Miss Punctual

Title: Miss Punctual

Genre: General/Humor

Summary: Alan Bradley has always wanted to go out with Lora Baines. He just never expected her to be the one to initiate the first date.

Author: Sakura123 (weber_dubois22)

Rating: G

Characters: Alan Bradley, Lora Baines, Kevin Flynn

Pairing(s): None

Chapters: 1/1

Written: 3/4/2011

Completed: 3/4/2011

Updated: 8/19/2018

Disclaimer: Tron/Tron: Legacy and all things related are property of Steven Lisberger, Bonnie MacBird and Walt Disney Studios (and some other guys I'm probably forgetting but can't care to remember).

Alan never saw it coming.

One moment he's standing in front of the kitchen counter, preparing his salad sandwich for lunch - ignoring the angry mutters of Kevin Flynn across from him as he fought with the coffee machine -, the next he was jumping at the touch of Lora Baines as she slipped into the kitchen. "Morning Alan, Morning Flynn," She said. Alan managed a nervous smile and a nod of his head while Flynn was a little more verbal in his greeting. "Well, if it isn't Miss punctual herself," He said. "What brings you here to our side of the sandbox? Out of oranges?"

Alan didn't miss the biting tone in his voice, he was sure Lora didn't either. However, instead of replying, she just smiled at him and set her gaze on Alan. He wouldn't lie, his heart ran an entire marathon from that one look alone. "Hey, Alan, whadya say to a date this week?"

I would say yes. Alan's eyebrows raised above his hairline. His response, "A date?" coincided with Flynn's shocked, "What? What?" The subconscious motion to readjust their glasses occurred at the same time when they focused their attention on the programmer. "It's barely been six months since we broke up, Lora-"

"You broke up?" Alan asked, truly surprised. Lora and Flynn were practically inseparable the last time he saw them. There wasn't a moment he could think of when they were hugging or kissing each other, whispering in the corners like a star truck high school couple riding the high of their new relationship.

He'd been absent from ENCOM for only six weeks (visiting relatives), when did they find six months to break up without making a scene? (No one told him anything around here.) A resigned expression crossed Lora's sharp features, she nodded. "Yes, we did," She replied. Her eyes found Flynn's for a moment, (Alan pretended not to notice the flames shooting from the guy's beady blue eyes) then almost as quickly, return her attention back to him. "So, how about it?"

"How about what?"

"The date, Alan."

"Oh! Oh, the date," Alan readjusted his glasses for a second time. He always wanted to go out with Lora but he didn't want to her accept her offer in front of her ex. That would extremely tacky on his end. "Uh, can I check my schedule?" He decided to say. Lora nodded her head, a sly smile gracing her lips. "Sure thing," She said. "Don't take forever, though."

Alan nodded quickly, unable to help the nervous laughter that tumbled from his throat. As she departed, his eyes found their way over to Kevin. The sidelong look the man gave him as his coffee boiled over in the pot was enough to make him want to crawl into a hole.

Flynn looked like he wanted to say something to his fellow programmer, the way his jaw shifted made that evident. Alan pointed innocently toward the coffee machine. "I think your coffee's done, cowboy," He said.

A moment of confusion etched itself across Flynn's expression and was replaced just as quickly with realization. He turned and sure enough, the coffee was spilling out of the pot. "Oh, man!" Kevin moaned, reaching for the stack of napkins stuffed in the corner, the angry mutters resumed as he tried to catch the beverage as it spilled over. Alan was pretty sure that if he left now, Flynn wouldn't notice his absence until he turned around.

"Excuse me," Alan snatched his sandwich from off the counter and retreated out of the office kitchen. He took a moment to survey his surroundings. He didn't see Lora anywhere so she was probably on her way back down to the lab. He ignored the weird looks he got from his fellow employees as he jogged down the isle of cubicles, sandwich clamped between his teeth. He spotted Lora just as the doors of the elevator doors were closing.

"Hold the elevator!", which in truth sounded more like "fold the defoliator", startled Lora enough that she extended her arm and blocked the converging doors in time for him to slither through the narrow space. "Hi, again," She laughed, eyeing sandwich in his mouth. Alan, hunched over and out breath, managed to smile, acknowledging how silly he must with a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. Removing it and swallowing the small bite he took, Alan righted himself with a sigh. Lora maintained her friendly, but confused smile as she readjusted the collar of her blouse underneath her coral argyle sweater. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just a little winded," Alan replied with a dismissive wave of his sandwich hand. "Nothing a few hours of exercise can't fix." Lora replied with a silent "oh", eyes automatically studying his figure. If he was out of shape, he certainly didn't look it. He was a little full in some place, yes, but hardly the picture of an unfit man. "Did they want to see you too?"

"Huh?" Alan started, confused. Lora gave a nonchalant shrug and pointed the elevator doors. "The, uh, board. I've got a progress report meeting, I was wondering if you-"

"Oh!" Alan shook his head. "No, no. I, uh, wanted to talk to you actually."

Lora didn't even try to feign ignorance. "About what happened earlier?" She asked. Alan nodded, glad he wouldn't have to drag it out of her. Lora leaned against the railing, brushing her Farrah styled hair away from her eyes. "I guess I do owe you an explanation."

