bakerstreet | Dating

Entry tags:

[meme] shipping

Dating

The Dating Meme

Dating is, when you think about, really weird. It's a totally different thing for different people. Some are friends for years before they date; others start dating on the same day they met. Sometimes, there's a lot mushy stuff involved; other times, the couple acts just like friends. None of this is necessarily right or wrong.

Whatever it is, your character and the character you reply to are now dating. How? That's up to you. Whether it be awkward or not, the relationship will be uniquely theirs.

How to Play
-Comment with your character and preferences.
-Reply to others.
-Have fun.

Prompts

1. Best Friends to More: Oh, wow, you've been this person's friend forever! But then you realize you have feelings for them, and they for you. Will things change when you change your status?

2. The Sudden Decision: Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here I am, date me maybe?

3. Confession: You've had feelings for this person for, like, ages, and you want to ask them to date you. Or maybe the confession just slips out...
4. Hate Date: You really don't like this person; actually, you hate them. But you don't want them to be with anyone else!
5. I Guess We're Dating: Huh. We are dating, aren't we? Everyone else knew before us...
6. Slow Decision: For the more mature and seasoned, they might fall into something sweet without needing to rush.
7. Been Burned Before: One of you has had a bad relationship, and now both of you have to bear that brunt if you want to date now.
8. Innocence: This is your first real relationship, so you have to figure it out together. That's harder than it looks.
9. Courting: You're from an old-fashioned world or are old-fashioned yourself, so it's courting, not dating. Still, maybe you can sneak away from the chaperon.
10. First Date: Your first true date. What's it like? What would happen if...I don't know...it went bad?
11. First Kiss: Of course.
12. First Time: Together or in general.
13. The Perfect Couple: The couple that never argues and is more like best friends than a couple.
14. The Not-So-Perfect Couple: Ugh, these guys always argue and seem to despise each other. Why are they even together?
15. Comfortable: You can do anything around or in front of your honey.
16. Not Cut Out for Dating: One of you is anti-social, a jerk, a stoic badass, whatever. You're not dating material...yet here you are.
17. Getting on Each Others' Nerves: Spending too much time together can get even the most patient people annoyed with the person they're dating.
18. Know What You Like: It's almost like they can read your mind, whether it be in the kitchen, at the store, or in the bedroom.
19. Trouble in Paradise: Maybe it's external factors, or perhaps internal, but whatever the case may be, things aren't looking so sunny.

20. Test the Strength: Someone else has an obvious crush on the person you're dating. What do you do?
21. Pregnancy Scare: Hey, it happens. So, how do you feel when the period turns up missing?
22. Getting Serious: Things are getting way deep with this person. They may be the one...or maybe they think they are, while you're not too sure.
23. Old Hat: This relationship is dull. Can you get back the spark?
24. End It: You don't want to date them anymore. You want to see other people.
25. Taking It to the Next Level: You don't want to date them anymore. You want to marry them.
26. FREE SPACE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He is punctual. Very punctual. If the Marine Corps didn't get him to be that way it was his old man that was about as rigid as a steel rod. Freshly showered, freshly shaved, ready to roll with a huge amount of time. They're meeting at an agreed on location. No place of his, probably no place of hers. Neutral ground a little ways out of his neck of the woods. He has time to get there. That's why he left when he did to get the food and commute. Can someone tell him why even when he's got a great slice of pizza pie well before the rendezvous time, there is some bullshit happening on the side streets?

There is a window of fifteen minutes to spare.

Frank isn't gonna go leaving an old lady crying as two overgrown turds in street gear hassle her. He steps out of the van and hopes that his conflict mediation tactics don't give him a shiner before a date. Not wanting to have the cops roll in, he handles it with fists, elbows, feet and knees.

The clock is ticking.]

[ Natasha's life is already full of complicated moral judgments, why not add a man she needs to meet at a neutral ground rendevouz point to go on a date with to the mix? Seems like a great idea, right?

Here's the thing: She doesn't judge people on the basis of their worst things they do. She can't. If that's where the bar is she'd have no hope of ever coming close to clearing it.

