Eridan was settling in with Aradia rather easily. The woman wasn't that hard to get along with, even though she was very independent and stubborn at times. She rarely asked him for help, or really needed the help in the first place. Eridan found himself growing to like her faster than he found himself liking anyone before. She even treated him with respect, and while she teased him, it was a friendly tease and not like anyone else who had teased him before. He liked it. He liked being paid attention to whenever she had the time. She still did have to work and go to classes, so he really only got to see her a few times during the week and more on the weekend. The downside was that he was bored the other times. She let him play on her computer, but it was slow and old. It annoyed Eridan to no end so he rarely used it. There was nothing to do when the redheaded woman wasn't home.
Eridan was going through one of those times right now. He was sprawled out on her couch, looking at the ceiling that was in decent shape. It had a few random stains that could make one wonder how they happened. He was so bored that he jumped to grab his phone off his chest whenever it buzzed. He opened it to see a text message from Aradia. It read 'want t0 g0 0ut and eat t0night? –AA'. He smiled lightly at her name on his phone. Okay, maybe he was starting to like her more than he thought, at least, as a friend that was. 'sure I wwould lovve to ara –CA' He texted back. He didn't really know why she used zeros, maybe it was the same reason he typed out his speech problem. It was just something to do to make their texts different. He hopped up and went to look for something to wear tonight. Did she mean a fancy place, a casual or what? Well, he didn't have a suit with him so it better be casual or not to high class. Wait, she was poor so it had to be casual. He sighed, relaxing a bit and ignoring the nagging question of why he cared so much. He knew it was just because he sought her approval and wanted to stay under her roof until he could leave. Eridan looked at the time; he had a few hours to kill before her classes ended. Maybe he could go buy her something with the twenty that he had. He grabbed his wallet and shoved it into his back pocket before walking about the door.
He started down the street, taking care to check where he was going so that he didn't get lost. God, he knew that it would end badly if he did. Now, what to get Aradia for being so kind to him the past few weeks? He pondered this question for a bit. Well she might like jewelry if he could find something that didn't look to feminine. He did know that she adored older things. Maybe he could find some bone necklace or something for her to have. Yea, maybe that would be something she would like. He would go find a necklace that reminded him of her, and give it to her on their 'date' so to speak. He paused outside a little, almost run down looking shop. He usually would never think to even come near a place like this, but it seemed like a pretty good shot. He hadn't really seen any other place as he had walked down the street. He slowly opened the door, peering into the shop. It looked better on the inside- if you liked older looking things.
The shop was lined with a self in the back that had a few, old looking books on display. Various pieces of jewelry were set neatly on a pillow which was on top of a small table. Along with the few, small tables of jewelry, and the self, was the front desk that looked to of been there for a long time. Eridan actually found himself starting to like the little, old shop. He closed the door gently behind him; afraid the whole place might fall apart otherwise and he was greeted by an elderly woman that looked to be about in her seventies. She had grey-white hair that was pulled back into a neat bun. She looked at him from wrinkled, brown eyes with a content look about her. She was dressed in an elderly-type dress that had a flowery design on it.
"Hello there young one, how may I help you today?" She smiled softly at him.
"Wwell I wwas lookin' for somethin' to givve my friend- she likes older things," He replied, looking through the jewelry.
She didn't snicker, or even seem to care about his small stutter with his w's and v's. She just walked around her counter and moved over to him, shuffling through her wares with ease. She paused at what appeared to be a newer piece- not like most of the antiques she had on display. It was a small, bone-typed piece that was curved in a "u" shape. On the end of the side not connected to the plastic-looking tie, the bone colored material was sharpened into a point like an arrow, and had small, jagged spikes along it. It wasn't really what he had in mind but he was drawn to it.
"This is a piece I can't seem to get rid of- maybe this will be of interest to your young lady?" She held it in her wrinkled palm, her hand shaking just a little with the effort.
"Wwell I only havve twenty dollars on me,"He started, a little embarrassed to be admitting it. "I don't knoww if that's enough or not."
She looked at him for a moment, then back at the piece. It really was somewhat cheap looking but he did think Aradia would enjoy it. Well, he hoped so anyway. "Yes Deary, I will sell it to you for fifteen dollars." She started to head back to the counter, and Eridan followed her.
"Thanks Ma'am,"He replied, remembering some of his manners. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his twenty dollar bill, handing it over to her as she opened her cash register. She returned the 5 dollars he got in return, and put the necklace into a small bag, handing it over with a smile.
"Come by anytime," She called as he started for the door.
"I wwill wwhenevver I can," And he meant it. He liked the old woman.
He started back towards Aradia's apartment, looking at his watch. He still had about an hour before Aradia would arrive back at her place. He could at least get dressed and wait around for her. He arrived back at the apartment without too much trouble that was because of him getting lost. He only got turned around once, and even then it wasn't for too long at all. He was glad to be back though, and past that. The streets were not as high class as he liked them to be, and it still made him nervous.
Eridan walked into her apartment with the spare key she had given him, and locked it behind him. He went towards the room he shared with Aradia. He had actually kept to himself whenever they slept together. That is, unless they ended up snuggling together in the midst of the night. It did tend to happen because one of them would have a bad dream, and cling to the other for comfort. It was a silent bond they already shared with each other. He brushed away his thoughts momentarily and went to his suitcase, he shuffled through the clothing until he found a button up, white shirt with a collar to match his khaki pants and brown shoes. It wasn't too stylish, but it would work for the hipster. He moved out of the room once dressed and pocketed the necklace he had gotten for Aradia in his pants pocket. Sure, it wasn't that romantic or friendly-like to have it there, but he didn't want to tear apart her place looking for something to wrap the gift in. Thus, the pocket would have to do. He moved to the couch, waiting for Aradia to arrive while he shuffled through the channels.
Finally, there was the sound of the lock turning, and Aradia walked in. She smiled at him, mentioning that she was going to change before she left him alone once more. Their little dinner "date" was about to begin.