'but mariiii'[break]
'no.'[break]
'mariiiiiiiiii'[break]
'no.'[break]
'well too bad because i already set the date and place'[break]
'...'[break]
'go get 'em bb :paisablep:'[break]
'i'm gonna kill you when i get back.'[break][break]


it's hopeless. marisol, of all people, on a blind date? arceus may as well smite her where she stands, because she's not good at dates, period, nor has she ever cared about them. there was temptation to only barely dress up for the occasion, if only so she looks somewhat presentable. hell, she would have gone with her lab coat had the gremlin that lives in her phone hadn't started complaining, and nagging at her to try dressing up some. [break][break]

this is going to add more years than med school will. [break][break]

so here she is, walking in black heels, with a pair of high-waisted dress pants, with a white, off the shoulder shirt tucked in at the hem. her hair is tied up higher, for once, though her bangs are still covering the odd eye. no eye patch today, however, after getting enough of an earful to forego it for today. she has a small bag over her shoulder, and her fingers curl around it, instinctively. [break][break]

she has confidence, now, but that doesn't save the lingering social anxiety that comes when she notices passerbys eye her. this didn't.. suit her, in the slightest. god save her. [break][break]

her eyes narrow, scanning the area around until she finds a man, sitting on his phone. then she glances at her own, absentmindedly glaring at her phone to look at the description that someone so lovingly sent her. so god help her, she's gonna strangle her when she gets back. [break][break]

and after confirming her suspicions, marisol approaches the man whilst slipping her phone back into her bag. ".. excuse me?" she chirps up, stopping a few paces away with both hands raised, clinging to the strap of her bag "are you here for a blind date?"

Inigo del Rosario

☉

A few minutes passed.[break]
He lowered his phone. Spun it in his palm a few times.[break][break]

Rinse and repeat, really. A few rounds of spinning and perusing, not too long after the umpteenth time of beginning to raise the screen to meet his eyes, his gaze strayed towards the side at the note of a voice. Blinking, he raised his head faintly in an attempt to better trace the source, instinctively setting the device down as he quirked a brow with a smile.[break][break]

”You could say that, yeah~.” He eyed her for just a moment before standing up, nodding across the table before taking a couple of paces towards the seat opposing his. ”Mari, I take it~?” he went on, taking care to pull the aforementioned chair out before nodding down towards it.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

her smile barely reaches her eyes, but she tries. [break][break]

the first thing she notices is a man's attire, the next thing she notices is a man's demeanour, and the last thing she notices is his voice and appearance. none of which were lacking, or bad, in the slightest, though she's glad that she'll never have to confess it to the dear friend who's set her up. still, it's a pleasant surprise - at least, pleasant enough for her to still smile as she sits herself in the seat that's pulled out. [break][break]

"mhm.. marisol." she'll politely correct, but "... it's alright to call me mari, though." only for tonight. her head tilts back, her gaze catching a man after she's seated herself comfortably "i.. didn't keep you waiting, did i?"

Inigo del Rosario

☉

”Nah, not really,” he responded with a touch of leisureness, offering her an instinctive, natural grin as she took her seat. ”Just a minute or two, but it ain’t really shit to call home over.”[break][break]

With those words, he gave the back of her chair a soft tap before beginning his way along the side of the table once more, pulling his own chair out with a degree of fluidity compared to how he’d prepared and waited for her. Without missing much of a beat, he sat himself down with a soft sigh, pulling himself closer to the table before leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs within a comfortable, instinctive nature.[break][break]

”So,” he added on soon after, shifting his fingers along the table to take a menu for himself, ”whatcha do and all? Not gonna lie, I kinda thought something like fashion at first.”[break][break]

He quirked his lip a bit, offering her a more playful smirk and a wink before glancing down to the menu within his grasp.[break][break]

