Cole and Anastasia's Dinner Date

Cole Sousa (Armageddon)

Anastasia Segovia (Mimic)

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole sat in the passenger's seat of his mother's car scarfing down the chicken nuggets and fries he'd gotten from the drive-thru soon after they'd left the house. Mrs. Sousa was used to her son's appetite by now and even though the worried he would clog his arteries before he hit thirty, there was no cost-effective way to feed the young man. "So what is this about? Intermezzo?" The woman asked, taking a turn. "I'm mee'in a phrew" Cole muffled through his last bite, crumpling the paper bag and setting it aside on the floor of the car. It was a pity he would have to show up to his kind-of-not-really first date ever in his mother's car but despite being of the legal age limit to drive he'd failed the test twice and given up a couple years back.

As he brushed off the salt on the knees of his pants the car came to a stop in front of the restaurant. Cole kissed his mother on the cheek quickly and uttered a "thank, ma" as he stepped out of the car. "Oh, snap" the restaurant was a two-story building that managed to look warm in this winter and emanated a faint whiff of oregano. The greeter outside the door gave the young man and his too-large suit jacket a once-over and upturned his nose. Yeah, figures. Cole shimmied from a shiver and stepped towards the entrance, already mentally prepared for Ana to be late and thus not willing to be bothered if she was.

## Vodka Aunt

Letting it slip to her father that she was going on a date was an instant bad idea. He had insisted one of his "friends" give her a drive to the restaurant, implying that the man was fully equipped to protect her.
Ugh. Like *that* isn't embarrassing.

Like most car rides with Boris, they made the trip in silence. The only sounds punctuating the silence was Annie's phone, the grizzled old man had his radio purposefully removed because he preferred the quiet.

The beat up sports car rolled to a stop outside the restaurant's front doors. Before the young woman could get out, she felt the weight of a gun being placed in her lap and she throws the weapon back in the face of the Russian gangster.

"Fuck off Boris I'm not taking a gun on a *fucking date*," she hisses at him and climbs out of the vehicle, whirling around to stick her head through the window one last time,"by the way, if I see you inside the restaurant I'm telling them you're my stalker." This drew no reaction from the large man who simply drove away to park.

She caught sight of a familiar head of hair and starts waving.

"Hey! Hope you're hungry!" She calls to him as she makes her way towards them. She bumps the door open with her hip and gestures dramatically for him to enter.

"I want a booth."

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

There was a parade of women in long dresses and men in fitted suit jackets stepping out of glossy cars and making their way into the restaurant until the marred sports car operated by Boris finally pulled up to the curb. Ana stepped out looking like Ana usually did and Cole stood a little straighter at the sight. Damn, should he have brought flowers or something? He should've given Leo a call before venturing into this. All he had in is pocket was his velcro-sealed walled and a wrinkled joint that was spilling its guts into the inner lining of his pants.

"Hey!" He greeted with a stumped wave and mumbled "never not hungry" as he followed the girl into the restaurant, guided by her theatrics. The restaurant was busy with the hum of politely quiet conversation. Inside the host greeted them with two menus in her hand and asked for the size of their party. "Booth for two?" He tried, wondering is Eleanor had booked them a reservation. The host took a look around and by some miracle he couldn't fathom waved the to of them down towards an empty booth.

Cole could *feel* the other patron's eyes as they made their way through the restaurant, but was distracted as he eyes the plates of food on the tables trying to establish what look good to eat. Long story short- everything looked pretty damn good. As they sat down the hostess placed the food menu in front of them but held on to the shortlist of house cocktails. "Uhm, could we see that too?" He corrected, motioning towards the ivory-colored list in her hands– he didn't drink, but he knew Ana would be interested. "Could I see some I.D.?" The hostess defied, her nose crinkling at the sound of velcro being pulled apart and her stare skeptical as she read his birth date, which made him of legal age just recently.

