The Odd Couples (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

Quo-Dis gave Corbin that impenetrable stare for a long moment, then brightened. "Oh, okay. If it's not something you're ready to do yet, I understand. I don't want anyone to have to do something they don't want to do." As if the faux pas, if that's what was, hadn't happened, she cocked her head when the waiter came over and ordered their bourbon steak burger with the garlic and potato fritters. She looked as if nothing had gone wrong, reaching over to take Corbin's hand and smiling winningly at him. She really was quite lovely.

[Lone Star]

Blake held Jessica's hand closer, and smiled at her as well. He was glad that the most awkward portion of the date was over, and was quite ready to move on. He ordered the fettuccine alfredo with minestrone soup. "So, Corbin, who did you end up getting for a roommate? I think things are still going well with Rift; he's got a lot of shows with his band nowadays though." Blake moved his hand slowly down to Jessica's knee, where he rested it, glancing at her with a sly smile.

[Raveled]

Jessica had braced herself for Quo-Dis to argue the point passionately, possibly even make an embarrassing scene. It was a pleasant surprise when she dropped the subject so readily, and she took a deep breath to settle herself. She glanced through the menu quickly and settled on a composite piece, featuring samples of three of the restaurant's most popular dishes with a bowl of soup on the side. She felt Blake's hand on her knee and blushed again slightly, glancing over at him. Her hand still covered his, though, and gave it a quick squeeze.

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin blinked and turned to Quo-Dis, his face morphing from slight shock, to a soft smile.

"Thank you very much."

When the waiter takes orders, Corbin opts for the Tour of Italy. When one can't decide on 1 pasta, go for 3 types! After orders are placed, he turns to regard Blake curiously.

"I've got a solo room. I came in a junior, and school policy still allows it, I thought. I don't really mind. Gives me space to store my art stuff, have a bit more of a "thinking area", and just generally have a place I can retreat to if it gets too noisy "out there", you know?"

[Lone Star]

"Lucky duck. As much as I like Rift- the guy's like a brother to me, I would love to have my own space. Must be pretty awesome." He took a sip of his water. "Have you adjusted to the classes here, Quo-Dis? Earth is so much of a younger planet than yours, it seems, so we tend to focus more on the past few thousand years. Is it easier to learn this way?" He wasn't about to exclude Quo-Dis from the conversation because of her slightly strange way of going about things. It was hardly her fault she didn't grow up here, and he was sure they would forget the faux pas in time.

[Avenger Assembled]

"All my teaching was done one-on-one, since I am the only teenager in the place where I used to live," explained Quo-Dis as she delicately drank her Coke, the straw sliding past luscious red-painted lips as she drank. "So it was a very great change," she agreed, toying slightly with the delicate gold necklace she was wearing, the long pendant hanging low beneath her throat, as she took a deep breath. "What we discussed was very different. I miss those days sometimes," she admitted, "but learning among all of you is much more important than whatever I learn in classes."

[Raveled]

"I know the feeling," Jessica told Quo-Dis. "I had tutors for most of my life. When I finally went to HIT, it was hard to adjust to a classroom with twenty or thirty other people in it. I found it very frustrating when I'd snap up a subject or concept easily, but the teacher would have to keep going over it for the benefit of the other students. Have you found anything like that," she asked, her tone polite but her brain buzzing with curiosity. After all, it wasn't every day she got the opportunity to talk to an actual alien! "Any topics or subjects you find difficult to understand, compared to the, uh, native-born students?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"I don't understand anything about your politics or history," Quo-Dis immediately confessed. "Why did women allow men to oppress them for so long? And why would men want to oppress women at all? That's half the human species, and what kind of society did that give people? Nothing but mothers and infants dying in childbirth while you all lived in your own..." She paused and cleared her throat, cheeks blushing prettily as she said, "Ah, er, I meant no offense. As I said, my people are very different than yours. I am not good at understanding the differences sometimes."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin hummed in thought for several moments.

