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23. Drink and Be Merry
Characters/Pairings: Zoe & Wade
'Verse/Timeline: AU/canon divergence - Season 1, Episode 10 Hairdos & Holidays
Date: December 2011

When Wade asked if he could buy her a drink, Zoe hadn't been sure what to say. It kind of came out of left field, that genuine request, coupled with the smile she always swore would never work on her, like it did with the girls at the church social. Zoe really couldn't explain how she ended up saying yes, but after all of a half-hour in Wade's company tonight, she had to admit, she didn't really regret her choice.

"What's so funny?" he asked, catching her chuckling to herself.

"Nothing, really," she said, shaking her head, eyes fixed in her wine glass as she chased a bubble around and around with her finger. "It's just... this. You and me, getting a drink together, talking like this."

"Pretty sure we've talked before, doc," Wade reminded her, taking a swig from his bottle of beer, "and I know we've spent some time drinkin' together."

"I know that." Zoe rolled her eyes. "Forget it. I'm probably being stupid."

Quite honestly, she had been wondering if this night was supposed to mean something. Not that it made much sense to assume that Wade asking her to come along to the Rammer Jammer with him for a drink was really a date or anything. They were neighbours, friends for the most part, and he had tried to get her into bed before, but he wasn't serious about her, Zoe knew. Wade wasn't serious about much at all.

"Look, Zoe..." he said then, waiting for her to look at him and clearing his throat before he went on. "The thing of it is... well, the thing is..."

He was definitely struggling, that much was obvious, and the more this went on, the more Zoe started to believe that maybe this really was supposed to mean something.

"Wade, I don't know if..." she began, just as he tried to start again with whatever he wanted to say. "I'm sorry, you go," she urged him.

"Wish to hell I could," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh. If you wanna leave, Wade, you can. You invited me here, but it's not like-"

"No, no, wait a second, doc," he said fast, grabbing at her arm when she moved to get down from her stool and leave herself. "I'm making an unholy mess o' this and I know it, but you gotta understand," he told her, meeting her gaze with a pretty intense look. "I keep on tryin' to tell you something. Tried to tell you on the way to the airport a few weeks back, 'cept we never made it there, and then after tonight, what with the gettin' myself arrested and all, and what Tucker was saying..."

"You got arrested?" Zoe checked, more than a little lost. "And George was there?"

"None of that is the point," Wade insisted, shaking his head. "The point is, Zoe, that I asked you out tonight because... well, because I like you, okay? There, I said it, now you can go ahead and laugh and walk outta here and that'll be that."

He looked so defeated as he sat back down on the stool with his face in his hands, Zoe felt awful. Poor Wade. He really was trying to tell her he genuinely liked her, and the truth was, though she had never really wanted to admit it before, she liked him too.

"Wade?" she said, getting his attention then. "I'm not going to laugh at you," she promised. "I would never do that, and I don't really want to leave either," she confirmed, retaking her seat beside him.

Wade smiled. "Okay then. So..."

"So," Zoe echoed, downing the last of her wine. "Maybe another drink?" she suggested with a smile. "And then we'll see what happens. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, Zoe Hart," he agreed happily, ordering another round.