log: nathan and charlie: closed to nathan: in progress

[charring]

When; Earlier this week
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Nathan Young and Charlie McGee
Summary; Charlie's not a drinker. However, for the sake of entertaining a friend someone she tolerates talking to, she's going to meet him at a bar and try to blow fireballs with her ability and some shots. This may not be the best decision ever.
Log;

The main reason Charlie didn't feel like going out with a group of people was it was a group of people. She had her friends. She had a growing social life, much to her surprise. Lunch dates with Tony. Time with Bucky and Steve. Hanging out with Liz and anyone else she'd been spending time with.

She also had work and that kept her around people but in a social setting, she just couldn't do large groups. So, she agreed to meet Nathan at a bar. Not that she was going to drink anything at all. She was here to try something. Something possibly stupid as fuck, but she was still going to try it.

And then there was the fact that she and Nathan had never actually met face to face, save for that Fifties curse where he insisted she give him a blow-job. Which, for the record, never happened. Since then, they spoke on the device, but that was basically it.

So, she was now waiting for him outside the bar, seated on a bench nearby with her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand, watching people and keeping an eye out for Nathan.

Comments

[designedtoparty]

Nathan almost walked right past her. He was used to meeting at bars meaning inside the bar, already getting started on the drinks. He gave a weird look as he came to a halt. If she hadn't already made it blatantly obvious she needed to get out more, that alone would have given it away.

He'd been about to drop what was left of his cigarette in the gutter before walking in, but since Charlie wasn't inside he kept hold of it, offering it over to her. "You know, you could at least look like you know what you're doing here."

[charring]

Don't knock the awkward, Nathan. It s her thing. It works for her. In her opinion, she's the best looking awkward person in the entire world. She shakes her head at the cigarette, holding her hand up before standing.

"That's all yours," she said with a half-smile. She takes a moment to actually get a look at him. Taller than she is. That's the first thing. A bit skinny but whatever. Nice eyes, though. And not a threat.

Some day, she'll stop looking at everyone like that.

"So, hey. It's nice to actually see you off the device for once. I kind of figured that'd happen sooner. If I remember correctly, we met during the Fifties but since then? Haven't seen you around. Weird."

[designedtoparty]

Well, she was better than Barry. He'd give her that much. A lot better, really.

He shrugged, taking the cigarette back to his lips. "Suit yourself. You'd have thought a pyromaniac would at least smoke, though." Because obviously that was obviously exactly what someone with fire powers was, at least in Nathan's mind.

He smirked a little at that, tilting his head towards her. "I bet you were just waiting for another chance to see me in leather, weren't you?" he teased, waggling his eyebrows for good measure. "All you had to do was ask."

[charring]

"Oh, hardly a pyromaniac. Pyromania and Pyrokinesis are two entirely different things." But whatever. She'll show him a little later. Except, really, this is going to be difficult to prove.

She smiled, considering this a moment. "What if I said I had a photographic memory and didn't need to see that again? Not that it wasn't nice to see."

Charlie, no. That sounds like flirting and while you didn't mean to and that was just honesty...work on that.

"We going in, or what?"

[designedtoparty]

"Sure they are." Proving it would probably be easier said than done, but she was welcome to try.

"Pretty sure that only exists on TV," he mused. There was no way it existed in real life. Nathan could barely remember what had happened that morning, let alone everything that had happened to him. "Even if you did, that doesn't mean you can't want to see it again. I might pull the whole fifties thing off even better a second time." Nathan was only too happy to return the flirting. Or at least that was how he interpreted it. After all, she had wanted to see him alone. And now she was admitting how good he looked in leather. All in all, this was looking good, and so far he hadn't needed to spend so much as a penny.

Taking one last puff on his smoke, Nathan dropped it on the ground and sauntered up to the door. After shoving the door open rather unceremoniously, he ushered his arm at her. "Ladies first."

Never let it be said that Nathan Young is not a gentleman. He's capable of it for at least five seconds.

[charring]

She followed him in, stopping at the door and almost instantly regretting it. Jesus, was it crowded in here or what? Shit.

She could do this. She could. Watch her saunter to the bar and sit on a stool like she knew what she was d---no, that'd be her almost slipping off the thing for a second.

It's cool! She's good. She had this. She rights herself a moment later, trying to not look amused and embarrassed at the same time.

And oh, Nathan. This will be a lesson in mixed signals for Charlie, won't it?

"Probably but what if the Deities decide you're permanently stuck in the Fifties, then what?" Charlie asked, one eyebrow raising. The bartender, not even bothering to ask for ID, asked Charlie what she was having. She looked a bit deer-in-headlights a moment before pointing at a random bottle.

"A shot of that." That was all she wanted. She had it in her hand a moment later and was eying it with uncertainty.