"There's no easy answer. I'd say we could point back to the times when we lived in tents made of animal hide, and lived as hunter-gatherers, and the general physical abilities of each gender led to division of labor. I mean, someone really did have to stay and keep an eye on the kids, cook the food, etc. I'd say that was less "oppression" than some might attribute, just because everyone had to contribute. But it likely planted subconscious ideas in the minds of men, and when we started forming things like cities and countries, those ideas came to the forefront. And once they laid the foundation, if you will, cultural momentum meant that things generally stayed as they were."

He gestured vaguely as he continued to talk.

"There are, of course, exceptions, especially when you hit the era around the rise of Ancient Greece. If not totally equal rites, they didn't treat women as chattel. And even certain Middle Eastern cultures and belief systems weren't as bad as we "progressive modern people" might think. History tends to move in cycles in some ways...At any rate, it's just the last century or two where things have formed a sort of "perfect storm" to move us forward."

He shrugged.

"I try not to focus too much on feeling superior to the "ignorant barbarians of the past", because history can always surprise you. People constantly discover evidence that pre-conceived notions are incorrect about one thing or another.

Certainly, you're bringing two different viewpoints to this than I am; first as a woman, and second as a cultural outsider. But there are probably whole libraries' worth of research, speculation, and history on this sort of thing."

He smiled and squeezed her hand a bit.

"You're here to learn the differences; that you haven't done so yet is no mark against you, merely a measure of how much there is to learn.

History and politics in particular can take years and years to even begin to fully grasp. It's why we rely on the writings of others so much; so that we don't have to re-discover everything every generation. At least, that's the idea."

[Lone Star]

Blake nodded his head. "What he said, yeah." He smiled and Jessica and squeezed her hand under the table. Corbin did a good job of pretty much summing all that up. He never really cared for history himself- too many intricacies. He preferred art- it made more sense to him. If anything, the more abstract concepts were easier than facts and information. That was what Corbin liked, though, so he glad someone did. There was no doubt in his mind the three of them might be a little more intelligent than him; Jessica especially, but she loved him anyway. He couldn't think of a better place to be than among friends.

Blake looked slyly at Jessica, and squeezed her knee. "So Corbin, are you going to join any of the sports teams at Claremont? You're in the gym enough; I'm surprised they haven't asked you to join."

[Raveled]

Jessica sat back and listened to the conversation. It was refreshing to sit here in the company of people her own age and not be in mortal danger, or even discussing the latest scientific and technical breakthroughs like she did with Mara. Just sitting here was nice, especially with Blake by her side. She glanced over at him, and under the table her foot moved over to tap against his.

[Avenger Assembled]

Quo-Dis didn't seem inclined to dominate the conversation, and so instead she fell silent and let the others talk, occasionally squeezing Corbin's hand when he seemed to want her to. She didn't really understand why a mortal would talk so much, but he was cute and seemed to enjoy it, and what was one evening when there was so much else going on. She did eventually shift the subject to science and industry, seemingly curious about what Jessica's latest scientific projects were accomplishing. I should talk to Zarana about the dress, she thought, still a little crestfallen. I was sure the red one was best, but maybe she was right about the little black one. Why are the boys so eager with her, but not so eager with me?

[KnightDisciple]

Throughout the shifting conversation, and the occasional stops to eat the wonderful food in front of them, Corbin would occasionally steal a glance at Quo-Dis. While he may have been clear in his desire to wait before taking certain steps in the relationship, neither was he afraid to occasionally admire his companion. The dress suited her well, the length being "just so", and the red contrasting her skin beautifully.

He looked thoughtful at Blake's questions about sports.

"I haven't given it much thought. I lean towards "not necessarily", just because I'd like to focus on schoolwork, art, an extra study here and there, Quo-Dis here, and probably a bit of business tutoring with my parents."

At the mention of the final item, he wasn't displeased, but it lacked the enthusiasm of the other subjects he mentioned. He gave a smirk.

"Though that list isn't specifically prioritized or anything."

He threw the incredible young lady at his side a wink, even as he sat back a bit as the conversation shifted more to technology. Here, he had only general knowledge, plus a few tidbits from things his parents mentioned occasionally.