Finally on their own, Cole handed the drink menu to Ana and turned his attention to the centerpiece, tugging at the flowers and looking regretful when one of the petals came off clean. "Was that your dad back there?"

## Vodka Aunt

Anastasia seemed to be in high spirits as they entered the restaurant. "Check for reservations under DuMonte." The host checked his database and nodded.

"DuMonte, party of 2. I was requested to provide extra breadsticks and a booth, right thia way."

The Mimic seemed to thrive under the assessing gaze of the other patrons, reaching to seize Cole's hand in her frigid grasp.

She flips through the menu briefly before setting it aside, having already decided on her order. She was already pawing open her handbag to show the hostess her own ID,"I want your cheapest bottle of wine and your loaded potato skins to start." She inclines her head towards Cole in case he wanted anything, she had a bad habit of making snap decisions without consulting others.

Anastasia snorts harshly."*Boris?* He's more like an idiot uncle than a dad to me. Papa insisted he tag along." She sits back, rolling her eyes like a teenager. She reaches out to pluck another petal from the flower.

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

"I'll have a Coke and whatever that is" he added, nodding towards the plate in the middle of the table closest to them which he couldn't name but smelled just great. Cole had expected to be nervous during the date as he was usually when he was alone with a girl, but something about Ana's disregard for anything and everything put him at ease. He watched as she plucked the flower and chewed on the inside of his lip in thought "so you're not actually related?" This was a foreign concept to him. His family was small, limited to his parents, himself, and his dad's parents. Of course, he'd heard a thing or two that implied Ana's extended "family" tended to a different meaning of the word.

Cole looked over the girl's shoulder into the far back of the restaurant, a focused and attentive expression that was rare on him. The moment he caught sight of a busboy exiting through one of the doors he knew he turned his attention back to Mimic. "How about we open up our appetite?" He asked, index and thumb pinched and brought to his lips to suggest they go out the back and split a joint before digging into what would most likely be the best meal of their short lives.

November 4, 2018

## Vodka Aunt

The waitress smiles politely at their order, wondering how these scrawny kids would be able to stomach all this food.

Anastasia chuckles and shakes her head. "Nah. I call him Uncle Boris 'cause him and Papa became blood brothers in the Gulag," she reveals this information as if it were something boring and obvious,"he's my godfather and, like, super overprotective which is bullshit. I can take after myself and he can't even read!"

Her slightly irritated expression melts away at the prospect of marijuana. She grins impishly, opening a pocket on her purse and pulling out a little dime bag.

"I've got match. Let's go before the apps get too cold-- by the way, remind me to never call them *apps* again." She stands to pull her jacket on with a dramatic flair, holding a hand out for Cole with a barely muffled giggle.

November 6, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole didn't know what the Gulag was but he wasn't curious enough to risk coming across as ignorant and thus chose not to ask. Instead, he matched Ana's smile and took her hand. "No, I like it. Makes it sound like one of us actually eats at restaurants like this" he remarked as he guided her towards the back door he was almost certain led to the back alley (all while trying too hard not to think about the fact that he was holding a girl's hands and his were quickly getting sweaty). Even though he wasn't sure he could keep Anastasia entertained for a whole night he was grateful she was his date and was down to have a quick smoke before dinner. Had this been any of the more lawful heroes he would've had to do without.

Some of the staff followed them with quizzical stares as they ventured towards the back, but luckily no one vocally questioned or challenged them. Cole made a point of avoiding al eye contact as he pushed open the back door and tugged Ana along to the back alley, which was lined with garbage containers and smelled positively raw. "Hell's bells" he muttered disapprovingly as he crinkled his nose and looked around "guess we'll just make it quick?" His hand slipped from Ana's, uncomfortably damp, so he wiped it against his pants "sorry."

November 10, 2018

## Vodka Aunt

Anastasia snickers as she lets him guide her towards the door, oblivious to the curious eyes of the guests. "Should I wear some useless thick rimmed glasses to really sell the part? *Oh yes I went here before it was cool, taking hashtag selfies with my apps is redonk*," the voice that escaped her lips wasn't her own, she instead sounded exactly how you'd imagine a stereotypical hipster would sound.