[designedtoparty]

Nathan was starting to think she'd have been better with a cheap bottle of vodka and a run down park. That's how most kids got started. Granted Charlie was a little on the old side for that, but Nathan couldn't help but think she looked pretty nervous. Really, it was a wonder the barman wasn't demanding ID before she'd even sat down. Then again, he was probably more interested in her tits than her age. Nathan couldn't say he blamed him.

Dropping into the seat next next to her, Nathan leaned forward to grab the guy serving before he disappeared off to serve someone else lucky enough to have a pair of tits. "Whatever she's having," he told him, jerking his head in Charlie's direction. "And a pint of lager."

The pint he put aside for after his shot. First things first, he had to get Charlie drinking. There wasn't much point if he was going to end up with s sober partner by the end of the evening. Turning to face her, he raised his shot glass. "Look, I know you're nervous, because you don't normally drink or anything, but the whole point of this is end up rat-arsed at the end of the night and wake up next to some unfortunate looking tart you've never met before. So on three, all right?"

He held up his glass, raising his eyebrows.

[charring]

"That's your plan for the evening?" Seriously, Nathan? Charlie is actually just a bit alarmed at this. Not surprised, just..okay maybe not even alarmed. She just side-eyes him as she holds onto her shot. She's tapping the side of her glass, really weighing what she's considering doing.

Grabbing the bartender's attention again, and not at all aware it's her boobs that he's paying attention to, she asks for three more shots. He looks at her again, suspicious now, but gets them anyway.

Charlie picks them up, now holding four.

"Grab your lager and head outside with me," she says, heading out with the shots the moment the bartender is elsewhere. And she moves quickly, using her foot to open the door.

She sets the shots down on the bench, grabbing one of them and standing well away from the people standing around outside.

"Stay there," she says once Nathan is outside. She hesitates, closing her eyes and shaking her head and muttering this is so stupid under her breath before taking the shot.

It doesn't get swallowed, however. She merely tilts her face upward, inhales deeply through her nose and spits the alcohol out in a spray.

With a small push of her pyrokinesis, she manages to light it in one colorful and temporary "FWOOSH" of fire.

And she's grinning. "I did it!"

[designedtoparty]

Nathan frowned at her, but picked up his pint. After he'd downed his own shot, anyway. If she wasn't going to join him, he saw no sense wasting it, which was more than he could say for her. Whatever she was playing at, it was turning out to be very expensive.

Suspiciously, he followed her out of the door, slouching against the wall since she didn't seem to want him too close to her. "Filling me in wouldn't hurt," he complained, since coming outside so far seemed pretty pointless. "It might even turn out to be useful."

He got his answer in the form of her demonstration, and whatever he was expecting, that definitely was not it. His jaw dropped, along with several of the other patrons. His pint nearly ended up going the same way. He kept hold of the glass, but slopped most of the alcohol down his front. Not that he seemed to notice.

"Jesus fuck!" he exclaimed, wide eyed. "I'm pretty sure you can lose that bit between your nostrils doing that."

[charring]

Plehgod what the fuck was that a shot of, anyway? Charlie is trying so hard to not gag and make faces and anyway. Nathan, if she filled you in, it wouldn't be a surprise. She liked surprising people. Inhaling, trying to at least because god what the fuck was that seriously it burns, she looks at him and manages to speak.

Kind of. There's coughing mixed in.

"That...was p---pyrokinesis. Not pyromania. Two entirely different things." She cleared her throat, closed her eyes a moment and shuddered slightly. "I've always wanted to see if I could do that. And, I'm controlling the fire." She tapped the side of her head, her way of pointing out it's a mental ability. "I won't get hurt because that fire is mine. Completely."

Good fuck, that hurt to do. She grabs another shot and drinks this one, frowning.

"Never...ever doing this again, though," she mutters, holding up another shot and knocking that back, too.

[designedtoparty]

"Really?" Nathan asked, though the sarcastic tone made it pretty clear he wasn't looking for an answer. "Because they kind of look like the same thing."

Whatever it was, it was weird. One of the better kinds of weird, once you got over the shock of it, but still. He offered out his lager to her, after a moment of hesitation. There wasn't that much left, but she looked like she could use it.

"Here, try this one. It's not as strong."

[charring]

That was also a lot of hurting. She shook her head at the lager, holding up her empty shot glass. "I'm alright. You finish that."

She goes quiet for a moment, rolling the glass in her hands a moment. "Also, never let me do that again. That wasn't comfortable."

[designedtoparty]

Nathan drained the glass himself, abandoning it on the bench when he was done. "Too bad. That's a pretty cool power. Although if you need booze to make it that impressive, I'm guessing there are better pyros out there."

He pulled out his cigarettes again. It was sort of the done thing outside a bar, but she probably didn't know that, so he raised a questioning eyebrow before he actually did anything with his lighter. "We going back in, or did you want to stay out here for a bit?"