”It’s a real nice fit. Ten outta ten~.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

so she didn't keep him waiting. good, good.. [break][break]

it'd leave a bad taste in her mouth if she did. she's lucky that he's being so.. casual about this, too. it makes it easier to talk to him. it makes it easier for her to go through with this. so she smiles, though the smile is more out of relief. now deep breaths, marisol. punch the anxiety known as wendy back into the depths of your stomach. [break][break]

you'd never be able to tell she was nervous, based on the smile on her lips as she tilts her head, raising her gaze at the tail end of his question. "a-ah, no, no" she stuttered. fuck. "my friend actually helped me pick it out." friend? the word is starting to become more familiar.[break][break]

"i'm glad that you like it, though~" there's a bit of truth to it. it tells her that something was done right. she tries to glance back down at the menu as her mind fends off the building nervousness "i'm a nursing student, though. what about you?" [break][break]

.. getting a better look at him, he seems a little familiar.

Inigo del Rosario

☉

He noted the stammer with a grin, raising a brow in reflective amusement of such as he leaned back against his seat, and pulling his own menu into his lap all the while.[break][break]

”Oooh, nursing, eh?” he laughed, shooting her another glance between her words prior to casting another gaze of viridian upon the texts displayed before him again. ”Man, my heart goes out to you. Stuff’s admirable, but I’ve heard how stressing nursing programs are, let alone the actual thing~.”[break][break]

He pursed his lips in thought for several moments as he perused the numerous dishes and their descriptions, only humming and clicking his tongue long enough to give a small degree of thought towards what seemed to be the aforementioned lists.[break][break]

”I’m just a simple casino dealer myself, though,” he chuckled softly with little lapse and hesitation between words, alike. He spared her another glance after clocking a couple of entrees and the like worth noting. ”Student, too, though. Bachelor’s in computer science; minor in cyber security. Workin’ on my masters in the former~.”[break][break]

A slightly stretched truth in some tiny aspects, but altogether still the truth.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

so he's a scammer.[break][break]

nothing against him, of course. conning and scamming is one of the smaller crimes you could do in rocket, so frankly, despite his large stature and potential for intimidation, he's nothing scary (she'll leave the box unchecked, for the time being, to be tentative. anyone could be scary when you cut off their routes of escape and push them into he corner; the person cornering could be left without a limb or two. she's seen the result of it) [break][break]

but maybe she's jumping to conclusions, thinking he's someone in rocket - just because he looks familiar and he's a casino dealer, it doesn't make him part of rocket. yet why can't she shake off this feeling of familiarity? no, it's not a way of hitting on him. she'll gag at the notion. "cyber security?" she hums, an icy gaze skimming the lines in the menu "... your poor eyes~." a small smile creeps to her lips as a hum buzzes. "i hope you don't go blind with the amount of screen you stare at."

Inigo del Rosario

☉

Oooh. ‘Scammer,’ is such a harsh, harsh word…[break]
Checked out, though. Fitting for the truth.[break][break]

”Ehhh, I’ll live~,” he chuckled, maintaining a smile all the while. With a gaze lingering upon her, he leaned further back into his seat within a leisurely manner, tilting his head with a small hum. ”Nothing contacts can’t solve, anyways. Or glasses. Depends on how cute I’m feelin’~.”[break][break]

He slipped his hands into his pockets.[break][break]

Fuck if someone ain’t got it worse, anyways.[break][break]

A jab made in nothing short of silence, and one that he couldn’t help but stifle a snicker at in the face of what was supposed to be normalcy. Anyone he befriended would eventually learn about how much of a sarcastic ass he was, anyways—so quick to burn and be burned in good fun—but this was all about first impressions. Swoon the girl, and there would be time for all of that and more in the future.[break][break]

Maybe. Hell if he knew.[break]
Hell if he cared much, either, but eh.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

She could call him something worse. [break][break]

Could call him a swindler, a cheat, a criminal - other things of the ilk. But she won’t, knowing someone who already does the same, and to that same degree in broad daylight under no guise of occupation. [break][break]