[Lone Star]

"I see. Well, as I'm sure you know." Blake said, gesturing to his slight form. "I'm not exactly cut out for sports. Haha." he laughed sardonically as he scooted just slightly closer to Jessica. Although he was looking at Corbin, his attention was on Jessica. His hand, which was previously on her knee, was slowly creeping towards her thigh playfully. He couldn't help but suppress a slight grin.

[Raveled]

Their meals arrived at roughly the same time as Quo-Dis's question, giving Jessica something to focus on besides playing footsie with Blake underneath the table. She started cutting into her chicken breast as she answered. "It's been kind of hectic," she admitted. "Lately I've been doing a lot of work at the Lab -- that's this big building in Hanover, where a bunch of science and tech heroes like myself have gotten together to pool our knowledge. It's proving a very good idea.

"For instance," she added, moving onto preparing her pasta, "I'm pretty good with computers, but mostly they're a means to an end, a way to coordinate various systems and functions much more surely and competently that I could otherwise. But there's this woman at the Lab, Miss Americana." Jessica took a deep breath and regretted it almost immediately. As usual, she was two meal behind, and the smell of such well-prepared food literally under her nose made her want to throw etiquette to the wind and stuff her face now, never mind that she'd be talking with her mouth full.

She swallowed the saliva that suddenly flooded her mouth and forced her attention back to the conversation. "I swear this lady could make a computer sit up and tango if she wanted. She shaved a few runcycles off my targeting algorithms, folded redundant programs into others, and reduced my sensor packaged quite a bit. Let me stuff even more into my armor." Jessica took a bit of chicken and close her eyes in bliss. She didn't quite moan and she didn't quite stuff her face, but it was a close thing either way.

[Lone Star]

Blake blushed as he heard his girlfriend moan in pleasure as she took a bite of her chicken. He knew Jessica skipped meals frequently, but she really needed to eat more often. He'd have to bring her Subway sometime. He absentmindedly took a bite of his chicken alfredo, and looked over at Jessica. She looked fantastic in her dress, and he put his hand over her thigh. He had never told her, but she was so sexy when she talked about technology.

[Avenger Assembled]

Quo-Dis ate with relish herself, chewing and swallowing with the table manners of an eight year old. When she was getting looks from her fellows, she coughed a little and wiped her face with a napkin. "I'm sorry," she said a little abashedly. "I try to emulate the rest of you, but it's not always easy." She turned to Corbin and smiled winningly at him, her teeth sparkingly as she grinned. "I enjoy eating, especially rich food like this. What do you like to eat, Corbin?"

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin didn't seem shocked by Quo-Dis's eating habits; clearly, this was not his first time. Witnessing such things, that is. No, his mind was elsewhere for a time as he ate.

On one shoulder, a miniature

Dirk Pitt in messy casual clothes appeared.

"Heh. Man, I wish I was that Italian right now..."

On his other shoulder, Captain Picard in a formal white suit (but no gun) appeared. His look was disapproving.

"She clearly accepted our reasoning. Besides, this is about more than just satisfying carnal urges. This is about our future! For the sake of the future of all of our lives, we must tread carefully!"

"You're no fun."

Picard just sighed and shook his head.

Corbin blinked at Quo-Dis's question, shaken from his thoughts and carefully swallowing the bite in his mouth.

"Um. Well, Italian's pretty good. I like a good steak, a good, real burger, occasional Chinese..."

Suddenly, he gave a nostalgic grin.

"Barbeque. I miss real, honest to goodness, slow cooked, genuine Midwest barbeque. They just don't have the touch out here like they did back home. St. Louis had some good places, but if you really wanted the good stuff, you went to Kansas City. That place is overflowing with quality barbeque. The best kind, where they use both a rub and a sauce. Cooked low and slow for a good long time...mmm! The best stuff practically melts in your mouth; at the the very least, ribs should come off the bone with almost no effort."

"I'd pay money to watch Quo-Dis eat a few BBQ ribs nice and slow!"

"You never turn it off, do you?"

"Nope!"

Corbin took a few more bites of his food, still clearly enjoying it, but also still clearly having a sudden craving for his precious barbeque.