"Look, it's not that I'm not flattered by the proposal, I mean, I am," Alan began with a nervous laugh. "But, given what happened, I'm not sure if it's because you're trying to get back at your ex, or you really do want to go out with me."

"No, I really do want to go out with you," Lora deadpanned.

Alan looked uncertain. "Then what was with the display back there?"

Lora shrugged her shoulders. "When Flynn and I broke up, I thought it was done with mutual understanding. We'd gotten to the point where things had just become stagnant. I wasn't happy, he wasn't happy, but he tried like hell to make it seem like the opposite." She sighed. "Truth be told, as much fun as I had with him, he just wasn't ready to take that next step."

"How do you mean?" This was turning into a therapy session.

"Well, if you know Flynn then you know he's just like a big kid. He's a ball to be around, but if things start to get even the slightest bit heavy, he shuts down. He buries himself in his work. Not that I'm one to talk, but-" Lora made a helpless gesture with her hand.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Alan assured. She continued. "I lived with him for over a year after we got together. I love the guy like crazy and I wanted to - well, I wanted to marry him." Alan removed his glasses, failing to hide his disbelief as he squinted his eyes. "You wanted to get married to Kevin Flynn?"

"Well, yes," Lora huffed. "I didn't even say we had to be married anytime soon in the future, I just said I thought we should. He just shut down on me after that. You'd think I asked him to eat a bullet or something. Anyways, we started fighting all the time about nothing and soon he declared I wanted too much too soon from him. It just got really ugly after that." A prolonged silence filled the confined space of the elevator. Alan tried to look at everything besides the slightly amused expression that was Lora's. "We calmed down a bit, but it wasn't the same. I didn't want to be stuck in a relationship that had gone south because of a seemingly harmless question. I deserved better and so did he, so I broke up with him and he agreed that it was for the best. He seemed fine about it, at least that's what I told myself."

"We didn't speak to each other for a good while, avoided each other for a good sixth months. Then on my way in to work today, he kind of cornered me and said he wanted to get back together. Said we could avoid the mistakes we made before." She shook her head angrily as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Alan followed her out as she stormed toward the CEO's office. "Basically, he was saying it was a mistake that I asked to marry him, that it was my fault that we broke up. It made me so angry that I blew up in his face. I called him a jerk, he called me selfish and etcetera."

"Wait, wait, wait," He ran out in front of her, halting her progression completely. "Where do I fit into all of this?"

"Look, if you're still thinking I asked you out just to piss Flynn off, stop. If I wanted to do that, I would've asked Ed Dillinger out. Flynn hates that guys guts."

"Lora, Ed Dillinger is married," Alan pointed out.

"He is?" At his nod, Lora grimaced. "Okay, maybe it was a good thing I didn't ask him."

"So you did ask me out to-"

"No!" Lora proclaimed, shoving him in a manner that would've seemed playful if she weren't so serious. "Alan, I've wanted to ask you out since the company party last month."

"Well, but- that was just - I was just." He paused. "Gibbs said you looked lonely, so he suggested I offer to dance with you. Not that I wouldn't have if he didn't, it just that I thought-"

"It doesn't matter what you thought. I thought about asking you right after, but I got nervous. I started thinking maybe I shouldn't jump back into the dating pool so soon, that it would seem skanky or something. Then, finally, I thought "what the hell" and figured since I had a meeting to go to, I'd drop by your cubical to ask then."

"Yeah, but-"

"Alan, haven't you been listening? Flynn and I got into a fight today, I was still angry and he was still angry. Maybe I could've waited until he was gone to ask you out, but I didn't want to. I wanted to do it before I lost my nerve again."

"Lost nerve" and "Lora Baines" did not compute properly in the same sentence. Perhaps it was a misconception based on simple observation at a distance, but Lora never struck him as the kind to get choked up over anything. If anything, she seemed like a real go-getter. He certainly couldn't see why she would be afraid to ask him (of all people) out on a date. To be self-depreciating, he was nothing to write home about. "Seriously?" He asked.

Lora rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Ms. Banes." Lora and Alan turned to find a woman sporting big brunette hair and perfectly manicured nails standing outside the meeting room. "Mr. Wagner is expecting you, he shouldn't be kept waiting." Lora peered past Alan's arm and nodded her head in understanding.

"Look, I've gotta go. If you don't want to go out with me just say so," She said.

"Hey, I said I'd check my schedule, didn't I?" Alan replied, a little indignant. "I'll give you call-"

"You don't even have my number, Bradley."

"Ms. Baines!"

Damnit, she was right. "Then I'll drop by the lab with my answer," He blurted out.

"Okay," And with that Lora retreated into the spacious office, apologies rattling from her mouth as she went. Alan thought to remain where he was when he remembered the sandwich in smushed in his hand. One look at the clock told him he had less than ten minutes before lunch break was over. Putting his glasses back on Alan hurried back to the elevator.

On the way down he chewed on his sandwich, contemplating whether to say yes or no to Lora's date proposal. "Heh, proposal," He grinned.

Oh, who was he kidding? It was clear he was decided on "yes", but it was all a matter of when and how he said it that made all the difference.

"I wonder if she likes Chinese."

(FIN)