She looks around the alley, crossing her arms to brace against the cold. "I dunno, I kind of like it back here. I like the dirty and forgotten parts of the city, we have the same charm." She didn't acknowledge Cole's apology, instead retrieving a dime bag from her bra and offering it to him for inspection.
"I'm ready to get my stone on, you?"

November 13, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole looked up at Ana to read her expression and then looked back the the joint as he used his lighter to fire up the tip of it, puffing a few times until it was properly lit. He passed the joint to the girl and shook his head "I wouldn't say you're forgettable. Don't worry about matching, it's the least I can do since lord knows I won't be buying your dinner" he added, breaking the news that his limited funds were no good for a date of this caliber. He stuck his hands in the pocket of his pants and looked around the alleyway while he waited for his turn to inhale, noting the rat scurrying under one of the dumpsters. "Dirty maybe, only because I've seen you hungover" he continued, definitely speaking more than he should've at this point "but definitely not forgettable."

## Vodka Aunt1

Anastasia snickers at his words, unsure if he meant to compliment her. She returns the baggie to her bra nonchalantly, eagerly accepting the joint.

"Eh? Oh right food costs money. Boris can handle our bill, go wild." She passes it back to him through an exhaled cloud of smoke, seemingly dead serious.

Cole's addition made the young Russian laugh out loud."You think me hungover is dirty? *Moy khoroshiy*, you haven't seen nothin' yet," the way she said it made it seem like a promise. She seemed properly amused by most things Cole said, and this was no exeption.

November 18, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

"You have a very generous uncle" Cole said as he took the joint from her once again and brought it to his lips for an intake. This wasn't the best week in the city but it was doing its job nicely and he could already feel himself wind down and relax. For a second he thought he had upset her by calling her hungover for dirty but Ana surprised him with her remark, causing him to go from wide-eyed to laughing in before the cloud of smoke had exited his lungs completely.

"Do I *want* to, though?" He asked cheekily, "I like it when you speak Russian, it's-" before he could finish his sentence the door to the alleyway opened and a busser walked out, garbage bag in hand, and paused to study the scene. Cole froze and looked at the guy, then back at Ana, and shamefully and slowly lowered his joint. The busser tossed the bag into the dumpster to their right without taking his eyes off of them, finally speaking up before Cole's heart could crawl out of his mouth: "can I get a hit?" Cole exhaled all the tension and handed the guy the joint with relief. The guy took a long drag and handed it back to him "thanks. Food is ready, by the way" he said handing back the joint and disappearing into the restaurant again.

## Vodka Aunt

Anastasia pulls a face when he calls Boris generous. The man was more generous with his knuckles than his wallet when it came to people other than his honorary niece.
She found his reaction amusing and simply laughs while shaking her head. "Not really, no. It's not something you easily recover from," she punctuates her claim with a saucy wink.

The sudden bang of the door opening startled the young woman but upon realizing it was just a busser she immediately calmed back down. It was obvious that she wasn't a paranoid stoned. She snatches the joint from between Cole's fingers to continue puffing on it while he looked like a deer in the headlights. She grinned at the employee as he ducked back into the building.

"Chill, half the kids working in these hipster restaurants are total stoners," she reassures him with a fairly rough clap on the back,"see? Food's ready too so let's finish this baby up."

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole gave Ana a nervous smile as he was patted on the back "right... yeah." There was that dreaded familiar lump in his throat that came about whenever he felt nervous, but the young hero swallowed thick and hoped the crisis was averted. He took the joint from her and inhaled a long and sharp drag, throwing all dosing caution to the wind in favor of finishing this quickly so they could get down to eating. It was an oversight he would come to regret later. "What were we talking about before?" He asked, quietly, passing the joint as he tried to think back to their conversation before they were interrupted but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

"Anyways, I'm starving. I can't wait to get some of this bougie food in me." He wasn't all that sure what it was he ordered but he had yet to try food that he didn't like. In the past he'd been known to happily devour things like marmite, unseasoned tofu, whole sardines, and even his mother's meat loaf. "Can I ask you a personal question?" He looked down at his feet, shifting his weight with a certain shyness about him "are you and Matador... dating... or something?"

