2013.08.29 - Frozen Hot Chocolate

When the phone rang shortly before her shift was to start at Anita Bella, Fern didn't hesitate answering as soon as she saw the name on the caller ID. It'd been most of the week since she'd talked to Leo Luthor, and when he said he wanted to talk to her about something the pair made arrangements to meet for a late treat on the upper East Side at a little ice cream shop called Serendipity 3. Fern had been there before, and loved the atmosphere as well as the frozen hot chocolate. Plus, it's open until midnight, which would give them plenty of time to dawdle over their treat even after she got off work. 
 
It's a little before 10 by the time Fern is walking down East 60th, and while darkness has fallen, the streets are never unlit. She might walk a little faster than usual, and perhaps her eyes dart around a bit more than usual, but she doesn't seem especially outwardly ill at ease. She's changed into a short skirt, a purple and pink paisley tank top, and sports pink flats on her feet. Never one to go in much for adornment, there's a clunky, large bracelet around her right wrist, and her ever-present bag is hanging at her hip as she approaches, looking for her 'date'. She called ahead, making them a reservation, so they shouldn't have to wait long to be seated when Leo arrives. 
Leo is already there, and Fern is always so....BRIGHT! He can't help but grin as he watches her walk. Still, he is there to open the front door when she actually reaches the ice cream parlor, "Hey beautiful," a cheeky grin sent Fern's way. Alright, so he's purposely trying to be 'cute', but it's Leo...he pulls it off somehow, right? "Glad you could make it."
Her smile comes as soon as she sees the familiar face, and Fern steps in as he opens the door, pausing to push onto her toes and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping past. "Hey Leo, glad that you called." Blue eyes are questioning as she looks up at him. "Everything alright?" But before he can answer, the hostess is there with a pleasant greeting, confirming their reservation and leading them immediately upstairs to a cozy table beneath a Tiffany lamp. The place is decorated eclectically, a mish mash of antiques, kitsch and memorabilia. It seems natural to reach for Leo's hand as they're led, because she doesn't want to lose him on the trip. Her bag hits the floor and Fern slips into a chair, looking to him expectantly to reply when he settles. 
A quiet mmm, "Only the cheek?" There is teasing there. But he gladly accepts Fern's hand, giving it a gentl squeeze as they head to their table. He even pulls Fern's chair out for her and assist her with getting seated smoothly - as long as she permits. Leo moves to settle across from her, glancing over the menu, "Things are fine. But...it's a little complicated as most things are when they involve myself and/or my Father," a lightly humored smile at that.
There's a grateful smile to Leo, and a murmured thanks for his thoughtfulness, and when he picks up the menu she asks, "Do you like chocolate?" As impossible as it seems, not everyone does, but she's dearly hoping his answer is yes. She doesn't pick up a menu herself, already knowing what she wants. The only question is, will his answer see them ordering separately or sharing? There's a hesitation before she asks, "Your father?" Even though she's not met the man, she's a little anxious as to what might be complicated between them now. 
"Yes," Leo says about chocolate. He sets the menu down, "How about you choose? Sweets aren't my speciality, but I enjoy them." He's not a candy person typically, but he can enjoy sweets.
Leo smiles though, "Don't look so worried Fern. It's nothing bad. Just perhaps a little nerve wreaking on both our parts. He found out about you, and wants to meet you."
The relief on her face is immediate, Fern's smile coming back in full force from the rather tepid warmth it had taken on. "Oh, is that all?" The waitress comes over, another cheery greeting, and Fern orders them a frozen hot chocolate to share. When she's gone again, Fern looks across at Leo, brows arched. "What did your father find out about me? And how?" 
"Likely one of his employees saw us at the Stark Expo together, and well, my guests are registered. It isn't difficult," Leo advises. He hrms, sure his Father has done a full background check, but doesn't bother mentioning that. He raises a finger to lightly scratch his cheek, "Ah...he also assumes we are 'official'." There is some embarrassment in that explanation, not that Leo is against the idea or anything!
Fern doesn't have a hard time imagining the employee of a powerful man would go right to that man when his son is spotted in the company of a new friend, or that he might have found out after her two visits to Leo's apartment. She does, however, frown lightly and ask, "Officially what?" 
"Well...girlfriend." And Leo actually looks...awkward! For someone so smooth, from his first kiss with you before, Fern can easily tell he hasn't had a girlfriend before.
"Girlfriend?" Fern echoes, like a red-headed parrot. She shakes her head immediately, leaning forward. "Leo, you can't let him believe that. I mean... we barely know each other." Glancing around, Fern lowers her voice, "We've only even kissed once and that..." She lets the thought trail off, not wanting to bring up that it seemed to end less than optimally for him. 
"Yes, I explained we weren't. But Father if he thinks that path is even a possibility or that I'm not being entirely open about it, he may asks questions one wouldn't normally ask of 'just friends'. I thought to warn you," and Leo fidgets with the menu as he glances toward it. "Not that I'd mind...and more than one kiss." He clears his throat. "Anyway, why don't you pick what we should order?"
The fidgeting softens Fern's frown, and she reaches over to lay her hand gently on his. He's clearly not at his most alert, but the waitress was there and gone quickly, so she just says quietly, "I've taken care of it already." There's a pause, then she sighs, barely a sound. "Whatever he asks is ok with me. I've talked to parents before. But I'm not a good girlfriend, and even if I was," she continues, looking directly at Leo, "I'm not going to be someone's girlfriend just because their father already thinks that I am. If someone wants me to be their girlfriend, they darn well better care enough to show it and to go about it properly." 
