II. 2026
Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the first accidental kiss. There'd been plenty more after that, moments stolen in closets or empty bedrooms, long walks and empty classrooms. They were practically joined at the hip when they weren't working. And yet she was still waiting for him to say something, to ask her on a proper date. She was getting tired of waiting.
She found him one afternoon hunched over a table in the common room. He had a computer open in front of him, parts strewn everywhere as he tried to revive it from whatever catastrophic death it had recently faced. There was a yellow screwdriver in his mouth, bobbing up and down as he mumbled around it. He was lost in his own world, his hair sticking up at odd angles from where he'd run his hands through it. She loved to see him like this, doing what he loved. Her heart swelled and that was it. She was done waiting.
"Hey Bridge," she said, sitting down in the chair next to him. He looked over at her and dropped the screwdriver in his lap.
"Hey, Z! I thought you were on duty all afternoon." He beamed at her and she couldn't help but smile.
"Lunch break. I wanted to ask you something. Do you want to go to a movie on Thursday? We're both off after 7." She reached up and began to straighten his hair. It would never lie flat, she knew, but she could at least get it into some semblance of an order. Besides, he liked it when she played with his hair. It relaxed him. He hummed low in his throat.
"Sure. Should I ask Sky or Syd if they want to go? Or we could call Jack and see if he's free. Get the whole old team together." Z frowned. That's not what she meant. She didn't think he was being purposefully obtuse, though.
"No, Bridge, that's not quite what I meant. I just meant, go to the movies, you and me. Just you and me. Together. Alone." She watched as realization dawned on him.
"You and me… like a date?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yes, a date." He knit his brow together and she was suddenly second guessing herself. Maybe she had misread him. Maybe she was expecting more out of their make out sessions than he was.
"Why?" he finally asked. She frowned.
"I kind of thought that part was obvious. I mean, you pull me into closets just as much as I do you. I thought you enjoyed our make out sessions."
"I do! I do. A lot. I just… why ME?" He seemed so confused.
"Because I like you, Bridge. You make me happy. When I'm around you, I get this lightness in my chest. I want to go on dates. With you." He blushed. It was endearing. She could get used to seeing him like that.
"Yeah, okay. A movie. I'd like that. We should have dinner too! My treat." She smiled wide and kissed him on the cheek.
"It's a date," she said as she stood up to leave. He beamed at her and she could feel his eyes follow her out of the room.
So he hadn't gotten the picture right away. So maybe she'd have to be the one to steer things. She'd have to be in control of the relationship. She could live with that if it meant seeing him smile like that more often.