November 25, 2018

## Vodka Aunt

The young woman shoots Cole a not-so-reassuring smile. She snickers at his question. "I don't know man. If neither of us can remember was it really that important? Wanna see something cool?" She asks as she takes the joint, not bothering to wait for an answer before inhaling the entire roach and swallowing it. "Gives you a good body buzz," she explains after a short coughing fit.

She bounds to the door with newly found pep in her step, stopping with one hand on the door when Cole speaks again.

She bursts into hysterical laughter when he asks if she and the elastic man were an item. It was a good minute before the laughing fit had subsided enough for her to respond.

"Hell no! That would be like I was fucking my own brother. That is off the table. You've got no competition, come on," she adds a saucy little wink to the end of her exclamation, getting hit with a welcome blast of warm air when she opens the door.

November 28, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole watched as Ana swallowed the rest of that roach whole with a look of shock on his face that quickly melted into amusement and crumbled into laughter. "I'm putting you on blast for that in the RPdex" he threatened teasingly. There was no way he could ever pull such a party trick, he was sure it wold trigger his gag reflex and... well, there was no telling what would happen after that. Cole always wished he had more control or at least insight into his so-called power, at least so he could be of use during missions and not just a luck and chance weapon provider.

As they reentered the restaurant he flinched at Ana's choice of words to describe her relationship with Leo. "Understood" he said hastily, trying to erase the thought of incest from his mind, which was somehow less jarring than her declaration that he 'had no competition.' Oh? Cole followed Ana to the table and sat down, finally feeling the effect of their little break take hold of him. He could see the girl's eyes were red and he assumed his were too, but there was no time to worry about that because *food was on the table*. "Hell's bells" he muttered, eyeing the dishes– the potato skins looked perfectly crisp and the carpaccio he had ordered without really knowing what it was looked even better up close.

Cole shed his blazer in a haste and reached for his cutlery without wasting time, forking some carpaccio without a shred of elegance in his manner and bringing it up to his mouth. "Oh, damn. You have to try this, dude" he said as he chewed, inching the plate closer to Ana. "Sorry about that by the way, it's just you guys seem close is all" he explained, forking some more food into his mouth, this time catching some capers. "I can't say I'm that close to anyone in headquarters yet. I think Andy is the one I've spoken to the most but that's mostly because he's the leader so I'm sure he's better friend with the others."

## Vodka Aunt

"Do it, I'm a badass and they will fear me." Anastasia was quite proud of her lack of gag reflex. It allowed her to do more stupid things purely for the shock value.

Her eyes had narrowed to become a stereotypical stoner squint as she carefully extricates her arms from her coat. It took her a beat longer than normal to take get into her seat.

The look on her face was giddy as she took in the platter of loaded potato skins and glass of wine in front of her.

Never one to shy away from food, Anastasia eagerly takes a forkful of Cole's dish and her eyebrows shoot up. "Damn, never thought something with such a fancy name could taste that good."

She laughs, sliding the plate back towards her date with one hand while giving an airy handwave with the other. "Don't be sorry, we are close. He's like my only friend who cares about more than just partying-- and he can keep up with me."

She had preoccupied her mouth with the still gooey potato skins while he spoke, nodding after every few words. "Andy is the kind of kid I would have bullied in high school but he's cool. I think he tries to be nice to everyone, I never would have thought to do all this hero work without him." Despite her little joke, it was obvious she respected what he did.

