet and they arrived with plenty of time to spare, Daryl dropping her back at The Duchess before heading back to his place. The goodbye he gave her there was simple as well. Just a 'Have a good day' and 'Thanks for comin' along' in that quiet tone of his.

And if he walked with a bit more of a swagger at work that day, well, he felt he deserved it for having a successful outing with someone that wasn't arranged for him.