[Raveled]

Jessica swallowed her bite of chicken, inhaling another before she could set her utensils down and respond. "Don't worry above your table manners," she assured the alien. "I usually don't eat nearly as much or as often as I should, so when I get a chance to sit down for a nice meal, I focus on the food. Observe." The young woman collected some pasts on her fork and popped it in her mouth, chewing slowly and relishing the flavors. Maybe she wasn't as focused on the food as she let on, though, as she had the presence of mind to slip one foot out of her shoe and rub it against Blake's calf, her big toes tracing the line of the muscle. She shifted her gaze to her boyfriend long enough to give him a wink, then happily turned back to her meal.

[Lone Star]

He could care less about Quo-Dis's eating habits as he took another big bite of fettuccine, but he almost jumped out of his seat when Jessica started playing footsie with him. He disguised the motion as a cough, and settled down, giving Jessica a brief smile. "That's what I've heard Corbin. There's a couple of barbecue restaurants uptown, but they're hardly any good. If you ever go back to Missouri, be sure to bring back a couple of racks for me!" Blake smiled, but it wasn't because he was excited about eating Midwestern barbecue. Blake slowly moved his hand back to her leg, where he started stroking her bare leg. Needless to say, he was glad she picked the short skirt.

[Avenger Assembled]

Quo-Dis sighed as she studied the couple across the way, then turned and glanced at Corbin. He doesn't like me, she thought depressedly. I hate eating! I wish I was older and didn't have to do it so often! At times like this, she reflected how much easier life would be if she could just explain vril and Ultima Thule to the others, but of course that would have violated every tenant of her people. "I ate a seal once," she offered brightly, giving a hopeful smile to Corbin. "It was when I was in Greenland, before I was a student here. It was really delicious! There's so much fat on the meat!"

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin had finished his food, eating with a startling efficiency even as he kept the comparative noise level down. He'd now settled for looking at Quo-Dis with a slight smile on his face, and curiosity in his eyes.

"Really? How did they cook it? Did they use any spices or anything?"

He taps the fingers of his right hand on the table in a slow rhythm. His left slowly reached for hers; assuming she didn't bat it away, he traced a slow, aimless pattern on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Here's an idea for our next date, Quo-Dis: We can both fly, so why not fly out to Kansas City? Although...hm. Neither of us can go supersonic...Maybe we could get use of a jet, or someone at the school could make a portal for us? Really, we have to have the stuff on-site to really appreciate it."

He glanced to Blake and gave him a thumbs-up as he spoke to him.

"Blake, buddy, I'll bring you two back whatever you want. I'll pick the place, you look at the menu, and before we leave, I'll get takeout for whatever it is."

[Raveled]

Jessica giggled at Corbin's suggestion. "Take-out from anywhere in the country? So gumbo from Louisiana, cheese steaks from Philadelphia, or deep-dish pizza from Chicago?" She picked at her food a little; it was mostly gone, and she was using the last bits of her chicken to catch the tomato sauce that had leaked out of her lasagna. "Why not go all out? Clothes shopping on Fifth Avenue, then a jaunt over to Akihabara for some video games, and dinner under the Eiffel Tower." She winked at the alien across the table. "I could get used to having anywhere in the world two steps away. Want to switch boyfriends for a bit, Quo-Dis?" She didn't really mean it, and to make sure Blake understood she let a hand fall to cover the one that was on her knee. She squeezed gently as she finished off her dinner.

[Lone Star]

Blake smiled at her, and squeezed back. He took another big bite of his pasta. It was rare that he had the time (much less the cash) to go out to a nice dinner, but it was worth it to be with Jessica. After swallowing his bite, he grinned widely and kissed her on the cheek. "Oh, well sure, that's okay. I guess. But does Corbin have wings? 'Cuz I have wings. Totally. They're awesome." He smiled at Corbin playfully. To be fair, Corbin did have cooler powers than he did.

[Avenger Assembled]

Quo-Dis didn't have any strong feelings on visiting Kansas City either way, but agreed with Corbin that the trip sounded interesting. "Wings are all right," she said lightly, "but I find normal quadruped humans much more attractive," she said with a wink at Corbin, putting her hand on his thigh under the table. "I mean, what will people think if you pass down genetic impurities?" she asked, sounding legitimately worried by the process. "You might be thrown out of the group, or denied the right to mate!"