December 4, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

Cole accepted his plate back and wasted no time in shoveling more of the meats into his mouth, nodding with a dope smile on his face "right? I don't think I've ever had this before but *damn*." Cole looked up with reddened eyes and olive oil coating his mouth from his sloppy eating "mhm, you two have a lively dynamic" he noted as a waiter walked by with some dish he eyed curiously. "I like Andy, he bought me pizza the other day" he said, remembering their little pow wow with Valentine and how the boss had granted them pepperoni pizza despite being vegetarian "he's a good dude. I wonder how his date is going" he mused, pausing his food to take a sip of his soda.

"Honestly I thought the concept was a bit odd– not to shit on Eleanor, bless her heart– but I'm glad I got paired up with you" he said in an act of unfiltered honestly, right before he felt a tickle in his nose and turned away to sneeze. "Ah, sorry" he apologized with a sniffle "my mom always says if you sneeze it means someone is talking about you" he added with a quiet laugh, unaware that his name had in fact come up in conversation at the fairgrounds. "But yeah, as I was saying, this is fun."

December 9, 2018

## Vodka Aunt

Annie was more giggly than normal, laughing at the smallest of things. "*Someone* has to keep things fresh around here," she pauses to imagine Andy on a date with Lilah and her face cracks into a grin,"I bet he was so intimidated he could barely speak. Lilah could crush my head between her thighs and I wouldn't complain." Judging by the look on her face, she wasn't entirely joking.

"I don't think E has ever been on a date herself and just wants to see us doing something for Valentine's day. It's like she just drew straws."

She cracks a grin at what he said after his sneeze."My mom always told me that if I didn't cover my nose a bit of my soul would shoot out of my body and then God wouldn't love me anymore-- moms, amiright?" She laughs, shaking her head at the memory.

The Russian had a mouthful of potato when Cole finished what he was saying, deciding to hold up one hand to high-five him in agreement.

December 13, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

"Oh... huh" Cole had to try his very best to to picture Ana's head between Lilah's thighs and even then he failed miserably, growing pink and warm all the way up to his ears. Ever since he'd hit puberty it was like his hormones were in constant battle with his rational thoughts to fill his brain with filth and this conversation wasn't helping his case. Luckily Mimic turned the page quickly enough. He high-fived her back and smiled like his mind hadn't been dragged through the gutter seconds ago. "That's harsh, does she tend to say things like that?" Maybe Russian families were different– he couldn't picture his own mother saying nothing but niceties. Even when he'd been caught misbehaving she'd gone about it with kindness.

"Hey, I have an idea– do you like donuts?" He asked all of a sudden now that his craving for savory food was satisfied and a craving for sweets had taken of his palate. "I want to show you this place."

December 17, 2018

## Vodka Aun

"What? Oh, Мамуля has lots of weird sayings like that, the only way to keep me behaved was through fear. It was papa who had the cool ones. He used to tell me \* Bez kota mysham razdol'ye," it translates to *without a cat, mice feel free*. It's not like the cops could deal with these baddies." Anastasia's family was an odd bunch for sure. Whenever she spoke of her father it was obvious she idolized the man, shady history and all.

The stoned Russian grins when Cole asks about donuts,"like donuts? I fuckin' love 'em. I don't know how I don't get fat with all the shit I eat. Hit me with your best shot." She slides her plate over to Cole so he could finish her plate, there was only one left and she was halfway through her own.

December 18, 2018

## Chew I Venus I Cole I Dee Dee

"Ace! It'll be worth your time," he promised, gladly accepting the last potato skin and and devouring it hungrily. While the waiter brought their check he forked at the little crumbs leftover on the plates. When the check arrived it became clear they had made the right choice by not adding more food to their tab– the appetizers alone had been worth as much as a full meal. Cole dropped his half of the check. However, they still had one item left on the table almost untouched– the full bottle of wine. Cole squinted at it before taking it and tucking it under his arm– there couldn't be rules against this, right?

"Lets go," he called, standing up from the table and slipping on his oversized suit jacket. "We'll have to hop on the bus to get to the docks, do you have a pass?"