avoiding fate [mason]

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason actually chuckled. He was used to the assumption that vehicles and countries were woman, but obviously, here he was wrong. "Ah well, then Spike should run well now." He corrected himself. It was a good Jeep, nothing wrong with it, good materials, little wear, but not new. Mason patted the hood lightly.

Then she handed him his jacket, which now smelled faintly of flowers and honey. Girly scents, but not unwelcome after his time away. He just gave her a half smile. He didn't care that she'd been holding it, though it brought back memories. His fiancée used to love to wear around his jackets, even though they were too big for her... she was taller and broader than Ciam though.

"Well, its just me who works here..." Mason pointed out. There was no reason to go into the other room to pay was there? He ripped off her copy of the report after he jotted down exactly what he did.

He realized he was hungry as his stomach rattled quietly in his chest. He looked up at the clock, it was about 11:30am. Not too bad, but late enough for lunch. He suddenly wondered if she'd agree to eat with him. Mason ate alone a lot in prison and company was something he might enjoy. Why her? Maybe because she was there, but he would take what he could get.

"You wouldn't want to have lunch with me would you? I could use the company." He said, hoping it didn't come off as a date because he certainly didn't mean it that way.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

It was kind of cute the way patted the car like it was a big puppy. Key always through of her car are manlier than a puppy, but Spike didn't look like he minded. To his response regarding the payment, Key nodded and took out her wallet. She had taken to keeping a couple of hundred dollars in her wallet for emergencies - something her mom taught her. Key took out $150 but hesitated. "There's also tax, right?" Her store charged tax anyway.

Caim watched him fill out the form, figuring at any moment he'd ask her to sign here and the whole transaction would be done. She'd drive off, back into world, off to work, to deal with another day in her life. Then he asked her to join him for lunch. Key looked up in surprise.

He wasn't hitting on her. Key had guys hitting on her, and this wasn't like that at all. There were probably many reasons to say no: responsibilities, potential dangers, peoples' expectations, etc. But one look at Mason's face and Key knew that answer was yes for one major reason.

She could tell, somehow, that he was sad, too.

"Okay." she agreed softly. She hadn't wanted to leave anyway - she had nothing to look forward to.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Tax. Technically, yes, there was tax but he generally didn't bother much with that and just asked people for whatever seemed reasonable for the job, and since she seemed so young, he certainly wasn't going to add on more money. That would just be ridiculous. "150 will do it," He said casually with a little gesture with his hands. Mason took the bills and stuck them in his back pocket as he waited or her reply to his offer of lunch.

Against all odds, she agreed and he smiled at her softly as he rubbed the back of his head lightly. "Um, do you want to go to a diner, or should I just make us grilled cheeses or something?" He asked. Going out was probably less risky and might make her feel better, but outside people would talk. Mason didn't care much either way, anything to create a new routine here. So much had changed in five years...

"Actually, I don't have any food stocked here anymore, " he realized, "So, diner?" There weren't many places to eat around here and that was the cheapest and easiest option. Mason slid on his coat, the leather rather taught against his biceps.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

For someone so capable and intimidating looking, when asking what she preferred to do for lunch, Mason seemed very sweet. It was nice, that he seemed so polite and considerate. "Grilled cheese sounds great to me." Caim replied simply. She didn't want to go out. She didn't want to see people. But she tried to sound like she didn't care either way - he invited her to his lunch plans and she agreed to tag along, whatever they may be.

Then Mason took back part of his original suggestion. Part of Key was slightly disappointed, but not terribly much. "Diner's good, too." Key replied noncommittally, watching him put on his jacket. He wasn't just moderately attractive - he was really attractive. It was becoming more and more apparent now that she was growing less afraid of him. Someone must have loved him very much once upon a time, she imagined.

Key didn't bring a jacket, but she was mostly adjusted to the crisp autumn air. Her only gesture of preparation was to sling her bag over her shoulder. "Are we going to walk or drive?" Key asked curiously. Either one was technically a viable option.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

He felt bad that he didn't have food on hand, especially since she seemed to want it. He got decently good at reading people considering his sister could feel emotions, but he wasn't that good. He could buy materials and then come back here to cook, but that seemed like more trouble. "Grilled cheese next time maybe." He offered, not that there had to be a next time, not that he expected one, but it felt like the right thing to say.

Mason generally liked to walk unless the weather was bad. They could take her car so that she could leave from lunch and it would give him a moment to make sure the car would run smoothly. "Up to you, but I suppose you have places to be after we eat, so we could take your car, or drive separately." He had no idea what she was comfortable with and he didn't want to overstep. He was a stranger, one recently out of jail. Ciam had every right to be wary of him. He certainly would be if the roles had been reversed.

He looked at her for a moment, There was something tragically beautiful about her, maybe he was projecting sadness onto her, but he was pretty sure she wasn't very happy. In any case, he could pretend they had something in common.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Caim figured he was only humoring her with the offer for grilled cheese - it was nice, though it made her feel a little embarrassed about jumping on that bandwagon too soon. Hopefully it didn't make things seems too awkward now. Key certainly didn't want him to get the impression that she didn't want to be seen publicly with him. Sure, she could only imagine what people would say "Caim Hyssop, grief-stricken, starts hanging out with dangerous crowd." She wasn't looking forward to it, but Key didn't want to back out of the plans now.

Key wasn't used to making decisions in these sort of things. Whenever people invited her some place (guys in particular), she expected to go just along for the ride. Having to provide input was proving difficult - especially because Key had two modes these days: sad or apathetic. But she made an effort for Mason and this lunch. It'd be nice if things were pleasant, and not awkward or uncomfortable. "I don't mind walking. The weather's nice," she offered in way of response. She didn't mind driving either, though something about driving new people made her feel self-conscious about her driving. She also wouldn't have minded if he drove - she liked being driven around sometimes. Being able to take in the rushing scenery without paying attention to the road. She'd been doing all the driving lately, but she didn't want to impose that idea on him.