The Spark that Set the World on Fire (Part 1)

*Posted by : Nim on May 1, 2018, 8:45pm*

- Verdant Hills Apartment Complex, West Twins. Morning, August 21st -

Emily was awake before her alarm even went off. Although she was not terribly eager to rejoin the throng of desperate strikers, today was a day in which she might witness history, the day when the establishment finally gave ground to the proletariat. And Tate would be there, so that would be nice.

She was half tempted to just wear something comfortable to work since she'd probably end up changing into mill-worker garb once she got to Hansons anyway, but she decided against it. Hopefully Westley would get to the mill and agree to the demands fairly early, and she would be able to get back to her normal responsibilities by lunchtime. Or better yet, she'd get the rest of the day off. She needed to figure out how she was getting into the Sprawl to deliver her reports. Oh yeah, that was what she had wanted to do last night...

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. She glanced at the clock on her wall. *Who would want to see me at quarter after six in the morning?* Emily wondered as she plodded over to go answer it, dressed only in her nightgown. She pushed open the door and was kind of surprised to see Tate standing at the entrance.

"You're here early," she yawned.

"I woke up early and didn't have anywhere better to be," he replied, seemingly quite chipper.

"Must be nice," Emily commented. "Did you bathe? Wait you're a guy, so it only takes you, like, ten minutes to do that anyway."

"Oh, I skipped today. Didn't see a point. If we're jumping back into the stinky crowd again, it wouldn't do much good. I thought I'd save that makeup artist chick some time."

"That... actually is a good point," Emily conceded.

A moment of silence passed, and then Tate asked, "So, uh, can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry, of course." Emily stepped aside and Tate walked in and removed his shoes. She wasn't used to hosting visitors as she generally made a point of avoiding letting people into her apartment. "Umm, make yourself comfortable on the couch or something, while I change into something presentable."

"Why do that? You're looking beautiful as you are right now."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Right..." Although something about Tate's expression made her wonder if he was being serious. "I guess I can skip makeup, and probably just a simple brush through will suffice for my hair," she mumbled as she wandered back to her bedroom before closing the door.

Despite those statements, Emily found herself trying to make herself look as appealing as possible, and she couldn't resist putting on just a little perfume, nothing too expensive though...

After twenty minutes, Emily emerged from her room, looking less professional and made up than she was used to, but Tiffany would be removing her makeup anyway, so she really didn't need to be wasting her stuff anyway.

"About time, I was starting to fall back asleep," Tate yawned. He was slouched on her couch. "What do you even do in this place anyway?"

"I live here," Emily stated, not sure why he was asking the question.

"Well, obviously, but, like, what do you do here when you have free time? It doesn't look like you have a roommate, and this whole apartment seems to be about the size of your office and just as bland."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "You can figure all of that out just from sitting on that couch?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm observant, what can I say?" Tate grinned.

"Or maybe you just like making assumtions," Emily challenged. "You haven't even seen my bedroom and bathroom yet."

"Can I see your bedroom and bathroom?"

"No."

"Drat."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Nope. Want to go to a bagel place on our way to work? We've got plenty of time."

"If you pay, sure."

"It wouldn't be a date if I didn't pay for it now, would it?" Tate smirked.

"Nevermind, I'll buy my own."

Now it was Tate's turn to roll his eyes, "We'll see about that." Rising from the couch, he asked, "Is there anything else you need to get before we go."

"Not if you promise to buy me lunch as well," Emily smiled.

"Changed your mind so soon?" Tate asked jokingly. "Fine , I'll buy you lunch too."

Tate opened the door for Emily and they went out into the misty morning together...

(OOC - Part 2 is well in the works, but I just wanted to post Part 1 as proof of progress and to break up what would otherwise be a huge post. I should post Part 2 tomorrow evening USA Eastern Time hopefully).