Dango Nakama [Private with Sera]

[Leonard Uaine]

"Great. Meet at the airship docks at six?" Lennie managed to maintain his composure just long enough to respond before his mind whirled. Nothing more than to go out with him? They'd known each other for all of an afternoon - he'd never been this smooth before, what was going on?

Then she gave him a wink and made a joke, and oh. That was what was going on.

Sure, he'd met girls before - even dated one or two - but he'd never been so often left speechless as he'd been this afternoon.

Then he remembered that tomorrow would technically be their second date, as they were still going to find a barbecue place this evening, and he suddenly looked down and pulled his shirt out a little so he could look at it, making sure that he wasn't dressed like a slob. It was fine - one of his nicer, non-graphic t-shirts. Whew.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"Six works great for me," Sera said, a faint smile appearing as one eyebrow crept up at Len's attempt at inconspicuously checking his outfit. It was truly a surprisehe didnt try to sniff his armpits too.
Clearing her face and attempting to maintain a blank look, she gestured at his shirt. "Might as well be a burlap sack..." she trailed off then added as an afterthought, "... for all I care. You don't need to stress." However, she wasn't sure the joke would be received as such with him looking so lost in thought, and stared at him, waiting for the 'Len to Earth' moment as the Spinning Wheel of Death Traps once again jerked upward, startling Sera enough to make her jump. Strange, how for a second she'd forgotten she was even on this wretched contraption.

[Leonard Uaine]

Might as well be a burlap sack?

Lennie burst out laughing as the car moved up again. "Brothers, we're hopeless," he managed to get out between chuckles.

Eventually his laughter subsided and he sat back in his chair, giving Reni a grin. "Should I take that as permission to wear a burlap sack tomorrow night?" he asked.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera pretended to give the question thought, then nodded in confirmation "I think it would be best, if you did. Can't risk looking nice and being targeted by pickpockets-" She smacked the back of her wrist to her forehead theatrically as she said "Woe is me! How would we, defenseless creatures, defend ourselves against such atrocities, if we did not wear burlap to protect us!?"
Sera fell quiet, leaving her hand glued to her forehead, and cracked one eye open to peek at Len- assuming he would either be looking at her like she'd gone nuts or struggling not to laugh.

[Leonard Uaine]

It was official. Lennie had a date tomorrow with the funniest girl he'd met in a long time.

"You know that means you'll have to wear burlap too, right?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her as she peeked at him from her dramatic pose.

He was going to enjoy this.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

At Len's question, Sera dragged her hand down her face with a sigh as she straightened her posture. "Of course, it would be unfair if I were to be robbed when you weren't." A smile began making its way into her face- she was already looking forward to spending more time with Len- and she added "Don't you worry your tall, slightly tree-esque-" here, Sera sounded a little sheepish and embarrassed "-self about that. I'd never dream of setting someone up like that."

Even if she had to wear burlap, it'd be totally worth it, so long as Len actually followed through.

[Leonard Uaine]

This was going to be entertaining indeed. Lennie wondered if he could find a tailor to make a burlap blazer and pants on short-notice, because that would be hysterical.

"Looking forward to it," he told her honestly.

The last car had boarded and the ride began in earnest, their car slowly making its way toward the top of the wheel.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera smiled sheepishly as she wondered if buying a 50 pound bag of potatoes would be worth it, so she could wear the sack as a dress. However, she promptly got distracted by the view as the contraption lifted them to the top. For lack of better words, Sera let out a distracted "Wow!" As the wheel continued to turn and the view lessened, the queasy feeling settled in her stomach and she fought to keep her composure. "Hey Len," she muttered, uncomfortably averting her eyes, "You should definitely hold my hand for this. Probably both, actually." After a brief pause, a blush crept back as she amended "No, definitely."

[Leonard Uaine]

It truly was a spectacular view. The wheel took them high enough to see the tops of all the buildings, the setting sun glinting off them in gorgeous shades of gold and crimson.

"Hey Len." Lennie looked up at her. "You should definitely hold my hand for this. Probably both, actually," she added, her gaze pointedly not looking at him as another blush made its way up her face. "No, definitely," she corrected herself as the blush grew.

Without saying anything, Lennie stood up, took her left hand in his, and pulled her to her feet facing him. Then he reached over and took her right hand, gently spinning her around to rest her back against him as he in turn leaned against the side of the car, continuing to look out at the sunset as the wheel brought them back up again.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera was most certainly not expecting the response she got. Without a word or even a fraction of a second of hesitation, Len proceeded to wrap her up snug against his chest, hands clasped in his. Embarrassment crawled up her neck as she relaxed, leaning against him. Somehow the wheel didn't seem so bad like this. She tilted her head back and rested it against his chest, looking at colors crawling across the sky, and muttered "Totally unnecessary, but very appreciated..." She trailed off and grinned up at him, discomfort a tiny voice now muffled in the back of her mind.

[Leonard Uaine]

"No problem," Lennie whispered as Reni relaxed into his embrace.

Brothers help us, I think we're BOTH in trouble...

Try as he might not want to, in this moment, Lennie couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he tugged the small chameleon a little closer to him and watched the sun set over the city of Vale.