So, she does what Clint taught her to do; She judges people by the good she believes them to be capable of, and tries to help them get there if she can.

Admittedly, she wants to give Frank a whole lot more than a helping hand, but it's the same general principle. He's made mistakes, and is still making plenty of them. But he's a good man, and she cares about him. So, rendevouz point it is.

She's a little early too, so while his effort to get the turds taken care of before his lady friend arrives was admirable, it doesn't work out that way.

Natasha lowers her sunglasses to peek over them like a judgmental schoolteacher when she pulls up in her car only to see her date taking on two guys who are having a very bad day. She assumes they had it coming.

She sighs, takes off the sunglasses and gets out of the car. She's got a gun strapped to her thigh beneath her dress, but after a split-second evaluation of the situation she decides to leave it there for now. Instead, she puts herself between Frank and one of the turds. ]

You know, it's very rude to just crash someone's date.

[Frank doesn't hold up any illusions that he's some big hero, that he should be admired and his work is sacred. He knows he's right. He knows he will do what need to be done. A soldier put to the task, in the fight that is beyond nation or war. It's himself against any who will do wrong and harm innocence. Case in point, who cares if the old bird doesn't like your music or rolled up too close to the stop. Old people need respect, and the way he teaches it is.

The old woman has taken the chance to flee. Good. Frank hopes she's got someone to go home to. And she hopes that she spreads the word. The future ain't all hoodlums. Some are just big idiots that are fucking tired of standing by or whatever she'll make of him. He doesn't get as easily identified without the vest on. That severe military cut is growing out again. Might have to get it shorn close again one of these days.

His knee is in the other man's gut when he is aware of who else is on the scene.]

Hey.

[The man in Frank's grip is bent over in pain, an extra shove gets his face in the pavement.]

Nice t'see you.

[In his low, rumbling voice as though they were meeting without the little conflict. He doesn't need to warn her that the fella doesn't like her joke, Frank or much else. Watching her throw hands is like watching a dance.]

[ Natasha answers him in a similar way, her tone pleasantly casual. ]

You too.

[ It isn't a very drawn-out dance that Frank gets to witness. Natasha is a master at what she does, and this thug most certainly is not.

With a couple of swift moves, she has him pinned on the ground, one of his arms behind his back and her knee on his spine. ]

You boys need to get out of here right now.

[ It's really more of a warning than a threat. She won't kill them. Won't even do that much harm to them, unless she absolutely has to.

She's not so sure she could say the same about Frank. ]

[Boys? Maybe they are boys. No real man would go on and behave as they have. Frank doesn't see age, background or anything other than deeds in the moment. Picking on the very old, the young or those that can't devend themselves is not shit that flies.

Natasha doesn't have to do any fancy footwork to make it a sight. She just shows up. That's how it works. She's the fireworks, she's the big event. She could have killed them too. That doesn't escape Frank's attention.]

When I said we'd kick back I didn't mean literal kicking.

[The jack offs are scattering like roaches. Frank straightens and is now able to give her his undivided attention.]

Lookin' good there.

Should've known better than to put on a dress and heels for a date with you.

[ She makes her way over to him, leaning in to give him a hello kiss on the cheek and unrepentantly leaving some red lipstick behind.

He smells nice, she notes in the back of her mind, smiling up at him and feeling a quiet thrill at the thought that they're actually doing this.

It's just a start, and a fragile one at that, and they both have a long way to go if this is really going to work... but it still means so much that he's even willing to try, and Natasha knows that. ]

Lookin' pretty good yourself.

It's a goddamn shame you can't go and kick the tar out of the whole damn world dressed up like that.

[Like Frank Castle is gonna go and do something as stupid as wiping away the temporary imprint of her lips.

It's been a long, long time. He feels like a rusted over iron gate. She's here all the same, like a climbing ivy or wild rose. Of course he's gonna put in the work. Natasha knows she's worth it. They can't just waltz to any ol' place right now so they're starting small-like.]

I'm trying.

[And thankfully he's not bleeding any so that's the added bonus.]

I got us dinner.