"Right," and Leo sighs in embarrassment, raising a hand to run through his hair. "Ya, inform me what properly is?" He laughs a bit at that. "I really have no idea Fern." He isn't being sarcastic. He isn't interested in Fern because of his father's 'assumption', he's interested in Fern because...she's Fern.
There's absolutely no indication that he's anything but serious, and Fern is reminded again of his sheltered upbringing, or at least what she assumes it was since they haven't actually talked about the reality of it. She doesn't withdraw her hand, but lets her thumb slide lightly against his skin. "Get to know me. Let me get to know you. Ask me on a date." Slender shoulders shrug, and she blushes lightly. "I don't know. And that doesn't change the fact that I'm not a good girlfriend. And your father probably won't approve of me anyway." 
"What matters is what we think Fern. My Father would be happy if I find someone that actually supported me and was good to me. I suspect there is a reason he is married to his work." Leo actually moves his hand to gently grip yours. "You are wonderful Fern. I may not know why you call yourself a 'not good' girlfriend, and hopefully you will tell me one day, but it's not something I can just easily believe. You are all people, should know what it is to have faith in someone's goodness."
As she moves her hand to allow it to be held in his, Fern's bracelet shifts, and a line of purple on her skin shows from the bruise hidden beneath. She doesn't notice it, or she would pull back and fix the bauble to hide the evidence of her most recent encounter with a werewolf in human clothing. "You barely know me," she asserts softly. 
There is a slightly frown, "I want to know you more Fern." Leo's hand grips a little more firmly, but it's still careful. "Fern, where did the bruise come from?" He notices it, the concern evident in the seriousness of his expression.
Fern's eyes drop, and she reflexively pulls her hand back, but not hard enough to free it from Leo's grasp. "Well, there's.... this guy. Who isn't really fond of me." She pauses, then looks up with a wrinkle of her nose. "You know that guy who got arrested at the Wayne demo?" 
"He did this to you before the Wayne demo?" Leo's jaw tightens, though with a soft brush of his thumb against the back of Fern's hand, he reluctantly releases it if Fern still wishes to reclaim her hand.
"Um.... no..." The bruise would have been turning yellow already if it was that old, and this is fresh and brilliantly purple. Fern doesn't attempt to hide it any more, shifting her hand, not pulling away, so he can see more fully how it encircles her wrist as fully as the bracelet does. "It was last night." The words are soft, because she's afraid it will upset Leo more to know something else happened so recently. In her eyes, her trouble magnetism is just another thing that makes her terrible girlfriend material. 
Leo takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "Speak to me Fern. Keeping this secret isn't going to magically make it go away. You can trust me." He looks so serious and sincere at the same time, his eyes looking into Fern's unless she lowers them.
Blue eyes rise to meet Leo's, and Fern holds his gaze. "I do trust you, Leo. But... I don't want you to get involved with him. I think he's a werewolf. At least that what he seemed to turn into when Justin and I saw him the first time." Had she forgotten to mention that? "And he didn't hurt me." Even she hears the foolishness of that statement, and she lamely adds, "Well, he could have hurt me worse. He wants to talk to Justin about animals being killed... I think he has some kind of special connection with them. I told him that killing people isn't the greatest way to go about getting his point across, but he didn't seem as convinced as I would have hoped." 
"His mind is twisted and warped. He is already reported even before he became some eco-terrorist as being dishonorably discharged after collecting 'war trophies'. He's a monster Fern. Whatever redeeming qualities he has are overshadowed by his complete disregard of human life and treating its loss like 'conquests'. Do not go near him," Leo states seriously.
Having his name and overhearing certain information at the expo, along with his own resources has given Leo a good amount information on the twisted man.
"I didn't," Fern says, a little more defensively than she might have intended. "He went near me. In the subway station, after work." There might be a touch of sullenness as she adds, "I don't look for trouble, it just finds me." Even though she tries not to show it, there's a haunted fear in her eyes, before she looks away from Leo's. "He thinks he's doing it to avenge the animals, but it's still not right to kill someone, to take matters into your own hands like that, no matter what they've done." Nor is it right to terrorize a little waitress, and hold her so tightly that she turns neon purple. 
"Did you report it to the police?" Leo is keeping calm, it's a struggle, but he is. He already has plans on 'dealing' with this. He clasps his hands in front of him, watching Fern, and monitoring his own voice that it remains even.
Fern shakes her head, looking more adrift than she normally does. "There wasn't anyone around, not that was paying attention, anyway." The people who were nearby were doing the New Yorker 'look the other way' thing. "I didn't figure it would do any good to talk to the cops, it wasn't like they kept him in jail." She hadn't read that LeGraize had escaped his cell. 
"It's important to report these things Fern." Leo sighs, "Keeping this secret is only protecting him and putting you further in risk." But he then drops it for now. "Looks like the order is here."
Fern does pull her hand away from Leo's now, but only to make room for the waitress to deliver the large chocolate dessert topped with a mound of whipped cream sprinkled with chocolate shavings. She offers a smile and thanks to the waitress, then looks to Leo. "I didn't know what to do." It's different when there's someone else to worry about, but when it's just herself it's harder to know what to do. For a moment she lets her eyes linger on the young Luthor, before she adds quietly, "I'd like to know you more, too." With that she takes one of the straws, pulling it around and leaning forward to draw on it. The frozen hot chocolate is sweet and creamy, truly a chocolate lovers dream come true. 
Leo blinks at the one serving, two straws and then actually starts to smile, putting the rest to the back of his mind to handle later once he finds David. He leans forward a bit to raid a free straw to draw in a taste. He mms. "I think we will have some great fun getting to know each other Fern."
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