Marisol isn’t good with conversation, but there’s always a degree of gratitude when she sees the carefree, and casual attitude. It makes it a little easier to speak (ironic when you think of how she used to despise these people, and how often she would put herself down for ruining their moods when really, all she was doing was standing there. It was always her fault, thinking her presence was enough to do it). [break][break]

So this is what a blind date was? Talking to someone casually? She thought it’d be something a bit more grand, or more romantic - but she found this to be little more than casual conversation. “I better not hear about your eyesight taking a dip.” she speaks with the slightest, amused smile behind the menu. After all, he wouldn’t be the only person she’ll lightly lecture about eye health. [break][break]

… Now the conversation feels like it’s come to a stop, and now she doesn’t know what to follow up with, or say. So instead she falls to silence for a little while, using the place’s menu as her cover. What does she say? What should she say? What do people normally say when trying to get to know one another, or make impressions? What advice did Astra give to her again?? Fuck. [break][break]

“So why are you here?” too direct, Marisol. She realizes a little bit too late, and she can’t take back her words anymore so, to recover, she gently raises the menu to cover the lower half of her face, as her brows furrow and gaze shifts to the side “A-At a.. blind date, I mean. Did someone arrange this for you?”

Inigo del Rosario

☉

And then there was silence.[break]
Not that he minded, anyways.[break][break]

Chatterbox he was, but a lull in words just meant more time to properly look the menu over— and so with a quick sweep of the hand had he done exactly that. In a small matter of time, the aforementioned sheet found its way between his fingers, and he gave a small, instinctive and absentminded hum under his breath while beginning to peruse the selections towards the top.[break][break]

Before long, though, the sound of her voice met his ears again, but it was the implications behind the words it carried that sparked a sense of curiosity within him.

”Naw, this was a hundred percent my decision,” he hummed back, raising a brow at her. A sidelong grin tugged upon his lips to accompany it as he tilted his head slightly. ”Almost makes it sound like ya got bullied into this yourself, though~.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

“You could say that.” thinking about it will make her eyes narrow, and tongue click from the distaste. Astra was surely minding her business, but she can still see and hear the amusement in her tone when she asks about how this date went. [break][break]

Her eyes glance back up, and she only maintains eye contact for a moment before they lower back to the menu (someone said, somewhere, that you had to make eye contact to acknowledge the person speaking. she just rolls with it). “I was.. actually intending to study most of the day” she admits, her head tilting off to the side, for ashen locks to fall against her shoulder “until someone arranged a dinner for me, and told me last minute..”[break][break]

Despite the irritated tone, she wears a small smile, and she doesn’t realize it’s from amusement yet “... But I guess this isn’t so bad, so far.”

Inigo del Rosario

☉

He laughed with a broader grin, brows furrowing as the eyes beneath them narrowed betwixt them and risen cheeks.[break][break]

”Man… Sounds like ya got a helluva friend, there, Cuz~,” he hummed, eying her with nothing short of amusement within his gaze. The menu between his fingers loosened from their hold faintly, tilting forward as if offering a better glance towards the woman before him. ”I envy people that can get all in and focused on their work, and all? But, man…”[break][break]

He eyed her for a while longer before shrugging, breathing another, humming chuckle all the while.[break][break]

”...There’s more t’life than papers and scribbles, y’know? Ain’t no point in livin’ if ya spend it doin’ anythin’ but~.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

He's hearty. [break][break]

And a little loud, but it fills the awkward silence that comes from her. Is this what a date was? It just feels like she's having dinner, and a chat with someone (little does she know, that's exactly what a date was. Silly Marisol.)[break][break]

"Right, all work and no play." She hums in response, though her eyes narrow when she's reminded of someone who, she'll argue, is just as busy if not even busier than her. Her gaze softens as she skims the menu, then lowers it back to the table once she has her order in her mind. [break][break]

"You're starting to sound like that friend of mine~." though maybe it's not a bad thing. [break][break]

With the menu down, she can focus more on the conversation. "And if I enjoy the papers and scribbles?" she asks, with a small (amused) smile tugging at her lips. [break][break]

"What does that make me?~"

Inigo del Rosario

☉