[And a blanket they can either go full picnic or share a park bench. He gestures to the van and offers his arm to grab what's needed.]

[ He's trying, and that means more to her than any amount of smooth charm ever could.

She slips her arm around his, and briefly leans her head on his shoulders to turn the gesture into a sort of half-hug.

She's not looking to get more than he has to give, and isn't going to try to pry that iron gate open any further than it wants to go on its own. She can be patient, and is enough of a realist to know that some wounds just don't ever quite heal.

She's living proof of that herself. ]

What are we having?

[The trying part is some times where he gets stuck. There is so much baggage. Natasha doesn't need to do any deep intel to know that. And he is not naive enough to believe that she's completely well adjusted. They're wounded and still reaching, not completely sure for what.

The assassin and the vet. The Punisher and the Black Widow. Both kinds need soft places to fall, shoulders to lean and cry on, arms to embrace. The half hug is a good start for now.]

I got some of the best pizza pie. SottoCasa.

[Don't ask him how he navigated across town. He promised good eats. He's not gonna go letting her down.]

And if you're willing to bend the law some, brought some beer.

[Bend the law more than being out in the open as a wanted fugitive with a known terrorist. He opens the back of the van. They can always tailgate. The matte black has a new paint job. The scuffs of fights and a few bullet holes are undetectable.]

[ She wants to be a soft place for him, but there are times when she doesn't know if she can be. If she knows how.

She knows how to fake it. She knows how to fake damn near anything, but that isn't what she wants with Frank. She wants to give him something real. She wants to show him who she is, if she can only figure out what that even really means. ]

You're spoiling me. And I think I can live with being a little bit naughty today.

[Having the desire at all is truly what makes Natasha more qualified than most. Faking it, or even trying and knowing that there's an action to take is better than the indifference of the world, or worse the most of it wishing his end. Frank can see reflections of himself in her, guarded and wanting. And that's part of what has made him throw himself headlong into acts of affection. Simple, sure but it's the intent.]

This is to make up for no dinner and a show right now.

[He'd have to grow out a beard and maybe she'd have to get a wig. Trying to be with people incognito. The van doors are open and he reaches for a flannel blanket to lay out before gesturing for her to take a seat. The beer is a simple draft beer, none of the light shit. It goes better with pizza.]

Not like you can tell me every little thing, but life treating you okay?

[The life of a mighty hero.]

[ She will probably never be entirely comfortable with being thought of as a hero, but there isn't much she can do about it if others want to put that label on her. She splattered the red in her ledger all over the internet, and while it assuredly made some people decide that she doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the people she works with... she's still here.

Maybe one day she'll know what that means.

For now, she takes her shoes off to more comfortably fold her legs under herself as she sits down on the blanket, running a hand over the soft fabric. Such a sweet gesture, thinking to bring it along. Who knew Frank Castle could be so sweet? ]

I'm okay, yeah. Sometimes better than okay, even. It feels like we're playing extremely high stakes whack-a-mole a lot of the times, but... it's not too overwhelming. Not right now. How about you?

[It's not one of those jobs you do for the benefits or the accolades. It's about a mission, a purpose. Frank has his theories. One of these times they'll sit and hash out the real and uglier parts of one another. This lighter side, spending time it can have the more weighted subjects. However the conversation leads. He's happy she is here. And even happier that there aren't any pretenses that he has to change himself. He doesn't hold any expectations over Natasha in such a light either.

He sits next to her, the van bouncing just a little under their movement before he pulls the pizza (and napkins) closer. The cardboard is flipped open and the aroma spills over them both. Her words make sense and he nods a little.]

Sounds good on your end. Things are okay. Still feel a bit sore about all of last year, that can't be helped.

[Billy popping up and then blipping out of sight, no resolution, no clean end to it all.]

These days it feels like everyone's pretty quiet. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.

((ooc: post-s3 in terms of canon point; cross-canon, aus, etc. all welcomed. no thank you to 21, but the rest of the prompts are cool with me!))

((ooc: no 21, but open to other prompts. cross-canon, au, etc. all welcomed. not interested in characters that are significantly older [i.e. above the age of like 18/19].))